The Demise Of The Word "If"

THE DEMISE OF THE WORD "IF"

Well, I really don't mean for it to die from your vocabulary completely, but I do mean for it to die from how one speaks of their salvation. What I mean is, when one has faith enough that they believe in Jesus as their Savior, they no longer use the word "if" as they used to when they did not realize their salvation in Christ Jesus. I hear people now who go to church, but have no relationship with Jesus, and they say, "I hope He will let me into heaven if I was good enough all my life". Or you might hear someone say, "If He will let me into heaven...". These are statements of one lacking faith! Another common line I've heard is, "If I go to heaven..." This is where a new Christian must understand that there is no "if" when they realize their salvation in Christ Jesus. Let me use some Scripture to illustrate further...

"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." - Heb. 11:5-6. One of the pillars of a house built on Jesus is faith. You have to truly believe He exists and that He rewards. He rewards your belief in Him with salvation! If you didn't believe He rewards for belief in Him, why would you obey Him, and if you don't obey Him, He will reward you with the consequences! See how Enoch believed and had so much faith, that God translated him into heaven without tasting death? If we could do the same as he did, how wonderful, but it is not written exactly what he did to warrant the reward of translation.

Now the people in an unsaved status may wonder why someone would be a Christian, and why put faith in Him. Many people go to church, and even some of them, while they're at home, don't show much, if any, faith. Let me direct you to John 3:16 - 18; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Many recognize the John 3:16, but neglect to add the warning that follows the announcement of love. Many will give you the "sugar", but will not make you aware of the "vinegar". You can choose to have faith in Jesus, or not, but if you choose wrong, expect the consequence.

Now you would think that with this being said, that all people with one accord would jump on believing in Jesus, and all would eliminate the "if" from their concept of the potential of going to heaven; after all, we have the promise of John 3:16, and more good news of emancipated living, or owning grace, in Rom. 8:1 - 11; " There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." Unfortunately, this is not so that everyone jump. Why?

Jesus told this parable that explains why: "And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, 'Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'" (Matt. 13:3-9). But this is a parable, so many who read this will not understand it without the explanation, which Jesus also gave: "'Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.'" (Matt. 13:18-23).

Jesus explained it so well why so many people have the word "if" in their vocabulary concerning the concept of going to heaven! Eliminate all of the examples except for the last that Jesus gave in His solution to the parable, and you will have eliminated the "if"! When anyone who has not truly accepted Christ as their Savior hears the word, Satan comes and immediately removes what they heard from them, and they come out of their church and act as worldly as they usually do until they go to church again, as they do it like a chore or a conditioned ritual or just to appease all family who are watching to see if they are carrying out family tradition, as it were.

Then there are those who would turn on the Lord in the face of persecution or tribulation, and this will really be tested during the short reign of the antiChrist. I once edified a Christian who was witnessing at his apartment complex, and I reminded him of that which Jesus said; "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt. 5:10 -12). I told him that for a twofold purpose. Not just for his edification, but also so that he not be "offended" and become silent of witnessing. I sensed he was young in his Christian walk, and I thought it would be letting down Christ in not coming to this young man's edification.

The last are those who let worldly riches stick Satan's thumbs in their eyes. These are they whose wealth become their god, and as God is supplanted, they become not only unfruitful, but adulterers, gone a-whoring after the god mammon. If one knows not about mammon, see Matt. 6:24; "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Okay, this still doesn't tell the everyday person what mammon is; it is wealth! I would think many not understand the concept of adultery concerning God, so let me show you an example in Jer. 9:2 - 3; "Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD." As His church is His bride, so Christ experiences adultery from those who leave Him for another god of the world, such as mammon.

And now let us come full circle, and return to the concept of removing the word "if" from the vocabulary of those who have not come to realize Christ as their Savior. Perhaps this message may be of use to a witness who wants to convince one or more to come to Christ and give Him the victory in their lives, to espouse Him who gives eternal life, and come to remove the word "if" from the concept of going to heaven.

THE OLDEST PROFESSIONS

Sometimes people older than you profess to know something, but they only fool themselves by being proven wrong by factual data, and such is the case when someone tells you that the oldest profession in the world is prostitution, and that the next oldest is being a politician. Neither one make it into the top ten oldest professions that ever existed! Let's have some enlightenment from the historical section of the world's greatest book - the bible!

The answer to the question, "What is the world's oldest profession?" is - gardener! To find this answer, we logically must turn to Gen. 2:15; "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." And so we have here proof that Adam was the gardener of the garden of Eden. With no gardener, perhaps it would have better been called a wilderness?

The next profession is the profession of Adam and Eve's youngest son, Abel, and so, naturally, this profession can also be verified in Genesis. "And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." (Gen. 4:2)

I thought it might be interesting to note that Cain was the first to experience a career change, forced on him by the Lord God, as a consequence to slaying his brother; "And He said, 'What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Gen. 4:10-12) So the next profession was borne out of the sin of Cain, and he became a city engineer! " And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." (Gen. 4:17)

Okay, that's three professions, seven to go; the next profession is that of a cattleman and rancher! "And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." (Gen. 4:20) And the fifth profession was that of being a musician! "And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ." (Gen. 4:21) The sixth profession was borne of Tubal-cain, and he was a metalworker! " And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah." (Gen. 4:22)

This next profession is only subtly spoken of, rather nebulous of the timing, but before the flood they were drinking wine, according to Jesus Himself in Matt. 24:38, so someone unnamed had to be a winemaker! " For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matt. 24:38-39)

Now the next profession some may find debatable, but I, in my eyes, see Noah as the father of shipbuilding; his was the first, and it is the most famous to this day. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as to say it would be also fair to think of Noah as the first zoo keeper! See these two passages from scripture as my establishment of my claims: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." (Gen. 6:14-16) And; "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." (Gen. 6:19-21)

One more profession left, and nowhere in sight is the mention of prostitution or politics! The last profession was created of a curse from the mouth of Noah, and that profession was that of being a servant. "And he said, 'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.'" (Gen. 9:25)

So there you have it; ten professions, and none of them are prostitution or politician! So if anyone make the mistake of telling you that either are first, or second, or even in the top ten oldest professions, you now have the proof that they are flat out wrong! Thanks be to God for the wisdom in His Word!

David Loved God's Laws (And you should, too!)

David Loved God's Laws (And you should, too!)

There are many reasons why people don't go to church. Some weren't raised by church-going, God-believing parents. Others went to churches to start, but it was as a chore to them, because they got no spiritual nourishment from the preacher, poor were his abilities to preach and shepherd, so they dropped out, and the pastor failed to go after the one sheep. But there's this other group I'm concerned for, and those are the sheep who don't want to hear God's laws, nor do they want to feel their conviction. If you had a good Dad while you were growing up, he had laws in your house, didn't he? And they were good laws, too, because they kept the house affairs in order, and kept you out of trouble worse than the trouble you were in with him at the moment that you disobeyed, because the law of the hand against where you sat down when you disobeyed his other laws let you know he loved you, because later on you realized that kept you from spoilage. So it is with God's laws. They are good laws, they keep us in order, and obedience breeds absence of consequences for disobedience. God also equates our obedience as love for Him, because we obey our good Father's wishes, and then He needs not chasten us while we obey. "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him." - Deut. 8:5-6. And then there's Hebrews: "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." - Heb. 12:6-8. Obedience also is a demonstration of faith, which also pleases God. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." - Heb. 11:6.

In Psalms, David proclaimed his love for God's laws: "O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts." - Ps. 119:97-100. "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." - Ps. 119:113. "I hate and abhor lying: but Thy law do I love. Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of thy righteous judgments. Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them." - Ps. 119:163-165. Now let's examine these statements David has made concerning God's law. David meditated on them all the time, so he has written. Why do you suppose he did that? I think I've found the answer in Josh. 1:7-8; "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 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." Whoa, now, there's a good reason to love His laws; they will make us prosperous and successful! But notice God instructed Joshua to study the laws day and night! And look what else David said; they made him wise! He found himself wiser than his teachers and the ancients. So all wisdom comes from God, just as He said in Exod. 28:3; "And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office." See how God gave wisdom to men in this passage? Lastly, he says loving God's laws brings great peace and nothing shall offend them. Well, if we live by laws, don't we have order, and isn't there peace in order? And if we accept what laws we have, is there any offense in the keeping of the laws?

Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy have the heaviest concentration of God's laws. God's famous Ten Commandments are in Exod. 20:1 - 17, and are repeated in Deut. 5:6 - 21. (Many people don't realize the repetition unless they've read the bible several times.) Leviticus is a manual for the Levite priests, and many of the laws concern all the Israelites. The title means "And He called", and the deeper concept is that He calls us to holiness through the obedience of His laws. Leviticus has a dual theme: the way to God concerning sacrifices and through the priests, and how to walk with God through the sanctity of living your life by His instructions. While we don't do much in the way of sacrifice, we still hold many of His laws regarding walking with Him as wisdom in this country. So long as the Israelites obeyed the laws, they had peace and safety, and for breaking any laws, they had sin and trespass offerings.

One might sadly think, "Oh, that Adam and Eve had not sinned in the garden, that we should have only had one commandment to be concerned with." Well, consider the wisdom Jesus gave us during His ministry. In the Gospel, Jesus summed them up into two commandments. A shyster of a biblical lawyer asked him a question: "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'" - Matt. 22:36-40. Can you see how all the laws in the bible are so wisely nestled into these two commandments Jesus gave? As we love ourselves, so we should love our neighbor, and If we study and obey the bible, indoctrinating all His laws into our daily life, then we show God how we love Him with our heart, soul, and mind. God's laws are perfect, because obeying them all means absolutely nobody gets hurt physically or mentally by anyone else, and if there is hurt, the law has reparations for that instance.

Now there are some who speak of the bible concerning an age of the law and age of grace; this is not said well, because it seems to imply that there was something wrong with the law, or that the law has some kind of malevolence to it in contrast with grace. I tell you, the law and grace both are good; it's the people that there is something wrong with, and that something is disobedience.  God's grace was in both the Old and the New Testament: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." - Gen. 6:8. And Lot, too, found grace from the Lord; "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life..." - Gen. 19:16-19. And Moses, he too found grace in the sight of the Lord; "And Moses said unto the LORD, 'See, Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, 'I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight.' Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people.' And He said, 'My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.' And he said unto Him, 'If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight?  Is it not in that Thou goest with us?  So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.' And the LORD said unto Moses, 'I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.'" - Exod. 33:12-17. And Gideon, too, he found grace in God's eyes; "And the LORD said unto him, 'Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.'  And he said unto Him, If now I have found grace in Thy sight, then shew me a sign that Thou talkest with me." - Judg. 6:16-17. And of course, God gave him the signs he asked for. So now let us see these four instances of proof that there be no need for an "age of the law and age of grace" distinction, because we know full well God's laws applied in the New Testament and beyond into today, and God's grace was also available in the Old Testament as well as it is today.

For the modern Christian, this passage of Scripture is considered a concept of owning grace through Christ Jesus; "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God..." - Rom. 8:1-16. Perhaps it may be considered more accurate to say an age of sacrifice and an age of grace embodied in the death of Christ Jesus on the cross, because we no longer do burnt or meat offerings, nor do we do offerings of animals of any kind, Because Jesus' perfect sacrifice eliminated the need for further sacrifices for sin.

Nonetheless, let us now go enlightened by all this to study the word of God day by day for as often as we are able, and soak up the wisdom of God. As did Joshua and David, let us strive for His wisdom to work in our daily lives, that we, too, may be prosperous, have good success, and be obedient to the Lord.

The Three Great Mistakes Of America

THE THREE GREAT MISTAKES OF AMERICA

     When our forefathers came to this country on the Mayflower so long ago, they came because of their many personal reasons, but they were predominately Christians. This country, when it became independent of Britain, was founded by Christian forefathers who created a very sound constitution and founded a very good government, and much if not all of the legislation that the people were ruled by was based on the bible! However, despite all their careful work to lay the foundation of a nation great and long lasting, I ponder the idea that they made a number of mistakes that have proven very hurtful to this country, and in man's entire history on this planet, no civilization, not one nation, has ever been perfect in eliminating all three of these mistakes from their foundation. Let's look at the first to be considered.

     God's own people saw all that God did for them, and knew of this God-given strategy for nation building from their own leaders, Moses and Joshua, and still they made the same mistake all nations before and after them have made; they allowed nonChristian people to live amongst them. In Deut. 7:1-4 it is written, "When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." Now consider how our country is faring today, and see if you can see the flaw we have in our governance, that we have allowed other religions to come to our country, and how they have affected us the same way that the Israelites were affected. Did not the perverseness, corruption, and sinfulness of the people of other religions cause the downfall of the Israelites, and didn't they pay the consequence of being conquered by other nations, because they failed to obey God? We've actually allowed the ungodly to put God out of our schools, and they have been working to oust Him from our public property in the form of crosses and Ten Commandment displays! Oh, how do we wrest the power from the ungodly who work to offend Him and rouse Him to wrath? Let's look at another mistake, shall we?

     Exod. 18:19-21 has it, "Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness;...". We as a nation have also not recognized this precept in the way we elect people to lead our nation, not from the lowly councilperson to the presidency. We seem to elect people for good looks, false promises, and without checking their backgrounds or past indiscretions instead of electing them based on at a minimum of at least proclaimed Christian values and beliefs! This nation has suffered many consequences as a result of unwise choices of the leaders of our country. Look at Dan. 7:25; "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." As the antiChrist shall seek to change times and laws, don't some politicians try to do that already? There is one more mistake that I feel our nation has made over the many years, and it is probably the greatest mistake of all.

     While we are young, we are able to accomplish much with our strength. We are able to learn quickly with a youthful mind. We are able to bring in an income to support ourselves and our family, if God is willing to bless us with a job. We are able to raise children, if God is willing to bless us with them. But once we become stricken with age, once we must depend on the retirement funds we (hopefully) were wise enough to put away because we can no longer work, once we are finished with the job of raising children, we can no longer sow, and we must reap of our actions when we were young. If we voted wrong, politicians may change laws or take our retirement away, or worse, may allow our nation to become weak enough to be beaten and lose its sovereignty. If we failed to raise our children properly, we may suffer their behavior as a result of how we reared them. This has become very evident over the decades; people have not raised their children correctly, and our nation continues to suffer more and more as a result. Let's look at this passage in Deut. 4:1-10; "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." I tell you, many parents through the lifetime of our nation since it was created have not followed the wise instruction of this part of the Old Testament. Our nation is faster and faster going to its destruction in corruption, perversity, and godlessness. What number of real Christians as are left see this and are troubled, but God rewards action! Let us pray to our God for His help, and let us reprove our children with the bible. Let us lead the distraught and weary and influence them to believe His word, and allow God to reward appropriately those who refuse to hear and even mock Scripture. But let us preach, teach, and pray with love for those who need it, as Jesus wanted done then, and even now.

The Story Between God And Satan

THE STORY BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN

If you haven't been able to piece it all together, there's a history between God and Satan that's rather sad, because Satan wasn't supposed to be such a bad egg like he is. Ezekiel wrote about all the love God put into the creation of Lucifer; "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created...'" (Ezek. 28:12-15).

The devil sounds like he has every reason to be an obedient creation to God, but something went wrong; terribly wrong. Iniquity was found in him (Ezek. 28:15). What was that sin? Pride. His beauty was so bright, it corrupted his mind (Ezek. 28:17). As we who read the bible know from Prov. 16:18, pride goeth before a fall, and how great was Satan's fall! According to Luke 10:18, Jesus spoke as an eyewitness that he fell like lightning, and that's faster than I would ever want to fall down! As Isaiah said of Satan after his fall, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" (Isa. 14:16-17).

So you might next want to know how this sin manifested itself in Satan, that God came to notice it, and that answer is in Isaiah's book; "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isa. 14:12-14). Satan didn't even have to speak his sin, it was read in his heart by our omniscient God, and immediately God dealt with the devil and his sin!

Now many, if not all who read this, have heard of the fires of hell, but remember that part of the gospel where Jesus talks about hell, and where "...their worm never dies"? Look in Mark 9:43 - 44; "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." If you want to see another reference to those worms, look now into Isa. 14:11; "Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." Are there any volunteers to be in hell where the fire is never quenched and there are worms? Believe it or not, all who disbelieve in Jesus till their final breath.

So now the story becomes ugly for you and me. We didn't want a part of what happened between God and Satan, but the devil brings it to us. He started with some of the other angels, and you can find them in 2 Pet. 2:4; "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;". Satan goes after people, too, such as novices at Christianity who get into positions of leadership too quickly and then become proud, as is written in 1 Tim. 3:6; "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil." So while we're trying to follow Christ, we have to be careful Lucifer doesn't drag us into the mess he's in. And then there's false teachers; they teach everything and anything unScriptural, even up to denying Christ who bought us, and them, too. They exploit who they will, walk after the flesh...how many have been exposed for molestation, homosexuality, and adultery and fornication?  There are also the covetous who do religious work for personal gain. These are all spoken of in 2 Pet. 2:1 - 22. The devil has many devices; he wants us to think we can thrive independent of God; but in the end, it will prove to eternal damnation.

Other ways the devil tries to steal souls is the idea of worshipping demons and false idols, and this has been since the Old Testament, as when the people were warned in Exod. 20:3 - 6; "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments." From one end of the bible to the other, man is warned about false god and demon worship. Even to Rev. 9:20 - 21; "And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."

Oh, who can count the devices of the devil? Idolatry, suicide, fortune telling, astrology, witchcraft - all these works of the devil are told of in the bible, and from the time God warned up to even now, people do these things. Exod. 20:13 has it that "thou shalt not kill", and yet people will believe the thoughts demons put in their heads that suicide will release them from some great guilt, or from serious problems they have.

Yes, Satan and his evil angels are determined to drag as many human souls to hell with them as they can. Here is a passage from 1 Tim 4:1-3; "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."

So understand that Satan is our enemy, just as he has made himself God's adversary. Actually, his very name means adversary, and the name "devil" means slanderer. We never went to him to pick a fight with him, he came to us to take our souls. See in 1 Pet. 5:8; "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

Satan uses his workers, besides himself, to try to fool you. They will imitate God's disciples as if they were His, too, so they have to be observed in order to discern if they be of God or of Satan. As it is written in 2 Cor 11:12-15; "But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

And so Satan and his demons try to trick us and use us, because he knows it is the will of the Father that all of us would be saved, but as he is God's adversary, his will would be that none of us get saved. He wants us to worship him (Matt. 4:8 - 9), he wants us to worship false gods and idols (Rev. 9:20), he wants you to believe perversions of the gospel and bible (Gal. 1:6 - 7), and really wants you not to believe in the bible at all so that he can lie to you in all ways, because he is the father of lying (John 8:44). He seeks to eat us up as a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8), knowing that sating his appetite on each soul is against the will of our loving Father.

So long as we believe, however, Satan cannot have us. John 3:16 guarantees it to the true believer, and Jesus Himself said nobody can take us from His hand in John 10:28. Jesus, in His death, defeated Satan by nailing our sins to the cross (Col. 2:13 - 15). And God has given us armor, that we may stand against the Devil and his demons (Eph. 6:11 - 19), who are not mere flesh as we are. We can resist the devil (James 4:7) because God is in us (1 John 4:4)! Let me emphasize Eph. 6:18 in relation to putting on this armor properly, "... Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...".

Now the devil is by no means done and giving up. He will test the world with his antiChrist (2 Thess. 2:8 - 9). Rev. 13:11 - 17 has more trouble for men in the Tribulation, that mankind must worship or die and submit or starve! But for those who resist this terrible trial, and don't take the mark of the beast, nor worship his image, they will never hunger or thirst, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes! (Rev. 7:14b - 17) Satan will lose his war with God in heaven (Rev. 12:7 - 10), and Jesus will rule both in Jerusalem according to Rev. 20:2 - 4, "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." and in the new Jerusalem over all His believers (Rev. 21:1 - 7).

And so this is the story, from beginning to end, of God and Satan, and how we got caught up in it all. Though we suffer trials and tribulation, believing in Jesus through it all, we will enjoy eternal bliss with Christ Jesus!

Oh, But Politics And Religion DO Mix!

OH, BUT POLITICS AND RELIGION DO MIX!

I can just imagine hearing many out there reading the title and saying to themselves, "Oh, no, he can't be serious!" - but I am! All who claim to be Christians have an obligation to demonstrate their belief by voting with their Christian faith, and not because the candidate is good-looking, a smooth talker, or promises change for the better without naming exactly what that change is. Even then, we must look at their history, and their friends, and judge their words. Look at Dan. 7:25; "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." As the antiChrist shall seek to change times and laws, don't some politicians try to do that already?

The bible has it that Moses was advised by Jethro, his father-in-law, to elect godly men. Jethro was a priest in Midian, and owned a flock. Let's see what all is written in Exodus about this: "And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves." - (Exod. 18:13-26).

This explains what I feel is one of the three great mistakes of America, because not everybody votes using their belief in God and the advice of the Scriptures. Do you see the qualities that Jethro names to Moses for the men he should elect to be judges over God's people? Jethro said, "...thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness..." And Jethro also said, "...thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do." So from this, we should understand that Jethro's counsel to Moses was to elect godly men, educated in God's laws and hateful of corruption and perversity. This is good advice; it is godly advice. Moses heeded it. Shouldn't we?

Moses elected men that he had to teach, because God's laws and statutes weren't available on paper, nor on a CD, nor on a website. However, in this day and age, we should be electing church-going Christians, educated in godliness. People who go to Christian churches and who are believers that will behave as godly men and women and execute their elected positions with godly values. They will be the same kind that Jethro spoke of, God-fearing, truthful, and hating covetousness. But even more valuable to our country and people they will be who are instilled with obedience to God's laws and statutes. Imagine if we voted with our Christianity; the media would be hurting for news! They wouldn't have any politicians to write about for any type of corruption or perversity, or any other form of wrong doing. And would this be a bad thing, seeing as some forms of media only survive on gossip and exposing the evil done by the ungodly?

So what would you look for when choosing a nominee for a political position? Most logically, you would choose the more godly of the candidates. Now all of us are human, so it is quite natural you're not going to find a perfect candidate, but you can educate yourself on each candidate's stand on issues and then choose more wisely the best candidate for the position. Are they Christian? Are they pro-abortion ((Exod. 20:13 ("thou shalt not kill.")? Pro-abortion is like offering a child to the god Molech in Lev. 20:1 - 5! Do they have a perverse or ungodly history? Are they known for a past position wherein they caused debt and thereby put taxpayers or a business into a position of paying interest ((see Exod. 22:25) "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.") Using the ten Commandments and God's statutes of the bible, you can pick the best candidate for each position of authority in your city, state, and country, and thereby strengthening it with God-given values.

Consider what happened with our schools. We, as a country, allowed an atheist to change our entire public school system by allowing God to be taken out of our schools. What happened? Almost immediately, God was replaced by guns, and Columbine high started the sad parade of media-covered school shootings and killings of all sorts. Who was in authority over what happens in the schools that allowed God to be taken out? An unChristian person, I submit to you, was given the office of authority, that they took God out of our schools. An ungodly person was allowed to have that office of authority, and so long as God is kept out of schools, it seems apparent to me that guns and drugs will be in His place, or until a godly person puts Him in one of His many rightful places in our country. A majority of people elected this person into that position. A majority should recognize the consequence of the ungodly decision and vote out the incumbent and replace them with a godly person who will reinstate God into the public school system.

Finally, I submit to you for consideration this; that in the final analysis, politics will be swallowed up by what is written in the bible. That in the end, after the white throne judgment, we will be under a theocracy, whether any be Christian and accept Christ's rule with great joy or whether any be in rejection of what is written in Rev. 22:5 and Dan. 7:27. ("And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.") Rev. 22:5), ("And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.") Dan. 7:27). I accept Christ's rule with great joy!

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

Halloween's origin is not Christian; it is of a Satanic druid holiday. It is an unconscious approval of Satan worship, a partaking in that which is evil, which we are instructed in Scripture not to do. 1 Thess. 5:22 has it, "Abstain from all appearance of evil.". To dress your children up as ghosts and goblins and devils and such is teaching them approval of it! Witch covens and Satanists have an annual worship service of the devil on that evening, including a blood sacrifice! The Celtic druids chose this night to celebrate everything wicked, evil, and dead. They gathered arounda acommunity bonfire and offered sacrifice, and the celebration remained the same even after the Romans conquered the Celts.

The Druids considered the oak trees and mistletoe and hours of midnight and noon as sacred, and practiced divination, which is also a violation of God's laws. Deut 18:9-12 has it, "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee."

Trick or treating and Jack-o-Lantern carving and display, these too are associated with Halloween. The candy and fruit given at Halloween are of a pagan tradition concerning that if wicked spirits came to your door, they were satisfied with being fed, and so would not scare people as they would if nothing was offered. The Jack-o-Lantern was born from a false theology that a man named Jack died one day and couldn't enter heaven or hell, and so he was doomed to wander in darkness with his lantern until Judgment Day. What a terrible, evil hogwash! Christians trust that Jesus our Savior died for our sins, His blood paid for all our sins at the cross, and we don't have to wander nor wonder until Judgment Day. Anyone who has read Rom. 8:1-6 knows it reads this: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

These Druids were false teachers, spreading folklore such as that men's souls do not perish, but rather transfer from one person to another after death. Many people believe they existed in a former life. This is unscriptural: according to Heb. 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" They also believed that on Halloween, the wicked souls were allowed to inhabit the bodies of animals. It is written in a tract by Rev. D.A. Waite that the Roman Catholics accepted this "Halloween" in the early 700s, and thus it came to America and has been established to this day.

So what other warnings and accounts against Halloween should I bring to mind for you? Acts 19:18-20? ("And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.") Lev. 19:31? ("Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.") Or how about Eph. 5:11-12? ("And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.") While it is a shame to speak of these things, it is done in the open every Oct. 31st, as soon as darkness falls, and some adults dress up as all manner of creatures and things before the night even falls!

So I tell you therefore that bible reading/believing true Christians will not participate in any way, not by displays nor by teaching their children to participate in any manners related to this annual wicked and evil concept. If you have done this in the past, unaware of all these things you have read today, repent, turn away from practicing, for we have a forgiving God to those who confess all sin. Rather, teach your children 1 Cor 10:31, wherein it is written, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."