HELLO? GOD CALLING...

If God was calling you, would you know what He was calling you to do? Would He be calling you to go somewhere, and would you go? Would you even realize it was Him calling? Maybe He is calling you to do something, or be someone you normally wouldn't be? Shall we see some examples in the bible?

Gen. 12:1, 4 has Abraham called out of a land of idolatry to a land of promise. "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.' So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran." Imagine being 75 years old, and making a trip about 1,500 miles! But he recognized that God called him out of his country, and by faith, he went. Acts 7:2-4 also covers his departure from the land of the Chaldeans, as does Heb. 11:8.

God calls sinners, yea, the unsaved, to salvation and to be a chosen generation and a royal priesthood. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:..." (1 Pet. 2:9) "Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day." (Deut. 10:15) "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Rev. 1:6) From the darkness of sinfulness to the light of God into eternity - now that's a calling!

A beautiful calling God has for us all who will listen is this one: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." (Gal. 5:13) When we see a beggar on the road; you know the ones, with the signs...He calls us to show them love and feed them. Not for some personal gain for doing so, but just for the love of doing so to please Him. See someone without a coat, and you have others at home? He calls us to give them our extra coat, to serve them is to serve Him! Whatever you do, do it out of love for others, and for demonstration to Him obedience and love of Him. But do not make a display of it for the public, because there is no reward in that, as Jesus taught; "Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." (Matt. 6:2 - 4)

If you want to have less turmoil in your life, God calls you to the peace He offers; "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Col. 3:15) As we read the bible and do it His way, we receive His peace in our obedience to the lifestyle He decrees we live by. "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." (1 Cor. 7:15) Even in the case of marriage and divorce, if one is found to be married to an unbeliever who chooses to separate, one should be at peace with God that all was done to prevent it.

Jesus calls us from death to life; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24) And He does it in more than one place! "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." (John 3:16 - 17) "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day...Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life." (John 6:40, 47) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." (John 8:51) Even His disciples are witness that He calls us from death to life; "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." (John 20:31) "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." (1 John 3:14) If we hate one of our brethren, we are ignoring His call!

God also calls us where to go and not go; "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." (Isa. 30:20 - 21)

One of the hardest calls to answer is that of the call to suffer unjustly; "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:..." (1 Pet. 2:21 - 23) I tell you, this is a hard calling, because it is so hard to resist human nature to retaliate injustice realized. Is it not evil doing to retaliate for evil done to you? "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing...For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." (1 Pet. 3:9,17) "Recompense to no man evil for evil." (Rom. 12:17) Apparently Peter and Paul both thought so, and Peter states we receive a blessing!

Lastly, I want to address God's calling from an uncertain future to glory in Christ Jesus! "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Pet. 5:10) "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 1:5 - 11) " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:1 - 3)

Christ calls us for one more thing; "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Matt. 28:19 - 20)

Wherever one is in their walk, one should hear a calling at some time in their lives from our wonderful God; To preach, teach, baptize, suffer injustice, from death to life, from turmoil to peace, to love and serve one another, to salvation, to be a chosen generation, to be of the royal priesthood, out of idolatry to promise, to eternal glory with Christ Jesus!

I Believe In Angels

I BELIEVE IN ANGELS

There are many people who will tell you they believe in angels, and even the singing group Abba sang those very words, and titled their song thusly. But what do we know about angels? How do we understand what they're all about? Well, of course, we can go to the bible and see what the word of God has to say about them.

The word 'angel' appears 201 times in the bible, the first in Gen. 16:7-11, where it is recorded of an angel of the Lord visiting the earth. In this instance, the angel was sent to give Hagar instruction and peace of mind. The angel's words gave direction and hope, and even told her what name to give her child, born Ishmael. An angel spoke to her one more time in Gen. 21:17 to again give her hope, instruction, and peace of mind. She had the promise of a great nation made of her son!

Isn't it something that the first appearance of angels should be to take daughters of men as wives? (Gen. 6:2) Another occurrence of angels is in Gen. 18:1-33, where it is written the Lord appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, where three men stood before him. Abraham gave them food and the typical courtesies, and as they ate, he knew they were not just a vision. The Lord did all the talking of the three of them, but the two with Him are believed to be angels. In Gen. 19:1 - 22, these same two angels visit Lot, who presses hard on them to enter the protection of his house, where they again eat, but before they can even lie down, the city's wicked men want to be carnal with them. The angels blinded them, and explained to Lot their mission to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his wife and daughters were led out of the city by the same angels, and then God utterly destroyed the cities. So here we have more involvement with mankind where they interacted eating food given of men and struck men of evil blind!

One of the jobs of angels is to minister; " But to which of the angels said He at any time, 'Sit on My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?' Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:13 - 14)

Did you know that we who believe in Jesus shall judge angels? "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3)

Angels would interact with man throughout the Old Testament and into the New. Gen. 22:11, 15 - 16 has an angel halting Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac to God and informing him of another blessing from the Lord; multiplying his seed as the stars of heaven! Angels were in the dream of Jacob in Gen. 28:12, going between heaven and earth up and down a ladder, and meeting Jacob on his way to Esau in Gen. 32:1 - 2. In the New Testament, they are referred to in Matt. 4:6 - 7, 11 by the devil himself when he was tempting Christ, saying that the angels would bear Him up, lest at any time He dash His foot against a stone; and it is written they came and ministered to Him after the temptation. They are further spoken of in Matt. 13:39 - 42 as Christ's reapers that shall "...gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity..." by Christ Himself. Also in John 20:12 - 13, two spoke to Mary at the sepulchre of Jesus. Beyond the Gospel, they are referred to by Stephen in Acts 7:53, by Paul in Rom. 8:38, and in 1 Cor. 4:9, 6:3, 11:10, 13:1, Gal. 3:19, Col. 2:18, 2 Thess. 1:7, 1 Tim. 3:16, 5:21, Heb. 1:4 - 7, 13, 2:2, 5, 7, 9, 16, 12:22, 13:2. 1 Pet. 1:12, 3:22 has also Peter speaking of angels looking into God's work, and being subject under the authority of Jesus Christ. Peter further refers to the evil ones in 2 Pet. 2:4, 11 being cast into hell for their sins, and the holy ones not bringing railing accusations against false teachers. Jude, too, made reference to angels in Jude 6, those who also went to hell and await their judgment day. Finally, angels are referred to a number of times in the Revelation of the apostle John in Rev. 1:20, 2:1,8, 12, 18, 3:1, 5, 7, 14, 5:11, 7:1 - 2, 11, 8:2, 6, 13, 9:14 - 15, 12:7, 9, 14:10, 15:1, 6 - 8, 16:1, 17:1, 21:9 & 12. The angels starting in chapter 7 begin having tasks to perform regarding the Tribulation and wrath of God, interacting with those left on the earth in those fateful days.

Jesus was referred to as an Angel of God in such parts of Scripture as Gen. 31:11 - 13, 48:16. Israel even said of the Angel in the latter verse that He "...redeemed me from all evil"! Other references to the Lord being as an Angel of the Lord appear in Scripture after Gen. 18:1 - 33 in Gen. 3:2 - 4:17, where initially it is written an Angel of the Lord, but later written as God speaking to Moses with instruction; in Exod. 14:19, as the pillar of cloud between the Israelites and the Egyptians; and in Exod. 23:20 - 23, to keep them in the way. The Lord is similarly referred to as "an angel of the Lord" in Judg. 2:1 - 4, where He rebukes the people of Bochim.

Num. 22:22 - 35 has an odd story of an angel of the Lord ready to smite to death Balaam, but he was saved by his ass. because the donkey saw the angel in the way, she impeded Balaam's progress where he wanted to go to the point Balaam hit her three times. The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey so that she had a short dialogue with Balaam, after which the angel of the Lord was made visible to him by the Lord Himself. The angel explains to Balaam his fortune of having the ass keep him from being slain by the angel, and Balaam confessed his sin and expressed repentance that he should get back, but the angel told him to go with the men he was with and to speak only what the angel gave him to say. So here we have an incident of interaction between a man, his donkey, and an angel of the Lord.

Judg. 5:23 has an angel of the Lord cursing bitterly the city of Muroz for its inaction in assisting Israel against the Canaanites. Again in Judg. 6:11 - 23, the angel of God called Gideon to action against the Midianites, amazingly causing fire to consume kid flesh and cakes with the touch of his staff! Still in Judg. 13:3 - 23, another theophany occurred with the announcement of the birth of Samson to a Danite family deemed barren until the angel of the Lord visited Manoah's wife with instructions against alcoholic beverages and unclean food throughout her pregnancy and that he is to be a lifelong nazarite to God. Manoah asks God to send the angel again, and God did so, and the angel restated to Manoah that which was first stated to his wife.

While not an actual angel, king David was referred to as being like an angel in such passages of Scripture as 1 Sam. 29:9, 2 Sam. 14:17, 20, and 19:27. In 2 Sam. 24:10 - 25, however, Gad, David's seer, after David realizes his sin, comes to him with three consequences for his sin. David mentions the greatness of God's mercy, and wisely picks the third choice. An angel of the Lord destroys 70,000 people from Dan to Beer-sheba with pestilence, but the Lord halted the angel at Jerusalem. David speaks to the angel, asking that his hand be against David and his father's house rather than against the people, and Gad comes to David with instructions to build an altar to God in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. David obeys, buying the property and some oxen for 50 shekels of silver. This purchase has become the most contested piece of real estate on the face of the earth, because if you read 2 Sam. 24:16, you will realize that purchase has become...Jerusalem!

An unusual lesson is given concerning angels in 1 Kings 13:1 - 32. Two men of God are mentioned in this passage, one of Beth-el, and one of Judah. The prophet of Judah was obeying the word of the Lord up to the point until he met the prophet of Beth-el. At that point, the prophet of Beth-el lied to the other, and told him an angel of the Lord spoke to him. He said the angel instructed him to bring the prophet of Judah back to his house to eat bread and drink water, and so the prophet of Judah heeded the other prophet, because he said he received such instructions from an angel of the Lord. After eating, the prophet of Beth-el gave the prophet of Judah a prophecy of his death. After leaving, a lion met the prophet on his way, and slew him, but left his carcase uneaten, and his ass stood there, unmolested by the lion, a clear testimony of God's divine judgment against the prophet of Judah. The lesson here was obvious; believe an angel in person, not an angel in the mouth of a man or woman!

In 1 Kings 19:5, 7 an angel twice tells Isaiah to arise and eat. Apparently this angel brought him food and drink. It is the first example of an angel ministering to a human.

There are few angels named in the bible; angels' names, in general, are supposed to be a secret (see Judg. 13:18). The first is Gabriel; his name first appears in Dan. 8:16, then 9:21. His name also appears in Luke 1:19, 26, and the fourth and last time it appears is when he tells Mary about having a son, the Son of God. Another angel, and the only other good one named in the bible, is Michael. His name appears in Dan. 10:13, 21, 12:1, Jude 1:9, and Rev. 12:7. Now there are also named two evil angels, and the first one is Satan. He first is identified by the name Satan in 1 Chron. 21:1; prior to that, he is known as the serpent in Gen. 3:1, who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. He pops up again in Job 1:6 - 9, 12, 2:1 - 4, 6 - 7, and of course we know what trouble he made for Job. He again appears in Ps. 109:6, Zech. 3:1 - 2, and Matt. 4:10. He is mentioned by Jesus in Matt 12:26 and Mark 8:33, and Jesus turns to Peter and addresses him by the name Satan in Matt. 16:23. His name also appears in Mark 1:13, 3:23, 26, 4:15 in Jesus' parable, Luke 4:8, 10:18, 11:18, 13:16, 22:3, 31, John 13:27, Acts 5:3, 26:18, Rom. 16:20, 1Cor. 5:5, 7:5, 2 Cor. 2:11, 11:14, 12:7, 1 Thess. 2:18, 2 Thess. 2:9, 1 Tim. 1:20, 5:15, Rev. 2:9, 13, 24, 3:9, 12:9, 20:2, and 7. And that's only using his name of Satan. Then there's his name Lucifer; that only appears once in Isa. 14:12; Beelzebub, which means lord of the flies, appears in Matt. 10:25, 12:24, 27, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15, 18, and 19. Satan appears a number of ways more, such as by the name devil, serpent, dragon, etc., but for you and I it's only more of the same being. One last other angel is named, and he has two different names, actually depending on whether you speak Greek or Hebrew. It is in Rev. 9:11; "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

So we see that the bible is saturated with both good and evil angels. For all who believe in the bible, like me, they, too, believe in angels.

Hey, Why Aren't My Prayers Being Answered?

HEY, WHY AREN'T MY PRAYERS BEING ANSWERED?

New Christians learning how to pray may look excitedly for their prayers to be answered, and wonder what's wrong when they pray for something or someone, and their prayer doesn't get answered; or at least, not in the way they expect. They may not know that every prayer they pray, God hears, but He has three ways of answering them, and two out of three are not necessarily how we want them answered, but that's God's way. God's three answers to prayer are yes, no, and wait, but often in our humanity we want the answers to always be yes, and we want His response to be immediate, but again, God doesn't work that way, and we really don't want His answer to be no, and He may try our patience with His answer of "wait". Let's look at how prayer started and evolved into what we know of it today. There is a way to pray effectively, but again, you don't always get the answer you want.

In the days of Abram, or Abraham, it was considered a blessing from God to have a son, an heir to hand down to. God promised Abram a son in Gen. 12:2, but when would God answer the prayer of Abram to have a son? Gen. 17:21 - 24 gives us that Abraham was 100 years old when his wife Sarah finally bore Isaac! It may seem an extreme answer "wait" from God to you, but imagine the joy Abraham and Sarah must've had to have their son Isaac finally born well into their old age! While "wait" tries our patience, when the answer is finally "yes", imagine the joy a person may have such as the joy Abraham and Sarah had.

When you pray, do you know it is a demonstration to God that you believe in Him? Consider 1 Sam. 12:23; "Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:" Samuel actually considered it a sin against the Lord not to pray! This is not confined to the Old Testament, because in James 5:16 we are also commanded to pray for one another, that we might be healed, and it says to confess our faults to one another, that the other may pray wisely for your sake. Now consider the prayer of one of the greatest prophets of the bible, Elijah, in 1 Kings 17:20 - 23; "And he cried unto the Lord, and said, 'O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?' And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, 'O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.' And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth." Note that Elijah prayed for a good thing, the resurrection of the boy, and that the other person involved was a widow. There are a number of references to widows and the fatherless where God commends we take care in how we treat them, and here is an instance where a prayer was answered immediately "yes" by God.

Let us look upon another example of the Lord saying yes to a prayer. 2 Kings 20:1 - 6 has God changing the fate of a king due to his effective prayer; "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, 'I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.'" Note how the king took a position of humility, his face to the wall as he prayed, and he cried unbridled tears, a sign of a genuinely contrite heart. Our compassionate, merciful, forgiving God answered Hezekiah's prayer with a yes, and sent the prophet Isaiah back to the king to tell him the Lord granted him 15 more years of life! Unfortunately, his son, Manasseh, did so much evil in the sight of the Lord, prophecies against Judah resulted, so some prayers should not be prayed, and we should trust God. It can be a marvel when God answers a prayer like Hezekiah's, knowing the result will be offspring highly abominable in their behavior toward God.

1 John 3:19 - 24 has this to say about prayer; "And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." We can sometimes be too strict in examining our lives, in our judgment of ourselves, and this can rob us of the confidence we should have when we pray. If we do not come confidently to the Father with our petitions, our prayers may be answered with a "no". We need to believe all that Christ is, not just for the salvation He gifted us with, but also for answered prayer, as He is our Mediator to the Father. Ask for things of the Father in Jesus' name, and believe, just as Jesus commanded, that you will receive them. If they are in His will, you will receive them. He commanded this in Matt. 18:19 - 20; "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Whereas more than one of us are gathered in fellowship praying for a good thing, believing we shall receive, Christ assures us He is with us as we pray. In Matt. 7:7 - 11 it is written that Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Again, here it is said by the Lord that if we ask, believing, for any good thing, we shall receive it. And in Mark 11:23 - 24 it says, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Once again Christ tells us strong belief that we shall receive what we pray for, that we shall have. If you pray for the recovery of some person in 4th stage cancer, and you allow the grimness of health and the sureness of the disease under ordinary circumstances to cause doubt to prevail that your prayer will be answered "no", then you will probably get the answer "no". After all, didn't you expect such an answer? However, Jesus is telling you right here in this passage of scripture that if you have faith as strong as that of Elijah's in what I have previously written, He will bring the dead back to life! In John 14:12 - 14 it is written, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it."

Now at this point I would like to show a part of the gospel where Jesus appears to explain how fasting must be combined with prayer to make it possible to expel a certain demon. If you go to Matt. 17:14 - 18, Jesus rebukes a devil, and it departs from a child. But in Matt. 19 - 21, this is written; "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, 'Why could not we cast him out?' And Jesus said unto them, 'Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.'" Apparently the apostles tried previously to expel this demon, and they couldn't do it, and also apparent is that they did not fast prior to attempting to expel it, which would account for Jesus bringing it up. Nevertheless, He also points to their lack of belief that they could do it that the devil refused to leave the child. This points again to what I said about trying to pray for someone in a final stage of cancer; any doubt can equal a "no" answer.

In 2 Kings 20:2, Hezekiah faced the wall when he prayed, and his prayer was effective. Jesus also speaks of standing when praying in Mark 11:25; "And when ye stand praying...". But kneeling is also an acceptable position, as in Dan. 6:10 - 11; "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God." The position doesn't seem to be a problem for God to find acceptable, but there do seem to be some problems with the methodology involved, which Jesus explains in Matt. 6:5 - 8; "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." If someone has it in their heart to pray in public and for the wrong reason, it is NOT condoned by God, they have their reward from people looking at them as honorable for doing so. But if you pray in private, where people do not see, this is an honorable method of prayer that the Father is guaranteed to reward openly as it is the promise of Christ in this passage of scripture. Note also that Jesus says not to say the same words over and over, or the same prayer all the time, as it hardly comes from the heart.

More instruction on prayer is found in 1 Tim. 2:1- 8; "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." Here Paul instructs that we pray for one another, including our senators and presidents and all others in authority, whether we approve of them or have a high disdain for them; note no reason for omitting praying for anyone is given. Men are to lead in public prayer, and there can be no wrath or doubting present in the mind for prayer to be acceptable.

Now there are two scripture passages that explain how prayer will not be answered by God. The first is in James 1:5 - 8; "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." If someone goes back and forth between believing and unbelief, God isn't going to give them anything they ask, for throughout this teaching, you can find passage after passage of scripture wherein it is written that you MUST believe to get a "yes" answer.

There is one more reason for God not to answer prayer, and it is found in James 4:3; "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." This means if a person asks for something of God for selfish reasons, or for an evil cause, that person is wasting their breath. These people can be people who believe that there is a God, but do not have a relationship with Him, or if they do, they do not realize what they are asking for is selfish or has an evil end to it, or it is not in God's will for you. For example, asking God to damn someone, or kill them, is against the commandment of Jesus in Matt. 5:44, wherein He commands us to love our enemies, bless them who curse us, and even to pray for them who persecute and use us! At the worst, we might ask God to put distance between us and a persecutor, but to ask harm upon them is amiss. Then there are those who ask God for a million dollars, or a Mercedes Benz, or some other thing of worldly value, and these are examples of asking amiss. Still other forms of asking amiss are petitions of a carnal nature or other perverse things.

Lastly, don't forget to thank God for answered prayer, as the Samaritan leper in Luke 17:12 - 19; "And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, "Go shew yourselves unto the priests." And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger." And He said unto him, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."

So now we have seen that one of the greatest pillars of successful prayer are belief. We should pray for things in the realm of the Father's will, and not for selfish or evil things. The cornerstone, of course, is asking in Jesus' name, as Jesus instructed, believing He will do what you pray for. Pray selflessly more often than for things to your benefit, and pray both for those who love you and those who hate you. Finally, don't forget to thank Him who answered your prayer!

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.