A look at Bible prophecy in view of the unfolding events in today’s news, as we see the lineup of nations forming for the Last Days Gog Magog War of Ezekiel 38 and 39, against Israel.
(Note: the Gog Magog War is viewed by many Bible scholars as separate from the Battle of Armageddon, as the Bible says the Battle of Armageddon will include ALL the nations of the world, and the Ezekiel 38 War will involve only five nations; however nevertheless it is very interesting to note as we view today’s news, how this lineup of nations is forming for this Gog Magog War.)
Ezekiel 38 – The Gog Magog War
These are the nations that are listed in Ezekiel 38:5-6: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.”
As we identify these other nations that will join with Russia, we discover that all of them are Islamic nations:
Persia – Today this is the nation known as Iran.
Ethiopia – Do not confuse this with modern day Ethiopia. The Ethiopia described by Ezekiel was located directly south of Egypt and would correspond to the modern country of Sudan.
Libya = It is remarkable that the ancient country of Libya corresponds to the modern country of Libya. We would think the country would change names after more than 2500 years, but it has not.
Gomer and Togarmah = These ancient names found their location in what today is the country of Turkey.
Thus, the four countries which will align themselves with Russia to invade Israel are these:
Iran
Sudan
Libya
Turkey
The Bible is truly an integrated message system; and though it contains 66 books that have been penned by 40 authors, over a period spanning over thousands of years, nevertheless the Bible as a whole bears strong irrefutable evidence of supernatural engineering and origin in every detail; and most importantly it contains a common message throughout that centers around the coming Jewish Messiah.
As just one evidence of this fact, I’d like to draw your attention to a Gospel message that is hidden in the first ten names listed in the first genealogy list (from Adam to Noah) that is given in the Bible, and can be found in Genesis chapter 5.
If you take the Hebrew meaning of each name that is given, and then line it up in the sequential order of their birth, as listed in the Bible, this is what you get:
Hebrew
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
English
Man
Appointed
Mortal
Sorrow
The Blessed God
Shall come down
Teaching
His death shall bring
The Despairing
Rest, or comfort
Then as you lineup the meaning of each name side by side, this is the sentence that is formed:
“Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.”
There are many such proofs that the Bible is of extra terrestrial origin; however there are some today who would argue that the Bible is just another book.
However one way to know for sure that the Bible is truly the inerrant Word of God is the fact that it is the ONLY book ever written that accurately gives the future as history.
As another example there are some 300 prophecies that are given in the Bible, regarding the coming Jewish Messiah.
What are the mathematical odds that any one person would fulfill even eight of these?
To answer the question what is the probability of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies, the principal of probability is applied.
Therefore, multiplying all eight probabilities together (1 times 2.8 x 105 x 103 x 102 x 103 x 103 x 105 x 103 x 104) gives us 2.8 x 1028, or for simplicity sake 1 x 1028 or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Given this and the time span between the writings of the Old Testament and the fulfillment by Christ in the New Testament, the prophecies were either given to the prophets by God, or the prophets just wrote them down as they thought they should be.
With Christ fulfilling all eight prophecies, what are the odds the prophets were just guessing?
God has made it crystal clear how we can recognize who the Messiah would be; and you have to bend over backwards to ignore this evidence.
The fact is there is ONLY one person who stands on the stage of history who meets ALL of these requirements, and His name is Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (Jesus Christ).
And for anyone willing to do their homework and check out these facts, they will find that this is true; and not only that but the Bible has also consistently been used over the years as the most reliable reference source in discerning the chronological events of biblical history; and also in locating archeological sites, that are mentioned in the Bible.
It is very interesting to note today how the events we are seeing in the news are lining up with what the Bible says will happen.
Below is an article about how Syria is bowing out of any alignment with Iran (Persia) against Israel.
Shalom,
Skip Barland
In today’s news, Syria bows out:
Syria Told Iran: ‘We’re Too Weak’ to Help You Fight Israel
Tevet 5, 5771, 12 December 10 05:37
by Gil Ronen
(Israelnationalnews.com) Tehran asked Syria one year ago to say that it would join Iran and its proxy militia, Hizbullah, in case of a war with Israel, but Syria refused. According to JTA, this information is included in a US diplomatic cable made public by Wikileaks.
The cable from the US embassy in Syria is dated Dec. 22, 2009, and is one of thousands published by WikiLeaks in recent weeks. It relates to a visit to Syria by four high-level Iranian officials and the signing of a defense memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
“Syria reportedly resisted Iranian entreaties to commit to joining Iran if fighting broke out between Iran and Israel or Hizbullah and Israel,” said the cable, which was signed by Chuck Hunter, the charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Syria.
The cable quoted a source whose identity has been redacted:
“XXXXXXXXXXXX said Iranian officials were in Syria ‘to round up allies’ in anticipation of an Israeli military strike. ‘It (an Israeli strike on Iran) is not a matter of if, but when,’ XXXXXXXXXXXX said, reporting what Syrian officials had heard from their Iranian counterparts. The Syrian response was to tell the Iranians not to look to Syria, Hezbollah or Hamas to ‘fight this battle.’ ‘We told them Iran is strong enough on its own to develop a nuclear program and to fight Israel,’ he said, adding, ‘we’re too weak.’ The Iranians know Syria has condemned Israeli threats and would denounce Israeli military operations against Iran. ‘But they were displeased with [Syrian leader Bashar] Assad’s response. They needed to hear the truth,’ XXXXXXXXXXXX said.”
JTA said that while the Iranian visit to Syria was touted at the time as a signal of Syrian support for Iran in its showdown with the West, the cable “notes signs and reports that the Syrians were not eager to receive their guests.”
The Syrian government timed visits from French and Turkish dignitaries to coincide with the period of the Iranians’ visit. The presidential spokeswoman discussed the other visits in a press conference but “barely touched on the Iranians.”
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
(Please note: this is an important enough subject that God did not leave it open to subjective means of interpretation, but he left us a concrete road map, in the form of biblical prophecy, in order that we not miss Him; and mind you there is ONLY one person on the stage of history, who meets ALL of these prophetic requirements.)
(Who were the Magi, the Wise Men from the East? They were students of the Prophet Daniel, and his prophecy regarding the coming Messiah)
The true meaning of Christmas involves the reconciliation between God and His much loved, howbeit estranged children, of all those who would by faith in God’s covenant, receive forgiveness for their sins, through the sacrifice and propitious work of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, when He offered up His life and died in our place, as our Passover Lamb, as a covering for our sins.
No longer is there a need for us to sacrifice animals, as was required under the old covenant (which only provided a temporary covering and had to be repeated every year); but now after having had our sins laid on Him, we are now free to live for Him and also to serve Him forever… which is in fact the whole meaning of life… to serve and to worship God!
John 3
Born from Above
1-2 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we all know you’re a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren’t in on it.”
3Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.”
4“How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”
5-6Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.
7-8“So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”
9Nicodemus asked, “What do you mean by this? How does this happen?”
10-12Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?
13-15“No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.
16-18“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
19-21“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”
For all of you who read my blog, it is my prayer and hope for each of you this season, that on the day which we have set aside to celebrate the birth of our Messiah, who is also Saviour of the world, that it would mark a new beginning for each of you; that as we close out the year 2010, and as we begin anew the year 2011 that this new year will bring not only new beginnings, but also along with it that it would included a brighter, a blessed, and a more prosperous future, as we all start this new year with our priorities in order; and that means that God would once again rein supreme in the hearts and lives of His people, of each and every one of us, who have made Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (His name in Hebrew, meaning: Saviour, the Messiah) numero uno; and that He would rule in each of our lives; and direct each of us with His wisdom and light, by and through the precious Holy Spirit, who indwells the hearts of each one of us who has been born-again… as explained in the above verses of Scripture, by Yeshua to Nicodemus!
Make no mistake, but that this is the TRUE meaning of Christmas, that this message be announced to the world!
It is very important for each of us, whether or not we accept this message of the Gospel, and whether we conform and pattern our lives to follow Yeshua, as His disciples; because, as per the words of Yeshua, there is no other way unto the Father, and no one (and the Bible makes it very clear that NO ONE) can come to the Father, or even see the Kingdom of Heaven, unless, as Yeshua (Jesus–Saviour) says, we are born-again; and come by way of His Sacrifice and death on Calvary’s cross!
We mustn’t allow our intellect and pride get in the way, and we mustn’t get puffed up to the point we think that we because of our education and intellect are some how exempt from these requirements, because we aren’t!
Jesus made it very clear that unless we become as little children, in our childlike faith and trust, which we all had at one time, and unless we surrender our pride and humble ourselves before God, that we shall not ever experience the Kingdom of Heaven
And so for the benefit of all you intellectuals out there, you must understand that these are God’s requirements for reconciliation, because we ourselves could never make the cut or meet His requirements by ourselves (apart from our faith in Jesus); and that’s because ONLY Jesus lived a righteous life, that was without sin, and only He paid the price and met the requirements of the Father, with His own life; and thus it is of utmost importance that we each comply, and it’s not so important that we agree or even understand; but sufficient is it to know that there is NO other name under heaven whereby we may be saved… except through the name of Jesus!
After all, God is God, and He created us… and we did not create ourselves… and so with that said, please listen up and obey! Selah
It is also my prayer for those of you who have yet to make that decision, to accept Yeshua as your personal Lord and Saviour, and thereby recognize Him also as your Messiah, that you, this year during this season, that you along with us, would know the REAL meaning of Christmas.
I pray also that ALL of us who are His offspring, who are made in His image and after His likeness, that through the Holy Spirit (who has been given to each one who is born-again), that we each would come to know Him (Jesus) better (and also our Heavenly Father through Him, as was the plan); and that we each would become one with this ONE who gave us our life, who created us; and then paid the price to redeem us, by offering up His life on the cross of Calvary, in order to make us one with Him, and give us each the privilege of spending eternity with Him!
And with that, I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year!
A look at our Navy Seal Training Program, as an interesting perspective into the extensive and very hard training required by our military, in this very dangerous world of today, verses the preparation which God puts His covenant children through, in order to train us for spiritual warfare for His service, and for life!
Let us start by taking our lesson today from the pages of our operations manual for life, the Holy Bible:
1 Corinthians 10 (Message Bible)
1-5Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.
6-10The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—”First the people partied, then they threw a dance.” We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.
11-12These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
13No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.
We had a men’s retreat once at my church that I used to attend, CMC in Laguna Niquel, that I shall never forget.
As it happened our Pastor’s son-in-law was and still is a Navy Seal; and the subject of the retreat was to compare the very severe testing that is necessary in order to qualify as a Navy Seal; and what we, as members of God’s army, go through in our training in order to be trained for His service.
There are many scriptures in the Bible that I can think of that address this topic, but one of my favorites is the following:
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” —1st Peter 1:6-7
As it happens for many of us, and as also it happened for Job as well (whose story we can read about in the Bible), there are many things in life that appear the exact opposite of what most people think or expect.
Actually I think for many of us, if truly we had understood ahead of time how hard this Christian life would be, prior to signing up, there would have been many of us who possibly would have had second thoughts.
I can remember hearing once a comment that Corrie Ten Boom made, who was a Dutch lady and servant of Christ, who together with her family had been involved with the Dutch Underground Movement, that was smuggling Jewish families out of Holland during the second World War, in order to escape the Nazi Concentration camps.
As it happened she lost her entire family inside a Nazi Concentration camp, and her life was spared only through a clerical error, that had her released prior to everyone else in her unit being murdered; and all this was owed to her family having been betrayed by a fellow countryman who was also a Nazi collaborator.
I also remember the story of another woman, a missionary bride by the name of Darlene Rose, an American lady who was going to Indonesia to join her new husband, who had gone on ahead of her, just as the war broke out.
Her husband was murdered, and she spent the duration of the war as a Japanese prisoner of war, inside of Indonesia; and both of these very brave women, after having experienced the worse of the worse, in all kinds of abuse and cruelty, in something that can only be described as hell on earth, in spite of all this, each of them had the same comment, when they said: “I wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything in the world, and even though I wouldn’t want to do it again, I have gained through these experiences knowledge about the faithfulness and love of God that I could not have learned any other way“… and therein is my point!
There is also a rhyme and reason for our hardships and stresses too, and for information on why, all we need do is look to the Bible.
I truly believe that our strongest asset in America today, and also our strongest hope for tomorrow, as a nation, is first owed to our long established Judaic/Christian heritage and history, together with our once strong and established faith in God; all of which is a legacy that was left to us by our founding fathers, howbeit today it has gotten rather tarnished and weak.
In addition, I also believe our next strongest asset, in our country, can be found in the brave men and women in uniform, who are serving in our nation’s armed forces, without whose sacrifice, both today and in the past, our nation wouldn’t even exist!!!
With that said, I believe truly it is ultimately our faith in God, first of all and foremost, among those who still believe, and also our prayers, that represents our nation’s strongest defense today against the tyranny and subversive agenda that would seek to undermine and subvert our liberty as a nation; much of which, I’m sad to say, comes from within our own government, in the halls of congress and in the White House!
It is too bad that the same loyalty that is common place in our nation’s military is not also mirrored among our nation’s leadership, among those who have been elected to preserve, protect and defend our freedom and our nation’s constitution; but who have instead betrayed both… and I’m talking here about presidents and congressmen, made up of both Republicans and Democrats.
It is these compromised, bought and paid for individuals, who are traitors to both our Constitution and our country, who are today our weakest link; whose agenda it is to subvert our way of life and our Constitutional form of government, that was designed by our founding fathers to operate as a Republic, into what they have called a “New World Order,” which is the name these same Globalist Banksters have given to the system they are trying to erect, that will ultimately be the Antichrist kingdom that is talked about and described in the Book of Revelation.
So consequently, God is about raising up His army today, in order to counter the traitors among those who have sold our country out; and who knows, maybe some of them will even get saved and join us… I hope so!
In any case we need to understand that whatever you may be facing today, if you are a covenant child of God, it is to make you strong and prepare you for battle.
If you are not yet a covenant child of God, then possibly your problems are to bring you to your place of need, as a way to introduce you to your Creator, who loves you and died for you.
Either way, the message is the same, God loves ALL of humanity, and His offer of reconciliation applies to all equally, regardless of where you are, or what you have done.
As long as you are not yet pushing up daisies, then the Bible says that you still qualify to receive God’s offer of forgiveness and reconciliation; but once you have passed on from this life it is too late!
What a strange concept… to think that the very frustrations, sorrows and tribulations which we face on a daily basis are worth more than billions of dollars in the eyes of God.
People often think the opposite is truth.
Whereas most believers sulk in their problems — wondering “why” God won’t answer their prayers — and again, the answer is found in 1st Peter 1:7.
God’s desire and intent for our struggles is in order to test our faith; and though we may not like it, it is certainly Biblical.
Hebrews 11:6 states: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Faith pleases God, and without faith we are destitute.
The trial of our faith pleases God, because it makes our faith stronger if we hang in there, and we don’t quit.
There are many believers who think God is ignoring them, or has abandoned them, when bad things happen in their life.
Again, God says in 1st Peter 1:7 that the “trial of your faith “is” much more precious than gold that perishes.”
Just ask the average Christian today whether they would prefer a pile of gold, or trials and tribulations?
Who wouldn’t take the gold… myself included; but that’s not God’s way!
Could it be that God is testing our loyalty and our perseverance, in order to determine whether or not He can even trust us?
I believe that the Bible is very clear on this point.
The fact is, we have been given more than most, here in America, especially when you consider the rest of the world; and the Bible also says, “To whom much is given, much is expected!”
Times in our country today are rough, and there’s no getting around that fact; and I dare say it will get even worse, before it gets better; but we who are Believers, who call ourselves after His name—”Christians,” we need to understand, as the Bible says, that every time the enemy comes in like a flood, and overwhelms so many, it is at those very times that the Lord always raises a standard up against him!
So if you and I want to be a part of God’s army, and resists the enemy’s efforts, then we have to get on board with God’s training program, and not quit, or be discouraged in the heat of battle!
These problems and travails that are hassling so many today, and wearing so many down, are not to destroy us; but the Bible says they are to make us strong.
So just as with the Navy Seal Training, God is about training his Covenant Children for spiritual warfare; and though the training often times is grueling and hard, the trade off will come after the training is complete, and we are put into service, with the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit, winning this lost world to Christ. Selah
As a part of humanity, whether acknowledged or not and whether one happens to be a believer, an agnostic or an atheist, ALL of mankind is at war with an unseen enemy, whom the Bible says walks about as a roaring lion seeking them whom he can devour!
The Bible is actually a love letter that has been given to God’s children, and in it we are given the history of all that God has done in order to be reconciled with His estranged and much loved children.
It also contains a road map that gives directions to all of God’s estranged children, of all who will heed His message and respond by faith, in how they can enter into covenant relationship with God and be restored back into His eternal family.
The oldest book in the Bible is the book of Job (believed to have been written between 2000 – 1800 BC), and in it we are given a view behind the veil, in what goes on behind the scenes in what the Bible terms the Second Heaven, which I believe not to be a geographic location that can be seen in the natural or physical realm, or plotted on a map; but rather I believe it to be another dimension.
There are Astro Physicists today who have stated that they believe there may be as many as 11 different dimensions, and only 3 of them are discernable in the natural.
Interesting enough, the ancient Hebrew Bible scholars of old had arrived at that same conclusion and/or hypotheses many years ago, just from their understanding and study of the Scriptures alone.
Jesus said that God is a Spirit and all who would worship Him (meaning also to have communion with Him) must do so in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24).
As members of mankind, as created beings ourselves, the Bible tells us that we are God’s offspring, and that we have been created in the image and likeness of God; and though we are created after His image and likeness, it is not in our physical makeup, or in a physical sense here that is being talked about; but rather it is our spiritual man who is created in the image and likeness of God.
We are in fact spiritual beings who happen to live in a physical earth suit, called our bodies, which the Bible terms as a temporary tent, if you will, or habitation.
It is these natural earth suits, which are our natural bodies, which are made of mere clay, that gives to us the ability to relate to our natural environment and interact and relate to the natural world around us; and we do this through our five natural senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
The Bible tells us that God has given to man (the descendants of Adam) what amounts to a 6,000 year lease in the earth; and God has also commanded that ONLY those who have this earth suit, who are also of the descendants of Adam, that only they are to have dominion in the world.
However subsequent to the fall of man, though Adam’s disobedience, there has been a separation between mankind and their Creator; and owed to the fact that Adam and his descendants were barred from partaking of the Tree of Life, this tent, which is made of clay, eventually wears out and dies; and then the natural components of our body returns to the earth from which it came; this is not so however with our spirit man, for it is our spirit man that is made in the image and likeness of God, and as such it is eternal.
We are told in the Bible that it is sin that has entered into the human race, and this thing called sin has caused this estrangement between God and His beloved creation and offspring, which are His children.
Now what this thing called sin is has also been explained for us in the Bible.
It is this natural tendency which we all have, which we have inherited from our father Adam, where “All of us as sheep have gone astray, each choosing his/or her own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (Yeshua—Saviour and Messiah) the inequity of us all“ (Isa 53:6).
In other words, that one tendency which is so common to us all, as members of humanity, which by the way is something that is very often championed by the world, in what the world has called self assertion and ambition, when exercised apart from the will of God and the destiny of God for our lives, it is that very tendency that the Bible has characterized as “sin,” that has caused this estrangement and separation from God; and if it is not dealt with according to God’s justice system, then it will keep us estranged and separated from God for all eternity.
Where we will live in eternity, after this life on earth is over, and whether we will reside in unending communion and fellowship with God, who is our Abba Father and Creator; or whether we will be forced into living in eternal estrangement and separation from God, that is the subject of the Bible, and the resolution of this very serious problem is what the Bible calls the Good News (the Gospel), and it is also what the message of the Bible is all about.
In the Bible we are given a road map of how we can reenter into a process of reconciliation and forgiveness, and be reunited in covenant relationship, fellowship, and communion with our Creator; and this is done as we receive the gift of salvation and forgiveness for our sins, which has been paid for in full through the sacrificial life, death, and reconciliation of Messiah Yeshua, who is our Passover Lamb, who died in our stead in order to pay the penalty for our trespasses and sins; that we can be free to reenter into communion and fellowship with God, who is our Heavenly Father again.
This is God’s agreement or covenant that He has ordained with His estranged children that began first with the covenant which He made with father Abraham:
Genesis 17
The Sign of the Covenant
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
God later promised to make a new covenant between Himself and Israel:
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:31-32).
How and why did the Israel fail to fulfill their obligations under their covenant with God?
“They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them” (Psalm 78:10-11).
“And may [they] not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (verse 8).
“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29).
By disobeying God—flouting His laws—Israel violated the terms of the covenant. They simply did not have a desire, commitment or willingness to follow God’s ways and instructions; and they did what comes naturally for ALL mankind, which is they disobeyed God and they hated His law (Romans 8:7).
But God had a solution to resolve this estrangement problem, which has been caused by “sin” and that solution involved God Himself paying the penalty for our sins; where He became our Passover Lamb, in the person of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, and His blood applied to our lives brings us the long sought after forgiveness and reconciliation back into God’s heavenly family.
The day Yeshua became our Passover Lamb:
“Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
Lamb of God – The Messiah
The Messiah is called the “Lamb of God” throughout the Bible’s New Testament. This may seem a peculiar label to those who aren’t familiar with biblical idioms, but to those who know their Bible, it is a cherished title for the beloved Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Lamb of God – Biblical Roots
Prophetic pictures and references to the coming Lamb of God are scattered throughout the Bible’s Old Testament.
Indeed, many Bible scholars believe that the entire Bible (66 books written by 40 authors over a period of approximately 1,600 years) tells the story of Jesus Christ.
Every story, every genealogy, every number, every page, every detail speaks of our Lord and Savior.
In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we find one of the better-known prophecies of the coming Lamb of God. In Genesis 22, God commands Abraham to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. God is not endorsing child sacrifice among men — He is foretelling His Child sacrifice for men.
Abraham is obedient to God, not willing to keep anything from God, even his beloved son. This was a test for Abraham and a testimony to the world. On the way to the altar, Isaac asks his dad, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” In response, Abraham prophesied, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:7-8).
When they arrive at the place of sacrifice, Abraham prepares to offer Isaac to the Lord, but before Abraham could slay his child, God stops him. We read, “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me'” (Genesis 22:10-12).
Before they leave the mountain top where Abraham was to offer Isaac, Abraham again prophesies the coming of the Lamb of God, “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen'” (Genesis 22:14).
Approximately 2,000 years later, upon that very same mountain just outside of Jerusalem, God offered His only Son, the Lamb of God, as a sin offering to reconcile fallen man to the Holy Living God Almighty.
Lamb of God – The Passover Lamb
The Lamb of God is dramatically revealed in Exodus 12 and 13, with the Jewish Feast of the Passover. This is perhaps the most compelling foreshadow of the coming Lamb of God, the Messiah.
The Passover Feast occurs each year on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. It is eaten in remembrance of the Lord “passing over” the houses of those who had sacrificed the Passover Lamb and sprinkled its blood on their wooden doorposts and mantles, while the angel of death visited those who had not sprinkled the blood of the lamb.
The angel of death was the final of ten plagues sent by God to redeem His people from slavery in Egypt, the land of their bondage. Approximately 1,500 years later, on the 14th day of Nisan, the Passover Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed upon a wooden cross for the sins of all mankind. When the Day of the Lord comes, those who have covered themselves in the blood of the Lamb by accepting Christ will be kept safe while the world pays for their rebellion against God.
Lamb of God – “Who Takes Away the Sin of the World!”
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
This was John the Baptist’s declaration in John 1:29 upon seeing Jesus for the first time.
John the Baptist was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight'” (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3).
He warned the world to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).
The Apostles “went out and preached that people should repent” (Mark 6:12), and Jesus declared, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3,5). “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19).
God Almighty has given this testimony to a fallen world: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
In the scriptures below, given in John Chapter 3, a man by the name of Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Yeshua (Jesus) by night; and it is here that God’s remedy and solution for this estrangement problem is given.
This forgiveness and reconciliation comes to us as a free gift, by grace; and all that is necessary for us to be included in this reconciled relationship, and to have our sins forgiven, is for us to accept Messiah Yeshua’s sacrifice on Calvary’s cross by faith:
John 3
1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.[b] 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[c] 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[e] has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[f]
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[g]”
But here is where the battle begins:
1 Peter 5
Shepherd the Flock
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,[a] not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Submit to God, Resist the Devil
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
” God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”[b]
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may[d] the God of all grace, who called us[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
In the following devotion David Wilkerson expands on this subject and tells us how God has stacked all the odds in our favor, so that we can overcome and defeat this enemy, called the Devil or Satan!
It happens first by our having our sins forgiven, by entering into covenant relationship with God through faith in Messiah, as spelled out for us in the “Operations Manual” (the Holy Bible); and then by our learning to live by faith, as Father Abraham did; whereas the Bible says that he learned to look upon those things that are not, as though they were, through the eyes of faith, looking solely to the promises of God’s Word as his guide. Selah
Shalom,
Skip Barland
YOU ARE GOD’S TREASURE
by David Wilkerson | November 22, 2010
The Word says, “The adulteress will hunt for the precious life” (Proverbs 6:26) The adulteress spoken of in this verse is Satan. And he hunts down those who are precious to God.
The Bible gives us a vivid illustration of this in Numbers 13 and 14. Israel had sent twelve spies to search out the Promised Land. When the spies returned after forty days, ten of them planted three lies in the hearts of God’s people: (1) “There are too many people in the land; they’re too strong for us.” (2) “The cities are walled too high; the strongholds are impregnable.” And (3) “There are giants in the land, and we’re no match for them. We’re helpless! Finished!”
These lies took the heart right out of Israel. Scripture says the people endured a night of despair. “All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1). More than 2 million people were weeping, wailing, moaning—focused completely on their weaknesses and inabilities. Their wails of unbelief bombarded heaven.
Beloved, the devil throws the same three lies at God’s people today. “Your trials are too numerous. Your temptations are too overwhelming. You are too weak to resist the power coming against you.”
The word that God spoke to Israel is for us today also: “Ye shall be a special treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:5). “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar [precious, special] people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2).
Joshua and Caleb had a revelation of their preciousness in God’s eyes. They knew Israel was special to the Lord. That was the key to their hopeful spirit. Joshua said, “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us” (Numbers 14:8). In other words, “Because he delights in us, the land is as good as ours already.”
This is the same revelation David had: “He brought me out and delivered me—because he delighted in me.” Likewise, every victorious Christian today has this same revelation of their loving heavenly Father. “We can’t fail! All our enemies are meat for us, because we’re precious to the Lord.”
“He believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
(Genesis 15:6)
God has decreed that father Abraham be the example of FAITH that God looks for as the bases for relationship between Himself and His offspring, of all those who are in covenant relationship with Him, who are created in His image and after His likeness, of those who are the descendants of Adam’s seed!
In Genesis 17 we read where God says to father Abraham:
“I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
And in Zechariah we read of what we know today as the Israeli Palestinian Conflict:
Zechariah 12
The Coming Deliverance of Judah
1 The burden[a] of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
4 In that day,” says the LORD, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.’
6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.
7 “The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.
8 In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
In the next verses we learn how Israel will recognize her Messiah, and will mourn for the Pierced One
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.[b] 12 And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
Question: When did Israel pierce her Messiah?
For the answer let’s look to the Prophet Daniel, chapter 9:24-27; and please pay close attention to this prophecy, as it will literally blow your mind—as it is a mathematical prophecy that counts to the very day from the decree that was given to rebuild Jerusalem after 70 years of Babylonian captivity, until Messiah would be cut off—meaning killed—for the sins of His people:
Now let’s look to what the Bible prophesied regarding the descendants of Ishmael, and then look around you at the Arab Israeli conflict, as it exists today!
This is what the Bible says of the descendants of Ishmael:
Genesis 16:12 And he (Ishmael) will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Here Dennis Prager gives us a look at the truth behind this conflict between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael today:
This is where it ALL started, in a covenant which God made with father Abraham:
Genesis 17
The Sign of the Covenant
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Let the nations of the world be forewarned for the Bible says clearly that any nation or people that comes against or threatens the nation of Israel in any way is bringing God’s judgment and a curse upon themselves; as God’s promise was to bless all those who blessed Abraham’s descendants, and to curse all those who would curse her! Selah
His name in English is: Jesus, the Christ—Anointed One (Messiah)…
and He watches over His sheep!!!
Are you facing struggles in your life?
Read on…
Concentrate on this sentence:
“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did”
When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence:
“The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.” Something good will happen to you today, something that you have been waiting for.
Say this prayer:
God our Father, walk through my house and take away all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal my family – in Jesus name, Amen.
PASS IT ON
If you have yet to make that decision for Christ watch this video:
For those who have yet to accept Yeshua as Messiah, Lord, and Savior, and are looking for evidence that demands a verdict as to who he is, read on:
Fulfilled Prophecy as Evidence for the Bible’s Divine Origin
2,000 prophecies including some 300 prophecies and implications about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
There are no prophetic failures.
While there are both obvious and subtle prophecies, most are very detailed and specific.
No other religion has specific, repeated, and unfailing fulfillment of predictions many years in advance of contingent events over which the predictor had no control.
Studies of psychics show only around 8% of their predictions come true and virtually all of these can be attributed to chance and a general knowledge of circumstances.
Mathematicians have calculated the odds of Jesus fulfilling only 8 of the Messianic prophecies as 1 out of 1017 (a 1 followed by 17 zeros). This is equivalent to covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars 2 feet deep, marking one of them, mixing them all up and having a blind-folded person select the marked one at random the first time. For more on this, see What Are The Odds?
Fulfilled prophecy is powerful evidence that the Bible is divine rather than human in origin.
Objection: Jesus manipulated events to fulfill prophecy. Answer: (a) Many prophecies were out of his control (ancestry, place of birth, time of death). (b) His miracles confirmed Jesus to be the Messiah. (c) There is no evidence that Jesus was a deceiver. (d) In order to manipulate all the people (including his enemies) and even his disciples to make it appear that he was the Messiah, Jesus would have needed supernatural powers. If he had such powers, he must have been the Messiah he claimed to be.
The Law of Attraction the world’s way, verses God’s way…
Matthew 6:25-34
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
The world has it all wrong!
To hear the world speak on this subject, as we are all I am sure are very familiar with a recent and very popular publication entitled: The Law(s) of Attraction, life exists to serve “Self,” and to make us happy, for our pleasure as it were; but the Operation’s Manual, which we call the Holy Bible, says that we were created not for our pleasure, but for God’s!
In fact the Bible, in the Epistle of James, is very clear on this subject:
James 4
Pride Promotes Strife
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet[a] you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and[b] adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
” God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”[c]
Try as we will to make this life all about “Self,” the truth is that the things of this world are not enough to satisfy that God created hole in our heart!
How many of us spend our lives chasing that elusive golden carrot, in whatever shape or form that may take in your mind?
The truth is, unless that goal is centered around God’s purpose for your life, in the end it all boils down to nothing more than empty vanity, even as it says in 1 John 2:
“For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man (outside of God’s covenant), the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes NOT from the Father but from the world.”
The world’s philosophy for prosperity and fulfillment in life is but a lie; and Jesus described it like this:
Luke 12:15-
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness,[a] for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”‘
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a person being prosperous, for them to enjoy their life and to engage themselves in the “pursuit of happiness!”
That is the God given right of every individual, to give our all and do our best to be the best that we can; but when our ambitions and goals grow apart and separate from the path God has ordained for each of us, where we are doing as it says in Isaiah 53, where “We all like sheep have gone astray, each choosing his own way,” then we are in fact in sin.
It is that very tendency, which we ALL have, by the way, which the world admires and even teaches in schools, in what is called “self assertiveness training;” but such as it is, we ALL have inherited that nature from our father Adam, it runs in our blood; but also it is that very nature, which is common to all of us, that has separated us from our Creator and God, and is itself the very root of what sin is.
We ALL can thank God for the next verse of that Scripture however which says: “But the Lord laid on Him (Yeshua—Jesus) the iniquity of us all!”
What Christ has accomplished for us on Calvary’s cross, as our “Passover Lamb” is not however a license for us to go on living our lives separate and apart from God, as we choose!
On the contrary, it is our invitation to come home and be reconciled back into God’s eternal family, in order that we might have the opportunity to pursue God’s purpose for our life, and therefore fulfill our destiny.
This is the fulfillment of which Yeshua promised to all who would come after Him and be His disciples, when He in John 10 said: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly!”
It is not a self-serving life that this fulfillment and abundance in life comes from; and again that is not to say there is anything wrong at all with our wanting to succeed in life; for us to work hard and do our best.
We all were created to pursue our destiny and to be successful, but to do so in cooperation and in communion with God.
By the way, there is BIG difference between our being ambitious, verses our being enthusiastic.
Ambition tends to be about the pursuit of one’s purpose apart from God, apart from His design and plan for that individual’s life; and it is mostly self or ego centered.
But the etymological meaning behind the word “enthusiasm” is much different:
enthusiasm
theopneustos = qeovpneustos = compound of qeov (God) and pneustos (“to breathe or blow”),
Greek enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god,
Greek enthousiasmos, en-, in; see + theos, god; see dhs- in
Late Latin enthsiasmus,
first appeared in English in 1603 with the meaning “possession by a god.
evolved to the generic nonreligious word of today.
English – enthusiasm
Some questions?
How did the Greek pneu come to or get translated into the Latin and how does it relate to inspiration?
Inspiration in Greek and how it evolved? Late Latin enthsiasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god, from entheos, possessed : en-, in; see en–2 + theos, god; see dhs- in Appendix I (From http://www.bartleby.com)
Everything that God has created has been created with a predetermined reason and purpose.
Nothing exists just to take up space; and this also includes each one of us.
In short, for us to be enthusiastic about life means that we approach our life looking to engage our life with God, in cooperation and in partnership with our Creator; and for us to pursue and then find His purpose for our life.
Now in order for us to get on this path we must learn to do it God’s way; and the path which God has ordained for each of us, in order that we might fulfill our destiny is through FAITH!
Faith is really action based upon our obedience to God’s Word, where we learn to become totally reliant and dependent upon the trustworthiness and faithfulness of God to keep His Word.
To also come to know the love of God; and therefore we willingly hang the entire of our life and ALL of our circumstances on Him, in spite of whatever sight/sense evidence that might present itself, that would contradict those promises that we find in His Word!
In fact the Bible says (in Hebrews 11:6) that it is not until we are living our life this way, do we even begin to be pleasing to God; and that it is impossible for us to please Him without this kind of faith. Selah
What follows I think is an excellent treatment on the subject of how we think, and how it effects our lives.
I found it both enlightening and inspiring, and especially helpful in dealing with some of my own life situations today.
I hope that it will bless you as well, and that you will benefit from it as I have… please enjoy!
Shalom,
Skip Barland
Cindy Trimm: The Properties of Thought: You Become What You Think
by Cindy Trimm
Oct 29, 2010
God speaks to you at the speed of thought. Thought moves at the speed of light. As quickly as light illuminates a room, a single thought can illuminate your life. You are always only one thought away from living the life of your dreams – one decision away from destiny.
James Allen wrote in his timeless classic, As A Man Thinketh, “All that a man achieves or fails to achieve is a direct result of his own thoughts.” Your life moves in the direction of your thoughts. Thoughts are the ever-present currents that move you either closer or further away from your best future.
Like a short-wave radio signal, your thoughts send messages out on a specific frequency and are transmitted back to you as an experience or occurrence in your life. Your thoughts create a magnetic field around you – attracting either positive or negative experiences. What you think has the power to literally transform your life.
Your life is what your thoughts make it. James Allen also observed that a person “will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.” This is the basic premise of the Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction is based on the principle that we attract into our lives whatever we focus on as a result of the energy that is exchanged in the process. Because all matter – seen and unseen – is comprised of energy, the energy created by our unseen thoughts either attracts or repels the energy matter of what we ultimately see and experience as a result.
This phenomena is rooted in the findings of quantum physics – which found that nothing in the universe is static due to the fact that all matter is vibrating energy – raw energy that responds to the vibrations of our thoughts, so that consequently “what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen” (Hebrews 11:3 NLT). It is the essence of faith,”the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”(Hebrews 11:1 NKJV).
Everything you see began in the unseen realm. The first book of the Bible tells us that God spoke the earth into existence – “the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). Yet before God’s word ever was, there were His thoughts. The source of all energy and all matter is the mind of God. The Creator – the Great Imaginarian – in whose image you were created.
Your thoughts are powerful. If you want to change your life, you must change your thoughts. If you want to unstick or unclutter your life, you must first unstick and unclutter your thoughts.
“What You Invest Mental Energy in is What You Tie Your Soul to, Both Positively and Negatively.”
How are unhealthy soul toxins and debilitating soul ties created in the first place? How can you end up cluttering your soul simply by the thoughts that you think? It is due to this exchange of energy that takes place when you give something your attention, entertain it in your mind, meditate upon it, and speak about it. What you invest mental energy in is what you tie your soul to, both positively and negatively.
As currents of electricity create electromagnetic fields connecting positive or negative charges, your thoughts create similar fields. Your positive thoughts attract positive attachments; your negative thoughts attract negative attachments. Whatever your soul can conceive, there is potential for attachment. As a mother will form attachments to the life conceived within her, so your soul forms attachments to whatever it conceives.
The seed of a thought, like the seed of a life, when planted will always result in an exchange of energy and therefore some kind of an attachment. Whether aborted or stillborn, an exchange of energy has taken place.
An exchange takes place through investments of time, energy, attention, and action in the form of thoughts, deeds, or words. Exchanges can be both intentional and unintentional. Sometimes we can be completely oblivious to what we’ve attached our souls – something may have taken hold in our mind because we inadvertently paid attention to it for too long. I believe this is why Isaiah stated, “(He) who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil… will dwell on high” (Isaiah 33:15-16).
You have to be careful about what you pay attention to – what you spend time and energy thinking about and dwelling upon. Your life will move in the direction of what you contemplate. As it says in Proverbs, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT). What consumes your thoughts gives you a good indication of what ties your soul.
“Whatever You Harbor in the Innermost Corridors of Your Thought-Life Will, Sooner or Later, Reveal Itself in the Outer Arena of Your Life.”
Our thoughts, intentions, motivations, and aspirations – whether they be secretly pondered in the heart, openly declared as a desire, or formally written as goals – mold and shape our personal universe into something either grand and beautiful or base and hideous. Whatever you harbor in the innermost corridors of your thought-life will, sooner or later, reveal itself in the outer arena of your life. Whatever is hidden will eventually be brought to light. First Corinthians 4:5 ESV states that God “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.” Just as a seed is for a time hidden under ground, it will eventually break through the surface and it’s true essence will ultimately be revealed.
Everything you see in the natural began as a spiritual seed – a thought. The temporal realm has its roots in the spiritual. Grabbing a hold of this profound spiritual truth will enable you to make some critical connections that can transform your life. Once you understand that the spiritual realm is the “causal realm,” you will begin to grasp the massive power of your thoughts, ideas, words, and prayers – spiritual things that engineer, mold, and craft the current and future state of your temporal existence.
Proverbs tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7 AMP). Your outer world is a direct result of your inner world. Every circumstance in life is a result of a choice – and every choice is the result of a thought. All those things that fill your mind hold the keys to your reality. Make it a habit to examine what your thoughts are chasing after.
We must learn to harness our thoughts if we are to effectively reign as kings and priests in this earth. We must understand who we were created to be as children of God and the authority we have in Christ. We have inherited the Kingdom and been given dominion over all our adversaries.
“The First Thing We Must Do in Taking Possession of God’s Promises is to Take Possession of Our Thoughts.”
We are told in Ephesians 6:12 that our fight is not with flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities – a fight that can’t be won with our hands, only with our minds. You must become as skilled in your thoughts as a swordsman is with his sword. Taking control of your thoughts will cause you to gain control over your life. That is what putting on the armor of God is all about. (See Ephesians 6:14-17.)
The first thing we must do in taking possession of God’s promises is to take possession of our thoughts. This might not appear to require a great deal of skill or effort, let alone training or practice, but there is only one thing harder to master than your thoughts and that is your tongue! (See James 3:8.)
Winning the battle in your thought-life requires meditating daily on the truths found in Scripture, studying diligently to show yourself approved, and becoming an earnest and life-long student of the art of spiritual warfare.
Throughout the New Testament we are told that our battles do not take place in the temporal realm but in the spiritual realm. We are told in nearly every epistle, “Fear not, only believe” (see Mark 5:36), “gird up the loins of your mind” (see 1 Peter 1:13), “renew your mind” (see Romans 12:2), and “put on the mind of Christ” (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). We are taught in Romans that to “set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6 ESV).
“Every Battle is Won or Lost in the Arena of Your Mind. If You Do Not Take Control of Your Inner Thoughts You Will Become a Slave to the Outer Circumstances Created by the Tempest Raging in Your Mind.”
We are instructed to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” because”the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds… every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ESV).
Every battle is won or lost in the arena of your mind. If you do not take control of your inner thoughts you will become a slave to the outer circumstances created by the tempest raging in your mind. The divine spirit within you won’t be driving your life, the storms and changing weather of your thoughts will. You must command your thoughts as Jesus commanded the sea. (See Luke 8:24.)
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Your Thoughts
Whatever your predominant focus is, that is what you give permission to exist in your life. Jabez chose to focus on his future desires rather than his present circumstances. Many times people focus on the negative and they live in a cycle of negativity. You have to choose to focus on the positive. You have to train your mind to think on whatever is honest, virtuous, and praiseworthy. (See Philippians 4:8). Whatever is going wrong in your life is a result of your focus. If you don’t like it, change your focus.
In Genesis 13:14-18, God taught Abraham something about focus. He told him to look at the territory he was giving him, to walk the land in every direction, and visualize the expanse of his legacy. He took him to the seashore, had him run sand through his fingers, and said, “For every grain of sand, you will have a descendant.” What did God train him to do? He trained him to focus on bigger thoughts. He taught him how to visualize his destiny.
“The First Thing That You Need to Change is Your Thoughts About What God Wants for You. He Wants You to Live a Life of Abundance. It is His Desire to Give You Divine, Universal Secrets to Great Success and Prosperity.”
If you plan to change your future, do not focus on things or people or circumstances that are smaller than what you are truly desiring. Your focus will either feed your faith or confirm your fears. Learn to think like Abraham. Think intentionally, generationally, and even globally. You can never think too big for God!
You must also train your mind to think in the present – to think positively in the present tense (in grammatical terms that would be “the present perfect”) – see the thing that you want, the business you hope to accomplish, the person you plan to marry, and so on, as if you are already in possession of what you desire. Condition your mind to accept these thoughts and you will draw these opportunities and experiences to yourself.
Your success and prosperity hinge on what lies within your mind. The first thing that you need to change is your thoughts about what God wants for you. He wants you to live a life of abundance. It is His desire to give you divine, universal secrets to great success and prosperity. He holds the secret spiritual recipe for abundant living.
There are many people who may not be as spiritual as you are, but nevertheless they were able to tap into something great. Whether by accident or providence, they are living lives beyond their wildest dreams, and you can, too. You must say to yourself, until this one fact becomes your conviction, “God wants me to live in abundance!”
A world of possibilities is waiting to be released in your future. Jesus said inMark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
“Every Great Achievement Begins as a Thought in the Imagination of a Person. Every Thought is Birthed in the Spirit. Achievement, Therefore, is a Spiritual Process.”
In Genesis 11, the people thought to themselves that they could build a tower to Heaven, and because they saw this tower in their minds they were able to build it. God stopped them by causing confusion and making it impossible for them to communicate, because the tower became an idol to them. However, this story still tells of the power of our thoughts: “Nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6 AMP).
Man begins with a concept in his mind, something he believes he is able to accomplish; he joins his will and intellect to his imagination, and then the power of expectation sees it through. Every great achievement begins as a thought in the imagination of a person. Every thought is birthed in the spirit. Achievement, therefore, is a spiritual process.
Based on your ability to harness your imagination, life’s opportunities either shrink or expand. Albert Einstein said, “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Imagination drives the engine of innovation, discovery, problem-solving, and peace-making.
Whatever can be imagined already exists; it simply exists in another dimension – in another form or substance – and that is the source of all inspiration. God conceived and by His Spirit spoke into existence all that is. He brought what already was in the spiritual into the temporal by the power of His Word. He breathes that creative force – His very Spirit – into a human being at the moment a person receives that Word into their heart. It is His Spirit – the creative power of His Word – within an individual that gives inspiration and understanding of what already exists in the spiritual realm.”But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand” (Job 32:8 ESV). That spirit in you has always existed – it is eternal – and it is the source of all revelation and inspiration.
“Inspirational Thoughts Can Be Thought of as God Finding Expression for His Will Through the Minds of Ordinary Men and Women.”
Our lives are built by a series of thoughts, much like bricks are used to build a house. The bricks are what bring it forth from a piece of paper and make it three dimensional. As a man thinks in his heart – in the present active continuum – as he continues to think – he builds his life one brick at a time.
Your every present thought is a significant building block in determining the quality of your future. Many of us build lives like shanties while others build mansions. If your thoughts are inferior your life will be inferior, but if your thoughts are lofty and honorable you are laying the foundation to live accordingly.
Purpose to think inspired thoughts. Inspiration is a God-thing. Inspiration is God Himself speaking into the heart of a human being. Inspirational thoughts can be thought of as God finding expression for His will through the minds of ordinary men and women. According to Jeremiah 29:11, God’s thoughts are always good and not evil. I want to remind you that God is up to something good, and He has you in mind.
Enlarge Your Territory
There is a direct correlation between the quality of your thoughts and the quality of your life. What you think determines who you are, it determines what you are, where you go, what you acquire, where you live, who you love, where you work, what you accomplish, what you read, and so on.
You will never have more, or go further, or accomplish greater things than your thoughts will allow you. Therefore, you must create an opulent thinking environment in order to create an opulent life. When you alter your thoughts, you alter your life. Your life is a reflection of your most dominant thoughts and meditations. When you meditate on success, you live a successful life.
“Become the Architect of Your Future. Use Your Thoughts Like an Architect Uses a Blueprint. Think About Every Detail.”
The trouble for most people is that they don’t know exactly what success would look like for them as individuals, or more importantly, what it would feel like personally. It is not enough to just meditate on success generally, you need to be specific. Become the architect of your future. Use your thoughts like an architect uses a blueprint. Think about every detail. An architect not only thinks about the rooms in a house, but the types of windows, the size of closets, the location of outlets, and so on. Nothing is too insignificant. Think big! Think detailed!
If you want to progress in life, you’ve got to think progressive thoughts. To do so, something new must replace the old. You’ve got to think beyond where you are. Alexander Graham Bell thought beyond the limitation of the dots and dashes of the Morse code, and went on to replace the telegraph when he invented the telephone. Become a visionary – be creative. Take the limits off your mind!
This is the challenge of creative thinking – you’ve got to open the spiritual channels of your mind so that God can download divine creative thoughts into your brain. When other people were unable to see what was going on in Heaven, Jesus could. Spend some quality time with God and ask him to enlarge your capacity for thinking and imagining – ask Him to help you take the limits off. That’s what Jabez did.
In 1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV, Jabez prayed, “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory!” Not only did Jabez ask God to expand the capacity of his mind, but he asked God to protect it as well. He asked of the Lord that”Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.” Jabez knew that every evil thought he conceived would ultimately bring forth pain.
Do yourself – and the world – a tremendous favor by getting the toxins out of your soul.
Dr. Cindy Trimm Cindy Trimm International
Email: info@cindytrimm.com
PREPARING FOR BATTLE… a very necessary, often hurtful, scary, overbearing, howbeit important part of our training for EVERY believer in order to build our faith and reliance upon Jesus Christ in the Spirit and in Truth (the Word)!
God’s will for us
“Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints….” Ephesians 6:10-18
What is the Armor of God?
God’s armor brings victory because it is far more than a protective covering. It is the very life of Jesus Christ Himself.
“Put on the armor,” wrote Paul in his letter to the Romans, “…clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:12-14)
When you do, He becomes your hiding place and your shelter in the storm — just as He was to David. Hidden in Him, you can count on His victory, for He not only covers you as a shield, He also fills you with His life.
“I am the vine; you are the branches,” said Jesus. “If a man abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Since living in the safety of the armor means oneness with Jesus, we can expect to share His struggles as well as His peace. Remember, God offers us His victory in the midst of trouble — not the absence pain.
So “do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ…” (1 Peter 4:12-13)
Committed Christians who face torture for their faith continue to testify to the supernatural strength–even joy–that enables them to endure unthinkable pain. They affirm with Paul–
“that in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers…. will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)
This wonderful truth has become reality to all who believe and follow Jesus. When you put on His armor, His life surrounds you and keeps you safe in Him. He is your precious friend, and you are His! So “put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) He is your victory!
How do I “put on” God’s Armor?
This life in Christ begins with knowing and trusting each part of the armor. The first part is TRUTH — God’s revelation of all that He is to us, all that He has done for us, and all that He promises to do for us in the days ahead. This wonderful, everlasting TRUTH is written in the Bible, revealed by the Holy Spirit, and realized through Jesus Christ.
It cuts through all the world’s distortions, deceptions, and compromises. When you study, memorize, live, and follow TRUTH, He enables you to see the world from God’s high vantage point. For He is the Truth! Putting on the first piece of the armor means feeding on truth through daily Bible reading and making it part of yourself.
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Deut. 4:39; Psalm 23:1; 18:1-3
Breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS
The holy and perfect righteousness of Jesus in those who are “born again” and filled with His Spirit
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6) Psalm 100:3; Rom. 3:23-24, 6:23; Gal. 2:20-21; Phil. 3:8-10.
Sandals of PEACE
Inner peace and readiness
“For He Himself is our peace…” (Eph. 2:14-15)
Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14; John 14:27, 16:33, 20:21.
Shield of FAITH
Living by faith
“I am crucified with Christ:…and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God….” (Gal. 2:20) Rom. 4:18-21; Heb. 11:1; 1 Pet. 1:6-7
Helmet of SALVATION
Salvation through Christ today and forever
“Nor is there salvation in any other…”(Acts 4:12) Each day: Ps. 16, 23; Heb. 1:3-6
For eternity: 2 Cor. 4:16-18; 1 Thess. 4:17; 1 John 3:1-3
The victorious Sword of the spirit: GOD’S WORD
God’s Word countering spiritual deception and accusations
“…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory….” (John 1:14) Heb. 4:12; Matt. 4:2-11; 1 Pet. 3:15; Ps. 119:110-112
To put on the “full armor”–and enjoy a daily and eternal love-relationship with Jesus Christ, thank Him for what He has shown you in His Word. Know the Scriptures behind your prayer so that your words and faith are grounded in the authority of the Bible. (Some of those verses are listed in the chart above.) Then pray through each piece. You can use the following prayer as an outline:
The belt of truth: Thank you, my Lord, for showing me the TRUTH about Yourself, Your plans and Your ways. Thank You for reminding me that You are the only God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of the universe, my Father who loves me, and my Shepherd who leads me. You are my wisdom, my counselor, my hope, and my strength. You are everything I need each day!
The breastplate of righteousness: Thank You for showing me the truth about myself — that on my own I could never be good enough to live in your presence. Thank you for taking my sins to the cross and offering me your perfect, RIGHTEOUS life. Lord, show me any sin that I need to confess right now, so that nothing will hinder me from being filled to overflowing with your Spirit. [Take time for confession] Thank you for forgiving me and for filling me with your RIGHTEOUS life.
The sandals of peace: Thank you for the peace you give me when I trust and follow you. Show me how to help others find that PEACE.
The shield of faith: Thank you for helping me have FAITH in you. I choose to count on everything you have shown me about yourself — and everything you have promised me in your Word.
The helmet of salvation: Thank you for promising me SALVATION both for today’s battles and for all eternity.
The sword of the spirit, the Word of God: Thank you for the scriptures you have given me to memorize. Please show me which you want me to use to cut through deceptions and gain your victory in any battle I may face today.
God’s Armor clashes with the world system
Remember: “…the whole world is under the sway of the evil one.” 1 John 5:19
EACH PIECE
CHRISTIAN PARADIGM
GLOBAL PARADIGM
Put on:
Know and affirm:
Recognize and resist:
Belt of TRUTH
His sovereignty, love, wisdom, and holiness. (Deut. 4:39; Ps. 18:1-3)
Pantheistic, monistic, polytheistic gods and goddesses.
Breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS
Jesus Christ and His blood, which cleanses us from sin. The cross which frees us from bondage to selfish nature.
The natural goodness, connectedness, and sacredness of all life.
Sandals of PEACE
Our peace through our union and ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Peace through occult practices and union with a cosmic force or nature spirits.
Shield of FAITH
Our continual trust in God, His Word, and His promises.
Trust in Self, inner wisdom, dreams, visions, gods, goddess, cosmic force, coincidences, etc.
Helmet of SALVATION
God’s promises of daily and eternal salvation in Jesus Christ.
Evolving spiritually by growing in consciousness staying tuned to the cosmic mind.
Sword of the Spirit His WORD
The power of God’s Word to counter deception and triumph over spiritual foes.
The power of thoughts, words and affirmations to change reality and direct spiritual forces.
I know for me and possibly for many of you as well this past year has grown increasingly tiring and trying; and truly I think I’d have to say it is the absolute worst year of my life.
I listen to a very good message today about the absolute necessity of our clothing ourselves in the Battle Armor provided us in Jesus Christ; and by so doing we are in fact clothing ourselves in Christ Himself.
The point was made that in today’s modern warfare our soldiers are required to carry all there necessities, their battle gear, on their backs all the time, and it weighs upwards between 60 and 80 pounds.
Their battle gear includes such things as: A weapon or weapons, ammunition, weapon cleaning kit, 1st aid kit, gas mask, a blanket, helmet, a few days rations, comfort rations (razor with blades, toothbrush & paste, soap, foot powder, gum and candy), often a change of socks, mess kit, poncho, canteen with cup, water purification tablets, bayonet, and entrenching tool just to list most items issued.
No soldier would ever go into battle without the necessities provided to him for his survival, because you can’t all the sudden in the middle of a firefight call for a timeout because you forgot your ammo, or your weapon; and yet Christians do this all the time… myself included!
How often are we facing situations and battles, which the Bible says clearly are spiritual in both nature and origin, and yet we are fighting with only carnal weapons, according to our resources and abilities, against much more powerful forces?
The truth is we are out matched and gunned going out the door, unless we are clothed in and with the POWER provided for us in Christ!
The point was also made how when God sent Moses to go and confront pharaoh, telling him to “Let my people go,” one of the signs he was to demonstrate to pharaoh was to throw his walking staff on the ground and have it turn into a snake.
What God didn’t tell Moses was that pharaoh’s people would be able to do the same thing, only they threw down three staffs, that generated three serpents; but in the end ALL three were swallowed up by the first serpent that God generated.
Think about that for a minute, in how we try and take a stand on God’s Word, in faith and obedience to His Word, and as soon as we do all hell is unleashed and breaks loose against us. In Moses case it was three to one; and often in our battles the odds are just as bad, or worse. Folks, this is a test of our faith and our tenaciousness, in whether we will bear up and remain resilient and strong in the Spirit, or whether we will crumple in a pile on the floor and give up.
Remember the words that our Lord gave to Peter:
Luke 22:31-32
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial 31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Notice how He didn’t say anything about preventing this test, but only that He would pray that His faith would not fail.
The same goes for the three Hebrew children, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, where God didn’t keep them from the fire, but met them and walked with them through it.
So how are we doing today? How is your battle faring?
For me, personally, this message is as much for me as it is for any of you.
GOD TOLD ME SOMETHING I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO HEAR! by David Wilkerson | October 20, 2010
One night during a prayer meeting, God told me something about our church I was not expecting to hear.
The Lord whispered to me, “This church needs shock treatment! Too many have grown satisfied and complacent. You feel safe and secure from all the winds and waves of false doctrines sweeping over the land—but you are not prepared for what is coming!”
Beloved, the message of having the Spirit’s witness functioning in you is not a request—it is a matter of life and death!
If you don’t have the witness of the Holy Ghost in these last days, you’re not going to make it! You’ll give in to the coming spirit of the Antichrist!
You need the Holy Spirit witness every day—on your job, at work, at school.
You need to rightly judge politicians and leaders so you’ll not suddenly be sucked into the antichrist system.
This is what Jesus was trying to tell us about the foolish virgins who ran out of oil for their lamps. They had a supply of the Holy Ghost—but they didn’t have his witness at the final moment.
Don’t end up a foolish virgin! If you are running out of oil—trusting your church or your pastor to keep your soul—then repent!
Humble yourself and search your heart! Cry out to God to rid your soul of all anger and bitterness. Confess your sins and forsake them. And depend on God once again for everything!
Get the peace of God in your heart, so you can have a Holy Ghost witness. And ask the Father for a greater endowment of the Spirit. Invite him to be your witness and guide in everything!
We face a cost of going all the way with Jesus, but we also will receive a reward: It is simply the blessing of having Christ stand with us. There are many other rewards as well (see Matthew 19:29), but I mention this one because it is all we will ever need.
When Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem, the whole religious system wanted to kill him. They accused him of polluting the holy place and preaching false doctrines.
His life was in danger; even the soldiers were “fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces” (Acts 23:10). So they took him by force and locked him away in a castle.
The next night the Lord himself spoke to Paul, and what a word he brought: “Cheer up! There’s even more trouble to come!”
The cost of following Christ was clear in the lives of these men of God—and if we are going to be like our Master, then we must embrace this cost as well.
Enduring it becomes a joy because Jesus promises to stand with us in every situation. And we can face anything or anyone when we know the Lord stands with us.
So count the cost and know that your reward, in all things, is the precious presence of Jesus Christ.
With all that is happening in these days and times; with our country in a tizzy and going downhill as it is; we desperately need God’s leading and discernment.
In the media on our billboards, in advertisements printed and electronic, just about everywhere we look we find words that are screaming at us to: “Use me, take me, buy me, drink me smell me, touch me, kiss me, sleep with me, vote for me.”
But how can we know which word to follow and what to do?
We desparately need God’s discernment in our lives; and we need to learn how to follow our God given shalom (peace).
Do nothing unless you have God’s peace; and if you don’t have it, wait until you do.
Probably ninety five percent or more of what we hear and see today is just plain vanity, the same sort of vanity that we read about in Book of Ecclesiastes, that Solomon wrote about:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
The Vanity of Life
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 ” Vanity[a] of vanities,” says the Preacher;
” Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
We can know from the warnings of Christ that when we see certain signs take place in the world to listen up and pay attention; because we can know by these things that the end is near; and that our Messiah Jesus is standing at the door, and is about to break through the clouds and establish His Kingdom in the earth.
We also know that the spirit of Antichrist will be running rampant in the world, full of deceiving lies and deceptions.
Let us understand that what is normal for the world, in the world’s wisdom and methods, is not even close to what God wants and expects; and frankly what it says in Proverbs 14:12 applies: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
Let us be particularly careful and discerning in this volatile and deceiving political environment in which we are living today!
Where empty and deceiving words are given in speeches are given on both sides by Republicans and Democrats, by candidates who say what they feel they must, what they fell the public wants to hear, in order to get elected; but when elected they quickly forget their promises.
Consider for a moment that for us to elect but another Republican Congress in 2010, and Republican Administration in 2012, we will have accomplished nothing, except to remain on the same downward track, as we were on for eight years under President George W. Bush.
By our not addressing the core problem, which is our failure to repair the cracked foundation of our government, and by our allowing the same criminals to retain their power behind the scenes (who are the Globalist Bankers) who operate out of sight, we are only choosing to have our country remain on the same downward spiral and course that we have been on for the last 100 years or more, as we are being led as lambs to the slaughter, into what the Republican former President George H.W. Bush termed the “New World Order!”
The words that you are hearing on the media and reading in the press these days are mostly lies and deceptions that are designed to get you to think and act in a certain way!
The enemy over the years as erected a political system in this UNITED STATES CORPORATION that plays both sides against the center; so that whichever way you vote, partisan politics aside, 9 times out of 10, you are only voting a President and a Congress into office that is nevertheless moving our country towards its own extinction; as the goal is to establish what the International Bankers see as their “New World Order!”
This will be we a world, which the Bible says will ultimately be ruled by the Antichrist; where individual rights and liberties are gone; and where “We the People” will be the slaves of government!
Don’t be fooled folks into accepting the same corrupt system, and remain on the same merry-go-round, that we have been on for the last 139 years, when in 1871 our U.S. Congress first set aside our “organic” U.S. Constitution and our Republic, and replaced it with the UNITED STATES CORPORATION!
Let us instead reestablish our government according to our U.S. Constitution, as it was always intented to be, as a Constitutional Republic; where our politicians are held in check by the highest law of the land, which is our “organic” Constitution; and where “We the People” are the sovereigns, and not BIG government!
Folks what I am saying here should be common sense, that you cannot erect anything that is built upon a corrupt foundation, and in the political sense I am speaking of here that foundation is built on lies and deceit, and expect to build anything that will be lasting and solid… which God can bless!
There is an alternative to this present course of madness that our country has been on for all these years; and especially in light of the fact the UNITED STATES CORPORATION is headed towards defaulting; as even the Congressional Budget Office has predicted is only a matter of time; in that light, the ONLY viable alternative that will save our country is for We the People to take it back legally, without any civil war or violence, and reestablish our Republic, as ONE NATION UNDER GOD!!!
Consider for a moment that the plans and implementation for our war of Independence from Great Britain and to form our Constitutional Republic where made to a large extent, and was conceived and implemented, in colonial American churches; and it was the clergy that was the main driving force to rally the colonists.
Now consider that we have a president who has three times now in quoting the preamble to our Declaration of Independence, has left out “Creator” in the part that says:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Think about it and pray about it; and consider the following (see below).
Shalom,
Skip Barland
What follows is a conference call from October 20th:
MESSAGE FROM TIM TURNER sent via email on 9/21/2010
Email from Tim Turner explaining why we ARE a Christian Nation under GOD.
Our nation was founded on Christian principles that protect the rights of all people.
Throughout our history we have never complained about any other religion or belief system and always allowed these other religions to practice in peace.
We have always been on the defense from attacks, by non Christians, as we are now.
Your listeners are not getting emails from us complaining about what they are doing but we are getting complaints from many of them because of our stand for Christianity.
The truth is that if it wasn’t for Christian beliefs operating in this government, you would not even have the right to complain without retaliation.
We wish no harm on anyone and help everyone.
We love God and our neighbor and what is wrong with that?
So why are we being challenged on this?
We only want to make sure that we uphold principles that will protect everyone because we have seen the evidence of how we are treated by non-Christians.
It is ok for everyone else to have freedom of speech and press but not Christians. I will uphold and support the Christian ethics of this government as long as I am involved.
I hope that you and your friends will find peace.
God Bless,
——————————————————–
MESSAGE FROM TIM TURNER 9/9/2010
Because God is still on His Throne, there is hope for the “pursuit of life, liberty and happiness” in the great Republic of the united States of America.
We have all been through some difficult and challenging times during the last year.
We’ve made some mistakes and been disappointed with things that have not happened as we expected they would.
We have not developed and utilized all the leaders of this movement of God to effectively re-inhabit this Republic.
I have assembled some faithful men. We have prayed, researched and prepared the vision, plan and procedure to fulfill the vision of the restored republic. We have also set some policy to insure the integrity of our actions here forward.
Effective immediately we are implementing a short and long term plan to embark on a mass education of the public.
We also have developed the tools to start a mass recruitment of people to join the county state republics and ratify the national republic.
Starting tonight we are introducing an opportunity for “we the people” to join all of us in taking back our freedom.
Therefore this call will be our last national jury call. Let me repeat, “this will be our last national jury call.
Within the next couple weeks we will be coming to your region to meet with you face to face.
We will introduce the new state ambassadors and jury fore persons to have the tools and training that will help the public join us.
The training of the juries will begin to be done in each state.
We are asking the coordinators and jury foreman to meet in one of the seven regions around the country to talk with us personally to be trained, as well as receive the new materials and tools to do their job.
The coordinator’s job as you have known it has been finished. Each coordinator will be given the opportunity to become an ambassador for their state or stay on the jury, if they are a juror, if they so desire.
Through the jury fore person and the new ambassador position everyone will be given the opportunity, training and documents to perfect all of what we have done so far these last few months.
This training and documents will make it possible for everyone to bring hundreds and thousands in to the republics.
No longer do we have to suffer the slavery and abuse of a Democracy. We can once again enjoy the freedom of the Republic.
Many of the freedoms bought with the blood of early Patriots have been gradually usurped by insidious Democracy, rendering us as little more than subservient commodities of political power mongers who care only for themselves.
We can, however, reclaim and re-inhabit the life that was known by our forebears, shaking off the deceptions of Democracy and embracing the benefits of a true Republic.
Prayer Call
Prayer is Open to all the Republic Monday at 5:30 P.S.T. / 8:30 E.S.T.
Click Here for: Prayer Requests
Who are We? What have We done? What can We offer? What will it do?
Who are “We”– We are Americans. All of us may not agree with all of these qualities/virtues, but we are Americans that want true freedom. We are Americans like all the many others out there that know something is wrong. We are Americans that have taken action, using a pen, through peaceable means.
* Conservative/Or Maybe Not * Pro-Smaller Government * Pro-Securing Our Borders
Documents for Public Dissemination
Please download and read the information that is on the following link:
Notification for Public Release our New Documentation
To Whom It May Concern:
We welcome you to the Republic of the united States of America. The link above is for your review and consideration as you are looking into becoming a part of the re-inhabited Republic of the united States of America.
We at the Republic are showing the People that they are the true fourth branch of government. Our goal and intention is to give the power back to the People. We need you (The People) to understand the difference of a Republic and a Democracy.
Included in this package are the following documents:
This Cover letter
Declaration of Sovereign Rights held by Indigenous Power
This is a document you would sign
Definitions are to be printed as a back page on this document
Declaration of Independence July, 4th 1776 – Circa 2010
This is a document you would sign in the open are below
Jural Covenant of Office for Republic state Settlement (Optional sign)
This document is if you wish to be a part of the following
Assembly
Jury
Explanation for Declaration of Sovereign Rights held by Indigenous Power
Once your information is checked into the system, you will be receiving information on how you may receive your very own Republic identification cards. This will come to you via the email information that you have provided.
Cyborg Technology, bioengineering, and the integration of human and animal DNA:
Tom Horn is the bestselling author and founder of the top-ranked internet news service, RaidersNewsNetwork.com. As the CEO of Anomalos Publishing House (AnomalosPublishing.com) and Defender Publishing (DefenderPublishing.com), his authors have been featured in syndicated print, television and radio markets representing over two billion households worldwide including Celebration Daystar TV, FaithTV, The Harvest Show, The 700 Club, Prophecy in the News, The Michael Savage Show, WorldNetDaily, The American Freedom Network, Coast to Coast AM, Radio Liberty, The Southwest Radio Church, At Home With Chuck & Jenni, Changing World Views and dozens more syndicated and local programs. Major news outlets that have featured writers Tom has published include ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, Time, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, BBC, MSNBC, Christianity Today, New Man Magazine, Freeway Magazine, World Net Daily, News Max, News With Views, White House Correspondents and dozens of newsmagazines and press agencies around the globe.
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS
I’ve often said that the movies that are coming out of Hollywood these days are more reality than fiction; and that it certainly seems to me that the prince of the power the air, Satan, is in fact telegraphing his strategies for his end of days offensive action. Well what follows is exactly on that subject.
FORBIDDEN GATES PART 1
By Thomas R. Horn
August 7, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
How Genetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Synthetic Biology, Nanotechnology, & Human Enhancement Herald the Dawn of Techno-Dimensional Spiritual Warfare
While this new series Forbidden Gates: How Genetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Synthetic Biology, Nanotechnology, & Human Enhancement Herald the Dawn of Techno-Dimensional Spiritual Warfare will include fresh insights for traditional, tried and true methods of overcoming darkness, it unveils for the first time how breakthrough advances in science, technology, and philosophy—including cybernetics, bio-engineering, nanotechnology, machine intelligence, synthetic biology, and transhumanism—will combine to create mind-boggling game-changes to everything you have ever known about the ancient subject of spiritual warfare.
How so?
In recent years, astonishing technological developments have pushed the frontiers of humanity toward far-reaching morphological transformation that promises in the very near future to redefine what it means to be human. An international, intellectual and fast-growing cultural movement known as transhumanism has been embraced by the deepest and darkest chambers of national laboratories, which intend the use of genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology (GRIN technologies) as tools that will radically redesign our minds, our memories, our physiology, our offspring, and even perhaps, as Joel Garreau in his bestselling book Radical Evolution claims, our very souls.
The technological, cultural, and metaphysical shift now under way unapologetically forecasts a future dominated by this new species of unrecognizably superior humans, and applications under study now to make this dream reality are being funded by thousands of government and private research facilities around the world. As readers will learn, this includes among other things rewriting human DNA (in some instances actually combining men with beasts), a fact not only reflected in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) budgets (including the current 2011 president’s budget) but that some university studies and transhumanists believe will not only alter our bodies and souls but could open a door to contact with unseen intelligence.
And that is just the beginning.
As a result, new modes of perception between things visible and invisible are expected to challenge people of faith in ways that are historically and theologically unprecedented. Without comprehending what is quickly approaching in related disciplines of research and development, vast numbers of people could be paralyzed by the most fantastic—and most far reaching—supernatural implications. The destiny of each individual—as well as the future of their family—will depend on their knowledge of the new paradigm and their preparedness to face it head on.
As outlined in this research, the power operating behind this scheme to integrate human-animal-machine interfaces in order to reengineer humanity is not new. The ancient, malevolent force is repackaging itself these days as the forward-thinking and enlightened progress needed for the next step in human evolution.
Facing god-like machines and man’s willingness to cross over species and extra-dimensional barriers put in place by God (or if you prefer, evolution), traditional methods of spiritual warfare, which religious institutions have relied on for the last century, will be monumentally impacted in nontraditional ways and insufficient when approaching this threshold.
What continues within these entries will lift the curtain on a world unlike previous generations could have expected or even imagined. This series will combine investigation by numerous brave resources and reproduce leaked documentation that clearly outlines how soon (several government reports point to “2012” as year one) human enhancement technology of the most exotic order will start. Due to the urgent nature and timing of this expose, we offer one caution: If you are a person that is happy living in a “Matrix”, cradled in the warm embrace of illusions, we recommend you lay this study aside and enjoy your remaining days uninformed.
But if like millions of others around the world you have recently awakened with a sense that something foreboding is unfolding on earth, then this information is for you. If you believe that a global event, which so far nobody has been able to clearly explain is on the horizon, this information is for you. If you feel whatever is happening is both physical and spiritual, yet you cannot solve the conundrum of what is stirring beneath the surface, this information is for you. If you hunger to discern the meaning behind the raging turmoil enveloping nature, societies, and global politics, this information is for you.
But prepare yourself for the unexpected, including truly startling and often discomforting information, which you have not heard or read anywhere before.
What has been in preparation for thousands of years is about to reveal itself to humanity.
The clock is ticking and the hand is closer to midnight than most can comprehend.
Something wicked this way comes.
The occult desire of the ages is here.
And once you understand the secret, you will know what you have to do to survive.
Over the last decade, he has authored three books, wrote dozens of published editorials, and had several feature magazine articles. In addition to past articles at NewsWithViews.com , his works have been referred to by writers of the LA Times Syndicate, MSNBC, Christianity Today, Coast to Coast, World Net Daily, White House Correspondents and dozens of newsmagazines and press agencies around the globe. Tom’s latest book is “The Ahriman Gate,” which fictionalizes the use of biotechnology to resurrect Biblical Nephilim.
Thomas is also a well known radio personality who has guest-hosted and appeared on dozens of radio and television shows over the last 30 years, including “The 700 Club” and “Coast to Coast AM.” When looking for a spokesperson to promote their film “Deceived” staring Louis Gossett Jr. and Judd Nelson, “Cloud 10 Pictures” selected Thomas as their spokesperson to explain the Christian viewpoint on UFO-related demonology.
You know as we look to scriptures (the Holy Bible) and read what Yeshua (Jesus) had to say regarding something He called the “Time of Sorrows,” which He described as being the worse time this world has ever known, or ever will know; and particularly as we look to the Book of Revelation, we see some pretty hair raising things happening, that is beyond anything Hollywood has even dreamed of, though they have certainly come close; and yet we can know as Christians that not only are we living in those days; but that much of this stuff that we read about will be happening in our lifetime.
What was the development of events and the scenario, as we can read in our Bible that happened in the antediluvian age that caused God to destroy all life on earth, with the exception of Noah and his family?
Didn’t Jesus say that the end of days would be like the days of Noah?
Even the Old Testament contains reference to the genetic mutations that developed among humans following this time frame, including “men” of unusual size, physical strength, six fingers, six toes, animal appetite for blood, and even lion-like features (2 Samuel 21:20, 23:20). But of all the ancient records, the most telling extra biblical script is from the Book of Jasher, a mostly forgotten text referred to in the Bible in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18.
Jasher records the familiar story of the fall of the Watchers, then adds an exceptional detail that none of the other texts is as unequivocal about, something that can only be understood in modern language to mean advanced biotechnology, genetic engineering, or “transgenic modification” of species.
After the Watchers had instructed humans “in the secrets of heaven,” note what Jasher says occurred: “[Then] the sons of men [began teaching] the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord” (4:18). http://defenderpublishing.blogspot.com/
We are living in the Last Days folks, and that fact should be all but obvious from all that we see happening in the world. As Jesus said the mariners can discern the weather by looking at the skies, likewise as we read our Bible and then look at the unfolding of events in the world, and within our own country, certainly we can see that the time of Jesus’ return to earth is near.
Our nation today is, I believe, at a crossroads; and our future will depend on what the Christian Believers do or don’t do!
Folks, our enemy is NOT our politicians in DC and nor is he in the White House; for even as the Apostle Paul says, “We fight not against flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness in high places!”
Obama is, is NOT the enemy; but he certainly is deceived and is being manipulated and controlled, as the Bible says every unsaved soul is, by the enemy, who is Satan.
The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that we are in either of two camps; we are in God’s camp, by choice, having entered into covenant relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ; or we are in Satan’s camp by default, and there is no in between.
So we can know from this that there are many people out there in the world, be they atheist or agnostic, who don’t know what they don’t know.
Now at some point, depending on how much of one’s will is given over to these unseen evil forces, through such things as the occult, the soul of some of these wayward individuals can be completely inhabited and taken over by these demon entities; and we can know from the Bible that this will certainly be the case with the Antichrist, who will ultimately be possessed by Satan himself.
Could Obama be him, I don’t know, he very well could be; but certainly in his ignorance and in his misguided ambition and quest for power, I believe that he is an archetype of the Antichrist; and is a foreshadowing or forerunner of him? But this I do know that as I read what the Bible says, that once Satan enters into this man of perdition, that he will be completely changed for the worse.
The point is, as Christians, we don’t want to be deceived and caught off guard; and that is why it is time for us to truly get serious because we are entering into some pretty dangerous times; even more dangerous than what we are facing today.
Pray for our nation, pray for our leaders in Washington DC, that they repent; and pray for revival!
Shalom,
Skip Barland
P.S.
If you are reading this and you have not yet made your reservations for eternity, and have not yet entered into covenant with the God of Creation, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through Jesus Christ; and if you would like information on how to do that, watch the following video:
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 