JESUS IS THE ANSWER!!!

It is a fact of life that BAD THINGS do happen to good people, even to Christians!

So how does a Christian react in the midst of negative circumstances, especially when according to all visible sight/sense evidence that we can see and that can be felt all around us, there is no reason in the natural to hope?

If you are like me, I find that my first reaction when confronted with negative and hurtful circumstances, most times anyway, is just exactly the same as the world’s reaction, of those who still are living outside the Christian faith paradigm.

The truth is this sort of behavior, for me anyway and I dare say for most of you, is quite natural! It’s not something that we had to learn.

None of us had to learn how to react that way, in our flesh, but rather it comes quite naturally for ALL of us and it is common to all mankind to react in this way, and it has been that way from the first day we were born into this world.

It’s becoming increasing obvious, and it was especially and painfully made true from the events of this past Friday, that this world in which we all are living today, is becoming more and more dangerous.

Whereas we’ve seen this sort of thing many times happening in other countries across the world, almost nightly in the evening news, we are now seeing it happen more and more right here at home, in our own neighborhoods and communities.

Where, except from hell, does this sort of behavior come from, as happened this past Friday in Danbury Connecticut, where literally the unthinkable has happened, when someone (who is little more than a child himself, at twenty years of age) went into an elementary school and murdered 20 kindergartners and eight adults?.

Where in the world does this sort of behavior come from and how does something like this happen here in America?

It seems at times like this many people are asking the question how does a loving God allow something like this to happen?

Well that same question was asked of Ann Graham Lotz (Billy Graham’s daughter) after 9/11; and I believe the same answer applies here:

Regarding the Events of 9/11:

On September 13, 2001, in an interview with Anne Graham Lotz, by Jane Clayson on CBS’ Early Show, the following question was asked: “Where Is God?”

Jane Clayson: We’ve turned to your father, the reverend Billy Graham, so often in times of national crisis. What are his thoughts about what happened on Tuesday?

Anne Graham Lotz: I turned to him also. In fact, I called him last night, after you all called to arrange for this interview. He’s reacting like a lot of Christians around the country, we’re all praying.

I think about those people you just showed. I wasn’t sure I’d be in control when you came on because it just provoked such emotion to see these people carrying pictures of their loved ones and knowing they don’t know if they’re alive or dead.

And at a time like that, I know the families and the friends of the victims can hardly even pray for themselves. They don’t know what to say or how to pray. I want to say to them – families and friends of the victims, that there are thousands of people in this country who are carrying you in prayer right now. We’re praying for you with hearts filled with compassion and grief and just interceding on your behalf, asking the God of all peace and the God of all comfort to come down in a special way into your life and meet your needs at this time. My father and mother are also praying like that.

Jane Clayson: The pain is incomprehensible for so many of these people. At a time like this it is so easy to lose faith. How do you keep faith, Mrs. Lotz at a time like this?

Anne Graham Lotz: I think it is almost easier to have faith because we have nothing else in some ways. I’ve watched as this nation has turned to prayer. We’ve seen prayer vigils. And in our city, we have prayer vigils. And so I think it is a time to turn to God…. Our nation has been hit and devastated by this day of terror and now I believe it is our choice as a nation as to whether we’re going to implode and just disintegrate emotionally and spiritually or whether we’ll make the choice to be stronger. I think right now, we have the opportunity to come through this spiritually stronger than we’ve been in the past because we turn to God.

Jane Clayson: I’ve heard people say, those who are religious and those who are not, if God is good, how could He allow this to happen?

What do you say to that?

Anne Graham Lotz:
I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our businesses, we want you out of our marketplace.

And so God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life, and has slowly been removing his hand of blessing and protection from us.

We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we’re sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it.

Jane Clayson: So many people have called this an act of war. Has he (your father) expressed anything about what a proper response for an attack like this should be?

Anne Graham Lotz: No. I’ve tried to be very careful. I don’t ever answer for my father. But I believe in the next few days you’re going to be seeing him and hearing from him and perhaps he will express some of those things.

Jane Clayson: As a spiritual adviser, how would you define the feelings right now?

Anne Graham Lotz: I was watching television the first day and interviewed a construction worker who had been an eyewitness through all of this in a building next to the World Trade Center. He said, I’ve seen planes hit this building, people falling out of the sky. He said, my heart is in my throat. I feel like I would say the same thing. You almost don’t have thoughts to articulate. Your heart is in your throat. You can hardly stand it. You’re numb.

For myself, I fall back on my faith in God and the foundation, speaking of those buildings, as an illustration of America, our foundation is our faith in God and the structure we build on that foundation is what enables us to endure something like this.

…I believe God also knows what it is like to lose a loved one, He gave his only son on a cross. He knows what it is like to see a loved one die a horrific death.

He’s also emotionally involved in our pain; he has the answers for us; and he can bring comfort beyond any human understanding.

Jane Clayson: There’s such a feeling of helplessness among so many. They don’t know what to do beyond giving blood, beyond writing a check to help those in need. What would be your recommendation as a spiritual adviser?

Anne Graham Lotz: I thought Governor Keating said it right when you asked him. He said pray. I believe we need to pray. As Christians, we need to pray for people who can’t pray for themselves right now. I believe we need to call out to God and ask him to forgive our sins and heal our land. God is greater than sometimes we think of him and he can solve this, give us answers, give us wisdom, and lead us through this in a way that makes us stronger as a nation; but we have to turn to him.

Jane Clayson: This event has changed us forever. I know you believe that. Going forward, as a nation, what do you say about that?

Anne Graham Lotz: Well, I pray that God will use this event to change us forever in a positive way. And that will strengthen our faith in him.

I thought of all those people who have died in this tragedy. It doesn’t matter right now what political affiliation they had or what denomination they belong to or what religion or what the color of their skin was or their stock portfolio.

What matters is their relationship with God. I would like to see Americans begin to focus on some of the primary things and some of the things that are more important than just, you know, entertainment and pleasure and making more money.

Personally I think God is giving America an opportunity to repent and turn back to Him.

Let’s be very clear on this one point, that God has nothing whatsoever to do with any of these horrid events, not a one of them; but what has changed is that because of our own disobedience and hard headed rebellion against His ways and His laws, as we read in the Bible, God has been forced, because of our own actions and our own disobedience, to remove His hand of protection and blessing from our nation.

In fact He has done this at our insistence, or at least at the insistence of our elected politicians, under this de facto Corporate system in Washington DC, who have virtually legislated God out of most every area of our society and government… and so my question is, what did we (who are Christians) expect would happen?

All I can say is, if ever there was any evidence that there is truly a resident evil that exists in this world, whom the Bible describes and names as the Devil, and which also the Bible teaches that he is the mortal enemy of all humanity, then certainly last Friday’s senseless massacre should have removed any and all doubts of his existence. .

The fact is this sort of violence is today on the increase, here in our country. The truth is, it has been that way in the world for quite a long time, and it is only recently that this evil is making its presence known here in America.

This has been going on for quite some time, and even today things are getting progressively worse, as America has virtually taken God out of most every area of our society and our government.

We no longer teach our children about Him in our public schools, as our Founding Fathers once mandated.

Oh how far we have strayed from where we once began, where the first official act of Congress was to print Bibles for our public schools, for that very purpose.

Instead, what we are teaching our kids today, in our public schools, is that God is totally and absolutely irrelevant to anything that is of any importance in their life; and it is in that vacuum that Satan has come in and has taken over!

This has happened not only in our schools, but also in our society and in our government in general… and truly what we are seeing today is the result of our nation having turned away from God!.

As even this president has said, when on national television Obama said before the whole world that we are no longer a Christian nation!

I ask you, was he, Obama, speaking for the nation when he said that?

I can tell you this, he certainly wasn’t speaking for me; but I do fear that what he said has been proven to be all too true, as virtually (at least it appears on the surface) that the Christians in our nation have all but abdicated any position of authority or responsibility when it comes to our government’s leadership.

The obvious result of our lack of involvement has been that our country has been in a continual state of decline now for quite a number of years, to where we are seeing more and more evidence of that decline in thing like what took place this last weekend.

As unthinkable and as horrible as this mass murder was, in the lost of 28 innocent lives, 20 of which were young children, let us consider for a moment how God must feel about the over 50 million unborn babies, whose lives have been snuffed out over these last forty or fifty years, where this de facto U.S. Corporation not only endorses the murdering of unborn children, but it is paying for it; and still today it continues, at a rate of over a million babies per year, who are being exterminated through abortion?

Not only that, as if that were not bad enough, this de facto U.S. Corporation is even today exporting this practice to other countries as well.

As a nation, are we not accountable for these actions?

According to God’s Word we are.

Something is horribly and seriously wrong here, folks; but then again none of this has happened overnight.

No, rather we have gotten here through a process that has been developing and getting progressively worse over time.

The question is, what do we do and how do we change this trend?

Well to answer that question, certainly we cannot look to the same unbelieving and pagan world that caused it, and more specifically, here in America, we CANNOT look to this unbelieving de facto D.C. Corporation, in Washington DC, for our answers… when it was actually our blindly following their lead, to begin with, that has gotten us into this mess!

Our country has been a prime example of what happens whenever the spiritually blind are being lead by the blind, where if we aren’t careful and we don’t change our ways and repent, just as the Bible says will happen, we ALL will fall into the ditch!

No, the answer to what ails America today will not be found in anything material, and it most certainly is not going to be found in a changed economy either, as obviously many believe to be the case; but rather the answer to what ails our nation starts with the spiritual; and it is because of that fact that it has to be the Christians in our country who act to correct it, and not the unbelievers.

The first thing that has to happen is that WE, who are Christians, have to pray and ask for God’s forgiveness for making such a mess of things; for being so apathetic; when after having abdicated our responsibilities to maintain a righteous and God fearing Government, in the form of a Constitutional Republic, as it was left us by our Founding Fathers, we have instead, over time (over the last 140 years), we have allowed unbelievers to come in and take over.

Again, my questions to the Christians, who are reading this, is what else did we expect would happen?

It is that very behavior, that we are seeing here, that is evident in our rebellious attitude, which is common to ALL of us as a part of the human race, that is the nature of what the Bible calls sin; and as the Bible teaches, it is that very sin nature, which all of us have, which flows through our blood, and which we all have inherited from our father Adam, that has caused our estrangement and separation from God… and it is for that very reason that Jesus came, because we ALL need a Savior! .

The first step on this road home, towards our reconciliation with God, is REPENTENCE, which starts with each one of us, as Christians, through faith and obedience to God’s Word (the Holy Bible), and through our study and meditation in His Word, we allow the Holy Spirit to rewrite the code of this world’s programming, that has been so ingrained in us from our youth, and we instead repent, which means literally that we change the way we think.

This is what God has promised us in 2 Chronicles 7:14, that if My people, who call themselves by My name (Christian) would humble themselves and pray; turn from their wicked ways and seek my face; then I will hear their prayers and I will heal their land.

Please pray for America; pray for a spiritual awakening among God’s people, in our churches across our land, the likes of which happened at our nations birth; and pray also for a revival to sweep across our land as well, to reach all the unbelievers.

We desperately need to see a move of God in our nation, or we won’t make it… we need a miracle!

Yes we do need a miracle, but I have it on good authority, having read God’s Word and believing His promises, that miracles are God’s specialty; and that as Jesus said “ALL things are possible if we believe,” meaning if we are in faith… which means we are both obeying and believing! Selah

A focus on the true history behind the Jewish Festivals and Holidays…

From a biblical perspective the Jewish holy days were established by God

ALWAYS to call His people back to FAITH in Him!!!

Written by: Skip Barland

December 12, 2012

As a Christian myself, meaning as one who has accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as the prophesied ha’Mashiach (the Messiah) of Israel; and as one who has learned to follow the teachings of both the Tanakh (the Old Testament) and also that of the New Testament as a bases for my faith, I have to say that I relate much more to the Jewish Feast Days and Holidays that I find in the Tanakh (all of which were also honored and kept by Jesus and His disciples); and really what I have found is that the reason for these Holy-days was always to remind God’s people of their history and the importance of them maintaining and returning to FAITH in God.

The keeping of these holy-days are also the means by which this history and these truths were to be passed on to future generations.

However, just as it has happened overtime with the traditional Christian holidays, such as Christmas and Easter (and increasingly more so today than in the past), where the world and religious pagan traditions have taken over and have (in many cases) totally replaced the true biblical meanings of these holy-days, I find the same has happened over time with many of the Jewish holidays as well, where the true meaning and history behind these holy-days have been lost and in some instances have been totally replaced by some fictional story, exactly as has happened overtime with the Christian holy-days, with the creation of the stories about Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

Even though that is the way things have evolved today in the secular community and even in some religious communities, I for one do not choose to buck the tide; but rather I see this as an opportunity to bring the focus back to the original intent and meaning of these very sacred and important Holy-days, as they are mentioned and taught in both the Tanakh and the New Testament.

As a Christian I have to say also that I so appreciate and enjoy studying this history and these truths from the Bible, regarding the true meaning behind these Jewish holy-days and also the Christian holy-days, because I find at the center of each there is a total focus on the same God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and on the promised coming Messiah!

Truly in order to appreciate these truths in Scripture, regarding this sacred history and regarding  prophecies of the coming Messiah, you have to look at the Bible with a teachable mind and heart; and approach it with a focus on learning, allowing the Scriptures to teach you; and so many times that requires our having to strip away any preconceived religious notions and ideas that may not be accurate, or proven to be true in history or in Scripture.

Jesus put it this way, when speaking to the religious leaders of His day, and certainly this is even more true in our day::

Mark 7:1-8

Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions

7 The Pharisees and some experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. ² They saw that some of his disciples were unclean^[a] because they ate without washing their hands.

³ (The Pharisees, like all other Jewish people, don’t eat unless they have properly washed their hands. They follow the traditions of their ancestors. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace, they don’t eat unless they have washed first. They have been taught to follow many other rules. For example, they must also wash their cups, jars, brass pots, and dinner tables.^[b])

⁵ The Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

⁶ Jesus told them:

“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture:

‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
⁷ Their worship of me is pointless,
because their teachings are rules made by humans.’

⁸ “You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions.”

There is so much in the Tanakh that proves beyond any shadow of doubt that these Holy Scriptures are truly the inspired Holy and inerrant Word of God.

The Bible in fact records not only an accurate account of history, but also and more specifically its accuracy has also been proven to be true in other areas as well,  especially in the area of prophecy.

Truly you will find, if you read it, that it is the ONLY book ever written that accurately gives the future as history; and as you read it and study it with a mind to learn from it, and apply its truths and the wisdom that’s taught in it to your life, then it changes your life!

Here’s one prophecy in particular that I would like to direct your attention to regarding the coming Messiah, that is given in Daniel chapter 9, that shows beyond any doubt that there can be ONLY one Man who stands on the stage of history who meets ALL of the prophesied requirements of Messiah, and that Man is Jesus Christ!

“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.”

Amos 3:7

Check it out:

Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophecy: A detailed look at Daniel 9:24-27

Below is a detailed look at Daniel 9:24-27. Much of our commentary below is based on Josh McDowell’s book, “The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict”, pages 197-201:

PART ONE:

A chronological summary of Daniel 9:24-26

1. There would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

2. Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt.

3. Then an anointed one (messiah) would be “cut off” (an idiom for “rejected” or “killed”).

4. Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed again.

I came up with this summary after reading various renderings of this verse in various translations of the Christian Bible and of the Jewish Tanakh. (The Tanakh is the Jewish Bible; it contains the writings of what we Christians refer to as the Old Testament). I believe that this chronology fits most of the renderings that I have seen, whether they are translations by Christians or by Judaists. My summary is in no way original – many Christians, such as Josh McDowell, have come up with the same chronology long before I did.

PART TWO:

A summary of how Daniel 9:24-26 was fulfilled

All of these events later happened, in the same order in which they are described in Daniel 9:24-26:

1. After the Medo-Persians had conquered the Babylonian empire about 2540 years ago, they ruled a vast empire that included the land of Israel. About 2446 years ago (about 445 BC), Persian king Artaxerxes gave permission to the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem, which was still in ruins after having been destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.

2. The Jews rebuilt the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.

3. Then, in about 33 AD, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the Messiah who had been promised by Old Testament prophets. But, many people rejected Jesus as the Messiah and He was crucified by the Romans.

4. About 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. (The Temple has not been rebuilt since then).

PART THREE:

How Daniel 9:24-26 was “Fulfilled to the day” according to scholars such as Josh McDowell

First, McDowell, and other scholars, separate the prophecy into three parts:

1. The “7 sevens” in Daniel 9:25.

2. The “62 sevens” in Daniel 9:25.

3. And the 70th “seven” in Daniel 9:27.

Then, they combine the first two periods for a total of 69 “sevens.” They combined the first two periods because it is at after the completion of those two periods that the anointed one appears, and that’s what we are trying to calculate – when the anointed one was supposed to appear.

Next, they interpret the “sevens” as “seven years” or periods of seven years, rather than a period of seven days or seven weeks or seven months. Part of the reason that this is interpreted as “years” is because of the reference to “years” in Daniel 9:2. (Daniel 9:2 refers to the “seventy years” prophecy that Jeremiah spoke of in Jeremiah 25).

PART FOUR:

The mathematics of calculating Daniel 9:24-26 and the issue of the 360-day “prophetic” calendar

At this point, we’re adding the 7 “sevens” and the 62 “sevens” for a total of 69 “sevens”. And we are interpreting the 69 “sevens” to mean 69 periods of seven years, for a total of 483 years. So, we are saying that there would be a period of 483 years from the time that a decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem to the time that a Messiah is to appear.

Some Christian scholars say that the period of 483 years should not be thought of in terms of our modern solar calendar which is based on a 365.25 days to a year. Instead, we are to use a “prophetic” calendar which has 360 days to a year. Many ancient calendars, including the Jewish calendar, were based on a lunar year of 12 months, with each month lasting 30 days each. Many ancient peoples, including the ancient Jews, did realize that there actually were more than 360 days to a year and so they would tack on an extra five days at some point during the year.

Another reason some scholars say that we should apply a 360-day calendar to Daniel’s prophecy is because of various Bible references that allude to a fixed 30-day month view of time. For example, in Genesis 7:24, it says that the flood lasted 150 days. And, in Genesis 7:11, it says the flood began in the 17th day of the second month. And in Genesis 8:4, it says that the flood subsided on the 17th day of the seventh month, when the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. So, these passages present us a 5-month period of time that is described as being 150 days in length. And that of course is five 30-day months.

There are other Bible passages that indicate that time is being measured in fixed 30-day month periods. Revelation 12:6 mentions a 1,260 day period which, in my view, clearly relates to the three-and-a-half-year period mentioned in Revelation 12:13-14 and in Daniel 9:27. For three-and-a-half years to equal 1,260 days, one would have to measure years in 360-day increments. That of course doesn’t mean that the earth’s orbit of the sun is going to speed up or change, it just simply means that the prophetic year is a measure of time in which a “year” has 360 days, nothing more, nothing less. It’s no different than weighing a bag of groceries using the metric system of kilograms and then using the old English system of pounds and ounces. It is not that one system causes the groceries to weigh more or less, but rather the two systems describe the weight in different units. So too does the prophetic year in comparison to our solar calendar – it uses a different system to measure time.

So, we take the 483 years that we had calculated earlier and we multiply the 483 by 360. In other words, we are viewing the 483 year period described in Daniel 9:25 as “prophetic years” of 360 days each. And, 483 times 360 equals 173,880. And that gives us a total of 173,880 days.

Now, we want to apply these 173,880 days to our calendar, which has 365.25 days to a year. Why? So that we can use our calendar in trying to figure out the year that this part of Daniel’s prophecy was to begin its fulfillment and when this part of Daniel’s prophecy was to be completed. So, we divide the 173,880 days into years of 365.25 days. And, that equals 476 (solar) years. Now, we need to figure out when this 476 year period was supposed to begin.

PART FIVE:

When was Daniel’s “69 weeks of years” supposed to begin?

At this point we are trying to figure out when the 476-year period begins. The prophecy in Daniel 9:24-26 begins with a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Many people have proposed different years for different decrees. And I won’t pretend to have the “only correct answer,” because I don’t know if I have that or not. In any event, here are four decrees that are often discussed in relation to Daniel 9:24-26:

1. The decree from Cyrus in 539 BC. (see Ezra 1:1-4)

2. The decree from Darius in 519 BC. (see Ezra 5:3-7)

3. The decree from Artaxerxes to Ezra in 457 BC. (see Ezra 7:11-16)

4. The decree from Artaxerxes to Nehemiah in 444 BC. (see Nehemiah 2:1-8)

As cited in McDowell’s book, a Christian scholar named J.D. Wilson contends that only the decree from Artaxerxes to Nehemiah applies to this prophecy. As cited in McDowell’s book, Wilson explains:

“The words of the decree are not given, but its subject matter can easily be determined. Nehemiah hears of the desolate condition of Jerusalem. He is deeply grieved. The King asks the reason. Nehemiah replies, ‘the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire.’ The King bids him make request. He does so promptly, asking for an order from the King that ‘I be sent to the city that I may build it.’ And, as we read, he was sent, and he rebuilt Jerusalem.“

And so, that is J.D. Wilson’s reason for using the Artaxerxes to Nehemiah. The next issue is finding a date for that decree. McDowell, page 199 of his “The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict,” reads:

“The decree was given in 444 B.C., based on the following:

1. ‘In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ (Nehemiah 2:1).

2. Artaxerxes’ accession was in 465 B.C.

3. There is no day-of-month specified, so according to the Jewish custom the date is understood as the first day of the month, which would be Nisan 1, 444 BC.

4. March 5, 444 B.C. is our corresponding calendar date.“

Many scholars use the March 5 date, but not all use the 444 BC year. Some use 445 BC as the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. I myself haven’t done enough research to decide which year is most likely to be the correct year. Regardless of whether you accept the date as being March 5, 444 BC or March 5, 445 BC, we now have a starting point for Daniel’s prophecy.

PART SIX:

When was Daniel’s “69 weeks of years” supposed to end?

We are now at the point where we can try to pinpoint when the Messiah was supposed to make his appearance. If we agree on the points that have been made earlier, then we simply calculate 476 years into the future, using 444 BC as the starting point. To do that, if I am not mistaken, we count 443 BC as the first of the 476 years. Why – because the first began in 444 BC and it ended in 443 BC. So we start counting from 443 BC. So, we have 443 years on the BC side of measuring time and that leaves us with 33 years on the AD side to account for the full 476 years. Using this formula, we arrive at 33 AD the year in time in which the Messiah was to appear.

And that would correspond to the time that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The reason the donkey is important is that in Zechariah 9:9, the prophet Zechariah speaks of a King riding a donkey and presenting himself as the King to Jerusalem.

Alfred Edersheim, a Christian Jew who lived during the 1800s, studied ancient Rabbinical writings, and said that Zechariah 9:9 was often interpreted as being about a Messiah. In the book, “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,” Edersheim wrote: “The Messianic application of this verse in all its parts has already been repeatedly indicated. We may here add that there are many traditions about this donkey on which the Messiah is to ride; and so firm was the belief in it, that, according to the Talmud, `if anyone saw a donkey in his dreams, he will see salvation’ (Ber 56 b).”

So then, what better way for a Messiah to announce himself in Jerusalem than to enter the great city on the back of a humble donkey?

There are theories that pinpoint the exact date of the exact year that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The dates that I have seen in my review of other people’s research is April 6, either April 6, 32 AD, or April 6, 33 AD. (And, again, the difference in the year depends on whether the 20th year of Artaxerxes was in 444 BC or 445 BC). And, some scholars have claimed that there are exactly 173,880 days from March 5, 444 BC to April 6, 33 AD (and, 173,880 days from March 5, 445 BC to April 6, 32 AD).

PART SEVEN:

What ancient Rabbis thought of Daniel 9:24-26

I found a Web site that pulls together various ancient writings from Rabbis, commenting on Daniel, chapter 9. That Web site’s address is: http://www.inerrancy.org/dan.htm

According to that Web site, at least a handful of ancient Rabbis agree that it is correct to view Daniel 9 as providing a timeline for the arrival of a Messiah. Below are a few examples that I copied verbatim from that Web site:

“1a. Maimonides (Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon): “Daniel has elucidated to us the knowledge of the end times. However, since they are secret, the wise [rabbis] have barred the calculation of the days of Messiah‘s coming so that the untutored populace will not be led astray when they see that the End Times have already come but there is no sign of the Messiah” (Igeret Teiman, Chapter 3 p.24.)“

“1b. Rabbi Moses Abraham Levi: “I have examined and searched all the Holy Scriptures and have not found the time for the coming of Messiah clearly fixed, except in the words of Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, which are written in the 9th chapter of the prophecy of Daniel (The Messiah of the Targums, Talmuds and Rabbinical Writers, 1971) p.141-142 (These two quotes were taken from The Creator Beyond Time and Space by Mark Eastman, M.D. and Chuck Missler (The Word for Today, 1996)).“

Assuming that these citations are accurate renderings of what the Rabbis had said, it seems clear that these Rabbis believed that Daniel 9:24-26 referred to a Messiah, a very important Messiah, and that the Bible passage provided the information needed to calculate the Messiah’s arrival. As for the first example, Maimonides of course was a Judaist, not a Christian, and so from his point of view, the prophecy had not yet been fulfilled. And that would account for his comments about calculating the Messiah’s arrival.

PART EIGHT:

My conclusions about Daniel’s “69 weeks of years”

Perhaps we can’t all agree, at this time, on every specific detail involved in calculating a starting point for Daniel’s prophecy about the 69 weeks of years. But, eventually, we might have additional information from archaeologists and historians to help pinpoint that starting point. But at this present time, it seems to me that there is widespread agreement among Christian scholars on the following issues:

1. That there is evidence in the Bible to support the concept of the “prophetic calendar” which measures time in terms of 360-day years.

2. That there is evidence in the Bible to support the view that the decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah is, or at least could be, the starting point of Daniel’s prophecy.

3. That there is strong evidence from historians and archaeologists to pinpoint “twentieth year of Artaxerxes” as being either 444 BC or 445 BC.

4. That the events described in Daniel’s prophecy do line up as follows:

• That there would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

• Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt.

• Then an anointed one (messiah) would make his appearance and then be “cut off.”

• Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed again.

http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/weeks.htm

This is the star that shone on the stable that sheltered the manger that held the miracle that changed the world!

May the miracle of Christmas shine brightly on you.

Unto US a Child is born…

And His Name shall be called Emmanuel (meaning: God with us)

^“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin

shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”

Isaiah 7:14

The Miracle of Christmas is that God did for us, through His only begotten (unique) Son), Jesus Christ, what we could not do for ourselves!

Mankind was lost; we had no hope and could not bridge the gap and estrangement between us and our Creator that was left by Adam and Eve’s transgression; and so God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, in order to communicate the Father’s love to us; and in so doing Jesus Christ (our Messiah) offered Himself as our substitute and thereby paid our debt and our penalty, for our transgression.

This is the time of the year where we recognize this most precious and wonderful Gift that was given for us, by celebrating His birth.

It’s not about materialism, sales, and the economy; it’s not even just about our having warm fuzzy feelings about family and about each other, and nor is it just about our giving gifts to each other.

All of that is fine, but we shouldn’t forget the real reason for the season; and yes even though we can know from history and from scripture that Jesus’ birth was not in the middle of Winter, on December 25^th, but rather it was in the fall of the year that Jesus was born, during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.

When was Jesus really born?

Well thanks to the writings of a Jewish historian, by the name of Josephus, and also to Holy Scripture, it is possible for us to determine the time of the year when Jesus was born.

It is because of these two accounts that we can plot the time from when John the Baptist’s father (Zacharias) was offering his service in the Holy Temple to the birth of our Saviour.

King David (in 1 Chronicles 24:1-4) divided the sons of Aaron into 24 courses or groups to create a schedule by which the Holy Temple could be staffed.

Once these courses were established lots where drawn to determine the sequence whereby each group would serve in the Temple. (1 Chronicles 24: 7-19)

Luke 1:5-9

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

Since Abijah was the eighth course, that would have placed Zacharias’ service in the temple sometime around June.

We are told in Luke 1: 23-24 that when Zacharias’ service in the Temple was ended, that he went to his home; and it was then that his wife Elizabeth conceived.

Luke 1:24-27

²⁴ After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said,²⁵ “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”

In verse 26 we also learn that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit during the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (June + 6 months = December), and so that would mean that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit sometime around December.

Luke 1:28-38

²⁸ And the Angel Gabriel came to Mary and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

 ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

³³ He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

³⁶ And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.”

³⁸ Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

So now you add 9 months to December and that means Jesus had to be born sometime in September, during the Feast of Tabernacles (when God came to tabernacle with man), which  makes sense because the time to collect taxes would be at the end of the harvest, not in the dead of Winter.

Nevertheless, since December 25^th is the day that has traditionally been set aside to recognizes and to celebrate our Saviour’s birth, and whereas I think it is right to teach the truth regarding this history, I see no reason why we can’t celebrate this joyous occasion  on any day, including December 25th.

With that said, the reason why Jesus came is the TRUE meaning of Christmas; and all the rest of the tradition and culture is fine because it does serve to bring us all closer together; but still let us who are Christians not allow the world to take Jesus out of Christmas, as they are trying to do; but rather let us remember always to keep the main event front and center, which is Jesus Christ; that we each had a debt we could not pay, which Jesus paid for us; and it was His entry into the world that shows us what God’s grand design is for us all, who are called by His name, in what God expects of us, who follow as Jesus’ disciples!

Jesus is the reason for the Season and He is also our example to follow; and so like Him so must we also be about our Father’s business.

So with that being my soapbox speech for the season, I want to wish ALL of you a very…

 with love from your servant,

Skip

Jesus SPOKE to the fig tree and the Bible says…

“His disciples heard Him!”

Mark 11:12-14

The Fig Tree Withered

¹² Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴ In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again“… And His disciples heard it.

Often today we hear people, even Christians, ridiculing, in a very derogatory and belittling manner, the “Word of Faith” movement by calling them that “Name it and claim it,” or that “blab it and grab it” group!

I don’t know about you, but I made a commitment to my Lord, not knowing anything about the Bible whatsoever when I first started this spiritual pilgrimage and search for Truth, that if I could find precedent in Bible for what I was being taught, then I would believe it and accept it as Truth; and that is the way I have lived and have walked ever since.

The fact that we have all seen charlatans and false teachers misuse the Word of God for their own profit, doesn’t mean that we have to throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.

The fact is there are counterfeits and phonies in ever area of life, but we should also remember that in order for there to be a counterfeit of anything, there first has to be the genuine article; and from God’s perspective it’s only those who walk as Jesus walked, with an emphasis on being obedient to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, where He said “I only do the things I see the Father do; and I only speak the words I hear Him speak, it is only these who are obedient and teachable, who are the true disciples of Christ.

The Bible even says that we, as Jesus’ disciples are to put on the Mind of Christ; and as Jesus was always about His Father’s business… so must we be about our Father’s business as well!

It’s why we ALL are here and it is our destiny, to first be teachable, and then to be obedient to follow God’s Word, and be led by the Holy Spirit; and thereby fulfill our purpose and our calling in life.

We must also remember, as the Bible says, we were each created for God’s pleasure and not our own.

It’s obvious that before we are born-again, for ALL of us, from the time we are born into the world, our attitude is that the world and life is all about us; as we think of ourselves as the center of the universe, the end all and be all of life.

That behavior is not something we had to learn, of being selfish and self-centered; it comes natural to all of us, from the day we are first born into this world, until we are born-again, and start operating from God’s paradigm and cease to operate from our own.

Well it is that very attitude, which by the way we all have had at one time or another, and still we each have to struggle to keep it in check every day, that is the nature of what sin is.

It’s in our DNA, and it is common to all man, as we each have inherited that nature from our father Adam, when we presume to go against God’s original plan and purpose, and the design which He has for our life, and instead we choose to follow our own path…. Just as the Bible says, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each following our own way, and the Lord has laid upon Him, Jesus, the inequity of us ALL!” (see Isaiah 53: 6)

That is the reason we ALL need a Saviour, because we ALL have without question violated God’s law, and are hopelessly beyond redemption through any efforts of our own, without benefit of a Saviour!

We have to be Born-again!

The Bible very clearly tells us that Jesus operated during His entire earthly ministry in perfect sync and harmony with His Father in Heaven, and with the Holy Spirit.

In fact, Jesus operated in the earthly realm, not as God, even though He is God, but He operated as a normal human, as we all are, in order to show us the potential that we each have available to us, if we would but change our paradigm and our bad habits, and become teachable.

Along the way, I also have discovered that the more I learn and the more that I think I know, the more there is that I truly don’t know; and so it goes; but then I guess any god that I could know of that thoroughly and completely in my little peanut brain would not really be the same God that created the universe, and all that is in it.

With that said, there are many today in the education field and in science, who I think have been educated beyond their intelligence, to even think that all of this wonderful and beautiful creation, that we see around us, could have come about without a God; and that it happened through some natural process called “Natural Selection.”

How can the finite know the Infinite; how can the created truly know their Creator?

To resolve that quandary is exactly the reason why God became a man, and was born in a manger a little over two thousand years ago.

For me I have discovered beyond any doubt that all that the Bible says is both true and accurate; and by that I mean the Book is completely 100% inherent (in its original tongues), and that it is both reliable and accurate as it describes the events that it records.

Most people or nations when they record their history, they leave out the bad parts, but the Hebrew scribes that recorded this history, that we read today in the Bible, understood well that what they were writing was being inspired through inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and so they recorded the truth as it happen in every detail… including the good, the bad, and the ugly.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:21

²¹ For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

For me, Jesus Christ (the Messiah of Israel) is my Lord, my Savour, and my Master; and the Holy Spirit and God’s Word is my guide.

With that said, there are some very interesting topics that we can learn from the Bible about who we are, how we are made, and about this world that we live in.

It’s also within its pages, that we are taught how to operate in the Spirit, just as Jesus did.

In the above account some very important lessons are being taught about how faith works.

First of all, it’s about believing and having faith in your HEART and NOT in your mind or intellect that these things, these supernatural acts which we read about in the Bible were done.

There is a difference and we must understand what that difference is.

When the Bible talks about the heart of a Christian, it is talking about the centermost part of our three part being… Body, Soul, and Spirit.

It is not talking about the pumping organ of the body either; rather in the Hebrew the word that was translated “heart,” could better be translated as our “gut.”

You might be interested to know that medical science has even discovered a link that exists between the brain and our intestines or our gut., that is called the vagus nerve.

The Brain-Gut Connection

Why do we get butterflies in our stomach before a performance?

Why does indigestion produce nightmares?

Why are antidepressants now also being used for gastrointestinal ailments?

It turns out that both our gut and our brain originate early in embryogenesis from the same clump of tissue which divides during fetal development. While one section turns into the central nervous system, another piece migrates to become the enteric nervous system. Later the two nervous systems connect via a cable called the vagus nerve — the longest of all the cranial nerves whose name is derived from Latin, meaning “wandering.”  The vagus nerve meanders from the brain stem through the neck and finally ends up in the abdomen. There’s the brain-gut connection.

Have you ever wondered why an impending job interview can cause an attack of intestinal cramps? And why do anti-depressants targeted for the brain cause nausea or abdominal upset in millions of people who take such drugs? The reason for these common experiences is because each of us literally has two brains –the familiar one encased in our skulls and a lesser-known but vitally important one found in the human gut. Like Siamese twins, the two brains are interconnected; when one gets upset, the other does, too. No wonder people trust their gut. One half of all our nerve cells are located within the gut.

The state of the gut has a profound influence upon our health. It is from the healthy gut that we enjoy neurological and psychological as well as immunological health. This is not to discount the human brain. This is simply to say that the body has two brains — the second brain being our gut. There is an excellent article on this brain-gut connection called Complex and Hidden Brain in Gut Makes Bellyaches and Butterflies written by Sandra Blakeslee, originally published in the January 23, 1996 issue of The New York Times.

How it all Works

The gut’s brain, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS), is located in sheaths of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Considered a single entity, it is packed with neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins that zap messages between neurons or support cells like those found in the brain. It contains a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently, learn, remember and, as the saying goes, produce gut feelings.

In his book The Second Brain, HarperCollins 1998, Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, dubs the entire gastrointestinal system the body’s second nervous system. “The brain is not the only place in the body that’s full of neurotransmitters,” says Dr. Gershon. “A hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number that is found in the brain…” If we add the nerve cells of the esophagus, stomach and large intestine, there are more nerve cells in the gut than there are in the entire remainder of the peripheral nervous system. Nearly every chemical that controls the brain in the head has been identified in the gut, including hormones and neurotransmitters.

This complex circuitry provides the brain in the gut with the means to act independently. Proof of this can be seen in stroke victims whose brain stem cells, which control swallowing, have been destroyed. If this occurs, a surgeon has to create an opening in the abdominal wall, so that feeding can be accomplished by manually inserting foods directly into the stomach. Once the food is in the stomach, digestion and absorption can take place, even in individuals who are brain dead. The central nervous system is needed for swallowing and for defecation, but from the time the food is swallowed to the moment its remains are expelled from the anus, the gut is in charge.

It never ceases to amaze me how many relatively new discoveries science has made over the years, and continues to make today, that only just confirms what the Bible has been saying all along.

I’ve always maintained that the Bible is our Operations Manual for life, and though it contains 66 books, and was pinned by forty different authors over a period of more than 1,500 years, the continuity and single thread of truth that permeates its every page (which you have to read to know for yourself), shows us beyond any doubt that this Book is of extraterrestrial origin, from beyond our space and time continuum; and that is exactly what Jesus said it was!.

The Bible has also been proven over time to be extremely accurate when it comes to things like Prophecy, History, Science, and Archeology, to the point it has never been shown to be incorrect.

In fact there have been some very intelligent men in history who have started out to prove the Bible wrong, who after having read it and studied it were later found on their knees worshiping the God of the Bible.

The World has many opinions about this Man, who stands on the stage of history, where even our calendar is divided into two parts, and is separated by His birth.

There’s the part that preceded His birth, which we call B.C. and the part that followed it, which we called A.D..

One writer described Jesus Christ’s influence in this way:

Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the center-piece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever were built, and all of the parliaments that ever have sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life, Jesus of Nazareth.

What about this Man, Jesus Christ (which in Hebrew is: Yeshua Ha’Mashiach—Saviour, the Messiah) and what about this Book called the Bible?

Jesus – Man, Myth or God?

Perhaps you have wondered, Is Christianity really established upon historical facts? Dr. Clifford Herbert Moore, former professor at Harvard University writes:

Christianity knew its Savior and Redeemer, not as some god whose history was contained in a mythical faith, with rude, primitive and even offensive elements. The Christian’s faith is founded on positive, historical and acceptable facts.

A long list could be made of such outstanding scholars who devoutly followed Christ. Dr. William Lyon Phelps, a professor at Yale University for forty years and one of the most distinguished educators in the history of our country, expressed his confidence in the historical evidence concerning the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and frequently shared his personal faith in Christ as Savior and Lord.

It is true that there are men – among them some of the world’s most honored scholars – who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior. But I am appalled when I talk to many of these men about Christ, for I discover that almost always they are ignorant of the basic truths of the gospel. If you would read any of the writings of Robert Ingersoll, Thomas Paine, or other well-known skeptics, you would be amazed to discover that these men are taking issue with something they do not fully understand. They have erected straw men, labeled them Christians, and then have proceeded to destroy their own creations.

Any reputable argument for the validity of Christianity stands or falls on the proof of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It is for this reason that His resurrection has been ridiculed and contested through the centuries by all kinds of skeptics. It is for the same reason that men of faith from all walks of life and disciplines of learning have dedicated their entire lives to proving that Jesus truly was raised from the dead.

Learn about the several irrefutable evidences that have brought me to the firm conviction that Jesus was raised from the dead, thereby proving Himself to be the Son of God.

Examining the Evidence

Many cynics and skeptics deny the claims of Christ. I have met people who are militantly antagonistic toward Him, though I must say that they are in the great minority. Some of them say that He is just a myth or that He is a great man and nothing more. They ridicule the Bible and make fun of those who worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

One of the best known skeptics of this century was C.S. Lewis, professor at Oxford University. For years, he was an agnostic who denied the deity of Christ. After a long process of searching for answers, he received Christ as his Savior and Lord. Later he wrote many outstanding books advocating belief in Christ as Savior.

In Mere Christianity, Lewis states:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teaher.  He would either be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he’s a poached egg – or else he would be the devil of hell; you must take your choice.

Accepting the Truth

I have yet to meet a man who has honestly considered the overwhelming evidence concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who does not admit that He is the Son of God. While some do not believe, they are honest in confessing, “I have not taken the time to read the Bible or consider the historical facts concerning Jesus.” Their attitude is founded upon an unfortunate childhood experience, the inconsistency of some Christian, or perhaps the influence of a college professor; but they admit that they have not honestly and sincerely considered the person of Jesus Christ and His claims on their lives.

Consider these passages concerning Jesus of Nazareth, taken from the Word of God: Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:1-2, and Ephesians 1:9-10.

In my quest for truth concerning the resurrection of Jesus, I discovered that many great scholars have believed, and do believe, in His resurrection. After examining the evidence for the resurrection given by the gospel writers, the late Simon Greenleaf, an authority in jurisprudence at Harvard Law School, concluded, “It was therefore impossible that they [the early Christians] could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact.”

Dr. William Lyon Phelps wrote, “It may be said that the historical evidence for the resurrection is stronger than for any other miracle anywhere narrated.”

John Singleton Copley, recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in Bristish history, comments, “I know pretty well what evidence is, and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet.”

These evidences satisfied my questions on the validity of the resurrection, and as a result, I invited the living Christ to come into my life almost fifty years ago.

Some years after I made my commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord, I sat in an empty tomb in Jerusalem – the tomb in which many believe the body of Jesus of Nazareth was laid the day of His crucifixion. It has been empty for almost 2,000 years.

I had gone to this garden tomb with great excitement. Somehow I felt that there I would meet with my Lord in a unique and special way. I anticipated that He would manifest Himself to me as in no other place, at no other time. Silently, I waited alone. Nothing happened. I was disappointed.

Then I remembered the words of those angelic beings who spoke to the women on that first Easter morning, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen” (Luke 24:5,6 NASB). Then I understood, as I never quite understood before, that Jesus of Nazareth, the risen Christ, was present in that tomb just as He was and is present in any other part of the world where men place their faith and trust in Him. Yes, He was with me in that tomb because He lives within me. But He is also with me on every continent and in every country where I travel and speak.

Jesus Christ promises to all who place their trust in Him to be with them always, never to leave them or forsake them. Of all the great, life-changing truths contained in the Bible, the most meaningful to me is that my body is a temple of God and the living, loving Lord, Jesus Christ, actually dwells within me.

Not only is Jesus the Son of God, He also can do things for us that no one else can do. I want to concentrate on four of these.

First, He is the only One who can pardon man from his sin.
Second, He alone can give purpose for life.
Third, He alone can give peace to a troubled heart.
Fourth, and finally, only Jesus can give us power to live an abundant life.

http://www.cru.org/how-to-know-god/jesus-and-the-intellectual/index.htm

As we get into the operations part of the Book, where we are instructed how we are to operate in faith, in order to appropriate in the earth, what we read has already been established in heaven, through the propitious work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross, we learn that things operate much differently from the way we have experienced here on the earth, up to the time of our conversion that is.

We all, especially here in the West, through our liberal public education system and our Western culture, we have been programmed to believe in a certain way.

If we are going to operate in the Holy Spirit, as Jesus did and follow Him; and if we are to experience the supernatural power of God personally, in our own lives, as we read in the Bible, in the same way the first century church experienced it, that by the way turned the whole world of their day upside down, then we are going to have to modify our way of thinking, which is what true Repentance is all about; and allow the Holy Spirit, and not the spirit of this world and our past experience and education, to determine how we are to act.

It’s a TOTALLY new paradigm for us to learn.

As we read above in Mark’s account, where Jesus cursed the fig tree, and the Bible says that He spoke to it and His disciples heard him; apparently from the account nothing happen right then, after Jesus spoke, because the Bible says that they continued on their journey to Jerusalem, and it wasn’t until 24 hours later that Peter saw that the fig tree was withered from its roots.

Let us pay close attention to what Jesus then told His disciples:

Mark 11:20-24

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree

²⁰ Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹ And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things which he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 

²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Below is an excellent lesson that shows how we can start writing the checks here in our time, and how to appropriate the supernatural manifestations in our circumstances that the Bible says we can expect to happen; and even Jesus said that even greater things then what you saw me do, will you do because I (Jesus) am going to my Father!

THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR WORDS

By Pastor Roger Anghis

April 29, 2012

Before we get started I think that it is important that we understand that the Word is a living thing.

John 6:63
“The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.”

Because of this, we will always be able to get new revelation out of scriptures that we thought we had already gotten the revelation there was to get.Enter into this study with open heart and mind, not with the ‘I’ve heard this before’ attitude.

Remember also that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word. It may be this time that you hear the Word that you breakthrough to a new level of understanding that will remove that burden and destroy that yoke.

Mark 11.22
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.”

This commandment is just as much for today as it was for them 2,000 years ago. We have to operate in faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. So God tells us to have faith in Him and then He tells us how to do that:

In Mark 11:23 He says:

“For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

You’ll notice that there’s a point being made here. That point is, it is very important what you say!

How do we please God?

2 Corinthians says that we are to walk by faith. We are to live by faith and part of that faith is believing what God has told us in the Bible.

If that’s the way we’re supposed to live, then that’s how we’re supposed to live. I see no reason to make apologies for it.

If a Christian doesn’t live that way, then he is missing out on most of what God has for him.

Notice that right after He tells us to have faith, He tells us that we are to speak.

I don’t recall anywhere where Jesus spoke to an infirmity and then said, ‘ I sure hope this works.

I haven’t healed blind eyes yet.’ No! He expected everything that He said to come to pass.

That’s why He didn’t mince His words. We are supposed to do the same thing. There are those who will call us the ‘Name it and claim it.’ crowd, or the ‘Blab it and grab it’ crowd. And these terms are used in a very derogatory manor.

There are even those who make fun of us for speaking in faith. Some even go as far as despising us for what we do.

What we have to do is keep in mind that the devil has been able to infiltrate the church over the centuries with his doctrines and lies and his deceptions and one of those deceptions is the power of “confession”.

The devil has got ‘decreeing a thing’ over in the realm of magic and abracadabra. If we discount “confession” we are simply not taking God seriously about what He has told us about the words of our mouth.

Jesus is the One Who is talking here and He doesn’t lie. We know that most of the church doesn’t believe that they can have what they say simply by listening to how they talk.

Even so-called faith preachers will say things that will curl your hair.I’ve heard people say that God killed their child. I’ve hear preachers say that God could care less about your problems. He’s got bigger things to worry about than you and your problems.

This is giving power to something that is NOT supported in the scripture.

Jesus goes on to say, “Therefore I say unto you, Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”

Jesus is telling us that we have to believe BEFORE we receive. That goes against everything we were brought up to believe.

This verse is talking about prayer and we have to be mindful of what we say about what we prayed about.

You don’t want to finish a prayer and then say something like, ‘I sure hope this works.’ Or ‘I sure hope it’s God’s will that I be healed.’

Those kind of statements are NOT in agreement with your prayer. Your prayer may be the most eloquent prayer, but if you speak in doubt and unbelief afterwards, it will negate your prayer.

You won’t move any mountains when your words don’t agree with your prayer.

Ever hear someone say, “I’m waiting for God to move this mountain.” It says “. . . that whosoever shall say unto this mountain”; It doesn’t say anything about asking God to move the mountain, it says that we have to speak to the mountain.

This alone should wake us up to the importance and the power of words. If we expect our words to be full of power and be life changing, then we have to believe what we say will come to pass.

Idle talk has to go. Dirty jokes have to go.

As you become more selective in what you say, you’ll be able to have more faith in what you say.

You may think that it would be nice to have the kind of faith that some of the patriarchs had. To be able to stand there with the fire crackling in the background and tell the king, ‘We won’t worship you no matter what you threaten us with. Or to stand at the shores of the Red Sea, with pharaoh bearing down on you and you tell the Red Sea to part. Or maybe facing Goliath with the courage that David did and fearlessly run into the battle with just a small stone.

We do have that same kind of faith.

2 Corinthians 4:13

“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore I have spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”

If Paul could read and believe and then speak, then we can too. If you don’t believe in something, you won’t talk much about it.

You can tell what a person who is sick believes by listening to what they say about their sickness. If they speak of the sickness and never bring up what the Bible says about healing, we know what they have more faith in, the sickness.

If you bring up 1 Peter 2:24 they’ll say ‘Yeah, I know that, but the doctor says…’ , or ‘Yeah, I know that, but my body still hurts.’

We can see that they don’t believe the Word nor do they believe that what they say changes their situation.

You know that you believe the Word and what you say when you can smile through the pain, you’re happy through that trail because you know that you’ll come out on top.

It’s a bad witness to be down in the mouth all the time. Always looking like there’s no hope.

Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness (Hebrews 1:9) and 1 John 4:17 describe how we are supposed to be, “. . . because as He is, so are we in the world.”

Jesus is not sad or depressed, frowning and looking like no hope for mankind, hoping He can make it through eternity without all hell breaking loose.

He’s happy, He’s cheerful and has a peace that goes beyond understanding. There are so many people who aren’t Christians simply because they have relatives that are. And if that’s how you have to be to be a Christian, they don’t want any part of it.

Why are these Christians sad and depressed? They don’t believe the Word of God. They don’t believe that they can control their circumstances by speaking life to them.

Believers are supposed to be joyful, victorious and peaceful.

James 1:18 -19

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

James is informing us that it is better to listen and get all the facts before you speak out.

How many know that there are those who will not be satisfied until all have heard their opinion even before all the facts are presented?

You hear some talk show hosts that ask their guest a question and then constantly interrupt them during their answer. “Always making sure that it is their opinion that is talked about the most.

James 1:26 – 27

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

There are two religions. Man’s religion, which is not good, and true religion, which is of God.

It doesn’t make any difference which religion you are, if you can’t control your mouth, it’s all for nothing, useless.

In this same chapter (vs. 23), James says that we need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. The number one way to be a doer of the Word is to speak the Word consistently.

In the next chapter he tells us that faith without works is dead.

James 3:1 – 2

“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

We have to ask that if we do all the right things, yet we do not control our mouths, it’s all in vain?

Is it true that if I can control my words I can control my body? Can I control my heart, my lungs, my kidneys?

James says the ‘body’ and all those are parts of the ‘body’. The Amplified says ‘control his whole body and curb his entire nature’. If you can control your mouth, you can control your life.

Let’s say you get a bad report from the doctor and everyone you meet, you tell them what the doctor says, and it isn’t good.

What are you doing?

Proverbs 6:2

“Thou art snared with the words of they mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth”.

The literal translation says, ‘you are captured by the words of your own mouth’. You talk the bad report and you talk the bad report over and over keeps you on the road to the end result that the doctor said.

You are snared by the words of your mouth. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

God says that we were healed. The physical evidence is attempting to exalt itself above the knowledge of God. Cast that down.

We are made in the image and likeness of God, we have the power to create and destroy with the words of our mouth.

The Word tells us we can be victors in all things. All means All.

Some people go to secular doctors for their problems and the doctor gives their problem a ‘name’ and then they’ll walk around saying, ‘My cancer or my diabetes.” My arthritis, my allergies, my heart problem, my bad back.

Why would you want to claim these diseases as ‘yours’?

You’ll notice that the people that ‘claim’ these things NEVER get rid of them and quite often, they even die of them.

Why do they continue to talk that way? They BELIEVE it!! They know what the Word says, but they believe what the doctor says.

God gave Joshua directions on how to have continuous success and that advise is the same for today.

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Psalm 89:34

“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips”.

Joshua 1:8

“This book of the law shall not depart out of they mouth: but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

You may not believe what the Word of God says, but start saying it anyway.

In the times that we are in now we are going to have to know the Word of God and believe the Word of God.

Without a strong foundation in the Word, we will not be able to stand against the enemy. If we don’t believe what the Word is telling us, the devil will do what ever he wants in our lives.

Be determined to believe. If it was good enough for the patriarchs, then it’s good enough for us.

NewsWithViews.com © 2012 Roger Anghis – All Rights Reserved

Jesus is our solid Rock, our place of refuge in the midst of a storm!

Written by: Skip Barland

December 1, 2012

Whatever you may be facing today, however difficult or impossible your situation may appear to be, know this that there is a God in heaven who knows all your ways and He is intimately acquainted with your every step, and with every need or problem that you have.

So the question is often asked by many, if that be true, then why does God allow such awful things to happen in this world, often to innocent and helpless people; and if He does know my situation, then how come I always feel so alone?

Well the answer to these questions can be found in our Operations Manual (the Bible), which is God’s book of instructions that He has provided us to answer so many of these sorts of questions. The Bible is also our roadmap, showing us the way home, in how God has provided forgiveness and reconciliation to every individual, through the propitious sacrifice and shed blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

To begin often our problems come, not to defeat us, but they come to teach us to trust in God and in His word.

We are not to worry or fret over life’s difficulties, but rather we must learn to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven; and then to trust by faith that the God of creation knows where I am..

Matthew 6:25-33

Don’t Worry

²⁵ “So I (Jesus) tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.

²⁶ Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. ²⁷ You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹ But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.

³⁰ God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you.

Don’t have so little faith!³¹ Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. ³³ Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (meaning God’s way of doing things), and then all your other needs will be met as well.

With God everything is about covenant relationship, where we first recognize His sovereignty as our Creator and God, and then by faith we come to Him, based on our covenant relationship and the promises He has given us in His Word. .

But you may be saying I have prayed many times, but so often I feel as if I’m praying under a brass ceiling, where God seems as though He’s a million miles away!

That’s where the faith comes in, where we recognize from all the many examples and stories that are given in God’s Word that God is never very far away and that He is even closer to you than your next breathe; and is ever sensitive to the call of His children in their times of need.

The Bible not only says that He is mindful of all our troubles, but it says that He keeps a record of every tear we shed, and even keeps each one stored in a bottle.

Psalm 56:8

You are mindful of all my ways (all my troubles); and You have even kept my tears in a bottle, and everyone has been recorded in your book

Being a Christian is NOT about having a bunch of knowledge and knowing all the doctrines of the faith; all of that is good, but knowledge alone, without experience, just won’t cut it in a pinch, when we are under pressure and are being attacked on every side!

It’s having the knowledge of the word stored in our hearts, after having meditated on it day and night; and then having the experience of past trials and tribulations in our life, where God has come through for us, and we have experienced his healing or provision in our time of need. It is this experience that gives us perseverance and longsuffering in our time of need.

Life is hard and there is no question about that, and bad things do happen to good people.

In fact, your being a Christian will probably mean that your life will be even that much harder, because the enemy of our soul (the Devil) has put a target on each of our backs the moment we gave our life to Jesus!

The fact is we are in a war, and from the moment you were enlisted into God’s army you are then enrolled in His basic training camp, where we learn the ways of heaven; and how to use the tools of the Holy Spirit in order to lay hold of His promises and apply them to our life.

This is not going to be an easy trip by any means; but God is faithful; and we learn that this is true through our experiences of having been tested in the fires of life!

Below is an article that was written by Kenneth Hagin that I believe will be helpful in shining a little light on our path.

It deals with some of the laws of heaven that are so very different from the natural laws of this earthly realm that we are so familiar with.

If we are to be used by God and if we are to make progress as His children, as His occupational force in the earth, then we are going to have first repent of our earthly ways, meaning we are going to have to change the way that we think, and allow the Holy Spirit to rewrite the code, or rather the programming, that we have learned from the world.

God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not ours; for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are God’s ways and God’s thoughts higher than ours; and since He is God and we are not, then we are the ones who are going to have to change!

Does that make sense? Well then keep reading and learn the power that resides in our tongue, that the Bible says has the power to do good or evil, or cause life or death!

Have Faith in God
By Kenneth E. Hagin

“For verily I [Jesus] say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain (representing any obstacle placed in our path by the enemy, the Devil), Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.” (Mark 11:23)

Several years ago, I was hemorrhaging from my body. I had serious pain symptoms. It was almost intolerable. The devil was giving me mental visions of cancer. I didn’t have any kind of inspiration, and all the feelings I had were negative.

Now I learned the multiplication table many years ago. It still works. Three time three is still nine. I don’t ever stop to think, Will that work? Do you suppose three times three is still nine? Do you suppose the multiplication table will work today?

I can’t get it to work for me. I see it working for others, but it won’t work for me. No, if multiplication doesn’t work for you, it’s because you don’t know the principle well enough.

I said to myself as I was lying in bed, “I learned what faith is. I learned Mark 11:23, which says, ‘Whosoever shall say and not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.'”

So I just started saying, “According to the Word of God, I’m healed.” In the face of pain, in the face of the most alarming symptoms, I said this. Every symptom began to abate almost immediately. And within two or three days, every symptom was gone.

Confession:

I say and do not doubt in my heart. I believe that those things that I say shall come to pass. Every day, I say, “According to the Word of God, I am healed!”

Source: Health Food Devotions by Kenneth E. Hagin. 

The Way to our Father’s Heart…

“It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

Written by: Skip Barland

November 24, 2012

God’s original design for humanity was always that we should learn the ways of the Lord first from our earthly parents, within a loving and nurturing home.

 Unfortunately things being what they are today, in this fallen world, most of us have been raised in a less than perfect environment  and whereas, as it was in my case, where my parents did the best they knew how to do, they were limited because of their own upbringing, and so it goes.

 Regardless of what your upbringing has been, and whether or not you had a loving and nurturing home, a godly home home to grow up in; or whether you even had parents at all, maybe you are an orphan, or possibly you were abused as a child; regardless of what your past is, just know this that you have a loving and nurturing Heavenly Father who is watching over your life; and He will teach you His ways and how to please Him.

 The only thing that we need to have is a teachable mind and spirit, and a willingness to humble ourselves and learn, as a child does with his earthly father.

 Children typically don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, or whether they will have a roof over their heads next month. They have faith, and they don’t even question whether their parents will take care of them or not… they know it!

 Likewise we are to develop that same attitude towards our Heavenly Father, regardless of what our earthly experience has been.

 The standard for Fatherhood is found in God, our Heavenly Father, and not in our earthly father; and so we each must begin our journey with that knowledge; that even though you may have been damaged, abused, or hurt in your upbringing, and even though you may be hurting even today, as an adult from that experience, and to one extent or another we all are in that condition, whatever is lacking in your past, just know this, that your Father in heaven will heal those wounds and that He will make you both whole and complete in Him.

That is always God’s goal, to make you complete in Him; and though those scars will always remain, as memory traces of your past experience, the way you will know you have been truly healed and delivered is because those scars will no longer bring pain to your life; but often your past experience will become the bases for your future ministry, so you will be able to have compassion and empathize with those who are coming down that same path and experience, that you came through. In this way God does enter into every experience of our life and works it for our good.

 We need to understand that God’s ways and thoughts are much different from the ways of this world and of man; and as the Bible says, “as far as the heavens are above the earth, so are God’s ways and thoughts above ours.”

 When we are born-again we are enrolled in the University of the Holy Spirit, and it is here that we learn the culture of heaven; how to put on the mind of Christ; and then to see things from God’s perspective; and how to navigate through life with His guidance and wisdom.

 It’s much the same as it would be if you were to move to a new country, where you would have to learn a whole new culture and way of life.. Likewise, if we are to be citizens of Heaven, we have to learn Heaven’s ways; and in fact our mission in the earth, as God’s covenant kids, is to bring heaven to earth, by manifesting God’s will in the earth, as it is in Heaven.

 So if we want to benefit from this relationship with our loving Heavenly Father, and see it grow, as we grow and mature, then we must learn to trust in Him, and by trust I mean we have faith in Him, that He will do what He promises.

“Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God.

This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. 

We also have joy with our troubles (our trials and tribulations), because we know that these troubles produce patience. ⁴ And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.” (Rom 5:1-5)

All of this is to teach us to live by faith; because without faith we CANNOT please God; and we must understand also that this doesn’t happen as an event in our life, but rather it happens as a process; a process that continues for the rest of our life while we are on this earth.

It is through this process that we learn, from our own experiences, that we can trust God to lead us through our own trials and tribulations in life.

 It is also in this process that we learn to apply those promises that we read in God’s Word; and by doing so we learn to cast our cares and our bodies, and even our lives, completely upon God, and by doing that we then develop perseverance.

God will make a way in your life even when there doesn’t appear in the natural to be any way or hope.

The Bible tells us that faith is the substance of things that we hope for, and that it is evident in things that cannot be seen or felt in the natural; and so consequently if we are to conform to God’s Kingdom and learn His ways, then we must learn to change the paradigm of the way we see things.

We must never looks to our circumstances or to our feelings in order to get hope, rather we must always look only to God’s Word!

Once you can see it and feel it, whatever it is that you are praying for, then you have it already and you no longer need hope.

Hope is what you hang on to before you see the physical manifestation!

And for all of this, we must humbles ourselves and become as children, even as our Lord instructed us to do:

Matthew 18:2-5

² Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³ and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.⁴ Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.⁵ Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”

If we want to learn from God, and be pleasing to Him, then we must learn to humble ourselves before Him and be teachable, as a child. Selah.

I’ll See It When I Believe It 
By Larry Ollison, Ph.D.

 
Hebrews 11:1-3 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

There are many people confused about the things of God. They worry and fret about creation, death, eternal life, heaven and hell. And it’s not uncommon to get letters asking this one question. “How can I understand God and the Bible? How can I know what to believe?”Well, today I have the answer.

Just believe what God says by faith. In other words, accept the Holy Bible as the Word of God, read it and believe it. Then, base all your decisions and all your trust on what God’s Word says. That’s called “walking by faith.”

Walking by faith is not always easy. Why? Well, it’s because we have become accustomed to walking by sight. Here’s what I mean.

When we pray and ask God to meet a need in our life that is clearly promised in His Word, we must believe that God has met that need. We must believe that God’s Word is true and that He has actually done what He said He would do.

Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Jesus did not say that we are to believe that we have received when we see results. He said that we are to believe that we have received what we have petitioned, when we pray. That’s praying in faith. We pray, then we believe God so much, we trust His promises so strongly, that we trust that He has already accomplished our request. From that point on, once we have prayed in faith, we thank Him for meeting our need. 

Once a man told me He couldn’t thank God for meeting His needs, because His needs had not been met. I asked Him if he had prayed and asked God to meet his needs. He said “Yes, I know that God will meet my needs, but I won’t really believe it until I see it.”

Waiting to believe when you receive is not faith. Faith is believing God, regardless of the way things look. As Christians, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. If the circumstances say one thing and God’s Word says another, we must believe God. God does not lie. You can always depend on Him. He will never let you down. He will always do what He said He would do. And according to His own Words, we will receive from Him when we believe Him.

In James chapter 1, the Bible tells us that when we pray we must believe that God will answer our petitions. In fact, verse 5 says, “But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”

When we pray, if we don’t believe, we won’t receive.

The world says, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The Word says, “I’ll see it when I believe it.”

Remember, Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” 

Larry Ollison Ministries 

This is what the world has done to our Christian Holy-days

Written by: Skip Barland

November 23, 2012

 Well here we are, another Thanksgiving Day has passed, and we are now officially entering into the former “holy-day” season. 

 Today is what is called “Black Friday,” a traditional day of shopping for bargains, as the stores gear up for what they hope will be another prosperous Christmas season. 

 How sad it is that what began in our country as a “Holy-day” of thanksgiving unto God, leading up to another “Holy-day” season of what used to be a in honor of the birth of our Saviour, that today all of this has been reduced, by the world, in the absence of any faith in God, into an annual pagan ritual of materialism. 

 It has gotten so bad that in many places today, and I dare say that in most places, when it comes to the public buildings and in public settings, you are not even allowed to have any kind of Christian display at all, that even hints that this was a day that was set aside to honor Jesus Christ.

 How sad is that, because the one thing that the world needs and is looking for is being denied them.

 For so many, it would seem, in this frantic hustle and bustle of today’s fast paced society, and in the face of mounting fears and concerns over the disintegration of a collapsing economy and a world on the brink of war, that this once cherished holy-day season that used to be a time of joy and of giving thanks to God, has today been reduced to people having this desperate need to grasp for some semblance of normalcy and escape, in order to take their minds off their problems and fears, and at least for a season to get caught up and lost in the holiday rush; but it’s all about material things, and not about God anymore!

 Like so many other things in life, once you take God out of the equation, in the vacuum that’s left behind, the world comes in, and Satan with it, in order to turn what started out as a blessing, into a curse. 

 It’s past time, I think, for Christians to stop following the world and stop imitating the world. 

 What started out as a country built on Christian principals, that was founded by men and women of faith, who literally sacrificed their ALL in order to leave to their children and to all future generations a legacy of faith, liberty and opportunity to their children, has today become a nation that is ruled over by unbelieving pagans, who have in fact made being Christian synonymous with second class citizenship.

 Who do we blame for this, but ourselves?

 It seems that Christians in America have been in a continual state of retreat for the last 200 years, as we have acquiesced and have given ground over to the world in almost every single challenge that they have presented to our faith.

Our response as Christians has typically been to just draw another line in the sand and back up.

 Well it seems we have gotten to the point that we have backed ourselves into a wall, and that we have no place further to retreat to.

 What ever happen to that “onward Christian soldier” attitude, that was backed by the knowledge that Christ is building His church and the gates of hell will NOT prevail against Him?

 It sounds to me like this is a church that has the enemy in retreat, and not the other way around. So what happened?

 Obviously somewhere along the way we lost our way and we lost our courage.

 The fact is, there’s already too much tensile and fluff in the world, and people today are just desperate to find something that’s real!

 It’s very clear in the Bible, from all the examples given there, that the power to change a society and turn a nation around does not rest with the unbelievers in that society, but it rests with the believers. 

 Jesus, before He left, clearly told His disciples that “ALL power in both heaven and earth has been made available to Me, and that you (the church) are to go out into the world in His name and preach the Kingdom of God to a lost and dying world.” Whatever happened to that plan?

 So the question is, how do we change this downward spiral that our country is in, and also this worldly paradigm of a nation that has turned away from God, into one that is repenting and turning back to God? 

 I think it starts with our attitude and our relationship with God, as individuals. 

 After all, doesn’t the Bible say that judgment starts at the household of God? 

 With that in mind, in this season of thanksgiving, I think it is a good idea for those of us who are Christians, to begin by remembering what it means to be grateful and to give thanks to God.

 What is it that the Bible says that God expects from us, as Christians?

          1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Rejoice always,

 ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, 

 ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Everyday should be a day of giving thanks to God, first for all of His wonderful gifts; not the least of which is the gift of His Son, who gave His all on Calvary’s cross, in order to insure our position in heaven for eternity.

 We are to give thanks also for those whom God has brought into our life, among our family and friends; and our brothers and sisters at church, all of which are also a wonderful blessing.

 No man or woman is an island unto themselves on this Christian pilgrimage; and God himself has designed it that way; so He has sent people to surround us and to help us, primarily in the church, so that we would not be alone; so that we can learn to operate as a team and to complement one another, in order that we might better accomplish our heavenly mandate, which is to bring this Gospel of the Kingdom of God to a lost and dying world. Selah

Have You Said ‘Thank You’ Today?

By Rick Renner

Take a moment today to acknowledge and be grateful for the little things — the small gestures of kindness and favor that God has expressed though familiar and even unknown people who’ve touched your life.

 It’s amazing how meaningful and rich life becomes when we practice an attitude of gratitude for every good gift God has given.

 Happy Thanksgiving!

I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. (Eph. 1:15)

 When is the last time you gave thanks from your heart for the loved ones God has placed in your life?

 The phrase “give thanks” in Ephesians 1:15 comes from the Greek word eucharisteo, a compound of the words eu and charis.

 The word eu means good or well. It denotes a general good disposition or an overwhelmingly good feeling about something.

 The word charisteo is from charis, which is the Greek word for grace or freely granted favor.

When these two words are compounded into one, they form the word eucharisteo. This compound word describes an outpouring of grace and of wonderful feelings that freely flow from the heart in response to someone or something.

 This is the word Paul used when he “gave thanks” for the Ephesians church. In fact, in nearly all his epistles, Paul used eucharisteo when he “gave thanks” for people he loved. 

For instance, Paul used this word in Ephesians 1:15 when he said, “I cease not to give thanks for you….” This means that when Paul thought of the Ephesians church, wonderful feelings of thankfulness would well up in his heart for them.

The Greek carries this idea in Ephesians 1:15:

Thanking God for you is so easy— it just flows out of my heart every time I think of you. In fact, I never take a break from letting God know how I feel about you.

In Colossians 1:3, Paul uses the same Greek word when he says, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.”

In First Thessalonians 1:2, he again uses the same Greek word when he prays similarly for the Thessalonian believers: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.”

In Second Thessalonians 1:3, he uses this word again when he writes, “We are bound to thank God always for you….”

The fact that Paul used the word eucharistia when he prayed for his dearest friends reminds us that we must be thankful for the relationships God has put in our lives.

Whenever we think of our closest circle of friends, a deep sense of gratefulness, thankfulness, and appreciation should well up within us! 

So when you’re praying for others, I encourage you to stop for a moment and reflect on all God has done in your life through those who are closest to you.

When you realize how valuable those relationships have been to you, you’ll be able to freely, joyfully, and unreservedly thank God for such precious friends! 

Rick Renner Ministries 

The Bible has much to say about these

days and times in which we are living!

Written by: Skip Barland

November 22, 2012

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” (Isaiah 42:9)

“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure’.”
(Isaiah 46:9-10)

“Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.”
(John 13:19)

The Bible foretells many signs that would culminate in the last days. Jesus indicated that these signs would arise together as His return drew near (Matthew 24:33-34).

Though many of these prophecies won’t climax until the tribulation period, our generation is the first to see every trend in place.

As the final seconds of this age tick away, these events will come into even clearer focus; and please keep in mind that these prophecies were penned 1900 to 3500 years ago!

How does all of this relate to you?  

Well to begin with, we are definitely living in the last days, that time which has been foretold in the Bible; a time when Jesus warned His disciples to be on their guard, so as not to be caught off guard and unaware!

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matthew 24:4-8)

I have long been aware that there is no such thing as coincidence, it is NOT a Kosher word; not when it comes to the things of God and the care which He takes to watch over His Word to perform it (see 2 Chron 16:9); and in the fulfillment of prophecy, in the management of this world’s affaris, and the detail and care which He devotes to caring for and watching over the lives of His covenant children.

Often as we are faced with our own travails and tribulations, which certainly today appear to be on the increase, and certainly in these times it is easy even for the Christian, the one who has placed his or her faith in God, to sometimes question whether God has forgotten us; but again, if we would but check with our Operations Manual (the Bible) we would find that this is a common pattern that has been experienced by God’s covenant children all down through history.

God has already told us, in His Word, that we are to live by Faith, and it even says in Hebrews 11:6 that without Faith, we can’t even please God… so it must be very important that we learn a few lessons on what faith is.

As committed Christians, when our vision and senses are impaired, the same as happens when a pilot of an airplane finds himself in a storm or fog bank, when we are in the dark and are having trouble finding our way, we are to fly by Instrument Flight Rules and not by our sight or feelings, or we will crash and burn.

So in these dark times that we find ourselves in today, let us take our guidance from God’s Word (which are in fact the instruments that we fly by) and let us not be swayed by our circumstances and feelings.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

10 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters,
about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground.

² In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. ³ All of them ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.

⁵ Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

⁶ These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, ⁷ or worship idols as some of them did.

As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” ⁸ And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.

⁹ Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.

¹⁰ And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.

¹¹ These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

¹² If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. ¹³ The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

What follows may surprise some of you, because as we read our news papers today, along side of our Bible, it’s almost as if we are experiencing déjà vu all over again; and it’s enough to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, as the author of the article below points out.

The following video is something, if you haven’t yet seen it, you need to watch, because it sets the stage for what is to follow, and by that I mean not only in our world and what’s happening in the United States, under this corrupt de facto corporate system we are living under, but I believe it also sets the stage for what is to follow in our individual lives as well.

Jesus forewarned us of these times; and told us that even as we can look at the skies above and predict the weather, likewise we should be able to look to biblical prophecy and tell when the time of His return to earth will be, because it has already been written and foretold.

The following article comes from World Net Daily, and points out an even more amazing detail that God has woven into these amazing prophecies, that He has given to show us that truly we are NOT alone, and that God has not forgotten us.

The same details that we see in Scripture that God takes to watch over His Word, He also takes to watch over His covenant children as well, and that applies to you if you are in covenant relationship with Him.

If you haven’t yet made that decision then I suggest you do soon, before we move any further down this road, that we can read about in the Bible, that we as a nation are presently on, here in the United States and also in the world, as the leadership of this corporate entity that rules our government and also many of the world governments through its banking systems, continue to thumb their noses and resist God, just as we read the pagan leadership in the nations of old did.

If you are searching and are looking for more information on what it means to be a Christian, and if you’re looking for additional resources where you can find some answers to your questions, please click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/needhim

I have talked much in my blogs of late about the state of our government, under this de facto UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CORPORATION; an entity that is first of all unconstitutional, and that our forefathers even warned us against.

In this past election many conservatives, even Christians, were putting their hope in a man who by his own past record, was not that different in his views from Obama; and certainly when it comes to establishing this ominous “New World Order,” both men by their own admission are on the same page.

You need to understand that none of these things that are happening today is by happenstance, but rather they have been foretold long ago, so that we who are believers, may be prepared in these last days to resist Satan’s efforts; and to lead others in the world to salvation, while there is still time; for as we can see that the days are getting darker, certainly we can see also that the time of our Lord’s return is near, and that He is even standing at the door!

I want to make one thing very clear, and that is as the Bible says, we are NOT fighting against flesh and blood here, but we are fighting against principalities and wickedness in high places, who are under Satan’s controlled.

We need to understand that our neighbors and those in the world, even those that are heading up this corrupt de facto system we are living under, these people are NOT our enemies; and we who are born-again need to understand that except for the grace of God in our own lives, and the fact that we were once impacted by the Savior of the world ourselves, then we would probably be right there with them.

These people don’t know what they don’t know, having never had an encounter with Jesus and not knowing Him they are just lost, and it is part of our mission to pray for them; but as our Lord also says in His Word, “That we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Consider for a moment that our nation was started and founded upon biblical principals, by men and women of faith; and it was we, the Christians, who abdicated the positions of authority in government, and gave the reigns of power over to unbelievers… and so what did we expect would happen?

We desperately need a Spiritual Awakening to happen within the churches of America; and we also need Revival in our land, if our nation is to survive as a free people!

Just know that there is always hope, and however bad things may get, God is still on His throne and He won’t ever abandon His kids.

All we need to do is repent, which means to change the way we think.

As you study your Bible allow the Holy Spirit to be your teacher and guide; let Him rewrite the code of your thinking, the programming of this world that has been so ingrained in our thinking; and let us put on the mind of Christ.

The road back home for all of us starts with our first step.

As a Christian myself, as one who at least has some understanding of God’s Word, I have to add also that our destiny as a nation will NOT depend on what these men and women do, who don’t know the Lord, who aren’t Christian; but rather it will depend on what God’s people do, of those who are called by His name; that just as the Bible instructs us in 2 Chronicles 7: 14, that if we (who are believers) would humble ourselves and pray; turn from our wicked ways and seek God’s face; that God would hear from heaven and heal our land.

Our ONLY hope today is in Jesus Christ!!!

WND EXCLUSIVE

ISAIAH 9:10 LINKED TO 9/11 – AGAIN!

Find out where prophetic verse affecting America falls in ‘One-Year Bible’

WASHINGTON – The No. 1 bestselling Christian book and the No. 1 faith movie of 2012 both deal with the striking parallels between events leading the destruction of ancient Israel and events taking place in America since 9/11.

But the author of “The Harbinger” and the narrator of “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” documentary based on the book has discovered yet another striking link between 9/11 and the key verse upon which his teaching rests.

In 1985, the “One-Year Bible” was published in many translations around the world – from the Living Bible to the Catholic Bible to the New King James version to the New American Standard and the English Standard Bible.

Those Bible translations provide verses to read each day of the year – from both the New and Old Testaments.

Jonathan Cahn, the messianic rabbi who wrote “The Harbinger” and offers his teaching in “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” movie, recently discovered that every one of those “One-Year Bible” versions place Isaiah 9:10 on Sept. 11.

“This has been the case since 1985,” said Cahn on a recent Jim Bakker TV show. “It’s been there for years. Millions of Americans have been reading this verse on Sept. 11 for 16 years before 2001.”

It’s just the latest example of dozens of links between the attack of 9/11 in America and the attack on ancient Israel described in Isaiah 9:10, revealed in both the book and the movie. Cahn says the harbingers for America – messages he believes are from God – continue to mount.

On the series of TV shows that aired just after the November election, Cahn said the vote itself has significance in the context of his teaching, which has swept through America and the world in the form of “The Harbinger” and “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment.”

“The leader of a nation can make a big difference,” said Cahn. “When you look at Israel, when you had an immoral king, it led the nation into immorality. When you had a righteous king, it led the nation into revival. It’s not dependent just on the leader. But what the president does, what the Congress does – the laws affect everyone. It affects the preaching of the Gospel, the teaching of the young and the next generation – all of this. What just happened is significant. America made a choice. It was a sign of a turn against the ways of God.”

Cahn also mentioned the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the New York area – particularly on Ground Zero.

He cited the words of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, appearing at the site of destruction and telling a television interviewer: “This is the Ground Zero site. This is a monument to human capacity and human endurance. And, this is New Yorkers’ way of saying we’re not going to give up. We’re going to come back and we will. This city will rebuild and the state will rebuild, and I believe will be the better for it.”

For those who have read “The Harbinger” or seen “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment,” those words have special meaning.

It was a message all-too-familiar from U.S., state and city leaders in the wake of the 9/11 attack: “We will rebuild. We will come back stronger.”

The words mimicked – sometimes with precision – those of ancient Israel in Isaiah 9:10: “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.”

And that’s the pattern that has been revealed in Cahn’s bestseller and the movie that has been the No. 1 faith film in America for the last 35 weeks.

It continued in the words of some officials in the wake of Sandy’s flooding of New York and New Jersey – including by the governor of New York speaking on network television from Ground Zero.

So what?

Cuomo may blame catastrophic man-made climate change. But Cahn doesn’t.

“A number of years ago, as I was standing at the edge of Ground Zero in New York City, I came across the first puzzle piece of an ancient biblical mystery and a prophetic message known as ‘The Harbinger’ that concerns the future of America,” explains Cahn, who helped write and narrate the two-hour documentary “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment.”

Cahn says he has since found nine harbingers that tie the problems America has experienced beginning Sept. 11, 2001, with parallels that led to the destruction of ancient Israel.

“Before God judges a nation, He sends warning,” explains Cahn. “He sent warning to ancient Israel. He even allowed its enemies to breach its borders in a devastating strike that would traumatize the nation. It was a wake-up call, the call to return to God. But the nation responded with defiance. God then gave nine harbingers of judgment, nine prophetic signs, alarms and foreshadows of what was to come. Now America is the nation in rapid departure from God’s will. And God likewise allowed an enemy to breach its borders in a devastating strike – the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It was, likewise, a wake-up call. But America, like Israel, has not responded with repentance, but with defiance. And now the nine harbingers of judgment have reappeared and have done so on American soil.”

Isaiah 9:10 is a verse in which Israel’s national leaders utter a vow of defiance following an attack by Assyria. It declared that the nation would not repent before God, but would defy Him instead. Cahn reveals in “The Harbinger” – and in even more dramatic fashion in the video – that beginning the day after Sept. 11, 2001, American leaders began repeating that 2,500-year-old vow, word for word.

“Having no idea what he was doing, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate (Tom Daschle) was declaring America as under the judgment of God,” Cahn says. “It was the reenactment of an ancient mystery – and bore the most grave of consequences.”

He continues: “According to the ancient mystery revealed in the Book of Isaiah, if after that first calamity and warning, the nation doesn’t return to God but responds in defiance, it will end up triggering a second calamity. It was because of this ancient key, that, seven years after 9/11, the American economy collapsed. In the days after 9/11, the Federal Reserve slashed the base interest rate in an attempt to defy the consequences of the attacks. That action put us on the path leading to the collapse of the American economy seven years later. In 2008, the government made a second fatal mistake, another ill-fated financial decision, that would trigger the collapse of the American economy. Amazingly, it took place on the seventh anniversary of the uttering of the ancient vow on Capitol Hill.”

Cahn also reveals in “The Harbinger” and “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” something that readers and viewers universally find astonishing – that New York’s Ground Zero actually represents more than the former financial center of the country. It represents the exact place at which America was first consecrated to God in prayer by the country’s new leaders.

“When judgment came to Israel, the calamity returned the people’s attention to the place where the nation had been consecrated to God – the Temple Mount,” says Cahn. “God was calling the nation back to Himself. What about 9/11? Could there be, in the American calamity, as well, a mystery of return? Could there be a prophetic message hidden in the place where it happened? There is a place where America was consecrated to God in prayer. It is also a place linked to a prophetic warning given on that same day – uttered by the nation’s first president – now coming to pass.”

In 1789, newly inaugurated President George Washington gave a prophetic warning at Federal Hall in New York City. He declared that America’s prosperity and protection were dependent upon its adherence to God. Later, the political leaders of the young nation gathered at St. Paul’s Chapel to commit the nation’s future to God’s purposes. That chapel is located at Ground Zero and miraculously survived 9/11 virtually unscathed.

Cahn, the pastor of the Jerusalem Center-Beth Israel Congregation in Wayne, N.J., says America is uncannily re-enacting ancient Israel’s behavior prior to its judgment and eventual fall. He found a sympathetic ear for his message in WND founder Farah, who produced “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment,” as a follow-up to “The Harbinger.”

The key to decoding the harbingers, Cahn says, is found in understanding the seemingly innocuous words of Isaiah 9:10, what it meant to Israel and how the history seems to be repeating itself in America today.

These words were first uttered by leaders in Israel and in response to a limited strike by Assyria on the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali – an attack the prophet makes clear is actually part of a limited judgment by God against apostasy. It wasn’t meant to destroy the nation, but to awaken it, according to most commentaries.

But, says Cahn, Israel didn’t take the cue. Instead, the response from the people in Isaiah 9:10 is one of defiance. The brick buildings were toppled, but they vowed to build bigger and better. The little sycamore trees may have been uprooted, but they vowed to plant bigger and better cedars in their place.

God, speaking through Isaiah explains what will happen as a result of their pride and arrogance and failure to heed the harbinger: Bigger and more potent attacks will follow. Because neither the northern kingdom of Israel nor the southern kingdom of Judah truly repents, the first is eventually swept away by Assyrian invaders and the latter is carried off into captivity by the Babylonians for 70 years.

But what does this have to do with the United States of America – particularly what the U.S. experienced on 9/11 and since? Cahn has found some eerie parallels.

“In the aftermath of the attack, the nation was stunned,” said Cahn. “Everyone was trying to make sense of what had happened – this unprecedented attack on America. The very next day, Sept. 12, then Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle presented America’s response to the world. And what did he say?”

Daschle said: “America will emerge from this tragedy as we have emerged from all adversity – united and strong. Nothing … nothing can replace the losses of those who have suffered. I know there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation. But there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that speaks to all of us at times like this.”

He then went on to read Isaiah 9:10.

“Daschle has no idea what he is doing here,” explains Cahn. “He thinks he’s offering comforting words to a grief-stricken people, but he is actually embracing the spiritually defiant and arrogant words of the children of Israel, proclaiming the ancient and ominous vow of the leaders of that nation. He doesn’t realize it, but he is actually inviting more judgment on the nation.”

It might be of some significance that Daschle, one of the most powerful men in the nation when he spoke those words, later fell into disgrace – to the point where he couldn’t even serve in Barack Obama’s Cabinet.

That might have been the end of the story – if no other top leader in the nation uttered those strange and obscure words after 9/11. But that’s not the case.

On the third anniversary of the attack, Sept. 11, 2004, another powerful U.S. senator running for vice president that year and who would famously run for the presidency four years later, gave a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus.

This time, John Edwards’ entire speech was built on a foundation of Isaiah 9:10:

“Today, on this day of remembrance and mourning, we have the Lord’s Word to get us through,” he said. He then read Isaiah 9:10. He went on to talk about how America was doing just that – rebuilding with hewn stone and planting cedars.

Later, in his first State of the Union Address in 2009, Barack Obama hearkens back to the same theme. And now Cuomo – right back at the site of the original attack.

In “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment,” viewers get to see these remarkable, largely forgotten or overlooked speeches, which directly link the events of 9/11 and the events referred to in Isaiah 9:10.

But aside from such statements, which could be chalked up to political talk and coincidences, is there anything else linking Isaiah 9:10 to 9/11 and the shockwaves that followed, including two economic crashes?

The video documentary, like the book, is full of shocking parallels. There was actually a very famous sycamore tree felled in the attack on the World Trade Center. It was replaced by trees in the same genus as the cedar. There have been many plans made to rebuild the twin towers bigger and better and a large “hewn stone” was actually quarried out of the Adirondack Mountains in New York and brought to Ground Zero as a cornerstone.

“The parallels are truly stunning,” says Farah, founder of WND, who produced the documentary for WND Videos. “In fact, they are overwhelming in their number and their exactitude. I am persuaded God is trying to tell America something and Rabbi Cahn has found the key to unlocking the message.”