More Discussion of Barcoding People

Human barcode’ could make society more organized, but invades privacy, civil liberties

¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Rev. 13:15-17)

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowlsof the wrath of God on the earth.” ² So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.  (Rev. 16:1-2)

 

21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” ⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” ⁶ And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. ⁸ But the cowardly, unbelieving,abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”(Rev. 21:1-8)

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

(Mark 1:15)

A Further Decline

It seems all facets of this world is tailspinning more and more out of control. For recent evidence I point to this well done piece on “20 Signs that Society is Breaking Down& is Being run by Psychos”

There are many disturbing signs gleened from news stories, some of which I have read myself. Some of which we keep hearing similar stories over and over. Perhaps the end is even closer than many of us have thought.

¹² “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Rev. 22:12-17

Biblical Street Preaching vs. Rogue Street Preaching

Reblogged from airō:

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Crown Rights Media brings you another video from the series, Open-air Preacher Profiles, this time on Tony Miano. The footage was captured at the 2012 Revival-Southeast Fellowship Gathering during the Atlanta Dogwood Festival April 20-22. I had the privilege to serve with Tony and get to know him more personally during the weekend, and very much looking forward to more labor with him and other faithful street preachers this summer at our…

Read more… 481 more words

An interesting discussion developing on church structure here.

Christianity Outside America

Letting Go

There are times when our pleas to follow Christ go unheeded. Even with loved ones. Even with mother and father. Even when they claim to know Christ and accuse you of lacking the love of Christ while they encourage and support a sinful way or behavior in others and themselves. In those times when all our crying and pleading and show of love cannot bring about repentance or reconciliation or change, then it is time to let go.

When the name of Christ is at stake, it is not us they are angry with, but the Lord Himself. We cannot be selfish and wonder why they are yelling at us or ignoring us, or blaming us. It is not us they find fault with, but Jesus the Christ. I am writing a follow up to my post I am a fire on the lips of those who hate Me.

Our Lord sent out the twelve disciples to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. In Luke 9:5 He tells them “And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” It is a sad day when people will not receive the message of Grace and Mercy. When they harden their heart to Truth and Justice. When they betray the very Love you have shown them and hoped for reciprocation. Even a tiny prick of an acknowledgment in Christ.I will leave off with part of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians that has encouraged us greatly and brought an insurmountable peace to this house. There is no answer but Christ.

6 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[b] are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”[c]

17 Therefore

“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”[d]
18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”[e]

7 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. 5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. 6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. (II Cor. 6 & 7:1-7)

 

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,^[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— (Eph. 610:18)

A thought for the day

Where would we be if Jesus had said, “No one will ever understand the Gospel. All these people are too hard hearted. I can’t share my Gospel if no one will get it!” I begin to cringe at the thought of disrepair the earth and heavens would be in, if not outright destroyed for lack of a viable Christ. Such are the thoughts of those of us who become discouraged by the continual rejection and lack of response to our pleas to follow Him. Let us not lose heart, but keep our lamps burning brightly, for the darkness has nearly enveloped us. But there is yet hope that more will respond. They will respond in ways we do not expect at times we do not expect. We may not even near when these people come to these points of repentance and Salvation. That will not be our complete concern though. We were only called to preach the Gospel into the uttermost parts of the earth. True Salvation comes through Christ alone and that is His work.

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Mat 25:1-13)

Highway of Holiness

4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(Isaiah 35:4-10)

What an awesome promise! That whoever will walk upon this highway, although a fool, will not go astray. This whole passage is encouraging to me, but especially that I know I am a fool and even I, if I am in Christ am allowed upon this road. Doesn’t this remind you of Jesus’ narrow way?

²² And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:22-30)

But this verse comes with a warning. This makes me sober to consider my walk with Christ. In fact I would say this passage is the summation of my fear in the Lord, that if I should stray and fall away, there will be no place found for me. Let us look again at the Narrow Way as presented in Matthew.

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult isthe way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Mat. 7:13-27)

Let me focus on verse 24 and 25. Jesus’ sayings started back in Chapter 5 and end with Chapter 7. He gives us the foundation of our faith in Him here. There is so much more that could be written, but I hope this gives you as much encouragement as it does me.

8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.

Why Does God Require Faith?

For Christians living in the end times, I can testify and God is my witness, if you do not have faith, rock solid faith, you are not likely to spiritually survive the coming demonic onslaught coming to planet earth. Faith is the link between we Christians and the God we serve. You cannot serve him or please him without it. What is faith? The author of Hebrews tells us.

Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. For therein the elders had witness borne to them. By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God: And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.
(Heb 11:1-6)

Brothers, you cannot please God without faith. Why is faith such a requirement? Why is that we Christians must learn to trust God even though in the toughest of trial especially when such faith seems to run counter to our natural senses? I think the answer is in the book of Genesis. I think if we take apart some key versus, we can understand exactly why God demands faith from we fallen humans.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
(Gen 2:15-17)

God give man a specific command, actually two. The first was to dress and keep the Garden of Eden ( Gen 2:15), that was man’s job back then. The second was to not eat of the tree of good and evil, the command came with a clear warning as to what would happen if he did. Adam (man) would die. So God put man in the garden gave him a job, gave him a woman and told him not to eat of one specific tree; otherwise, he could eat to his heart’s content.

God gave a command and expected Adam to keep it. Here is the key that so many miss today. In order to obey God’s commands you must believe what God is telling you. This is simple faith and where so many people in our time miss the mark. God said (paraphrasing) ‘don’t eat of that tree Adam, our you’ll die’. There is no reaction to God’s commandment recorded here by Adam He did not argue with the Lord. He did not say, “well , I don’t agree with these ‘arbitrary’ commandments, Lord”. No there was none of that. So as far as we can determine here Adam took God at his word and did as he was commanded. He did not eat of the forbidden tree. Now, I am one of those who thinks that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the tree except for the fact that God said not to eat of it. Why? Because evil is disobedience to God and his commandments. Once you disobey God, you know evil. That I why it was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Dear readers, that is all evil really is, when you boil it all down, disobedience, and rebellion against God and his commandments. So that tree may have been one of many apple or orange tree’s in the Garden, and did not look any different or need any special care. I don’t think the fruit on this particular tree had flaming pentagrams engraved on the skin or emitted a special sulphuric stench. It was just like any other tree. But once you ate of it, you were in rebellion, committed evil and would die, for the wages of sin is death.

Then came the serpent, the one who planted doubt into Eve’s mind, using seeming ‘common sense’ and very carefully presented lies to seduce Eve into rebellion.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
(Gen 3:4-7)

To put it simply God said one thing and the devil said another, Eve chose to listen to and (this is key) believe the lies of the devil. She was tempted and thought she would be like God if she ate of that tree. Instead she became like the serpent who was also in rebellion. She lost her faith in the God who created her, put her in a wonderful garden and took care of her. She did not trust God’s word about what would happen if she ate of the tree.

And man has ever since been separated from God. The two things that separated man from God? Disobedience because of a lack of faith (belief) in God’s word. Satan has been using the same MO on mankind ever since with astonishingly successful results. In this realm, seemingly little things (sin) can become big things. Very big things.

Have you wondered why there are some commandments that just don’t seem to make sense to us? Well, just like Eve and the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, God was testing man to see if they would believe and trust him. It was just a test. Ever wonder why so many oppose women ordination? It is not because women do not have the mind to preach. It is not because they are less spiritual than men. It is because God has set his church up along very specific lines. Again it is a test, to see if we as Christians will obey the Lord or give in once again, to the hissing of the serpent. Women, who are knowledgeable (but not obedient) are not allowed to preach. Does this make sense to my mind? No, but neither did not eating from the tree, both are things we must take on faith. It is because God does not want them in the pulpit in authority over men. Sure you can find a many who will disagree, who will make excuses, but what does God say? What spirit is telling you that God is wrong and (insert your deceiving spirit here) is right? This is the same thing that got Eve into such trouble and mankind still to this very day has not recovered from that fatal (literally) error. They put their own intellect and increasingly, worldly and satanic morals and social cues over and above God’s commandments.

This pattern is the same over and over again and it is why God demands faith and sometimes puts us to the test. It is not because he is playing games with us or wants to see us ‘squirm’, but because he demands that we trust him and believe him and obey him. One day, he is going to entrust us with a lot more than a garden to tend. We must prove ourselves to be worthy of that trust and the way he does that is to test our belief in his word. Will we trust him and believe his word and obey it, even unto death?

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
(Rev 12:10-11)

That is the kind of faith that gets men and women into the kingdom. You must have this kind of faith. The kind of touchy-feely, “I’ll obey you when it’s convenient for me…”, kind of belief isn’t going to save anyone’s soul. Rather, it is just the grease that slides millions of nominal ‘Christians’ into hellfire.

God is looking for people who will trust him, obey him and most importantly love him. Trust and faith are key components of love and he is looking for us to demonstrate these traits to the Lord. Does this describe you? Or are you one of those who are picking and choosing which commandments you think make sense to you and on that basis determining if you are going to follow them or not? These are the key determinants of your future place in eternity. Do you have the faith and trust in the Lord to obey his commandments?

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
(John 14:21)

Faith, Obedience and love are all wrapped together. So the question is for all of us, do we have the faith in God and in his judgment, and his wisdom to place our complete and utter trust in him? This is the most important question anyone, especially nominal Christians can ask themselves. How important is faith in the last days? For we genuine Christians who live in these last days, we know that it is not attending Christmas Church services or going to Easter Services that is going ot save our souls. Rather it is our ability to hear and obey the still small voice of God. This requires faith.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

(Heb 11:6)

This is where faith comes in. We must trust God to keep his promises and believe that he does reward us if we do his will. We must seek God, Obey him and believe him. This is the utter simplicity and the foundation of the Gospel, Christ and him crucified and that whoever beleiveth in him, shall not perish.

Brethren, to not believe him is to call him a liar. That in essence is what the Serpent did in the Garden and Eve (followed quickly behind by Adam). He called God a liar and said that man would not die if they ate of the fruit. The devil is a master at sowing doubt. He is very accomplished at it and has at least 6000 years of practice at it. Doubt in God’s word is always his target therefore his target when he attacks you is your faith. Your belief in God’s promises. ‘Yeah hath God said..’ is the eternal lie that leads men into rebellion and into a lost state. ‘Yeah, Hath God said that you must be faithful to your spouse’, he whispers in the ear of the tempted married person as they flirt with an attractive man or woman. ‘Yeah, hath God said, that you cannot leave your spouse for no other reason than fornication’, he hisses into the ear of a married person who wants their ‘freedom’ (usually sexual) from the bonds of Holy Matrimony. Such who heed the devils voice make a shipwreck of their faith, the boat once run aground being forever moored on the shoals of sin and self. For most, they can never really come back into the fold, though many pastors will say that they can. Often their ‘insistence’ on this is in direct proportion to the money these fallen Christians pay into Church coffers. But such men and women seem to always continue to wallow in the mire of their own selfishness, ambition and unrepentant fornication, even and especially if that fornication takes the form of a new unholy matrimony, while their first saved spouse still lives (1 Corinthians Chapter 7)

What is the taproot of these sins? It can be summed up in one word. UNBELEIF, they did not believe God and listened to and believed the serpent instead. This is why the sin of unbelief is listed as the cardinal sins that place people into the lake of fire, or the second death. Why? There are two types of people, those believe God and who do what he commands, and those that don’t. Belief systems (active, action spurring belief systems) are the determining factor. What you really believe will show forth in what you do, without exception. Granted sometimes it takes some longer than others, and granted some folks struggle with some sins. This is not necessarily a sign of a fallen soul. A saved person will struggle, against sin. It is a constant battle as Paul lays out in the book of Romans.

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
(Rom 7:24)

Dear brothers, Faith is the most important component in salvation for without it, we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin. So we who live now at the end of this age must keep in mind at all times that the devils target is going to be our faith. He will seek to undermine it, attack it destroy it in any way he can. It is why it is called the ‘good fight of faith’. (1Ti_6:12; 2Ti_4:7)

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
(Luk 18:8a)

This was written at the end of the parable of the unrighteous Judge (Luke 18:1-8), a strong exhortation to prayer. Do you want to answer to prayers? You must have faith. So the Lord may be telling us here that in the very last days, people’s faith will be failing and prayers will thus be hindered because of it. There is great injustice today on the earth and great evils being suffered by God’s flock. Christ, I think here is exhorting us to continue to pray for the persecuted and that those who attack God’s people for no other reason than the testimony they bear. We cannot let up on our prayers. They are important. If God delays, it is not because he does not care about us, it is because he cares about our persecutors as well, wanting to give them space to repent, hoping they will, but giving them no excuse if they don’t.

So dear readers, I ask you all to have faith in God. Trust him obey him. Pray constantly especially in these times. Do not feel as though God is not listening… that is the devil talking to you, trying to keep you from seeking God’s face. If you are sincere in your faith (which is evidenced by obedience) you will be heard.

Faith… there is no other way to please God. Let us all take a cue from the person Paul liked to call the father of faith, Abraham.

For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
(Rom 4:3)

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
(Gal 3:6-9)

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
(Jam 2:23)

The break between man and God was broken by a lack of faith and is only healed by a tenacious adherence to faith in God’s word who is personified on the person and work of Jesus Christ

www.markswatson.com

The Pagan Origin Of Easter

http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html

Easter is a day that is honered by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an “Easter Ham”, decorated eggs and stories about rabbits. Those who love truth learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday of Easter. Is it truly the day when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from, which have nothing to do with the resurrection of our Saviour? The purpose of this tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to draw their own conclusions. The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called “Easter.” “Ishtar”, which is pronounced “Easter” was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called “Tammuz”, who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god. In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah’s son named Ham. Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis.Cush and Semiramis then had a son named him “Nimrod.” After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King. The Bible tells of of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows: “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon. Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom. Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found. That missing part was his reproductive organ. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called “Baal”, the sun god. Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship. Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess. Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived. She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full. She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River. This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox. Semiramis became known as “Ishtar” which is pronounced “Easter”, and her moon egg became known as “Ishtar’s” egg.” Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive. The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz. Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his supposed father, became a hunter. The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig. Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son and Spirit. Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the “Mother of God and Queen of Heaven”, continued to build her mystery religion. The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz. She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz. During this time, no meat was to be eaten. Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the “T” in front of their hearts as they worshipped. They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a “T” or cross on the top. Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration was made. It was Ishtar’s Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs. Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on that Sunday. By now, the readers of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the contemporary “Christian” churches, and further study indicates that this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System. The truth is that Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We also know that Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan holiday is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Some have wondered why the word “Easter” is in the the King James Bible. It is because Acts, chapter 12, tells us that it was the evil King Herod, who was planning to celebrate Easter, and not the Christians. The true Passover and pagan Easter sometimes coincide, but in some years, they are a great distance apart. So much more could be said, and we have much more information for you, if you are a seeker of the truth. We know that the Bible tells us in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” The truth is that the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits,hot cross buns and the Easter ham have everything to do with the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon.These are all antichrist activities! Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with idolatry. These things bring the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs of Baal worship Christian. You must answer for your activities and for what you teach your children. These customs of Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the “Rising Sun” and his house is the “House of the Rising Sun.” How many churches have “sunrise services” on Ishtar’s day and face the rising sun in the East? How many will use colored eggs and rabbit stories, as they did in ancient Babylon. These things are no joke, any more than Judgement day is a joke. I pray to God that this tract will cause you to search for more truth. We will be glad to help you by providing more information and by praying for you. These are the last days, and it is time to repent, come out and be separate. David J. Meyer Last Trumpet Ministries International PO Box 806 Beaver Dam, WI 53916

How do you institutionalize a friendship?

Reblogged from Ian Vincent:

Or a relationship? Just say you have 20 good Christian friends: How do you institutionalize that set of friendships so that those 20 people can identify themselves as an institutional church? Can spiritual fellowship and love be institutionalized? Can friendship?

Why do some people have Christian friends, and yet they don’t consider their fellowship with them as being church? Then, what is the “magical ingredient” which transforms fellowship into “church”?