Caught Red Handed!

Reading through the book of Joshua has been great, since it's one of those books that I rarely read but I forget how powerful and edifying it is (it is part of the Scriptures after all!) Usually we pull out the verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD". Cross-stitched on a pillow or etched on a coffee mug, this verse has become the Christian anthem that most people really do not think about.

The context of that phrase is one of serving ONLY Yahweh! Putting away the other gods in your life to serve Him alone.

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Ammorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

- Joshua 24:14-15

Notice that the gods Joshua spoke of were gods from the other side of the River AND/OR the gods of the Amorites which is where the people of Israel were living. Gods from where they CAME from and gods that were where they were PRESENTLY living! We'll talk more about that in a bit.

The people answer Joshua in verses 16-18 and say that they will serve the LORD, but Joshua says in v. 19 that they CANNOT serve HIM! Not a very positive reinforcement there, is it? But read on...

"But Joshua said to the people, 'You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and seve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.'"
-Joshua 24:19-20

We cannot be with God and have other gods/idols in our lives and expect Him to be okay with that. He won't be. In fact in Deuteronomy 12:1-4 He told the people there (and us today) not to worship Him with pagan idolatrous things!

The first commandment, God says, is to "not have other gods before Me". That phrase 'before Me' that God uses means, in the presence of or in the face of', meaning other gods in His presence. We are not to serve other gods in the LORD's presence. Remember, God sees everything. He knows if we are serving something, or someone else along with serving HIM.

But the people answered Joshua again saying, 'No, but we will serve the LORD!" How emphatic!

"So Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses!'"
-Joshua 24:21-22

We can fool ourselves pretty well into thinking that we are serving the LORD alone, but are we really? How do we know if we are only following HIM?

By obeying His Commandments. Time and time again the prophets came to the people and warned them to turn back to the Torah/Law which they had forsaken. They followed after other gods throughout much of their history because they continually rejected His Covenant, His commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) said to the Pharisees and some of the scribes (namely the religious leaders),

"Laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men,..."
And
"All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
-Mark 7:8a, 9a

He was giving them the same message He gave His prophets to deliver to the people in times past...Repent! and turn back to the Law of the LORD!

Back in Joshua 7 we read about Achan. The Israelites lost the battle at Ai and 36 men of the Israelites died in battle because of Achan's sin. What was his sin? Achan had taken a wedge of gold, 200 shekels of silver, and a Babylonian garment. Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it? But the LORD called them 'accursed things' and men lost their lives and Israel lost a battle because of Achan's covetousness.

It says that YHWH's anger burned against the children of Israel because of those things which Achan had taken. Then YHWH told Joshua that He would not be with him unless he destroyed the accursed things from among them. Did Achan confess? Not yet.
So Joshua gathered the people according to their tribes and the LORD brought forth the guilty.

"In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
-Joshua 7:14

And the LORD did just that until finally Achan was brought forth after going through all those people, and Joshua came to him and said,
"My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
-Joshua 7:19

Can you imagine being Achan? Being in that position where all the people are gathered...thousands, perhaps millions of people...and slowly out of each tribe, out of each family, out of each household, it comes down to YOU. You would HAVE to know that God is singling you out for what you knew was already a sin. But Achan never said anything until finally he stood before Joshua and had to confess. Would the LORD have forgiven Achan if he'd repented before Joshua came to him? I believe so because the LORD is merciful and has allowed us to do just that, but we'll never know about Achan because he didn't do that. As a result he, his children, his livestock and all that he had were stoned and burned. This is a very serious issue with YHWH. As Joshua says in ch. 24, YHWH is a holy God. Sin cannot stand in His presence.

There is no hiding from the Father who formed us and sees everything within us.

Achan was caught red handed for his disobedience to YHWH's command (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)! There in Deuteronomy the LORD told them exactly what not to do...exactly what Achan did!

But we're all guilty of doing something similar, aren't we? I know I am, but we can't take the professing church's stance and say, "Well none of us are perfect, but thank God for His grace!" Grace is NOT a license to sin (Romans 6:1, 15-23), but it is the power of God working in us to accomplish HIS will and follow HIS Law (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Ephesians 2:8-10). We have no excuse for if we sin willfully we count the blood of Yeshua as worthless, and can expect judgment (Hebrews 10:26-31)

That doesn't mean that we will never mess up, but that our heart's desire should be to not mess up! And when we do sin, to REPENT! We are never going to be perfect on this side of eternity, but we should be walking after the ONE who IS perfect...Yeshua our Messiah! Walk just as He walked...in perfect submission to Torah. Walk in the light as He is in the light...He IS the Light! (1 John 1)

We can see how our sin can affect those around us, just like Achan's did the children of Israel. Our sin can affect our household, our family, our church family, our co-workers, etc... because God is faithful to deal with the sin in our life and He WILL NOT let it be swept under the rug. And we can't forget that He isn't concerned with just us, but those around us as well. He wants our witness to be unblemished, but if it's not, He will expose our disobedience to deal with others in our life, so that they might see the power of a holy God.

Personally I'd rather have Him deal with them through my obedience rather than my disobedience!...but it's my choice. It's your choice.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,...

...but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.

God's Fingerprint

Everything the LORD does He does for all generations to see.

I received this e-mail from a friend and thought it was worth passing along.

Despite the story itself being an urban legend that's been passed around since the sixties, the truth of the Scriptures still stand!

Subject: NASA & The Bible
Thought this was pretty amazing and interesting! For all the scientists out there, and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible, here's something that shows God's awesome creation, and that He is still in control. Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called 'myth' in the Bible is true?Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Maryland, and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development. 'I think one of the most amazing things that God has done for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Green Belt, Maryland. They were checking out where the positions of the sun, moon, and planets would be 100 years and 1,000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send up a satellite and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.
They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries, and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong with either the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out, and they said, 'What's wrong?' Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair out. There was no answer.Finally a Christian man on the team said, 'You know, one time I was in Sunday School, and they talked about the sun standing still.' While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, 'Show us'. He got a Bible and went to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with 'common sense.' There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, 'Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before Thee.' Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy And if darkness fell, they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right... 'The sun stood still and the moon stayed and lasted not to go down about a whole day!' (Joshua 10:12-13) The astronauts and scientists said, 'There is the missing day!' They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes. not a whole day. They read the Bible, and there it was about [approximately] a day. These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes, you'll still be in trouble 1000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.
As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story: Hezekiah, on his death bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said 'Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?' Hezekiah said, 'It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees.' Isaiah spoke to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD! Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes!' Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe! Isn't it amazing? References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 and 2 Kings 20:9-11. Forward this to as many people who you believe would think this is equally as cool. If God could do this then; how much more can he do for us today. If we only believe in his word. Never be afraid to try something new. All I have and all that I am is by the Grace of God! And so it is!

Blessed be the LORD God Almighty!

Forgiving

On my last post I talked a little about asking for forgiveness, but what about forgiving others? Are we to just forgive people whether they ask for it or not, or are we supposed to wait till they come to us? When and how do we forgive? Let's see what the Lord says in His Word.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."
- Luke 11:4

"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
- Luke 17:4

"And be kind to one another and forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
- Ephesians 4:32

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."
- Colossians 3:12-13

"But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."
- Psalm 130:4

The Lord, full of mercy and compassion, and justice forgives us of our sins when we come before Him in repentance and not before (1 Samuel 7:3; 2 Kings 17:13; 2 Chronicles 7:14, 30:6; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 36:3; Ezekiel 18:21, 33:11; Zechariah 1:3; Matthew 3:2; Acts 17:30). This tells us that we cannot expect to be forgiven of our sins without asking Him for forgiveness.

The grace of God is something that we can't earn or work for, but it certainly isn't given to those who are not seeking Him. The professing church today has been preaching a message of grace without truly understanding what God's grace is really all about. In fact, most of us have no idea what grace even means.

Grace
G5485
χάρις
charis
khar'-ece
From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): - acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).

The grace of God is His influence on our hearts which then reflects, or shines, outward in our lives. In other words His will in our life produces fruit. That's how James can say that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

So what is God's influence? It is His Law written upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit because of Jesus' atoning sacrifice, and all of which reflects through our lives in good works which God had prepared before hand (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Matthew 5:16-19; Ephesians 2:8-10).

So the forgiveness that God brings and which is unchanging because HE is unchanging, cannot be given unless we come to Him first. Does this apply with us forgiving others? What's interesting about the Scriptures that we read earlier is that almost (if not every) situation seems to be dealing amongst the body of Christ. But even if a non-believer asks for forgiveness it would appear that we are to forgive them, but most certainly if it is a brother or sister in Messiah. There is no doubt that we are to forgive those who have sinned against us but then come asking for forgiveness. If they show fruit bearing evidence of repentance then we are commanded by the Lord to forgive them.

But should we forgive those who don't ask for forgiveness? Though we are certainly NOT God, we are to follow Him as our example and walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). However, again because we are NOT God we are not without sin. Our relationship with other people is affected by this. Christ, who was/is without sin, forgives us of our sins when we come to Him in repentance. Can we do the same being sinners ourselves? Though we are sinners, if we are IN Him and abide in His love then the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to obey His voice. He also brings about fellowship among those who individually have fellowship with Messiah. If a brother sins against us it does not appear that we should automatically forgive them unless they come to us and ask for forgiveness. Until they come, though, we should certainly be praying for them, showing them love and grace in our actions and words toward them.

The context of passages like Mark 11:25 is clearly dealing with our sin against our brother or sister - the sin of unforgiveness.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25

We are clearly told not to harbor anger unjustly toward anyone (Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26) and surely the Lord will not forgive us if we will not forgive those who come to us asking for it.

Paul writes in his second letter to the church in Corinth,

"so that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."
- 2 Corinthians 2:7-11

We really should know better as to what the enemy of our souls is doing to get us to turn away from the Lord. If anyone has been made to sorrow (a godly sorrow to be exact) then we should forgive them and not give Satan an open door in which to bring division in Messiah's body. That person which was sorrowful was obviously experiencing a godly sorrow which produces repentance leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10)! Who are we to deny forgiveness to someone who has repented?! The only way Paul could say to forgive someone is if they were in that place where they had experienced the sorrow of the Lord and asked for His forgiveness, which then would lead any who are already His to forgive that person.

We can become too haughty, too self absorbed to notice that we are in the same place as everyone else - we ALL need to seek the Lord of heaven and earth for salvation and to set our minds on things above rather than on things of the earth (Colossians 3:1-3). In other words looking unto Him rather than ourselves or the things of the flesh (our sinful nature).

I have often noticed that I am quick to judge, but slow to listen and seek His guidance. If I listened to my Savior more often I would see others as He sees them. I would reach out to others as He reaches out to them, and I would forgive those who need and want it. I've been forgiven and I don't deserve it. That should say it all. His commandments, His statutes, His judgments are righteous and true, they speak His truth and I hold them close because they are His words. In them I see that His love is greater than anything I could imagine and yet simple enough for a child to understand. I'm forgiven because He was forsaken. Amen.

Hallelujah! His mercy endure forever!

Asking for Forgiveness

It always seems that when you know you have to ask for forgiveness from someone it's the hardest thing in the world to do. The feeling of shame, embarrassement, humility....all rise up inside and seem to push and pull you away from doing the right thing and going to the person you've wronged.

No one wants to feel bad, right? We shouldn't be made to feel bad....right? Well my friends, our flesh (sinful nature) is telling us this lie!

There is a HUGE difference between just feeling bad about ourselves and knowing that we are sinners who sin against the Most High God. If I feel bad about myself it's just a selfish pity party that I'm throwing....and no one's invited! It's just for me!...how ridiculous! What have I got to feel bad about. I'm above ground and breathing, right?! God could wipe us off the map for just some of the thoughts we have throughout the day, much less the things we actually do! His mercy endures forever!

One thing that I have to remind myself of is that my flesh fights against my spirit and is hostile toward God. It CANNOT be subject to God's Law (Romans 8:5-7). How then can I expect it to do good things?

But there is a sorrow which we should experience from time to time. A godly sorrow that actually nourishes us and brings us back closer to the One who purchased us with His own blood. The apostle Paul says it best:

"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. for you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For a godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10

Isaiah spoke of this sorrow:

"And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth."
-Isaiah 22:12

A wordly sorrow actually produces death! But how? By feeding our flesh which is a enemy of God. Everytime we feed our flesh we've sinned and everytime we sin is a step away from God. Nothing can remove us from His hands (Romans 8:37-39), but we can remove ourselves (Hebrews 6:4-6).

So if I don't ask for forgiveness (to the LORD first and then to the person) I'm sinning. If I sin against an individual, I haven't just sinned against them, but against the LORD!

Look at 2 Samuel;
After Nathan had confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah, we read:

"So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.'"
- 2 Samuel 12:13a

David knew that though his sin involved people, it was primarily against YHWH that he sinned.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matthew 10:28

Jesus was pointing to the fact that if we sin against God there is no escaping His judgment. Therefore we need to repent and ask Him for forgiveness. Though it may be difficult to swallow our pride and humble ourselves before Him, we'd better get to swallowin'!

Paul said that love is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14) and so in that I say that pride is the bond of imperfection. Our pride holds all our sins closely together and refuses to let go lest we humble ourselves before the King and Judge over all creation!

If we don't repent then we don't have access to the free gift of salvation that God offers us through His Son Yeshua/Jesus. If we do repent and exalt Him as Lord and Savior over us then we have entered His covenant and must now walk in that covenant by adhering to its terms -which is obeying His voice (commandments, statutes, judgments, laws). Each time we disobey, we begin to walk away from Him, BUT we can always turn back to Him and ask for forgiveness. His mercy endures forever!

Look again at 2 Samuel 12:13 -

"So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said to David, 'The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.'"

Blessed be the name of YAHWEH! When David knew in his heart that he sinned against the LORD and then confessed it, the LORD had forgiven him!

That same forgiveness is promised to us when we come before Him and seek His forgiveness;

"Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
Isaiah 55:7

"Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnatn of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy."
Micah 7:18

"Therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:19-23

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD and He will lift you up."
James 4:7-10

-We can see that what James writes here and what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 is what the Lord called for through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 22:12.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

Going to someone we've sinned against, whether it be because we've lied to them, had an outburst of wrath against them, mocked them, or whatever, is the most crucial thing we can do as a follower of Messiah. Whether they be our enemy, friend, or especially a brother or sister in Him, we MUST go before our Father first and then them in asking for forgiveness! We cannot let our sin tear at the relationship we have with HIM and with them. If they are an enemy or friend, then our opportunity to be a light to them for the sake of Yeshua is up to us whether or not we apologize and seek forgiveness. If they are a part of His body, then we have surely sinned against Him as well as them. If we don't seek them out and hear from the Lord through them then we will eventually be cast out from His body (Matthew 18:15-17).

Asking for forgiveness is a hard thing to do, especially if we're living in the flesh (our sinful nature). But the more we crucify our flesh by obeying His commandments (Romans 7:14,18,22-25; 8:3-8)then we will begin to see things as He sees them (Psalm 111:10) and offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1-2).

If we can then humble ourselves before the God of the universe, then why wouldn't we humble ourselves before those who are just like us....people in need of HIM. For YAHWEH is God and His mercy endures forever!

Freedom's Slipping Grip

A former youth in Adolf Hitler's Nazi party is warning America that it's headed in the same direction.

Hilmar von Campe served in the Hitler Youth under Nazi Germany and saw first hand the National Socialism first hand, though he didn't fully understand it until years later.

Now a U.S. citizen and author, von Campe is proclaiming a warning to Americans that we are walking the same road that leads to National Socialism.

"Today in America we are witnessing a repeat performance of the tragedy of 1933 when an entire nation let itself be led like a lamb to the Socialist slaughterhouse.", said von Campe.

His message is most poignant to the churches in this country -
"The silence from our pulpits regarding the moral collapse of American society from within is not very different from the silence that echoed from the pulpits in Germany toward Nazi policies,"

However, it is not simply a lack of churches getting involved with the political system. No, in fact it goes much further than that. Professing christians today, especially pastors and leaders, are rejecting the very Living Word - Jesus our Messiah. They are rejecting the Torah of God and thereby opening a door for the man of lawlessness.

The church has painted their picture of a Jesus that looks very little like the One of the Scriptures. Blond haired, blue eyed, and saving us no matter how much we sin without repentance...this is not the God of the bible.

Jesus, the Living Word of God, the Law/Torah in the flesh has given His word which, like a sword, divides. It divides between our spirit and our flesh. It divides those who are for Him from those who are against Him. Between the wheat and the tares which are growing together until He seperates them...the wheat being believers and the tares being unbelievers. He will gather His people (wheat) unto Himself, but those who are unbelievers (tares) will be cast into the fire.

If we find ourselves in opposition to His Torah, then we are in opposition to Him and therefore will be cast away. Additions and subtractions to His Word are lies, and because of that very reason, the Pharisees and other religious leaders missed Jesus - the Living Word - when He was standing right in front of them! They were blinded by their own traditions and laws and made the commandments of God ineffective in their lives(Matthew 15:3-9).

"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates to the city. But outside are dogs, sorcerers, adulterers, murderers, idolaters, and those who love and practice a lie." - Revelation 22:14-15.

Does that mean that if we obey His commandments we're saved? We know that no one is justified by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16) but by faith we are justified, and by that faith we establish His Law in our lives (Romans 3:31).

True, biblical faith is hearing the Word of God and acting upon it (Romans 10:17; James 2:17-26).

So now, with the presidential election over, and president-elect Barack Obama soon to take office, we must remember that Yahweh is far bigger then Obama or any other leader in this world. The LORD is far bigger than the devil - the enemy of our souls. HE is our Rock and our Salvation! Our faith must be in Him and through obedience to Him, out of love for Him, we will abide in His love and protection. What can man do to us when God is on our side!

There is no need to fear, but there is certainly a need for prayer. Barack Obama can still accept the Lord Jesus as Savior and turn his life over to the ONLY King! It is not in our hands, but in the LORD's, and greater is He that is in us, then he who is in the world. But if Obama continues in his "socialistic" ideals we may find ourselves in a similar situation to what von Campe did when he was a boy growing up in Nazi Germany. Plans like Obama's required "civilian national security force" is a high point of discussion for many. Granted, most youth (and adults) in this country need to be "encouraged" to get off our lazy rear ends and DO something productive. However, creating a civilian "police force" with the same amount of funding as our branches of the military, and mandatory boot camps for youth sounds a bit...troubling. Here's a link to an article on this subject found and World Net Daily:
"Emanuel volunteers Americans to do 'a lot'"

If Obama pushes his liberal agendas, this country will be sorely up for judgment by God. He will not be patient with sin forever. We can rest assured in His promises as we continue to truly seek Him and walk as He walked...in the truth of His Torah.

Whom Will You Choose?

Well, here we are at what some call a milestone election. Perhaps the most important election in the history of this country, others would say. The nation is on the brink of financial disaster, a bad recession to say the least, and the world is following close behind. Home foreclosures are at a record high, unemployment is the highest it's been in years, businesses are closing up faster than they can let their employees go, and natural disasters have hit our country furiously over the last few years causing untold damage and expense. Not to mention the national debt is over 10 trillion dollars and the government is slowly but surely buying us, uh... I mean the banks, up left and right. All of this and more is awaiting the next president.

But most people are confident that he (whoever he is) will get this country going again and restore America to her glorious self! Though the road will be difficult, our nation will pull through. I say....don't count on it.

It's amazing how we as a society are so quick to gravitate to men in hopes that they will save us. Can John McCain or Barack Obama do anything to thwart God's judgment on a nation that is unrepentant and non-submissive to His Law? Somehow I doubt it.

Yes, you read that right....God is judging this country.
"But we're blessed by God in this country, with all of our freedoms, right?"
To that kind of question I would say, "Look around".

This country has only been blessed by God in the sense that He hasn't wiped us off the map yet! The freedoms we have, that God has allowed us to have, have made us think we are a nation blessed by God....His special christian nation, but if we take a deeper look we'll find something quite different.

We're constantly opening doors to things that are clearly in opposition to the Word of God - legalizing homosexual marriage, pornography, violence, abortion, etc...

God is not pleased with our lazy, greedy, ungodly lifestyles in this country and our almost total rejection of Him as our God - Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge. Money has become our god. Power has become our god. Influence and prestige have become our gods. All these things and more have become our gods and we've placed them on the altar of our heart, in place of Yahweh - the Living God of the bible!

Our nation is no different then some of the world's largest empires throughout history. Empires that built upon their own strength and grew nationally by "patriotic" endeavors in which they conquered civilizations under the guise of freedom. The Greeks and even the Romans had Democracy and certain freedoms for the people. We ourselves have become a Democracy, though we were created to be a Republic. You know, "...and to the Republic, for which it stands. One nation, under God..." A Republic is ruled by law (the Constitution in our case) whereas a Democracy is ruled by the majority (mob rule). We have walked in very similiar paths as some ancient empires. We've even had slavery in this country, closer to the time of it's foundation. We believe we've become more advanced and knowledgable, but all we've done is replaced one sin for another. Now instead of enslaving people with physical chains, we use prescription drugs, parts of the entertainment world, man-made foods, etc...

We have not realized, that as a country, we are blaspheming the name of God by "saying" His name and "saying" we love Him, but we live like we never knew Him!We hold on to cheap grace, believing God has forgiven us of all our sins so that we can keep on sinning! How heretical. Did Jesus die so that we could continue to sin freely? Absolutely not!(Romans 6:1-2). In fact, He came to defeat sin in the flesh. If we are in Christ, then we are free from the power of sin, but still have the capability to do it. God has given us, then, His Spirit so that we would not walk according to the flesh, but according to His Commandments - thereby crucifying our flesh (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:1-4).

The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires to ever rule most of the known world. It covered approx. 2.3 million square miles at it's zenith. Rome absorbed cults and religions into it's own pagan belief system thereby assimilating whole nations into itself. When the Roman Catholic church became an empire in and of itself around the beginning of the 3rd century, it carried out it's missionary work the same way, allowing pagans to keep many of their traditions and objects in hopes that they would more easily convert to christianity. Through the Dark Ages, the people were kept in the "dark" as they had no copies of Scripture for themselves. The Catholic priests taught the people since the bible was in Latin and they were the only ones that knew the language. Do the research, it's not hard to find. In doing what they did, the priests taught the people many heresies along with the truth, and the people bought it. Heresies like purgatory and praying for the dead, certain people being saints, and even that Mary was the co-redeemer with Christ! Unbelievable apostasty! This historical background is given to point out a fact: we as a religious nation have come from this very same Roman Catholicism more than we realize. And by so doing, we have walked in our own paths rather than in the LORD's. We have taken man's word over God's. We've kept our own traditions thereby making the commandments of God of no effect in our lives (Matthew 15:3-9). We sit in our pews and chairs and listen to our pastors, many of whom are not wholly teaching the Word of God, and we're buying it. It's the blind leading the blind. It's time we wake up and heed the voice of the LORD. We need to seek Him in His Word and test these doctrines and teachings to prove if they are right or not. Like the Bereans saught to see if what Paul was saying lined up with Scripture (Old Testament) so we must do.

The Founding Fathers of our country, most of whom were deists, wanted this nation to have freedom of religion, unlike the tyrrany they had escaped in England. Unfortunately for them, God isn't a big advocator for freedom of many religions.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" - John 14:6

Many of the Founding fathers were, as I said, deists including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and even George Washington.

The definition of deism is: A belief in God, the Supreme Being, based on reason rather than revelation and involving the view that God has set the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs.
Deism became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Age of Enlightenment. Deists do not believe in a triune God, three persons existing in one. In other words, they reject the Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and believe that God is just one individual who, as stated above, does not get involved with His creation. And they reject the deity of Jesus Christ. This is unbiblical and heretical to say the least! Think of it! These men were not only deists, but wanted a country that would not be solely submissive to the LORD of heaven and earth alone, but where people could worship whatever god they wanted in whatever religious way they wanted. Today that's even more acceptable than it was then, however, the LORD said

"Before Me there was no god formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior." - Isaiah 43:10b

Our Founding fathers were philosophical in their approach to religion and government. Rather than seeking the God of the Scriptures - Yahweh - they sought their own definition of God and fought to create a country that would be molded to their image rather than His.

And the same problem persists even today. We are a nation that would rather be led by men than God.

When God's people asked for a king, it wasn't what the Lord wanted. In fact it was sinful. He allowed them to have a king and He even anointed David as king after Saul, yet it was still not what God had wanted all along - for the people to cry out to Him as their King.

The people speaking to Samuel said,
"Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, 'Give us a king to judge us.' So Samuel prayed to the LORD. and the LORD said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.'" - 1 Samuel 8:5b-7

The people didn't want God as their King, but rather, they wanted to have a man rule over them just as the nations had.

Their hearts were far from the Lord, and it showed even when Samuel tried to warn them what the king would be like, they still asked for one.

Aren't we doing the same thing in this country? If we are supposedly a "nation under God" then why are we not submitted to Him as our King? Do we think that it just wouldn't work? That God can only rule over us in our individual lives and through men, but not over a whole nation by Himself? How absurd!

If God created the heavens and the earth and gave life to everything, then He can certainly rule over people who want to be submissive to Him. But that's the key: we need to be submissive to Him and then He will bless us (Deuteronomy 28). But a country that is under many gods cannot be subject to the One true God. We can only pray for His mercy upon us, and hold to His promises that He will carry us through the trials and tribulations.
Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." - John 14:15. Those commandments, by the way, were not a new set of commandments, but the one's He gave from the beginning (John 7:16; 1 John 1:7). It is only through obedience to Him that we are blessed. If we're saved by His grace through our faith, then we should produce fruit befitting that. God is God and we are not, which means He knows best.

The president is only a man! and we (mankind) are all unrighteous -
"Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar" - Romans 3:4

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9a

"There is none who does good, no not one" - Psalm 14:3

Sure, men who run for the presidency and for Congress want to do good things for this country, or so they say, but they cannot compare to our Lord and Savior.

And that is precisely why I'm not voting (gasp!). That's right, I'm not voting (gasp again!).

As I've said, "the lesser of two evils...is still evil." It doesn't matter whether Barack Obama becomes president or John McCain; they will both continue to be lawless men walking in opposition to the Law of God.

I'm not condemning anyone for voting. I'm just doing what I know the bible says to do - pray. Pray for whoever becomes president and that this country would wake up and fall on its knees before the Almighty Lord. He is my King, and He is the only One I'm choosing to rule over me. Whom will you choose?

Is Anybody Listening?

I just read a quote from one of our country's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and he said,

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." - Thomas Jefferson (1802)

Are we not seeing this happen today?

It amazes me that people can so quickly forget where we come from and the direction in which we were headed, only to go off on a path of sure destruction.

Maybe it's just me, but I would think that a man who was our third president of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and an influential founding father would know a thing or two about how this country would best function (even if he wasn't a true follower of Messiah).

His ideas of the banking system is completely accurate.

And this mess we're getting into concerning the Federal Reserve system.....these are the one's who admittedly caused the Great Depression! The chief even admitted to it!

Not too sure about that? Just check out this article: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=59405

What's even more astounding is the fact that our country is completely oblivious to the fact that God is judging us for the sin and rebellious attitude that runs rampant in this "one nation under God". But that's for another blog.

May the LORD have mercy on us and may we seek His face as we fall on ours!

Repentance leads to life!

Repentance. What is it? How does it affect us and why should we care about it?
Well, repentance is much more than some nifty little doctrinal statement made by christians. Repentance is the basis for life in God.
It is, in a cosmic sort of nutshell, choosing to turn from our sins toward God and asking Him to forgive us of those sins which we had previously committed.
Repentance is NOT a one time deal where God forgives all the sins we've ever committed AND those we will commit.
Romans 3:25 says that God passed over our sins which we had previously committed, due to His forebearance and eternal knowledge.
However, we must realize that God does not forgive every sin we WILL commit unless we ask for forgiveness.
We must come before Almighty God in humbleness and fear, and ask for His forgiveness when we sin.
Hebrews points out why -

"For if we sin willfully after we have recieved the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation will devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26

Did you get that? If we sin, knowing full well that we're sinning, Jesus' sacrifice no longer has a place in our lives. It doesn't count because we've put Him to an open shame all over again (Hebrews 6:6).

If we don't repent of our sins we'll die in them. But if we do repent then we experience the free gift of salvation that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) brings to us by His grace.

Messiah said in Luke 13:3 - "...but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Not the message of Jesus that we're used to hearing, is it? But it's the truth of His Word.

Regardless of what people think Messiah said or didn't say, really doesn't matter because He said what He said! We can't change what He has said and done.
He does NOT change and His Word stands forever!

If the Lord died to save us from our sins then we have to ask ourselves why so many of us continue to sin willfully. Do we think God doesn't care anymore about repentance in our lives?
Certainly not! Of course He still cares. He's God and as we already said He does NOT change.
He therefore still cares every bit as much about us and our relationship with Him today as He did ages ago.

Without repentance we will continue to walk in sin, which, ultimately, is walking AWAY from God. He knows this and that is why He wants us to let Him work in our lives to destroy sin.

By the Holy Spirit we CAN overcome sin!

Many times, when Yeshua would encounter someone seeking forgiveness He would forgive them and then tell them "go and sin no more".
That statement would be some kind of awful joke if we couldn't get past our sins. But He knew/knows that by HIS strength and HIS grace we can be truly free when we walk in His Torah (Law).
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will know what it means to walk upright and free in His Law. Because we are saved by His grace through our faith.

Repentance leads to life, but walking in darkness and unrepentance just leads us closer and closer to eternal death and separation from God.

"For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10

True Friendship

Lately it seems as though the Lord has been bringing to my attention the idea of friendship. In particular, can believers in Yeshua/Jesus truly be friends with non-believers?
I think first we have to define the word "friend" according to the Scriptures.

"Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God." - James 2:22-23
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." - John 15:14-16

Moses was also called a friend of God, and as we just read what Yeshua/Jesus said to His disciples, a true friend of God is someone who is obedient to Him. A more specific definition, in accordance with Scripture, would be 'One who obeys the Lord's Torah/Law out of love for Him and by His grace through faith'.
I believe that the better we understand this concept of friendship as being defined by walking in God's commandments (His Torah), then we will better understand why Paul writes what he does to the Corinthian church.

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of 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." Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate says the LORD. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.'" - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Notice the temple of God and idols, light and dark, Christ and Belial... all things that are complete opposites and have no union what-so-ever. And Paul also includes a believer and an unbeliever. We have no business being in fellowship with unbelievers. But why?
It is because of where Paul quotes from first in Leviticus 26:12 and Jeremiah 32:28.
God will dwell in and among His people only when we are holy/separate from the uncleaness of the world. Does that mean we have to be perfect before He'll dwell with us? Well, yes. But not on our own accord. It is impossible for us to be perfect on our own, but through the blood of Messiah we are made spotless!
So then, if we are born again in Him we ought not to have a relationship with those who are lawless.
He quotes from Isaiah 52:11 which exhorts us to not touch anything unclean. Isaiah was writing to those who carried the vessels of the LORD, which were the priests. According to Scripture we are priests in God's kingdom (1 Peter 2:5,9) which means we are not to be a part of this world (that which is unclean).

But what about witnessing? How are we supposed to witness to unbelievers without being friends to them? The Lord tells us that the most effective way of witnessing is to simply be obedient to His Torah/Law and walk in love for other believers (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:16-19, 22:37-40; John 13:35; 1 John 5:2-3)
We have to remember that yes the Lord loved the world so much that He died to save it, and yes He wants us to be a light to those in darkness, but HE knows that if we 'hang out' with those who are immersed in sin, that lifestyle will eventually draw us into it because sin is always looking for a way to get in. In fact, the LORD tells Cain this:

"...sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should overcome it." - Genesis 4:7b

We are constantly told not to walk in the ways of the world nor to turn back to our old ways, but to keep our eyes on things above...things of the Lord.
If we truly care about the lost (and we should!) then we must do all we can to walk in obedience to the Lord's Torah/Law and show unbelievers the truth of His Word. As living epistles, we are His letter to those who are lost. If they 'read' us as we walk in accordance with His commandments and share His good news, then His Word will not return void and people will see our good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:16).
A final thought from the epistle of James on those who are friends with unbelievers and the world:
"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?'" - James 4:4-5

God of the Mountains

Recently my wife and I took our girls on vacation. We visited the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Appalacian Mts., and yes - they are smoky. Well, actually misty would be a better word.

Anyway, as we travelled through these majestic mountains I tried to thoroughly point out all of the splendor of God's creation to our daughters. I kept reminding them of God's power and creativity as we hiked the Appalacian trail and other paths through the wilderness.

However, it wasn't until the morning that we were leaving that it finally hit me! Those beautiful mountains that we had been hiking and driving through were not a result of God's creativity, but His judgment and mercy!

His Judgment.

As Noah boarded the ark with his family, he must have been terrified, yet trusting the LORD he faithfully waited as the time of the great flood drew near. As a result of that world wide catastrophe, the earth as Noah knew it would be forever changed. The entire globe was covered in water, which ultimately changed the face of the landscape by shifting the fragments of land around as the flood waters receded.

As the continents broke apart and slammed together, forming new land masses, mountain ridges were formed. When Noah and his family exited the ark they must have been in horrified awe as they looked upon a planet that was vastly different than a year earlier. Now stripped of the lush vegetation due to the raging flood, the land was probably a vast wasteland which now had huge mountains protruding on the horizon. These gigantic "hills" had never existed before the flood, but now Noah was seeing the result of God's judgment.

As we look at mountains such as the Rockies, the Alps, and other ranges, we are reminded of the awesome power of God and His judgment upon sin. An awesome reminder that God does not tolerate the sins of the world.

But here's the amazing part: even in God's judgment, His mercy is still there.

Think about it. Mountains all over the earth are there because God judged the ancient world for their sin. Yet throughout Scripture, mountains are almost always used as a picture of God's mercy and protection.

It was a mountain, Mt. Ararat, that God settled the ark as the flood waters drained off into the oceans we see today. (Genesis 8:4)

It was a mountain, Mt. Sinai, that God spoke to Moses and the children of Isreal. He gave His commandments from that mountain. (Exodus 19:11, 20)

It was between two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, that the blessings and cursings were read (Deuteronomy 11:29)

It was on the Mount of Olives that Christ Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1:12)

Believers are compared to the mountain of Zion in Psalm 125:1 -

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

And from Mount Zion God will teach His ways/laws to all people.

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." Isaiah 2:3

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

These and other Scriptures give a powerful testimony to God's mercy toward His people by using mountains as a picture of that mercy.

We can either be crushed in His judgment or fall upon Him as the Rock of our salvation.

El Shaddai. One of the names of God which means God of the mountains.