NEW BEGINNINGS - NEW SEASON

Each New Year's observance and subsequent "new year's" resolutions are sometimes wonderful things to be a part of, but we can have a restart and reboot now or at any time, which is more meaningful, enduring and can actually be maintained than fleeting "resolutions" that are broken six weeks after they are made!

America has always been the country and the Land of Second Chances. Here you can fail, try again...then really blow it, and then really come alive in a brand new city or state, doing the opposite of what you're trained for...and succeed at it! The country, which was founded on solid Biblical and Christian principles, is still that way. Before the United States was ever dreamed of, God ordained a truth and a new beginning for those who love and obey Him and than those who are called by His Name. 

The new beginning from God comes the moment we come to the end of our own little selves and realize that there is something and Someone bigger than us. It is when we realize we have hit bottom, lost all hope and have nowhere to go and turn to the One Who created us - Abba Father. God does not hear the prayers of those who are not saved, unless we called out to Him for Salvation and rescue. It is only then that we really and truly have a new beginning in life which will last us through eternity.

When we cry out, seek His forgiveness and accept that forgiveness in the spirit of repentance and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master and the Direction of our life, only than will the God of Heaven hear our prayers. It is then the following becomes true: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh....Ezekiel 36:26

We read 2 Corinthians 5:17  says that if any man is in Christ, he is a "NEW CREATION". This is true. If you have ever observed a person, who led the most miserable life, looked and acted like a child of hell and then was radically saved, you will see the absolute complete change in that person. It is a confirmation of this verse!!

When the Bible says that person is a NEW CREATION, the actual original word for Creation is "ktisis". This is the very same word which is used to describe the Creation of the World, which God Himself formed out of NOTHING - NOTHING! God took our nothing and made something beautiful out it - a new creation. He creates a new person out of us, a child of the Kingdom, a royal priesthood, a holy nation! That's our God and that's the Truth! Jesus is Lord! 

The following is a program on New Beginnings, from my Bible teaching show, which expands on this:

AMERICA - THE BIGGEST MISSION FIELD IN THE WORLD

MAJOR US CITIES REMAIN UNCHURCHED- NEW BARNA SURVEY

San Francisco - Farthest away from God

If you wondered why Christians in the west and especially in the so-called most Christian nation in the world - the United States, could care less about the persecution of Christian in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, look no further than the proof provided by George Barna. The great Christian researcher just released his survey of the least churched cities in America and while there is no surprise there, the sheer size of the populations of these cities, give lie to the historic title of the greatest Christian nation in history. In fact, what this survey proves, is the United States is the largest, wealthiest and ungodliest mission field in the world. (The largest Christian nation is actually the underground church in China which has over 300 millions Christians!)

That is the bad news. The good news is the Christian remnant in America, which hovers around 30 million, has stayed true to the Word of God, Biblical principles, the Sovereignty of God in the affairs of men and the "true Truth". That number- 25 to 30 million - seems like a lot but in a country of over 316 million people, is actually theologically correct when the qualifying views of these believers are boiled down to the nitty gritty. 

A real Christian has the following beliefs as his/her core and never wavers from it: the Sovereignty of God; the Inerrancy of Scripture from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22; the birth, life, death, Resurrection and Return of Christ; His Virgin Birth; the Diety of Christ; The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit);  the Total Depravity of man; the Perseverance of the Saints and Lordship of Jesus Christ as the only narrow way to Heaven. Anything else is an anathema. Good works and all that are a natural flow of the authority and calling of the believer and true child of God. Because God has told us to never neglect the fellowship of the saints, and the meeting of the assembly, church is important. It's secondary functions - the Parachurch - is supremely important as well as most of the outreach work, missions and discipleship ministries are done through the Parachurch organizations. (This will be discussed in Part 2 of this article).

So without further ado, and knowing the foundational truth of what a true Christian and authentic church-goes SHOULD be, here are the least churched cities of the United States of America:

THE FULLARTICLE ON UNCHURCHED CITIES CAN BE READ HERE AT THE BARNA WEBSITE:

LEAST UNCHURCHED CITIES IN THE U.S.:
1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Ca.  (61% unchurched)
2. Burlington/Plattsbuirgh, Vermont (55%)
3. Boston, Ma/Manchester N.H. (53%)
4. Portland/Auburn, Maine (52%)
5. Chico/Redding, Ca. (52%)
6. Las Vegas, Nevada (51%)
7. Seattle and Tacoma, Wa. (50%)
8. Albany and upstate New York (50%)
9. Phoenix, Prescott, Arizona (49%)
10. New York City (48%)
11. West Palm Beach etc, Florida (48%)
12. Tuscon/Sierra Vista, Arizona
13.  Portland, Oregon

14.  Los Angeles, Ca.

15.  Philadelphia, Pa.

16.  Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut

17.  Flint, Michigan

18.  Denver, Colorado

19.  Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto

20.  Providence, Rhode Island

Baltimore is ranked number 67 with only 1/3 of this population listed as unchurched. Judging from the riots and spiritual condition of that city, it's absolutely obvious church attendance does not equal transformation.

Go to www.barna.org for more on this and other relevant (to Christianity) surveys.

GOD BELONGS IN MY CITY - SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS THIS SATURDAY

OFFICIAL PRAYER POINTS FOR THE TWO MILE WALK (see below)

TIMELINE: GATHER AT 10 AM (REGISTRATION FOR FUTURE EVENTS)
PRAYER WALK LEAVES COMER COX PARK, 18th and Capitol Avenue for two miles to 2nd and Capitol - the Illinois State Capitol East Steps.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE PRAYER LEADERS:
Dave Smith- Director, Illinois Family Institute
Roy Newman- Pastor, Fresh Visions Com. Church
Eric Hansen- Pastor,  iWorship Center
Roger Ross- Pastor, First United Methodist
Fr House- Catholic Diocese
Billie Landers- New Generations Ministries, Auburn

HERE ARE THE PRAYER POINTS FOR THE TWO MILE WALK TO THE 11:15 am PRAYER & WORSHIP SERVICE AT THE STATE CAPITOL STEPS (BASED ON PSALM 51 -New American Standard Bible):

Prayer Focus 1: PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE (Personal repentance – Psalm 51 Verse 2 “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…verse 4 “Against You and You only I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight”…Verse 9 “Hide Your Face from my sins and blot out my iniquities.)
Corporate Repentance: for the sins of the Body of Christ against God and our fellow man. Since of division, despair, destructive speech and conduct and the racism.

Prayer Focus 2: PRAYERS OF REDEMPTION:  After this prayers of Repentance, sees forgiveness “Psalm 51 Verse:7 “ Purify me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be as white as snow…..Verse 10 “ Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me”. Corporate Redemption – Pray for our city/town/state leaders to come to repentance and follow the will of God that it may be well with us.

Prayer Focus 3: PRAYERS OF RESTORATION:  Restoration of relationships – personal and between those in the church. 
Restoration of relationships across the community and unity in the Body of Christ, around the Person and saving power of Jesus Christ", regardless of race or class. 
Restoration of the relationship upon which all of the above is based – our relationship with the One True God of Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ…..Verse 12 “Restore to me the Joy of Your Salvation and sustain in me a willing spirit…..verse 15 “O Lord, open my lips that my mouth may declare Your Praise!”

Additional Scripture verses to meditate upon:

1.  Humble ourselves before God.
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land."

2.  Love God and love each other.
Luke 10:27 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you strength and with all your mind, and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'."

3.  Courageous in difficult times.
John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

4. Pray for our leaders.
1 Timothy 2:1,2 "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT LAST YEAR'S INAUGURAL GBIMC PRAYER WALK. 

777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)

DAY 7 - RESTORATION

Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,Like the latter and former rain to the earth....(Hosea 6:1-3)

Our rebellion against God is breathtaking. As a people we are more broken, more corrupt and more in desperation than anyone can imagine. The people meet in high places and bow down to strange gods. They dance around every green tree and burn incense to foreign gods, then come before the Holy One of Israel and think He will be there for them. We take His changing the weather patterns, because He can, and call it "climate change" or "global warming", when all we are doing is what Lucifer did when he tried to mount a mutiny with 1/3 of the angels in heaven and got tossed out - as recorded in Isaiah 14.

Decades and decades of turning away from the God of the Bible is now coming home to roost.  America and the world are facing a future and a judgment of horror while they - we - bury our heads in our respective sand castles. We pretend this is not happening and it will all go away. We pretend God is okay with all our sin. We are people broken by sin and torn apart at the seams. But there is hope!

God showed His Prophet Hosea how he should pray as an example for us, on a day of fasting and prayer, how we should go about doing what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land".

So Come Let us return to the Lord - Father God, most Holy One in Heaven, we repent in the middle of our sin for all we have done to cause You pain. We cry out as individuals and a people and plea that as we repent, You will accept our confession and bring us back from the precipice of hell as a people. Though we in the remnant may be personally saved, too many of our brethren and our entire country are being led off the cliff by those who should know better. So we pray that as we cry out, many will hear this call and want to turn back to you at this very hour in Jesus Holy Name, amen

He has torn us, but He will heal us - Father God, I believe that with all my heart as we approach you in the spirit of Brokenness. Break us now, bend us now that we may be remade, remolded and restored in Your Image, for Your Glory, forever and ever, amen.

He has stricken, but He will bind us up - Lord we are a people under the Judgment of Heaven and are too blind to see it. Open the eyes of our heart Lord, that we may see You the One True God of the Universe, and surrender to YOUR Will for our Lives, in Jesus Holy Name.

On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight - Holy Father, just as You raised the King from the grave, three days after He was crucified,  You will revive, resurrect and restore if we seek you NOW...if we see Your Restoration NOW and as we do that Lord, may You accept our sacrifice of praise and let us live in Your Sight once more. We beg and beseech You, oh Most Glorious God in Heaven to the Praise and Glory of Your Name, oh God Who revives and restores, amen and amen.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ FOR HER LEADERSHIP IN THIS POWERFUL AND INSPIRATION PRAYER MOVEMENT ACROSS THE FRUITED PLAIN!

777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)

DAY 4 (JULY 4, 2014):

FREEDOM AND DELIVERANCE

One cannot truly understand any type of freedom without grasping the concept of Deliverance. All peoples everywhere yearn to be "free" - free to live their lives; free to walk their streets; free to raise their kids; free to move from place to place....and just free to conduct themselves in the manner which seems appropriate.

The purposes of man sometimes work against this kind of universal freedom because the worldly, who seek power, also seek to oppress and dominate others, in order to exercise that power. We see this in the godless (and deadly) centuries of oppression of Communism, socialism, national socialism (Nazis), and other forms of pagan idolatry and tyranny. These godless philosophies of the god of this world - Sin, the Flesh and the devil - have nothing to do with the purity and passion of the Freedom which comes from Christ, the Son of God.

God's Freedom and "freedom" given by men are two completely different entities. The difference could not be more obvious. 

God's Freedom is called Deliverance. Man's "freedom" is called dependency. 

God's Freedom is about "setting the captives" free. Man's "freedom" is control and confiscate. 

God's Freedom allows the person to soar to be the best they can be. Man's freedom gives just enough largesse to captivate the individual into conformity to the corruption of this world. 

God's Will and Freedom is about transforming by the "renewing" of the mind (Romans 12:2). Man's Freedom is mind control and ultimate destruction of the human soul. 

Which would you rather possess?

Scriptures says "he whom the Son sets free, is free indeed" (John 8:36), because it was "for Freedom, that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1). Jesus Christ, the Son of God has set us free by this single act 2000 plus years ago when an event happened in Bethlehem where the Majesty of Heaven was revealed in the little baby Who grew up to give us the blueprints of Freedom. He gave us those blueprints in the Gospel of the Kingdom, that if we repent, and believe it and accept His sacrifice on the Cross, we too will be saved, by putting our complete Faith alone in Him for our deliverance.

So Father, in the Mighty Name of that Jesus, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, of Whom the Scriptures spoke from Genesis to Revelation, I thank You for setting this captive free! I thank You for the saving power of the Cross which offers the only true Hope for all mankind for all time, that if we would just see beyond our own myopic vision, we can see Your wonderful plan to rescue humanity.

I thank You for that same rescue from the bondage of sin....from the bondage of the cycle of despair....from the bondage of the circle of corruption and the vortex of fleshy desires, dependency and degradation. I think You for setting me from my inaccurate notions about the true nature of You, Heavenly Father. 

You set me from the misleading interpretations of those who do not have Your interests at heart and who therefore, seek to give glory to themselves...a glory they seek for their own goodness and profit and not the Glory and Power of the Kingdom. I thank You for therefore setting me on the right track of truly understanding your character and amazing attributes that I can more accurately interpret Your Word; more correctly seek You in Prayer and more purposefully WORSHIP You in Spirit and in Truth.

Thank You, Father, oh most Righteous and Holy God, for the covering You have provided, through the Full Armor of God in Ephesians 6, where You have equipped us to stand against the pagan gods of this world in high offices, from academia, all the way down to politics, whose plans do not ever line up with Yours. 

Thank You for the Helmet of Salvation. Thank You for the Breastplate of Righteousness. Thank You for the Belt of Truth and the Shoes of the Gospel. Thank You for the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit because those Supernatural life-giving/freedom-believing resources enable us to continue to be free from sin, the flesh and the devil while living in this perishing world, so that we may share that good news with those who see the same deliverance You have given to us.

We thank You, oh most Gracious and Loving God, that You have allowed the great country of America to be the beacon of human freedom it has been for 200 plus years and the example, until recent decades, of Christian virtue and ethics. 

We thank You for the fruited plains; the magnificent mountains; the spectacular oceans and lakes; the lush food baskets which feed the world and the bustling industries, shipyards and freight trains which move the engine of economic freedom. 

We thank You for the men and women who toil in the financial sectors; the hospitals; the services industries; the over the road trucking outfits and the schools' and colleges. Most of all we thank You for the homes You have so freely provided if we work hard and play by the rules of God and man. All of this was only possible because of Your Grace, oh God, Your Grace. 

We thank You for our families and spouses and children and grand-children and extended families that grew this country from day one. We know oh Lord, that men and women, who are not of You, have these God-ordained institutions targeted for destruction, for the glory of themselves and their father - the god of this world. But You, Oh God of all Heaven and Earth and the Universe, are a patient and long-suffering God. Therefore, we surrender this now into Your Mighty Hands.

We repent of our part in any of this and turn back to You right now, humbling ourselves; seeking Your Holy Face and praying that You would hear from Heaven. Keep us Free oh God, in this world, as You already have ordained, by bringing us into the Eternal Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom all Power and Glory now belong - now and forever more, amen.

#AMERICA'S GONE NUTS - BLACK FRIDAY MAYHEM 2013

Exactly one year ago, on Black Friday 2012, we looked at some of crazy antics of a people out of control in their idolatry - namely the god of reckless consumerism. This is the kind of garbage that gives seemingly "liberation theology" popes the license to attack the Free Market system which feeds the world, clothes the cold and shows up after natural diasters strike. While it may seemingly affirm their belief, this extreme consumerism is not indicative of an orderly system of free enterprise.
HEADLINES FROM THE DRUDGE REPORT- BLACK FRIDAY MAYHEM:

Mall mayhem...
Suspected shoplifter shot after dragging cop through KOHL's parking lot...
Brawls...
Man stabbed over parking spot...
Shopper Kicked Out Of WALMART For Filming Fight...
Man shot walking home with big screen...
SALVATION ARMY kettles stolen...
REPORT: Profit margins jump for sales 'hoax'...

FROM NBC NEWS:

Violence flares as shoppers slug it out for the best Black Friday deals

FROM ABC NEWS:

Black Friday Mayhem: Fights Over Doorbuster Sales

FROM ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (a summary):

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/black-friday-shopping-chaos-violence-surfaces-acro/nb7KX/

While our children and great children-to-be are being saddled with unpayable debt due to state and national politicians, the following uncivilized behavior is what we see....for a cheap flat screen TV or $10 DVD player, which will break in less than 3 years!!!! Yet these same people will create their own theology about "being a good person"; "going to heaven which they all are, according to them" or ...you know where this is heading.  You cannot get them into a discussion about their own eternal souls and its destination because they are so clouded their self conscious lust for the natural over the eternal.

The world's system and its godless media celebrity culture and political leadership have the majority of people so thinking more of filling their stomachs and appetites for the latest gadget or reality show, they have no concept of the True God. They had better wake up fast! Tomorrow is not promised to ANYBODY so we can enjoy that cheap flat screen TV watching the immorality of Hollywood and its associated freak shows. They will come face to FACE with the Holiness of God in less than fifty years and what are they going to do then?!!

The answer can be found in Mark 1:15 NLT :"The time promised by God has come at last!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!"  OR - make your peace with God TODAY, while there is still time - realize that all of this mayhem is getting nowhere but eternal punishment away from Heaven; ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you and your sins. He will, if you are truly sorry (or repentant). THEN believe Jesus Christ is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7) and that He was born as a child to save the World (see: Christmas and John 3:16); that He ministered for three years and they are all recorded in the four gospels. It was then He showed us how to live and make our own relationship right with God. THEN believe that He was persecuted for Righteousness; nailed to a Cross by evil men; shed His own Blood for our sins; was buried and on the Third Day, He rose from the dead. He was seen by 500 people in those 40 days after the Resurrection. Many of those who voted to executed Him, ended up believing in Him. The secular historian Josephus was a friend of Jesus' half-brother, James and recorded some of these events.

If these people, whose current god is a 1080p HDTV; an X box or whatever, would seek out this Truth which is available to all NOW for FREE, they would not be doing this sort of thing we see all over America this weekend! All they have to do is accept the Jesus I just described as their own personal LORD and SAVIOR and they will be saved from eternal damnation....and you know what, they'll be able to enjoy that television yet with peace in their hearts. Why? Anyone who is truly saved has the Holy Spirit of God as their witness to that fact, and He is the giver of all good things, including contentment. 

Now, isn't this better than getting trampled by these hordes of the unwashed (in the Blood, that is)?

THE MEANING OF LIFE: PART 4 OF 12

                           A CHAPTER BY CHAPTER STUDY OF THE BOOK OF

                                         ECCLESIASTES......CHAPTER 4
                                             "Live, Love, Fellowship"

From time immemorial, man has always tried to oppress and conquer other men, causing pain and havoc in his wake. This is so, even though every single oppressor - from Pharoah to Genghis Khan to Mary, Queen of Scots to Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Castro all go the way of the unredeemed - a place of eternal separation. 

So how does a person live under a such a system? What should your worldview be? Even in a country - America, which is no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave - how are we to persevere in these times? I suggest reading this entire chapter 4 (below) and then watch the message below it to assist in understanding it.  Also, a critical part of persevering in oppressive and stressful times is fellowship or as verse 9 says "two is better than one". We were not meant to be an island but to live and love and reach out and touch others....even in times like these!

Ecclesiastes 4

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Evils of Oppression

4 Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

4 I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is [a]vanity and striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. 8 There was a certain man without a [b]dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if [c]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not [d]another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they [e]keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if [f]one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

13 A poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive [g]instruction. 14 For he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who [h]replaces him. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

THEY IGNORED HIM!! LET'S NOT DO THE SAME!

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN THE CITY OF JERUSALEM!

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:1-6 ESV)

The above passage is familiar to all who know the full Christmas story! As we look at this amazing event - the Birth of the Savior (and He was actually born closer to the Feast of Tabernacles around September 30 rather than December 25), we are discovering different nuggets and jewels from the Kingdom of God! 
We found out that the Shepherds were the First Pastors (READ THAT STORY BY CLICKING HERE).  That would be the Shepherds of Bethlehem who watched their flocks by night.
We found out that the prophesy of the PLACE of His birth (which is quoted above) was specifically spoken of by the Old Testament prophet Micah, many hundreds of years ago! In fact that same prophesy is quoted above in Matthew 2 (in red)!

But what I wish us to take a look at is the following verse which has been troubling me for three days now: ".....When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”....(Matthew 2:3-6 ESV)

To be more specific, let us look at this part here "....the chief priests and scribes of the people....told him (Herod)....for so it was written by the prophet"!!! 
These priests - scribes and pharisees - KNEW THE MESSIAH WAS GOING TO BE BORN IN BETHELEM.
These priests - scribes and pharisees - KNEW THE ENTIRE SCRIPTURES (BECAUSE THEY STUDIED BOTH THE HEBREW SCROLLS AND THE SEPTUAGINT) SPOKE OF THE COMING MESSIAH, YESHUA THE KING, ALL THROUGH THE HAFTARAH OR THE BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS.
These priests - scribes and pharisees - KNEW THE WORD OF GOD, BECAUSE THEY LONGED FOR THE MESSIAH TO RESCUE THEM FROM ROME.
These priests - scribes and pharisees - KNEW ALL OF THIS.....AND DID NOTHING WHEN THE LORD SENT THE MEN FROM THE EAST TO INQUIRE!

THEY DID NOTHING!! NOTHING!! This is the church today! God could send the wisest prophets, missionaries, prayer warriors...and more. He could, would and does send warning after warning after warning to us to take heed, repent and get things right with Him as a country and personally. He even takes His Hands off and lets certain catastrophic events happen - yet we do NOTHING...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING....just like this religious people who could rattle off the written word....then go back to their comfortable surroundings! They went back to sleep....we are sleeping today! We are no different than those people!

You know the old story about the flood and the man who waited at the top of the house for God to rescue him, from the waters rising all around him. You remember that a boat came...and the man refused help. He said "I'm waiting for God to rescue me!" Then a helicopter dropped a ladder down and the man refused to go up into the safety of the chopper. He said "I'm waiting for God to rescue'" Well, the man drowned and stood before God where he complained to God "where were you while I was waiting on the roof and the flood was rising all around me. Why didn't You rescue me, God"
Finally God had enough and said "I sent you a boat and a helicopter and you refused them!!!"

Things happen to us because we refuse to recognize, read and react to the signs all around us. As America and its church sink further into the morass of its own making, we have only ourselves to blame.
We have ignored the news and whereabouts of the Messiah, when He was and IS always within reach. 
We have ignored and refused the prompting of the Holy Spirit daily in the church and in most, even in their own lives.
We have ignored and refused to bend the knee to the Lord and Savior and instead turned to sinful and morally bankrupt world systems to rescue us from all kinds of stupid cliffs....when we should be more concerned about rescuing as many as possible from the coming judgment!

This Christmas season, let us resolve to NOT be like these priests - scribes and pharisees - who not just knew where the Savior is, and refused to go to Him for ALL America's problems! Let us go to Him NOW and seek forgiveness; hope; compassion and His Eternal Love, Peace and Joy - the true message of Christmas! 

HOW DO WE ROB GOD?

“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. (Malachi 3:6-10 ESV)

More and more discerning believers are discovering the gems which the Holy Spirit put in plain sight for us to see....right in the open! The problem is not just that hardly any Christians read the Bible anymore (in the industrial west) but even those few who do, skip the Old Testament and therefore are missing Rhema revelation from the Lord! Almost every prophet, before the so-called "silent" 400 years (pre-the Birth of Christ) has a prophesy from the Holy Spirit directly related to these End Times!  As we have already seen, the Book of Malachi is one of those!

So what does today's passage mean, in these terms? In a nutshell, from Verses 6, 7 and 8, we basically see that God's people not just ignored and treated Him as irrelevant, but they did not give their offerings (first fruits) as they were supposed to! This is a mirror image of not just society today, in general, but increasingly the modern American church has made up its own god.  We already know that most people who call themselves Christians do not even tithe 5% of their income, (far less the 10% which the Bible implies) but when they do, they do it grudgingly. 

But you see, in the final analysis, God is not interested in our puny little money. He is not even interested in the massive wealth of unbelievers like Bill Gates or Steven Spielberg. What God cares about is how He is robbed of the Respect, Awe, Fear and Worship which is due! He cares about our lack of obedience, from Adam in the Garden to Alice making breakfast in the kitchen to send little Johnny and Sarah off to grade school in the morning. ALL of us have sinned and fallen short of His Glory...everyone from Pastor, priest and president to the small child.

Right now, in these last days, as America's leaders chose the enemies of Israel, we have become an anathema to Him; a curse if you will.  But He is a loving God. He is a gracious God. He is a compassionate God. He is a merciful God. Even with all the disobedience we have shown Him. Even with all the disrespect, blasphemy and thumbing our noses at Him, He still says to America and the church "Return to Me and I will return to you"! THAT IS THE GOD OF HEAVEN! That is not some made up god who has you doing unbiblical things which the TRUE God of Heaven never asked for, nor did it even cross His Mind This is the God of Heaven and Earth...and the owner of everything (even Gate's billions or Trump's real estate)....that is Who He is.

My friends, do not treat His offer of forgiveness and Grace lightly! It is ONLY for a time. That time is now. See Him while He can be found, because one day soon, it will be too late for you....that Day is coming. It is the fearful Day of the Lord. Return to Him, now. Amen.

DAY 26/40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR AMERICA

AMERICA ON ITS KNEES

The Christian Faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we ARE seen...not that we know all the answers, but that we are known! (the Reformed Reader).

Wow! That blows me away and should you as well! Think about that for a second as we pray together:
Father, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, what an amazing, puzzling, super-sized mystery this thing called Faith, which YOU have imputed to us, really is! When I think of all You have, should, could and would have done, from eternity past to now, in this vast unfathomable universe, yet YOU looked down on a miserable soul like ME, a pulled me out of the muck and mire to save and sanctify and set me on the course You have selected, it just floors me! I am on my figurative face just thinking how unworthy I am to be even thought of in the same sentence as the King - Jesus, when I deserve so much worse...when we, as a perverse and corrupt generation of citizens, deserve eternal punishment. Yet, when I am never stronger than when I am on my knees. I am never more effective than on my face. I am never more successful advancing the Kingdom than when I decrease and You increase! What manner of love and Grace is this??!!! You see ME??! YOU...SEE ME!!! A wretch like me? A people like us - who are in the biggest mess, man has created! Not just that, Abba Father, but YOU KNOW ME!  You confirmed that in Psalm 139 and when You told my brother and prophet Jeremiah that You knew him in the womb before he was born!  That alone has me humbled, and small before You and yet in wondrous marvel at the sheer joy...and all the words I can't think of, about being in Your Holy Presence, because YOUR Wonderful Son Jesus, saved me in July of 1988! Praise God! Thank You, Jesus, and it is in Your precious Name I pray, amen

(image by google)

DAY 9 - CAN PRAYER SAVE AMERICA?

Week 1 of 40 Days of Prayer, by the Christian, to the Holy One of Israel, had us looking inwardly at the sorry state of the soul and the war against it. We prayed for the mercy of God and pressed in properly, with Psalm 28 as our platform.

Week 2 begins with a rediscovery of the lost practice of Praise, powerful Praise....the kind which we must live for and acknowledge as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Simply put, America will not truly prosper until America learns to bow the knee. This is the focus as we start this week of intercession.

To repeat - America must right now, this day, begin to put on "sackcloth and ashes" and start looking up in Praise. He will accept nothing less:

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. (Psalm 29:1-4 ESV)

DAY 4-CAN PRAYER SAVE AMERICA?

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much....James 5:16 (NASB)

We see from yesterday's prayer focus that "Holy Praying" is the ONLY way to reach the Heart, Mind, and Throne of God. That is, only the prayer of the consecrated saints is taken by the angels as a sweet incense whose aroma rises out of the bowls before the Father in Heaven.

This verse confirms it for us. The consecrated saint is the man or woman, who has been set apart, by the act of the will (after salvation) from the filthy ways of the world....unto the Holiness, Awe and Righteousness of the Lord. Once we do that...once we confess and repent of our sins...once we then pray for each other....then we are ready and fit for that special heightened and stronger relationship with the Lord Himself.

It is that person whose prayers and intercession will find their way to Him to be considered and answered. This should be our focus this day as we go about asking the Lord to help, protect, bless, guide and redirect America, the world and our own personal families.

Think and act on these things. In Jesus' Name, amen.

A FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER

DAY 13

ARE AMERICA'S FOUNDATIONS GONE?

If there is any doubt that America is under pending judgment, look at what has happened in the past 7 days alone:
- A line of storms 100 miles long has knocked out power in the Capitol of the United States. While we are still the world's biggest superpower (I think), conditions in Washington DC, Virginia and the liberal enclave of Maryland are starting to approach desperate as there is NO electric power for four straight days, with over 100 degree heat daily. These are approaching Third World conditions soon.
- Floods hit the Gulf coast cities after Hurricane Debby sideswiped Pensacola and Mobile.
- Fires are still burning down the expensive homes of hundreds of Colorado residents.
- Drought.
- More drought....and on and on.

The Bible verse which stood out to me, as the Spirit leads, as I contemplate this prayer message for Day 13 of our 14 Days of Prayer, is "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3 ESV). This is the perfect analogy for the state of the civilized world and America in particular. The Foundations are being blown out from right under the feet of not just the Righteous (or Christians who are saved), but everyone who believes in traditional moral and constitutional values.

These Foundations being destroyed are:
- Religious Liberty
- Free Speech
- Basic education
- The Culture
- The Judicial and legal system, most recently the Supreme Court
- The political system.
We can write voluminous books on each of the above topics, but we won't. It is obvious to the objective eye, that the future is in complete jeopardy for this and every other country and there appears nothing folks can do about it. The recent decision by the US Supreme Court had nothing to do with any real Law, Moral or legislative. The medical care of 316 million people has ended up at the mercy and decision of one man - the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts - who it is now known, switched his vote to fit the prevailing political/media elite winds.

A note of caution - to anyone calling themselves a Christian view their salvation like the following, consider that: a. if you think you KNOW the way of the Cross and what Peace with God requires (Repentance, asking for Forgiveness and Trusting in the Savior Who gives that Peace) and then b. if you know all of this, yet when the rubber meets the road, you choose to compromise to find favor with mortal men, abandoning the Truth of God.....if you do this, knowing what Jesus has said is the narrow way to Him (Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV).....if you do all of this, and still think you're saved and going to Heaven, well, think again! The "John Roberts Way" is not the Way of the Master - Jesus Christ. If your moral and spiritual foundations have been compromised and damaged, your standing as a righteous man before God is gone.

It is thus, the same with any society. The Foundation of any righteous people is always Christ. North America, Western Europe etc have turned their collective backs on Him and built a foundation of shifting sand. When God's people did the same thing 2600 years ago, in the time of Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah, God sent an East Wind to destroy (see Hosea 13:15 here "Though he flourishes among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article).


Therefore, in light of all we know to be true and with our knowledge of Scripture and the Ways of God, what really can the Righteous and the people of God really do? First of, we know we can pray and this underscores everything we do. But secondly, we most share the Gospel as much as possible. We ARE living in the last days and the more people who are told of the Wrath that is to come, and how to escape it by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, the better. We,, who can read the stitches on the fast ball, MUST so do!  It must begin with our families and then in all the circles we operate within daily - at work, church, community etc. Concentrating on the piece of Wall before each of us will lead to a group of focused individuals who are both knowledgeable in the Ways and Word of God, so that the Will of God can be accomplished as He had planned all along.

So Father in the Name of Jesus, I pray for the Foundations - both of Faith in our personal lives as well as the Foundation pinings on which America was built and ask Your Grace, Compassion and Blessings upon us all, that we may turn our eyes to YOU alone, as the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, in Jesus' Holy and Mighty Name I pray, amen.

(image by google)