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:

HAS THE CHURCH FAILED CHRIST? PART 2 - LIGHTHOUSE OR UNDER A BUSHEL?

 BRAND NEW PEW SURVEY - 

NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS IN AMERICA PLUMMET TO 70% 

NON-BELIEVERS ZOOM UP TO ALMOST 23%

"and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,  corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth". (Romans 2:18-20)

Reading this passage of Scripture in context (above), leads one to the obvious self-examination type of question: "are we, as the Body of Christ", all those things. Do we, in order of what is written here from Romans 2:

-  Know His Will

-  Approve things that are essential
- Remain confident in our solid knowledge of God's statutes

- Consider ourselves a guide

- Consider ourselves a light to those who are in darkness

- Consider ourselves a "corrector of the foolish"

- Consider ourselves a "teacher of the immature"

- Understand the Law fully (AND The fulfillment of that Law- Jesus Christ) in order to proclaim Truth?

Continuing on from Part 1, we see ample evidence that the modern church thinks that "Discipleship" has more to do with the naval travel and not what the Risen Christ gave as the main command in the Great Commission. Just released(this week) surveys from the Pew Research Center reveal stunning truths. While the population of the United States is inching past 320 million in 2015, the percentage of Christians in the United States has plummeted from 78.4%  in 2007 to 70.6% in 2015! To make it even worse, Americans who have NO FAITH and thus, believe in nothing has skyrocketed to 22.8% of the population!

So how in the world could this be, in the Land of "Freedom of Religion" which gave us the Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th Century? How could the land which produced Jonathan Edwards; D.L. Moody; Mordecai Ham; Billy Sunday; Billy Graham; Franklin Graham and Francis Schaefer fail so horribly? 

We have the best seminaries, four bibles in every home and a Bible app on every phone. We have the richest mega-churches with the highest paid celebrity preachers. 

We have prosperity proponents with dozens of books in the Christian books store with their faces on every cover of every book. 

We have best light shows on Sunday morning with rock star "worship singers" and screaming vatos jamming $4000 Gibsons and Taylors at their rock concerts. 

We have pastors streaming himself live to 5 or 6 other "campuses" with the "message" on the jumbo TV screen while streaming in High Def around the world.

The smaller churches should not be left out either. We have the average church in America actually in the 65-85 person range, despite the more publicized mega-churches. Still these smaller churches are producing a sifted generation, most of whom are twice as much as future citizen of hell, as they are. While the larger churches stand out for obvious reason, many smaller and medium sized houses of worship major in hiding the Light of Christ under bushels, in violation of this verse. The words of Christ also exhorts us to "let your (our) light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify". Well something happened to this little light of yours and mine! 

Instead of being a Lighthouse to warn of the Judgment which is to come, the flickering little lights with little or no oil (the Holy Spirit), stay inside four walls on Sunday and live like the pagan brights of the culture the next 6 1/2 days.

Instead of "considering ourselves the corrector of the unwise and foolish" by teaching others about the Master and His Word, we, ourselves, have become the foolish.

Instead of being "the teacher of the immature", we play games with the Gospel and act irreverently in the House of the Lord. How can we teach immature Christians when we ourselves have no knowledge of the Attributes and Statutes of God, but can recite the batting average of the Chicago Cubs first baseman or how many passes Tom Brady threw in the Super Bowl?

Instead of attempting to understand the Laws of God and WHY He gave them (as a road map to keep us out of danger and trouble), we violate them to see how much we can get away with.

Is it any wonder then, as we violate almost everything which was written in these verses above - Romans 2: 18-20,  that less and less people want to be like us? The thing is, the goal is not to attempt to get people ACT, look, think, feel like us as fellow human beings. The goals for the lost and the world to see the Transformation which God has done in our lives through Christ, and want to emulate HIM, not us.  From the just revealed concrete evidence and statistics, we have failed our Father, Who art in Heaven.

AMERICA UNDER JUDGMENT - HOW THE CHURCH BLEW IT

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)
America's "famous pastors" are well known for their glitz and glamor as well as their megachurches and multi-media. They are celebrities at conventions and conferences. Their TV shows are watched by millions and they're invited on secular news programs to speak about this or that controversial topic from time to time.  They tweet. Their followers sometimes troll blogs and websites to post comments defending them, sometimes with vitriol, if they find their favorite celebrity preacher mentioned in an unfavorable light. I know personally about this. One time an Andy Stanley fanatic found this relatively small little blog and reacted to me mentioning his hero, in a comment about a group of ministers who make teaching videos.

One thing you will not see America's pastors talking about this past year is the issue of so-called gay "marriage". Even when the Supreme Court through the dictates of one man, redefined God's Word - an unpardonable sin - America's super-pastors kept silent. They are still speaking loudly by their silence. On the local level, it is a mixed bag. Still, there IS a remnant out there. 

Not a word from the National Association of Evangelicals and others who used to pontificate on fake phenomenon like global warming.

Not a word about the coming global warming - HELL - from the "amen" corner, because they are afraid to offend their million-dollar personal fiefdoms in Houston, Southern California or Seattle or Atlanta or Orlando or New York City or Michigan or Barrington, Illinois etc etc... 

Not a word about the coming Judgment on America by Holy God which they refused  to warn of because they would offend the seekers by "being too judgmental".
Not a word about sin - personal, corporate and national, while national leaders sin with impunity and the corrupt culture are leading our young people into hell.

Narry a word of outrage over the continued loss of Religious Liberty, still constitutionally protected, as more and more secularists are manipulating the words "Religious Liberty" into "freedom of worship",

What is the reason for allowing the world to so turn the minds of the so-called "under-shepherds" of Christ? Is it the loss of 501 C 3 tax free status of the church, in case they proclaim Truth from the pulpit like to power, like Jeremiah or Ezekiel? We know they are afraid of losing rich tithers and some of the younger church leaders want to appear cool.  But don't they know the following is still operational - "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.(James 3:1)

They will be judged more intensely than those whom they allowed to sit in the pews, Sunday after Sunday. 
By being in charge of programs to finance parking lots and new carpets or chandeliers, rather than ensure their flock was being discipled, these church leaders will suffer loss.
By going for atmospherics and contrived feel-goodism, they will suffer loss.
By allowing the generation who grew up on YouTube and Darwinism to not relate the Bible accounts of the Creator to even the youngest person's life, they will suffer loss.
By staying silent while 60% of their youth engaged in sexual activity and the rate of divorce is as same as the secular world, they will suffer loss.
By staying silent while national and even church leaders compromised to get along and curry favor with those in power, they will suffer loss.
By staying silent while saints overseas were persecuted
By staying silent when military Christian chaplains are told not to pray in Jesus' Name
By staying silent while activists with demonic agendas blasphemed God and Jesus Christ
By staying silent when lost people redefine and rewrite God's Word, thereby violating every command of Scripture, there will be some very serious accounting to face.

Where are the men like AW Tozer, who warned of this same evil compromise over 60 years ago?
Where are the men like David Wilkerson, who prophesied about the coming day of degradation and filth we see today?
Where are these men? There're already speaking - Paul Washer; Dr. John MacArthur; Dr. Voddie Baucham; Dr. Erwin Lutzer....and a few others. These are not the popular and will not be hip to those in the Macchiatto and Starbucks church crowd. 

Today, as fires rage across the deep west...today as extreme heat pounds pagan California....today as extreme weather hits almost every region of these once great United States except the Bible Belt, there is still no biblical discernment from the official church. It is obvious to those of us who pray and can read the sign of the times, by knowing the End Times prophesies, that this is the beginning of Divine Judgment.

The reaction to all of this is not to create another sinful affront to God, like "global warming or climate change" but to repent, fall on our collective knees and beg forgiveness from Holy God. Do you think this country is up to that? If past is prologue - no. Many will be surprised on That Day, when the Lord declares "Depart from Me, I never knew you!" - to America's so-called Christians and church leaders.

Don't take my word for it - read the Bible and believe, or disbelieve at your own peril. If thou wishest to avoid that day, repent....repent....repent and put your entire life in Jesus Christ as Lord of your Life - now....and  thenl, keep praying!