NEW LIFE: A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 20, 2017

VERSE: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

EQUATION: Prayer + Supplication + Thanksgiving = Peaceful Living

ACTION: Imagine what a shock this was when the Apostle Paul, speaking for Christ, told the people under persecution from the Romans and under threat from both those people AND the religious Pharisees, that God now wants them to pray for their nemeses! Today, God is still telling ALL His people, in this age of dispensational Grace, that we must pray for prominent people “In authority” whether we like them or not...at all times! So how do we pray for them? 

First of all, we pray for them to first obey God and to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Secondly, we pray for them to govern under Godly principles. Even if they are the most pro-abortion, anti-Bible state or national leader, we pray for them to have a heart change, while praying their leadership into the Hands of the Lord for His direction. Finally, we pray that their lives will go well, even if we can see evidence of the opposite, so that they will come to realization that God is in charge and the One Who has blessed them, in so many ways.

PRAYER: Father, in the Mighty and Powerful Name of Jesus we pray today for all leaders. We pray for the new American president and vice president that their steps will be ordered by  You, since You are the One Who ordained them. We pray that they govern as they say they are – Christians and follows of the Good Book- the Bible. We pray for their protection, their safety, their families, their well-being, their success when they do or attempt to the right thing. Lord we give You thanks and praise, that unlike our earlier brothers and sisters who had no choice who ruled over them, that we were at least able to have the freedom to worship, vote and engage and it is all because of You. Because it was for freedom, You set us free.  

Lord, we also pray for all leaders from the state house to the Congress to the local county and village hall. We pray that they will follow the same principles of biblical leadership, even if  they may not have the same power and prominence of a national leader. We pray, that even if they do not know You as Lord and Master of their lives, that You will always be the standard against which, they will be held. Lord, You are the giver of all things and the One Who gives peace, joy and contentment. You promised that if we do these things, in pray for those in authority, that it will go well with us....and that we will live in Shalom. In the current age, it has gone well with us, but we know the day is coming when it will not be so. We still pray for the persecutors knowing that ours is the greater eternity ahead. Lord on this day, we lift up, adore, praise, worship, lift up, magnify, glorify and bless Your Great and Holy Name in Jesus Strong Name, from Whom ALL blessings flow, amen and amen.

(Lincoln Photo Credit- PRAYER FORCE ONE)

(Other Photo Credits- BING Images)

LIBERAL GRINCHES?

AMERICAN LEFTISTS vs OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD!

Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child (SPOCC) – the largest Christmas gift-giving project in the world – has been brightening lives of children in third world countries since it was founded in 1993, with with over 100 million shoe boxes full of gifts and joy . SPOCC Founder William Franklin Graham III (or just plain Franklin) is reporting that Operation Christmas Child is now on track to deliver almost 10 million shoe boxes to disadvantaged kids this Christmas season around the world! This is an effort which cannot be matched by anyone, anywhere...and follows a trend of Christians doing what we do best - love others in Jesus' Name.

These wonderful gifts are packed by churches and some schools, as well as private schools around America by mostly ordinary families and their children, with a lot of love and care going into each box. Yet there are people whose dark soul of the night are not just criticizing Franklin Graham (son of the great Billy) for who he is, but by extension, they are grossly insulting the kindness and good hearts of America’s Christian families who supply the majority of these boxes.  (Businesses, Scout Troops and other smaller outfits fill out a good percentage of boxes as well.)

So what are in these boxes that has the irreligious left, pagan grinches and just plain heartless people so upset? Well, I can tell you, first –hand, that these boxes are chock full of toothpaste; toothbrushes; mild soap; wash cloth; combs; socks; safe toys or age appropriate games (no cards etc); school supplies  (pencils; crayons etc); t-shirts; picture books and even a personal note to either a boy or girl, if you wish. Dolls; stuffed animals; harmonicas and jump ropes are allowed. NO toy guns, NO toy knives and nothing dangerous are allowed. No  liquid or food stuffs are included. No medicines or any violation of local cultural norms are packed in ANY of these boxes. Wow! I have never seen such subversive materials go out to children of the world! Yet, these liberal people who are champions at squealing for other people’s  money, while spending absolutely none of their own for somebody else, would deprive a poor child in over 100 countries something they would buy their own kids!

In the past few years, Operation Christmas Child has been kicked out of the Air Force Academy and a number of public schools, for two reasons – they are a pure 100% Christian group and secondly, their leader is Franklin Graham. Who is Franklin, apart from the son of America’s greatest preacher Billy? Franklin Graham never fails to stand up for Jesus Christ – the Name above all names – and the superiority of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s why they hate him – Christ! It has nothing to do with the fact that he is a conservative.  For almost 2000 years, the unredeemed has hated Jesus Christ  and will continue to until He returns and puts a stop to this world system. 

It matters not to the critics that Samaritan’sPurse are among the first responders whenever there is a catastrophe like Hurricane Sandy; or a Typhoon in Philippines or the Earthquake in Haiti. It matters not to the critics that Samaritan’s Purse will not only go and minister to all these westernized “Christian” countries with medicine, food and comfort.

But Samaritan’s Purse gives freely and responds immediately to tragedies in Islamic and other countries as well.

So how does one respond when personally attacked for loving the less fortunate as we are commanded by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Well, we pack more shoe boxes! In fact, we help Duck Dynasty’s Uncle Si pack 50,000 more shoe boxes by following these simple instructions and help brighten somebody else’s Christmas. (This post was inspired by criticism of my support for OCC from anonymous people).

CLICK HERE TO GET ABOARD THE LOVE TRAIN TO BLESS THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD

WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, PRAY FOR THEM TO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR,THIS IS THE BEST GIFT WE CAN EVER GIVE ANYONE, SHORT OF WITNESSING TO THEM ONE ON ONE ABOUT THE LORD JESUS!

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!

FRANKLIN, THE CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE OF AMERICA?

WILLIAM FRANKLIN GRAHAMS (JR. & III)

I think the answer to this rhetorical question is a resounding "Yes". The first requirement of any true Christian is to stand on the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the Divine, Sinless Son of God and the ONLY way to Salvation and Heaven, period. In fact, as any true Christian knows, the definition of a Christian is one who believes in the following:
- The literal six day Creation of the Earth, as described in the Bible
- The Inerrancy of the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God (Sola Scriptura)
- The Virgin Birth of the Lord Jesus
-  His Sinless life on earth 
-  Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life...to eternal life (Solus Christus)
-  His Death, Burial and Resurrection
-  His Second Coming
-  All for the Glory of God (Soli Deo Gloria)

A true Christian also believes the following: "Faith without Works is Dead" (James 2:17). Nobody has done more, as a person or single organization, than Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse to feed, clothe and bless children and adults of all ages and religions! This year alone, Samaritan's Purse is set to give away over 94 million shoe boxes full of desperately needed personal items to disadvantaged kids worldwide - no matter what religion or color they are. When Hurricane Sandy destroyed the coasts of New Jersey and New York, Franklin and Samaritan's Purse had trucks on standby, from homebase in North Carolina, ready to move equipment and hundreds of Christian volunteers in to help the regular people who were hurt the most. While the mainstream media played up publicity seeking politicians and entertainers, God saw the hearts of our Christian brothers working anonymously to help restore other's lives.

A true Christian and especially a Christian leader, knows what the Great Commission is - and it is to win souls and make disciples for Christ. Following the example of the greatest preacher of the 20th Century - William Franklin Graham Jr (the 94 year old Billy), Franklin has "Rocked the River" up the Mississippi valley, bringing thousands of youths to Christ and is getting set to launch the next Billy Graham American Crusade one year from now, in November 2013.

Graham is a man for all seasons and missions, and never loses sight of his first obligation to be a follower of Christ. Like those of who stand on the Name of our Lord and Savior - JESUS - he will not sugarcoat, lie or compromise like most Americans, to curry favor with the elite. As a result, he has been kicked out from the Pentagon from National Day of Prayer events in 2010....only to hold a prayer meeting in the parking lot! Samaritan's Purse was banned from the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, later that same year. He has gotten into controversy for speaking boldly on the issues and people of the day, who affect the lives of many.

While, it is true that Franklin Graham is not a pastor of a church, who has to try and hold/shepherd a congregation, that does not preclude America's pastors from speaking on the great moral issues of our time. Yet time after time, every one of America's top "celebrity" preachers and Christian authors, who lead the largest churches in this country, remain resoundingly silent when God is blasphemed; religious freedom is threatened or the church is persecuted worldwide. No one calls for national repentance or fasting or prayer, on the national scene anymore....so somehow, it is always up to the son of the great Billy Graham, to call it as God sees it. Just like the Old Testament Jeremiah proclaimed the coming Judgment on Jerusalem and the corruption of its people, there is only one man brave enough in America today, to prophesy like that and call Christians to prayer for the country and its leaders.

However, the main thing about this brother and all the rest of us redeemed folk out here is this - he is also sinner saved by Grace (Sola Gratia).  Franklin Graham, America's Christian Conscience, was once a rebel against God, like you and I, yet Christ got a hold of his life, and turned him around. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, can do the same for you! Would you let him?
Amen.

(There will be more about Billy Graham's "My Hope" here in the weeks and months ahead)

DAY 33/40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR AMERICA

PRAYER FOR WEST VIRGINIA etc... AND CHRISTIAN RELIEF VOLUNTEERS

In the course of human history, we have read of and even experienced first hand, natural disasters of tremendous proportions. Man has always recovered from these things, to sometimes rebuild even better. From the time of the Great Flood of Noah to the flooded state of New Jersey and lower Manhattan, God has always shine His Grace on those on whom He shines His Grace.

Today, I felt led by the Spirit to pray in two specific directions - for those snowed under in the poor state of West Virginia and the many Christian relief organizations. First of all, nobody (in the national media etc) is talking about or cares much about the poor country folks of West Virginia now buried under two plus feet of snow, with 300,000 or more out of power. But God does. While the focus of the cameras, election campaigners and others are on New Jersey (and it is understandable), an overbearing blizzard on a small poor state, with not much means to handle it, is devastating.

Father in the Name of Jesus, I pray for Your people in West Virginia who have been bookended by  the "storm of the ages" - Sandy - and are now under a massive blanket of snow. Lord, we know most of our brethren there, in the heart of the Bible belt, are not equipped to handle this kind of weather. We know they are now cold, hungry and perhaps disoriented or worse. So Father, I pray You show Your Hands of Mercy and Grace and Compassion to lift them above their circumstances until You can get relief (food, clothing and heat) to them via Your chosen servants or the government. Remind us to pray for those who are hurting and unable to cope with this natural tragedy, as all creation groans in hope that the Savior will rescue us all from this which man has brought upon himself through sin. Have mercy oh God on Your people there....and Lord, not just in West Virginia or New Jersey and New York, but I saw the photos from the extremely poor islands of the Caribbean where there are no media promoting political messages or biases, but people are even in a more hopeless situation with no one to help them. But You can - in Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas and elsewhere, in Jesus' Holy Name, amen.

Secondly, while all the media focus etc has been on what the government can do, and they have their role to play, it is the Christian Relief Organizations of America who ALWAYS step up first to help our fellow man. I have friends who were personally involved in the Southern Baptist Relief even while Katrina was hitting Mississippi and New Orleans in 2005. Now it is these same brothers and sisters and Christ who are staging the biggest relief and volunteer operation, which will surpass anything the political types could do. The other Southern Baptist group - Samaritan's Purse and the BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ORGANIZATION (BGEA) have been criticized by leftist preachers, liberals and others who do not do a thing to help anybody except harp on those who stand up for Biblical Truth (see: ministers attack Franklin). But it is this same Franklin Graham who is leading teams of trucks full of generators, food etc and hundreds of volunteers to help people in Atlantic City and elsewhere while the naysayers insult those who believe in the Truth of the Bible.

So, Father, in the Name of Jesus, I pray for the leaders of the Salvation Army Relief; the entire Southern Baptist Convention and the North American Missions Board (NAMB) and Franklin Graham and the entire BGEA as they lead over a thousand volunteers to do a work, which is larger in scope than the post September 11, 2001 aftermath. I pray for the Graham family, that You protect them from those who claim to be Yours but support the violation of every principle in the Holy Scriptures, while others do the work of helping Your people. I pray for the volunteers who will be risking their health and safety to help others in distress not just in New Jersey, but I pray for the effort in parts of Delaware, North Carolina and especially West Virginia. Father, give the same Grace to those volunteers that You gave the Israelites who walked through the desert for 40 years, yet did not get sick nor did their shoes wear out. I pray You remove ALL stumbling blocks and the many "Tobiahs" and "Sanballats" who reside in the talking head studios and on the ground, who are putting obstacles to goodness, righteousness and mercy. Father, in all of this, may YOUR Name, YOUR HOLY NAME be glorified because there will be no doubt that it is the God of the Bible and His people - all the abovementioned organizations and volunteers - who are bringing hope back to those who have lost everything in this storm, in the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.

PERSECUTION COMES TO AMERICA Part 1

Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.


The people of God were never meant to be a part of this dying world system! That could not be more evident right now as we see the very tenets of religious liberty under attack in America. Some folks act as if this is new! There is nothing new about any of this! 


Since Adam stood by and allowed his wife to be lied to and deceived by the serpent in Genesis 3, God's Will has been under attack...and it has been for the past 6000 of our existence here on Planet Earth. The difference is: the gig is up and the devil is pulling a Pat Benatar (i.e. "Hitting us with his best shot"!)


We see events spinning out of control all over the world. In the past year alone, we have witnessed live on worldwide television the following: 1000's killed in Tsunamis in Japan; earthquakes in Haiti and Tornadoes in Alabama and Joplin, Missouri among other catastrophic events. Even scarier is the collapse of almost every major financial system in this world - from the European Union to the United States.


This sort of thing does not happen in a vacuum. The seeds of disorder was planned long ago and executed in the past 70 years, for such a time as this. Go back to the late 1700's and we see that a goal of those evil Jacobins, who created the French Revolution to do away with the church and the Bible was to spread that revolution to America. They even had a unit set up in New York city to do what one of its proponents, Voltaire, said was "to kill Christianity" and to make the "bible obsolete"!


George Washington and some other patriots were so alarmed, they put a stop to it. 


Fast forward from the 1790's to the late 1940's. The post World War 2 prosperity in the West allowed those brave souls, who survived the awful Great Depression and the long World War, to let their guard down. Their children started looking for comfort and new things to amuse and fast cars and the easy life. Back then the great Chicago Preacher A. W Tozer and others in the Bible belt were warning about the loss of  our First Love - Jesus Christ. America would not listen, and began to play church.


Politicians and liberal judges from the lowest to the US Supreme Court waited their turn, until the weakened body of Christ were no longer able to be stand firm....and then gradually we have what we have today. They removed prayer and the Bible from school and the entire public arena.

Today, the American church has decided to fight back as the 'giver of modern day life' - the Government has decided to start telling church-based organizations just how they will operate. The latest outrage over the government-ordered mandated contraceptives and abortions pills (RU486) is the first major thing to strike a nerve with the general public. Before this, all kinds of persecution of Christians had begun in the United States military and gone on, completely unnoticed by most.

Just in the past two years or so, the following has come out of the now politicized Pentagon:

- Rev. Franklin Graham was kicked out and disinvited from a National Day of Prayer service inside the Pentagon in 2010 because of his solid stance for Christ!

-  Rev. Franklin Graham runs the worldwide charitable SAMARITAN'S PURSE, which gave over 8 million shoeboxes full of gifts to poor children of all races and religion around the world. This past December, the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs kicked Samaritan's Purse off the Campus because two atheists complained!  Yet this same Air Force Academy has given witches some high ground to build and conduct their Pagan rituals!!!

-  US Chaplains are forbidden from praying in the Name of Jesus.

-  Last fall, the brass at Walter Reed Hospital, the largest military one where wounded military from Iraq and Afghanistan are treated, sent down a written memo banning ALL bibles from Reed! After it was discovered and some US congressman started condemning the ban from the floor of Capitol Hill, the US government took back their memo and allowed families to bring bibles for their wounded sons and daughters again.

-  Just two weeks ago, all Army chaplains were banned by the government from reading a letter from the Catholic bishops, where the bishops spoke against the fact the church was being made to buy and give employees medications for free, which violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution!

Yes, friends, this is not happening in a vacuum. There is a war against not just God, but this war resulted in the Son of God being crucified on a Cross. Jesus Himself predicted all of this and more. Here is an example: Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:34-36 ESV)

Friends, Persecution of Christians is not just coming to America, it has already begun. This was predicted all through the Bible and should not be a surprise to the people of God. Sadly, most churches and their leaders are so squishy and wishy washy inside, they would rather sell out than fight the good fight for the Faith, as the Apostle Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7.

You and I must not be caught flat-footed like those whom the Lord spoke about as the Ten Foolish Virgins. Tomorrow, we examine what that means, in these tense teams, when the church in America is finally facing what Christians worldwide, already live with.

Father in the Name of Jesus, give us the strength to make it through this day. Give us the courage to travel along Your Way. Give us the words that You would have us say. Father we, who are called by Your Name, are seeing an ever increasing hostility and hate for Christ which always existed, but which the devil is using in these last days, to  divide and destroy those among us who are either weak or were never saved.

We ask Your Spirit to guide us into all Truth and give us the wisdom and discernment we need to get through these times and to do it with love, grace and under the Power of Christ that we may win many to Him because of our example, even in the face of persecution. We pray for those persecuted even more across the world that we be one as You are One in Heaven and we ask all of this, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, amen.

(image by google images)

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY KICKS OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD OUT ON THURSDAY....

BUT ALLOWED PAGAN CEREMONY IN 2010!

Anybody who knows anything about SAMARITAN'S PURSE knows this amazing organization reaches people of all backgrounds - whether it's a devastating earthquake in Haiti or a tidal wave killing thousands in the Far East years ago. The Christian-led and founded Samaritan's Purse has also become the  leading benefactor for poor kids around the world.

As most churches already know, OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD collects shoe boxes full of personal items and gifts, which American church members pay for to both stock and ship. Samaritan's Purse then delivers these to happy, poor kids in the remotest corners of the Globe.

Founder and son of Billy Graham - Franklin Graham - and his volunteers never ask what religion these kids are. Yet whether it's a shoebox for Christmas or relief aid after an earthquake, it is the Christians you see serving and ministering to the poor, lost and hurting. 


Yet the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs shut down Samaritan's Purse drive to help raise 8 million shoe boxes nationwide last night. You won't hear anything about this in the mainstream media, because attacks on Christians here in America by both official US circles and poltroon pagans are now becoming common place.


FOX NEWS online is reporting that the Air Force Academy, which ALLOWED A NEOPAGAN WITCH/WICCAN etc ceremony last year in Colorado Springs, decided on that route after two sets of moslem-Americans and some other people led by Mikey Wierstein (of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation) complained!!

Here is the story of the Pagan Circle allowed at the Air Force Academy

 in February 2010:

"Witches, Druids and pagans rejoice! The Air Force Academy in Colorado is about to recognize its first Wiccan prayer circle, a Stonehenge on the Rockies that will serve as an outdoor place of worship for the academy's neo-pagans.

Wiccan cadets and officers on the Colorado Springs base have been convening for over a decade, but the school will officially dedicate a newly built circle of stones on about March 10, putting the outdoor sanctuary on an equal footing with the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist chapels on the base."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584500,00.html#ixzz1cmwXYCQS

Yet again, the innocent victims of the left and atheists and their supporters are children!!!

Christ is out. Pagans are in....only in 21st Century America. God help us!