The Lost Mandate of Heaven, Part 1G [Ideas Series, #7]

Exodus 32:1

"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him."

When Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, it troubled the people of Israel. The people couldn't see the reason for the delay; as a result, they allowed it to stumble them. Moses was gone for forty days. This probably seemed like a long time to the people, but a short time to Moses. Certainly it was a short time related to the outworking of God's plan for Israel. And, yet...

The people gathered together to Aaron, and had him make them a golden calf. This sinful impulse came first from the people, not Aaron. Even so, Aaron succumbed easily to the pressure. The episode of sin described in this chapter happened because the people demanded it. This is an example of where it is not good to rule by democracy and to give the people what they want. It is very popular and fashionable right now in this juncture of American life to throw other people's hard earned money around to curry favor and buy a vote. If only Ol' Aaron could see things now!

Furthermore, when it comes to ministry, it can be so dangerous to start with what people want or what they feel they need. Instead of being fed the truth and living by it, people expect to be entertained and to have their ears tickled by their pastor. After all, it's not about how high you jump, but how straight you walk.

Also, be mindful that God's delay is not necessarily a denial. His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). The people wanted gods to go before them. They knew the Lord led them out of Egypt and they knew the Lord God had revealed Himself at Mount Sinai. Yet, they were willing to trust a god they could make with their own hands to finish what the Lord began with His hand. Isn't that something? We want to finish God's work in us! We're truly an arrogant and reprobate bunch.

Consider Paul's dealing with the Galatians: "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3) It is possible to begin the Christian life trusting Jesus, and then to begin to trust self or one's own spirituality. Following our own gods is no better for us than it was for ancient Israel.

And so, instead of leaving this uncomfortable uncertainty with God, instead of waiting, Israel turned to the flesh. God tells us "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."  (Psalm 27:14)

An End Run Around the Constitution

Obama is motivated not just by kickbacks. His actions are consistent with his rhetoric. He states that the overarching principle directing his personal and political life is his sense of social justice. There is every reason to believe him. His actions and demeanor are consistent with a man who believes that his goal is of such high purpose that it justifies all manner of subterfuge and end-runs around Congress and the Constitution.

One cannot peer into the soul of one's fellow man, but certainly Obama's demeanor, rhetoric, and actions are consistent with an understanding of Obama as a man who is convinced that he has a superior vision for America. Obama seems every bit the moralist. He works for his just society with what appears to be moral conviction. During his years as a community organizer in Chicago, he saw the great inequities in American society -- inequities which, along with bigotry, he attributed to the American capitalist system. The people on the bottom rung, and especially their children, don't have a chance.

For Obama the cure is more government, more regulation, more intervention, and less individual freedom.

For instance:

1. Obama's failed proxy war on the 2nd Amendment viz-a-viz Eric Holder's debacle of a program in "Fast & Furious". The Obama Administration is stonewalling this investigation by declaring executive privilege.

2. Obama's end run around the American people and the legislators they have elected by having the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declare carbon a toxic pollutant, despite the fact that all life on the planet is basically carbon-based. But fascists can never be swayed by facts and Obama has shown that when it comes to imposing his self-righteous agenda he isn’t particularly squeamish about violating the principles of the Constitution or the rights of the people. Rather than just fine industry, the EPA ruling gives that agency the power to impose limits on the amount of carbon and other so-called “greenhouse gases” that can be released into the atmosphere.

3. Obama's violation of the law through the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] and the enactment of its de facto amnesty through his executive order, something the citizens of this country have opposed for decades. The outrageous announcement is that he will be granting backdoor amnesty to nearly 1 million young ILLEGAL aliens. Faced with falling support for re-election, he is making a play to boost his popularity among Latinos by doing yet another end run around Congress and the Constitution. What’s most troubling about the President’s announcement is that there was no debate, no opportunity to examine the policy, and once again he has completely circumvented the checks and balances in our Constitution. Unable to pass the Dream Act for the past two years, he has ordered his DHS to halt deportations and, in the next 60 days, they will begin handing out two-year renewable work permits to ILLEGAL youths. Just a coincidence, we are led to believe that this action that couldn’t pass the Congress LEGALLY will be enacted just in time for a presidential election. The coincidence deepens with the realization that the Department of Justice has blocked states from removing unqualified voters from their rolls, also in time for the election. The only consistent Democratic voters appear to be foreigners, dead people and multiple voters.

4. Obama's signature legislation that he signed back in March 2010. ObamaCare is designed to take away Constitutional freedoms and replace them with Maoist-style restrictions, and big, authoritarian government. This monstrosity of an abomination needs to be repealed. It was drafted behind closed doors; rammed through the reconciliation process; purchased with tax payers money by bribing recalcitrant and wavering congressmen (think Corn Husker Kickback, Louisana Purchase & the like); and sealed with a deadly kiss by a spineless Chief Justice John Roberts.

Beating A Dead Horse

And, why, pray tell, am I belaboring the point? Why am I beating a dead horse?

Because the people of this great Nation have failed to wait for God's best and His will. That's why. Instant gratification is something the American culture has lowered and debased itself to. And, the pandering, cynical politician know it and are using it to their gain. We are as much fault as the politicians doing end runs around the U.S.Constitution.

The Declaration of Independence states it plainly -

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Can I ask you something, Reader? Do the politicians in D.C. have our consent for conducting the people's business the way they are? They claim to know better than we do, but do they really? Did we give them that consent to think for us? I believe that our silence was interpreted by these fool that we condoned & consented to their decisions. The best way to show them our discontent is at the ballot box and by staying in contact with our elected officials when issues, policies, etc. that we disagree with come up for votes. We cannot afford to let them off the hook after election. Even the best intentioned elected official can go astray in D.C.

All these might make for a hopeless case against doing something, though. But, no fear, consider what God's Word says -

Proverbs 16:5 says, "Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished."

Proverbs 16:12 declares, "It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness."

Proversb 29:3 states, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."
Proverbs 29:12 indicates, "If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked."

Here's a sobering quote from the tyrant of tyrants, Adolf Hitler: "What luck for the rulers that men do not think."

So, What Can I Do?

1. Repent and Pray. See II Chron. 7:14; Jer. 6:16; I Thess. 5:17

2. Vote and Stay connected with your elected officials. Prov. 29:18

3. Get Involved In A Ministry At Church. Acts 20:28; I Cor. 12:12-26; Heb. 10:25.

What people need isn't more Government; they need Jesus Christ. Be a light in a dark and dying world (Matt. 5:16).


I Know I Need Jesus Now!



Sources: Washington Post; Washington Examiner; Washington Free Beacon; Canada Free Press; David Guzik; Quotes.com

All Right or All Wrong

Hebrews 9:22

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

D.L. Moody tells the story of a conversation he had with a minster about the topic of ---preaching. Here's how Preacher Moody tells it:

I remember when in the old country a young man came to me—a minister—and said he wanted to talk with me.

He said to me: "Mr. Moody, you are either all right and I am all wrong, or else I am right, and you are all wrong."

"Well, sir," said I, "You have the advantage of me. You have heard me preach, and know what doctrines I hold, whereas I have not heard you, and don't know what you preach."

"Well," said he, "the difference between your preaching and mine is that you make out that salvation is got by Christ's death, and I make out that it is attained by His life."

"Now, what do you do with the passages bearing upon the death?" and I quoted the passages, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission," and "He Himself bore our own sins by His own body on the tree," and asked him what he did with them, for instance.

"Never preach them at all."

I quoted a number of passages more, and he gave me the same answer. "Well, what do you preach?" I finally asked.

"Moral essays," he replied.

Said I, "Did you ever know anybody to be saved by that kind of thing, did you ever convert anybody by them?"

"I never aimed at that kind of conversion; I meant to get men to heaven by culture—by refinement."

"Well," said I, "if I didn't preach those texts, and only preached culture, the whole thing would be a sham."

"And it is a sham to me," was his reply.

I tell you the moment a man breaks away from this doctrine of blood, religion becomes a sham, because the whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is, that Christ came into the world and died for our sins.

*

And that, my dear Reader, in a nutshell, is all you need to know. Christ prophesied (Old Testament), Christ crucified & risen (New Testament) and Christ glorified (Revelation). Read the entire Bible and you too will understand that it speaks of Jesus. Indeed, Christ Himself said as much in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

On what do you stand today, your own works or the redemptive act at Calvary? If you stand on your own works, be mindful that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and you are hellbound.  I Choose Calvary!

Monkey Business

Genesis  1:1

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the monkey was reading two books - the Holy Bible and Darwin's "The Origin of Species".

In surprise he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?"

"Well," said the monkey, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."

*

A major deception around today is that man evolved from primates. I know, it's old news for some of you. Here's the rub in the Christian world: There's a segment of Christians who believe that even should some Supreme Intelligence (ie, God) be responsible for life, this Being is unknowable, remote and distant. Many suscribe to this notion, that God is unknowable. It's one thing for unbelievers to make such a statement; yet, for a Christian to sound off like this is incredulous!

Why?

Because God IS knowable.

Look at Romans 1:19-22,

"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"

The lie about God being unknowable deprives individuals from establishing a personal relationship with the God of Love, who in reality is intensely concerned with all our personal struggles and problems; concerned to such a degree that He even sent His Son to die on the Cross for our sins (Jn. 3:16).

Scripture teaches that the God of Creation is close at hand and that “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;” (Acts 17:28a). It states that God can easily be contacted; all that is necessary is an open heart that answers the question: Who do you say I am? If you answer & acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead, you shall be saved (Rom. 10:9-10).

The Bible teaches in Romans 1:18-19 that it is not the lack of evidence for the existence of God, but the suppression of evidence and truth. God showed them the truth and men have chosen to look the other way. In fact, they look at monkeys for the answers to the origin of species.

Men hate God and don’t want Him to exist. They reject Him by denying Him in order to live in the pleasure of sin. Aldous Huxley, an atheist, acknowledged this when he wrote his book Ends and Means: “We objected to morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”

Indeed. But it is not freedom, but bondage to the flesh. And, if you're mired in it, Friend, you've got serious problems that only Jesus Christ can resolve (Jn. 8:32).

As for you doubting or struggling believers, pay close attention and comfort yourself in this truth found in John 20:29, "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

How about it? Stop believing in scientific fantasies and post-modern fables. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6).

I Want To Know The Creator!

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.

Hymn is "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" by Ed­ward Per­ro­net, 1779.



Hopes and Fears of Afghan Christians

 

II Timothy 3:12

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

 

For Afghanistan's tiny Christian community, a community certainly in the hundreds and probably the thousands, the Abdul Rahman case has brought both fear and hope. Mr. Rahman is starting a new life in Italy after his trial in Afghanistan for converting from Islam collapsed. He faced the death penalty if he had been found guilty.

He said, "In Afghanistan we Christians have nothing to do with politics. We love and respect everyone. We love and respect even our enemies, however they punish us."

The Christian community lives with the threat of official harassment and attack by extremists. There have been gun and grenade attacks against churches in neighbouring Pakistan.

But despite the reported hardline rhetoric of Afghan clerics during the Rahman case, the Christian claims that many Muslim friends regard his conversion as a private matter.

"Most of my friends know that I am a Christian," he said. "I have many friends who are mullahs and maulvis. Some of them say they like me more these days. Before I was a liar, I was cheating people and many other things. I don't do that now."

The reasons for conversion in such a potentially hostile environment are of course varied and personal:                    

The harsh doctrine of the Taleban were factors in the conversion of some Afghans.

There is much disillusionment. People used to look to communism, now they look increasingly to Christianity.

The compassionate actions of Christian-based aid agencies during the civil war and Taliban era in Afghanistan had impressed many Afghans.

A Christian Afghan convert stated, "I am very happy with my life and I see other Christians here very happy too,"

He added, "In the future, what God wants will happen. But Christians are always with God and if we are killed we go to God."

Friend, are you promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you living it? Every corner of the world, every nook and cranny is a missions field. The grocery store. The mall. The neighbors. The bus stop. Every place is the right place to take the Light of the world - Jesus Christ - to the world.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  (Matt. 5:16)

Whom do you choose: God or Mammon?

I Want To Serve God!

Story excerpted from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4865818.stm

The Most Important & Influential Book of All Time

Isaiah 40:8

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

The Holy Bible has been banned, burned, loved and hated. It’s been outlawed & outcast. It's been smuggled in countries in whole or page by page. It's been denounced, doubted, denied and destroyed. In spite of all of these things, the Holy Bible hasn't been silenced. It continues today to be read by more people today than any other book. The Holy Bible is the most important book of all time.

I Peter 1:24-25 declares, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

Did you all out there get that? The word of God endures forever. Forever. All eternity. Without end.

In other words, even though:

A car's engine will burn out and lock up, God's word endures forever.

A computer's hard drive crashes and all data is lost, God's word endures forever.

A legal contract may be breached, but God's word endures forever.

International treaties are broken, but God's word endures forever.

The U.S. Constitution may be attacked and altered beyond recognition, but God's word endures forever.

Man's philosophies and self-help aphorisms may come and go, but God's word endures forever.

Your father's and mother's words fail you, but God's word endures forever.

The President's lofty words may fall under the weight of hyprocrisy and demagoguery,  but God's word endures forever.

The leaders of religion misinterpret, misquote, misunderstand or malign God's word, God's word endures forever.

When all else fails (and sooner or later, they all will), God's word endures forever.

God's word endures forever because God, the Eternal One, spoke it. His Truth, you see, can't help but be true. God's word doesn't come true. It's already true. What was true yesterday, was true also at the beginning of time and is true today and is true forever.

Because Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life..." (John 14:6a) and because He is risen (Matt. 28:6) then Jesus Christ is the only Son of God and the words that He spoke are true. Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8).

Here's a truth I want you to remember for the rest of your life: God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son so that if you believe in Christ, you will not perish and go to hell, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). God is waiting for you to make that decision to trust in His Son Jesus Christ.

Reader, what are you waiting for? Aren't you tired of men's empty philosophies and promises? Aren't you exhausted of looking for the next great idea only to be disappointed and disillusioned? Aren't you weary of religion & rituals that are devoid of meaning?

The only way to know God and have a meaningful and true relationship with Him is through His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord said in John 14:6b, ",,. [N]o man cometh unto the Father but by Me."

If you're ready to know the embodiment of truth, Jesus Christ, click here and see for yourself what peace, love and truth really is: I Want to Know Real Peace, Love and Truth Today!

 

The Word That Never Fails

Revelation 22:18-19

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

From a news article in Fox News website, there is mention of Thomas Jefferson's view on the Bible. In it, there is reference that Thomas Jefferson, who worked to ensure protections of religious liberty, created his own version of the Holy Bible. He played editor to the portions of the Bible that he didn't agree with, in particular the miraculous and divine. Therefore, there's no mention of the Resurrection.

Jefferson should've read in I Corinthians 15:16-19 -

"For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

Without the atoning work and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we are just living among the masses with just another philosophy to compare to many other philosophies. That would truly be a most miserable life, indeed!

The news report states, "Jefferson was very much a product of thinking of the time, known as the Enlightenment...And so he was unwilling to accept anything that couldn't be proved on the basis of evidence. So he was determined to remove what he felt couldn't be substantiated."

Here's a new flash for Jefferson and for those who think like him: Jesus Christ is risen! His body wasn't found in the tomb because He achieved what He said He would do; that is, to rise from the dead. That's proof enough there.

Click here for the entire article: The Gospel According to Jefferson

Another individual who carried his agenda to the fullest extent was Adolf Hitler. He had a racist hatred against the Jews, which had no boundaries. In his war against the Jews Hitler instructed a group of German theologians to rewrite the Bible.

The German newspaper, Bilt Zeitung has revealed that in 1939 a group of Protestant theologians, loyal to the Nazi regime, established an institution for the "cleansing of Judaism from Christianity."

The institution's official purpose was to cleanse the Protestant church of all ceremonies with non-Aryan influences, and to compile alternative scriptures derived from the Nazi ideology and spirit of the church. The church staff worked incessantly, conducting comprehensive surveys and publishing a large number of documents that imbued Christianity with Nazi commentary.

One of these publications, the German Book of Faith, included the rewriting of the 10 commandments in the spirit of Nazi ethics, and also added two more commandments:

Hitler's 12 commandments:

1. Honour God and believe in him wholeheartedly
2. Seek out the peace of God
3. Avoid all hypocrisy
4. Holy is your health and life
5. Holy is your wellbeing and honour
6. Holy is your truth and fidelity
7. Honour your father and mother - your children are your aid and your example
8. Keep the blood pure and your honour holy
9. Maintain and multiply the heritage of your forefathers
10. Be ready to help and forgive
11. Honour your Fuhrer and master
12. Joyously serve the people with work and sacrifice.

Any mention of Hebrew words such as Hallelujah & Jehovah were carefully deleted from the book. The name of David's City, Jerusalem, was removed as well. More here: How Hitler Twisted the Bible To Kill the Jews.

It is said that Hitler embraced Darwinian philosophy, which dovetailed neatly with his belief that the weak and inferior races should be exterminated. This wayward, demonic thinking put him at loggerheads with the Christian gospel, which says that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gladly leaves the 99 sheep in the pen to go and find the lost one (Lk. 15:4-7). Author Ray Comort, in his book Hitler, God and the Bible In, concludes that Hitler’s abuse of theology dismantled the moral fiber of a nation.

Now there is an ex-constitutional professor who left academia to serve in public life and is, from what I've heard, chief executive officer of the most powerful nation on earth. I've also read that this CEO has twisted God's word around to justify his poisonous policies.

Mr. Obama and his ilk say that the Bible is off-limits when it addresses the subject of homosexuality, homosexual marriage, abortion, or any issue liberals favor but the Bible condemns.  Yet, when it comes to wealth distribution then it's quite alright to quote the Good Book. The only problem is that when President Barack Hussein Obama quoted from the Bible, he both took his quotation out of context and got it wrong.

Consider the misquote Mr. Obama commented on from Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Here's the Scriptural context:

"And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."   Luke 12:47-48

Aside from the fact that Jesus was discussing requirements from God, not the government, he was actually teaching His disciples that they were stewards of God’s blessings. Their requirement was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s the crux of Christianity that Obama seems to miss. Jesus came because we are sinners; He died for our sins so that we wouldn't have to die in our sins. We could never fulfill any of God's requirements. Thus, God, not government, does the demanding.

A better illustration of care would be the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35), but that wouldn't work for Obama because the Samaritan used his own money.

Now, I'm not saying that Mr. Obama is like Mr. Hitler or Mr. Jefferson. However, these 3 men have one thing in common: They distorted God's word to suit their world view. And, what I am saying - quite explicitly - is that men (or, women for that matter) who toy with and twist the Word of God to justify their political or racist beliefs are in danger of hellfire. And the people who follow these types of people blindly and willingly are going down a dangerous and fatal road (Matt. 7:13).

In conclustion, the American Constitution's First Amendment guarantees millions of Christians the right this weekend to boldly celebrate their faith's holiest day of the year, Resurrection Sunday, when Scriptures say Jesus rose from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational to Christianity. Liberty is foundational for any free nation. Underpinning faith and freedom is truth.

Readers, I urge you to read your Bibles daily. Keep & guard God's truth in your hearts (Prov. 4:23). God's word is not extreme, only men's lies and Satan's lies are. Trust only in Jesus Christ!

If you want to place your trust in Jesus, here's how: In the Beginning Was the Word and the Word Was God

Holy Bible, book Divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine;
Mine to tell me whence I came;
Mine to teach me what I am.

Mine to chide me when I rove;
Mine to shew a Saviour’s love;
Mine art thou to guide my feet;
Mine to judge, condemn, acquit.

Mine to comfort in distress;
If the Holy Spirit bless;
Mine to shew, by living faith,
Man can triumph over death.

Mine to tell of joys to come,
And the rebel sinner’s doom;
Holy Bible, book Divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine.

- James Burton, Sr.