Friends, there are 126 days until the blood moons and solar
eclipses begin on 15 April 2014/15 Nisan
5774!
On
Passover 2014 the first of a series of Godly astronomical events will
occur that will have Christians looking up at the night skies.
Pastor
Mark Biltz made this amazing discovery in 2008. Biltz had been studying
prophecies that focus on the sun and moon. These prophecies are God’s
signal to his Chosen people and Christians, like 'one if by land, two if by
sea' of the American Revolution. "The Hebrew word implies it's a signal for coming or His
appearing." Indeed, I believe Pastor Biltz is correct these signals are divine
appointments.
In
the book of Genesis chapter 1 verse 14 God states the lights in the sky would
be "be for signs, and for seasons."
Over the last 500 years, blood-red moons have fallen on the first day of Passover three separate times. These occurrences were connected to some of the most significant days in Jewish history: In 1492-1493, the final year of the Spanish Inquisition when Jews were expelled from Spain;
Every
heavenly body is controlled by the unseen hand of God, which signals coming
events to humanity. There are no cosmic accidents in God’s universe.
Friends,
take heed and prayfully prepare because the next series of four blood moons
occurs at Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015.
In
the Old Testament, God's prophet Joel chapter 2 verse 31 states, "The sun
shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the LORD come."
In the New Testament, Jesus is say this about his second coming, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. ... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:29-30)
In Acts 2 God states: "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes."
"God wants us to look at the biblical calendar, the reason we need to be watching is because God will signal His appearance. But we have to know what to be watching as well” said Pastor Biltz.
In the New Testament, Jesus is say this about his second coming, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. ... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:29-30)
In Acts 2 God states: "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes."
"God wants us to look at the biblical calendar, the reason we need to be watching is because God will signal His appearance. But we have to know what to be watching as well” said Pastor Biltz.
Friends, we
need to be watching the Jewish feasts and their correlation to blood moons, solar eclipses and Bible prophecies.
Blood
moons occur during lunar eclipses. In 2014 two eclipses occur one on Passover and
the high holy day of Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the seventh Hebrew month.
Two more take place in 2015, also on Jewish feast days. Friends, this is
not hocus pocus, these blood moons and solar eclipse are based on NASA projections and recorded celestial
history.
Friends,
now is the time to accept Yeshua Hamashiach/Jesus Christ as your Lord, Messiah
and Savior. Remember, every heavenly body is controlled by the unseen hand of God. Get
ready for a roller coaster ride beginning in 2014 because Israel’s and your
redemption is drawing nigh.
The next footsteps in the
corridor, he knew, might be those of the guards taking him away to his
execution. His only bed was the hard, cold stone floor of the dank, cramped
prison cell. Not an hour passed when he was free from the constant irritation
of the chains and the pain of the iron manacles cutting into his wrists and
legs.
Separated from friends, unjustly
accused, brutally treated—if ever a person had a right to complain, it was this
man, languishing almost forgotten in a harsh Roman prison. But instead of
complaints, his lips rang with words of praise and thanksgiving!
The man was the Apostle Paul—a
man who had learned the meaning of true thanksgiving, even in the midst of
great adversity. Earlier, when he had been imprisoned in Rome, Paul wrote,
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the
Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians
5:19-20, NIV).
Think of it: Always giving thanks
for everything—no matter the circumstances! Thanksgiving for the Apostle Paul
was not a once-a-year celebration, but a daily reality that changed his life
and made him a joyful person in every situation.
Thanksgiving—the giving of
thanks—to God for all His blessings should be one of the most distinctive marks
of the believer in Jesus Christ. We must not allow a spirit of ingratitude to
harden our heart and chill our relationship with God and with others.
Nothing turns us into bitter,
selfish, dissatisfied people more quickly than an ungrateful heart. And nothing
will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation than a true
spirit of thankfulness.
In the ancient world, leprosy was
a terrible disease. It hopelessly disfigured those who had it, and it
permanently cut them off from normal society. Without exception, every leper
yearned for one thing: To be healed.
One day 10 lepers approached
Jesus outside a village, loudly pleading with Him to heal them. In an instant
He restored them all to perfect health—but only one came back and thanked Him.
All the rest left without a word of thanks, their minds preoccupied only with
themselves, gripped with a spirit of ingratitude.
Today, too, ingratitude and
thanklessness are far too common. Children forget to thank their parents for
all that they do. Common courtesy is scorned. We take for granted the ways that
others help us. Above all, we fail to thank God for His blessings.
Ingratitude is a sin, just as
surely as is lying or stealing or immorality or any other sin condemned by the
Bible. One of the Bible’s indictments against rebellious humanity is that
“although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to
him” (Romans 1:21, NIV). An ungrateful heart is a heart that is cold toward God
and indifferent to His mercy and love. It is a heart that has forgotten how
dependent we are on God for everything.
From one end of the Bible to the
other, we are commanded to be thankful. In fact, thankfulness is the natural
outflowing of a heart that is attuned to God. The psalmist declared, “Sing to
the Lord with thanksgiving” (Psalm 147:7, NIV). Paul wrote, “Be thankful”
(Colossians 3:15, NIV). A spirit of thanksgiving is always the mark of a joyous
Christian.
Why should we be thankful?
Because God has blessed us, and we should be thankful for each blessing.
Thank God for the Material
Blessings That He Gives You
We seem never to be satisfied
with what we have—rich or poor, healthy or sick. But what a difference it makes
when we realize that everything we have has been given to us by God! King David
prayed, “Wealth and honor come from you … We give you thanks, and praise your
glorious name … Everything comes from you” (1 Chronicles 29:12-14, NIV).
Some years ago I visited a man
who was wealthy and successful. He was the envy of all his friends and business
associates. But as we talked, he broke down in tears, confessing that he was
miserable inside. Wealth had not been able to fill the empty place in his
heart.
A few hours later I visited
another man only a short distance away. His cottage was humble, and he had
almost nothing in the way of this world’s possessions. And yet his face was
radiant as he told me about the work he was doing for Christ and how Christ had
filled his life with meaning and purpose. I am convinced that the second man
was really the rich man. Although he didn’t have much, he had learned to be
thankful for everything that God had given him. Paul declared, “I have learned
the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12, NIV). A spirit
of thankfulness makes all the difference.
Are you constantly preoccupied
with what you do not have? Or have you learned to thank God for what you do
have?
Thank God for the People in Your
Life
It is so easy to take people for
granted, or even to complain and become angry because they do not meet our
every wish. But we need to give thanks for those around us—our spouses, our
children, our relatives, our friends and others who help us in some way.
I once received a letter from a
woman who began by telling me how fortunate she was to have a kind, considerate
husband. She then used four pages to list all his faults! How many marriages
and other relationships grow cold and eventually are shattered because of the
sin of ingratitude?
Do you let others know that you
appreciate them and are thankful for them? The Christians in Corinth were far
from perfect, but Paul began his first letter to them by saying, “I always
thank God for you” (1 Corinthians 1:4, NIV). When a group of believers (whom
Paul had never met) came out to greet him as he approached Rome, we read that
“at the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged” (Acts 28:15,
NIV). Thank God for those who touch your life.
Thank God in the Midst of Trials
and Even Persecution
We draw back from difficulties,
yet not one of us is exempt from some kind of trouble. In many parts of the
world it is dangerous even to be a Christian because of persecution.
And yet in the midst of those
trials we can thank God, because we know that He has promised to be with us and
that He will help us. We know that He can use times of suffering to draw us
closer to Himself: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials
of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance” (James 1:2-3, NIV).
When the prophet Daniel learned
that evil men were plotting against him to destroy him, “he got down on his
knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (Daniel
6:10, NIV). The Bible commands, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV). Paul declared,
“You will even be able to thank God in the midst of pain and distress because
you are privileged to share the lot of those who are living in the light”
(Colossians 1:12, Phillips).
I don’t know what trials you may
be facing right now, but God does, and He loves you and is with you by His Holy
Spirit. Cultivate a spirit of thankfulness even in the midst of trials and
heartaches.
“God has given us the greatest
Gift of all—His Son, who died on the cross and rose again so that we can know
Him personally and spend eternity with Him in heaven.”
Thank God Especially for His
Salvation in Jesus Christ
God has given us the greatest
Gift of all—His Son, who died on the cross and rose again so that we can know
Him personally and spend eternity with Him in heaven: “Thanks be to God for his
indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV).
The Bible tells us that we are
separated from God because we have sinned. But God loves us—He loves you, He
loves me—and He wants us to be part of His family forever. He loves us so much
that He sent His only Son into the world to die as a perfect sacrifice for our
sins. All we need to do is reach out in faith and accept Christ as our Savior
and Lord: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16,
NIV).
Have you opened your heart to
Jesus Christ? If not, turn to Him with a simple prayer of repentance and faith,
and thank Him for what He has done for you. And if you do know Christ, how long
has it been since you thanked God for your salvation? We should not let a day
go by without thanking God for His mercy and His grace to us in Jesus Christ.
Thank God for His Continued
Presence and Power in Your Life
When we come to Christ, it is not
the end but the beginning of a whole new life! He is with us, and He wants to
help us follow Him and His Word.
In ourselves we do not have the
strength that we need to live the way God wants us to live. But when we turn to
Him, we discover that “it is God who works in [us] to will and to act according
to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13, NIV). Jesus promised His disciples,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18, 20, NIV).
In many countries a special day
is set aside each year for thanksgiving. But for the Christian every day can be
a day of thanksgiving, as we are “always giving thanks to God the Father for
everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20, NIV).
Do you know the joy of a personal
relationship with God through Jesus Christ? If you’ll turn to God, He can take
away your bitterness and give you the spirit of true thankfulness
The King of Jordan and his beautiful wife |
Israel National News reported on 12/9/2013
that Major General Nitzan Alon, the Head of the IDF's Central Command, met
leaders of the Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria Sunday and
attempted to allay their concerns about a possible agreement with the
Palestinian Authority (PA) regarding the final status of the Jordan Valley in a
future permanent accord.
General Nitzan Alon said, "All
that has happened in the Middle East the regional upheaval, stability problems
and everything that is going on in Syria only help our arguments. Our argument
is that the Jordan Valley is a strategic buffer for Israel." Alon then
made it quite clear that Israel's long-term security once a hostile Palestinian
State is created depends upon Jordan being a full, long-term security partner.
Alon said, “that it is true that strategic
relations need to be developed with Jordan, which would then provide an
additional buffer zone, but insisted that this does not make Israel's position
regarding the Jordan Valley any less solid."
Watchman comment: The major problem
with depending so much on the cooperation with Jordan is that the Hashemite
State is comprised of about 66% Palestinian citizens. Therefore, it is always
possible, once these Palestinians see the degree to which Jordan is cooperating
with Israel, they could very well turn on the Jordanian king. This is how the
Black September movement came about after King Hussein, with his Bedouin
supporters, attacked the Palestinians who were threatening his throne. Today,
the king’s support among the Bedouins is not as strong. Jordan is Israel’s very
shaky partner and the Jordanian king is living in a sea of trouble where
monarchs are rare and dictators get eaten by the blood thirsty Illuminati.
Will Some Nations Experience Economic Prosperity In The
Great Tribulation Period?"
You will discover that God is going to spiritually trap wicked
nations by allowing them to be economically prosperous. God says in Psalm 17:9-14
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my
deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak
proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they
have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey,
and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down:
deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14 From men
which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in
this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of
children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
The Illuminati Script follows this prophecy. The Illuminati came to understand during the Great Depression (1929-1939) that severe
economic deprivation is NOT the best way in which to prepare the hearts of a
nation to receive Antichrist. Millions of people responded by getting right
with Jesus, not what the Elite had in mind. After World War II, the Illuminati
decided that economic prosperity and the promise of prosperity was the best way
in which to make people's hearts grow cold toward Jesus. Yet, both
non-Christians and Christians have been screaming hard since June, 1998, that
an economic collapse is inevitable and imminent. Many dates for this collapse
have been set, only to have each date come and go without the collapse. When an
organization sets a date that does not occur, they simply set a new future date
and continue to urge you to buy survival stuff from them. They are laughing all
the way to the bank. Do not make any financial decision based upon the idea
that a collapse is imminent. Stop listening to the never-ending clatter of
"Prepper" propaganda! And, stop being panicked by this nonsense. "Know
the Truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32)
I have repeatedly said for several years that the U.S.
would not attack Iran. Last month, Western Powers, led by Obama, reached
agreement with Iran which not only removed the specter of war from the United
States and Europe, but which also made it almost impossible for Israel to
launch an attack against Iran. Why am I so sure that Iran is never going to be
attacked? The answer is simple, Bible Prophecy. You see, Iran is Ancient Persia, a
nation which God has foretold will march with Russia against Israel in
fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39. I believe that both Persia (Iran) and Russia are
protected by this prophecy. As it turns out, I was right. You cannot go wrong
when you interpret world events through the lens of Bible prophecy.
The Houston Chronicle reported on December 8, 2013 that the Central African Republic, France and the African Union announced plans to deploy several thousand more troops into embattled Central African Republic, as thousands of Christians fearing reprisal attacks sought refuge from the Muslim former rebels who now control the country after days of violence left more than 400 people dead.
Concluding a long-planned conference on African security in Paris,
President Francois Hollande said France was raising its deployment to 1,600 on
Saturday 400 more than first announced. Later, after a meeting of regional
nations about the Central African Republic, his office said that African Union
nations agreed to increase their total deployment to 6,000 up from about 2,500
now, and nearly double the projected rollout of 3,600 by year-end.
All countries within "Pentagon's
New Map" and the "Non-Integrating Gap Region" are in danger of
being invaded, threatened with invasion and/or threatened by internal dissent.
The leaders and dictators in these two regions are being forced to yield tothe
global demand to surrender their national sovereignty to the Club of Rome's
regional government
In the book, "The Pentagon's New Map",
Commander Barnett raises the possibility that Western forces may be fighting
within this"Non-Integrating
Gap Region" for 100 years! Now
that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, and now that some
nations in the Northern Africa and the Middle East region have been overthrown,
the time has come for the Illuminati to move the wars southward. Not only is
the Central African Republic the latest to be invaded, wars are raging in
Yemen, Sudan, Niger, Mali, Nigeria and Somalia.
The real purpose of this
"Pentagon's New Map" and "Non-Integrating Gap Region" strategy
is to create instability within this entire region, so that the Club of Rome
Plan can create satanic kingdoms #7 and #8 within the African and Middle East region.
This is the REAL reason that
Western Powers are invading the countries of this entire region. When finished,
10 satanic kingdomswill have been created, and Daniel 7:7-8 will be fulfilled.
Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor, is a
progressive and a champion of the leftist agenda. He told the House Judiciary
Committee on December 3 that there is a threat to America that is not
"simply posing a danger to the constitutional system" but rather
"the very danger the Constitution was designed to avoid." Turley was
not speaking about conservative talk shows or conservative figures in politics,
whether they be in the House or the Senate that might be pushing freedom of
religion or be against immigration reform. To him, a progressive liberal, the
greatest threat to the country is the man who occupies the Oval Office. Turley
believes in the rule of law, and that this president threatens it.
He said, "In recent years, I have testified and written about
the shift of power within our tripartite government toward a more Imperial
Presidential model...I was equally concerned about the overall expansion of
unchecked presidential authority and the relative decline of legislative power
in the modern American system. The recent nonenforcement policies add a
particularly menacing element to this pattern. They effectively reduce the
legislative process to a series of options for presidential selection ranging
from negation to full enforcement. The Framers warned us of such a system and
we accept it - either by acclaim or acquiescence - at our peril."
He continued, "The current claims of executive power will
outlast this president and members must consider the implications of the
precedent that they are now creating through inaction and silence." He
said, "The division of governmental powers is designed to protect liberty
by preventing the abusive concentration of power. All citizens -Democratic or
Republican or Independent - should consider the inherent danger presented by a
President who can unilaterally suspend laws as a matter of presidential
license." Turley also expressed grave concern over the increasing power of
government agencies and the Supreme Court's recent ruling that they could
"actually define their own or interpret their own jurisdiction."
Turley recognizes something many Christian Americans fail to see:
that we are all in great danger of losing our Constitutional freedoms. We are
closer to living in a freedom-as-a-storefront dictatorship than at any time in
our history. I have heard so-called "prophets" speak of the demise of
America. I have also heard that Christians should not be involved in government
or politics. But we as Christians have been blessed by God with a nation where
we have a say. Psalm 33:12 says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the
LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." What
inheritance have we wrought? What stewards are we?
Our collective silence and inaction is approval. But the pulpit
certainly reminds us each week that God loves us and wants us to be all that we
can be.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
www.dailyjot.com
Wikileaks has released a 95 page document spelling out
details on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The
secret globalist agreement will have a significant effect on a wide range of
issues including internet freedom, medicine, patents, and civil liberties. The cabal met in Salt Lake,
Utah, between November 19 and 24.
The
draft text for the TPP Intellectual Property Rights Chapter spells out provisions for implementing
a transnational “enforcement regime” designed to supplant national laws and
sovereignty with a globalist construct. The TPP is by far the largest and most
oppressive economic treaty devised thus far. It will have an impact on a
staggering 40 percent of worldwide GDP. The
TPP is the forerunner to the equally secret US-EU Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (TTIP). Both treaties combined will cover 60 percent of world GDP and exclude China.
Enforcement will be accomplished by “supranational [ Global &
international ] litigation tribunals to which sovereign national courts
are expected to defer to.” According
to the document, the globalist courts can conduct hearings with secret
evidence.
In addition, aspects of the treaty resemble Stop Online Piracy Act
(SOPA) and ACTA treaties with
draconian surveillance mechanisms. In early 2013, thousands of websites “went
black” to show solidarity in opposition to SOPA because the legislation seriously
threatened the functionality of the internet. “SOPA was an attempt to put the
power of information back in the hands of an elite few who are rapidly losing
the ability to control what the masses are reading, hearing and seeing,” Mac Slavo wrote
in January, 2012.
“Since the beginning of the TPP negotiations, the process of
drafting and negotiating the treaty’s chapters has been shrouded in an
unprecedented level of secrecy,” Wikileaks notes in a statement
on the release of the
TPP draft. “Access to drafts of the TPP chapters is shielded from the general
public. Members of the US Congress are only able to view selected portions of
treaty-related documents in highly restrictive conditions and under strict
supervision. It has been previously revealed that only three individuals in
each TPP nation have access to the full text of the agreement, while 600 ’trade
advisers’ – lobbyists guarding the interests of large US corporations such as
Chevron, Halliburton, Monsanto and Walmart – are granted privileged access to
crucial sections of the treaty text.”
Obama is poised to
fast-track the secret agreement. “The US administration is aggressively pushing the TPP through
the US legislative process on the sly,” said Wikileaks editor Julian Assange.
“If instituted, the TPP’s IP regime would trample over individual
rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and
creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or
invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill,
the TPP has you in its crosshairs,” Assange added.
As I approach the best time of the
year as we celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior, I am so humbled as I
am reminded of the God's greatest gift to Humanity in the life death, and
resurrection of Jesus. But then I am also confronted with
much more Self centered and polarized rhetoric among the political pundits and
current administration policy wonks..... I am just so Sick of it
... I just want to vomit !!
I totally know
already .... that the Republi--crats -- or Tea Party -- is
NOT the answer to our Spiritual Problem. 2 Tim. 3:13 says
that "
But evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving [others], and being [
self ] deceived.
but my
question is -- How much better is the True Church actually doing ??--- It
seems that the Church may be aligned and on the same Trend Line toward
Apostacy as the Rest of the World, but NOT as steep of Decline yet.
Look at the divorce rate within the nominal Christian world ??
True
Repentance means that we need to " change our mind ". This is
the First step -- to Change your Heart. see Romans 12: 1-2
Repentance NEEDS
to start with US !!! as in 2 Chronicles
7:14 "If my people, which are
called by my name, shall humblethemselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
and GOD promises to do
the rest ...based on our perseverance and faith-walk
Read below and ask yourself
--- "AM I part of the Problem, or part
of the Solution " ???
If Christ is KING then
...It's Really Christmas time -- ALL year
-- and its NOT about YOU
Rebellion- the Sin of the Self-Centeredness
Rebellion- the Sin of the Self-Centeredness
In today's world, we hear SO MUCH about "self" programs:
self-help, self-esteem, self-worth, self-respect, self-love, and so on. It seems this world has a love affair with 'self"; it's practically in our faces, surrounding us 360
degrees in all directions. We are told we need to "believe in
ourselves", 'love ourselves", "esteem ourselves" and so on.
Turn on the TV for any amount of time and this is readily evident in both the
programming as well as the "commercials" that come on, as well as in
movies themselves, games, talk shows, books, magazines, and practically ALL
media.
And it permeates the world we live in, seeping down through all
its' fibers.
You can see the common thread in
all of this: it's all about the "self." It's all about fulfilling our
desires, the things that make us feel GOOD, and avoiding all pain and
discomfort. And this is no better demonstrated than when we are angered and
someone either does something we don't want them to do, tries to infringe on
our "rights" or otherwise makes us feel threatened, that we are no
longer "in control":
"WHO does he/she think they
are? Telling ME what to DO? How DARE they tell me I can't do this/that? I have
the RIGHT!!! THEY crossed ME, I didn't do a THING to them. Well, they've got
ANOTHER THING COMING!! After I'm done with them, they'll be SORRY!!! NO ONE
TELLS ME WHAT TO DO!!!"
Sound familiar?
The Bible gives us some insight on
why we are like this:
"From whence come wars and
fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your
members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain:
ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and
adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye
think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth
to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. " (James 1:4-7, KJV, emphasis mine)
James tells us in these verses it
is because we want and cannot have. In short, we are all about ourselves, and
we as a race get violent and upset when we cannot get our way. We focus on OUR
wants, OUR needs, OUR desires, and all to the detriment of all else and all
others. we end up not caring about others because we are too busy caring and
trying to fill the void in us that sin creates. When we separated ourselves
from God, a limitless hole was created in us; the unsaved attempt to fill this
with material goods, temporal "power", wealth, positions, etc. But
none of these fill us because unlike God, we cannot exists independently.
We AREN'T God.
All of this started at the Garden of Eden, when man
first rebelled against the Lord:
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons." (Genesis 3:6-7, KJV)
That's the spark of rebellion that
is within all of us; the core of sin.
The word "rebellion" is from the root word
"rebel", which is either a noun or verb. As a verb, it means to
reject the authority that exists, and to act against it. As a noun, it means to
be one who commits this act, and is known for such acts. Seeing as the human
race as a whole has both committed these acts and is known for them, we are
very rightfully classified as rebels, and our act ans INSURRECTION against the
One True God. And in rebelling from God, we essentially said "we don't
NEED you!" to him. We declared that we are sufficient unto ourselves and
that we are complete in of ourselves. But we aren't. In our rebellion, we are
like unto children who run away from home and tell our folks we don't need them
anymore, yet we keep coming back for dinner, laundry, bedtime, and when we are
hurt. What we REALLY want from God is for Him to run all the HARD stuff, and
for us to have the say over the stuff we LIKE. We want God to take care of
sustaining us, but for us to have power over the "choice matters"
that we desire.
To put it another way:
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall
come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without
natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than
lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof: from such turn
away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5, KJV)
In short: we only want to be in charge when it ISN'T tough!!!
And that is where the Gospel comes in: to show man that he have
rebelled against God, and that in doing so, he has wronged him. Unfortunately,
like most rebellious children, Man doesn't want to hear the truth: he would
just as soon continue in his "house of cards", playing all day as if
we were God and that NO ONE will tell him what to do!
And ultimately, if he does not repent, he will get what he wants
so much: to be by himself, in a place where he can exert all the control that
he has within his power....
NONE
That place is hell, where those who reject the precious gift of
the Lord find out all too quickly that they are NOT God, and are at the whim of
a world that, to say the very least, is their worst nightmare.
Now, to those that have partaken of Christ's love gift: we still
have this nature. But we also have the Holy Spirit within us as well. We are
not alone in our battle against "the
old man" or “the flesh”, as it were. But we need to be submitted to the Lord in
all things:
"I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to
think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." (Romans 12:1-3, KJV, emphasis mine)
We need to let him work on us, in us and through us. We may not be
able to rid ourselves of the rebellious nature, but as God works his will in
us, we find that the old nature slowly dies, and is replaced more and more by
the nature of god. instead of the vile, pernicious hunger and lusting of
acquisition, we find a gentle peace growing, as we become satisfied with the
table and the bountiful food of the spirit that the lord sets out for us:
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every
where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both
to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me."
(Philippians 4:11-13, emphasis mine)
So, we have a choice: we can follow this world in it's rebellion
against God, or we can follow God and his way of contentment and peace. Rom. 12: 1-2 is the Key!!
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