Wednesday, 25 December 2013

Lights in the World



Written by Henry Morris

"The sons of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)

The Hebrew and Greek terms for "sons of God" are essentially the same, but the Old Testament always uses the phrase in reference to angels, whereas the New Testament always references the twice-born saints of God.

Our text for this day emphasizes the precise reason that our Lord Jesus prayed: "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world. . . . They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:15-16). We who share this marvelous relationship bear both the "love the Father has bestowed on us" and the unique rejection that "the world does not know us, because it did not know Him" (1 John 3:1).

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12), and we who are His disciples are "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). We, unlike the angels, are to remain in this unfair and distorted world as lights. Consider this! We are the light that the Lord Jesus left in this world to represent Him and His message after He returned to heaven (John 9:5).

That is why the Scriptures refer to us as saints (holy ones) and disciples (followers); even the pejorative "Christians" (Acts 11:26) identify us as representing the King! We must therefore shine with the truth (John 3:19) and shed the "light of the glorious gospel of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4), attempting to "give light to every man that comes into the world" (John 1:9).

Finally, we are surely commanded to "walk in the light, as he is in the light" (1 John 1:7). Our light should never be covered in a "bushel" (Matthew 5:15), but set on a "hill" for all to see (Matthew 5:14).

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

The Independent Spirit


Written By Curt Klingerman

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" Matthew 5:3 .

Those who are poor in spirit realize that they are spiritually helpless. They comprehend they do not possess the righteousness necessary to enter the Kingdom. They recognize they need the Holy Spirit for sanctification and power for living. As a result, they humble themselves before God, which positions them to receive the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. Even while moving from darkness into His marvelous Light, they will be ever mindful of the paradigm found in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (KJV). They embrace the reality that their sufficiency is unequivocally reliant on God, which is the complete opposite of those who have an independent spirit.

In a number of cultures, the independent spirit is celebrated. It ties in with the “power of pride” that declares I can do it myself. This self-reliance snubs its nose at humility, even though it feigns to have it when necessary for public relations. While a number of people consider the independent spirit to be an asset, it is actually a detriment. Proverbs 16:18 makes this clear, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (KJV). Because they will not bow their knees, those with an independent spirit will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, much less be able to function there. Because this attitude is incapable of submission, the Holy Spirit cannot lead those with it. Only those led by the Holy Spirit are the sons of God (see Romans 8:14). That means if a person is not a son or daughter of God, their spiritual daddy is the devil. If they continue to keep him as their father, while rejecting God the Father, they will follow him all the way to his eternal destiny –the lake of fire (see John 8:39-47; Revelation 20:1-15).

James 4:1-5 describes the independent spirit this way, “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”(KJV)?

Clearly, those with the independent spirit are selfish. They may do things for others, but it is usually on their terms with impure motives. Even while “blessing” others, it still about them: “Look what I did!” Whom do they glorify when they take pride in doing things? A sad part is they have difficulty honoring others when honor is due to them. They practically choke on words of congratulations to people when they are promoted or accomplish something major. Worst of all, they would rather honor themselves than God.

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (KJV). The True Free Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord. Without the Spirit there is no freedom. Those of the world will never know freedom because they cannot know the Holy Spirit (see John 14:17), unless they become poor in spirit and choose life. Those who walk in pride will fail to fully enjoy the freedom God intended them to have. Blessed are the poor in spirit indeed!

Monday, 9 December 2013

Sojourners


Written by Henry Morris

"For we are strangers before you, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding." (1 Chronicles 29:15)

All of God's people, whether ancient Israelites or latter-day Christians, need to recognize that we are mere "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). This world is not our home, as the old gospel song puts it, and we must not let our roots get down too deep in this materialistic world.

The words of our text are in David's last recorded prayer before his death. He was a great king and very wealthy in material things, but he still recognized that his real home was not in the earthly Jerusalem, but in heaven.

So should we. The apostle Paul wrote, "For our conversation |the Greek word here literally means 'citizenship' is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). We are merely serving in this world as "ambassadors for Christ," and our business here, representing the court of heaven, is to urge men, "in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Why should we spend so much time and money in beautifying a home on earth when Christ has gone to prepare a mansion for us in heaven (John 14:2)? Remember Abraham, who by faith "sojourned . . . in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob" (Hebrews 11:9). "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:16).

Also remember Paul who had "no certain dwelling place" (1 Corinthians 4:11), not to mention the Lord Jesus Himself who had "not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). We do well, therefore, to "pass the time of our sojourning here in fear" (1 Peter 1:17)--that is, reverential fear of God (never fear of man), as good citizens of our heavenly country.









Sunday, 1 December 2013

They took prayer and Bible from public schools and now they have shootings!


Written by Shaila Touchton

America was founded upon the Bible and now has forgotten the God of the Bible. Early American schools taught the moral values from the Bible, with school prayer, today's public school system prohibit teaching moral values from the Bible, or even allowing students to pray to a God that a majority of faiths in this country recognize. The result is America has become a land with much looser morals then four decades ago, which is having a negative affect on all sectors of our society. 

The U.S. is at the top of the world’s divorce charts on marital breakups.” The United States Supreme court made a terrible decision when they ruled to have prayer removed from schools in 1962. Statistics show that rebellion and violence have dramatically increased since that time. When prayer and Bible was removed from the schools cases of sexual transmitted diseases increased, Divorce rate increased, (Now U.S. is at the top one of the world’s divorce charts on marital breakups) unwanted pregnancies, immodesty, abortions, premarital sex, single parents, Vandalism, suicides, Adultery, prisons are full with criminals, arrogant and rebellious childrens, unmarried couples living together, violent crimes , drugs, alcohol, Gun and school shootings, sexual predators, sexual abuse ,pornography, nudity bars, sexual perversions, immorality, Unrighteous ways, Unrighteous philosophies, Unrighteous desires, decline of education, economy and society has been increased. Since God is gone from Schools Higher Education is lowered. Sin has fascinated them. As a result now America is a lawless, sin filled nation, full of abominations such as Homosexual acts, Hands that shed innocent blood, Wickedness, Violence, etc 

Bible is the foundation of our life, if that foundation is not there in the life there is a decline in righteous living and increase in sin living. Paul indicated in his letter to Timothy that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16, 17. 

When you remove God you invite everything that is wicked to come in and destroy. Because some people are destroyed from lack of knowledge and there is a continuous attempt to take God out of everything we do. Here is what the bible says for them:

Hosea 4:5 - You stumble day and night and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother-- my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. 

Amos 2:4 this is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem." 
“In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6). 

Even some of the kids who go to public schools are very arrogant, rebellious, and ungodly. Home is the first school, even in their home there is no Godliness, no prayer, no respect, and most of the kids come from dysfunctional families, broken families where there are crimes, violence, broken relationships, drug abuse etc. Even in their homes they don’t fear God and parents have forgotten to discipline their children according to Gods word and they live according to world’s word which has caused all the chaos and moral decline in our society. God's word provides the best way to raise children and God expects parents to raise their children to serve Him. Before that parents must be good examples for their children in everything, because children are natural imitators, we must put God's Word first pray in faith, obey God, and walk in love, God will work in our children's lives and change them. 

There are lots of people who do not believe in God, who never repented of their sin in our society. The Bible is a closed book to them and they cannot understand it. A lost person without God's Spirit cannot understand the Bible. Lost people tend to seek out and find a false god to worship that will not condemn their lifestyle. If their lifestyle includes porn, sexual immorality, drinking, rock music, or the occult practices such as Halloween etc a lost person will seek out a false god that will approve of such things. When you rebuke their evil life styles they say Judge Not in order to justify their sin and rebellious ways. Public schools and even some private and Christian schools can be spiritual battlegrounds for our children. They may be inundated with anti-Christian doctrine, relative morality, and secular humanistic theories. Children tend to adopt the values of those with whom they spend the most time. In schools, they are exposed to the value systems of non-Christian students, teachers, and faculty. They may be told that homosexuality is simply an "alternative lifestyle," that abortion is acceptable, and sex before marriage is normal and healthy. Killing is not limited to our schools. Street gangs are fighting it out and senseless murders are taking place in our major cities every day in our society. The family structure in our nation has been breaking down over the last few generations with so much divorce leaving children without the proper supervision and home environment to keep them safe.

Blindness is God’s judgment on a rebellious and disobedient people this is how Jesus quoted the verse in John: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them” (John 12:40). God blinded Israel because they had continually rejected God’s word until the Lord gave up trying to reveal Himself to them and caused them to be blinded. That is exactly why some people, even Christians, just don’t get the message no matter how much you explain it, or try to convince them that they need to change. They have been blinded and are under God’s judgment. 

A Department of Education Survey which analyzed violence in U.S. schools reported that public schools nationwide experienced more than 11,000 fights in which weapons were used, 4,000 rapes and other sexual assaults and 7,000 robberies. Other reports from Time and Newsweek magazines tell us the suicide rate among U.S. teens has risen 120% in the last 15 years while drug use has risen almost 80% since 1992. The youth of any nation are simply reflection of the parents of that nation. When sin is not dealt with in any society, the result of those sins will always produce violence. The generation living in the days of Noah was similar to our day. 

Israel was instructed to teach their children the statutes of the Lord and the essence of that teaching is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-7: “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God is One LORD.” This is known as the Shema, which is the first word of verse four. Instructions to teach children are also found in Deuteronomy 4:10 and Deuteronomy 11:19. The teaching of God’s truth to children was the job of the parents and was done in the home. Sadly, this practice is no longer a priority in the homes of many believers, and many leave the instruction in God’s Word to the church or a school or daycares or teachers. The society, school and home need to work together to educate our children in the faith and their by raising Godly children a godly Nation. A Nation that refuses to teach its children right from wrong, good from evil will become a corrupt nation, where sin prevails, evil abounds, and children do as they please according to their own free will. When we remove God's standards, then man is free to substitute his own standards of morality. God's word in Judges 21:25 says, "In those days every man did that which was right in his own eyes." 

We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. 

We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle. 

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. 

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. 

We have killed our unborn and called it choice. 

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. 

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. 

We have abused power and called it politics. 

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. 

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. 

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. We are mocking God's Word, we are offending him more than ever, we are allowing women to kill their babies, we are allowing a minority to re-define marriage and family in order for them to please their selfish and abnormal desires, we are allowing people to take drugs legally, we are telling children that masturbation, pornography, prostitution, lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexualism and other deviant practices are fine and even good and healthy. We are clearly living in the last days, as the Bible says: 

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5. 

We MUST defend Godliness, marriage and family. We MUST defend religious freedom. We MUST combat drugs. We MUST speak out without fear. And we must do it NOW. Today is the day that we can change things. The foolish, ungodly people are going to fight back and persecute us. Yet we should not be afraid of them, for the Holy Bible says: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1. ""Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10 

This is what God wants us to do. He commands us: "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light." Ephesians 5:11-13

Expose the evil actions. Be a "good soldier of Christ Jesus" 2 Timothy 2:3. 

GOD BLESS YOU ALL & STAND ON THE TRUTH FOREVER!

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