HappyLove

Thursday

American Morality ?A Study in the Lesser of Two Evils

Evangelist Vance Havner told the story of a boy who brought home a watermelon he had stolen from his neighbor抯 farm and proudly showed it to his parents. They knew he had stolen the watermelon but after looking it over for a moment all his parents had to say to their son was?揇on抰 get any more of them because you don抰 know what they have been sprayed with.?
The parents knowing the unseen poison on the watermelon might make their son sick or even worse could kill him gave him what seems like a concerned warning. They ignored the command of God, 搕hou shalt not steal?and the concomitant effects of stealing that result from ignoring that commandment. Could the boy get sick from stealing? I can hear a line from a beautiful traditional hymn 揟here is a Balm in Gilead, to heal the sin sick soul.?I can also hear the warning of God from Romans 6:23厰the wages of sin is death?The parents were concerned for the boys health but not for his future or the health of his soul.

In a recent episode of the popular TV show 揕aw and Order?an enraged father beat and killed a homosexual man who along with his homosexual partner had adopted his son. The mother a drug addict never told the father he had a son and after being removed from her custody the boy was placed in the home of the homosexual couple. Anyone who knows their bible is aware that killing a homosexual person is just as sinful as being a homosexual person.

In the end the man was tried and found guilty of murder and it would seem that alls well that ends well. Before the entire matter was disposed of the prosecutors gave a final argument that was based on the idea that it was the love of the homosexual couple that saved the boy from a terrible life without a home. Here is the choice; here is the lesser of two evils. One might ask first. is a home a destination for an entire life. Has the American dream become an end in itself or is there still something more?

The homosexual union was bestowed a sort of reverent dignity because of the couples willingness to do what others would not. The constant daily example of a perverted and sinful lifestyle is ignored for the fulfillment of the American dream. Today抯 morality labors hard not just to ignore Gods commandments but to deny them and actively fight against them. Can good come from a sinful union? Jesus said it could not. 揂 good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.?Matthew 7:18. The lifestyle of the homosexual couple would do far more harm to a boy if he was taught to accept it than years of shuffling around in foster homes. The lesser of two evils won this bout. Not forgetting that 揕aw and Order?is after all only fiction it is the message that we are addressing here and not the program itself.

That men can become proficient in choosing between the lesser of two evils was known to the apostle James who said厰Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts.?James 2:4. How many parents today have boasted that even though there may not be much in their children抯 behavior that is redeemable at least they don抰 do drugs? This is the lesser of two evils magnified or perhaps even glorified. Where will it end? Is beating people up OK as long as we don抰 kill them? Is robbery OK as long as we are not armed? Is stealing watermelons OK as long as we know they have not been sprayed with a toxic substance?

This is just one example of a dangerous trend in America that leaves our children with only the choice of the lesser of two evils. This is no choice at all.

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Wednesday

A Poor Man, With Rich Mans Dreams

A Poor Man, With Rich Mans Dreams

Matthew 19:17-19:23

A Poor Man, With Rich Mans Dreams Have you ever heard the phrase, a poor man with rich mans dreams? Many people in this life are completely exhausted by the race to wealth and prosperity. Looking for today and not for tomorrow. The poor man has only today, struggling to make ends meet, putting food on the table for his family and hoping that the next phone call he gets, isn抰 from his boss, telling him that he no longer has a job. I抳e seen many this past week, loose every thing that they抳e had, home, furniture, everything. The only thing these people have now is the cloth on their backs. There are approximately 195 verses in scripture concerning the poor . The Bible states that God, creates the Rich and the poor. But there is no difference between them when it comes to judgments. A poor man dreams of a better day, without debt, without worry, without strife. He dreams sweet dreams of a day when he can rest from his labor and dreams of family, babies and his wife. The rich man has troubled sleep, worried about finances, and national debt, about rising oil prices and interest rates. His days are filled with worry over thoughts of others trying to take what he has. In the story of Matthew 19:17-23 we are shown a good example of failure to abide by the great commandment in the law. Which to me is the greatest commandment of all.
Mat 22:36-38 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. Now lets look at failure to abide by this commandment. Mat 19:17-23 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. Pro 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding Psa 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. There is no need for a poor man, who puts his trust in God to worry. The poor man is confident in the Lord to provide him his daily needs.
Psa 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
The poor man is free from worry, over someone robbing his home, for his possessions are few and his wealth is in his dreams and in his heart, where no man can take.
1Sa 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD扴, and he hath set the world upon them.
The poor mans dreams are set on Gods promise, 揟he meek shall inherit the Earth.?When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Pro 3:19-27 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. The cries of the poor man. Job 30:25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Your stature in this life has no effect on God and His love for you.
Psa 40:17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
搚et the Lord thinketh upon me:?isn抰 this a true comfort to those who are poor, a dream of the Lord God almighty, sitting on a throne, creator of all, master of the universe, commander of the greatest army, and still in all of Gods thoughts, and in all of Gods majesty, He still has the time to think upon the poor man and his dreams. Wonderful isn抰 it? Have we become a people, like the rich young ruler, people that have great possessions and still have nothing but troubled sleep, are we a people that despise the poor, because they remind us of ourselves earlier in life, or do we despise the poor because they are not as we are? Have we forgotten that, our possessions belong to the Lord anyway, that those things that we posses are just loaned to us to help others, the Bible states that, We work to give to others. A poor man dreams of, Pearly Gates and streets of Gold, He dreams of rivers of living water and quires of Angels singing, He dreams of a tree of life and skies of blue, He dreams of eternal sunshine and walks on clouds of white. He dreams of an eternal city where He will never grow old, where his labor is thru, no sickness, no tears and no final farewells to those he loves. This is what is meant by A Poor Man, with Rich Mans Dreams.

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Almost Persuaded.

Almost Persuaded.
"Acts 26: 24-28 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Here is a letter I received the other day. 揑 believe this is one of saddest stories in the Bible. The king was almost Home. He was almost persuaded to make a heart commitment to Jesus and live with Him eternally in Heaven. Many of us have loved ones and friends who are almost persuaded to be a Christian. We need to search our heart and see if our actions and words to our family and friends are turning them away from Jesus. If we want our loved ones to make that final commitment to Jesus, then we need to pray for them and extend the Love of Jesus to them on a daily basis. Sometimes we get so busy with our schedules during the day that we don抰 make the time to fellowship with our loved ones and friends. How would we feel if Jesus didn抰 make time for us on a daily basis? Let抯 live so that others will never say to us, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" Joanne Lowe. September 3, 2005 King Agrippa, believed the prophets but he couldn't bring himself to believe that the words of the prophets had come true in his lifetime. Thats the way it is today. Many are almost persuaded to believe in Jesus but because of one thing or another they have decided to wait. Politics, religion, peer pressure are all getting in the way of many that otherwise would be persuaded to join in on the Family of God. I've heard from many around the world that are confused by their friends, and religious people that know nothing of the intent of God in the lives of mankind. This world is not what it used to be and never will return back to that place and time that many of us remember. Too much has changed, too much has happened, to ignore the signs of the times. We preach love and compassion but there comes a time that love and compassion will not work. Fear and dread of the destruction of this earth will have to be used. Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Can this happen? It already is happening, there are many that preach the Bible that denigh the Jesus Christ actually exist, some preach God only, some preach Jesus only and others preach what their congregations want to hear to appease man. Not accounting for the salvation of their listeners. We cannot persuade anyone by preaching one above the other, for as with Jude, he states, 攄enying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.?Here we see again the separation of the two even thou they are one. We must persuade those that are lost by using the entire Scripture. Telling the truth and getting by man made doctrine. We have, The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost, as was stated by Jesus. How can we denigh this? The plan of salvation come to us in three steps, The Father sacrificing His Son, The Son Sacrificing His Mortal Life and The Holy Ghost leading us into all truths. Jude 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.[1Co_9:19-22.] Mat 19:21-22; Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Almost persuaded, riches became this mans god, his idol, his life, and rather to give heed to the will of God by distributing all that he had to the poor he chose to keep his type of religion and go about his ways. Observing religious practices from his youth up was by no means salvation. Many get into habits that become second nature to them and become more of a spectacle than worship. If a man is not born again of the spirit he has not attained salvation. If he has no circumcision of the heart there is no change. Religious practices are not what Jesus wanted from this man and neither from us. He wants mankind to worship God in Spirit & Truth. Baptism without repentance is useless. What was this young ruler actually missing? The Love of God over all, he was violating the first two commandments, Mat 22:37-40; Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Isa 1:11-15; To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Again; We must persuade those that are lost by using the entire Scripture. Bring no more vain oblations, for what kind of sacrifice can you bring before God? There is none that can satisfy Him except the Blood of the Lamb. Persuasion of the lost by the word of God, not choosing what you want and letting the rest go, but using all, showing a pattern of useless situations that God will no longer accept, false religious practices, false religion, false doctrine, false prayers, willing to be heard above the crowd but not meaning any of the words coming from your mouth. We must persuade by example, by acts, by faith, by demonstration of Power of the Holy Ghost. Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Are you almost persuaded or are you still indoubt, God says come to Him and reason with Him, ask Him any question on salvation, tell Him the reason that you refuse to serve Him and He will answer all your questions. God is willing to go another step with you if you are willing to listen. All the answers to all the questions are in the Bible. There is nothing covered that will not be shown, nothing hidden that will not be reveled and nothing said that will not be shouted out from the house top. Its all there. Are you listening to your friends, do you believe that everything is one big party, do you believe that you can escape the judgment, or have you listened to Satan telling you that, there is no God, no Heaven, no Hell, no Judgment? Who are you listening too? Seek out your own salvation, seek out the God that has created and can destroy. Don't die and wake up in Hell saying,擨 was Almost persuaded.?

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4 Levels of Spiritual Warfare Against Demonic Spirits

In the realm of having to do battle with demonic spirits from time to time - I believe there are 4 basic levels in which a Christian may have to face. Having the specific knowledge on what each one of these levels are all about can really help with planning and carrying out the appropriate battle strategy in which to defeat them should demons ever move in for an attack on either you or any of your close loved ones.

Every time that Jesus told His apostles to go out and walk with His anointing to save the lost and heal the sick - He always had the command in there to also cast out demonic spirit where and when needed.

So if Jesus was constantly casting out demons, always telling the apostles to cast out demons - then it should only be logical that the church should continue to cast out demons.

It has been estimated by many Bible scholars that approximately 25% of the miracles Jesus had performed were Him casting demons out of people. Satan and his demons are not confined to the Bottomless Pit at this time. This event will not happen until Jesus returns back to us in His second coming. Until that event happens, Satan and his demons are still free to roam in the "air" seeking who they are going to try and devour next.

As Christians, we always have to remember that the devil and his demons are already defeated animals. Jesus has already defeated Satan at the cross when He was crucified.

What is now left is that all Christians have to realize that the victory is already ours. We thus have to learn how to engage and defeat the devil and his demons when they do try to move into a person or a situation - and sometimes this means a real live deliverance - because demons can and do attach themselves to people when they do move in for an attack. And once they do, the only way to be able to drive them out is by the power of God!

Here are the 4 different ways and avenues that demons can move in for an attack on someone - whether the person be a Christian or a nonbeliever. There are rules to the war games that are going on behind the scenes between God and the devil for all of our souls. To be forewarned is to be properly armed.

1. The first level is when demons move in for an attack with no real legal right to be able to do so. This is exactly what happened to Jesus when He was out in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Satan had no legal right to be coming after Him, but he did anyway and Jesus drove him away by quoting the Word back to him.

2. The second level is when demons do have a legal right to be coming after you. And one of the ways that you give demons the legal right to be able to attack you is by crossing over and entering into some of the heavier sins and transgressions expressly forbidden by our Lord from His Word.

3. The third level is when demons attack as a result of what someone has may have done to you. Sometimes victims of crimes such as rape and assault, or receiving severe abuse from a parent or spouse can cause demons to try and move in to attach to the victim - trying to feed off the negative emotions of hate, anger, unforgiveness and wanting to get revenge on the attacker or abuser.

4. The fourth level is when demons will try and attach to someone as a result of a generational curse line coming from a severe sinning, dysfunctional parent or parents. For instance, an alcoholic father can end up producing children who end up becoming alcoholic themselves. Demons will attempt to jump and transfer from the father onto some of the children trying to get them to commit the same type of sin their parent had been committing.

As Christians, we have to have knowledge of our enemies and how they will try and attack us. Many Christians are getting defeated or taken home too early from this life as a result of not having some basic 101 knowledge in spiritual warfare.

Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministies. You can learn more from his Bible teaching website with over 150 free bible articles.

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America Asks More Questions about the Second Coming of Christ

Question
Isn抰 the book of Revelation just so many symbols and thus should not he placed on the level of other clearer messages of the Bible?

Answer
The book of Revelation is replete with symbolism; but so is much of the rest of the Bible. We should give no less credence to it than to any other part of the Bible. Symbolisms were used to guide an entire nation of ancient Egyptians and to protect and give hope to generations of Israelites. All of this was done in the very first book of the Bible, so if we are going to lessen the veracity or the practicality of biblical symbols we would have to start at the beginning of the Bible. If we start there, we will find countless other symbols not to trust and in the end we will have chopped up a great deal of Gods word. We don抰 have the right to remove even one letter from Gods word physically, but we are not to remove it by spiritualizing it or nominalizing it either.

When Egypt was about to undergo one of the worst droughts in its history, Pharaoh had a dream filled with symbolism that deferred the worst from happening. When Joseph interpreted Pharaohs dream he secured a future for his own generation of Israelites. Genesis 41:1f

It might do well to note that the very first recorded prophetic message in the Bible was a dream also filled with symbolism. Genesis 37:5f Joseph抯 dream of the sun and the moon and the stars would outline the history of his people forever. Why then should it be hard to see Revelation and its symbols as the outline for only one small seven year long period.

The very first prophetic utterance in the Bible is referred to as the Prote-Evangelium, and it uses symbolism. Genesis 3:15 There is where the first promise that Christ would overcome all evil is found.
Highways around the world are covered with universal traffic symbols. Language and lore is embellished with symbols. Theater, television, business, culture, and our own daily conversation are saturated with the use of symbolism. How is it that we have thought God couldn抰 use symbols to covey part of his message to us, and that it could he trusted. And how is it that those who are so quick to point out that this is the most educated generation in the history of the world, cannot seem to find a way for implicit and explicit teachings in the Bible to co-exist and compliment each other. To persist in this silly fear of the symbol comes under the heading of hypocrisy rather than confusion, if we would he honest enough to admit it.

Question
Aren抰 many of the pictures and symbols of Revelation much like those of the Old Testament and are they just borrowed from the Old Testament?

Answer
I find it hard not to answer this question with a simple yes, but so what, but for the sake of the more serious student of the Bible I will try to address the question in a more persuasive manner. Many New Testament references are made from the Old Testament. Jesus, the apostles and many others referred to the Old Testament scriptures and its symbols.

Have we forgotten that the Bible is to the Christian after all only one book, not two? If God were not so faithful in his revelation to us we might find huge differences between the symbolism of the old and new testament. That would no doubt give rise to another group of people who would argue against the validity of the Bible because of the enormous disparity in the images presented in the Old Testament as compared to those of the New Testament.

Doubters will never be satisfied with anything. Believers are glad that God has given us one comprehensible picture of his intentions in sixty six books, spread out over thousands of years.

This alone is a miracle. When John received the Revelation of Jesus Christ on the Isle of Patmos, we can imagine how relieved he must have felt when he saw it didn抰 diverge very much from the messages given to Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and others. If it had been that radically different, he may have been inclined to dismiss it as not having come from God in the first place. We can thank God that John knew the voice of his Savior as Jesus promised he would, John 10:27 and he could see its consistency with the rest of the messages given to his predecessors.

I am also thankful that when I saw a vision of the sun darkened and the moon glowing the color of blood, that when I finally saw that description in the Bible it wasn抰 something unfamiliar or strange. It takes no genius to comprehend that though the symbolism of the New Testament is similar to that of the old, it is only to supplement, advance or further elucidate the message not just to borrow from it. Borrowing from the Bible or any other source to enhance a vision that purportedly came from God would make the messenger not a visionary or prophet but a common liar. The last time I looked, God was still calling only those who are searching for, living for and willing to die for the truth, to become his messengers.

Rev Bresciani is the author of two popular Christian books, one on the second coming of Christ. He has hundreds of articles published both online and in print. Visit the website at www.americanprophet.org

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