Why we don't pray ....

The highest privilege ever afforded to man is the power of prayer.
...then why don't we pray?

The right to talk to the highest potentate in the entire universe...
...then why don't we pray?

The most powerful force accessible to man is the potential of prayer...
...then why don't we pray?

The greatest longing in the heart of God is to talk to His children...
...then why don't we pray?

Nothing is impossible to those who pray...
...then why don't we pray?

No man ever fainted or faltered who gave himself to prayer...
...then why don't we pray?

Every sin is forgiven, every stain is washed clean, all guilt diminished to
The man who prays...
...then why don't we pray?

Hell moves farther away, Satan flees from the man who prays...
...then why don't we pray?

Anointing will come, mountains will be moved, valleys made smooth, rivers made crossable, the inaccessible made accessible, the impossible made possible, dreams come through to the man who prays...
...then why don't we pray?

God said that men ought always to pray...
...then why don't we pray?

Paul encouraged prayer without ceasing...
...then why don't we pray?

The riches of heaven are open to those who pray in His name...
...then why don't we pray?

Everyone can pray, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, the child, the aged, the sinner, the prisoner, in any nation, in any language, all can pray...
...then why don't we pray?

Leave Your Requests For Prayer Here

Did you know that to pray is the Most Commonly Mentioned Command of God in scr i pture.
It's True, It's Mentioned more than “go to Church” or “Love love thy Neighbor” it's even mentioned more than to Evangelize.

We should be people of great Prayer!

FATHER GOD, when you were on earth, you prayed. You prayed in the morning, the night,you prayed alone, you prayed with people. Even in your hours of distress ,you retreated into times of prayer. Help us to be more like you in this way father. Father help us to pray in both times of trouble and in times of Joy. Help us to Lift our hearts and hands to the father. Bless the people of all the nations who call out your name lord God through prayer.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, Having been Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces preseverance; and preseverance, charecter; and charecter, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by his Holy Spirit who was given to us.


If you have a special Request for prayer please leave it here for us to pray for you!



To God be the Glory Amen!

Jesus saved me

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him
He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn't believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. 20For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. 21But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God." 22After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them, and baptized. 23John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized.

When You feel Overwhelmed

I looked up the word ’overwhelmed’ in the dictionary. It means ’to be submerged under the weight of something. To be overtaken by a superior force. Or to be overpowered by your thoughts and feelings.’ How many of you have ever felt overpowered and overwhelmed by all the stuff going on in your life? How many of you have ever felt like saying, "Enough is enough! I can’t take this anymore?!!!"

We can be overwhelmed by any number of things. Some of you are overwhelmed with busyness. You have so much going on at work. And so much going on at home. And so much on your plate that you literally feel submerged under the weight of it. You feel overpowered.

And some of us are overwhelmed by fear. The fear of rejection. Fear of the future. Or fear of what other people might be saying about us. And we feel so overwhelmed with these feelings of fear that it is interfering with the quality of our Christian lives.

That’s why 2 Chronicles 20 is such a relevant chapter. When we’re done going through the story, we will know EXACTLY what to do the next time we feel overwhelmed.

As the story begins, Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah. Ruler over the city of Jerusalem. And like his ancestor King David, he was a godly leader. 2 Chronicles 17:6 says that his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord. In fact, he feels so strongly about his faith, that when he appointed priests and judges throughout the land, he challenged them. In 2 Chronicles 19:6, He says "You’re not working for me. You’re working for the Lord. So make sure that you follow Him faithfully with all your heart."

But not too long after this, the king finds out that the country is under attack. 2 Chronicles 20:1 says that "After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat." These people have been enemies of Judah for hundreds of years. And now, they are joining forces to form a vast army. And their one unified purpose is to wipe the people of God off the face of the earth! To kill the Jewish people once and for all!

And when Jehoshaphat hears about this massive invasion, we read in verse three that he is alarmed. That same word in Hebrew is used in Exodus 14:10 to describe how alarmed the Israelites were when they saw the Egyptian army following them into the Red Sea. It is a word often used to describe someone’s first reaction to an overwhelming situation.

There’s nothing wrong with being alarmed. Sometimes God wants us to be alarmed so that He might get our undivided attention. But sometimes, people respond by panicking. They say "I can’t believe this is happening! I’m in way over my head! I’m not going to make it!" And then the person either quits their job. Or they run away. Or they try as long as possible to avoid having to deal with the situation. Kind of like what the Israelites tried to do with Goliath. They blew that off for 40 days. Hoping that the problem would just walk away. And it didn’t work.

And sometimes we respond to overwhelming situations by trying to handle everything ourselves. We say, "If I was the one calling all the shots to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this predicament! I can solve this problem all by myself. All you have to do is listen to me!" And then we start manipulating people. Telling them what to do. Telling them what not to do. We stubbornly refuse to admit that the situation is bigger than we are.

Panicking is not the way to handle overwhelming situations. And being a control freak is not the way to handle them, either. The way to handle overwhelming situations is to do what the king did. Verses three and four tell us that even though he is alarmed, he resolves to inquire of the LORD. And he calls upon the entire nation to come together for a national day of prayer and fasting. In other words, the king is saying, "I am determined to hand this entire situation over to God! I am going to call upon the One person in the whole universe who can do something to change our circumstances!"

And in verses five through twelve, the king stands up in the courtyard of the temple. He’s got all the people praying with him. And he says, "Oh, Lord, you are the God of heaven. You rule over the kingdoms of the earth. Power and might are in your hand."

"But now, we are under attack by the very same people you told us to refrain from attacking many years ago. And look how they are repaying us!

O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."

When we start feeling overwhelmed by the worries of this life, we need to stop trying to fix everything ourselves. We need to stop fretting over the things that are out of our hands. And we need to put everything back into God’s hands.

One thing we learn over and over again in Chronicles is that when the people of God pray, the power of God is on display. In 1 Chronicles 5, three of the tribes of Israel fought a war against the Hagrites. And verse 20 says that the reason why God gave them the victory was ’because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.’

And over in 2 Chronicles 13, the kingdom of Judah was being attacked by the northern kingdom. And they were outnumbered 800,000 to 400,000. It didn’t look like they had a chance. But in verse 14, the people of Judah cried out to the Lord, and God gave them a tremendous victory. And they drove those invaders all the way back to Samaria. Because when the people of God pray, the power of God is on display.

And in 2 Chronicles 14, the nation of Cush attacks. But in verse 11, the king calls upon the Lord and says, "There is no one like you who helps the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord." And then God comes through and the Cus**tes got beat so bad, that they ran all the way out of the country, and they never came back again. Because when the people of God pray, the power of God is on display.

And that’s what happens here in chapter 20. After the king prays, a prophet of the Lord stands up in verse 14. And he says, "Do not be afraid of this vast army. For the battle belongs to the Lord. You will not even have to fight this battle! Take up your positions. Stand firm. And see the deliverance of the Lord!"

In verse 20, they left for the desert of Tekoa. The king gives them one final pep talk. And then he puts the singers at the head of the army. He’s saying, "I want my military to be led by worshippers, not by warriors. I want God to know that I have so much faith in Him, that I’m putting the singers ahead of the soldiers."

Now if I was one of the singers, I’d be thinking, "The king’s got more faith in God than I do. I don’t know if I want to go through with this!

Maybe I should call in sick!"

But the king said, "Have faith in the Lord, and you will be upheld." So the entire army walks into the desert singing "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever."

While this is going on, the Lord throws the invading armies into confusion. And they end up attacking each other instead of the people of God.

And in verse 24, the people of Judah arrive at the desert. They see all the dead bodies of the invading army. And they say, "Yeahhhhhhhh!!! Woohooo!!!!! Praise the Lord! He did it! He saved us!!!" And they went down to gather up all the clothing and the equipment and the articles of value. And there was so much stuff down there that it took three days to gather everything up.

And then they carried everything back to the temple. And they had a huge celebration before the Lord. With loud music. And lots of rejoicing. Because when the people of God pray, the power of God is on display. And from that moment on, as long as King Jehoshaphat was alive, no one dared to attack the land of Judah ever again.

This story is a reminder of how important it is to pray about our problems. Too many times, we tell ourselves, "I don’t need any help. I can handle this. I’m a grown person. I’m responsible." And we either end up falling flat on our faces. Or the stress associated with handling everything ourselves takes its toll on our well being.

The way I see it, it’s so much easier to let go and let God. And when I say that, I’m not talking about letting go of our responsibility to live for Jesus a life that is true. I’m talking about letting go of unnecessary anxieties and worries. When I was a little kid, I sometimes had problems getting along with other kids. And I would come home. And I would tell my dad. He didn’t always make the problem go away. But just letting him know what was going on in my life made me feel better. Because I knew that I was handing my problem over to someone who cared about me.

The same principle is true with God. Just the act of telling your heavenly Dad about what’s going on in your life will make you feel so much better. 1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast your cares upon Him because He cares for you."

Some of you are thinking, "Linda, I’ve tried. I’ve been praying about my problems for years. Yet after all this time, I still struggle with the same issues I’ve been dealing with since day one! What do I do now?"

You are not the only one who has ever asked this question. In 2 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul pleaded with God three times to take away his thorn in the flesh. But God told him, ’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

It may not be God’s will for us to be free from every single problem in this life. We need them as tangible reminders of how much we need God’s help every day of our lives. That’s why Jacob walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He needed that handicap as a reminder of how handicapped he really is without God.

But while we are waiting for our ultimate deliverance, we can put our faith in the One Person who has already won the battle for us! Romans 7:24 says "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Whenever the people of God pray, we can see the power of God on display in our lives. Giving us shelter from the storms of life. Giving us victory over our stresses and our circumstances. Giving us the capacity to praise His holy name even in the midst of adversity.

Let me ask you this: How many problems in your life have become worse than they needed to be because you didn’t hand them over to God in prayer? How many times have you tried unsuccessfully to manipulate your circumstances when all you really needed to do was to give them over to the Lord?

God loves you so much, that He WANTS to hear your prayers! He wants to handle your overwhelming situations. And He wants to have an intimate relationship with you.

And when we pray, we should follow the example of the Judean army and praise God for who He is. Too often when we pray, we spend a lot of time asking God for what we want. And not enough time appreciating God for being the wonderful Father that He is. We need to say, "I praise you because your love endures forever. I praise You for being a part of my life. I praise You because there are certain battles that I will never have to fight. I praise You because You are out there fighting hard on my behalf. I praise you because when this life is over, I will fly away into your presence."

Because we serve such a caring Father, why wouldn’t we want to praise His name? And why wouldn’t we want Him to help us with the overwhelming challenges of life? At this time, we are going to do what King Jehoshaphat did so many years ago. We’re going to bow our heads. And we’re going to hand everything over to God. We’re going to let Jesus Christ have His way in the circumstances of our lives. Because when the people of God pray, the power of God is on display. SO let’s pray.

Put On Jesus

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. - John 8:31-36.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. - Romans 13:14.

When I was in the sixth grade I had been doing fine, at least I thought I was doing fine, back in the back of the classroom. All of that came to an end one day when Mr. McCall looked back at me and wanted me to answer a question he had written on the blackboard. I had no clue as to what the answer could be although it was not that I didn't know the answer. It was just that I could not see the words he had written. Because of that I was suddenly transported to the front row for the rest of the year, and soon I was wearing those dreaded things called, eyeglasses. The law of nearsightedness had disrupted my life and learning experience.

Thank God, another law overcame the law of nearsightedness in my life. The law of corrective lenses overcame it. You would think that I would have more freedom to live life without being hindered by glasses. After all, you have to keep them clean, wear them, and it is very hard to swim in them. Actually, I am truly free to live my physical life only if I wear those eyeglasses. When I am wearing my glasses I am free to drive, to read, to see faces clearly and so many other things that would not be possible without them.

In our spiritual lives we are overcome and held captive by sin. But just as glasses are able to overcome nearsightedness so can sin be overcome. To overcome sin, we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we do that we are still slaves; instead of being slaves to sin, we have become slaves of righteousness. Jesus says, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30)." The yoke of Jesus cancels out and overcomes the sin in our lives. By taking on the yoke of Jesus, we can be free to live life to its utmost. As Jesus says, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Only by putting on Jesus can we truly have freedom that brings real life.

Each day we have a choice. We can choose to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, or we can make provision for sin. We can choose life, or we can choose death (Romans 8:5-6). Which will you choose today, and for eternity?

A Loving God and Eternity

Matthew 25:31-46

The scr i ptures clearly speak of existence after death--people will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Yet many individuals consider this truth inconsistent with other facts about the Lord. While their objections are understandable, the Bible provides the answers to their questions:

How can the Lord be good if He lets some people spend their afterlife in hell? God is love (1 John 4:8) and doesn't want anyone to live without Him (1 Tim. 2:4). Everyone can turn from sin and receive the Savior, thereby avoiding eternal separation from Him. But some reject Christ and live apart from Him all their days. They will continue to exist apart from His presence throughout eternity.

Why would the Lord create certain individuals, knowing they would never turn to Him? To some, this seems unloving. Yet the alternative would be worse. He created us with free will--we can choose to obey and follow Him. If our Father gave us no choice, we'd be mere robots, unable to truly respond, love, and worship.

An endless penalty seems unfair, particularly if non-Christians never heard a clear presentation of the gospel. As long as unbelievers are alive, the heavenly Father does everything He can to keep them from eternal punishment--except to violate their free will. He gives enough time and evidence so that nobody has a valid excuse for rejecting the one path to salvation (Rom. 1:20; John 14:6).

Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? He wants you to spend eternity with Him.

HOW DO YOU SEE GOD??

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like the president. I recognized his picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know him.

But later on when I recognized my higher power, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that God was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was that he suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since, life with my higher power, that is. God makes life exciting!

When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when he took the lead, he knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, he said, "PEDAL."

I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I'd say, "I'm scared," he'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, God's and mine.

And we were off again. He said, "Give the gifts away; they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received and still our burden was light.

I did not trust him at first, in control of my life. I thought he'd wreck it. But he knows bike secrets, He knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, my higher power.

And when I'm sure I just can't do any more, he just smiles and says, "pedal."

A Breath of Inspiration

Every moment of Time that we live each day holds something unique that can resonate with the energy of self, this energy we know as Inspiration.

It's that simple "AHA" moment we all have now and then that seems so mystical at times, yet is so extraordinarily common if one only opens themselves to accept these random instances. Something as simple as the fluttering of leaves on a cool autumn day can be enough to spark the minds desire for something more, or perhaps just the simple smile of a random passer by.

We can be inspired to do great things if we only wish to ACCOMPLISH great things. When you choose to do great things with your life, your life will do great things with You. We live in a constant state of Chaotic Harmony with this Universe of ours, and at its most basic level it simply wishes to be recognized. So easy is it these days to forget that we're just a Tiiiiiiiiiny part of a Huuuuuuge whole, with people more commonly looking within themselves then to the Universe without....if they even look anywhere at all >_<

If you accept that the Universe is a conscious being just like you and me, and that it truly wishes to see you succeed in more ways then you can imagine...you'll be happy to find things working smoother for you in a matter of moments. I must say though that it takes a keen sense of perception to notice the subtle changes in the Universe that consistently come to your Aid. You must understand this Reality that surrounds us is a Timeless Entity, and thusly it reacts differently to situations then We. A seemingly bad string of luck might very well work out in your favor, as the actions it forces you to take might have saved you more trouble and pain then the ones you were originally intent on making.

Usually it manifests in Timely answers and openings that allow you to act without much doubt or delay, and are more often "random" instances then obvious slow growing ones. It's this randomness that our Universe seems to favor, as it takes a Bold soul to grasp on blindly to the rope of faith. What one comes to understand in time is that we are all inately blind....and from there one comes to realize that blindness is just another form of sight.

It's an art really. Being able to ride the waves of time with absolute faith of the inevitable outcome, without ever giving in to the consistent bombardment of drawbacks that come your way. One must be flexible with the happenings of life and be able to adapt to every situation, as each new event in life presents a pathway to ever more outcomes. And thus we are drawn back to the topic of Inspiration.

It is inspiration that can be credited for the success of the Human Race. Without this seemingly Divine spark, we would still be wrestling our food to the ground and living off the land. Without inspiration there would be no art, no books, no technology, no businesses, no society, no language...nothing but what Mother Nature intended. In a sense you could say that Inspiration is a Glitch in the system that we take to like fish to water. Perhaps it's wrong to call such an integral part of our existence a Glitch, but in relation to nature I feel it an accurate assessment.

So for the time being, remember to keep your eyes and energy open to new things. Look at the world through a new set of eyes, eyes that sense the conscious intent of the world without. See not only shapes and colors, but possibilities and outcomes. See things like they've never been seen before, and perhaps the world will just see You like never before

God Humans

We open the page to find a book. What appears to be a flat plane of existance reveals to us multitudes of hidden dimension. Yet is this knowledge truly hidden, or simply overlooked? Either way the truth persists now and then, that We are more than meets the eye. So how should one approach infinite possibility?
By being infinitely open to infinite ideas. By embracing that most sacred function of the human mind, that of the the active imagination. We as a race have unarguably proven time and time again, that which we can imagine....we can create. With that comes yet another question...Are we creating something new, or unveiling something we simply could not see before? This unexplainable ability to manifest forth that which resides within our mind, why is it that we've been conditioned to believe it to be a non-primary function of our human existance?
Because it's dangerous to the Structure. It threatens control and promotes absolute freedom. It is this innate ability to express non existance through tangible means that makes our collective conciousness a danger.
In enters the idea of Gods. That's plural, yet singular. Is it not hard to believe that we are of the same thread, creating our weave upon the fabric of this reality? This has become a fairly common belief in this 'New Age', that All is One. We are all individual pieces of the whole, performing our functions to a tee. As such, each and every conciousness has the ability to ascend to its 'original' place in existance through focused willpower.
Obviously, as stated before, a danger to the Structure. So how exactly does one 'ascend'? The answer to that question might perhaps be more individual than the individual contemplating its outcome. We each have our own destiny to create, so it;s up to us to set our sights on something more. To say that the sky is the limit would be a gross understatement, to be sure

Ten rules for a blessed Day

1. TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK . . .
If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if someone is unkind, I will not respond in a like manner.

2. TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY 'ENEMY'
If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly, I will quietly ask God to bless that individual. I understand "enemy" could be a family member, neighbor, co-worker or stranger.

3. TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY . . .
I will carefully choose and guard my words being certain that I do not spread gossip.

4. TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE . . .
I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

5. TODAY I WILL FORGIVE . . .
I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way.

6. TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING KIND FOR SOMEONE (BUT I WILL DO IT IN SECRET)
I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

7. TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED . . .
I will practice the golden rule. "Do Unto others as I would have them do unto me"- with EVERYONE I encounter.

8. TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE WHO IS DISCOURAGED . . .
My smile, my words, my expression of support, can make the difference to someone who is wrestling with life.

9. TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY . . .
I will eat less . . . I will eat only healthy foods. I will thank God for my body.

10. TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY . . .
I will spend a little more time in prayer today. I will begin reading something spiritual or inspirational; I will find a quiet place (at some point during this day) and listen to God's voice.

Remember, today is a gift from God so treat it preciously

Why Religion Should be Stopped

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'" So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah. - 1 Kings 17:8-15.

In 2005, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States was responsible for the creation of 245.7 million tons of garbage. However, that is close to 1.6 million tons of garbage less than the year before and that is about 4.5 pounds of trash per person per day. The good news is that one-third of the garbage was recycled in 2005. The EPA goal for this year is 35 percent to be recycled. As you can see the United States creates a huge amount of garbage every day. We are a throw away society and disposable seems to always be better than the reusable but it wasn't always that way. During the depression years and through much of the World War II years in the United States things were different. During those years not very much of anything was thrown away because everything was needed to survive. Everything was used down to the last drop, down to the last tiny bit.

During WW II tires were very hard to find because of use of the material in the war effort. Neighbors would sometimes share tires with each other in order to have one vehicle, they could use. If someone in the family was ill, having a vehicle that had tires became very important. Because of that, my Dad hoarded old tires for years after the war because he still remembered a time when an old tire could have meant the difference between life and death.

In these modern times, I believe we give up too easily. We give up too early. We give up before it's down to the last drop. We give up before we are down to our last dollar. We would do well to remember Elijah and widow of Zarephath. God gave them the food they needed as long as it was needed. We should remember the example of our Lord at the feeding of the five thousand and of the four thousand. Only a few fishes and a little bread until our Lord blessed the food, and it was multiplied into a provision for the thousands with baskets of food left over.

Before we give up. Before we bail out. Let us give God an opportunity to work that miracle in our lives. Let us thank God for all that we have and are. Ask Him to sustain us. When we think we can't make it another day, let us live one more and see what God will do. When we've gone our last mile, let us walk one more. As we do, we will see the hand of God upon our lives sustaining us each day as we trust Him to provide. Never, ever, give up!!

God - The Ultimate "Something From Nothing"

Believers will often use the 'something from nothing' line in debate with atheists, which when applied to atheism is not just a complete fallacy but also a classic attempt at psychological redirection. Neither atheists nor scientists have ever claimed any 'something from nothing', in fact it is the believer that themselves lay stake in this claim from the get-go, with their very god. The atheist, in leiu of any theistic belief, rejects this notion outright with demand for empirical evidence before belief (rejection of faith).

The common answer is, god has always existed. This itself goes against the very nature of causuality (the first cause argument being a huge fallacy anyway, contridicting itself by stating any uncaused first cause at all), and also places the believer in the indefensible position of explaining how space/time/matter cannot have just simply existed when all the while this magical being that is omnipotent CAN just simply exist. If one admits to the latter, then one must also admit that the former is just as logical if not more so, thereby defeating any argument the believer might have in this regard.

Any other answer than the above openly admits not just a something from nothing but also implies a magical, all powerful nature to this something. This is above and beyond any natural formation, to the point that to believe in this said god and to deny established science is plain absurd. To say that an all powerful being was either created out of nothing OR that this being always has existed, both of these, besides being ouside the scope of rationality, are far less credulous than anything of natural means.

Let us remember that all things outside of natural, descriptive law, have failed so far in terms of actuality, that is to say all things supernatural have failed, and therefore have less than hypothesis status in scientific terms, so to affirm the supernatural while denying the natural is a direct contridiction. Simply put, it is not a viable answer. These gods, these somethings from nothings, are themselves nothing, they are merely our perceptual explanations while in lack of any higher knowledge, our attempt to avoid the theistically dreaded statement of uncertainty. We are perfectly able to combat this uncertianity outside any means of defaulting answers, those that cannot overcome this are those that deny established science and hinder true progress.

That which is observable, has established fact, and repeatable results, is that which has validity over any god, for any god has none of the above. That which has explanation has a 'something' of orgin, that which does not is left to come from 'nothing'. The god(s) of the people are the very something from this nothing, they are the nothing itself encompassing the belief. Those of us that have seen past this nothing call ourselves atheists

The Anti-Christ And Mr. Obama

> Since the election I’ve been asked a number of times to comment on the
> likelihood that Mr. Obama could be the anti-Christ. Let me begin by saying
> that having been elected President he’s Mr. Obama now, not just Obama. As
> for him being the anti-Christ I’ve discouraged that thought because I don’t
> believe it’s time for the anti-Christ to be revealed yet. But apart from
> that there’s no Biblical reason I can find that would absolutely
> disqualify him. And based on the things we know about the anti-Christ
> there’s a fit in several important places. The anti-Christ will have to
> burst on the scene quickly and powerfully to accomplish so much in the
> little time he has, so maybe he’ll need a head start. If that’s the case,
> maybe Mr. Obama is on his way to becoming the anti-Christ. Let’s find out.
>
> We know that the anti-Christ will be a descendant of the people who made
> up the Roman Empire in Biblical times (Daniel 9:26), and he’ll arrive on
> the world scene as a peace maker (Daniel 8:25). He won’t be part of the
> world’s powerful elite at the beginning of his career (Daniel 7:8) but
> will rise up among them to eventually surpass them and become the leader
> of the entire world. (Rev. 13:7-8)
>
> He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior.
> When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the
> Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
> (Daniel 8:25)
>
> This means that he’ll base his success on a lie, misrepresenting himself
> and his intentions, but people will want to believe him so badly that they’ll
> disregard his inconsistencies until it’s too late to stop him. Initially
> he’ll seem successful, but just when they’re saying “Peace and safety”,
> destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains to a pregnant
> woman, and they won’t escape (1 Thes. 5:3).
>
> Deja Vu All Over Again?
>
> Some of us remember when Jimmy Carter was elected President of the US. The
> country was fed up with Washington and even though he had no national
> leadership experience, we elected him because he was an outsider who
> promised change. He said he would never lie to us, but after the election
> it turned out that he had. He had misrepresented his background and didn’t
> have the ability he needed when it came to governing. He said he was
> Christian and even orchestrated a land for peace deal between Israel and
> Egypt, but he proved to be anti-Israel. Soon we had a crisis in finance
> with interest rates at 20%, an energy crisis with our first gas shortages,
> and an administration that didn’t know how to work with Congress to fix
> things. The Iranians captured our embassy and held our citizens hostage.
> Thankfully he lasted only one term.
>
> Mr. Obama could easily turn out to be just another Jimmy Carter, and if so
> America will suffer through the next four years and then he’ll be gone.
> But if he continues to be successful in convincing people all around the
> world that he’s on the right track even though everything seems to be
> falling apart, it could be a different story.
>
> If my calculations are correct, American Christians have just voted in our
> last presidential elections and won’t be here to see if Mr. Obama turns
> out to be the anti-Christ or not. But someone with a lot more experience
> in accurately predicting the future has some interesting insight into the
> next few years. His name is Gerald Celente, CEO of Trends Research
> Institute, and he’s renowned the world over for his accuracy in predicting
> future world and economic events. He accurately predicted the 1987 Stock
> market crash, the Fall of the Soviet Union, the 1997 Asian currency
> collapse, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and one year before the fact
> predicted what he said would become known as the Panic of 2008, saying
> that giants would tumble to their deaths, which is what we’ve just seen in
> the fall of several of our oldest and biggest financial firms, and with
> the big three auto makers teetering on the brink. (You can check his track
> record for yourself at
> www.trendsresearch.com )
>
> Celente is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax
> rebellions - all within four years, cautioning that putting food on the
> table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
>
> According to his recent Fox News interview, called “Predicting Obama’s
> Impact” (posted on YouTube on Nov. 10, 2008), by 2012 America will have
> become an undeveloped nation. There will be a revolution marked by food
> riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and holidays will
> be more about obtaining food than gifts.
>
> “We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a
> fundamental shift take place….putting food on the table is going to be
> more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente,
> adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”.
>
> “America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is
> prepared for,” he said, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that
> America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in
> being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
>
> All this comes from a man with an international reputation for being right
> and whose continued success depends on it. If he’s right now like he has
> been so often in the past, then the next four years will be worse than the
> Carter Administration ever was, rather than the launching platform for a
> coming world leader.
>
> (By the way, please take note that this is another independent expert
> pointing to the year 2012 as one of cataclysmic significance in bringing
> about the End of the Age.)
>
> There’s a wild card that I hesitate to throw in here because I don’t even
> want to think about it. But if it’s true it could easily cause the
> problems that Mr. Celente is predicting. For some time now certain people,
> Republican and Democrat alike, have been saying that Mr. Obama isn’t
> legally qualified to be President because he’s not a natural born citizen
> of the US. I won’t go into the details but the point is that he could make
> this all go away by producing a legitimate birth certificate, something he’s
> been unwilling to do. A Supreme Court Justice has apparently given him
> until Dec. 1, 2008 to do so, and if he does then the Electoral College
> vote will be certified and he’ll be the next President. But lawsuits in a
> dozen or so states have been or are being filed to prevent the
> certification until Mr.. Obama proves he’s qualified. If the courts throw
> out the election who knows what could happen.
>
> What Time Is It?
> As many of you know, I’ve said that all of the End Times prophecies
> including the 2nd Coming could be fulfilled as early as 2018. I base this
> on the Lord’s promise that the generation being born at the time of the
> first End Times signs would still be alive when “all these things have
> happened” (Matt. 24:34) Most scholars view the re-birth of Israel in 1948
> as the first of the end times signs. With an average lifespan being 70
> years, according to Psalm 90:10, everything will have to come to pass by
> 2018. If the Rapture only just precedes the 70th Week of Daniel it could
> come 7 years earlier, in 2011, which is 2 ½ years from now, about half way
> through Mr. Obama’s first term, assuming the election stands.
>
> So here’s how to tell if he’ll become the anti-Christ or not. If it seems
> like he can do no wrong, if people feel safe and it’s beginning to look
> like there’ll be peace in our time, then there’s a good chance he’s the
> one. But if Gerald Celentew€™s predictions are coming to pass, and the world’s
> in worse shape than ever, then he’s just another Jimmy Carter, an
> inexperienced outsider who had no business running for president in the
> first place, let alone being elected.
>
> Time will tell, but either way we can look for some difficult days ahead
> for the Church. Because either way we are in the final phase of post
> Christian America and can expect the world around us to become more and
> more anti-Christian. And if the economy continues to self-destruct it will
> be just that much worse.
>
> But whether Mr. Obama turns out to be the anti-Christ or not is really
> irrelevant to the Church. Our job in the short time we have left is to get
> ready to move to our new home. That means breaking our ties with the old
> one. Anything that can’t be put to kingdom use is excess baggage to us
> now. We should be sending whatever treasure we have up ahead. We should
> stop worrying about our career, our retirement fund, our lifestyle, and
> all those other worldly distractions and put all our resources to work for
> the benefit of our next life. After all it’s the real one. And one way or
> the other, this one is already gone.
>
> Whether you believe in a pre-trib rapture or not you know my advice is
> sound. After all I’m not just making this up. Everything I ‘ve been saying
> is straight from the Lord’s own mouth. He’s the one who said to quit
> storing up treasure on Earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
> break in and steal. He’s the one who said to store up treasure in Heaven
> instead. (Matt. 6:19-20) And He’s the one who said not to worry about our
> lives here but seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and he’ll
> provide all our needs. (Matt. 6:31-34) So whether you think we’re leaving
> here soon or not, it’s time to pay attention to what He’s been telling us.
> No matter how much time you think we have, you can almost hear the
> footsteps of the Messiah.

Our Eternal Salvation

Are you really sure of your eternal salvation? This is a very important question, and one that will have lasting eternal consequences. If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven? This is a question about which we cannot afford to be wrong, because eternity is very permanent. One day each of us will face the true answer to this question, "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ", Romans 14:10. Every one of us have two appointments that have already been made for us and that we will definitely keep, whether we want to or not. They are, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment", Hebrews 9:27. These two appointments, death and the judgment, cannot be cancelled.

We must not make an error concerning our salvation in following what "seems right" to us, or that we "feel in our heart that we are saved". The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death". Our feelings are not a safe guide, but only the Bible is.

What prior assumptions have we already made about our salvation? Many of these assumptions, that people make, contradict what God says in his word to us. All we have to do is to look around at all of the many differing doctrines that are being taught, and then compare them to what God says in the Bible, and we can see a great difference. Our Lord says in Mark 7:7, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men". Our worship is vain if it comes from the doctrines of men and not from God. Can we say that all these many differing doctrines have come from God? I think not. I Corinthians 14:33 says that, "God is not the author of confusion." Or are they from men? Where else could they have come from, if they did not come from God? This becomes a very serious question. Our worship becomes vain and useless, if our doctrines come from men when they meet in conventions and conferences to decide what we are to believe and do.

As the apostle Peter told the Jewish council in Acts 5:29, "We ought to obey God rather than men". Do not believe anything that I tell you, because we are not going to be judged by what I say. Do not believe anything any other person tells you, because we are not going to be judged by what some other person says. In fact, we are not going to be judged by what we personally believe. On the Day of Judgment we are going to be judged only by what the Lord says in the Bible. That is going to be the only standard for judgment, for our Lord says in John 12:48, "The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day". So, if I or any other person cannot point to it in the Word of God, then please do not believe it, because there is too much at stake – your soul!

Our soul is worth more than the whole world and everything in it. Jesus says in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Our soul is the part of us that is going to continue to live on forever throughout all eternity. We cannot afford to lose it into eternal punishment.

Who?

Who calmed the winds, who calmed the seas?

Who from my sins set me free? Who brought me from darkness into the light, who saved me by grace and gave me life?

He's Jesus Christ, and He's paid the price...for you and me He became the Ultimate Sacrifice....

the rest of these lyrics will be revealed at a later date. Just think about this... if there is a God and he has a son who's name is Jesus and has paid the price for our sins will you accept Him into your life? will you say, help, I've messed up and I need you.... We have the Choice... we all have the opportunity to choose.... this day choose life, choose Jesus... the burden removing, yoke destroying power of God.. I guarantee you will never be the same again... prove me wrong.

Thoughts From The Soul

Virgin Birth of the Christ Child


Larry King, the CNN talk show host, was once asked who he would most want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history. He said, "Jesus Christ." The questioner said, "And what would you like to ask Him?" King replied, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me."
--from Just Thinking, RZIM, Winter 1998

Critic's Claim #1
The idea of a virgin birth is SCIENTIFICALLY IMPOSSIBLE

Really? Where have you been for the past 21 years? Ever since in vitro fertilization and embryonic transfer came on the scene in 1978 (not to mention artificial insemination), it is quite possible for a woman who has never experienced sexual intercourse to give birth.

Of course, the Bible makes it clear that it was Almighty God, not some high-paid gynecologist, who worked the details of Jesus' Divine-Human conception, i.e. “And the angel answered and said unto [Mary], The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
--Luke 1:35, KJV.

Sound miraculous? Of course. But these days, who would deny that miracles occur? And such a 'small' one for the God who created the entire universe!

Critic's Claim #2

The idea of a virgin birth is MYTHOLOGICALLY DERIVED.

Author Patrick Campbell (The Mythical Jesus) and Episcopal Bishop J.S. Spong are two of a number of individuals who have suggested that "...the virgin birth account [is a]...clearly recognized mythological element in our faith tradition whose purpose was not to describe a literal event but to capture the transcendent dimensions of God in the earthbound words and concepts of first-century human beings."

Both men, however, overlook a simple fact: No respectable Jew would have ever condescended to buy into a Greek/Babylonian mythological base for an account dealing with the birth of his/her Messiah.

Critic's Claim #3

The idea of a virgin birth is HISTORICALLY UNSUPPORTED

he Apostles' Creed, written in the 4th century; the Nicene Creed, adopted at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.; the Athanasian Creed, written about 450 A.D.; the Chalcedon Definition, adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.; and the Small Catechism of Martin Luther of 1529 A.D. are only a few of the historic creeds that recognize the veracity of the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Only in more modern times have Bible critics begun to try to cast doubt on a doctrinal truth that the Church has long since historically endorsed.
Critic's Claim #4
The idea of a virgin birth is BIBLICALLY UNCONVINCING

Some critics cite the fact that the Apostle Paul is silent on the subject of the Virgin Birth, and the fact that Mary's virginity is never mentioned in the Gospel According to John, as evidence that Jesus was never born of a virgin.

But the argument from silence, always a rather weak tactic in making a case, is particularly weak here due to the fact that both Paul and John were alive and quite familiar with the Gospel accounts written by Matthew and Dr. Luke (a physician!) -- and yet never either questioned or refuted it.
Critic's Claim #5
The idea of a virgin birth is STATISTICALLY UNWARRANTED

If you really want to put truth up for a vote (and who does?), let's get all of the statistics out in the open. While it is true that one very famous poll taken in 1965 (and still being frequently cited today) of 7,441 Protestant clergy showed that many mainline denominational ministers were not convinced of the truthfulness of the Virgin Birth, a more recent Harris poll of a randomly selected group of 1,011 adults found that 91% of U.S. Christians do believe in the Virgin Birth. All of which goes to show that when it comes to determining spiritual truth, our authority ought to be the Bible (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:25), not men -- including clergy!

DEBI'S thoughts:

Why is it important? Who cares how Jesus was brought into the world? Is it important?

It IS important for those who look to Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer. Here's why.

If the Christ, the Messiah (in Hebrew language) was an ordinary man, conceived in an ordinary way....his death means nothing in saving us from sin and death, for he would be an ordinary man...with a sin nature same as us. Instead, being both God and man, He is able to be the intermediary between us and God.

If Christ was not virgin born......

His claim of being GOD means he was a mad man if he was only a man.

His resurrection was a hoax, for only God can defeat death.

And we have all been duped....and are still headed for an eternity without God.

BUT if his birth was the result of a miracle of God and He was born of a virgin...then his claims of being God are true....and his death on the cross CAN cleanse us of the effects of our sin nature. His resurrection really did happen and shows us Victory over sin and death is possible if we believe and obey.

From the first promise in Genesis to His return in Glory in Revelation...Christ is the Redeemer, virgin born, God incarnate. This is the meaning of Christmas...God with us...which is EMMANUEL.

I Don't Know God?

A brief introduction



Introduction to: The Coming Christ?

Some of you may know of this already know of this undertaking. I have for many years now been doing research to compile what I find to be "hidden" from the average John Doe.

The drafts of this book do not only go into religions, although that is a major facet of this book. It also delves into polatics.

Before I continue with my main points I want to first make it clear that a lot of this research that I will be compiling is from religious scholars and of course the ever "wise" *cough* news media. Much of what I will write about will be controversial and I'm certain to get some hate mail. I ask that YOU the reader do your own research and come to your own conclusions based on the evidence I provide.

now to the main objective...

From this nations beginning and from the foundations of the major dominant world empires there have been two forces that have wared with each other since the beginning of time. Good and Evil....simple enough right? Well not exactley. I intend to give a history of the "Flip" side of the coin as it were. History books tell us what to believe in school, yet there is a lot that is left out for reasons that would shock anyone to the core. Some readers may say I'm crazy for wanting to write about "Secret Societies" that I'm a nutcase and there's no point in doing this. I however, believe it will be very beneficial especially to the Christian at heart to read what I have to say, to keep an open mind and come to his/her own conclusion.

Most of what I will write about will be the "Powers, Principalities, Rulers of Darkness in High places" etc. Not only the men who are involved in this which is over a third of our nations Presidency but countless others who no one would suspect that this famous figure or that politician would be involved in something so sinister.

now I know fellow apologists will have their say after I'm done. But do bear in mind that the "written Word" stays perinant until it is set on fire.

It is advised to the believer to pray before reading this and let the Holy Spirit guide you as you do.

Proof of Life

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:1-3.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. - John 5:24.

In 1976, Lal Bihari discovered that he had a problem. He found out that he was dead! Bihari found out when he applied for a bank loan that he had been declared legally dead. In the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh when some greedy people wanted to inherit property and the relative continued to live, they bribed governmental officials to have them declared legally dead. This speeded up the process of obtaining the property. Even though Lal Bihari was very much alive it still took 18 years for him to prove it. Even though Bihari ran for office, filed lawsuits and even got himself arrested it was not enough to prove he was alive. He eventually founded the "Association of Dead People" to help himself and others to prove their existence. As a result of their efforts more than 80 officials have been punished for their role in these scams.

Are you physically dead or alive? If you are not sure let me help you out. If you are reading this you are definitely alive physically. But what about spiritually? Are you dead or alive spiritually? Have you been "born again?" Have you "passed from death into life?"

In 1 Corinthians 2:14 the apostle Paul writes, "…the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." What are some of the easily identified "things of the Spirit of God?" Here are three: the Bible; prayer; and church attendance or fellowship with other Christians. So, one way to identify whether or not you have spiritual life and are not just a "natural man" is to ask yourself this question: Does reading the Bible, praying, and attending church appear to be "foolishness" to you? If those spiritual things and those who practice those things look like foolishness to you then that is an indication that you may still be a "natural man" and have not "passed from death into life."

The apostle John gives some additional indications to consider in the determination of spiritual life. Do you have a desire to keep God's commandments, to do what God wants you to do with your life? (Read 1 John 2:3-5.) Do you love God more than you love the things of this world, more than your job, more than your family, more than your money, and more than your possessions? (Read 1 John 2:15-16; Matthew 6:33.) Are you living your life as Jesus wants you to live? (Read 1 John 2:6.)

"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you (2 Corinthians 13:5)?" Are you alive or are you dead?



The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 150 countries. Since 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

WHY MEN DO NOT COME TO CHRIST

I have had many people say to me, "Pastor, I just do not understand why my friends and loved ones do not have an interest in the Gospel of Christ. It is so clear from the scr i ptures that He is the ONLY Savior and the ONLY way to God and to life eternal!" Beloved, I wish that all whom we know would embrace the gospel of God's grace and cast themselves upon our Lord's plenteous mercy, but I understand WHY THEY DO NOT. The problem is not with HIM (most, like Nicodemus, admire Him). The problem is with THEM!

1. They do not know the CHARACTER OF GOD! They have no understanding of His holiness, His truth, His justice; there is no fear of God.

2. They do not really SEE THEMSELVES AS SINNERS! Oh, they will not claim to be good; but they aren't really bad. They cannot imagine that there is nothing about them that is not offensive to a holy God. They love themselves as they are, so why can't God accept them as they are?

3. They do not FEEL THE NEED FOR A MEDIATOR! They can accept Christ as a good man, as an example, and even as a helper; but the need for Christ as our only hope, our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, this they do not see. God must open every heart as He did Lydia's and reveal Himself, our sin, and HIS ONLY REMEDY

Who is the ANTICHRIST? Is He Near You?

Here are a few of today's most popular opinions:

1. The Devil taking political control of the world through the United Nations?
2. A future US president?
3. A supernatural being with horns and red glowing eyes?
Sadam Hussin of the gulf war?
4. A demon possessed super-intelligent man?
5. A genetically-engineered super-human clone?

Little known facts about the antichrist:

Most people don't know that...

1. the word "antichrist" is only found in 4 Bible passages.
2. the word "antichrist" is not found even once in the book of Revelation.
3. All were penned by Apostle John
4. All passages are within the books of First John and Second John.

"antichrist" = "anti" + "Christ"

The Greek word from which our English word "antichrist" is translated is very easy to understand.
It is a simple compound word and means "anti" + "Christ" = "antichrist".

Common Examples:

anti-smoking anti-gay

anti-hunting anti-Semitic

anti-abortion anti-Christ

antichrist = opposed to Christ

"Anti-Christ" is anyone who opposes Christ.

REVIEW QUESTION:

How many Bible passages is the word antchrist found in?

The word antichrist is found in 6 passages

The word antichrist is found in 4 passages<-------

The word antichrist is found only in 4 passages
The word antichrist is NOT found in the book of Revelation

Who is the antichrist?

Bible passage #1 of 4

1 John 2:18-19:
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us." 1 Jn 2:18-19

Question:

When John wrote this book in about 85 AD, had the antichrist come yet?
No, the antichrist has not yet come, but will come in the last days.
Yes, the antichrist had already arisen. <---------

1 John 2:18-19:
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us." 1 Jn 2:18-19

What Is The Gospel?

The LORD hath appeared of old Unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee—Jeremiah 31:3
Do you know? Would you know how to answer this question if someone asked you?

Would you tell them, Do the best you can to be a good person? That is not the gospel.

Would you tell them, Go to church, read your Bible, pray and give tithes? That is not the gospel.

Would you tell them, Stop smoking, drinking, and cursing? Doing so may help them live longer, but it won’t keep them out of hell. It is not the gospel.

Would you tell them to keep God’s commandments and love everyone? Do you keep every commandment? Do you love everyone? If you say you do, you are a liar and there is no truth in you. If you say you do your best, then you are still lying because most of the time you don’t try at all. You don’t love your spouse as you ought. You don’t love your children as you ought. You certainly do not love God as you ought: with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Have you not found this to be true?

Is the gospel accepting Jesus, walking down the church aisle, committing one’s life to Christ, praying the sinner’s prayer? No, my friend, these are not the gospel.

Well then, what is the gospel? I’m glad you asked. All of the things above have been laid down, as it were, as the road to heaven, as the way to God, but they are no such thing. In fact, these things will lead the vast multitudes of people in the world down the broad road to hell. The main highway is the lie that accepting Jesus is the gospel. Most christians will perish at last who trust their profession of faith, or altar call, or that night they opened their heart to Jesus as their basis for obtaining God’s favor.

Let’s be honest for a moment. Haven’t you tried most, if not all of these things? But they have not worked have they? You find, do you not, that you’re still as evil and corrupt as you were the day you became a christian . You still commit as much, if not more sin, than you did before you came to Jesus. All the while you are tempted to act as a hypocrite, as most religious folk, and simply put on the appearance of righteousness.

Would you dare tell church folk that you do not have the assurance that God loves you and that you question whether you even are going to heaven? You won’t, because they might look down on you, think you are unstable, that you have low self esteem, in short, treat you as a poor miserable wretch.

What then is the gospel? Please listen carefully, because the gospel is good news for sinners – not for morally good men; not half way good men, but for sinners! The gospel is the message about what God has done in Christ two thousand years ago. It is about what God has done. It is about what He did in the person of Christ, His only beloved Son. It is about what He has done. The gospel is that God, in Christ, has reconciled lost, hopeless, hell-bound men and women to Himself. He has accomplished it. The work has been completed; and He did it alone, two thousand years ago. ...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19.

He took the action; He alone did the work. When Jesus Christ suffered, died, and was buried, God was reconciling certain people to Himself. He did not wait for them to come to Him; He came to them. He didn’t wait for them to choose Him; He chose them. He did not wait for them to accept Him; He accepted them when Christ rose from the dead. He did not wait for them to stop sinning; He put away their sins. Listen! While they were yet sinners, still in their sins, Christ died for them.

GOD HAS PUT AWAY THE SINS OF SOME PEOPLE! ...Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 4:7. Now that is what you call being blessed!

God is holy. That is why our sin separates us from our God. Sin makes every sinner God’s enemy, hence, the need for reconciliation. ...your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. Isaiah 59:2-3.

Until you believe the gospel, you do not know God. You despise the thought of God ruling your life. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight:
Psalm 10:4-5. What you do know and sense about God is that He is angry with you and will soon punish you for your wicked ways. You are right. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Psalm 5:4-5. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10.

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Revelation 20:11-14.

Everyone will stand before God and answer for his life. What he did, what he did not do, what he thought; unless God has reconciled us to Himself. That is, if God has put away your sins by the sacrifice of His Son, your sins have been put away forever. If God gave His Son as a substitute for you; if Christ was punished under God’s righteous wrath for you; if He suffered the awful pain of hell and divine rejection for you; then by His taking your place and satisfying the justice of God’s holy law (which must punish sin) your sins have already been punished and put away forever. God is no longer angry with you. God has reconciled you to Himself. God no longer regards your sins as belonging to you. ...he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:5-6.

The gospel message is that because of what Christ has done, some can now say God has taken away my sins and put them on His Son who bore them away. Christ bore them away into God’s sea of forgetfulness, never to be remembered again! They can say this because of the promise God the Father has made, and Christ the Son has fulfilled. ...he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12. Can you say that the Son of God made intercession for you?

This you can be certain of: someone has had his sin put away. Someone is blessed of God to walk with Him in peace and righteousness. Someone has been chosen to everlasting righteousness and glory by Jesus Christ: not because he was good or bad; not because he went to church; not because he prayed the sinner’s prayer; not because he accepted Jesus into his heart; not because he begged, groaned, and bargained with God. None of these things will ever move God from His throne of justice to His throne of mercy to save a soul. God saves sinful men and women (and children) because of His everlasting love and grace which is in Christ Jesus alone.

The question is, Has God put away my sin? How can I know that I am one of the blessed ones who have been reconciled to God? How can I know that forgiveness of sin is sure for me? How can I know that God has aimed his love at me?

The answer is, Are you in Christ? That is the issue. In Christ, God is love. Outside of Christ, God is wrath. If you are in Christ then you can expect all spiritual blessings, but only in Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: Ephesians 1:3.

Please listen carefully at this point. The only way you can know that you are in Christ, and therefore possess all spiritual blessings of life and peace, righteousness and glory, God’s favor and immutable promise, is by believing that what Christ has done, He did for you. This is the promise of the gospel. ...whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:15. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1 John 5:12.

There are some men and women in this world who have been given faith to believe the report God has given concerning His Son. They have been given grace to believe that Jesus Christ is indeed God almighty, that He took on our nature and became a man. They believe the word of God as it declares the life, suffering and death, of the only good, only righteous, only just and holy man who ever lived or ever will live. They believe that Christ has forever put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and they believe He did it for them.

They also believe that He rose again from the dead and is now ruling and reigning over all things at the right hand of God His Father. He is LORD of all. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Acts 2:36.

Those who thus believe Christ have obtained peace with God by the blood of His cross. There are some people for whom it cannot be said, God is angry with them every day. There are some sinners in this world who know full well that they deserve to spend the rest of eternity in hell but will not because of God’s reconciling love for them in Christ. Are you such a sinner? You have heard the message of the gospel! Will you recognize your wretched state? Will you recognize that if God does not do it all, off to hell you go? Will you stop trusting in yourself? Will you put no trust in your confession? Will you stop looking for a feeling that you’re saved? Will you stop begging and crying and moaning and groaning instead of believing God? God’s commandment is not to beg, it is to believe the gospel.

Religion and God (Good or Bad??)

So...we all have religion placed all around us, some of us are brought up controlled by the walls that are "meant" to bring peace and love to our souls.
Is religion good or bad? How have you been effected by the prison it creates in your mind? Do you have any constitution on why you should or shouldn't have a religion? And finally does religion give us the morals to live and grow to become "good" people.
Honestly I am agnostic. I almost have no bounds to keep faith in a god all together anymore except for a couple reasons that can not let me have full disbelief in a god. The main one is knowledge that I exist and that I am here at this very moment. Also, I can't grasp what it was like before matter and space even existed itself.
None of us can explain words like; nothing, forever, omnipotent ect. and understand what exactly those words are connected to. How can you grasp the fullness of those words if you can't experience them.
For example, when you think of the word nothing, what color do you see? Is it black or white? If nothing is nothing then isn't it impossible to have color even?
My point on even bringing that up is that the concept of a god is so intense that I can't understand why you would waste your time on small details on such a thing and feel the need to do what you somehow believe is that god's will.
Why if you are so sure of yourselves would you choose the religion you do? This goes for all religions out there. One religion says if you are not that religion that you go to hell; a place of total disconnect from love (god). But the thing is that so many religions say that. What made you decide one day to "just have faith" in your religion. And what gives us the right to feel free to even brainwash children without them having the choice to understand what exactly they believe.
With having my first son now I realize that I can't bring myself to show him anything except being good to be good and not to follow a religion to force that goodness on him. I would like to know what you all think on this subject very much so as this has been a huge influence on who I am today and almost took me to total destruction when my mind was finally able to be free for the first time to think. As I felt that even entertaining the ideas I have will send me to hell all on there own.
I understand we all do our best, but why do we feel the need for mediocrity to our thoughts on one belief, if any, when in reality there is another religion out there preaching the same thing with different names for the characters. Do we have the right to place "faith" over life when you can't prove anything you say?
Your thoughts now...

What is "Faith"

What is "Faith"?
I realized as I was writing about the subject that we might not all have the same definition for this word. For some people faith seems to be a feeling; to these faith comes from the heart. For others faith is a mental process, and can be reasoned out.

Many believe that faith is "blind".

People have faith in God, in other people, in things, or even ideas. The concept of faith in Faith itself seems to be catching on.

Believers claim that all belief is faith, and say things like, "I can't be an atheist; I don't have that much faith". The atheists claim that faith is only for the religious.

So what is "faith"?

"Faith" in the Bible
No Biblical passage better describes faith than Hebrews 11 - known by many as "The Faith chapter".

Heb 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

The word substance means foundation, as in the foundation of a house, and the idea is that faith is solid, reliable, substantive. It indicates that faith is not wishing or hoping, but is the sure and certain foundation for those things we hope for. Like the foundation of a building, faith supports those things that are built on it. Faith, as used in this verse, is unshakeable.

Four other times this word substance is used in the New Testament. Three of those it is translated confident or confidence, and the other time it is used to express the very essence or nature of God!

The word hope in the phrase "things hoped for" is stronger in the original language than in English, and in other passages it is translated trust more often than hope. A better word might be expectation or anticipation.

So, a loose paraphrase of this verse might be, "Faith is what we base our hopes/expectations on and the evidence of things we cannot see".

Faith fills the gaps.

The "Hope" of Salvation
That same word used in Hebrews 11 for hope is also used in Romans 8:

Rom 8:24-25 "For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope for it? But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we wait for it with patience."

As in Hebrews 11, hope is tied to things we cannot see. If we can see it or otherwise experience it with our natural senses, then it is not hope - it is reality. Hope has to do with expectation; thus "we wait for it".

I guess, when people talk about blind faith, what they are talking about is hope.

Faith as a way of life
I would venture that faith is a way of life. It's more than just believing or trusting in someone or something; it's living out what you beleive.

In Habakkuk 2:4, we are told that "the just shall live by his faith". This is such an important concept that it is quoted in three different places in the New Testament (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38). I don't know of any other Old Testament phrase quoted more often in the New Testament.

The same thought is behind II Corinthians 5:7, "for we walk by faith, not by sight;"

When Peter walked by faith onto the stormy sea, he demonstrated this concept. It was belief lived out. Belief + Action = Faith.

When Peter looked around and started believing the power of the world around him, his actions followed his beliefs, and he started sinking. Jesus grabbed hold of him and told Peter, "Oh ye of little faith" (in the MKJV He called Peter "Little-faith").

I wonder if James was remembering this incident when he wrote,

James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed."

Was James remembering Peter's moment of doubt that caused him to start sinking, or his own for not even making the attempt?

Faith vs Works
The book of James deals extensively with the concept of Faith and Works.

James 2:14 "My brothers, what profit is it if a man says he has faith and does not have works? Can faith save him?"

James 2:24, "You see then how a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."

But, in Ephesians we read,

Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

These passages appear to contradict each other, and have been misused and taken out of context so often and so badly, it's no wonder people argue about Faith!

I believe that "All scr i pture is God-breathed" (II Tim 3:16), that "God is not the author of confusion" (I Cor 14:33) and that "it is impossible for God to lie" (Num 23:19, Tit 1:2, Heb 6:18) Therefore, when I see passages in scr i pture that appear to contradict each other, I know that the problem is not in the scr i ptures, but in my understanding of them.

Assuming both passages contain God's word, then the only way I can reconcile these is to say that faith, through which we are saved, is not simply belief but belief that results in action (i.e. works). James indicates that belief, alone, is not enough because even the demons believe.

James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God, you do well; even the demons believe and tremble"

Faith is an action word. Back in Ephesians 2 we read that salvation was not "of ourselves", meaning that the works that faith produces are not our own works. In the very next verse, we are told that the works are the result of God's handiwork in our new lives.

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them."

Again in Phillipians, we read that work is involved in our salvation, but that it is God who "works in us".

Phil 2:12&13 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, cultivate your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. "

Faith vs Sin
The very first sin was when Adam and Eve chose to act outside of God's plan. When God told them, "If you eat of the fruit, you will die", and they chose instead to believe the serpent who said, "If you eat of the fruit, you will not really die", it was the action they took, based on what they chose to believe, that condemned them and all of humanity to death.

We read about a different kind of sin from eating in Romans

Rom 14:23 "But, the one doubting, if he eats, he has been condemned, because it is not of faith; and all that is not of faith is sin."

It is not just the doubt (lack of believing); it is doubting that leads to action ("the one doubting, if he eats") that is sin. In the same way, it is not just believing; it is believing that leads to action (i.e. works) that is Faith.

Conclusion
It would be easy to take an extreme position on this subject, but we must take into account all of God's Word. Faith requires follow-through; faith requires action; faith requires work, but it's not our work. Living by faith is doing what God said and watching God work!

Faith is hard. In fact, faith would be impossible without God; but just as faith is the basis of what we expect from God; faith is also what God expects from us.

Heb 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

Nothing is possible without God; nothing is impossible with God.

That's Faith.

REFLECTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR: Can I Let Go?

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51.10

It occurs to me as we approach the new year…2009 - WOW!!!…that we/I should spend a moment reflecting on what we want to take into the new year with us.

The “clean heart” would be a heart free of resentments and grudges. In reflecting I think about the people/institutions that I am holding resentments or grudges against.

* Do I really remember the details behind it or have I just transferred the ill feeling to the person/institution so that all I need do is see or think about them to recall the feeling - not the details, just the feeling.
* Is the ill feeling really justified, or a product of the anger or hurt of the moment. Have I analyzed “my” part in it?
* Most important, “how does the resent/grudge serve me?” When I think of the person/institution, does the anger/hurt elevate my state of mind? Does it add to my quality of life? What would I lose by letting go of it?

As for the “right spirit”… I think it would be “forgiveness”, compassion, acceptance.

* My compassion sometimes gets bottled up by envy or…a “poor me” attitude. Can I remember that there is always someone who envies me? That no matter how bad off I think I am, there is always someone worse off. Conversely, when I am at the top and doing well…can I remember to “Pay it Forward”, reach out my hand to help another move up, reach their potential and “shine?”
* Acceptance reminds me that I really have no right to have expectations of others. Just as I want people to accept me as I am, I need to be willing to accept others. To accept their failures and short-comings as well as celebrate their accomplishments. To encourage and pray for and with them.
* Finally, there is forgiveness. I know that in some cases forgiveness is hard to grant, especially when we have been wronged - really wronged. But forgiveness is an “action” word - a conscious act of will. So no matter how righteous is my complaint, I must make a conscious decision to forgive.
* Though it is hard…I have found that to pray for the person I need to forgive every day/night for two weeks softens my heart so that I can feel the matchless forgiveness of my Savior, Jesus Christ, realizing all that He has forgiven me and “continues” to forgive me daily. Sometimes - I have to pray for four weeks or more, until I can say in my heart - I forgive you.

My best wishes and prayers to you and yours for a safe, happy and prosperous 2009.

In Christ’s Service,

PRAYER ASKING GOD FOR HIS BLESSING

Heavenly Father, my God and my Lord, first and foremost I beg You please will You bless me this morning and bless me a lot.

Genesis 32:26: “I will not let Thee go unless Thou bless me.”

Bless me with Your hands of mercy. Bless me with Your grace and goodness. Bless me with Your patience and truth. Bless me with Your wisdom and understanding, counsel and piety and might. Bless me, O father, my Father.Please bless me with knowledge of You and fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2.

Bless me with unlimited goodness and supernatural favour. Show me Your glory by blessing me today. Exodus 33:18.

O that You would enlarge my territory. 1 Chronicles 4:10.

Bless me with more opportunities to work for You so that I touch more lives for Your glory. Let me do more for You. Bless me and favour my relationships with my family, friends and all people. Bless me and give me opportunities to witness for You Bless me and influence my household,Bless me and give me more ministry in Father, I pray in the name of Jesus, bless me with good health and happiness, peace and love and companionship and a good bank balance. Bless me with clothing and holidays and good food and energy. Bless me by sending Your angels to minister to me and take care of my every need, including Angel Michael to protect me and Angel Raphael to take my prayers to You and Angel Gabriel to deliver answers for my prayers. Bless me and make me a prayer warrior and Dear Father, bless me and place a blood covering with the Precious Blood of Your Son Jesus over me. Bless me and build a hedge of protection around me. Bless me Father and send Your angels to take charge of me lest I dash my foot against the stone.Bless me as You blessed Jabez and Job.

Job 42:12: “The Lord blessed the latter part of Jobs life more than the first.”

Bless me, Father, and make me an intercessor and hear me and answer me.

Job 42:10: After Job had prayed for his friends the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

And, Dear Father, bless me and let me hear Jesus say (Matthew 15:28) “Woman, You have great faith! Your request is granted.”