Thanksgiving everyday and pray...Keeping alert in it!

Every day is a day for thanksgiving and every day is a day to pray.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; … (Col 4:2 -NAS)

I am looking at this verse on this day those of us in America call “Thanksgiving Day”. This country may or may not be considered much of great country in the days to come but we know that the founding fathers intended on those born or legal immigrants in this nation -including those in the generations to come- to offer thanksgiving to the Sovereign God for His providence and protection. This will not likely continue with those seeking to “change” this nation into far left liberal cesspool of legalized and enforced sin but I will stand with those true Christians who love God and oppose evil. For those of you who do not think “evil” is a choice word to use these days because it is an extreme word, I promise you that when the enemies of America gain a foothold and come in to torture, murder, or rape because we let them through an administration working to weaken our defenses, and this happens directly to you, you will then understand that evil is not so far from your vocabulary.

Going back to the Scripture from Colossians, I like the NAS rendering through the words “attitude of thanksgiving” because attitude is something from the heart and not just the lips. God sees our hearts and knows if there is real genuine faith in His True Person there and not just lip service for the sake of PR as we so clearly found from the tongue of the President-elect Barack Obama. Let us face it, the next president of the USA has given clear evidence of having no real faith in the Holy Words of God but rather clear evidence of very much opposing the mandates of our Lords Words. Consequences for this will follow as we continue to see a decline of moral strength in this country greatly influenced by such a man as this next president and those who endorse or back him. Yes, we must respect his position of authority by acknowledging him for the good he does (if he does any good) but never are we to give in to demands for Christians to accept evil policies or laws clearly contradicting Gods Word. As the apostle Peter said to those in authority at his time “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5). And John the Baptist lost his life under the rule of Herod for publicly denouncing Herod’s sinful immorality (Mt 14).

We cannot yield to those with a double tongue who are gently hissing the words “has God really said?” On one side they present to the world that they are such a loving and sweet family –as Stalin and Hitler in their day attempted to do through propaganda- beguiling so many who swallow this foolishly and even harshly defend their appearance. And yet on the other side we know –and I mean KNOW- that it is clearly expressed from Barack Obama’s own words that he is willing to enforce through laws the killing of babies to the extreme and the rights for immorality as that found in the homosexual choice of living. Any human with a brain KNOWS that these behaviors and actions (abortion and homosexual rights) all stem from selfish desires caring less for others lives all in the name of "HAPPINESS". And this coming President is willing to spend through taxation the hard earned money of others for this as he takes away from the much needed security for the USA where this country needs to spend. And of course we know that we do not have the money in the first place so to say that paying for the willful sins of some is more important than using that particular money for our security is bound to be deadly to this country's well being and the lives here including those who would rather have their selfish and irresponsible pleasures paid for by Americans. Will Barack Obama stop at the murder of those who are yet alive from a botched abortion which is -by any honest definition- infanticide? They sure know how to say they love their own children and some others but they clearly are heartless toward the very existanse of these most innocent and voiceless people. Obviously because they will never be given the right to vote! Why would he need to stop there if he believes that the life of an innocent human being –who otherwise would be rocked in his mother’s arms within minutes- is not important at that time!? Will those demanding that they have the right to sin in homosexuality by undermining the family unit -as God ordained it- stop there? The activity of homosexuality is a choice not something you are born with like the color of your skin or the sexual organs you have. For these people to say that they have equal rights under our constitution for their choice of activities is a blatant sham! If you think all this evil will stop there you may be dead wrong!!! The limit is on the evil imaginations of man and how far God will have patience before correcting His willfully sinful human race.

I have heard the utter perversion and insanity of some in the media defending the rights of homosexuals because they say it is right that these people should have some pursuit of "HAPPINESS". Saying out of absolute dumbness of the true meaning that this is granted to them in the constitution. If the majority says pedophilia, bigamy, and bestiality must be made legal because this is what "gives people happiness" do you really think it will stop there? THESE CERTAIN BIG MOUTHS IN THE MEDIA -HARPING FOR ATTENTION FROM THOSE WHO HAVE THE ITCHING EARS FOR IT- ARE DUMB, BLIND, STUPID, AND MAYBE WILLFULLY SO AT THAT! If the life of the most innocent and voiceless of humans is not to be acknowledged because of "my right to happiness" and the will for pleasure without responsibility or care for another life, do you really suppose that your life can not be seen as disposable by a people trained to think of life this way? If you think this evil will be limited you may be dead wrong as those in the days of Hitler or Stalin!!! And if you have any conscience at all you know I am right even as you fight against it. God will permit this evil to go so far and then He will act in His own justice and no defense on earth will stop Him then. All the laughter, sick jokes, and mocking will come to a SUDDEN AND TERRIFYING STOP as you will see that you have promoted terrorism to come to you personally and to those of us who have been warning you all along while you enjoy your fame in being a foolish mocker!

So why all of this after starting a Thanksgiving Day post with a verse from the Scriptures? Well, I intended to keep with the idea of showing our need for continued thanksgiving and prayer everyday but as I look back on my words here I realize I may have responded to the mandate in this verse which seems to be overlooked too much. Not only do many of us tend to forget the daily need for prayer and thanksgiving to God but what of the words “keeping alert in it”. If we don’t know what is going on in this world at this time how will we know what to pray? And the foundation of understanding what is going on is based on knowing God’s Words and their balance and application.

I am very thankful today –and I should be every day- for the grace and mercy God has shown to me in my life in every way as I have sinned and failed like the rest of us. God tells me I must acknowledge and turn from my sin to Him and this is what I choose to do. If it was not for His grace and mercy I would be completely lost and a spiritually blinded man or I would be in Hell by now. And I do pray today –and I should pray every day- that God’s will is done on earth as in Heaven. That evil is exposed and innocent lives are spared and protected. That immorality will not continue to undermine the strength of this country. These are some of the prayers I will pray along with other true Christians of our day. God will grant us justice in His way and time; meanwhile He may permit some evil to increase to test our faith and also He may prepare to judge those promoting the evil unless they too come to know the grace and mercy of God through repentance.

On a more personal note I am thankful to God for my wife who has been faithful and loving to me all these years even when I have not been the best husband to her at times. And I am thankful that God has been faithful to meet all the needs of my family and He has given us the direction and strength to work a small family owned business for going on 13 years now. Only He knows what the days ahead have for us and yet I want to have a heart that will trust Him in the good and the difficult. May I always pray, be aware of what is happening, and have an attitude of thanksgiving every day.
AMEN

Are there signs of Sodom and Gomorrah in the USA?

Are God’s Words warning us of what will come to this country if it continues to be defiant to Him? I want to look at this.

Consider these two recent news items. One found on a blog and another on a news website.

If you have just a bit of knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures then you know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah found in the book of Genesis. I expect that any readers here can go to the Bible and find the complete story but I will bring out certain words from this event in History.

Gen 13:10… And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Gen 13:13… Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

So why were these men seen by God Himself as wicked?

After some very theologically meaningful events and promises from God in the life of Abram (Abraham) we find in Genesis chapter 18…

And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."

After God told Abraham that the cities were excessively evil and needed to be destroyed for their gross sin in His sight, Abraham prayed that God might spare the cities if He could find just so many who were not involved in or accepting the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah but were right in His sight. Unfortunately God did not see even ten people living there who had their hearts right with Him so we find this in chapter 19…

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”

And shortly after that…

Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Jesus said to His true followers, “You are the light of the world.” and He also said this…

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.“ (Mt 5:13)

How many true Christians live with an honest heart towards God’s Son Jesus Christ in this country? Many who cannot stand the truth from God’s Word vehemently jump out and say “How can you judge another when they say they are Christians?” This is not much different than what the men of Sodom said to Lot, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” For many do “say” with their lips they know Jesus Christ but their hearts and actions are far from Him (Mt 15:8). We do look at this according to God’s Word for as Isaiah has said, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa 8:20). And Jesus also said "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”(Mt 7:16). And if this popular vote in the USA is for a man whose first act as the President will be to make the death of babies legal to the extreme for heartless people who wish to have their pleasures without responsibility, and push for the rights of those who wish to live like those of Sodom and Gomorrah then we are heading for more inevitable judgment from God. If you say you are a Christian and have voted for this man then according to God Himself you are a liar or you have been very fooled by some motivation which is far from God. Was it color of skin, selfish lust of the flesh, heartless pride of this life? Did you ever think to honestly and fully consider "the content of one's character" and not just the color of his skin or ones ability to move people with false words? I believe Martin Luther King Jr would have seriously been offended by what has happened in this country today as they have ignored what he meant!

True followers of the only True Living God in Jesus Christ, shine His Light and don’t lose the saltiness He is using to keep this country from destruction. Speak up for what is right and live a life by God’s grace as He has commanded.

May we hear and heed the words of the Apostle Paul saying…

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. (Phil 2)

And to those who are living a sinful life with unnatural sexual affection, or who are willing to kill their offspring for the sake of continuing free pleasure without responsibility, I say this... God's only Son died for forgiveness of the sins you are committing. Just as He died for the sins I have committed in my life. A Christian acknowledges sin for what it is... an offense against a Holy and Just God. He calls us to repent of this sin and be willing to find forgiveness and escape from it through the death and Life of His Son and the blood he shed for forgiveness of our sin. Don't ignore the only hope of escape you have in this life. He is waiting for you to respond to His call for your freedom from self, sin, and the tempter known as Satan. If you want someone to talk with about this please email me. I am willing to share with you the best that I know how.

A follow-up of my last post regarding Barack Obama...

As a follow up to my last post I wish to share about the matter of racism in this country as well as a wider view of all that may be happening in this country. As I was looking into some information on the man Alan Keyes I came across some interesting things. The following is a quote regarding Alan Keyes and the Illinois Senate campaign in 2004 which is found on Wikipedia:

During the campaign, Keyes outlined an alternative to reparations for slavery. His specific suggestion was that, for a period of one or two generations, African-Americans who were descended from slaves would be exempt from the federal income tax (though not from the FICA tax that supports Social Security). Keyes said the experiment "would become a demonstration project for what I believe needs to be done for the whole country, which is to get rid of the income tax.

Then when you look into the term reparations for slavery we find this on Wikipedia:

Reparations for slavery is a proposal by some in the United States that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people, in consideration of the labor provided for free over several centuries, which has been a powerful and influential factor in the development of the country.

Can we as Americans deny this fact of slavery which happened in our country? Is it not truth that these slaves worked very hard under difficult, harsh, and even brutal conditions and that, at least in part, because they did this this county grew to the place it is in today? I am not a black man nor am I aware of any slavery in my ancestry but the idea of reparations for the slavery of certain ancestries sounds fair to me if it is not taken to some perverted end of taking too much from those who have worked very hard and giving it to those who are not working when they can to earn a living well on their own if they could just get motivated. As far as details to how this "reparations" is fair that is another matter. Too many capable adults of all colors -including white people- are spoon fed by a foolish socialist government mentality which keep some unnecessarily dependent and unmotivated to do well for themselves. This country under it's conservative side offers the right USA views on how to encourage and motivate people to do what they really can and yet will have to give to those who are truly in need like the genuinely disabled, weak, or elderly of our land.

This brings me to the follow up of my last post regarding Barack Obama. It has been proven that this man Barack Obama is affiliated with some who wish to provoke and promote racism in another form all over again in this country of ours. For instance, his so-called pastor Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. -whom I see as none other than a minister of Satan and is no way is to be considered reverend- has been clearly doing this for some time. There is too much clear evidence that Barack Obama has racism motivating his plans for America. This is just another of the many dangers involved with permitting a racist and murderer of innocent offspring of the human race into the office of the highest Governing position of this country. Keep this man out of this high office as he is unfit for the position and will work to undermine any good morals left standing in the USA.

The following found in Lev. 26:14-17 is of the Old Covenant but I want to bring out a point from it:

‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. ‘I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

“Those who hate you will rule over you” is the key point I bring out here. If the people who call themselves God’s children do not hold fast to and stay sensitive to the true ways of God set forth in all of His Words as found in the New Covenant, and if the unbelievers –including those who have stolen the name of “Christian” in falsehood- continue to promote ungodly and wicked ways then I believe we need to be aware of God’s response of judgment.

I am looking at these words from Isaiah 3:4-5:

And I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them, and the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder and the inferior against the honorable.

And I will leave the rest for John Calvin to bring insight to what may be happening in America now and in the near future…

And I will appoint children to be their princes. {1} That the vengeance of God may be more manifest, he now describes how sad and wretched will be the change, when competent and faithful rulers shall be taken from among them and God shall put cowardly and worthless persons in their room. By children are meant not only those who are so by age, but also by mind and conduct, such as delicate and effeminate persons, who are destitute of courage and cannot wield the sword entrusted to them. He does not here carry out the contrast, clause by clause; for he thought it enough to point out one way in which a commonwealth is speedily ruined; that is, when its rulers are weak and foolish men like children, who have no gravity or wisdom. But it must be laid down as a principle, that no man is qualified for governing a commonwealth unless he have been appointed to it by God, and be endued with uncommon excellence. Plato, too, understood this matter well: for though, being a heathen, he had no true knowledge of this kind, yet his quick sagacity enabled him to perceive that no man is fit and qualified for public government which has not been prepared for it by God in an extraordinary measure; for public government proceeds from God alone, and in like manner every part of it must be upheld by him. Besides, they whom the Lord does not govern have nothing left for them but to be children, or rather to be twice children, that is, destitute of all skill and of all wisdom.
Now the Lord executes this vengeance in two ways; because it frequently happens, that when we appear to have those who are grave and skillful in business, no sooner do they come to action than they stumble like blind men, and have no more wisdom than children; for the Lord deprives them of that remarkable ability which they had formerly received from him, and stuns them, as if he had struck them with a thunderbolt. But sometimes the Lord proceeds more gently, and gradually removes men of extraordinary ability, who were fit for ruling, and commits the reins of government to those who were unable to govern a family, or even a single child liken these things happen, it is very certain that destruction is not far off.
Besides, it deserves our notice, as I lately mentioned, that a well-regulated commonwealth is a singular gift of God, when the various orders of judges and senators, soldiers, captains, artificers, and teachers, aid each other by mutual intercourse, and join in promoting the general safety of the whole people. For when the Prophet threatens, and pronounces it to be a very severe punishment, that these things shall be taken away, he plainly shows that those eminent and uncommon gifts of God are necessary for the safety of nations. Accordingly, he here commends the office of magistrates, and captains, and soldiers, and likewise the office of teachers. This deserves our notice in opposition to fanatics, who endeavor to banish from the world the power of using the sword, together with all civil government and order. But the Prophet declares that these things are not taken away or removed unless when God is angry. It follows, therefore, that they who oppose, and, as far as lies in their power, set aside or destroy such benefits, are wicked men and enemies of the public safety.
He likewise commends instruction, without which a commonwealth cannot stand; for, as Solomon says,

where prophecy is not, the nation must be ruined. (#Pr 29:18).

At the same time, he commends the mechanical arts, agriculture, manual occupations of every description, architecture, and such like, which we cannot dispense with; for all artisans of every kind, who contribute what is useful to men, are the servants of God, and have the same end in view with those who were formerly mentioned, namely, the preservation of mankind
The same thing must be said about war; for, although lawful, war ought to be nothing else than an attempt to obtain peace; yet sometimes an engagement is unavoidable, that they who have the power of the sword may use it, and defend themselves and their followers by arms. War, therefore, is not in itself to be condemned; for it is the means of preserving the commonwealth. But neither must eloquence be despised; for it is often needed, both in public and in private life, that something may be clearly and fully explained and demonstrated to be true. This is also reckoned among the gifts and important blessings of God, when a state abounds in wise and eloquent men,
who can contend with the adversaries in the gate. (#Ps 127:5).

This passage may be thus summed up, "When God takes away those gifts, and alters the condition of a people, in whatever way this takes place, either by changing the form of government, or by taking away the rulers, the anger of God ought to be acknowledged;" for, as Hosea says,

He Taketh Away Kings In His Wrath, And Appointeth Them In His Indignation. (#Ho 13:11).

Let us not, therefore, ascribe these changes to chance or other causes.