Israel and Allies

Israel and Allies

An Ottawa Minister says: An attack on Israel is an Attack on Canada.

By – Tzi Ben Gedalyahu – This should be the position of the U.S. I do not believe that at present we are as definitive and certain in our support of our ally as Canada is at this time. “Canada has been one of Israel’s staunchest allies, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week called for a coordinated international effort to halt ‘the grave danger’ of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capability. Both Harper and Kent condemned Iran for human rights abuses.

My question is, where does the U.S. Stand in this issue? My studies lead me to the belief that my nation will not intercede on the side of Israel. My study of Ezekiel 38 and the reading of verse 13 reveals to me that English speaking nations are only verbal in interceding on Israel’s behalf when they are invaded.

This shows me that America is no longer a world player. They have been weakened to the extent that they are no longer a power in the world and no longer have an influence.

Our nation is being weakened from within and without. From within by the deterioration of morals. We have blood on out hands from dead unborn babies. We have become a nation of liars from the top down. The saddest part is that we have put the liars and cheats in the position of leadership and we allow them to stay. From within we are being destroy by the claim that good is bad, and bad is good. Yes we have it turned around and the Bible prophesied of this very thing. Today we are told that there should not be prayer or the ten commandments in school, yet since we have been a nation and established schools, we have always had prayer and the ten commandments. As a matter of fact our first schools were established by churches and good church people. The earliest texts books for many was the Bible. The positive years of history should prove to anyone that the law of God has had only positive influences on our nation.

There was a day when congress and the White House were responsive to the people and wanted what is best for our nation. That is no longer true. The attempt today is to see how much of the workers money can be taken to pay for the massive debt that our elected representatives have placed upon our back.

We have those that tout climate change, not for the benefit of the earth but to line pockets for the gain they can make. They are not concerned for the suffering of the people. They are people without souls. I say this because man is made in the image of God and is of greater value to God than this cursed planet which God will renew one day.

We are being destroyed from without by selling our debt to other nations. We are at the point that those nations do not want to buy our debt. Other nations own us. We are down sizing our military and out sourcing those things that our military need to fight a war. There will come a point where we will bot be able to defend our selves much less come along side our allies in their defense. According to Neanyahu and Jan Markel, Ezekiel 37 has been fulfilled. Read Ezekiel 38 and 39 and see what you think about what will happen next.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Allies, Canada, Harper

Ignorant and cannot Understand

IGNORANT AND CANNOT UNDERSTAND

Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

Nicodemus came to Jesus not understanding the way of life. He was religious. He knew the scriptures of the Old Testament and yet did not understand that Jesus was the way of life. Jesus proceeds to inform him of the new birth. Do not wrestle with the fact that the natural man cannot understand those things that are spiritual. Paul enlightens us on this subject.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Natural man will not understand. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict.

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

When the word is preached, the Holy Spirit convicts.

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The preaching of the word brings the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This conviction is making known that there is a God that has sent a Savior. Now Jesus used the natural physical things of this world to compare to spiritual things so there would be understanding. Nicodemus now understood that he must be born again which is the birth from above.

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Blind and cannot See

BLIND and cannot SEE

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jesus was talking to Nicodemus at this time and answered a statement that Nicodemus had made. “…we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” Nicodemus was a religious man. He was a Pharisee, the dominant religion of the day and a ruler of the Jews. This means he was knowledgeable in the scriptures. From Genesis 3:15 through the rest of the Old Testament, the scriptures testified and prophesied that the Savior would come. Yet, at this juncture, Nicodemus only recognized that Jesus had come from God. Apparently not recognizing Him as the Savior that was prophesied. Jesus opens his eyes for later on we find him claiming the body of Jesus.

Jesus said to the Pharisees –

Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Today, many are blind and cannot see Jesus and the payment that He has made for our redemption. Some believe that they must pay to gain heaven by being good or being baptized or becoming a church member. John chapter 3 is Jesus response to Nicodemus, “… ye must be born again.” What does one that is being born have to pay for his or her birth? We realize that this is a silly question. The birth mother pays the price. The uncomfortable bearing of the baby in the womb and the excruciating pain of birth is the payment made. This payment the mother experiences not the baby. Free to you but much agony and pain for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We must have our eyes opened to see Christ who bore it all on the cross.

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The Heavenly Staircase

The Heavenly Staircase

Prayers are the stairs that lead to God.

And there’s joy every step of the way,

When we make our pilgrimage to Him,

With love in our hearts each day.

Helen Steiner Rice

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Spiritual Gifts 7

SPIRITUAL GIFTS 7

The love chapter is the way most see I Corinthians 13. Verses 1-7 and 13 are really keyed upon when this chapter is discussed. This is fine as far as it goes. We must examine the reason for writing verses 1-7 What end is Paul trying to achieve?

To do this we must examine the writings a little at a time. Paul is saying there is something greater than the gifts that the Church at Corinth was using and abusing. Verse 13 does a lot to clue us in. “

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. “

Paul is telling the Church there is something greater and better than the gifts that are only partial. Notice that prophecy, understanding all mysteries, all knowledge, and all faith to remove mountains are gifts that are inferior to the gift of love. If we don’t love the Lord and His people above all of these gifts we are what? Paul said we become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Does he mean we are ding-a-lings? Just a little humor. What it means is a cacophony, a harsh and discordant sound. Not a symphony of well arranged notes and chords that are pleasing to the ear but disharmony and harsh, displeasing noise that has no rhyme or reason. These, certainly are not words of recommendation.

A further examination reveals what Charity does and what it does not do. What it does do is suffer long and is kind. What it does not do is vaunteth not itself, nor is puffed up, behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil: Rejoiceth not in iniquity. What have we seen with those that claim different gifts? Lets look at the vaunted and puffed up. Those that have claimed the gift of tongues and to a certain degree, other gifts;take pride in their accomplishment. There is the sense that they are more righteous because they do these things. They seem to want all others to engage in the gift of tongues, particularly. This is totally contrary to chapter 12 which states that not all have the same gift. Yet the prevailing thought is that everyone should speak in tongues. This has to be classed as heresy. Paul declares the sovereignty of God is giving the gifts to the ones He chooses. Notice particularly, verse 6, “rejoiceth in the truth: Can we not simply accept chapter 12 as Paul wrote it instead of vainly trying to explain it away. I Corinthians 12:6-11 amply explain that not all have the gift of tongues, or wisdom, or healing. The word is plain.

I Corinthians 13:8, Paul makes a clear statement about the partial gifts. “…they shall fail;.. they shall cease;…it shall vanish away.” It behooves us to find when these gifts shall fail, cease, vanish away. In the finding, we must be honest. In I Corinthians 13:6 “…but rejoiceth in the truth:.” We need to examine verse 10 because Paul is letting us know that he is telling us of when this will take place.

1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

Look at the construction of the sentence. Those that want to live with imperfect and partial knowledge state that this refers to the second coming of Jesus. For this reason we still have these partial gifts. May I contend with you that if this is the meaning of this passage, Paul is reviling Jesus by the term that. The love and respect we know Paul to have to the Savior would demand that Paul use the term He to cause this passage to read – “ But when He which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. “…that which is perfect…” is a common noun and is neuter. That means it is not masculine or feminine. My “Idiot’s Guide to Grammar & Punctuation says that common nouns refer to things such as – hair, emeralds, keys, time, whatever – things and stuff that have words for what they are but don’t have their own specific names. After checking my English, I then turned to the Greek language and found that this phrase could not possibly be speaking of a person such as Jesus. Those that would argue for this phrase being Jesus is making up, totally, a false argument based upon what that person wants this phrase to be. This would be tantamount to adding to the scripture which is forbidden in Revelations.

May we continue our search for the meaning of this passage by going to James 1:25.

Jam 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Look at the word perfect. What does this word mean? There are those that would use this to refer to Christ as the only perfect one. One must remember this is an Old English word.

G5046

τέλειος

teleios

Thayer Definition:

1) brought to its end, finished

2) wanting nothing necessary to completeness

3) perfect

4) that which is perfect

4a) consummate human integrity and virtue

4b) of men

4b1) full grown, adult, of full age, mature

Part of Speech: adjective

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G5056

Citing in TDNT: 8:67, 1161

The above meanings are fulfilled today. The Word of God having been completed has given us all we need to know today. It is complete as to it’s instruction in salvation, in how to live, in what the Church is and is to do, in who Jesus is, in who God is and how He wants to be worshiped. Let us add one more verse to make even more solid that Paul is talking about the Completed Word of God. James 2:12.

^{Jam 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.}

^{We have to agree that this verse is speaking of the same thing that James 1:25 speaks of.}

^{Both speak of the law of liberty. James 1:25 relates that the one that looks into the law of liberty and continues in it will be blessed. Where else but the Word of God is it spoken how we should live our lives. James 2 states that we will be judged by the law of liberty. One only needs a short time of research to find that the Word of God will be used to judge all. Now that which is perfect in I Corinthians 13 can only refer to the perfect law of liberty that will judge the saint and sinner one day, Gods Word, the Bible.}

^{Paul compares the desire for the partial gifts as childishness. He calls us to put away childish things. There will always be those that do not grow in the Lord and live their lives as “bottle babies,” never able to eat the meat of the Word of God.}

Technorati Tags: love, examine, writings, corinth, church, paul

No Escape For Procrastinators

NO ESCAPE FOR PROCRASTINATORS

Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

The question comes to mind, what are we escaping? Those that repent and believe are escaping the wrath to come. They are escaping that terrible judgment and condemnation of the unbeliever.

The salvation that is spoken of is called great. Why is this title used when so many think so little of the idea of salvation? It is great because of the one who provides it – Jesus Christ. It is great because of the method of provision – the crucifixion of Christ the innocent one on our behalf. It is great because of the means of provision – the resurrection of Christ from the dead. It is great because of the presentation of provision – Christ before the Father presenting His own precious, innocent blood to cleanse us from sin.

Why would we neglect this extraordinary gift offered to us freely? Would it be for the joy of a debilitating life of denial and debauchery? We crave the gifts of this world which come with a price. In this life there truly is nothing that is free. Each have a price tag of health that is harmed or wealth that is reduced. The only free gift is the one offered by Jesus Christ and paid for with His own innocent blood.

There is no escape. There is a payday someday for rejecting the blood of the Savior. We pay for rejection in this life and in the life to come. Why seek escape? Why not, rather, seek the Savior. He call and knocks with the invitation to repent and believe.

Christ May Appear Any Moment

CHRIST MAY APPEAR ANY MOMENT

Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

For many years, I have heard of many road blocks that have kept the Lord from returning. As I have read and studied God’s Word, I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing prohibiting the Lord’s return. All prophecies have been fulfilled and the gospel has gone out to all the world. In Paul’s day, everything was set for the return of the Lord.

What is delaying His return? Why is this world still suffering under the curse of sin? Because the Lord is merciful and full of grace, desiring that all might be saved. He died for all but so few respond to Him today. His desire is that you might experience the New Birth as described in John chapter 3.

The warning is there and should be heeded. Be Ready. If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior, you need to take care of that now. God’s Word says that now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. If the Lord comes and you are not prepared, condemnation awaits you along with eternal suffering and torment.

If you are saved, are you separated from the world and living a life that brings honor and glory to God. What is a life that brings honor and glory to God? First it begins with a prayer life where we converse with the Lord daily. Second, there is the need to know our Savior more intimately and that requires regular study of His Word which reveals Him to us. Third, we need to be actively serving Him. Pay attention to what He tells us in Ephesians 3:21 – “Unto Him be glory in the Church. There are many imitators in the world today. Do not be fooled by something that carries the label church. Jesus began His Church during His personal ministry. He endowed it with certain doctrines and a specific make up that is so different from many organizations that call themselves churches today. If I call a horse a cow, it does not make that horse a cow. You have the responsibility of finding the Church that Jesus built. We serve Him through His Church.

Are you ready, if not; Get ready! He could come now!

Spiritual Gifts 6

SPIRITUAL GIFTS 6

May we take a look at I Corinthians 12.

There were a number of things that the Church at Corinth was doing wrong. Paul has been setting them straight in previous chapters on several different areas. Now he proceeds to the misuse and abuse of the gifts. Verses 1-11 We have basically covered these verses in previous studies. I do like the way Paul starts out – :I would not have you ignorant brethren.” Paul inspired by God wants to enlighten us as to the Gifts.

Verses 12-31 compares the gifts to the body. First let us clear up one item that is commonly misunderstood about the pastor epistles. Paul is writing to the Church at Corinth and comparing it to the body of a person. He is not comparing a universal anything to the body, just the Church at Corinth. Within the Church at Corinth, Paul is making the point that not all will speak in tongues. Today, there are those that have made several statements to me. One is the question about me having ever spoken in tongues. No I haven’t. God has blessed me with the gift of preaching. There is also the statement that one has not received the Holy Spirit until that person speaks in tongues. I have no clue where this came from or what scripture is used to try and support this fallacious statement.

The gifts are listed one by one. Now list the parts of your body one by one. Paul makes his point so clear that none should be able to misunderstand. If your body was all mouth how noisy it would be. The body could not go anywhere because of no feet. The body could not gain knowledge because there would be no ears to hear. Each part of our body serves a specific purpose. The same is applicable to the Church. Each gift was given for a specific reason or purpose. The misuse and or abuse of these gifts is a concern for Paul. His statement is that one would be given one gift and someone else another gift. Not all would have the same gift.

Paul says to “…covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.”

Next time we will look at chapter 13.

Death Is Sure

DEATH IS SURE

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

An unwelcome subject is death. Many do not want to deal with death and the thought of dying. To some it is a terror, to others a tragedy, to a few it is an inconvenience. Some believe that thoughts of death and dying are morbid and do not attend funerals because of this. Yet death can be glorious and beautiful in its arrival to the saints that have been redeemed.

This passage is dealing with our Savior and his payment for sin by His death on the cross. It was appointed before ever the world was created that the Son of God would suffer and die because of the sin of man. Verse 28 says that Christ was once offered for our sin. That means that His one time death was sufficient for the sins of all those that had ever lived and sufficient for the sins of all those that would have lived before He comes at the end of the tribulation.

This should put to an end the corrupt theology that every man will have a chance for redemption after death. Christ cannot come and die again for lost man. It is finished, this work that He did on the cross. We are told by this passage that every person born will die. This must be addressed – not only on the physical and mental level – but on the spiritual level also.

From birth we know that this body is dying. Some deaths come sooner than others. Physical preparation means that insurance is taken out and burial plots are selected. Mental preparation is much more difficult because death plunges many into the great unknown. Spiritual preparation is kneeling at the Cross of Christ, repenting of the sins we commit and asking Him into our heart and giving us everlasting life. This must take place before death. We must realize our sinful condition before a Righteous and Holy God that sin cannot come into His presence. We must be cleansed and that can only happen through the blood that Jesus shed for us.

Life Is Uncertain

LIFE IS UNCERTAIN

Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Oh! the plans we make. When you were in High School, did you ever look into the future and see what your life was going to be? The job you would have, the girl you would marry and the 2.1 children you would have?

Man makes plans. We buy life and health insurance because we are making plans to provide for our family if something should happen to us. There is not a way to predict the time of death. Sometimes we approach life as if we will never die.

The Word of God says “It is appointed unto men once to die.” Now this covers several items that we need to be concerned about. For the lost, what is my relation to God. What would happen to me if I died right now. We certainly don’t have any agreement to how long we will live. What about today. What could happen today to take my life from me. Death is an equal opportunity killer. It can take old and young alike; rich or poor are not safe; tall, short, skinny or fat, Death can claim this minute.

Now let me ask again; what is your relationship to the creator of the universe that gives each man the breathe of life as it pleases Him.

Maybe we should be more concerned about eternal insurance rather than life insurance.