Double Predestination, Part 8

If we were to list the most wicked and diabolical men of the human race, certain names would appear – Hitler, Nero, Stalin and others who have been guilty of mass murder and other atrocities. 

What do all these people have in common? They were all dictators, right? They all had virtually an unlimited supply of power and authority within the sphere of their domains.

Remember the old saying about power – it corrupts absolutely?  Of course, this does not have any reference to God but only to the power and corruption of men.  The reason why power corrupts absolutely is because it raises a person above the normal restraints that restricts the rest of us.

I have restraints placed on me by others – employers, Christians, civil and governing authorities, and God. These are people and authorities who have been given a higher position of authority than I, so they can bring down the hammer if need be.

Civil and spiritual restraints are good for me in order to live within the established laws of moral decency.   When God removes His restraints on people, they are left more to themselves.  As a result, the corruption that is within them is used on others and also against them as well. An unrestrained person explodes on others and implodes on himself.   He does harm to others and in doing so, he brings harm to himself.

Now God is not the cause of this or the author.  God merely releases His holy restraints on a person and the person spirals down the tubes morally and ethically. 

So what does all this have to do with “Double Predestination?”  Everyone in the human race is born the same – all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).  All will perish unless they receive divine assistance.  God has chosen to assist in a divine way a few that He personally chooses out of His good pleasure. The rest God leaves to themselves where they will perish for all eternity. 

By not choosing them, they are destined to perish. By not choosing them from the foundation of the world (that is before they were born), they are predestined to perish.  Did God excite and become the author of evil in their heart to assure their non-choice of Him? No. He simply left them to themselves and by doing so, they got what they deserved.

Now listen carefully:  Everyone who goes to hell or perishes gets what they deserved. Those whom God chooses do not get what they deserved. Instead, they get mercy and grace. God is not under obligation to extend mercy to everyone.  Mercy is not a cosmic handout to everyone, but a free gift to some.  No one who does not receive mercy gets a raw deal. He or she will get what they deserve.

Mercy is not up to the people to receive it, but it is up to the Giver to give it. That is, mercy cannot be demanded by the people, otherwise it would cease to be mercy.  Rather, mercy is to be given freely by a giver to some in order for it to be mercy. 

Jesus’ death on the cross, although sufficient to save all was designed to secure the salvation of some.   People may object: “That’s not fair!”  But remember, that’s the whole concept behind mercy.  When you give mercy to someone, you’re right, it isn’t fair to the one receiving it.  It’s merciful and gracious and over the top. What is fair is to pull back the restraints on all people and let them all perish in hell.  While this would be just and fair, no mercy would be shown, nor must it be shown.   For mercy to be mercy, it has to be willingly given to some and not all.

End of Part 8

A Biblical Response to the Goals of the Illuminati, Part 2

In the year 1770, Mayer Amschel Rothschild recruited Jewish-born, Adam Weishaupt, an apostate Jesuit-trained professor of canon law, to revise and modernize Illuminism, the worship of Satan, with the objective of world domination and the imposition of  the Luciferian ideology “upon what would remain of the human race” after a final orchestrated social-cataclysm. 

In 1773, Mayer summoned twelve wealthy men to Frankfort and asked them to pool their resources, then presented a plan that would enable them to gain control of the wealth, natural resources and manpower of the entire world.

Weishaupt, financed by Rothschild, had begun infiltrating the well-established Continental Order of Freemasons with this satanical doctrine. Weishaupt recruited 2,000 agents, “the most intelligent men in the field of arts and letters, education, science, finance, and industry.” Weishaupt instructed these well-paid individuals on the best methods of bribing, manipulating and controlling people and the press.

Weishaupt reorganized the Illuminati by May 1, 1776 with twenty-five goals. The word Illuminati, derived from Lucifer, means “holder of the light.” The plan deceptively uses the phrase “peace on earth” and necessitates the destruction of all existing governments and religions through a process of “dividing the masses into opposing camps in ever increasing numbers on political, social, economic, and other issues.” People would “fight and weaken themselves and gradually destroy national governments and religious institutions.”

Part 1 dealt with the first goal. Here we now look at the second goal which is to -

2. Preach Liberalism.

The idea is this:  Political freedom is an idea, not a fact. In order to usurp political power, all that is necessary is to preach 'liberalism,' and the electorates will give up more and more power to the conspirators. 

To the RCE (Ruling Class Elite, used interchangeably with the Illuminati), political freedom exists only in peoples’ minds.

Now it is important to understand that term the “liberalism” as it was used back in the 18^th century did not mean what it does so today. Liberalism essentially is the belief that man is good and that his freedoms and the necessary changes to protect his freedoms should be derived from government, through the political process, and even by man himself.

Today, we tend to think of a liberal as a “progressive,” one who is adapting to new ideas and putting them into operation through education and politics.

Preaching liberalism has its advantages in the following ways:

1.  It preaches better than it works.

Just pause and look around at how the practice of liberalism works.  Not too well.  Yet, it got Obama elected twice. He preached liberalism and the people bought it. But he was not able to deliver on his promises which accounts for his low approval rating.

So what do we need? A change! Put the authority of the president back into the hands of a Conservative, but be sure he does a good job of abusing his power and at the same time looking stupid and out of touch along the way. Then take it away from the Conservative and put it back into the authority of a Liberal. With these changes, on a very subtle basis, more and more of the people’s liberties are taken away in order to satisfy them.  But the people tend not to notice it.

2.  Liberalism tends to work well apart from the idea of the existence of God.

Because there is a strong belief in the goodness of man, liberals for the most part, do not believe in a God that they need to submit their lives to. Now they may believe in a supreme being, but not enough to believe that this supreme being expects absolute obedience. Man by himself can solve his own problems and do just fine without God.

3.  Liberalism changes because man’s ideas change.

Liberals are relativists.  Truth is not absolute. Government relays what is true. Society relays what is true.  People relay what they consider to be true. This has an awesome appeal to people. 

Therefore, the preaching of liberalism as a goal for the RCE was chosen.  While they use evil to tempt man to weaken himself, they preach liberalism to give him hope.

What will result from this is total disillusionment.  When the populace comes to the place of being in total disarray, then the RCE will step in with their ultimate solution – a Luciferian Global Government.

Biblical Response:  Man’s only hope for change is transformation.  Man must be changed from the inside out.  Liberals believes that if you change a man’s environment, you can change the man. This is not true. Man may go through a superficial change on the outside, but he is still the same on the inside.

The biblical response is to preach the gospel or the saving work of Christ in which He became the sinner’s substitute on the cross. When a sinner trusts in Jesus for salvation, God takes the sins of the sinner and puts them on His Son; then He takes the righteousness of His Son and puts it on the sinner (see 2 Cor. 5:21).  This results in transformation.  The difference between transformation and change is simply this: With transformation a sinner is reborn into a saint. Whereas with change the sinner remains the same in his or her nature.  Behavioral change does not constitute a nature change.

Watch closely, liberalism will rule for a season, then people will get sick of it. Then conservatism will takes its place for a season then people will get sick of that. With each change that occurs back and forth between liberalism and conservatism, the liberties of the populace diminishes and the level of frustration increases.

This is all planned by the RCE.

Goal #3 – Next 

A Biblical Response to the Goals of the Illuminati, Part 1

The following 25 goals apply to America and the rest of the world.  This is pretty much a step by step plan on how the Illuminati (Ruling Class Elite, RCE) conspiracy works, basically explaining all the long term plans they had back at the Illuminati’s founding on May 1, 1776.  

The Bible tells us this:  “Do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead even EXPOSE them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in SECRET.  But all things become visible when they are exposed by the LIGHT (truth), for everything that becomes visible is light” (Ephesians 5:11-13). 

Note:  Please understand this: There is only one overriding will in the universe that is all powerful and will accomplished all that it sets out to do with no one being able to stand in its way.  That is the will of God.

Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it (Isaiah 46:8-11).

So while I write about these goals from the RCE, it may sound like they are way too powerful and beyond control and accountability.  Don’t believe it. While they are busying controlling others, God is controlling them. They are doing exactly what God has purposed for them to do in order to bring about God’s intended purpose of bringing Jesus back to this earth, not as a baby in Bethlehem’s manager, but as the King of kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:11-16).

Goal #1:  All men are more easily inclined towards evil than good. 

This is biblically true.

Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Jesus said, “If you then, being evil. . .” (Luke 11:13). 

The RCE is using man’s sinful nature to influence and corrupt him in order to move mankind along the path of its intended goal – global governance and Luciferian Worship.

This first goal is foundation to all the rest. Two very important things are brought out here: First, man will be easily tempted and corrupted with help from his inborn sinfulness. Second, those corrupting man are likewise sinful and therefore they know exactly what to do.  The goal here is to use sin to place the populace in bondage in order to exercise control over, while at the same time using sin as a weapon of welfare.

It’s like tempting or supplying an alcoholic with booze in order to keep him weak and under the influence. As long as he or she is too busy strung out somewhere, you do not have to worry or pay much attention to.

When the RCE tempts upcoming movie or pop stars with loads of money and tells them, “If you do what we tell you, you’ll be rich,” this feeds man’s basic sinful nature of greed. It starts out as seemingly harmless, then in a matter of time, the fish is solidly hooked, no longer looking or acting the same, being dragged along and doing whatever the RCE commands.

Biblical Response:  The only way to counter this is to receive a change of heart – i.e. a new nature (born again – John 3:3).  These five ingredients are necessary to overcome the RCE spiritual tactics:

1. Repentance 

2. Salvation 

3. Bible

4. Prayer 

5. Obedience to God

 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ⁶ being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete (2 Cor. 10:4-6). 

Goal # 2 – Next 

The Bible Calls Police Officers – “Ministers of God”

Two New York City cops, Wenjian Liu (38) and Rafael Ramos (40), were murdered Saturday afternoon sitting in their marked car in New York, next to a high-rise, low cost housing structure - where they were attempting, by virtue of their visibility, to protect the residents.

That very visibility led to their deaths as a gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, walked up to the passenger side of the car, fired, and killed them both before running down into a subway entrance and shooting himself on the platform.

This reminds me of what the Bible says about governmental / state authorities in Romans 13.  Read and reflect on the words below:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. (vv. 1-5).

While this may not sound popular, it needs to be said:  “Rebellion against civil authority is also rebellion against God. Such rebellion God views as the ‘sin of witchcraft’” (see 1 Sam. 15:23).

Verse 4 of Romans 13, calls those who are in positions of authority such as police officers, “God’s servants for your good.”  What is the duty of a “civil servant of God,” as described by God?  “He is an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (v. 4).  Therefore, if you want to avoid God’s wrath, be in subjection (not rebellion) to civil authorities, such as those who are called police officers.

It is neither easy nor glamorous being a police officer.  I’m sure some choose to be one because of their affinity toward power and authority. Others and I believe -- a great majority choose to be police officers in order to help people and make a positive difference in the world. Police officers can tell you the good, bad and ugly side of their line of work.  A vast majority I’m sure are bad and ugly, but the little good that they often get to do for others makes them want to put on their uniform, step out of their homes and try again.

According to the FBI's webpage, there are currently 34,822 New York City active police officers. In addition there are 14,704 civilian employees to protect the 8.4 million residents of the five boroughs.

According to another webpage, 112 police officers across the nation have died in the line of duty in 2014. Of those, 45 deaths were by gunfire, the biggest single reason by far.

It’s easy to blame Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, the major of NY, president Obama and a host of others. I’m sure each one carries a measure of accountability as leaders who could have done more. God knows. 

The president had just begun his Winter holiday in Hawaii this past weekend, when the White House issued a statement on his behalf Saturday night:

"I unconditionally condemn today's murder of two police officers in New York City. Two brave men won't be going home to their loved ones tonight, and for that, there is no justification. The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day - and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day.

"Tonight, I ask people to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal - prayer, patient dialogue, and sympathy for the friends and family of the fallen."

Days before Christmas, hearing of such needless tragedies makes the times we’re living in difficult to comprehend.  But we need to support the families of these two fallen MOGs (Ministers of God) with our prayers. Like any soldier in the military who longs to go home safe and sound, he or she is also well aware of the risk.  Each one who joins the police force does so voluntarily. No one is drafted to serve. They wear their uniforms with pride, dignity and respect for the authority given to them.  They know and understand the risks of being a MOG and so also do their families.

It’s from these kinds of tragedies that those within the police force who have heart and soul will rise up, accept the greater challenge that lies before them and serve the people they have sworn to protect as overcomers.

After all, we should expect nothing less from those whom the Bible calls, “MOG.”

My Fascination With Liberalism

I am not going to lie, but liberalism fascinates me. It’s not that I believe it is more truthful to having a correct worldview than conservatism. It’s more how liberals tend to think and the rationale they use to justify reality. I often wonder how they can even live without imploding.

Howard Dean, who is thought to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, told reporters the other day that he supports the policy of using drones to kill people without warning. He also has no objection to the National Security Agency listening to his phone calls and monitoring his email.

Donny Deutsch, the reliable voice of the left on "Morning Joe," told TV viewers that he supports the CIA’s torture activities – recently revealed in a Senate committee report.

These two do not sound like liberals at all. So what are they doing? What’s going on their heads?

I often ask myself, “What does liberalism stand for?” “What does it mean to be progressive?”  I use to believe that liberalism is a belief in a set of public policy ideas.  But that’s not really the case at all.

Liberalism is a belief in “flip flopping” as the need warrants it.  One thing liberals seem to have all in common – they love to change their minds on issues when it's best for them to do so. And this is what else I notice.  Liberals will change their minds or flip flop without any embarrassment whatsoever!  Amazing!

In 1987, The New York Times editorial page called for abolishing the minimum wage. Today, the same newspaper calls for a higher minimum wage.    Waaaaat?

In the 1960s, John Kenneth Galbraith and the left wing Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) favored abolishing the corporate income tax and taxing shareholders on the basis of corporate profits. Today, liberal publications and columnists are defending our high corporate tax rates.  Come again?

In the 1980s, Ted Kennedy and other liberals voted to lower the top personal income tax rate from 50 percent to 28 percent, while closing loopholes at the same time. Today, they are more likely to join Paul Krugman in defending high marginal tax rates.  No way!

How do we explain all this?   You see, liberalism is not an ideology that is in a battle with conservatives over the war of ideas. Its main objective is to win, yes, but not with ideas, but instead using “excuses.”   Liberal politicians need intellectual justification for things they want to do for non-intellectual reasons.

You see, to the modern liberal, ideology simply gets in the way. What is needed are ways of thinking that are not necessarily coherent, but provide intellectual excuses for the sets of policy positions that emerge. Liberalism fulfills those roles. 

Liberalism will believe and support one idea as long and as hard as it can, then without any prior warning, it will abandon the idea for a newer one.

I am fascinated with liberalism (not with liberals themselves).  Today, a good liberal is one who

1.  Believes in relativism – there are no set beliefs

2.  Functions within the market place of excuses.

3.  Changes (flip flop) when it best to do so.

4.  Void of Embarrassment

5.  Thinks one way but lives another.

You see, here is the dirty little secret for most liberals. While they see themselves as liberal in their thinking, they are conservative in their living.

Deep down within, a true thinking liberal (oxymoron) will hold to a set of beliefs that others should apply, but those same beliefs they will not hang on to in the arena of life.

This is why you’ll hear liberals wax eloquent about gun control and how wrong it is to have guns, all the while they arm their own body guards as well as themselves with guns for protection. 

Liberalism fascinates me. It’s like watching a whole bunch of once hidden demons all appear before my eyes. 

Double Predestination, Part 6

You have heard the saying, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  We know that this has no reference to God but only the power and corruption of evil people.

Why does power corrupt? It corrupts because it raises a person above the normal restraints that restrict the rest of us.

For example, I am restrained often times from doing the bad that I want simply because there are people with greater power than me who can hold me accountable and bring the necessary discipline.  We all learn early in life to restrict our desire to pick on those who are bigger and more powerful than we. So we select our conflicts carefully.  It is always wise to choose our fights wisely. This means not to fight those who are more powerful and much smarter in knowing certain techniques that gives to them the advantage.

Pharaoh was the most powerful man in the world when Moses stood before him.  In actuality, the only restraint there was on Pharaoh’s wicked heart was the holy hand of God.  Therefore, all God had to do to unleash the fury of Pharaoh and open the flood gates of evil within his heart was to pull back His hand on him and Pharaoh did the rest.

In the very act of passive hardening, God makes the decision to remove the restraints from a person; the wicked part is then done by the person. God does no violence to a person’s will. He merely gives to people more freedom – the freedom to do what their evil heart intends to do.

Note: This is why it is imperative for morality to be regulated and restricting. You see, those who believe in relativism are those who believe in it, but they don’t practice it and they do not want others to do the same. The reason is obvious: If I choose to do my own thing and act out my own choices on others on what I perceive to be right or wrong, I could very well end up dead or incarcerated.  If I give to others the permission to live their lives however they choose to, they might choose to do something that may harm me or my loved ones.

God has given laws to place on us moral restrictions so we cannot carry out all the evil intent within our hearts.  Some will shout, "but morality is relative." That’s so absurd.

Try saying that when you come to a stop light and it turns red. Just say to yourself, “Yes, the light turned red, but it’s all relative.” You see, we tend to think one way in our brains and live a different way in reality. The person who believes in relativism simply has a nice notion or a wet dream. But he cannot live a relative life style without the risk of dying, severely limiting his freedom, or being seriously harmed.

We need restrictions placed on us – all of us. If God were to take His hand of restrictions off of us, we would live like zombies – doing everything that our wicked hearts can imagine to one another.

“But morality is all relative.”  Listen, if you believe this, then you are affirming an absolute. By saying “morality is all relative,” you are saying “morality is all relative absolutely.”  So how can you affirm absolutism and relativism at the same time? Whenever you make a statement and say that something “is” or “is not” you are affirming an absolute.  This then makes your statement totally absurd.

Now you can believe this way if you choose to. Just as long as it is seen for what it is – absurdity.

End of Part 6 

How Should We Handle Conspiracies, Part 2

Review:

In Part 1, I mentioned that it would be wise to look into certain things going on in the world that are classified as conspiracies for the following reasons:

1.  The real enemy we wrestle against works and lurks behind the scenes – Eph. 6:12

2.  The Bible says that we should not allow Satan to take advantage of us by being “ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). 

3.  Our greater weapons of offense are the Word of God and prayer – both spiritual in nature.

Part 2 Continue –

4.  To Deepen and Encourage our Faith in God’s Infinite Wisdom and Power.

God does His greatest work in the light. This is because the Bible teaches that “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). 

On the flip side, evil people will do their greatest work in the darkness where their works are hidden and cloaked in secrecy. This is because “men love darkness rather than light, for their deeds are evil.  For everyone who loves evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (vv. 19-20). 

Faith in God is greatly strengthened because of the power of God in doing His will in the light.  By nature, when people are determined to do something with ill-gotten gain or motive, they choose to do so undercover where they can greatly affect unsuspecting people.   

There’s so much taking place today in the area of “mind-control.” The powers to be who are overseeing the influence of the media and are constantly using subliminal messages and scientific mind-control techniques to condition people toward their goal.  This affects all of us to one degree or another. If you think that you are not affected by the media and therefore immune from mind-control techniques used by the world, you are only deluding yourself.  

However, despite all the hidden works of darkness (Eph. 5:11), God is greater and sees it all. He constantly thwarts the plans of evil men and women, and traps them in their own evil schemes.

“God frustrates the plotting of the shrewd, so that their hands cannot attain success” (Job 5:12). 

What about nations?

“The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples” (Psalm 33:10). 

What about God’s plans?

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever; the plans of His heart from generation to generation” (v. 11).

Therefore, even though Satan and his helpers love to work in secrecy and under the cloak of darkness, God sees all they do and frustrates their attempts to the point that they are not able to achieve the kind of success until God says so.

Oh, believe me, God allows the wicked to achieve some measure of success through their hidden works of darkness, but only when He says so and to whom it is given.

Listen, there is only one plan in all the universe – God’s plan. There is only one purpose – God’s purpose. There is only one Will – God’s Will.  Every good is a plan of God and every evil is a sub plan of God, in which He knows it, plans it, and allows it to occur under His watchful eye.

Uncovering some conspiracies and getting to understand the objectives, methods and means used by the devil only serves to further strengthened my faith in God and in the power of His might.

End of Part 2

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 11

An interesting passage about marriage is found in 2 Corinthians 11.  Paul begins the chapter with these words: 

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! ² For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. ³ But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (vv. 1-3).

Paul says to the Christians in this church: “Allow me to sounds a little mushy for a moment as I talk about something that is dear to me.  I have a deep affection toward you.  I presented you to one husband as a pure virgin to Christ.”

This is again that same beautiful imagery that the Bible speaks of in Ephesians 5 -- that a believer is united to Christ in a kind of a marriage perspective.

He states:  “I gave you to one husband.”  But then notice the following words of sorrow in verse 3: “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

In other words, Paul says, “I gave you to ONE husband, to Jesus as a pure virgin. You are to be His forever. But the serpent has come along and deceived you and led you astray. You have fallen out of love for your “one husband” and have come to love others. This is spiritual adultery. Falling out of love for Christ has meant that you have “been led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

The idea is this: “You have left (or divorced) Jesus for another lover. But Jesus is still remaining single. He still loves you!  Even though He could very well choose another bride to be His people, He is committed to loving only you.”

Why is this so important to note? Because again, we see that marriage is to be a true picture of Jesus’ love for His bride, the church, and the church is to respond to Jesus’ love with a heart of submission and devotion.

When a marriage ends in divorce, the biblical imagery is broken.  You see, by our marriages, we’re preaching something about God that is either true or not. Just like our lives are to be God’s witness to the world, so our marriage is to be a witness of God to the world concerning Jesus’ relationship to the church.

I come across a lot of people who tell me that by living together unmarried, they stand a better chance of making it than if they would actually get married. I ask, “How so?”  The answer is alarming. I am told in so many words, “As long as the back door remains open, we get along fine. Once that back door is closed, it changes things.”

I am convinced that this mindset has been perpetrated by Satan.  I am convinced that Satan has used the proliferation of divorce and remarriage in the world and especially among Christians to sow a non-biblical view of marriage in the hearts of so many people. And I am also convinced that this non-biblical view has left many people doubting God’s love for them and whether or not His ways are really the best.

We are often told that God’s commandments are designed to be good for us.  Many are thinking otherwise. They see such things as marriage to be bad for them.  Thus it is better and more practical to live together and have a family than to actually get married.  If things do not work out, then one has to experience the pain and financial suffering of a divorce. 

Now listen carefully:  There are two words in the English language that do not have the same meaning when we use them.

The first is the word “commitment.” We tell people in the church that they ought to be committed to the church, to their spouses, to one another, to a ministry, and so forth. But here’s the thing: Commitment carries with it a sense of control.  “I will be committed to something as long as I feel I am in control of.” The idea is that I will control my level of commitment. 

This is why living together for so many couples is so attractive. Is there commitment present in the relationship?  Yes there is! But it is commitment mingled with control.

The second word is “surrender.”  This is a word that is often not used in the church today because of its obvious connotation – loss of or virtually no control. When I surrender myself to someone or something, I am giving up my right to be in control.

This is why obeying God is done in a shady manner. We obey God only when we can perceive that we will do so and still remain somewhat in control. Thus, if things do not go right, we have the power and control to bail or change course.

But if we surrender ourselves to someone or something, we give up our right to stay in control. Marriage is often view as an act of surrender. Again, this is why people who are not married can live together and consider it a sign of commitment to one another because they both perceive themselves to be in control if something does not go right. But marriage is viewed as an altogether different animal. It is more toward surrender and less toward commitment.

Jesus taught marriage as a lifestyle of total surrender when He said, “What God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matt. 19:6). This woke the disciples up to the point that they said, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry” (v. 10).

Jesus’ response was revealing:  “Not all men can accept this, but only to those to whom it has been given” (v. 11).

End of Part 11

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 10

When it comes to the issue of divorce and remarriage, there are basically four views:

First, no divorce and remarriage whatsoever.

Second, divorce yes, but no remarriage whatsoever.

Third, divorce and remarriage whenever.

Fourth, divorce and remarriage yes, but only under certain circumstances.

This is where we find the Pharisees in Matthew 5:31.  In order to fit their religious and moral views on divorce and remarriage, they had invented views of their own.  So Jesus takes two verses in Matthew 5:31-32 and sets the record straight.

"It hath been said, (verse 31) Whosoever shall put away his wife, (or divorce his wife) let him give her a writing of divorcement; But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commits adultery."

Now keep in mind, Jesus has more in His mind than merely educating the Pharisees about divorce and remarriage.  He also wants to unmask their hypocrisy.  They be­lieved that you could be righteous by your works, but they couldn't keep God's standard so they invented their own and then called it God's standard.

Now God has a very high view of marriage, God has a very clear command regarding marriage, remarriage and divorce.  The attitude of God was never in question about it but they couldn't live by that standard, so they invented a new standard and called it God's standard and said, “Look we can keep this one, we're not that bad.”

But by inventing their own standard of divorce and remarriage, they dragged God’s moral ethics down to their level by inventing their own code of ethics, and so Jesus seeks to unmasks them, and show that their standard of ethics was nowhere near that of God’s. 

Now the Pharisees, by inventing their own standard for divorce and remarriage, does what everyone else does, they seek to find a verse in the bible to help support their view.

They used the passage found in Deuteronomy 24.

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, ² and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, ³ and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house. . .”

So, since the Pharisees believed that a man ought to divorce his wife for any reason that he finds displeasing to him, they gravitated toward Deuteronomy 24.

They invented their view to justify their sin and then they misinterpreted a passage in the Bible to fit their justification.   This is why Jesus said, “You have heard it has been said” (v. 31), the view of the Rabbis who taught the people such things. However, in verse 32, Jesus said, “But I say to you.”

Jesus is going to set the record straight. He is going to first, point out their misuse of the passage in Deuteronomy 24, and then explain God’s original intent.

By the way, the phrases, “You have heard it has been said,” and “But I say unto you,” are repeated in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7).  For example, take the time and look up the following passages: Matt. 5:21-22; 27-28; 33-34; 38-39; 43-44.

In other words, in the Sermon on the Mount in order to lay these people bare and naked as sinners before God Jesus says to them, your interpretations of God's truth are all wrong.  You are injecting into the Scriptures your own personal biases, opinions and self-justifications. In doing so, you are twisting and perverting the Word of God, and so I am going to set the record straight.  

So as we go deeper into this, two main thoughts will be contrasted:  The Pharisees tolerated divorce and remarriage for any and all reasons. On the other hand, Jesus did not. Therefore, it is imperative to come to the Scriptures in order to find out what is God’s true intent for marriage, divorce and remarriage.

End of part 10

The Crippling Affects of Hopelessness

“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Rom. 8:24-25). 

Liberals are forever on the lookout for ways to show how bad and ugly America is and how they are the ones that have real solutions.

The recent "rash" of police officers killing blacks is prompting "civil rights activists" to describe America ­­ despite the election and re­election of a black president ­­ as still a simmering pot of racism. Never mind that according to the CDC, in 2012 (the most recent year with available data) 140 blacks were killed by cops ­­ versus 386 whites killed by cops.

The Attorney General, Eric Holder does not help matters when he asserts that America suffers from "pernicious racism." And a few weeks after the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin shooting happened, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, "Blacks are under attack."

Interestingly, in 1997, CNN and Time conducted a poll that asked white and black teens about "racism." Question: Is racism a major problem in America? Both black and white teens said, "yes." But when black teens were asked if racism is a "big problem," a "small problem" or "not a problem at all" ­­ in their own lives ­­ 89 percent called racism a "small problem" or "not a problem at all" for themselves.

To be sure, 17 years ago, not only did black teens see racism as an insignificant problem in their own lives, but nearly twice as many black teens than white teens called "failure to take advantage of available opportunities" a bigger problem than racism.

Yet, liberal opportunists will continue to seek ways to inflict upon the public and the youth their doom and gloom.  This emotion ­based paranoia has real ­world consequences. Fear and paranoia hurt potential and careers.

You ask any pastor or CEO of a growing company, and they will tell you that those with a "high EQ" for a strong positive outlook, out-sold and out-produced those with higher traditional aptitude, but with lower EQ. High EQ people engage in positive behavior, which leads to positive results.

I like big George. I like what he says and the message that comes from his lips.

George Foreman, the former heavyweight boxing champion, is one of the most successful pitchmen of our generation. A spokesperson for products ranging from Meineke mufflers and Doritos to his own low­fat indoor grill, which earned him $138 million when he sold the grill's naming rights in 1999, Foreman has an estimated net worth of $250 million.

A high school dropout, Foreman recently wrote this about the value of optimism:

"This life, this country, is about HOPE. 

“My first two jobs were about selling: Four hours of putting out sale papers, on doors, cars and handed out. Then at a fruit stand. Texas watermelon season was the best. Competition was great ­­we had to (as boys) have a variety of melons and a lot of charm.

"The ability to sell is about the best asset one can pass on to a generation to come. And the most critical and influential product anyone can deal or trade is 'Hope.'

"No matter who we lose, every young doctor is optimistic we will win this one. And many a time we do. Not a whole lot is new, just the same old Hope. ... When things go wrong in this life our sole obligation to our children is to sell them on Hope. Sure, beating our head against the wall is an option. But time and life must proceed. Anger and disappointment bring more dark clouds. Oh, but HOPE is the sunshine that every child needs for play. ... Teach them Hope. And BELIEVE there is Hope.

"It's our duty."

Say it, George! 

Wouldn’t it be better for the youth in this country to hear from our leaders a message of hope rather than the poison of racism that merely cripples and instills fear and hopelessness? 

How Should we Handle Conspiracies, Part 1

When you read the Bible, you cannot get away from the reality that there are conspiracies and forces behind the scenes that are at work.  These forces like to remain hidden, and in fact, they need darkness to thrive in order to carry out their mission in the light.

Here is what the Bible says about the hidden forces at work in our world:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:11-12).

I think it is wise to look into certain things that can be classified as conspiracies for the following reasons: 

First, to wrestle with the real enemy. 

We like to put a label or face on people or groups so we can arrange them in our neat little category so as to inflict punishment and justice on such.  The Ferguson riots, school shootings, and various levels of injustices that we are faced with, although they all involved people, there is a sinister enemy behind it all and it’s the devil and his hordes of demons. If we just see only people with skin and our vision does not go deeper, we are not recognizing the cause and can easily be caught in Satan’s deception.  If you want to tap into an effectual cure, you have to zero in on the real cause.  This means that there are some things in life that are seen as conspiracies that should be investigated and understood.

Second, the Bible says that we should not allow Satan to take advantage of us by being “ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). 

If we do not have some idea of how the enemy of our soul works, what his goals and objectives are, who he uses, and how we can play into his hands and get ourselves trapped, we would not know a bad situation if it was starring us in the face.

The word “schemes” means Satan’s thoughts and purposes.  Satan has a plan, a goal, and a purpose. He goes all out to try to hide it so those who are opposed to it (Christians) will not pray against it.

Third, our greater weapons of offense are the Word of God and prayer.

The two greatest weapons that God gives to us is the living Word of God and the transforming power of prayer.  These tools are spiritual in nature. Satan and his hordes of demons are very much afraid of these weapons. In the right hands and hearts – the Holy Spirit believer can push back on the gates of hell (Matt. 16:18) and enter the enemy's camp and take back what does not belong to him.

Most of us have relatives who have been captured by Satan’s devices and control. They are deceived, determined, divided, darkened, defeated, in denial, despairing, disobedient, distracted, and in great need of spiritual deliverance.  With such a tight grip on our loved ones and others, how can these people be set free?  Only by the saving grace of God using the Word and Prayer – the very tools God used to set us free.

Check your life. The two areas you will be tempted by the enemy to spend less time in and consequently become lukewarm and mediocre is in your knowledge and application of the Word and time spent in prayer.  Don’t get distracted from pouring your life and soul into the study of the Bible and time on your knees in prayer.  Someone caught and imprisoned in Satan’s gates are depending on you to steward your freedom to live and serve God in a manner that will break open the shackles of the bondage of sin and set the prisoners free.  

At one time during the life of the early church, there arose a problem.  Certain widows in the church were being overlooked in the daily serving of food (Acts 6:1).  This problem was brought to the attention of the apostles.  The apostles wisely brought this to the attention of the congregation (v. 2) and asked them, “Choose from among you helpers that can take care of this issue. On the other hand, we (the apostles) will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word” (vv. 3-4). 

The early church leaders wisely knew not to allow distractions take away their time in God’s Word and prayer. If so, it would weaken them and allow the enemy to gain an advantage. Satan tried to use a legitimate need to distract the apostles. They were discerning and not ignorant of the devil’s schemes. 

Knowledge of Satan’s methods and tactics can prove to be helpful to the man or woman of God who seeks to advance the kingdom of God.

End of Part 1