Exodus 20:7

5-1-19, * --  What is the third commandment?  You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
What does this mean? We should not use His name to curse, swear, lie, or cheat because we worship the Lord God almighty. Instead, we should call His name whenever there’s trouble, whenever we pray, and whenever we praise and thank Him.
​
In today's culture for many of us, our name is simply a name.  It doesn’t hold any special meaning other than what we use to refer to ourselves.  However, this was not the case when the Bible was written and it's especially not the case in reference to God and HIS name. 

The Bible records many names for God they all have significance as they point to an aspect of His character and nature.

• El Shaddai means “God almighty”.  He is all powerful. 
• Adonai means “Lord”.  He is the ruler. 
• Jesus means “Savior” because He saves us by His death and resurrection. 
• Yahweh most likely means that He is real, present and accessible to all those who call on Him for deliverance or forgiveness.

The point is that the names of God represent who He is. In this sense, if there is any word that is not to be used flippantly or carelessly, it is God’s name. 

We mustn't say “God” or “Jesus Christ” unless we are praying to Him, seeking to honor Him and speak well of Him.  Sadly, most people in our culture don’t share this feeling and use God’s name in a way that dishonors Him by using it as a curse word. Shameful.

Follow-up: 7-20-19, Annette -- I have received some push back about my criticism of the profanity our President used this past week in North Carolina. A few others have concluded that the President did not use the Lord's name in vain or that we should lighten up and keep it in perspective. Here's what he did say:About his friend: "if you don’t support me, you are going to be so G-ddamn poor, you are not going to believe it.'” And a second time in a reference to how [G-D] hard the nation’s armed forces might strike Iran, should it come to a military conflict. [I couldn't find the direct quote.]

Using God's name as an adverb [or adjective] [describing how poor ... or how hard the military was going to hit Iran] is blasphemy.

I am a conservative supporter of Pres T and want to make an issue of this because he's getting a little too cocky; using more and more profanity. [In No Carolina he also repeated 'bullshit.']

Apparently Pres Trump believes he answers to no one; at least that's how he's behaving. God will not be mocked ... Pres T must rein it in and be more circumspect in his language. Appearances matter. I pray that Pres T will heed the warnings and admonishments and behave better so all his comments can be quoted and recorded without embarrassment. Write here to the president:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Exodus 20:7 "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

Hour & half video of Pres Trump's speech here

President Trump chided for use of profanity God's name at NC rally: 
​7-19-19, Mr President please curb your cursing; you are doing it more and more and now in North Carolina you even used the Lord's name. [Commandment #3: Exodus 20:7]

Sen. Paul Hardesty, Democrat from Virginia commented on the "distasteful comments" President Trump made during his July 18, 2019, North Carolina rally.  Senator Hardesty, a conservative Democrat Trump supporter from coal country, sent a letter to the president pointing out that he used God's name twice: 

• The first time was in reference to a business person whom Trump didn't get along with that reluctantly agreed he is prospering under the Trump administration. Otherwise, he would've been "g-d-damn poor"
• The second time Trump used it was in reference to how hard the U.S. military would strike Iran if it comes to it.

Hardesty said: "There is no place in society -- anywhere, anyplace and at any time -- where that type of language should be used or handled. Your comments were not presidential. I know in my heart that you are better than that. Remember it's "In God We Trust" in the United States, "not curse." I remains a supporter today and urge you to reflect on your comments and never utter those words again."

Trump, largely elected by evangelical Christians, has said he will fight for religious freedom. His support has increased among evangelicals, largely because of nominating conservative judges, moving the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and because of his anti-abortion policies; but are very disturbed that his use of profanity is increasing.

[Note: We Christians are appalled at President Trump's increasing cockiness, profane and sacrilegious comments.--Annette]

Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 40:21-23, 66:1
 
7-18-19, * -- Scientists and astronomers believed that God created the universe; but they wanted to understand how. God has given us the gift of reason, which if used properly, can help us to discover the relationship between a cause and an effect and what is true and what is a lie.
 
Without God’s Word to guide them, ancient cultures and scientists believed that the world was flat because that is what it appeared to be.
 
The Bible tells us the moon lights the night and the sun the day. [Genesis 1:16] Since only one hemisphere of the earth faces the sun during the day and one hemisphere at night, it must be concluded that the sun shines first on one hemisphere and then on another hemisphere, but not on both at the same time. God had put them in place ‘for signs and seasons, for days and years.’ (Genesis 1:14) God created the sun, the moon and the stars and put them in place to create a planetary clock with precise timing and measurements of days, years and centuries.
 

A Greek scientist born about 87 AD, Claudius Ptolemy proposed that the earth was the center of the universe not moving at all; thinking that all celestial objects — including the planets, Sun, Moon and stars … orbited Earth. Scientists believed this theory for one thousand four hundred years. Then along came Nicholaus Copernicus, (1473-1543) who proposed the sun is the center of the universe with the earth orbiting it as do all the planets and stars.
 
The Apostle Paul said, ‘The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.’ (Romans 1: 19-21)
 
King David said, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day to day utters speech and night after night shows God’s knowledge. There is not speech or language where their voice is not heard.’ (Psalm 19:1-3)
 
The prophet Isaiah 40:22 said the earth is a circle and God uses it as His footstool [Isaiah 66:1].

"The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:​"  Romans 1:20

As with most things, science will eventually catch up with God’s truths. Let God be true and every man a liar. [Romans 3:4]
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original message by Selwyn Perry here  https://www.bible-school-for-parents-and-children.com/unit-31-sun-moon-and-stars.html

Matthew 13:4;  Genesis 15:11; Deuteronomy 28:26; Revelation 18:2

​7-15-19, WSJ -- In 1963 Alfred Hitchcock's scary movie 'THE BIRDS' has become a reality in America. Birds are turning violent as Red-winged blackbirds and other species are stepping up dive bombing humans. Stephen Vedder used to enjoy peaceful lakeside runs near his Marlborough, Mass. home. This spring 2019 those tranquil outings came to an end. It started with a whack to the back of the head. Next, Mr. Vedder was dive bombed then clawed. The culprit was a red-winged blackbird.

More than 250 million of the birds live across North and Central America, and this summer some are feeling extra aggressive toward human neighbors—driving them to change walking routes, wear protective headgear or furiously wave arms above their heads as they jog. Mr Vedder a 60 yr old programmer said:

“You talk to people about being attacked by birds, and they look at you like you’re crazy. This is ‘The Birds’ all over again, but it’s real!”  More here

7-17-19, BBC -- Studying common terns on a beach island in Massachusetts, people frequently attacked by a noisy dive-bombing squawking swarm, and took to wearing a hat with plastic flowers attached since birds typically attack the highest part of their target.
​
Joggers in Denver, Colorado, have been waving their arms above their heads as they run, in order to prevent their scalps from being strafed by red-winged blackbirds. More here

Birds 'Terns' Attack People in Farne Island, England

June 2013 [yes 2013] ... Tourists are being forced to dive for cover in scenes reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film The Birds during visits to a huge nesting site on the isolated Farne Islands, England. The Terns are dive-bombing and pecking people's heads forcing them to take cover during visits to islands off the coast of Northumberland. Even bird watchers trying to photograph them are watching helplessly as the creatures attack their cameras.  More here

Galatians 5:1; 2 Timothy 3:5; Revelation 12:9

7-13-19, Henry Morris, PhD -- Included in the Apostle Paul’s graphic description of the “perilous” characteristics of the “last days” (not the church age, since the prophesied last days were still future when he wrote of them in his last epistle, 2 Timothy 3:1-3) is this warning concerning the religious leaders of the last days. They would observe the outward form (church buildings, sacraments, religious services, etc.) of “godliness” (that is, “religion”), but would reject its supernatural aspects of the one true God. They would desire the trappings of religious professionalism since they would be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4).

Such specifications aptly describe the modern world of scientism and liberal theology that pervades practically all religious denominations and overlaps with all kinds of liberal social movements (women’s liberation, gay rights, “New Age” pantheism, and others). It is a snare and a prison keeping mankind from the truth and freedom found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. [Mark 10:45; Galatians 5:1; 1 John 1:7] Although these are widely diverse in structure and purpose, they all share one vital feature in common:

They reject supernatural Christianity, especially literal creationism. Many liberal preachers give nominal allegiance to the teachings of Christ and the Bible, but they invariably deny the mighty power of God in special creation, as well as the great worldwide miracles of the Bible—the Flood, the Hebrew dispersion, the miracle of Israel's people and land, etc.

Many Bible believing Christians have compromised and have accepted the evolutionary system of “ages geology,” and this is tragic and dangerous. Instead of being unequally yoked [2 Corinthians 6:14] with evolutionary naturalists and religious liberals, as many evangelicals today are inclined to do, Paul warns: 2 Timothy 3:5

“From such turn away!”
Source

If you have repented of your sins and have received Christ as Savior, then you, too, are one of them. Source
​
John 16:22; 1 Peter 1:1-9; Galatians 5:22

The Holy Bible (both the Old and New Testament) predates every nation and organization on the planet currently in existence by millennia (beginning with the book of Job – circa 2000 BC). It predates the Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians and is probably on par (timeline-wise) with the first Egyptian dynasty. It predates:

1. US Constitution
2. English Magna Carta
3. Roman and Greek Empires

Too many people today in the 21st-century believe that we’re superior to all who have come before us, not because we're collectively smarter (we aren’t), but because technology has lifted humanity out of the morass of having to grind out a living. This has freed up time so mankind could pursue other things: higher education, entertainment and careers that do not entail manual labor. Along with all that extra time and education, man began to develop philosophies regarding where he came from, why he’s the way he is, how we should live and where he is going after he dies.
 
The collective world has never enjoyed a time such as the one we are currently in. We take many modern conveniences for granted like: electricity, motorized machinery, heating and cooling, food production, instant communication and the Internet. However, mankind has returned to the consensus that God is dead, man is god and everyone does what they think is right in their own eyes. The Bible details a time before the global flood [1] in antediluvian history where mankind arrived at a similar conclusion: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5 [Judges 17:6, 21:25; Proverbs 21:2, 26:12]
 
Even the most ardent skeptic must conclude; either the Bible is true or it’s not. If you believe the Bible is not true, then quit reading this and go on about your life. However, if you have questions and only doubt … there’s more. Either the Bible is 100% true or it’s all a lie. It’s far too interwoven to be both true and false. In other words, every book within the Bible connects with every other book within the Bible in such a way, that it would be impossible to separate them or have them contradict [2] each other. Example: The last canonized Old Testament book, was written by the prophet Malachi (circa 450-424 BC). This was over three-hundred years before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. We see that nothing in the Old Testament conflicts with anything in the New Testament.
 
How can that be?
 
The Old Testament was largely written by the Jewish people who practiced Judaism; to the point their descendants killed the prophesied Messiah Jesus Christ [Matthew 26:53] (of whom they still deny to this day). The New Testament was largely written by Jews who practiced Christianity because of this same Messiah Jesus Christ (of whom they affirm to this day). So the same system of worship Jesus Himself kept, Judaism, ended up killing Him because He fulfilled the things that system said the Messiah had to fulfill?? Yes, paradox abounds.

Almighty God requires a blood sacrifice of a perfect being for forgiveness of sin. (Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53:7-9; Matthew 26:28; John 1:29) We must understand one simple principle, then it all makes perfect sense: They are two parts of the same whole: Christianity is Judaism fulfilled.
 
From Creation to the Patriarchs, the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, Proverbs and so on, are all part of the foundation for the New Testament. Furthermore, the Old Testament does not and could not exist in a messiah vacuum. Beginning in Genesis 3:15, the Old Testament requires and demands a Messiah figure to come as its culmination point.
 
The first century Hebrew Pharisees and Sadducee’s believed that the Messiah who would come, would only be a man like Moses or David. This man would throw off the shackles of Gentile domination that had hounded them for centuries. What they wanted, was the kingdom that was promised to them all throughout the Old Testament (Isaiah 2, 11, 66; Ezekiel 40-48; Daniel 2; Psalm 2; etc.). However, Jesus was not just trying to free the Jews from Gentile oppression, He was freeing all of mankind from the bondage of sin and death.

When Jesus, the Messiah, did come His primary mission was to make them (the Jews) a people fit for the kingdom. That is what the eight Beatitudes were all about in Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" [Matthew 5:1, 7:29]. Of course, these were impossible to keep, so instead they killed Him by having the Romans crucify Him naked on a wooden cross [Matthew 27:27-55] as foretold by King David a thousand years earlier:
 
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me,And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not  silent…6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”…Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Psalm 22:1-18
 
Christianity finds the culmination of all the Old Testament Law and Prophets fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ (Hebrew- Yeshua Hamashiach, or the Greek rendering of the name, Iesus Cristos). Of all the would-be messiahs who have come and gone in Israel’s four-thousand years of history, only Jesus of Nazareth:

a) fits the prophesied timeline perfectly (Daniel 9:24-27) and
b) fulfilled over 108 specific prophecies concerning His coming. [Matthew 23:37-39]
 
However, because that generation (Jesus’s contemporaries) rejected Him as their Messiah, He said: “I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” Hosea 5:15
 
That time of His return has many names and is broken down into several segments. Collectively it is known as the day of the Lord. [Jeremiah 30:5-7; Zechariah 14:1-5;  Joel 2:1-17; Amos 5:15-24; Matthew 24:42-51; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9; Revelation 3:1-3]

Conclusion - As you can see, this world is passing away, and our current state of affairs is not destined to last forever. It had a beginning and it will have an ending. The world, and all its current geopolitical complexities and dramas exists presently, to keep God’s promise to one particular group of people, the Jews. If that were not true, why is there so much hatred towards them? Why have they been the most persecuted group/ethnicity in the entirety of human history?

1. Egyptians enslaved them
2. Canaanites continually attacked them
3. Philistines continually attacked them
4. Assyrians conquered them
5. Babylonians conquered them
6. Persians kept them under Gentile rule
7. Greeks kept them under Gentile rule
8. Romans kept them under Gentile rule
9. Romans destroyed Jerusalem, exiled the remnants
10. English expelled them in 1290
11. French expelled them in 1306
12. Spanish expelled them in 1492
13. Russians allowed pogroms against them
14. Germans tried to exterminate them
15. Arabs/Muslims been at continual war/aggression with them
16. Leftist Progressives have increasingly turned against them

 
All of these have at one point or another, persecuted, attacked, laid siege too, imprisoned, conspired against, confiscated the wealth of, and expelled the Jewish people from their lands.
 
God had made unconditional promises to Israel’s forefathers (i.e., the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) in Genesis 12:1, 15:1, 17:1, 15-19, 28:1, Jeremiah 31:40 and more. He will give them the kingdom here on earth with Jesus reigning from Jerusalem for a thousand years, because God cannot lie, and what thing He has determined, He will do. (Isaiah 46:9-10)
 
Since the Bible comes from the Jews (both Old and New Testaments), Jesus Christ was Jewish, and the Bible states Satan hates the Jews and is currently running this planet (Luke 4:4-6, 1 John 5:13, 19), it only makes sense that Satan has been in a perpetual state of war against them.
 
Christ will visibly return judge the nations. So regardless of your beliefs, philosophies, college degrees, wokeness, political correctness, gender identity, victim identity, anyone who does not repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior personally [Psalm 86:5; Luke 13:3], will die in their sins, and be eternally separated from God (John 14:6). This is what you have to look forward too if you are not born again in Christ Jesus. [John 3:3, 7; Revelation 20:10-15]
 
I may not have persuaded you to believe that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King if Kings [1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14, 19:11–16]; that the end of this age is coming and very soon, but simply look around and ask yourself three questions:

1. Does the Bible really know the future?
2. Does the technology exist today for a one-world government to effectively run the world?
3. If the Bible isn’t true, when was it disproved and by whom? 

*Dedication To those who think Christianity is the cause of all the world’s problems. Apparently you think Christianity is responsible for the Crusades, the Inquisitions, slavery, Jonestown and global warming. You may have no issue tolerating other belief systems such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Wiccan, Islam, atheism, etc., but Christianity, oh that just gets your blood boiling. 
 
You strongly believe that all religions essentially are the same and need to coexist. You also believe that “true” Christianity is not about sharing the good news that Jesus died for your sins, but about feeding the poor, clothing the naked, and housing the homeless.
 
In your view, tolerance is everything and the only thing you cannot tolerate, is intolerance. This is the 21st century after all, and if a man wants to marry another man, so be it. If a man wants to identify as a woman, or vice versa, so be it. Women should be paid the same as men, regardless of the job they do, because of gender equality (even though you believe gender is a fluid concept). If a woman wants to marry her cat or the Pacific Ocean, so be it. If people want to come into this country “illegally,” they should, because nations shouldn’t have borders.
 
Perhaps you think life doesn’t begin in the womb, but only when a parent and a doctor agree that it begins (even if the baby is already born). Love doesn’t have gender (or age), and objective truth is just some racist construct meant to oppress minorities. In the 21st century, post-modern, post-Christian America, emotions trump facts, and truth is relative. Truth is whatever you want it to be.
 
[1] Dr John Osgood, Global flood, 2304 BC here https://creation.com/the-date-of-noahs-flood
[2] Contradiction Claims: https://www.allaboutgod.com/faq/contradictions.htm
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original report from Pete Garcia here http://rev310.com/2019/07/nowhere-to-hide-part-i-dedicated-to-the-skeptics-scoffers-and-deniers

2 Timothy 4:3-4; Romans 1:24; Jude 1:18

Hebrews 9:24

7-1-19, Henry Morris, PhD -- Although we usually think in terms of two appearances of Christ, once at His first coming and again at His second coming, the ninth chapter of Hebrews specifically refers to three “appearings,” each involving a different Greek word. With reference to His first appearing, we read: “Now once in the end of the [age] hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (v. 26). The word used here means “to make manifest.” It is the word used in 1 John 3:5: “He was manifested to take away our sins.”

His second coming is the topic in Hebrews 9:28, where the word means to show oneself visibly. “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

However, there is also a third appearing mentioned in Hebrews 9:24, and this is the one referring to Christ’s present and perpetual appearance on our behalf in the presence of God in heaven. The word here means “to inform,” referring to His advocacy on our behalf as our “defense attorney,” so to speak:

1. Not only did Christ die for us
2. Not only will He come for us
3. Right now, He is interceding for us as our Advocate. Job 16:19-20; 1 John 2:1

This work of Christ on our behalf is vitally important, although we do not think of it nearly as much as we do His two other appearings. This appearing affects us right now, every day, and is of infinite value. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2). “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) Source

Psalm 139:14; Lamentations 3:24

7-12-19, Billy Graham Archives -- Woman asks: "My doctor says I have a chemical imbalance in my brain that he can treat with medication, but a friend of mine says, 'I shouldn't do this because I just need to pray and have more faith.' Who's right? I can't stand this much longer."

Answer: If you broke your arm in an accident, do you think your friend would claim it was a sin for you to have a broken arm and all you needed to do was pray? I doubt it. Neither is it a sin for you to seek treatment for a chemical imbalance in your brain.

The Bible says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and it’s true: Our bodies and minds are very complex. Although doctors can’t solve all our problems, we should be grateful that God has enabled them to understand more about our bodies and minds and has given them new ways to overcome many of our problems.

However, please don’t misunderstand; God has given us the gift of prayer, and prayer should be an important part of your life as you struggle with this problem. Through prayer we draw near to God, and the closer we get to Him, the more we will realize that He loves us and wants to help us. Sometimes miracles do happen without doctors, but Jesus spoke of the need of physicians for the sick. Make sure of your commitment to Christ, and then ask Him to guide you as you seek treatment. [Mark 2:17] 

John 20: 21-22; Ezekiel 33:10-20; Isaiah 55:6-7; Jeremiah 6:16-30, 26:3; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 3:19
 
7-11-19, * -- Have you ever had it happen when you rebuked an abuser, not only did they refuse to apologize, repent, or change their hurtful behavior, but smugly inform you that “God forgives everything,” and that the Bible says that you have to forgive them too. And all I can say to that is, “Nice try;” because it’s just not true. God’s forgiveness doesn’t work that way; not even close; His kids aren't whipping posts for the wicked.
 
God forgives everybody who REPENTS, not everybody who doesn’t repent continuing repeatedly with no remorse to sin.  Repentance means turning from one’s sinful ways and changing one’s LIFE. It does not mean continuing on as before, and it also does not mean stopping just one or two obnoxious behaviors while continuing all the rest, or even finding some new ones.  [Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10]
 
It might surprise such self-righteous offenders to learn that God does NOT forgive “everybody” and that He does NOT tell us to either.  In fact, there is NOT ONE INSTANCE in Scripture of the Lord forgiving anyone who remains “stiff-necked” (stubborn) and unrepentant. [Luke 13:3]

Clearly, only a change in a sinner’s ways and turning to God does a person receive forgiveness. God lists additional requirement for meriting forgiveness - accepting Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior. They are born again in a ‘newness of life.’ [John 3:3, 7]  (No one who has genuinely turned their life to Jesus can continue to deliberately sin and abuse others).  Abusers would just love an excuse to obligate us to forgive them without the slightest effort to make amends, commitment to change, or anything expected of them at all.   It’s the Abuser’s Dream Gig to be able to commit one evil deed after another with impunity, and then pervert the Word of God by claiming that others have to repeatedly and unconditionally forgive them; this is utter nonsense.
 
Born again believers in the Lord Jesus study His Word and know that He has such a heart of love for the downtrodden and the broken-hearted, He desires us to be free of every kind of bondage.  God doesn’t play mean little tricks on abuse victims.  He NEVER says anything that would make it easier for a sinner to keep on sinning or an abuser to keep on abusing.  To even suggest otherwise is to reveal a profound ignorance of God’s divine nature.
  
Some abusers like to call themselves Christians, because it enables them to get away with sinful behaviors without being challenged or confronted. The Bible is not an excuse for abusive people to have a field day without ever suffering any consequences. These people might actually be familiar with Scripture so they twist it and take it out of context in an attempt to deceive us into forgiving them when no forgiveness is warranted. 

 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked – for whatsoever a person sows, that shall they also reap.” Galatians 6:7

The Lord’s higher purpose is to change people’s hearts and make them turn from evil, give up their wicked ways and choose to follow HIM instead of Satan.  He does that by requiring repentance before forgiveness, not by giving evildoers a free ride. [Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32]
 
The Lord Jesus distinctly tells us that we are to forgive someone who sins against us IF they repent. [Luke 17:3] He does NOT tell us to forgive everyone, including those who have  absolutely no remorse and fully intend to continue abusing others and behaving badly.  That would be preposterous and contradictory. 
 
We need to pray for discernment and wisdom to distinguish between  REAL Christians and PRETEND Christians.  One big clue is that REAL Christians ACT LIKE real Christians; they obey God's commands and show kindness to others. 
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original message from Renee Pittelli here http://www.luke173ministries.org/466809

Isaiah 41:11-12; Lamentations 2:18; Zechariah 2:8; Numbers 24:9

7-8-19, * -- To many, Israel today is the Start Up nation, a wealthy and a militarily powerful state. It did not become that overnight. Some radical anti-Israel voices erroneously describe Israel as “white.” The facts however are different; as there are over one hundred thousand immigrants from Ethiopia, African economic migrants in the thousands, and Mizrahi Jews from the Arab Middle East, who comprise about half the population.
 
Israelis of all colors and creeds made the desert bloom, overcoming the hardships of wars, terror, and absorbing millions of Jewish refugees without any natural resources. Known today for its unique entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, the nation was reborn as an independent state in 1948. She was bereft of natural and financial resources, little economic infrastructure and few public services. In the 1950’s the government instituted rations; families were allocated monthly food stamps that allowed them to buy limited amounts of meat, sugar, flour, oil and eggs. As a small child I grew up with Holocaust survivors; their ordeals shaped the minds of children, including this reporter.
 
At that time Israel had a quasi-socialist economy, lacking major private ownership of economic entities.  Banks, the national airline - El Al, Israel’s shipping fleet - ZIM, were government owned and operated. And, what the government did not own, the trade unions or Histadrut owned. This was a critical period in the country’s history, that coincided with a massive inflow of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and the Maghreb (North Africa), who had to be housed, fed, clothed and employed. Given the shortage of capital, the burden of dealing with these problems fell upon the public sector. 
 
In Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, a full 1% of the Jewish population was killed and the country’s infrastructure was in disarray. The U.S. and Britain imposed an embargo on the sale of arms during the war and afterward, while Israel’s enemies, Egypt, Jordan, (which was commanded by a British officer named Glubb Pasha) Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria were already established states and could depend on their existing large arsenals. The decades of the 1950’s and 1960’s were anything but peaceful as follows:

• Fedayeen (Islamic terrorists) from Gaza crossed the Green Line into Israel with the aim to kill Israelis and destroy farmland and industrial facilities.
• Buses were attacked killing  many women and children.
• In 1956 the Sinai Campaign began when Israel defeated the Egyptian forces reaching the Suez Canal.
• In 1963 the Six Day War when Israel defeated three major Arab armies. Following the war, the country’s narrow borders were widened to provide more security; erasing the previous narrow waistline of only 9 miles between the border and the Mediterranean Sea, where its main population centers and international airport were located.
• In 1973 the Yom Kippur War when Israel was attacked on its holiest day of the year and again was victorious; but at a very high cost in lives and material.
• In 1979, the miracle of peace with Egypt occurred; and the arrival of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s terrorist regime.
• The 1980’s the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) that claimed the lives of over a million soldiers and civilians.
• In 1981, Israel eliminated Iraq’s dictator’s (Saddam Hussein) nuclear ambitions by destroying the Osirak nuclear reactor in an operation codenamed “Operation Opera.”
• In 1982 the Second Lebanon War when Israel removed the PLO menace from Lebanon.
• In July 1985 economic sphere, the Israeli government Stabilization Plan reduced the government involvement in the economy. U.S. loans to Israel for defense acquisitions were turned into grants. By the middle of 1986, inflation was brought down from three digits to double-digits of around 20%.
• In 1990’s:
  • the arrival of over a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union, dramatically increased domestic demand.
  • accelerated economic growth and a sharp increase in investments.
  • In Sept 1993 the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO, were signed on the US White House lawn. However, the peace was short lived as Yasser Arafat, the PLO chairman, incited Palestinian terror, which including homicide bombing.
  • In 1994 Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel.

During 2000-2008 Israel struggled to have peace with the Islamic citizens  [aka Palestinians] while the economy boomed. Tyler Cowen, in a Bloomberg Opinion piece (June 6, 2019) wrote: “In the last half century or so, Israel went from being a relatively poor country to one of the 25 richest in the world, as measured by per capita income. Israel has done this largely by pursuing trade, integration into the global economy, liberalization of the economy and heavy investments in the tech sector and in startups, often with government support.” In 2018 Israel’s Gross Domestic Product [GDP] at $392 billion,and its growth rate was an astonishing 4.4%. The Jewish state has come a long way from exporting oranges and phosphates, to becoming a leading high-tech exporter, including water technology, medical devices and sophisticated military weapons. 
 
Israel’s infrastructure has undergone tremendous expansion, with four lane highways across the country and a comfortable rail service. Israel has not only become rich, it is a comfortable country to live in and visit. 
***
God said, "Behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.  And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink." Joel 3:1-3
​More Bible Verses God Protects Israel here
 
*Excerpted and adapted full report from Joseph Puder, Front Page More here

Genesis 49:18

6-30-19, Henry Morris, PhD -- This heartfelt cry of the dying patriarch Israel expressed his lifelong, but still unfulfilled, yearning for the coming of God’s promised Savior. In Genesis 49:18 we see the first occurrence in the Bible of the word “salvation” (essentially the same in the Hebrew as “Jesus”). It is also the first occurrence of “waited for,” meaning, essentially, “looked for,” or “waited patiently and expectantly for.” This attitude of Jacob (Israel) has been shared by the people of God down even to the present day.

Significantly, the first occurrence of the equivalent Greek word in the New Testament expresses the same concern on the part of no less a man than John the Baptist when he inquired expectantly of Jesus: “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

Even though He has indeed come, bringing salvation, we still must wait patiently for the complete fulfillment of His promises when He comes again. It was the prayer of Paul that the Lord would “direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

Daniel 12:4

​7-8-19, In this video interview author and Bible scholar Joel Richardson explains that our world view and traditional Bible eschatology teachers have skewed our thinking about end time events. Their understanding and interpretation was influenced by tradition and heir personal world view. In the book of Daniel he  tells us in the end times knowledge will increase. Most of us have believed 'computers, science & technology are fulfillment of that prophecy; 'we're so much smarter now!' No ... it's about knowledge of God's word that will increase. [Daniel 12:4] 

Joel also explains about the beast and why Rome is not the nation to watch. Who are the nations in Revelation 13:1-2

The Apostle John said:
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

They are all Islamic nations; very interesting one hour video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07jaKYXuTjk&feature=youtu.be

Spread of Islam
While the Rashidun caliphs were based at Mecca and Medina, the Umayyads ... the over-stretched army was stopped in 732 AD at the battle of Poitiers by Charles Martel...
The hordes of the expanding Muslim army has been reborn; it was at first only composed of Arab tribal groups, mostly infantry and some cavalry forces. Gradually it transformed itself by recruiting locally during its campaigns. The role played by the mawali (‘converted non-Arab clients’), such as Berber warriors in the western campaign to Spain and, eastwards, Persians and Turks, is well-known. More here

Peace With Homosexuals or Suicide Pact?
Tolerance is an agreement to live in peace, not an agreement to be peaceful no matter the conduct of others. A peace treaty is not a suicide pact.
 
7-6-19, Canada Free Press -- Today, we are seeing governments sell our children lifestyles that most of us find abhorrent and depravity. 

America has laws now about tolerating or celebrating homosexuality. We tolerate men in womens locker rooms; ‘Pride’ parades and drag queens [men in outrageous makeup and costumes] reading to our kids in tax payer funded public libraries.  

In the name of tolerance and diversity we are being told by the “Left” to tolerate more and more. If we don't we are labeled bigots and homophobes!
 
Recently, parents in California pulled hundreds of students from a public school in because of a new LGBTQ curriculum beginning with 2nd graders. Parents were originally allowed to opt out of such programs, but no longer. Other states have implemented similar programs beginning as early as pre-school. They include books and activities meant to introduce alternate life styles like switching genders and having same sex parents, making them seem normal and commonplace = brainwashing!
 
We are witnessing the collapse of society as described in three steps in Romans 1:18-32.

1. denial of our Creator God and the worship of man instead with secular humanism and the legalization of same sex marriage. Jesus said man & woman Mark 10:5-9
2. acceptance of degrading homosexual and lesbian passion
3. depraved minds. The deception of LGB is morphing into the delusion of transgenderism. It is the total destabilization of society with the destruction of the family unit and now the denial of the foundational reality of male and female.

LGBTQ??  What does that mean?  From their actions it appears that the true meaning of LGBTQ is Let’s Go Be Terrorists Quickly in that they try to terrorize anyone who will not join them in their religion of hatred for God's creation. ​

Drag queen story hour in Leander Texas protest; Library Closes
6-11-19, WashPost -- Access to a public library in Texas will be restricted this weekend in anticipation of demonstrations over a children's story hour run by homosexuals men dressed up as women 'drag queens' ... Drag queen story hours have made libraries the latest front in the United States’ wrenching national dispute over gender roles and sexuality.

​PBS Accused of 'Brainwashing' Kids After 'Arthur' Features a Homosexual Character
5-14-19,  Some experts say young children being inundated with 'normalcy' of men dressing up as women and listening to a drag queen read a story is dangerous for their God given gender healthy mentality. It causes confusion. The homosexual community want to increase their small numbers and to do that they are targeting children; they want to brainwash preschoolers and elementary aged children about homosexuality. It's not up to PBS to brainwash/recruit children. The gay community is in the vast minority. One wouldn't know it though between tv, movies, commercials, etc. The Gay Mafia is out in full force. Leviticus 18:22; Matthew 5:18; Colossians 3:1-10
***
Tolerance ends when it attempts to coerce approval, not simply live side by side with other beliefs. Attempting to destroy or contaminate time-tested, long standing values, social or religious is not tolerance, but speaks of a suicide pact. More here 

 Jeremiah 34:15
 
6-5-19, * -- Blessings to America and her sons and daughters as we continue to celebrate our independence declared on July 4, 1776. However, the nation we know and love as America, the ideal of the United States of America, really began in the early 1600's. Immigrants from other nations, mainly England settlers, came on an adventure that spawned the beacon of freedom and the light of Jesus Christ for the world.

The Mayflower Compact [1], (image above) which many believe today to be the first significant governing document of what would become the United States, was very specific about the covenant these men and women were entering into with God for this new land. Herein, we need to know the past in order to preserve our future.
 
Some 18 years later, The Fundamental Orders of 1638 AD [2] were adopted in Connecticut.  Its preamble says:

"For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God ... knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of the people at all seasons as occasion shall require; ... to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus ... which according to the truth of the said Gospel, is now practiced amongst us; as also in our civil affairs to be guided and governed according to such Laws, Rules, Orders and Decrees...”
 
These documents and many others like them dispel the lie that America was not founded on Christian precepts [3].  We allow freedom to all religions, because our God in Christ Jesus will not force Himself upon others, but rather allow them to come voluntarily.
 
The foundation of our nation must remain Christian otherwise we will not so long be a nation of freedom and justice. 
God's sovereignty must be the rule of man.
Remember your heritage in order to keep your future.

The Apostle Paul said: 
​Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life...
Keep this commandment without spot, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who in His times He shall show, Who is the blessed
and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords;
Who Only hath immortality, dwelling in the light:
to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
1 Timothy 5:11-16

Religious Liberty Monument, Washington DC Inscribed:
"Our liberty of worship is not a concession or a privilege but and inherent right."
Inscription on the monument in Washington, DC here
***
​*Excerpted and adapted Bill Wilson’s full original message from Daily Jot here
 
[1] Text Mayflower Compact of 1620 AD here 
[2] Fundamental Orders of Connecticut - They wanted the govt to have access to the open ocean for trading here 
[3] Did America Have a Christian Founding? here

Galatians 5:1; John 3:36, 19:30; Philippians 1:6

7-4-2014, Archives of Charles Stanley: Although a nation can be free within it's own borders and in it's relationship to other nations, it's people can be in slavery on the inside. In The Gift of Freedom, Dr. Stanley teaches that freedom is never cheap and that true freedom comes only through Jesus Christ.     

 Revelation 13:13

Sicilians dive into sea to escape Stromboli volcano
7-3-19, NY Post - ​Massimo Imbesi, a 35-year-old fromMilazzo in Sicily was killed and dozens threw themselves into the sea when Mt Stromboli Volcano on the Sicilian island of Stromboli violently exploded. Two blasts reported by Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology around 10:30 a.m. were unexpected and particularly powerful sending ash/smoke 6,000 ft into the sky and lava embers of fire raining down on the popular tourist spot. Priest Giovanni Longo said: “It was like being in hell because of the rain of fire coming from the sky.” [Exodus 9:23; Revelation 8:7, 13:13??] The explosions were preceded by lava spills; as molten rocks flowed from the crater and flew into the sky.

Stromboli eruption: Volcano rocks Italian island, kills 1 hiker - CNN
7-3-19, CNN -- A hiker was killed when a series of eruptions from one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, MT STROMBOLI, rocked the small Italian island of Stromboli. People were so frightened they threw themselves into the sea. Firefighters and helicopter were deployed to extinguish fires started by the eruption. ANSA reported

7-2-19, * -- Oh, say can you see the undeniable truth that America is descending into the denouement [final stage] of twilight’s last gleaming? Anyone with even a modicum of awareness must - if they’re honest- admit that the sun is setting on the once great American empire. Make no mistake, God’s “Dispensation of Grace” [Luke 21:24; Acts 2:1-2] is almost finished; the dawning of the great and terrible Day of the Lord is at hand. [Zephaniah 1:14-18; Acts 2:20] [This is not to say the current presidential administration is at fault; clearly President Trump has improved the current progress of the US and trying to save babies from abortion; but the wicked will continue its assault. – Ed.]
 Mankind is currently the terminal generation [1]. We saw the rebirth of Israel; God’s “super sign” that heralded the beginning of the last generation that would live to see the culmination of all Biblically prophesied events. [Isaiah 11:11-12, 35:1; Matthew 23:33-36]

Satan’s minions of chaos have been - and are now - infiltrating every strata and corner of American culture. The goal is to completely bring about a seismic paradigm shift in the world view of every American – in particular our children, from pre-k all the way through post graduate programs, thereby moving America away from the Judeo-Christian roots, morals and views the nation was founded upon. We are seeing a  systematic effort turning the people into a pantheistic, narcissistic, perpetually needy, always entitled “hive” mentality where personal responsibility and motivation for self help are crushed beneath the behemoth weight of the communistic  “hive mind” with the elite oligarchy that masters and controls it. It’s all there, spelled out in their own words in the United Nations plans called Agenda 21 and Agenda 30.

​Once God’s inevitable judgment arrives, it will be a complete and utter shock to the majority and America will be forced to deal with the truth. There’ll be nowhere to run & nowhere to hide when the Lion of Judah – King Jesus Christ - roars forth His righteous condemnation and justice upon this God hating, family hating, America hating & evil-loving world. Scoffers will accuse me of being a “doom and gloomer” as they continue to dismiss the truth of God’s wrath to come [Proverbs 1:22-28]. God’s faithful servants who want to ‘save some’ [John 10:7-9] have always been maligned and scorned; Jesus warned us. [Mark 13:13]
 
Twilight is rapidly descending into the night of coming judgment. As the New World Order’s Antichrist system is rising, the Remnant Church, with increasing fervor, cries MARANATHA, even so, come Lord Jesus. [Revelation 22:20]

[1] Gary Stearman, Last Generation here
*Excerpted and adapted full original message from Alice Childs - Rapture Ready here 

​ Matthew 5:11-12, 26

6-30-19, Archives Oswald Chambers -- God is determined to make us pure, holy and right. He will not allow us to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged us to come to judgment immediately when we were convicted that we needed salvation. If we did not obey the urging, then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. We've been “thrown into prison, [and]…will by no means get out of there till the last penny is paid” (Matthew 5:25-26). Yet we ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?”

When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to suffer the horror of the cross to save us; but we must accept the 'gift.'

While we were still sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

God is going to bring us out pure, spotless and undefiled, but only possible by the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. He wants us to recognize our sinful nature. However, the moment we are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road repenting of our sin trusting Jesus to save us and we are 'born again.' John 3:3, 7

The Lord Jesus Christ's sermons are meant for our will and our conscience, not for our heads. If we dispute these verses Matthew 5:11-12, 25-26 from the Sermon on the Mount with our head; the appeal to our hearts will be dulled.  Source

The Sermon on the Mount:
(Matthew 5:11-12, Luke 12:57-59;Psalm 1:1-6; Luke 6:20-23)

6-30-19, A blanket of hail and ice covered streets in the Mexican city of Guadalajara after a heavy storm hit the area on Sunday, June 30, 2019. Residents were surprised to find their roads, yards and even cars buried under three feet [some places five feet] of icy slush from a freak hailstorm that had blanketed the city.  In the mountainous area that sits about 350 miles west of Mexico City, damage was reported to nearly 200 homes and businesses. Approximately  50 vehicles were swept away by the heavy ice and rain. No injuries or casualties were reported. ​More from Washington Post here

End Times "In the Last Days" Events:

Matthew 24:21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.Luke 21:11, 25-26 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke 21:11Revelation 6:8  Apostle John said, "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth."

Jeremiah 33:10-11

​6-30-10, Weekly prophecy update from John Haller in Ohio USA; He explains straight from the archive of the Babylon Bee [Satire site (1)]:

1. In the end times people will believe fables; the Apostle Paul - in last chapter - penned before his death: 2 Timothy 4:3-5 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
2. Joel and Victoria Osteen attended a Lady Gaga event on being "Born this Way." Apparently the race to the bottom for "Shepherds" of Osteen's ilk have reached a fevered pace.
3. There will be a time when "Peace and Safety" will be in the news and that time may be here, as Jarod Kushner continues to work behind the scenes, formulating a Mid-East Peace Plan. We are to be watchman, observing, analyzing and warning those who are susceptible to the sleight of hand that may bring about the "Covenant" with the many.
4. Some in New York seeking to legalize prostitution ... More ...

​One hour fifteen minute message video here

Matthew 24:12
Increase of wickedness and sin: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."

The return of the Lord Jesus Christ = KING OF KINGS says to WATCH!
Mark 13:33 Jesus said: "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."
***
​(1) The Babylon Bee | Your Trusted Source for Christian News Satire.
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