A review of "The Harbinger"

The Harbinger By Johnathan Cahn Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (ESV) Romans 15:4 tells us that the old testament is for our learning, and just like world history biblical history repeats itself. One might refer to it as spiritual history. Man has and will continue to make the same mistakes spiritually with a different face until our Father and our Lord put an end to it once and for all. So in this respect the verses the author uses in Isaiah are very relevant to our age (regardless of all the other similarities between ancient Israel and our nation that the author points out). The Harbinger to those who are spiritually minded should be a strong wake up call to our nation. Not only is this book a compelling work of fiction, but it also points out how we are going down a similar path that led Old Testament Israel into exile. The author is brilliant in using historical fact to impart a fictional story between Noriel and the prophet. Not easy to do when your referencing the bible. Give Mr. Cahn credit!!! The author of "confessions of an economic hitman" once stated that he had a hard time getting his book put into print, but had many offers if he changed it into a work of fiction. Compelling when you consider that it revealed the governments secret work in bankrupting foreign countries, destroying their natural resources, and implementing a new world order. Do I think this book is presented ficticiously because of similar pressures put on the author? No. However, I do think selling it as fiction helps distribute this historical relationship between our time and those just prior to Israel's captivity in Babylon. The Harbinger is a riveting story, a captivating look at the state of our country, economy, and relating it to the same mistakes that Israel made prior to their fall to Babylon and 70 years in captivity. My review can't do the book justice. It is a chilling look at the state we find ourselves in today. He points out some too convenient for comfort similarities between us and Israel before their fell. This is our wake up call. If we as a nation do not return to God I have concerns that our future will be one of horror. Read this book, pray, share it with your friends, and dedicate yourself to our Father in Heaven. We still have an opportunity to turn this around. With God all things are possible. Other readings you should consider: One World By Tal Brooke The Creature From Jekyll Island By G. Edward Griffen The Holy Bible (the most important book)

Why Pastors Won't Take A Stand, Chuck Baldwin

Finally, I have found an article that describes what I believe is a major problem in Christian circles today. Being more success oriented and not being God focused. There does come a time when you have to call evil, evil. The article was originally read in my e-mail. However, you can find it here http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/Articles/tabid/109/ID/1074/Why-Pastors-Wont-Take-A-Stand.asp . I did not write this and I give Chuck Baldwin full credit for it. Please type the link above into your window and go to the original site. However, in case there are issues with it I posted the whole article here. Enjoy. Why Pastors Won’t Take A Stand By Chuck Baldwin September 26, 2013 This column is archived here. I am constantly asked, “Chuck, why don’t pastors take a stand and speak out?” I’ve been a pastor most of my adult life. I believe I am qualified to answer that question. Here is the stark reality: the vast majority of pastors today are “success” oriented. Beginning in Bible College or seminary, and continuing throughout a pastor’s ministerial life, the emphasis is success. And that means church growth, larger congregations, bigger buildings, bigger offerings, burgeoning statistics, greater notoriety, denominational praise, invitations to speak at conferences, applause from fellow ministers, not to mention the financial perks and benefits that come with pastoring a “successful” church. And the way to learn how to build a successful church is to learn from those who have done it. Pastors regularly attend church growth conferences to learn from the “big” church pastors on how it’s done. They purchase books, magazines, newsletters, etc., that are all geared towards telling pastors how to build a successful church. They are constantly being schooled in the latest and greatest “how to” strategies of church growth and success. This usually entails more and more sophisticated programs, music, sound, lighting, atmosphere, classes, seminars, organization, etc. Everything, and I mean everything, is geared toward success as described in the aforementioned paragraph. Most pastors today are in reality not spiritual shepherds as much as they are corporate CEOs. The same mentality, philosophy, and strategy that drive corporate boardrooms also drive the boardrooms of modern churches--to a tee. Pastors act like CEOs, dress like CEOs, talk like CEOs, manage like CEOs, and think like CEOs. Dare I say that even the way pastors and churches cater, and “reach out,” and “minister,” etc., has mostly to do with “good business.” Church members are babied and pacified and stroked and petted and fawned-over because it is “good business.” Today’s Christians are so spoiled and petted that any dereliction or lack of attention by a pastor, church, or staff usually results in them “moving their letter” down the street to a place that will more readily cater to their temperamental demands. Have you not noticed how most pastors spiritualize away the great examples of Bible heroism and defiance against tyranny and despotism? Ask them point blank about Daniel and the lion’s den or the three Hebrew children in the burning fiery furnace or Queen Esther or scores and scores of other acts of defiance lauded in Holy Writ and they will say, “That was another time.” Or, they might say, “This shows God’s great deliverance and protection.” But the overriding principle that drove the great heroes of the faith to challenge and defy evil government is never even acknowledged, much less addressed. The great lesson of the above-mentioned heroes and heroines is not that God delivered them, because many of them were NOT delivered. As Paul notes in Hebrews 11: “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance…And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented…they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35-38 KJV). The great lesson of the above-mentioned heroes and heroines is their willingness to defy evil authority--regardless of outcome. Listen to the three Hebrew children: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden calf which thou hast set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 KJV) These men knew that God COULD deliver them, but they did not know if He WOULD deliver them. And to them, it didn’t matter: they were willing to defy the tyranny of King Nebuchadnezzar regardless. They were not going to bow to the unlawful, illegitimate authority of the state (in whatever form it appeared). That is the glaring lesson of every single one of these great stories of defiance. Furthermore, most pastors and teachers absolutely refuse to tell the truth of Hebrews 11:34: “[They] waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” This Biblical passage lauds the courage of past believers who took up the sword against tyrants and despots. In the same breath that Paul extolled the sacrifice of believers who were willing to die for their faith, he also extolled the bravery of believers who were willing to fight for their faith. But you NEVER hear that from the vast majority of pastors today. If you hear any mention of, say, America’s Founding Fathers from today’s pastors, it is that the founders were wrong, that they violated Romans 13, that God did not lead them to declare independence and revolt against the British Crown. Such is the ignorance and cowardice of today’s ministers. And while we are on the subject, the misinterpretation of Romans 13 is one of the chief reasons why most pastors and churches are so utterly indifferent or nonplussed about resisting evil government. This is why my son and I coauthored the book, “Romans 13: The True Meaning of Submission.” I encourage readers to get this book and share it with as many of your Christian friends as possible. In the book, Tim and prove from the entire Bible--including Romans 13--that nowhere does God expect (much less demand) believers to submit to evil, wicked authority. Order the Romans 13 book here: Romans 13 Truth Tim (a constitutional attorney) and I coauthored a second book that is also relevant to this discussion. It is called, “To Keep or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns.” This book searches the entire Bible and conclusively proves that self-defense is not only a God-ordained right; it is a God-ordained DUTY--and that Christians are totally justified in NOT surrendering their means of self-defense to any civil authority. Order “To Keep or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns” here: Keep Your Arms The fact is that all of these great Bible stories of lawful, God-ordained defiance of unjust authority are totally ignored by the vast majority of today’s pastors and churches. None of these great Bible truths are made relevant to attempted acts of tyranny in today’s America. None of them. Again, it is all about success. To the average pastor, nothing is as anathema as controversy. And nothing is more controversial than politics. Therefore, pastors are taught to avoid politics like the plague. Of course, they won’t tell you that the controversial nature of politics is the reason they avoid it; they will tell you that “God has not called me to get involved in politics,” or, “I’m trying to build a church,” or, “That’s not our mission,” or any number of other pious-sounding clichés. But the reality is they are trying to be successful, and they believe controversy hinders success. That’s also why you seldom, if ever, hear “hard” sermons from the modern pulpit--even though that is exactly the kind of sermons that Jesus Himself preached. (See John 6:60) To the success-driven, religious CEO, people must always feel good; they must be permanently ensconced in their comfort zone; and they must never be rebuked or informed of misconduct or irresponsibility. And as far as freedom goes, the shallowness of the average pulpit refuses to acknowledge the responsibility of the church to do anything to preserve it. All they talk about is praying for your political leaders and being good little subjects of the state. Plus, don’t forget that most churches are up to their eyeballs in debt. Therefore, pastors are afraid if they offend people offerings will go down and they might not be able to pay for all of those fancy buildings and exorbitant staff--not to mention their own personal financial perks might be endangered. And, yes, I must also add that the 501c3 non-profit tax-exempt status most churches operate under poses a serious intimidation against the pastor and church, which keeps them from taking a stand or speaking out on issues that might be construed as political. But here is the bottom line: as long as Christians in the pews continue to attend and financially support these stand-for-nothing churches, the churches will continue to languish in their indifference. After all, by the attendance and offerings of all of these people in the pews, pastors are being continually convinced that everything they have been taught is working: their churches are successful. The ONLY WAY Christians can start making a difference in their country is to GET OUT of these clueless, cowardly churches and find a pastor who is not afraid to be politically-incorrect, who is not afraid to preach and teach the Biblical principles of liberty, and who is not afraid to preach and teach the principles of righteous defiance against any act of tyranny. Find a pastor who is not trying to be successful. You don’t need a successful pastor; you need a truthful pastor. But this means that people in the pews must truly WANT to be in a church that takes a stand, doesn’t it? We have the kind of pastors and churches that we are willing to support. If that’s the case, Christians should stop complaining about the indifference of their pastors and simply accept the imminent slavery to which they are being led. © Chuck Baldwin

Jeremy Camp, I Still Believe

The following is my review of Jeremy Camps book, I still believe I have studied the bible since 1994. Like most of us there have been times I've been closer to God and other times I've been more distant. My wife brought this book home as a gift from her friend. I'm new to listening to Christian music, and of all new artists Jeremy Camp is probably my personal favorite, so why not read it. One word, WOW!!! This guy has such a great testimony, and he is really humble about it. All throughout the book he shows a gracious resolve to work through the death of his wife while facing the weakness of human frailties (we all have them). Melissa's (his deceased wife) desire to serve our Lord through the pain of cancer, sickness, and death while she was in her early 20's is a tremendous story of faith, service, and obedience to our God. We could all learn something from this remarkable young women's story. God truly takes Lemons and makes it into Lemon aid. I have no doubt Melissa's rewards in the second heaven and earth will be great. Camp also tells the story of his friend who lost his 19 year old son (it is only a few paragraphs but it really struck me). He tells how the man said he thought he had a deep relationship with Christ, but he was only in the meadow by the cross. When dealing with the pain of losing his son he went to the foot of the cross and stayed there. For me, that perfectly describes Camp's journey, the man who lost his sons journey, and how God can use the pain in our lives for gain (turning lemons into lemon aid). That being said I am a little concerned that people at times attribute suffering to God. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. All sin and death were brought into this world when our adversary and accuser the devil lied to Eve, tricked Adam, and brought sin into this world. With sin and death come pain and suffering. God has a plan. That plan may or may not always be physical deliverance. However, God did not bring sin and death upon the world. Therefore, all pain and suffering can be used by God to strengthen and perfect us, but all sin and death were originally brought into this world by the devil. It is important to distinguish the two purposes. God will perfect you even through the trials of life and sin (turning lemons into lemon aid); the devil just brings death in part or in full. We live in a sinful world, and this world is not our home. We are not guaranteed to not have to face adversity. As a matter of fact were guaranteed to face the challenges of living in a corrupt body in a sinful world. This doesn't mean we don't have joy. Our trials are for a season. The glory we are promised is eternal. Thank you Jeremy Camp for allowing God to use you to touch the heart of so many, and for having the endurance and faith to help the rest of us. God is using you to bring many to himself. To God be the glory.

Rev 3:25-ff

Revelation 3:25-ff

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Same chapter vs. 19 says "Those whom I love I reprove and discipline, so be zelous and repent."

For all of our condordances, books, sermons, exc. It is odd how at times we over complicate a very simple concept. It may take a man a whole life time of reading the bible to accept the free gift of salvation. Yet, at the same time it is our Lord who is knocking and saying, "Hey I'm right here just open the door." When I read this verse it it practically brings me to my knees spiritually every single time. Imagine not having food for a month. Your brother has a basket full of food and is at the door. Your bed is right on the other side of the door. All you have to do is reach over and unlock the door. So many people are starving to death in the spirit. Our Lord is the one who has the food. Many of us are sitting next to our: friend, brother, sister, exc. We could help by telling them to go answer the door. To say it plainly, God is the only one that can save them, but we can remind them that they need to eat.

May God bless you and your family on this resurrection Sunday.

Battlefield Of The Mind. A book review of Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer: Battlefield of The Mind
I received a teaching once that basicly said that when you get right down to it the Devil really only has two methods for tempting us: 1. Pressure 2. Pleasure. The Devil has three maxims which allows him to pull this off : 1. You (your own thoughts, bad habits, exc.) 2. The environment (Government, religious oppression, the systems of the world, exc.), and 3. Other people. Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield Of The Mind" is mostly geared at the one maxim each of us have the most control over (You, yourself, your thoughts, and YOU).

Joyce masterfully explains how that old Advesary The Devil works by waiting for the right moment (he`s not only a parasite but he`s also a predator). He waits to see where your weak, when your most vulnerable moment is, and he waits for that moment to attack. The Bible says "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you." Perfect example is Luke chapter 6, The devil waits for Jesus to be 40 days and nights in the wilderness before he attacks. He didn't come the first day to attack him when our Lord was at his strongest. Oh no, our advesary doesn't play fair; he bides his time and waits for your weakest moment and attacks. Jesus resisted him and the devil fled from him (for awhile). Best thing is we have victory through our risen Lord this very day if we claim it. Joyce does a great job of illustrating this in this book(though I don't know if she used the Luke example I used above or not).

I really got a lot of insight from this book. For example, one of the concepts in the book (in my own words) was "what comes out of your mouth had to originate in your brain." Sounds simple enough , but Joyce had a masterful way of describing every thought we commonly have today and referring it to biblical passages. About half way through the book I began to realize that the grumbling, griping, complaining, and various other human emotions and thoughts I have are not uncommon to our time. The children of Israel went through these same emotions and they are all recorded in Gods Word. I used to ponder how stupid these people must have been, but now I can see myself in them. It really was a humbling experience! Many of us make the same mistake over and over again and ask God, "Why don't you do something?" Truth is God has always been willing to help us. We are the ones who get in God's way by not bringing our thoughts into the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Read this book and find out how you can change and train your mind to shut the door on The Devil and how to allow God to do what he's always been willing to do. BLESS YOU!!!

Hebrews 13:5b "for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

P.S. This book comes in many formats. There's the traditional version, teen version, devotional version, exc. It doesn't matter which one you use. Just read one of them. You will be blessed.

Good video on evolution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v6WyeQJTwc

The above link/video is fantastic. I've watched the first 40 minutes and so far think it's pretty good. The guy also has a site www.drdino.com .... Thanks To Stephen T. McCarthy for brining this to my attention.

Wisdom

28 ] And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job 28:28 ESV


Of all the time I have prayed for wisdom and understanding. i know I'm a sinner, and i know I don't know the inner most parts of how the universe, life, and Godly manners really work. Don't get me wrong I've been working the word for a long time. However, that doesnt mean one is wise and has understanding. Doesn't mean I don't either. The more one knows the more one knows just how much they don't know, and how much God is really doing for us.

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction. (ESV)

Proverbs 9:10
pThe fear of the Lord is the By tsteadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

and by uthe fear of the Lord one vturns away from evil.
beginning of wisdom,
and qthe knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 16:6

By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.

Thanks to esvonline.org which allowed me to find these verses very quickly.