Commandments Struck Down

[cris]

For anyone interested here's the link to Cutting Edge Ministries:

http://www.cuttingedge.org/fmcorner.html

[shoneen]

We saw somewhat of an uprising of Christians during this last election.

More like a manipulation of Christians!

Republicans would be hard-pressed to win a national election without the support of fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, and have no problem promising them the moon, knowing full well that the courts will never let them give Christians the government they want.

Has anyone ever wondered why, after 25 years of Christian activism starting with The Moral Majority, things have only gotten worse?

Teacher-led school prayers haven't been reinstituted. Abortion is still legal. Sodomy has been legalized. Gay marriage is on the horizon. Popular TV shows with homosexual characters. Sexual references everywhere in the media. Creationism hasn't gotten a foothold in our public schools.

Maybe it's time that conservative Christians realize that they have been sold a bill of goods by cynical politicians with their own agenda.

[Soldier4Christ]

Cris,

I went to the link that you gave. While their statement of faith sounds great, it seems their main mission in life is the Freemasons. They list Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as Freemasons and give proof using letters from George Washington that are supposedly in the library of congress. I researeched this several years ago and never could find such letters in the library. They also claim that Billy Graham is a Freemason that has overseen one of the Freemason lodges. Billy Graham has vehemently denied any association to the Freemasons and no one can prove otherwise as of yet.

This group also says that our Congress is led by the Freemasons. At one point they are saying that Pres Clinton was a freemason and the antichrist. Now they are comparing Pres Bush to Hitler and calling him the antichrist.  

This is what I meant about conspiracist theories. Personally I have my serious doubts on this group.

[ollie]

The devil has come into the powers of the land of the free and is twisting the constitution into laws what was not originally intended by its creators. Freedom curtailments. The point of the constitution is to enable freedom, not curtail it.

In these last days it must be that the devil will become more active as he knows his days are limited by the power of God. He wants to take as many with him as he can. We fight back with the gospel of Jesus Christ preached to those who might be taken by the devil. Those whose hearts can be pricked by the good news of Jesus Christ will come out of it. This should be our prime responsibility in this world, along with keeping ourselves in Christ and his doctrines.

ollie

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen, Ollie.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ should be the center, and the primary focus of all Christians.

[cris]

Cris,

I went to the link that you gave. While their statement of faith sounds great, it seems their main mission in life is the Freemasons. They list Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as Freemasons and give proof using letters from George Washington that are supposedly in the library of congress. I researeched this several years ago and never could find such letters in the library. They also claim that Billy Graham is a Freemason that has overseen one of the Freemason lodges. Billy Graham has vehemently denied any association to the Freemasons and no one can prove otherwise as of yet.

This group also says that our Congress is led by the Freemasons. At one point they are saying that Pres Clinton was a freemason and the antichrist. Now they are comparing Pres Bush to Hitler and calling him the antichrist.  

This is what I meant about conspiracist theories. Personally I have my serious doubts on this group.

Thanks for your input.  I just now saw your post.  It looked to me like their main mission in life was the Freemasons, too, but I always give people the benefit of the doubt, probably unfortunately.  People have good intentions but you know what they say about good intentions sometimes paving the road to that firey place.

Like I said before, I need to go find a sandy place, and just stay there.

Grace and peace,
cris

AMEN, Ollie!

[nChrist]

AMEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

There are many beautiful posts in this thread and much to think about. I was left with some simple thoughts. Christians will always have much work to do until Jesus comes to take us home. I like to think about some precious potions of Scripture on a regular basis that deal with:

1 - Fighting a good fight.

2 - Running a good race.

3 - Finishing our course.

4 - Our citizenship is in Heaven with JESUS, our Lord and Saviour.

5 - We are currently in this world, but not of it. Our journey here will be short.

6 - Put on the whole armor of God, yield to His Will, and go forth in whatever way HE leads us.

Brothers and Sisters, we can and should stand up for JESUS, regardless of the adversity and ridicule we will face. This world is becoming more evil by the minute, but we are not of this world.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 5:17-18  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

[SelahJoy]

AMEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

There are many beautiful posts in this thread and much to think about. I was left with some simple thoughts. Christians will always have much work to do until Jesus comes to take us home. I like to think about some precious potions of Scripture on a regular basis that deal with:

1 - Fighting a good fight.

2 - Running a good race.

3 - Finishing our course.

4 - Our citizenship is in Heaven with JESUS, our Lord and Saviour.

5 - We are currently in this world, but not of it. Our journey here will be short.

6 - Put on the whole armor of God, yield to His Will, and go forth in whatever way HE leads us.

Brothers and Sisters, we can and should stand up for JESUS, regardless of the adversity and ridicule we will face. This world is becoming more evil by the minute, but we are not of this world.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 5:17-18  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Hi,

As I was reading through the posts, I was thinking about asking if someone had specifics that we could adhere to in our efforts to stand up for Christ.  So the above quote is really cool!  

However, I'd like to remind you of something in post #36, where PR mentioned "uprising...perseverence."  The resulting question is, what should we do to uprise and persevere?    All I know at this time is to read the Bible, pray, and ask others to join in.

In further response to post #36, I was really encouraged to see the "God Bless America" signs in 2001-2002 and to hear talk-of-God in public forums after the 9-11 tragedy.  So now in 2005, what should we do to uprise and persevere?  Are we completely obedient in praying alone and with small pockets of believers?  Should we then add something else?  What do you think and upon what Biblcal basis?

The reason that I am wondering this is because recently, I feel the Lord wanted me to consider the first parable written about in Matthew 25.  I feel convicted to wake up, widen my eyes, refuse lethargy and complacency, and fully wake up.  Does anyone have any thoughts on how this should be done?  I pray for revival among Christians, specifically we who worship freely in western countries, with no fear of death-threats.  Are our oil lamps full?  Is Jesus coming back to pockets of obscure believers or to a political force of believers active within the social landscape?

thoughtfully,
selahjoy

[nChrist]

SelahJoy,

I think that the single biggest answer to your question is prayer. We can and should ALL do that. Some people get discouraged in prayer because they don't see immediate results. The lack of immediate results does NOT mean that God doesn't hear our prayers, and it certainly doesn't mean that prayer will NOT be answered.

I think that the next biggest answer is yielding to God's will. All of us are unique in terms of talents, gifts, and abilities. I am firmly convinced that God gives all of us opportunities to serve him, and it is up to us whether or not we take advantage of the opportunity placed in our path. Regardless of health, I'm positive that God gives us work that he wants done. I'm reflecting on a time when my dad was dying. He had been in the ministry for over 60 years, and it made him very unhappy when he couldn't continue. He prayed about it and felt led to talk with anyone who would listen coming into his home. He chose Hospice instead of the hospital, so he stayed at home. So, all of the nurses and volunteers who were willing to listen got an ear full. Many did want to listen, and many had questions about the Gospel dad wanted to share. These questions made dad very happy, and he knew that God had provided work HE wanted done.

I'm positive that the Holy Spirit works in us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The more we want to listen to God - the more that God shares with us. This is especially true for those who pray and have a desire to be used by God. It then becomes a matter of whether we yield and obey. It could be a small task that would be easy to perform, or it could be a large and difficult task that we doubt whether we can do it or not. In those hard or seemingly impossible tasks that the Spirit leads us to do, it then becomes a matter of more prayer for strength, wisdom, and guidance from God to do what God wants done. We can do all things through Christ.

Lastly, many people get discouraged when they see the devil winning over and over again. We can't stop the devil from his evil, but we can and should stub his toe and at least slow his progress with the things that God leads us to do. Bible Prophecy makes it very clear that the last days of this age of grace will become increasingly evil. I think that we are to simply fight in the tasks that God gives us to do until Jesus comes to take us home.

Our work could be almost anything from sweeping the floor at church to organizing telephone, letter-writing, or email campaigns to Congress. All of the work will be important, and the most important work will obviously be witnessing to the lost. We might not feel capable to do the work that God gives us, but He will prepare us for the work He wants us to do if we but yield. So we are really left with:

I don't want to do that.

Yes Lord, I will go and do your will. Lord, I ask for strength and guidance.

If a Christian doesn't face persecution, ridicule, and assaults from the devil, it's almost sure that man or woman is not yielding to the will of God in accepting the work He wants done.

Just 2 cents worth.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Matthew 5:3-11  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

[nChrist]

SelahJoy,

I don't believe in coincidence, and I never cease to be amazed about how God answers us. Look at the below and know that I just read it minutes after I completed my post to you.

______________________

July 4

SERVING CHRIST AND SERVING MEN

"He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"-- Joh_6:5.

NOTICE THAT little pronoun We! As our Lord stood face to face with the vast crowd of hungry people, He might have said to His disciples, "What are you going to do?" He might have bidden them devise some way of meeting their hunger and weariness. Instead of that, He identified Himself with them, saying, How shall we do it? Is not that His way still? He knows the needs of the world of men, but He calls us into fellowship with Himself with respect to them, saying, This is a matter not for Me alone, not for you, but for us together. "I am the Vine, ye are the branches."

Whilst our Lord talked about buying bread, "He knew what He would do." Before His eye was the entire plan of the meal, of which He would be the Host, but He spoke of buying, that He might see what they would suggest, whether they would turn to Him in simple faith, or begin to meet the need according to their own ideas. They took the latter course. It is almost always the case, that when we are face to face with some emergency, we begin to calculate our ways and means. When we are tested, we take out pencils and paper, and begin to count up our resources, as the disciples did when they said: Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not enough, that every one may take a little!

Then it was that Andrew bethought himself of the little lad, whom he had seen in the course of the day. How proud and pleased the boy would be when they told him that Jesus wanted his little store. He gladly gave it up at the call of that Voice which had thrilled him with its accent.

How can we serve Christ, and what have we to give Him? Five tiny loaves and two small fishes do not look much in themselves, but He will take the poorest and simplest things, and make wonderful use of them for His glory and the blessing of men. It is wonderful how much Jesus will do with our lives, if we will only put them into His dear hands. If you have no great gift to offer Him, you can bring the special power of doing one thing best, which every one possesses, and He will use you to arrange the people in orderly ranks, and to carry round the bread and wine of the Gospel message, offering it without money and without price.

PRAYER
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
AMEN.

_______________________

Written by F. B. Meyer

The F. B. Meyer devotions are distributed freely and Internationally in the excellent freeware Bible Study package called e-Sword. You can also subscribe to Day-By-Day By Grace at the above link for Living In Christ Ministries.

You can obtain e-Sword at:
http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html
Author: Rick Meyer
(The goal of Rick Meyer is to freely distribute Bibles to every country on earth in their own language, and that goal gets closer by the day. Thanks to countless Christian individuals and organizations with big hearts, many excellent Bible Study tools are also being freely distributed with e-Sword around the world.)

[SelahJoy]

Blackeyedpeas,

From my heart, thank you for your responses.  I poured myself on paper (computer screen) and then deleted it.

Now I'm going to thank you again, and then go pray.  I need to!

Sincerely,
selahjoy

p.s. As John 6:5 affirms, I'm glad God is with us.

[nChrist]

SelahJoy,

You are most welcome. I'm very happy about your desire to serve God and especially your decision to pray and seek His Will.

I will pray for you and your family. Along the path, however difficult, just remember that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be with you every step of the way.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 104:33  I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

[SelahJoy]

SelahJoy,

I think that the single biggest answer to your question is prayer. We can and should ALL do that. Some people get discouraged in prayer because they don't see immediate results. The lack of immediate results does NOT mean that God doesn't hear our prayers, and it certainly doesn't mean that prayer will NOT be answered.

I think that the next biggest answer is yielding to God's will. All of us are unique in terms of talents, gifts, and abilities. I am firmly convinced that God gives all of us opportunities to serve him, and it is up to us whether or not we take advantage of the opportunity placed in our path. Regardless of health, I'm positive that God gives us work that he wants done. I'm reflecting on a time when my dad was dying. He had been in the ministry for over 60 years, and it made him very unhappy when he couldn't continue. He prayed about it and felt led to talk with anyone who would listen coming into his home. He chose Hospice instead of the hospital, so he stayed at home. So, all of the nurses and volunteers who were willing to listen got an ear full. Many did want to listen, and many had questions about the Gospel dad wanted to share. These questions made dad very happy, and he knew that God had provided work HE wanted done.

I'm positive that the Holy Spirit works in us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The more we want to listen to God - the more that God shares with us. This is especially true for those who pray and have a desire to be used by God. It then becomes a matter of whether we yield and obey. It could be a small task that would be easy to perform, or it could be a large and difficult task that we doubt whether we can do it or not. In those hard or seemingly impossible tasks that the Spirit leads us to do, it then becomes a matter of more prayer for strength, wisdom, and guidance from God to do what God wants done. We can do all things through Christ.

Lastly, many people get discouraged when they see the devil winning over and over again. We can't stop the devil from his evil, but we can and should stub his toe and at least slow his progress with the things that God leads us to do. Bible Prophecy makes it very clear that the last days of this age of grace will become increasingly evil. I think that we are to simply fight in the tasks that God gives us to do until Jesus comes to take us home.

Our work could be almost anything from sweeping the floor at church to organizing telephone, letter-writing, or email campaigns to Congress. All of the work will be important, and the most important work will obviously be witnessing to the lost. We might not feel capable to do the work that God gives us, but He will prepare us for the work He wants us to do if we but yield. So we are really left with:

I don't want to do that.

Yes Lord, I will go and do your will. Lord, I ask for strength and guidance.

If a Christian doesn't face persecution, ridicule, and assaults from the devil, it's almost sure that man or woman is not yielding to the will of God in accepting the work He wants done.

Just 2 cents worth.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Matthew 5:3-11  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Dear Blackeyedpeas,

You are sooooo right, and I really needed to pray.  Actually, I also went to watch some fireworks with friends and in my thoughts, felt that I could almost "hear" myself "yelling" over and over, OH GOD!  So I left as soon as polite.

I came home to spend time...I confess that your first bolded statement was true for me.

I don't want to do that.

stood out!  The verse where Paul says something like, "I do what I don't want to, and I don't do what I want to" came to my mind.  I need to be obedient--in every aspect of my life!

Yes and Amen to your reference to stubbing the enemy's toe, and as ZakDar pointed out in his post this morning, the "spiritual dog" does pester.

Your dad's testimony is powerful; it looks like he used every opportunity God gave him to share the love of Jesus.  God's word and His testimonies are very encouraging.  I am so happy to have the words of God to read in their nearest original form that my human brain and education can handle, and then to ask the Holy Spirit to help me walk faithfully--and circumspectfully--in this evil age.  Even so, we keep our eyes on the prize for the high calling of Jesus Christ!  Amen?  

Blackeyedpeas,  thank you so much for writing me yesterday and encouraging me.  I was at first surprised that you replied with lengthy compassion, and then upon reading the second post in which you offered to pray (AND FOR MY FAMILY!!), I could see that you are a minister of Jesus' love.  Praise God for ChristiansUnite!

Now I hope it is okay for me to add to ZakDar's meditation on Rom 8, as found in "You Name It."  Every verse found there is powerful, but it reminds me of:

Col 1:9  We do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
Col 1:10 Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
1:11  strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy
12  give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed (transferred) us into the the kingdom of the Son of His love
14 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of the cross.

The sovereignty and preeminence of Jesus Christ, as triune with the Father and Holy Spirit!  What unity!  What mystery and beauty!  

May you have a most blessed day!

[nChrist]

SelahJoy,

I read ZakDar's post and really enjoyed it. I consider the things of God and His Word to be spiritual food. I give thanks that we live in a country where there is no reason to be spiritually hungry. Again, I was just thinking about our freedoms, especially to worship.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

[SelahJoy]

I consider the things of God and His Word to be spiritual food. I give thanks that we live in a country where there is no reason to be spiritually hungry. Again, I was just thinking about our freedoms, especially to worship.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Totally agree!  As I mentioned in a recent post, it seems to me that if we who are free to worship would feast upon the word and walk in it, then the revival and the revolution will come to America.  Salvation and deliverance will come to many who are being called, and the glory of the Lord will fill the earth, just as the Bible says.