Some Arguments Don’t Make Sense..

Not so long ago I was talking to my wife in our dining room. We had a guest over who had dropped by and were enjoying one another’s company. I had finished whatever I was snacking on and went to discard the trash into the waste basket. Seeing the trash can reminded me of something that had occurred earlier in the day. I decided that I would share it with my wife. I told her that someone had given me a free study bible, but that I didn’t recognize the name of it. So I went online and tried to find out as much as I could about the bible. The bible was recently released in 1985 and it was reportedly a bible that was to have been translated from the original Greek and Hebrew texts. I told my wife upon discovering this information I promptly through the book away. This was of no surprise to her, but to our guest… well you should have seen the look on her face.

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I told her that that was not the bible, despite what the cover may have said. The number one clue is that is says that it is translated from the original Hebrew and Greek, yet the sight did not say if it was the Messianic and Received Text or the Septuagint. In fact is was very difficult to find anything on the translation or transliteration of the text of this version of the Bible. This would indicate that either the publisher or the authors were ignorant or lying. It did indicate that it was in a modern English version and therefore easier to read. That would incline my thoughts that it was a transliteration, or paraphrased bible, as many are today. This is the main argument that most new bible versions make. The original translation and all before this one, were not quite accurate. They were unreadable do to ancient English words, and their new version is more easily understood and more accurate to the intent of the original texts… of which do not exist.

Some arguments just do not make sense. What I am talking about is that many people have come to the belief that the King James Bible was written in Old English and is harder to understand than modern versions. I believe that this is just because the lie has been told so many times, that it has become accepted as the truth. Unfortunately, the truth is not even sought after. The truth is that the King James bible is written in modern English. Here is an example, below it the Lord’s Payer (Our Father), which is something that most all of us are familiar with from the King James version of the Bible.

The Lord’s Prayer King James Version (KJV)

9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

-Matthew 6:9-13 (https://www.lords-prayer-words.com/king_james_version_kjv.html)

The same thing if written in Old English would appear as:

Example of Old English

The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)

Fæder ure ðu ðe eart on heofenum si ðin nama gehalgod to-becume ðin rice geweorþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofenum. Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-deag and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgifaþ urum gyltendum ane ne gelæde ðu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfle.

(https://www.thoughtco.com/old-english-anglo-saxon-1691449)

I think that it is relatively easy to see the difference in the King James Version and the Old English version. The King James is clearly written in modern English and is quite understandable in its delivery of the subject and the matter of prayer. With a little work on ones English vocabulary, using a modern dictionary, we would have no difficulty in knowing the definition of any word we could not readily understand. This is because the words are immediately identifiable in modern English.

Now to look at another point. Are the “latest and greatest” versions of the bible easier to understand than the English of the King James version? Well, let us take a look at just one verse. Psalms 12:6 is a great verse to consider. The reason why is that if we believe that the bible is the inspired word of God and is therefore complete and authoritative then we should pay attention to this verse. In the King James which comes from the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Textus Receptus which was used by the earliest Christians, it reads as follows.

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. – Psalms 12:6 KJV

We believe this, correct? The words of the LORD (Jehovah) are pure. They have been tried in a furnace like silver is. They have been done so seven times, meaning that they are completely pure, and therefore do not need to be corrected by man. Is that what we believe? Well, let us take a look at this same verse in The Message Bible. Let us see how they have improved the text and made it easier to understand.

God’s words are pure words, Pure silver words refined seven times In the fires of his word-kiln, Pure on earth as well as in heaven. -Psalm 12:6 MSG

Let us look at the obvious first. How many of you know what a word-kiln is? How many have even heard of such a thing? Is this just some made up word to make the word furnace easier to understand? I mean a furnace seems like a good word to put an image in your mind of a something that is extremely hot and used to purify precious metals in. But the word-kiln? Well, there is a reason for your not understanding. It is a made up word that is a variation of an Old English word.

There is no word-kiln that I could find. But there is a kiln and it is an Old English word which means an oven, or furnace. It has it’s origins from the Latin “culina” meaning “kitchen”. So, in making the bible more understandable to modern Christians he changed the wording to a language that no one has spoken since around A.D. 1150. Well maybe it was just this one thing in this translation, after all many of the original translators from the Masoretic texts had to revise their version as they grew in knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. It would be possible except it is not a translation of the Hebrew and Greek texts at all.

Now if you read the publishers advertisements on this bible version, you will see things like “translation from the original languages” that “accurately communicates the original Hebrew and Greek”, and other such claims. However, the author did not set out to make a more accurate translation of the bible. Instead he noted, “his congregation was bored with the Biblical text as they knew it, and so, in order to stimulate them, he wrote a paraphrase”. (http://www.bible-researcher.com/themessage.html)

This is quite a difference from having a bible in your hand that you can believe is the authoritative word of God. Instead you have the opinion of a man, who may have done some light translations, but then added to that his own meaning, in order to liven up the text. He was just trying to help God out, because it appears that God, in his infinite wisdom, had obviously fallen short in reaching his congregation. I don’t know how the devil talks to such men to pervert the very text they claim to believe in. But he is not the only one who has been mislead by men and devil. It is clear in this referenced verse that his paraphrase of the verse has changed the meaning of the verse altogether. In the Messianic Text version (KJV) God says that his words are completely pure, while in the MSG paraphrase it says that Gods words are pure silver words. This takes away the everlasting context from the Word of God. In other words… LOL the Word of God may have been good and relevant at the time God gave them, but not so much today, or in our current circumstance. This is a dangerous, humanistic point of view. Still not convinced? Here is another one of many:

Romans 9:27-28 (KJV)

27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

Compared to the same verses in The Message Bible.

Romans -:27-28 (MSG)

27 Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled “chosen of God,” They’d be numbers still, not names; salvation comes by personal selection. 28 God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name. Arithmetic is not his focus.

Well… do I need to go into this one? OK, I will just to see if you see the same things that I see. In the first verse there is passion in the heart of Isaiah (Esaias). He is crying and pleading for Israel. In the KJV we see that Isaiah is warning Israel that not everyone who is a citizen of Israel with be saved. No matter how many there are, only a small fragment will be saved. Because God is just and he will complete his work of righteousness, no matter they are prepared or not. This is quite a different view of the text given by the MSG, whose main concern seems to be with arithmetic. While it is still true that God call us all individually, it is of more concern that God can call a nation, and still not save the entirety of a nation. There you see that the paraphrase version once again missed the meaning of the verse and stripped God of his authority to judge in righteousness.

This is only one of many new versions of the bible that are out there. They all have these smooth-talking words that sound good and great, but they totally miss the meaning of the text and the character of God. What is worse is the subconscious effect on how we see the authority of God. I cannot tell you how many times, as a preacher, that someone has come up to me and asked, what version should I read? I tell them there is only one Bible, the rest are impersonators. This one we were able to debunk in an easy textual criticism and research with a quick google on the authorship of the version. Other versions we have to go deeper into the authorship, the texts, and the political climate, and financial reasoning for their releases.

If you ask me which English version of the bible to use, I will always say to use the oldest and most reliable version that has been around for over 400 years and who the devil has been trying to discredit and burn since before it’s inception, the King James, Authorized Version of the Holy Bible.

Martyrs of Nigeria

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116.15)

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I read today from, The Christian Post, about Reverend Silas Ali of Evangelical Church of Winning All, and how he was brutally murdered. This church is located in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Their pastor’s remains were found after a search was made when he had come up missing. The police speculate that he was attacked around Kibori, near Asha-Awuce, where his body was found. He had been mercilessly hacked to death by machetes. While the assailant(s) are unknow, there is a pattern of Christians being killed Nigeria without any signs of relief.

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law repots that thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria. They report that at minimum of 3,462 Christians have been killed in just 300 days. They have been killed by Islamic extremists, and the government appears to be helpless to deter the genocide. [1]

We need to pray for Nigeria and for our Christian brother and sisters that are in harms way. We need to pray for their strengthening and faithfulness. As the apostle Paul says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, … that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love…” (Ephesians 3)

We need to pray for the conversion of the souls of the Islamic extremists. We need to pray that the Lord will open their eyes to the truth. The truth that Jesus is the Son of God. We need to pray that their hearts will be made ready for the planting of the seed and that they will receive watering of the seed of the Word, and that this will flourish into a white field ripened for harvest. For we do not war against the individuals who commit such atrocities, but rather the spiritual principalities who have blinded the unfortunate followers of radical Islam. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

We must also encourage one another in this life and remind one another that we serve a God of the living, not the dead. For the psalmist says, “For though hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from failing. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 116:8-9). Who is this God? Why he is the Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified and was buried, and then triumphantly defeated death, by raising himself from the grave. It was he who left us no doubt when he said, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:32)

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What then do we have to fear of men? Though they kill the body, they cannot kill the soul. For the soul lives on. Those who love the Lord and die for him are greatly loved. The Lord spoke to us in the psalmist and let us know, “precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” What a labor of love it is towards the Lord God to lay down one’s own life for his sake. The LORD loves and rewards those who are faithful unto death. These extremists who think that they do God a favor by killing his children have only joined together the Father with his loved ones and have heaped coal upon their souls. We should pray for their salvation, because they act in ignorance. They have been deceived into thinking they are doing a favor for God and gained his approval. Instead, they have gained his wrath to be poured out upon them, in everlasting torment in the Lake of Fire which was made for the Devil and his angels. Much like Paul who was deceived by the foolish teachings of his own religion and persecuted the children of God, these men have gone astray. However, like Paul, they can be made to see the error of their way, through the Lord Jesus Christ. They can be given the opportunity to see, and hear, and to repent and turn to the God who loves them. We pray therefore that they will see the truth in Jesus Christ and come to repentance, and then reproduce disciples who love the Lord Jesus Christ.

References

Kumar, A. (2021, September 13). Migerian Pastor Macheted to death; body foung by search party. Retrieved from The Christian Post: https://www.christianpost.com/

[1] (Kumar, 2021)

Is It Lawful to Put Away Your Wife -Just Because?

The Christian Husband and Divorce

I am amazed at how many professing Christians get divorced. One study finds that a person who has strong religious beliefs has a risk of divorce that is 14 percent less than those who do not have strong religious beliefs, in the United States. Something that I found interesting is that cohabitating prior to marriage actually increases the chance of divorce by 40 percent. [1] The numbers of divorced Christians may include the ones who have previously divorced prior to becoming Christians and therefore may have skewed the numbers a bit. In addition, many Americans profess to be Christian but rarely attend weekly church services.

Of these who call themselves Christians and divorce or separated are reported to have these following beliefs, according to Pew Research [2]

Divorced or Separated Statistics on Beliefs

69% Believe in God with absolute certainty

57% Believe that religion is important to one’s life

32% Attend Church Services at least once a week

61% Pray on a daily basis

25% Participate in prayer groups, Scripture Study groups, or in religious education

34% Consider religion as a source of guidance on what is right and wrong

31% Believe in absolutes of right and wrong

39% Read scripture at least once a week

36% Believe that the scriptures should be taken literally

73% Believe in Heaven

60% Believe in Hell

These are frightening statistics for me as a Pastor. That means that most of the people who call themselves Christians, are not. It also means that most those who are, are confused, and mislead. They are confused and mislead because they have listened to what the world says a Christian is and have not taken the authority of scripture seriously in their lives. God call this foolishness, and it is dangerous. Even at looking at this one statistic of divorce, we can see that worldliness has had a devastating effect on our Christian homes. We see that in these broken families that 69% believe in God and that they believe in Heaven. However, we also see that only 36% believe that scripture can be taken seriously. They have no definite sense of right and wrong morality. They have instead been seduced into the philosophy of situational ethics. This stance takes the position that there are no absolute codes of moral context to ethics, instead decision is made depending upon the context of the situation. So then, it is not wrong to have an abortion if the lady does not feel equipped to raise a child, instead of seeing the unborn baby as an image bearer of God and a special gift given by God to the mother, and understanding that taking of a life is wrong, especially if the life is totally defenseless and cannot speak for itself.

These professing Christians are actually not Christians at all. They do not attend bible study groups, church services, read scripture for themselves. They do not pray, because they do not think that God hears them, will answer, or even cares. All of this is from their own self-imposed ignorance of God. No, they may say that they believe in God, but in practice they do not. This is why their families are in shambles and reeling in divorce.

Now, I have upset some of you. Well, I can only say read on, because this letter is written in love. My heart is broken over the divorce rate of our brothers and sisters in Christ. So then we will look at what God says. In just one area of this debacle. We will deal with the husbands, “so-called”, rights of divorce. You know… “boo hoo, my wife doesn’t do everything I want…” or “I’ve grown bored and need to live life…”, or what ever your spur of the moment, “just because” reason for seeking a divorce from your devoted and loving wife. You see here in this scripture; we see the Pharisees came to ask Jesus about this very issue. Now the Pharisees were the religious elite. They spent years in seminary, they knew the 1^st five books by heart. They were the teachers of the law. They sat in on the counsels to determine if a law was broken and if there was a penalty to be paid.

The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:3-6)

Do you see that? These fellers thought that they would be slick. They tried to catch Jesus off guard. The know what the actual will of God was. They also knew why Moses allowed Divorce. They knew that the covenant of a man and a woman was to be an example of the covenant between God and man. They knew these things and more that we are not going to discuss right now that concerned marriage. But we will look at the husbands’ responsibilities in the marriage toward his wife and the response that Jesus gave concerning that. They thought that they would be able to accuse him before the Law, because Moses had allowed divorce. So, if he said that is was Lawful then this gave them authority, but if he said that it is not lawful then they would say that he did not honor Moses or the Law, or the prophets.

But instead of Jesus being caught off guard, he went to a time that superseded the Law. This is because his priesthood is superior to the priesthood of Aaron. Aarons priest hood was anchored in the Law. But Jesus’ priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek. This priesthood is preceding to the priesthood of Aaron and of the Law of Moses. Jesus, therefore, goes back to the beginning. He can do this because he was there, in the beginning. All things were made by him, and without him was nothing made that was made. Jesus is an eyewitness to the war in heaven and the affairs of the Garden. See, Jesus said, “at the beginning made the male and female.” This means that God purposed the sexes and created them distinctly for a specific reason. This purpose of the man and the woman to unite as one, marriage, would be the very reason why a man was to leave his parents, and woman to leave her home. This is their purpose, not to be single, not to play the field, and most certainly not to have casual sex. But we men are a selfish bunch.

We love to put our own needs and desires above anyone else’s. Why not we are the strong ones, who have to go out and show our dominance in the home and in the workplace. We are the “king of the house”. Husbands are those of us who should no longer need to “sow our oats”. We have put those childish things aside. We should instead show do respect to our wives and a singleness of heart. Even as a Christian we should show do respect to God for who he is and have a singleness of heart towards Christ Jesus who is our bridegroom.

Saint Peter puts it like this, “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7) We should have an understanding that we are the provider and the safety and the strong hold for our wives. We are their protector. We are to protect them from the harm that comes from without the sanctuary that is our marriage. We must realize that we are not put in authority as a husband to rule over them, but to help them. We are not better than they are, we are both heirs of righteousness in Jesus Christ as a couple. We are the one flesh that we were made by God to be. Remember what God said in Genesis? “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). This is the cause… to cleave to his wife and become one flesh. Shall a man divorce his own hand? Or shall a man remove his own eye for “just because”? This word cleave means to hold fast to or to cling to. The husband is to hold on to his wife and not let go.

“For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.. “ (Ephesians 5:28-31) Ok wait a minute. This is a deep concept here. You hear what the saint says here? He said the same thing I just did. No healthy, in his right mind, man hates his own flesh. It is in our DNA to protect ourselves from harm. It is our instinct to protect ourselves from harm. That is why we have that little chemical that flows through our veins and muscles that gives us the emergency burst of energy we need for a “flight or fight” response to danger. This is saying that we husbands are of one flesh with our wives and that we should treat a threat against our marriage in the same manner as we would a threat to our own body. We should fight unto death or take our wife and flee. Especially where sexual sins are concerned, we should flee and not allow ourselves to be tempted.

Before we move on out of this chapter in Ephesians, you better get your bible out! Paul compares the marriage of a husband and wife to the relationship of the Church and Christ. Even as Christ is to present his bride spotless before God the Father, so are to present you wife spotless before Christ. What? You say? You don’t believe me? Listen to Jesus’ very own words on divorce, “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” (Matthew 5:32) What a shameful mess we are in today that divorce is so vast in the church. Husband! Present you wife and your marriage as a sweet smelling incense before the throne of the Lamb.

The least of the Apostles, who was born out of season says that we should honor our wives out of love. Listen to what he wrote the church of Ephesus and Colossae.

Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. (Colossians 3:19)
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25)

Wow, Paul says that a husband should not only love his wife but to love her sacrificially. This is not a sexual love. It is not even a “feeling” of “being-in-love”, no sir this is a mentally committed love that chooses to put the wife’s needs above his own selfish desires. This is the love that God gives us. This is the love that God expects from us towards him. This is how he expects the husband to demonstrate his love for God, in that he should love his wife in the same manner. This is the love you wife deserves, and it is the love that you deserve to give her. That is why the Apostle Paul also tells us, “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33) Husband pay close attention, he says first love you wife, then the wife should show you do reverence. Not the other way around. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. (1 Corinthians 7:3)

How do we do this? Well, we must keep in mind that God gave us our wife as a help-mate. The husband and the wife are a team. We are to share intimacy in all levels of our lives. We should know that we have been given to one another as a blessing from God. This life is hard and has all kinds of trials and distractions. There are many hardships, and the heart of man is a lonely place. That is why we have been given a wife. To share in these moments of traveling from hilltops to valleys. To support one another and encourage one another in the hard times, to cry with in the times of heartbreak, and to rejoice with in times of joy. This is the relationship that God lives with us, through our wives. God gives us wisdom in this.

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:9)

We would do well to remember that this world has perverted the institution of marriage, and the sanctity of the wedding bed. God gave us this gift of one wife. We should consider it an honorable institution and one worth fighting for. There are great rewards in marriage and there are terrible consequences to walking away from it, once we have taken a covenant vow before God.

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4)

So is it lawful for a man to put his wife away for any reason (just because)? According to man, it may be done. However, according to God, No it is unlawful.

[1] (Wilkinson and Finkbeiner, LLP, n.d.)

[2] (Pew Research Center, 2021)

Psalm 56 – Times of Distress

Many of us are facing great distress in these days. COVID has taken loved ones from us, or they are currently fighting against this virus and it’s ravaging effects on our loved one, maybe upon you. I know of one young lady who was perfectly health and then contracted this virus. Although she survived the virus, it made devastating changes in her health. Causing her blood to thicken and as a result she has suffered a debilitating stroke.

Some of use not only are dealing with these types of things, but we have also lost confidence in our government and our sources of information in the media. It seems that every report from the government, and the media, contradicts the last thing that we have heard. The only thing we know for sure is that the government is powerless to confront this virus and to protect it’s citizenry from it.

Meanwhile, the other troubles of life continue at an alarming pace. We have lost loved ones, not only to COVID and it’s related effects, but to cancer, heart decease, and other chronic conditions. We may have had more personal disasters like loss of employment, loss of transportation, and loss of a place to lay our heads at night. The times we are living in seem to compound these issues and have taken a toll on our families.

Some of us have had to separate from our loved ones, not only do to isolation and death, but in divorce. We are dealing with emotions of loss, betrayal, and frustration. It seems that we have no recourse or no place to turn to for help. We feel as if the whole world is against us, and that God is nowhere to be found. My heart breaks as I look out of my window and see all the things that are working to tear us apart. These troubles make us feel overwhelmed and defeated.

If this is the way you feel, then I encourage you to read Psalm 56. In this Psalm, that is connected to David when he was seized by the Philistines in Gath (possibly in 1 Samuel 21). This Psalm is described as a lament with a strong emphasis that confesses trust in God.

Now David was under great distress. We know this because he mentions, “he fighting daily oppreseth me”, “Mine enemies would daily swallow me up”, and “they wait for my soul”. Is this the way that you are feeling? Do you feel like you are just being swallowed up with everything that is going on around you? Are you falling into a deep pit like David is here in this Psalm? If so, then please continue with me as we see how David handled these powerful emotions of vulnerability and loneliness. For in this plea of David to the Most High we can see that David has not lost his hope. David despite the loss of everything he had, and despite the father of his best friend and his one-time mentor desired to kill him with all the resources and reaches of king. A king who hunted David so hard that he went to his enemies for a place to hide. This desperate man, turned to the one who he knew he could trust.

David began, “Be merciful unto me, O God”. David sought the mercy of God. David understood that God is the one who could turn events around. He also knew that if God chose to do nothing, that God was still God. David needed for God to look at him and his situation. David understood that God can change his predicament. This shows that David trusted God that if he would listen to his pleas, that God would be faithful and deliver him. So, he sought the mercies of God. He explained to God why he needed his aid. David was surrounded and had no place to hide from his enemies. There was no one that he could trust.

David said, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” What an amazing thing to say to God. Notice that he did not blame God. David did not ask God, “Where are you?” Instead, David told God I seek you because I am afraid, and I know that anytime I have been afraid, I have sought you. I seek you God because I know you have mercies that are revived daily. The David goes even further. David tells God that I will praise you in your word. David has trust in the word of the Lord. What God has said he will fulfill. David says these things, “In God I will praise…”, “I will trust in thee”, “I have put my trust in thee”, “I will not fear what flesh may do to me”, and “this I know; God is for me”.

So here we see a proper response in our time of distress.

Understand the Lord is sovereign
Seek the Lord’s mercy
Praise the Lord in his Word
Put your full trust in the Lord, not men
Have confidence that when you cry, the Lord hears you
Know this… God is for you (you are his child)
Know this… God honors his Word (he is faithful)
Know this… God keeps his Vows (his word is he bond)
Remember that God delivered you from death
Remember that God keeps us from failing, because he desires us to walk with him. (You are important to God)

What an amazing God we serve in faith. We trust him because in our past he has proven himself to be trustworthy – even when were not. He loves us with an unconditional and unfailing love. God commended his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He did this so that anyone who believes in him (Jesus), they can have eternal life. No earning it, no trying to justify why you should deserve it. No, not one single thing other than believing that Jesus is the Son of God and the one who bore our sin upon his back and dies in our place on the cross at calvary. Believing that Jesus is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed to justify the forgiveness of your sin is what God has said, and that he is faithful to his Word.

Scripture tells us the God is love. We know this because it is God who laid down his own life for us. Now knowing this, that we believe in Jesus and trust in God, we know that God loves us. Therefore, since God is love and he loves us then we should not walk in fear. We know that we can trust him in ever situation we find ourselves in. David put it this way, in this Psalm, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know’ for God is for me.” We, who are believers on Jesus Christ, can say the same thing in confidence. “When I cry to God, I know that he will defend me.”

Therefore, in our distress, we can cry to the Lord and give thanks and praise to the one who delivers us out of all our miseries. We can have joy knowing that he is our defender and our shield. Isaiah wrote, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when though walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Isaiah 43:2) Now isn’t that promise a reason for praise?

Thoughts About Nehemiah

The name Nehemiah means Comforted of Jehovah. As we read through the book of Nehemiah we can surely see how God was the only comfort for Nehemiah. He faced insurmountable odds of completing such an enormous task. God shows through Nehemiah that what ever tasks he sets us to, that he will be faithful to equip, defend, and enable us to the completion his ordained will, and for the glory of his name. God will leave or abandon us, and God remains faithful to his promises. He is a God who redeems and sanctifies.

The book of Ezra told of the events of the Jews return to their homeland after their exile to Babylon, for seeking other gods. From Ezra we heard about the near 50,000 former captives that had returned to Palestine. We also see Ezra’s struggles in rebuilding the Temple and the great efforts of Ezra to re-educate the Jews on their Hebrew ancestry and the Law of Moses.

The book of Nehemiah continues this story with Nehemiah receiving grave news concerning the state of things in Jerusalem. In this continuation of the saga of the restoration of Israel we see the providence of God, and the intricacy of his planning. God has positioned Nehemiah in a position that gives him access and favor of King Artaxerxes. We also are given a proper manor in which we should deal with situations of great distress that are out of our hands.

Nehemiah has received word that the city and survivors in Jerusalem are, “in great affliction and reproach.” In addition, Nehemiah is told that the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and the gates lay destroyed by fire. This leaves the city defenseless to bands of marauders and enemies of the Jews. There is no sense of cohesion, nor security from within or without. In learning of these things, Nehemiah weeps and mourns in fasting and prayer for days. He pleads with God for mercy and confesses the sins of his nation. He reminds God of his promise to restore Israel if they repented and returned to keep his commandments. Then Nehemiah calls to the Lord that he knows that the Lord has indeed redeemed his people by his great power and his strong hand, and that abandoning his children after delivering them is not in his nature. Then we see that God opens the door for Nehemiah to come to Jerusalem with the blessings of King Artaxerxes, and with the full authority of the king and his protections to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

In this exchange we see that Nehemiah not only wept, confessed sin, and sought the Lord before he did anything else, but in the waiting on the Lord, Nehemiah also made plans and preparations for when the Lord would answer him. Oh, what a model of faith we see in Nehemiah. This is the constant pattern we see in the book of Nehemiah. We should take note of this faith and responsibility to God that Nehemiah demonstrates. For every obstacle that presented itself in attempts to thwart Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the wall and the re-education of the Jews towards their heritage and the Law of Moses was met with prayer and seeking of God first. God answered Nehemiah faithfully with resources, protections, and wisdom.

Jewish tradition tells us that Nehemiah is the author of this book. There is such detail and firsthand knowledge concerning the events which took place in this volume that leads to Nehemiah as the author of this chronicle. There is not knowledge of the life of Nehemiah prior to this event. However, we can ascertain that he was raised in teachings and study of the scriptures. We can also see that since he was the cup bearer to the king, he must have been a man of integrity. King Artaxerxes himself must have been very familiar with Nehemiah’s character and attitudes, because he noticed a change in Nehemiah’s demeanor. In addition, Nehemiah was a very trusted servant who was given the authority of the king as his Governor over Palestine. How great a witness we could have if we, as Christians walked in the integrity of the Lord, and in whom was no reproach found from our secular authorities appointed over us. For it is God who appoints kings of nations, not men.

Nehemiah shows us the importance of living a godly life, in a secular work environment. Nehemiah was not a priest, nor was he some great prophet. He was a single man, who feared God, loved his people, and endured many hardships. God uses people from all corners of life, and every kind of careers. Surely each one of our secular jobs is a mission field that the Lord has appointed us to. Give thanks to the Lord for where you are today and plan for where he leads you tomorrow.

Paul Peterson on Evangelism

Paul Peterson wrote an article for Lifeway Research that was released on March 25, 2021 called, From Prayer to Practice: 4 Keys to Ignite Evangelism in the Local Church. In this article he sited a research assessment from 2019 that said, “results revealed that Hispanics (36%) and African Americans (29%) pray daily for evangelistic opportunities. Additionally, 68% of Hispanics had spoken to someone about becoming a Christian in the last six months, and 71% had invited at least one person to church.” He also mentioned that over half of the respondents did not share the gospel with anyone in the past 6 months prior to taking the survey.

If you have ever wondered what happened to “In God We Trust”, and how men came to dress like women, and killing babies became the norm of society. Did you ever wonder how it is that someone who stands for pro-life can be identified as a domestic terrorist because they expose the truth of how babies are murdered for money? Well this might be the answer. We have stopped being the light of the world. The World System lives in darkness. Without the light they can no longer see the Way of Christ.

Matthew 5:14-16 KJV Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We were commissioned to carry the light. We are told to hunger and thirst after righteousness. We are told to be an example of righteousness. We are told to teach, baptize, and make disciples until the end of the world. Here are a few verses for you to look up and study on being an example:

Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
1 Timothy 4:12 – Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Ephesians 5:1-33 – Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; …
1 Corinthians 15:33 – Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
James 4:17 – Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:17 – And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
1 Peter 4:16 – Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
James 1:19 – Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these thing

Where do you fit into those numbers found in the research? Are you in the active side? Or are you in the inactive side? Are you a light to those around you of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Or have you conformed to the world? Do you accept abortion, homosexuality, and feminism of men as just a persons choice, or do you identify them as the sins that they are? Is God a liar, or is man?

I am not asking you to give up on loved ones who are walking in those things or supporting them. I am letting you know that we need to pray for them. We need to show them the truth in what we say, and in what we do. We need to let them see that God does love them and wants them to know who he is and to love him also. God is not their enemy, and neither are we. They of course, are not our enemies either.

They have been deceived and need to be shown the truth. First that there is absolute truth. Second that they are trapped in death. Third there is a way out of the death, shame, and loneliness in Christ Jesus. We need to pray for them, but we also need to pray for one another and ourselves. That we may be faithful to the calling that we have received, and that we would do all things in love and not in anger, pride, or in superficial judgement. I hope that you will pray with me, and then that we would all get our hands and feet busy in our calling for the spread of the Gospel of Christ. Here is the article from Lifeway Research…https://lifewayresearch.com/2021/03/25/from-prayer-to-practice-4-keys-to-ignite-evangelism-in-the-local-church/?ecid=PDM233821&bid=753368757

Survey of the Epistle of James

Survey of James

James is often referred to as the guide to practical Christian living. That is to say that it gives us a picture of how we should put in effect the things we have seen, and heard concerning Jesus Christ. James answers the questions concerning how a Christian should live out Grace in relation to the Law. James is one of the letters known as the General Epistles. The General Epistles are sometimes referred to as “Universal” or “Catholic” letters because they are not addressed to a specific church location. These letters include 1^st and 2^nd Peter, 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John, the letter from Jude (the half-brother of Jesus), and of course James.

Authorship

The author of this epistle identifies himself as James (1:1) and only claims to be “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. There are several men named James in the New Testament writings. We have a need to examine the information available, in these documents, concerning these men to determine the authorship of this jewel of church doctrine we refer to as the Epistle of James.

James: the son of Zebedee and Salome; who is the elder brother of the apostle John. This James was one of the twelve selected by Jesus to be his closest disciples and his apostles. He was a fisherman by trade and it appears that he was a partner with the apostle Peter (Matthew 20:20; 27:56). This James, along with John and Peter were a part of the inner circle of the apostles and was privy to events that most of the disciple would not have seen. He was allowed to see: the transfiguration of Christ (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2); the raising of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:37-43); and he was present with Jesus at the prayer and encouragement of Jesus in the garden of gethsemane (Mark 14:33-35). He was called to be an apostle (Matthew 4:21-22; 10:2; Mark 1:19-20; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13) by Jesus Christ. This James and his younger brother John was also referred to as a son of thunder because if their unbridled passion for Jesus (Mark 3:17). As an apostle he would have been witness to many great things that Jesus had done in his ministry and of the resurrection. However, despite all of the great reasoning that this James might have been the author, there is one thing that excludes the possibility. The Apostle James was the first Apostle to be martyred in 44 A.D by King Herod (Acts 12:1-2). This letter is believed to have been written between 45-50 A.D. In addition, the council of Jerusalem concerning the argument of the circumcision of the Gentiles did not occur until Acts chapter 15. So the James mentioned in that passage was not the Apostle James.

There were a couple of other mentions of different men named James in the New Testament. These men were only mentioned once and then were lost to obscurity. It is unlikely that these were the one who wrote such powerful theological addresses as are found in this letter. No, there is one more James that was there from the beginning, but who was not an apostle. This James would have had all the knowledge of Jesus’ whole life, death, and resurrection. He would have been a Jew, and held the respect of the Apostles and the Jews. This was James the brother of Jesus (half-brother).

James the half-brother of Jesus, although he was present from before the start of Jesus’ public ministry, was not a believer in Jesus as the Son of God until after he was a witness of the resurrected Christ. In seeing the death of Jesus and then seeing him alive, James became a devout follower of Jesus. He was the head of the Jerusalem council and was a respected pillar of the church and of the Jewish community. He would have had the knowledge and understanding in seeing the whole earthly life of Jesus, listening to his teachings, and witnessing the miracles, and the resurrection. This put him in a unique position to be a teacher and evangelist to the Jews concerning the Hebrew scriptures and how Jesus fulfilled the Law and the prophets. Even his initial criticisms of Jesus would have been a great witness to the hard-hearted Israelite of the love of God towards them that was revealed in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Historical Settings

At the time of this writing the church was still distinctively Jewish in nature because most of it’s members came from Jewish backgrounds and traditions. The letter suggests a simpler form of hierarchy in the local church. The church leaders are referred to as elders (5:14) and teachers (3:1). There is no mention of the soon to develop strife over Gentile circumcision. The Greek term for synagogue is used to designate the gathering place of the church. Many believe that this letter and the letter to the Galatians are the earliest recovered letters in the New Testament.

The Jews in Jerusalem were scorned and driven out by persecutions, not from Rome, but from their own kinsman. Many Jewish believers in Christ would have lost their social status, homes, family ties, access to the temple and suffered economic loss and hardships that come with the inability to make a living because of their persecution. Many left Jerusalem in order to make a living elsewhere and to escape the persecution.

Major Themes

The letter is written to these Jews who had scattered abroad (1:1). They were under severe persecutions and distress. James writes to encourage them. He tells them that the trials in which the find themselves in are expected and that they are for their betterment. James tells them that these trials are being used to mature their faith. They bring patients in the waiting of the fulfilment of their hope. He encourages them to seek wisdom from God and that God has not abandoned them. This is important because they had been ostracized from the religion of their youth and they needed to know that they had not erred. He shows them in this letter that they have not abandoned God either, instead they have grown closer to God then they could ever imagine. He also instructs them on how to live in the freedom that God has given them in Jesus Christ and how they should treat one another in order to be pleasing servants of God and his Messiah.

Key Verse: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22)

Doctrine

James deals with a lot of controversial doctrines. Even Martin Luther argued as to whether the Epistle of James should be in the Canon of the Bible because of the doctrinal approach that James appears to take. It is important when we read through the scriptures that we understand that not all scripture is written to everyone. That is we must pay attention to who the author is addressing his letter to and see what issues they are dealing with. As in this case James is writing to Jews who have believed on Jesus Christ and are still in the process of dealing with this new way of life. They came from a rigid system of rituals and prayers that had added to what God actually said and excessively burdened the seeker of God. Remember Christianity was not a religion, the religion was still Judaism. In this James unpacks the differences between the works oriented Jewish religion to the works resultant way of Christ. Many Christians these days would do good to study this book and see how we are to live in obedience, now that we have been freely saved by God in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

The Doctrines that James deals with are a living in Christ once you have believed and received this forgiveness, not an earning of salvation through works. James starts with the doctrine of persecution and it expectancy and the resultant spiritual growth. Then he moves into how to live a sanctified life. This includes patience, slow to wrath, not rushing to judgement. James presents the doctrine of humility by not judging other believers by appearance, money, reputation, or prestige. The secret to this is that we are all servants who serve the same master. Then James begins a discussion of the doctrine of Works by Faith. Many confuse this portion to think that James is saying that to have faith you must do these things. James is not saying that at all, he says that faith has certain works that accompany it as a byproduct. Without works in faith, you do not possess faith. Because if you believed then you would act a certain way and be obedient to the will of the LORD.

Then he discusses by example the use of the tongue, the truth of pride and wisdom. James then tells them that if they were walking in the spirit (faith) then they would not have quarrels amongst the brethren. So, peace and love in the church is a result of waking by faith. James’s doctrine for walking in faith is to (1) Submit to God, (2) Resist the devil, (3) Draw close to God and let God draw close to you, (4) Be sincere in your repentance, and (5) Put away pride. James also sets the doctrine of laying on of hands. James urges his readers in the same manner that the author of Hebrews does, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” (Hebrews 6:1-2)

Outline

Greetings and Encouragement 1:1
Trials 1:2-18
1. Purpose of Trials 1:2-12
2. Pedigree of Trials 1:13-15
3. Purpose of God in Trials 1:16-18
The Word 1:19-27
Christian Conduct 2-5
1. Partiality 2:1-13
2. Actions of Faith 2:14-26
3. The Fire in Tongue 3:1-12
4. Real Wisdom 3:13-18
5. Worldliness 4:1-17
6. Proper Views 5:1-12
7. Prayer 5:13-18
8. Conversion of the Erring 5:19-20

Does God Ignore Some Prayers?

There seems to be a lot of confusion over the question of prayer, and if God answers all prayers. Many Christians sit in pews and listen to pastors who teach that God answers all prayers. The pastors say that sometimes God will say “yes”. They will admit that sometimes God says “no”, or even “maybe”, or “wait”. These are all valid answers. I have seen examples of such answers that I have given to my own children in seeking to be a good parent. Children sometimes ask for things that are not good for them. Or for things that are inappropriate for them. However, there were times to when they were asking things with the wrong attitude, or the while they were being punished, or things that they just knew that I would not allow, but they asked anyway.

On those occasions, I simply ignored the pleading. I had all the right to as a parent. Just because I was asked, it did not mean that I must answer or even that I had to listen. You may have been in a similar situation with your children. Lucky for us we serve a God who is the essence of what is good. He loves us from his goodness, and his goodness gives us love. Therefore, He always seeks our best interest, within his will. We are his children, and we are treated as such. But, what about those who are not his children? Does God have to pander to their requests? Does he have the right to disregard their prayers?

The Holy Bible starts out with a simple assumption, that God exists. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) If God exists, and he created the heaven and the earth then God is sovereign. We either must believe that or not. Now if we believe that God is sovereign then we must believe that he is not under our jurisdiction. He is free to determine what he must and must not do. God gets to choose his own actions. God’s actions are governed by his own character.

This character is what has been the demonstration of what is true in love, charity, longsuffering, righteousness, and all things that are good. Our since of justice comes from the character of God. God as creator does not have to answer for himself to his creation. We simply must accept that he can choose to answer any prayer that he so chooses to answer. In accepting that as truth we must also accept as truth; God can choose to not answer, and even ignore some prayers. We do not dictate the terms to God. It is God who dictates terms to his creation.

To ignore the sovereignty of God would put us in the same place as Satan. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Ezekiel 14:12-14) You would think that we would see and understand that to stand in the presence of God and make demands of him is to put ourselves in the position of God. This is what happened in the Garden of God in Eden. There Satan tempted Eve to sin, by telling her that she would be like God. (Genesis 3:5) We must listen to what the Word says and not what we desire. So, are there times that God chooses to ignore prayers? What does the Word say about unanswered and ignored prayers?

Well James the half-brother of Jesus wrote, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3) The epistle of James is believed to have been written around 49-50 AD, that would make it the earliest written letter written, after the Ascension of Christ, in the New Testament. Here James is answering the same question that we are still asking today. Why doesn’t God answer all prayers? In this short sentence James tells us that if we ask to consume it in our lusts, that is to say, to satisfy fleshly desires, or in self-serving desire, then you are asking in vain because God will not honor that prayer. So, the motivation of our prayer has to be sincerely unselfish. So, is it wrong to ask for the things we need? No, Jesus himself told us that we should ask that our joy may be full. Jesus also says that we should seek the kingdom of God first, because the Father knows everything we need, and he will supply our need. So, James does not contradict Jesus. Both Jesus and James, tell us that we should ask with the proper motivation.

We also see that the Lord will not hear those who think immorality in their heart. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms 66:18) What an eye opener this verse is. To put it in context, the writer is actually praising God for hearing his prayers, and NOT those of the wicked. He draws a contrast and comparison between himself as a righteous man before God who seeks to do the will of God and those who do not seek the will of God. These who enjoy and keep sin in their hearts will have their prayers unanswered because they are separated from God and God will not hear them. Pay close attention to what Isaiah says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) Iniquities are knowledgeable sins. These are sins we know are wrong and choose to continue in them. These separate us from God, and then he will not hear us. This is what leads the Apostle John to write, “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” (John 9:31) There seems to be a theme developing here. The theme that wrongly motivated prayers and a desire to continue in sin are some things that motivates God to NOT answer prayers. Heck it even seems that he ignores those who do such things.

In fact, God tells the prophet Jeremiah, because Israel has violated these two principles and rejected God, he will not hear them when they pray, and he forbids prayer for them. Did you hear that? Don’t believe me? Listen to Jeremiah 14:10-12, “Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.” Wow he will not hear their prayers, not anyone else’s prayers for them. He will not listen even if they fast, no matter how often nor how long they pray, because they have rejected him. I think that it is fair enough to say that the doors of heaven can be closed to those who leave God, should he so choose.

Ok so far we see that God can choose to ignore prayer from those who have improper motives rooted in selfishness. God will not hear those who choose to live in sin, or who have forsaken God for another god. Now we move on to those who have actually rejected God. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Word of God and the Word of God was with God in the beginning and created all things. The Word also tells us, “The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.” (Proverbs 3:19-22) and then scripture also tells us that this wisdom of God that Created, this Word of God that Created, this Jesus that Created, if you reject him. Then you will cry out and the Father will not hear you.

• Proverbs 1:24-28 – Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
• Matthew 10:33 – But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
• John 14:6 – Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

There we clearly that the rejection of Jesus Christ means that the Father does not know you. That would mean that he is not your Father. You would not then be his child. He would be under no obligation to hear those who have rejected Jesus.
God does have a real heart for those who listen to him, those who abbey his will, and those who care for others. So much so that Zachariah tell us that God proclaims that those with hard hearts, who refuse to listen to the Lord and his commandments he will not hear. (Zechariah 7:11-13). Proverbs 28:9 tells us that those who turn there ears away the hearing of the Law of God, God considers their prayers an abomination. That means that God thinks that those who do not even bother to listen to his law and then want to pray to him, that their prayers are an outrage. There is another form of ignoring that God does not particularly care for and will cause prayers to be unheard. Those who ignore the plight of the poor, when they ask of God, their prayers will be, likewise, ignored. (Proverbs 21:13)
God will not hear the prayers of those who mistreat his people either. These are those who hate good, love evil, who seek to hurt and kill the Saints of God.

• Psalm 18:40-41 – Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
• Micah 3:2-4 – Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

These have cried in the past and the Lord choose to ignore their pleas. There are other examples of prayers that do not get answered. Prayers from those who worship idols (Jeremiah 11:11-14; Ezekiel 8:15-18. Those who do not believe will not receive anything from the Lord. (James 1:6-7).

So then if we are all unrighteous, who does God hear?
Those who seek and call upon him in belief that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him to know who he is.

• James 1:5 – But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
• Jeremiah 29:12 – Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
• Job 33:26 – Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man.
• Psalm 91:15 – “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
• Psalm 145:18 – The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
• Psalm 65:2 – O You who hear prayer, To You all men come.

• Jeremiah 36:7 – Perhaps their supplication will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.”
• Matthew 7:11 – If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
• John 14:13 – Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
• John 14:14 – If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
• John 16:23 – In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
• John 15:7 – If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
• James 5:16 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
• Matthew 21:22 – And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
• 1 John 5:14 – This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
• 1 John 5:15 – And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
• Romans 10:12 – For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

Scripture is clear. God is sovereign and he chooses to ignore those who do not recognize or who ignore his sovereignty. But to those who sincerely seek him, and desire to know him. He will reveal himself to them. Those who are repentant and who confess that Jesus is the Son of God who died, was buried, and rose again from the grave, and desire to perform his will, God will hear, and answer. He will fulfill the desires of that person’s heart. God hears those who hear him. If you first ask to hear God, he will let you hear him, that your joy may be full. You want to hear something really neat? God prays for us. (Romans 8:27; John 17:15; 1 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 9:15) In addition, for those who accept Jesus as Christ, those have been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21) This means the unrighteous man that John said God would not hear… we are no longer that unrighteous man. Therefore, God hears us, because of Jesus Christ, in order that the Son of God may be glorified of the Father. What wonderful news!

One World Religion: Eastern Religious Philosophy in Christianity

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There has been a slow change to Christianity over the decades since the 50s. Much of this is due to the initiation of humanistic philosophies, introduced by the acceptance of Eastern Religious thought, into society, higher educational facilities, and the church compiled with a lack of proper discipleship in the church. One of the more recent implementations of this is seen in the humanistic views of enneagrams being taught and accepted into mainstream Christianity. Enneagrams are the study of personality traits as a model of the human psyche so that one can better understand themselves and their motivations and how they interact with others. These personality behaviors are based on a model of 9 persona (types) that all people fit into.

These Nine Personality Types:

The Reformer – The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionist
The Helper – The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
The Achiever – The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
The Individualist -The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
The Investigator – The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
The Loyalist – The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
The Enthusiast – The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered
The Challenger – The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
The Peacemaker – The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent

Seminaries have moved away from teaching Biblical Counselling that is based on scripture and have moved into humanistic psychologies which emphasize personal worth of the individual, the centrality of human values, and the dynamic nature of human beings. This means that Christian Counselling has by and large succumbed to self-help strategies that promote the idea that “at the heart we are all good people”. If you look at these 9 Personality types. None of these are bad or evil traits. All of these traits are good characteristics that when out of balance becomes bad. Therefore, if a Christian starts with this assumption, then they have already begun from an improper foundation. They have left the truth of scripture. Instead they have believed a lie.

This lie seeks to influence in a deception that basically we are all good and caring beings who just have different ways of living life. The false teachers are spreading a lie. This lie being told to Christians, is that they should seek to learn their personality type and isolate scripture that only addresses their personality. In focusing on the scriptures that apply to their personality types they can then overcome their shortcomings and be set free from bondage and become a good enough person to God.

Since all these personality types are actually positive types there is not need to address sin, or repentance. Instead you are a good person and only need to know what scriptures are needed to make you a better person. In being better you can become one with God and the universe. This is the ultimate goal of Buddhism. It is a state of complete bliss, liberation from the limitations and cares and desires of the physical world, and the end of the cycle of rebirth and suffering. This is referred to as Nirvana. Nirvana comes from “Moksha” from Jain literature and literally means liberation or salvation of soul. In order to achieve Karma.

The Eight Aspects of Karma are: of knowing, of seeing, of attachment, and concerning age, name, caste, feeling and obstacles.

There are four levels of Nirvana

Stream-Enterers – Those who have destroyed first three chains of life (false view of self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals)

Once-Returners – Those who have destroyed three chains of life and have lessened the chains of lust and hatred

Non-returners – Those who have destroyed five chains of life, which binds to the world of senses.

Arahants – Those who have reached Nirvana

Therefore, reaching of Nirvana (Karma) is breaking the Karmic cycles and liberating the soul from those temporal binds. This relieves us of such restrictions as age, sexual identity, marriage, family contructs, political influences, religious beliefs, patriotisms, ethnicities, right and wrong, ultimate truth, etc…

On the surface the lie seems to be ok, acceptable. After all what is wrong with someone learning how to identify who they are and how to become a better person? Surly we all want to live in harmony and not live in a world filled with hate and violence. See, that is a nice lie rolled up into a lie we can discuss later. But you can see how appealing the lie is. Furthermore, for you to not accept the lie then that makes you an enemy of humanity and selfish. You become the very evil of society because you do not accept the lie that they are telling you. You are hated because you are a hater, and if you are a hater as a bible-believing Christian, then Christians are haters and thereby hypocrites who do not even live by what they preach about loving one another. We already have Christians who are paralyzed by this false teaching and therefore refrain from church discipline or warning others about how the sins they live in is killing them. This is only the beginning of the trouble.

The problem is that we have a generation of young evangelical Christians who have been brought up into this humanistic theology at home, school, and in the church. Now we have a whole generation that does not know what the truth of scripture is. They see Christianity as a means of a moralistic mechanism that is practiced by a “good person”, or one seeking to be a “good person” instead of a means of restoring a lost relationship with God. With this view one has to be good enough for God to accept you. Others see the church as something therapeutic that is there to help them with psychological issues, marriage counselling, and the sort. Others see Christianity more of as a philosophy that has its own way of reaching enlightenment. By and large many Christians can no longer identify the core beliefs that make one a Christian. They are victims of improper discipleship. This leaves them susceptible to the lies of the whore Babylon and the One World Religion that has come into the world.

This humanistic approach to Christianity is contrary to scripture. What part? Glad you asked… the whole part is contrary to scripture. A Christian who teaches these things is a false teacher. If you are one who claims the title of being a Christian, then I would hope that this would be an obvious declaration to you. However, I am not ignorant. I know that there are many out there who claim to be Christians, but they have no idea what that means. For example, one might believe that a person is saved by “faith” and that would be a correct statement. So then that person says that they are a Christian because they believe in Jesus. But if we ask them, are all religions equal then they would say, “yes, as long as they have faith”. You see this is a humanistic view that is not supported by scriptural belief in Jesus Christ as the One True God. This then is a denial of, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Jesus said that he is the Alpha and the Omega, he is the beginning and the end. Creation began with Jesus’ creating it. Creation will end with Jesus destroying it. He is the only one who has that authority. (Matthew 28:18-20) Because all power and authority has been given to him, we are to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we are to make disciples in his name and teach then everything that he commanded. Surely as a good disciple you know everything that he commanded us to teach others, or at least you are in a good Sunday school and in regular church attendance so that you may learn everything he wants you to know. Second Timothy chapter three and verse sixteen tells us, “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Listen very carefully to what Jesus says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: they word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through thy truth.” (John 17:17-23) This is part of a prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciple just before he was sacrificed to make atonement for sin. Sanctification comes through knowledge of the truth. The word of God, the scriptures contained in the cannon of the Holy Bible is the truth of Jesus Christ. We are sanctified through Jesus Christ. He is the only way that we receive sanctification. Why do we need sanctification?

We need sanctification because we are not good at heart. Maybe, in the original creation, we were good at heart. However, sin entered man through Adam. Since then we have not grown better over time and self-improvement techniques. Instead we have grown worse. “As it is written there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10) Humanism says that you are basically good or righteous, or that you can be if you try hard enough and focus on your goodness. God says that will not work, because a lemon tree cannot produce grapes.

Within the first 1500 years of man’s existence the scriptures tell us, “it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:6) Why was this? Because God say how wicked men had become. He saw that everything that man imagined, and desired in his heart, was evil. Man was depraved at his core. Man did not just make an error in the garden, he continued in error and like a rotten apple spoils the whole barrel, all of man was rotten. We have an old saying, “the blind leading the blind”. This means that both parties are doomed to fail because if the guide cannot see, there is no hope for those who are led by him. Why then would Christians who have the light allow themselves to be let astray by the false teachings of humanism? You see this is the blind leading the blind.

Man is now inherently evil in his heart; even a “good man”. Noah who built the ark and warning his neighbors of the impending judgement of God shamed himself, after being delivered from destruction by God, through getting drunk and passing out naked. Abraham a man who God called his friend and the father of Israel lied to protect himself from harm instead of trusting God. Lot committed incest. King David who is known for being “a man after God’s own heart” committed adultery and murder. The bible is full of “good men” who had were not good men. It is the mercies of God, who is good who saved them from themselves. Not their own will to overcome imperfection. The Apostle Paul said, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) Jesus himself said that there is none good but God. (Matthew 19:17) Mankind is gone astray and everyone is self-seeking, even the humanistic philosophers.

The 12 steps to AA and recovery are originally based in scripture. In Alcoholics Anonymous the first step to recovery begins with admitting to oneself that they are powerless over their addiction and their lives had become unmanageable. Romans 7:18 says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” That means that although I would want to do good, I have no idea how to do good, because in my heart I am not good. Christian do you remember the day that you finally saw that you are not the good person you thought that you were? Do you remember when you realized that no matter how good you wanted to be, you could not look in the mirror for all the terrible things you did to yourself, to others, and to God?

That was the first step in actually becoming better. You realized that you could not do it. This is not humanistic. This is a revelation brought to you by being confronted with the truth in scripture. Sin is real. Sin leads to more sin. Sin leads to destruction of homes, family relationships, loss of friendships, jobs. It causes illnesses and eventually leads to death. “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This is truth. We know it is. We know by previous examples in our own lives the end result of sin. We can use that truth to cling onto the rest of this statement, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. This is the way to eternal life.

God had given us this gift of eternal life through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ paid for our sin debt. The debt of death. He did this with his own death. His death is a substitute for our death penalty. It would be like being convicted of a crime and then being sentenced to death. Then while you were on death row the guard suddenly opens the cell and say you are free to go. When you ask why, he takes you to the observation window of the lethal injection chamber. To our astonishment you see your big brother strapped to the table with needles in his veins, then he looks at you and says I am paying your debt because I love you. This is the same thing Jesus did for you. He literally died in place of you. That made you a free man. Free from the penalty of your sin.

Then Jesus rose from the grave. Well, he is God, you say. I would then agree, he is God. Thant in itself should move you, God himself died for you. But that is not all he did. He rose from the grave. He actually defeated death. Now, this gives you the ability to have eternal life through his resurrection. So what about today? Sin has been paid for, all sin. Death has been defeated, now there is no fear of death for the believer. Now Jesus had all authority in heaven, because he is God. He has all authority on earth, because he is the creator. He has all authority over the grave, because he vanquished death. There is something else that Jesus is still doing for you today. He is interceding for you before God the Father. Jesus is praying for you. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34)

Romans 8:34 is such an awesome verse! Who is going to condemn those who believe in Jesus? Listen Jesus has set us free from the Law and Sin, and Death. He is the one who is judge of all creation. He has the authority to condemn, but why would he? He himself knows the penalty has been paid. By believing in him and him alone, you are a recipient of this free gift. So no, he will not condemn you. Paul says, instead of condemning you he is praying for you. He is on your side. He is earnestly paying attention to you for success. Now in scripture are there ways that we can become a better person, a better servant to God and to one another? Yes there is. But for the believer, you don’t need to identify your personality type to become a better person so that God will love you more. He already loves you enough that he died for you. He already loves you enough that he gives you the free give of this atonement. So we study the Word and grown in knowledge not of ourselves, but of the God who saves us. Why, because we want to know him better, not ourselves. We want to understand his love for us. We want to learn how to show that love to others, because we want them to know about his love. This is why we “sanctify” our selves. We set ourselves apart to be a useful servant in what he desires. What does he desire? “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-10) God desires for everyone to repent, believing on Jesus and be saved from condemnation. He is patiently waiting for anyone who will believe.

What is your part in this? “How then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14) This is what we should be doing. Instead of us being influenced by the humanistic One Word Religion, we should be influencing them with the truth of Jesus Christ by “preaching”. This is not talking about a preacher like we understand the preaching in the pulpit today. It is meaning that we should be declaring the truth of Jesus Christ in the scripture. Who cares about who we used to be? We are to tell who we are in Christ now. We are forgiven, we are free, we are in life, all because of the gift of grace demonstrated in Jesus Christ. Chris is our righteousness. We are justified before God because of Jesus Christ, not our own effort. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Go and teach them, not the other way around….

Election Day: What to pray for? Psalm 85

Well here we are, a little over 40 days until Election Day. Everyone in the United States knows that no matter who wins, the US will never be the same. Marxist and Communist are in positions of power and influence and openly run for high offices in a land where once the very mention of communist affiliation brought the possibility of imprisonment. Our youth has been successfully programmed away from the Lord God and the higher moral convictions of the Christian faith that founded this once great country. Now as atheism had taken over, we have lost our innocence from our youth, way too soon. History has been re-written and heroes of our republic have been removed and replaced with Marxist icons. We here stupid remarks form the “educated” college elites like, “History is written by the victors”. This is a quote once made by Winston Churchill which is essentially vade ad victor spolia, to the victor go the spoils. In using this quote, they mean to say that the ones who have lost in the great struggles of society have been cheated their voice and should have recompenses made of it. This is their war cry to tear apart society. Yet their very atheistic views concerning “survival of the fittest” demand that no such recompense be made. But that is another matter we can discuss another time.

Our moral compass has been misled by the strong magnetism of the atheist and their misleading and often untruthful sciences. We replaced the truth of God with the unproven theories, and speculations of mere men. We have stopped trusting in the truth of God for the known lies of men. In doing so we have lost our identity. We who are created in the very image of God and crowned above anything else in creation have succumbed to a lie that we are no more important then the animals that serve us for food, or entertainment. We have replaced the natural love of our children for the unnatural love of an animal. Many cherish their pets above their own children. In many public places in Europe and the US it is more tolerable to bring your pet to diner in a fine restaurant than it is to bring your children. You may think it funny when you see those commercials that depict this very thing on the television, but what you fail to see it the truth of what it shows. You also fail to see that you are being taught what this world system wants you to be.

With this new ideal of the lack of uniqueness of man, we have opened the door to the atheistic views of “survival of the fittest”. We no longer need to show compassion to anyone. Rather we can live to satisfy our own selfish desires. Since there is no God then there is no moral law giver. With no moral law there is no one who can judge me. If no one can judge me then no one can hold me accountable. If no one can hold me accountable, then no one can punish or reward me. I am the only one who can reward me. I am free to seek my reward at the expense of anyone around me because I answer to no one.

This is the society we have fallen to. No longer a society of care or concern for one another but one that is only concerned with what I can get out of others, and who can pay my way to fill my gluttony. It used to be that when we went down the highway and saw a vehicle disabled, that we would stop to render aid. Now we dare not even slow the car down for fear that we may get shot. Greed and violence has filled our culture to the point of brokenness. How far has sin taken our country, that we cannot even have an election without widespread mayhem. So, with all of this you may be asking what can we pray for concerning this election?

I think we may consider the words of the psalmist in Psalm 85 as a place to start. Bring us back, O God our savior, and stop being displeased with us! Will you be angry with us forever? Will your anger never cease? Make us strong again, and we, your people, will praise you. Show us your constant love, O Lord, and give us your saving help. (Psalm 85:4-7)

We can cry out to God with all our hearts and plead with him in our distress. We can cry out to the Lord to bring us back to the culture that sought after his face. Bring us back to being the ones who listened to the counsel of his Word. We can beg his anger to be withheld. We can pray for peace between us, the United States, and with Him, the one who first established our nation when it fled tyranny. We can seek his mercies to keep us from returning to a different tyranny.

We must start with a prayer of repentance. Today there is no one who takes responsibility for their own actions. There is no one who recognizes that God is the one who establishes the rulers of the land, and who gives them wisdom to rule. (Daniel 2:21) We must fall on our faces before God. I mean, lay to the prone and in great urgency, beg the Lord on behalf of ourselves, our neighbors, our churches, and our government in repentance. We must seek the forgiveness of the Lord for the idolatrous worship of the creation over the Creator. We have loved money, power, influence, sexual immorality, and ourselves more than we have loved Christ. I am speaking to the church. We would expect such behavior from the unsaved, but not from those who profess the name of Jesus Christ. We must be the first on our knees, and to lay prostrate.

We must plead as the psalmist, “Bring us back, O God our savior”. Jesus in the garden prayed in anguish to the Father, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) We must pray and seek the will of the Lord. We can pray for this election and the events that may come from it. We can pray for the will of God to be accomplished in this election. We can also pray for our acceptance of his will. We must understand that he is in charge and his will, is what will be accomplished. We must be in acceptance of that will.

Looking again at Psalm 85 we can look forward in hope. It says, “ I am listening to what the Lord God is saying; he promises peace to us, his own people, if we do not go back to our foolish ways. Surely he is ready to save those who honor him, and his saving presence will remain in our land.” (Psalm 85:8-9) Isn’t it amazing! The Lord has an answer for us. We must listen to the Lord God! We, his own people, in Christ Jesus, are to be separate from the world. Not returning to the things that we were once delivered from.

The Apostle John writes a warning from God to us, “Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5) We then should remember from where we have fallen, who we left behind, and turn away from those behaviors which led us astray. We are to return to the first works. The first works are those that have supreme importance.

The first commandment is to love the Lord your God above everything else. In Matthew 10:37 Jesus explains how deep our love for him should be. He said that if we love our closest family members more than we love him, then we are not worthy of him. That is the kind of love that the Lord desires from us. Then we are to love one another. We are to love one another in truth. We are to love one another sacrificially just like Jesus loved us. That means that we love genuinely. Genuine enough to counsel one another and yes… warn one another when we see that another is falling into sin. This is not a hypocritical judgement, but something that we are mandated to do in scripture. We are also commanded to love one another by praying for one another, encouraging one another, providing for one another. That is to freely give to one another the things that are needed with no expectancy of return. So, one of the first works is “love”. We need to return to an active love of God and of one another. Supporting one another with more than just words; making real sacrifices for the kingdom of God and one another.

Love of God is our supreme motivation and our first work. I know you are wondering, “why have you gotten so far off topic?” Well I needed to make sure that we are starting from the right place when we pray. Prayer is also one of the first works. I we look in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit was given to the church, they were in earnest prayer. Looking through the gospels we see that Jesus was in constant prayer. When the early church made any decision on church business, or mission, or even in correspondences they prayed. This is a first work; pray. Many believers today in America do not pray on a daily basis, much less in continuously. Remember when you first got saved? Remember how you could not read enough scripture, or talk to God enough? Don’t you miss that time with God? We should return to consistent, unending prayer and fellowship.

What are we to pray for? Well, before we can pray for others, we need to first address our own standing with God. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) Wow! God seems clear that those who are called by his name are to repent, then he will heal their land. So, when we pray for these elections and our country we first, need to humble ourselves. Humble ourselves? Yes, we must not enter the throne room of God with an attitude that we are better then those we are praying for. What condemnation we would bring upon ourselves to walk in such arrogance before the Lord who judges the very hearts of men. He already knows the hearts of those you are praying for, he does not need you to tell him their shortcomings. He is aware of their stumbling blocks and yours. Love is your first work. We do not need to pray bad things to happen to those who are hijacking our country, we need to pray for a change of heart.

We then come humbly in the knowledge that it is Jesus Christ who has made it possible for us to enter his throne room. We seek his face because he is the one who establishes kings and countries. He is the on who has authority over the enemy. It is his kingdom that we seek and represent here on earth. Still we should stand for righteousness. Righteousness is what we pray for, for righteous men to be enthroned here in this office of the President, and at all levels of the government and in the bureaucracy of the United States before God. That wicked men and women will be removed from places of power and influence in our government, educational systems, and businesses. This includes all the way down to our municipal entities.

We pray for repentance of those who are leading this anti-God social agendas and that their salvation will bring a great testimony to all the nations, just as Saul’s salvation did in the early church. We can pray for men and women of righteousness who seek the goodness of the Lord will be raised up and put in places of power and influence in this country. We can pray for judges that uphold the scriptural foundations of our laws and constitution. We can pray for lawmakers of moral courage and of good conscience will be elected. We can pray for a populace that will suffer whatever is needed to bring forward the righteousness of God in this country. You see we are a very unique populace of citizens here in the United States, we can actually vote away our own freedoms, by electing the wrong people into places of power and influence because we desired a handout instead of honest work before God. So we must pray for those who vote and for those who chose to not vote, because we are all responsible to God on who is elected into our government at all levels. To say that a Christian is to not be involved in such matters is a great lie sold to us by the enemy. Where God has blessed us to have the opportunity to be an ambassador of His Kingdom we will surely be held accountable. We can pray for this cup to pass, and for us to accept his will. We can pray for righteous and blessed things to come from this election. We can look forward to peace. What?

Remember Psalm 85? In verse eight he promises us peace. Repentance of his people and of a nation defers wrath and brings peace with God. He is ready to save those who honor him. (v.9) Verse 10 says, “Love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will embrace.” God will actually look down hear; look down from heaven, show us mercy, and heal our land. More than that he will make the nations that fear him to prosper.

We don’t need to be in fear when we pray. We can have confidence in the Lord. He is God and therefore in control. He can hear us and wants to come to our aid. Let us pray that his will be done in love and in caring for one another. Let us pray for the repentance of our fellow citizens, and their return to God as a nation.