Monthly Archives: January 2009

Educated People Prefer the New Age Fables

30 Friday Jan 2009

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“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith, so do.” (1 Timothy 1:4, KJV)

“… Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth … And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 3:7 and 4:4, KJV)

 

Perhaps it is safe to say that it would be impossible to find any educated person from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries who does not have a high regard for education. Moreover, those who study and keep up with the biblical predictions that have happened in the twentieth century, and are happening in the twenty-first century, know without a shadow of a doubt that this world of ours is experiencing the end times, as prophesied by ancient Hebrew prophets, Jesus the Christ, and first-century apostles. For sure, because of the heavy importance that is placed upon education, the entire world has experienced the prophesied increase in knowledge. Yet, as predicted by the prophet Daniel in sixth century B.C. (see Daniel 12:4), and as reiterated by Apostle Paul in first century A.D. (see 2 Timothy 3:7 and 4:3-4), even though people in the end times would see an increase in knowledge, masses of people would still remain ignorant about God’s absolute TRUTH.

In spite of the fact that billions of people have a ravenous appetite for knowledge, the prophetic words spoken by Prophet Daniel and Apostle Paul concerning the ignorance of mankind is being fulfilled as twenty-first century Christians live and move and have their being. Yes, they indeed want to know more and more, but they continue to refuse to accept God’s TRUTH—His sound doctrine—preferring instead to believe the lies that are in New-Age fables, myths and fairy tales. Hence, the world has produced an abundance of educated fools.

Worldwide today, from Head Starts through kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools to post-secondary institutions of higher learning, fables, myths and fairy tales are the tasty but deceitful knowledge morsels that educational systems are spoon feeding to toddlers, youth, preteens, teenagers, and adults. Moreover, at the heart of these fabrications that are masqueraded as “facts” are the New Age interpretations of spiritual living that are sweeping the world, infiltrating Christ’s CHURCH with their deadly messages. Thus, instead of learning and accepting God’s Word, as His TRUTH pertains to Him, His Son, His Holy Spirit, His Creation and the meaning of human life, today’s knowledge seekers (born-again believers and the unsaved and unchurched world) are accepting the New Age interpretations of spiritual living for mankind, which primarily are based upon nothing more than a mixture of ancient Greek, Roman, Hindu, Buddhist and Chinese fables, myths and fairy tales that have been combined with modern-day perspectives.

As a result, the generation that Christ says will not pass away until ALL that He has prophesied in Matthew Chapters 24-25 comes true is our present twenty/twenty-first century generation, especially those who were born just before and after May 14, 1948, when the Jews declared independence for Israel. This is the CHURCH-Age generation that has become so saturated with the enticing pap of the New Age drivel that, daily, tremendous numbers of believing Christians are turning away from God’s TRUTH. These people are those who no longer can endure sound doctrine, but rather they have ears that itch for any kind of “truth” that differs from God’s absolute Divine TRUTH as revealed by His Holy Spirit. Ultimately, they have chosen to accept those teachings that appeal more to their fleshly desires and wishes—to their ME-first appetites. For sure, they have become ensnared (enslaved) by New Age fables, myths and fairy tales that have given them something that they can easily swallow without having to attempt to digest it fully.

These hoodwinked “truth” seekers have been taught beliefs and practices that are a combination of ancient myths, established traditional religions and new religious movements, plus scientific and philosophical thoughts. While New Age beliefs and practices seem to satisfy these deceived “truth” seekers’ intellectual, religious, and economic pursuits in search of alternative approaches to Western beliefs and practices, the truth is that they have been duped into thinking that they have discovered a “new” and more effective spirituality. New Age believers, thus, have been blinded to the fact that all they have accepted is an age-old system promoted by Satan and his imps—one that is nothing more than the ancient mysteries of Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations on earth (cf. Revelation 17:5-18). Christ, Apostles Paul, Peter, and John, and the writer of Hebrews describe this world’s ancient false “religious” traditions as a form of “godliness” that denies the genuine power of God—an unsound doctrine followed by infidels/blasphemers of the Holy Spirit, who are perpetrators of the unforgivable “sin” unto death (cf. 1 John 5:16, 2 Peter 2:20, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Hebrews 6:4-6, Matthew 12:31-32) .

Whatever “spiritual” quality these believers have claimed to have found in the literature and teachings of New Age fables, myths and fairy tales, this “spirituality” can never be a substitute for the guidance that ONLY God’s Holy Spirit can give. Whatever “truth” and “wisdom” that could be gleaned from New Age fables, myths, and fairy tales, this “truth” and “wisdom” can never be a substitute for the absolute Divine TRUTH and Wisdom that ONLY can be found in God’s Word—the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, too many of this “last” generation will perish without having accepted, or returned back to, God’s Divine TRUTH, which is His sound doctrine of the Holy Bible.

In fact, even after these wayward individuals are standing before the Great White Throne of God, where He will judge them in their bodies, souls and spirits for their rejection of Christ and His Gospel, many of these deceived humans still will not accept or fully understand the folly of their ways. However, by then there will be no way to adjust their imminent sentence.

The heavy emphasis on education and knowledge in the twenty-first century cannot be denied. Unstable world economies and ever-changing technologies are just two major reasons why the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, unlike as with past centuries, have stressed the need to increase education and knowledge. These world events make it compulsory for people who want to find satisfactory employment—positions that pay well and have adequate benefits—to acquire as much training and knowledge about his or her career field in order to be seriously considered for any job. Nepotism and other forms of preferential treatment are nearly extinct. Worldly knowledge is what rules!

As prophesied, this keen emphasis on education and an increase in knowledge have resulted in both the world and the CHURCH being filled with educated fools—a culture/generation of biblically ignorant yet eager seekers of “truth” and new revelations. These are the ones who have become desensitized to spiritual deceptions, and, as such, they have very little, if any, know-how or strength to resist dishonest, non-spiritual leaders and/or authority figures who are only saying what people want to hear rather than giving them the absolute TRUTH. However, in this time of increased education and knowledge, there will be NO excuses for not hearing and accepting the Gospel of Christ. Ignorance cannot be used as a Wildcard or a Get of Jail “Free” pass, because short of obtaining the TRUTH the old fashion way—by FAITH (trusting in God’s Word)—there can be no escaping eternal damnation.

Run The Race That Earns You Eternal Rewards

29 Thursday Jan 2009

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On your mark. Get set. Go.

We, who are familiar with these track-and-field sports commands, know that after they are spoken a race will begin. In that race, we know that there will be many lanes of competitors, and that every lane’s runner will be expecting to be the first-place winner—expecting to be the one who gets the prize. If the other runners do not finish first, we also know that they are hoping to at least finish in second or third place.

Now, let us consider how the Apostle Paul uses the track-and-field metaphor in the Scripture below. He compares believers to long-distance runners. His purpose is to encourage believers to continue to run the race that doesn’t end until the moment they are standing before Jesus the Christ in anticipation of their eternal-life rewards. Figuratively speaking, the Apostle Paul is asking believers to pursue a spiritual life with God like the Olympics’ long-distance runners pursue the first-place trophy or gold medal, because these athletes put their ALL into preparing for and running in their race, including ceaselessly hoping that they will be the one who is crowned “the winner.”

Let us, therefore, count our journey worthy of receiving the end result, which is the eternal home that Jesus the Christ has prepared for us. In our eternity with our Lord, we will receive our mansions, and our mansions will be located in the holy city. The main street in the holy city will be transparent gold, and there will be a crystal clear, pure river of life running through the holy city. On either side of this river of life will be the tree of life that monthly will bear fresh crops of twelve different fruits. Around this holy city  will be a wall that has a twelve-layered foundation that is bedecked with twelve different precious gems, and this wall also will have twelve pearl-studded gates.

Thus, it is apparent that the rewards we will receive for pursuing a Holy Spirit-filled life will be great, over and above receiving an eternal life with God, or the crowns and robes we will wear. However, even if we received nothing more than our spiritual life with God, this prize is more than enough to encourage us to run the race set before us so that we might become the winners/recipients of this promised reward.

On your mark. Get set. Go. AMEN.

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24, KJV; cf. Hebrews 12:1).

It’s Time To Grasp The Heavenly Things Of God

28 Wednesday Jan 2009

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In all of us there is a little bit of the unbelief seen in Nicodemus. Like him, we do not understand, completely, the full implications of God’s new covenant promised to Israel concerning the new ‘spirit’ and heart of flesh that God would give His wayward chosen people that would cause them to renew their love and commitment to God—an astonishing change in their attitude and demeanor that would move even Gentiles to become believers in Christ. Christ of course meant God’s sanctification process through which all of mankind—Hebrews and Gentiles—who were first born again then saved and justified could then be transformed into the image of Christ.

Since this spiritual Truth was way above the heads of the people in Christ’s day, Christ tells Nicodemus that He recognizes that because spiritual discernment is lacking in mankind, even in men and women who are of the type of high moral, religious, social, and economic caliber as is Nicodemus, no one FULLY will be able to comprehend the spiritual Truth concerning mankind’s total new birth process. Furthermore, Christ tells Nicodemus that because he did not believe in all of God’s earthly principles, he also will not be able to grasp heavenly principles with his own wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

Such is the case with many New Testament believers. Knowing that it is most expedient that every man and woman become born again and believing totally in that new birth’s full process are two completely different spiritual Truths around which we need to wrap our minds. The first spiritual Truth (we must be born again and justified), our Positional Sanctification, we readily accept by faith. However, the second spiritual Truth (we must be filled with the Holy Spirit), our Practical Sanctification, we try to comprehend, but our blasted unbelief causes us to miss the mark. It is time for us to grasp the “heavenly things” of God. Let us be born of God’s Holy Spirit in the true sense that Christ proposes, which is for us to become new creations in whom His Holy Spirit not only indwells but also infills with God’s desires and His anointings (divine empowerments) like spiritual gifts, holiness, righteousness, power, and authority. AMEN.

“If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell ye of heavenly things” (John 3:12, KJV; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:22-31)?

Be True Reflections Of Living By Faith Believers

27 Tuesday Jan 2009

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It is absolutely necessary for the true sons and daughters of God to live by His faith. This living by faith principle is especially applicable to God’s children, because Christ has justified them, which means they are now positioned in right standing with God. Moreover, God’s children know that only the faith of God in them, through Jesus the Christ, will secure for them their eternal life with God.

Furthermore, without His faith, by which individuals believe on Jesus the Christ as their Savior, people will be under the curse of the Law, which is God’s judgment. Under the Law, God’s judgment (wrath/punishment) for ALL sin is death. Since no one is able to keep the Law’s statutes and commandments without the aid of the Holy Spirit, when any person breaks one commandment, then he or she is guilty of breaking EVERY commandment and, thus, must experience God’s wrath.

Therefore, believers know that it is only through Christ that they will be able to live eternally in the presence of God. Believers also know that if they hadn’t accepted Christ, which makes it possible for them to live their lives in accordance to the measure of God’s faith given to them, they, too, still would be under the Law and subject to death—both a physical death and the spiritual second death. Individuals’ spiritual second death will be their eternal separation from God, because their punishment for not accepting Christ is to be damned forever to live in the Lake of Fire.

Let us who believe no longer give God our lip service, but let us totally surrender our lives to the ONLY One who can ensure us that we will live eternally with Him, as His spiritual children and true worshippers. Let our lives be the true reflection of His Light in us (the Holy Spirit), who helps us to be an effective ‘light’ in this currently dark world. AMEN.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36, KJV; cf. Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:10).

Countdown to the Rapture

26 Monday Jan 2009

Posted by in Bible Prophecy

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Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one … lift off! No, this is not the usual countdown for a NASA rocket. This is the countdown to the Rapture.

On the prophetic timetable, the very next event to happen is the Rapture. For that reason, these are not just the times that try men and women’s souls; these are the times in which the fulfilled prophetic signs become God’s warnings to men and women about the future of their souls.

Since the Holy Bible repeats the pattern that God follows before He judges or punishes mankind, then true believers know that just as it was before The Flood in Noah’s days, just as it was before fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s day, and just as it was before many other biblical events took place, God will not begin Daniel’s 70th week (The Tribulation Period) without warning people that the most horrific times in human history are about to begin. Thus, through many prophetic signs, God constantly is warning 21st century people that He once again is about to judge or punish mankind … indeed the entire Earth!

Because God does not want anybody to perish, He will do all that He can to ensure that born again, saved believers in Jesus the Christ will be redeemed/delivered/rescued/saved from God’s wrath (judgment) that is soon to come upon this Earth. Indeed, God will do whatever must be done in order to keep His enemy from plucking the Body of Christ out of His hand, which means God will do whatever it takes to shake loose any existing complacency, stinking thinking, and wrong behaviors that have an iron grip on so many of today’s Laodicean-like church members.

The increase in these and other strangleholds is why the Body of Christ is living in a time when the CHURCH Age is coming to an end. For sure, these end times also are why the Body of Christ must stay alert, watching for the promised cloud-gathering sign to be fulfilled, because when all has been said and done, because God has given sufficient warnings, there will be no one who will be able to say that he or she never had a clue! Therefore, because the Rapture can happen at any time, true believers also must do as their Savior tells them to do. They must “…look up, and lift up [their] heads; for [their] redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28, KJV).

Now, since the time of Jesus the Christ, there have been hundreds of prophecies that have been fulfilled, but those that have been fulfilled in the 21st and 20th centuries should cause people to stop and take notice. For example, globally, the prophesied signs that pertain to an end time societal breakdown are being fulfilled, daily.

God prophetically warns through His Word that, as the end of the Church Age draws near, there will be an increase in the number of people who will have no regard for the law or morality. These people will be greedy, selfish, violent, immoral, hedonistic and rebellious. Consequently, all of these lawless and immoral people will have something else in common—problems with a total breakdown of the family and great despair (see 2 Timothy 3:1-4, 6; Mark 13:12; and Matthew 24:12).

Add to the behaviors listed above the fulfilled sign of an increase in the number of people who practice homosexuality. Daily, homosexuals in all walks of life are openly expressing their “gay” lifestyle. Moreover, there are many learned individuals who maintain that because homosexual men and lesbian women were born this way they do not choose their “gay” lifestyle. Indeed, even some men and women who say they are “called” of God to preach and teach His Word now are saying that homosexuals and lesbians have a divine right to be who they are for they are gifts from God (reference here is to the You Tube video clip in which “Being Gay is the Gift of God” is the discussion topic on Oprah’s Spirituality 101).

Add to this increased lawlessness, immorality and homosexuality the use of drugs, which rapidly is increasing among the lower class, middle class, and upper class individuals. The Apostle John writes in Revelation 9:21 that, even during the Tribulation Period, the left behind lawless and immoral people: “Neither repented…of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” (KJV). The word “sorceries” in this verse is the English translation of the New Testament Greek word “farmakeiva,” which is transliterated as “pharmakeia,” and pharmakeia means pharmaceuticals or drugs. Thus, in these end times, no one can say that there is not CURRENTLY already an out of control drug problem for which there seems to be no solution.

Moreover, what today’s true believers are able to discern is that all of these aforesaid societal problems are the very same societal problems that were witnessed in Noah and Lot’s days, and these same societal problems were the reasons why God cleansed the world with The Flood and then later totally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the humans, animals and vegetation in those cities. What today’s true believers also are able to discern is that since these same transgressions are running rampant again, the end result will be the same: God is going to judge or punish the people who neither obey His commandments nor believe in Him or His Son. Again, God forewarned the people in Noah and Lot’s days about the very judgments or punishments that would come upon them, and yet the masses did not heed God’s warnings!

Besides these increased societal signs, God has fulfilled in our time other prophetic signs: the rebirth of Israel; an increase in media covered global-political events; an increase in upheavals in nature; an increase in rampant diseases and epidemics; an increase in spiritual apostasy (increases in doctrinal and moral departures in the CHURCH and increases in the number of people who will turn from the Lord to Satanism … see 1 Timothy 4:2-3, 2 Timothy 3:5, Matthew 24:12, and 1 Timothy 4:1); an increase in the number of people who mock the end-times prophecies; an increase in false Messiahs, false prophets, and false teachers; an increase in technology; a knowledge explosion; and an increase in the desires to want to use  nuclear weapons. The fact that all of these prophetic signs are and have been happening simultaneously in our time should shake loose any complacency, stinking thinking, and wrong behaviors that might have a stranglehold on believers in Christ.

Whether we want to believe it or not, time is running out. The Rapture of the true CHURCH is the only prophetic event that needs to be fulfilled before the Temple is rebuilt, the Antichrist signs a peace agreement with Israel, and the Tribulation Period begins with its seven seals’ judgments and ends with Jesus the Christ’s bodily Second Coming—when every eye sees Him coming in His glory, and He sets His feet down on the Mount of Olives. The Rapture countdown, thus, has begun, and every living person who is not in the Rapture will be left behind to suffer during the Tribulation Period. Yet, no matter what some people believe and teach, God does not want any person to have to experience the Tribulation Period, because He knows that the Tribulation Period will claim countless lives!

Furthermore, because the Tribulation Period is designed in such a way to shake the left behind uncommitted and disbelieving out of their lethargy so that they finally will accept Jesus the Christ as their personal Savior and Lord to whom they totally surrender; and because the Tribulation Period is designed in such a way so that the uncommitted and disbelieving who remain uncommitted and disbelieving will receive their just punishment for deliberately choosing the Antichrist as their god, these are the reasons why God constantly is warning the world, but specifically the Body of Christ, that the Tribulation Period’s horrific times are right around the corner. The Tribulation Period’s seven seal, seven trumpet and seven vial judgments upon the whole Earth also are why God wants Christ’s Body to continue to “…look up, and lift up [their] heads; for [their] redemption draweth nigh.” God, thus, forewarns this world’s masses, and especially the Body of Christ, because He wants true believers to be on the alert and prepared for His cloud-gathering sign so that they will not be caught off-guard!

The only way anybody who is still alive will be able to be delivered from the wrath of God that is to come upon this Earth is for a divine intervention to take place. That divine intervention for the Body of Christ is the Rapture.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one … lift off! Once again, the countdown to the Rapture has begun, so let’s make sure we are Rapture ready so that no matter whether we are alive or dead when Christ comes back in the clouds we will be caught up to be with Him forever more!

When God Brings It to Your Door

25 Sunday Jan 2009

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“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able t bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV).

“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NRSV).

How often have we heard Christians say that God will not give us more than we can bear? Even Apostle Paul says that either our burdens are in proportion with our level of strength, or they are burdens that God will make us able to wrestle with and win–meaning, that God knows exactly how much we can handle and will give us no more than that, or that God will give us what we need to be able to stand firm against our great difficulties so that they do not overpower us (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13).

In theory, these words sound glorious. However, in reality, just telling others in the storms of their lives that God will not let them suffer beyond what they are able to handle, or beyond the supernatural strength that He will give to them to help them withstand until He provides a way for them to escape–either by circumventing their storms or by lessening the affects of their storms–often will not give the suffers any real joy. Then too, just preaching, teaching, and consoling others about the fact that there are no valleys so dark that God cannot find a way through them, that there are no sufferings so dreadful and terrible that God cannot prevent, remove, or help people to bear them, and that God will work it all out for the “good” (that He will overrule the evil in their favor, if they would but keep their faith in Him and rely upon Him to see them through) often isn’t enough to give the suffers a new outlook on life. That’s why, in theory, the spoken, written or sung words of encouragement, wisdom, and truth sound gloriously great, but in reality sufferers often need more than high-sounding theories, no matter how righteous and true they are.

Now, when the sufferers are unbelievers, we can understand why they could need more than just words of encouragement, but what if the people who are providing these words of encouragement, wisdom, and truth do not practice what they preach, teach, and console? What happens to God and His Word after He brings to believers’ doors more than what they would want to bear, or think they can bear? Does God vanish, leaving believers to fend for themselves? Is His Word now powerless, or only good for some people? Do believers crumble under the weight of their burdens? Do they question: “Why me?” Do they shake their fist in God’s face? Or, God forbid…do they walk away from their faith?

Certainly, how we (Christians) talk about coping with suffering and persecution with people who are in their individual storms will determine whether or not our words of comfort prove the faithfulness of God and the truthfulness of His Word. How we (Christians) handle the suffering and persecution that are in our own personal lives also will demonstrate to us (and others) how much belief and faith (trust) we actually put in the words of comfort we speak to others. Sure enough, crisis situations will reveal just how big of a gap there is between our talk and our walk–between what we say we believe, and how we live what we believe.

In my life, God has brought many storms to my door that nearly “killed” me–literally speaking. And, if my life wasn’t in grave danger from some of these storms God brought to my door, my innocence, dignity, identity, strength, and faith were.

Moreover, while I was in m storms, I never was satisfied by the people’s patented and often insensitive remarks. I especially got nothing beneficial from sayings, like: if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger; trouble don’t last always; you have to forgive the ones who hurt you; you are much smarter than they say you are; hold your head up high…never let them see that they have gotten the best of you; if that were me, I wouldn’t have let that happen to me; don’t sweat the small stuff, and everything is small stuff; let go, and let God; or, God will work it out for your good.

In truth, as I went through so many of the storms that arose in my life prior to 2000, I didn’t always respond to them like the Christian I was supposed to be. Even though I was quick to preach, teach, and console others on God’s Word, I often didn’t practice what I preached, taught, and spoke as consolation. What’s more, for many of my Christian years, I often reacted to my storms in some of the ways that I did before I became a Christian. Prior to March 1, 1965, I reacted to my storms out of my innocence and ignorance—using my writings, fist, tongue, or defiant body language to silence my naysayers and bring peace to me in my storms, but this peace was never long lasting. However, the sad truth is that I am even more ashamed of my later behaviors than my earlier ones, for after I received the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit I still didn’t practice what I preached, taught, or spoke as consolation.

From the age of 13, when my Christian walk started, there have been times in my life when I have crumbled under the weight of my burdens. There have been times in my life when I have asked God, repeatedly, “Why me?” There have been times in my life when I have shaken my fist in God’s face, challenging His decisions and reasons for why my life couldn’t have been easier and full of more peace. There also have been times in my life when I almost walked away from my faith.

However, because God is who He says He is, He never let me go. Even when I wanted no more of a God who would allow the atrocities and evils that were happening throughout the world, let alone the “seemingly” unbearable circumstances in my life, He wouldn’t let go. Even when I thought that He had turned His back on me, He was there through all of my storms. He was there when I wanted and didn’t want Him to be, always providing a way for me to escape.

Here are a few of the storms that God has brought to my door:

  • Being raped as a young girl (at 5) and again as a young woman (at 28); at the older age, having my life, and the lives of my children, threatened if I continued to fight my rapist … after both physical attacks, being consoled this way: forget about “it,” don’t talk to others about “it,” get over “it,” “stuff happens” …
  • Being born into a poor family with parents who drank away much of their money, leaving their children to go without wholesome food, suitable clothes and shoes, necessary school supplies, and the playthings that so many other children our ages had
  • Being on welfare most of my childhood and laughed at because I wore outdated Salvation Army and Goodwill clothing, or, when I was old enough to make my own clothes, laughed at for wearing the clothing I stitched from McCall’s, Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue, and other such patterns
  • Being laughed at for bringing soiled brown paper bag lunches to school in which there almost always was ONLY just one peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  • Being laughed at for not having any Christmas gifts to bring to school for “show and tell”
  • Being called a crybaby or looked at as if I were diseased, just because I have inherited my maternal grandmother’s teary eyes that run when any breeze hits them, or from too much sunshine, or from too much pollen, or from being too tired, or from looking at something too long, or just for the fun of it
  • Being placed in the back of my elementary classrooms, along with other “unattractive” browned-skinned “blacks,” while the more “attractive” light-skinned “blacks” were allowed to sit closer to the front of the classroom
  • Being publicly humiliated and called stupid, dumb, and lazy, because I could not do the tasks my “white” elementary teachers were writing on their blackboards, primarily because I could not see the blackboards from the back of the classrooms … after I began to wear glasses early in second grade and could demonstrate that I indeed understood the mathematical problems and other work my first and second-grade teachers were putting on the boards and orally quizzing me about, my teachers never apologized for the way they had treated me
  • Being told in front of my classmates that I could not carry a tune, and then questioned why that was so since “ALL ‘Negroes’ were singers”; when I said that I would try to sing better, I was made an example of; my punishment for “disrespecting authority”: I had to pantomime the songs that my other no-tune carrying classmates were allowed to sing during our class’ Thanksgiving musical and dramatic presentation
  • Being given lower grades for the work I did for many of my elementary, junior and senior high teachers, which usually was the case when my grades were higher than many of the “best white” students in my classes … those teachers’ actions often were supported by their rationalization: I “must have cheated” in order to get my test scores
  • Being devastated by the death of my maternal grandmother, who gave her ALL to the Lord, yet she was taken shortly after God had called home my maternal grandfather (the very ones in my life who kept me grounded in the Lord); and devastated, too, by the deaths of so many of my God-fearing Christian cousins who died at very young ages in horrific accidents, or by an excruciatingly painful disease (like cancer)
  • Being laughed at and called UGLY, just about all of my life
  • Being rejected because of my skin color and my looks, because I didn’t fit their “image”
  • Being given a sedative after my water broke, but my labor had not begun, and it was a drug that I didn’t know I was allergic to … so my “code blue” allergic reaction to this drug, the severe respiratory distress I experienced, nearly claimed my life while I was still carrying my youngest son
  • Being in numerous car accidents, some of which should have taken my life
  • Being threatened, daily, for four consecutive months, by white students and faculty members who sought to do me bodily harm, because I had informed school administrators about a “white” high school teacher who used the “N” word in front of her study hall students to describe an upcoming Black History Month school program
  • Being unable to find work in my discipline for over 5 years after I resigned from the school in which the teacher openly used the “N” racial slur … unable to find employment primarily because of the egregious comments made about me by that school’s Superintendent and because of the media frenzy this incident caused
  • Being unsupported by my spouse and my fellow African American faculty members during my whole dreadful ordeal at the school in which I reported the abovementioned racial slur incident Being tempted with the thought of taking my own life, while I was experiencing a deep depression that lasted, on and off, for over four years of my life after my spouse fell in love with another woman
  • Being divorced after nearly 27 years of marriage, because my husband wanted to marry someone he loved more than me
  • Being denied by my local church family any financial support, or help in any way, that would make my relocation to another area much easier (a church family, by the way, that I had been a member of, had held many positions in, and had given my tithes and offerings to for 17+ years), and they did so because they believed my husband would had abandoned me for another woman would do right by me and give me what I needed to live my life in the custom that I was used to—but he never did
  • Being devastated by a friend who invited me to live with her in Phoenix, AZ, assuring me that I could take my time getting myself together; … after persuading me to travel across country on a Greyhound bus with $300 in my pocket and virtually just the shirt on my back, in less than a month after my arrival, she told me that I had to leave her house; she put me out primarily because I was led by the Holy Spirit to go on a religious retreat rather than accept a temporary employment position through the temporary agency she used (my decision kept her from receiving a referral bonus); also, she put me out because I was so depressed and not the cheerful person that she once knew; and, lastly, she put me out because I refused to lie for her; the irony of her deed, telling me that I had to move out of her home, was that she told me I had to go right as she was dropping me off at a bus stop, a spot near where I would have boarded the bus that would have taken me to where my permanent job interview was to take place; she gave me until the end of that week to find shelter; it was Wednesday
  • Being called into the ministry but having what God has given to me to impart often dismissed or rejected by family, friends, clergy and church members, because I had not graduated from a Bible College, Divinity School, or Theological Seminary, or because I was not ordained by a church affiliated with “them,” or because I was just plain, old Nadine from Wilkes-Barre—in essence, a female nobody

And the list could go on, but these are just a few of my storms; and I haven’t mentioned any of the foreign mission field storms. I have experienced so many ups and downs while ministering in Japan, South Korea, and China—too many to write about here. However, I must say that the storms I have faced since 2000 (when I received the call into ministry) have received the appropriate responses, for the most part. That is to say, that I have walked my talk, and stayed the course, but only because of the Holy Spirit working inside of me. May God be praised!

The upside of all of my failed attempts at being the true Christian that I was supposed to be all along is that God still has chosen me to be His mouthpiece, in spite of myself. He has taken my messes and made them His messages. He has called me to write about, preach about, teach about, and console people in many of the very areas in which I have fallen way short. That I have fallen short and recovered from my falls is true only because of God’s Grace, and that I NOW allow Him to keep me from falling is my living testimony. Today, when I write, preach, teach or console people, saying that God is in control…He never will leave you or forsake you…He’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother…or, He will work it out for your good, I can do so because I have firsthand experiences and have learned from them that, without a doubt, God and His Word are faithful and truthful.

So, when God brings it to your door, know that He will give you everything you need to go through each storm, and that you do not have to face any storm without Him. He truly is a “way” maker. Therefore, if you are in a storm right now, won’t you let Him make a “way” for you today?

Receiving The Keys Of The Kingdom

24 Saturday Jan 2009

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The keys mentioned in today’s verse are spiritual Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding about both the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus the Christ, who is the Gate through which mankind enters into the Kingdom of Heaven. Today, many gatekeepers or stewards of God’s Word often withhold these keys from true seekers, like they did in Christ’s day. That is why, on one occasion, Christ says: Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered (Luke 11:52, KJV).

The Scribes and Pharisees (Mosaic Law experts and teachers) refused to teach the Law to anyone who wasn’t a Scribe or Pharisee; thus, they prevented other Hebrews from learning how to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, because these so-called Law experts and teachers of the Law didn’t have any desire to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven for themselves, their wisdom, knowledge, and understanding about Jesus wasn’t profound enough for them to be able to release the Lord’s Keys of the Kingdom into the hands of the Jewish laity!

Since these keys had been hidden from true Kingdom seekers, Christ initially gave His Kingdom of Heaven keys to His first-century disciples, for them to use while He was still on the Earth. Later, on and after the Day of Pentecost, Father God gave EVERY born again, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit believer access to these same keys, thereby eliminating any intentional interference from wicked religious gatekeepers or stewards.

Now that we can obtain the Keys of the Kingdom (spiritual wisdom, knowledge, and understanding) directly from God, neither modern-day apostles nor prophets, or evangelists, or pastors, or teachers can stop us from entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. The way we obtain these keys is through the Holy Spirit, who is ONE with Christ and ONE with God.

Since only the Holy Spirit can unlock God’s Word, the Holy Spirit first must infill us before we can experience Divine insight into God’s spiritual Wisdom or gain God’s Knowledge and Understanding about our natural and spiritual realities. The Holy Spirit also must infill us before we can receive our God-given authority and power and Christ’s permission to bind and loose that authority and power in this Earth.

Thankfully, Christ is eager to hand over the Keys of the Kingdom to us. Let us willingly grasp them and earnestly use them to God’s glory. AMEN.

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19, KJV).

Being Spiritual Means First Being Born Again

23 Friday Jan 2009

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Many people are familiar with the Bible’s passages that deal with Jesus explaining to Nicodemus why he must be born again, yet many of these same people are still blind about their own born-again condition. They are unaware that being redeemed and being born again are not synonymous. They also simply do not understand that being born again (regenerated) is an imperative. In other words, they fail to understand that their new birth has to be achieved before their salvation can be received.

Jesus teaches Nicodemus that, unless his human spirit is changed so that he can begin his life anew, he will not be able to enter into Heaven. To make sure that Nicodemus thoroughly understands the importance of Jesus’ born again command, Jesus adds, “…The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born again of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven” (John 3:5-6, NLT).

Now although many theologians teach that the “water” Jesus refers to in John 3:5 is the physical birth (human beings’ first birth), which is accompanied by a flow of watery amniotic fluid, in truth, the “water” Jesus is making a reference to is the spiritual cleansing performed by the washing of the Word of God. Since the Word of God also is called the Living Water of Jesus the Christ, then Jesus the Christ is saying that God’s Holy Spirit will use the Living Water to perform the necessary regeneration that human beings must experience before God’s spiritual purification (sanctification) process can continue in them. Thus, human beings’ dead spirits first must be born again before people can become spiritual, but the only way for human beings to be born again is for them to experience the rebirth of their human spirits that only God’s Grace, which is activated by the power of His Holy Spirit, can make happen. Indeed, no man or woman can become spiritual without first experiencing the regenerating operation of the Grace of God and the power of His Holy Spirit that work together, simultaneously, in order to create humans’ new birth status.

Unfortunately, there are far too many believers, in Christian churches and ministries, who are using the term “born again” to refer to “something” that human beings do under their own strength, power, and predilection; they insist that being born again is a decision, or a commitment, or a rededication they make. However, as already stated, the new birth that Jesus the Christ speaks about is “something” that only the Grace and Power of God can make happen. Consequently, a person is not born again because he or she confesses, repents, believes and accepts, but a person confesses, repents, believes and accepts because God’s Holy Spirit already has regenerated him or her! Regeneration, then, is solely the work of God’s Grace through the power of His Holy Spirit, and not the work of men and women!

Since being born again is wholly, completely, and supremely because of God’s Holy Spirit power and His marvelous Grace, by God’s design, humans are not participating in their new birth, because nothing they do, say or think can influence their regeneration. Once their human spirits experience the new birth, then the Holy Spirit is able to convict them about their need to be aware of their sins, to accept responsibility for their sins, and to confess (agree with God about) their sin-guilt awareness (an awareness of their born in sin nature). Therefore, it is during the initial and subsequent Holy Spirit convictions that follow individuals’ born again experience that humans become active participants in God’s plan of redemption.

Once again, individuals’ active participation in their own salvation begins immediately after their spiritually dead human spirits (their spiritual hearts) have been regenerated (reborn). It is at this point in God’s redemption plan that people sincerely can confess their awareness of and accountability for their sins, confess their specific sins, repent their specific sins, confess that they believe in the Lord Jesus the Christ, and accept Him as their personal Savior. Their confessions, belief and acceptance will bring about their justification. After they have been justified by Jesus the Christ’s righteousness, which means they have been put in right standing with God, the Holy Spirit who is now inside them is able to begin to sanctify (transform) them into the image of Christ. However, if believers do not cooperate with the Holy Spirit (participate in His sanctification process), the Holy Spirit cannot mature believers’ born-again spirits and, thus, He will not be able to change the way their unregenerate (stubborn) minds think!

So, what does being spiritual really mean? To a true believer, being spiritual means being born again by the Grace of God and the mighty working power of the Holy Spirit so that the indwelling and infilling Holy Spirit can begin and conclude the sanctifying process of spiritually maturing believers in their faith. Once again, no person can become spiritual without first experiencing God’s Grace and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, which work in tandem.

Finally, being spiritual means that a born again, saved believer now is more concerned about the well-being of his or her soul, the Mercy and Grace of God, and the importance of eternity, as opposed to his or her carnal concerns about the pleasures of the flesh; the profits of money, fame, and material possessions; the restrictions of time; and/or the limitations of the five senses (seeing, tasting, feeling, smelling, and hearing). In essence, truly spiritual beings are those who have been reconnected to their Creator and Father God through their initial new birth and their subsequent justification. Moreover, their new birth and justification are Creator, Father God’s redemption plan experiences that permit spiritual beings not only to be able to have a Father-child relationship but also to be able to fellowship with their Father God (who is Spirit) by worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth.

The Holy Ghost Is The Third Person of The Trinity

22 Thursday Jan 2009

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First, let me say that I neither believe in nor recognize any ghosts (apparitions). In fact, what people define, describe, believe in and/or refer to as a ghost is nothing more than a demon, and not some disembodied spirit of the dead! That’s right. Those unusual noises, unusual smells, and extreme variations in temperature (often called “cold spots”), as well as those solid, filmy, shadowy, or a ball of light visual images, those tactile sensations, the disembodied voices, the displacement of objects (including the apparent psychokinetic movement of objects), and those electrical disturbances are all supernatural works of DEMONS!

Secondly, I want to make it emphatically clear that God’s Holy Ghost is neither a ghost nor a demon. The Holy Ghost also is NOT an “it,” and He is NOT a “what.” He is a personage of Spirit, as He does not possess a body of flesh, blood, and bones. He is the third person of The Trinity or Godhead. Indeed, the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God the Father.

The Holy Ghost is fully God. Like God the Father, the Holy Ghost is eternal, omniscient, and omnipresent. The Holy Ghost has a Will, and He can speak. For sure, He is very much alive, and, like Jesus the Christ, the Holy Ghost has an earthly ministry. Furthermore, He is ONE in purpose with God the Father and Jesus the Christ the Son. The Trinity or Godhead, thus, operates in perfect harmony.

Besides being called the Holy Ghost, He also is called: Holy Spirit, Breath of the Almighty, Seven Spirits of God, Eternal Spirit, Comforter, Teacher, Light of Christ, Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of the Father, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Son, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Grace, Spirit of Prophecy, Spirit of Adoption, Spirit of Wisdom, Spirit of Counsel, Spirit of Might, Spirit of Understanding, Spirit of Knowledge, Spirit of Holiness, Spirit of Revelation, Spirit of Judgment, Spirit of Burning, Spirit of Glory, Power of the Highest, Still Small Voice, and Testifier. He has so many names because He is sent by God the Father to function in so many roles.

Although the Holy Ghost is not visible to the naked eye, born again and saved believers can feel His Presence within them. Without a doubt, the Holy Ghost is the One who puts God’s peace, love and joy in believers’ hearts, and believers recognize Him by His mighty workings, such as His fire baptism, the gifts of the Spirit, sanctification, and so forth.

Finally, the Holy Ghost is supernatural, but He does not haunt anyone. He is the quintessential Gentleman who will not force Himself on anyone!

Once again, the Holy Ghost is NOT the disembodied spirit of the dead. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Living God.

The Art Of Slappin’ Jesus On R and B Songs

21 Wednesday Jan 2009

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Back in August 2008, I watched a video of a youthful bishop who, after announcing to his congregation that he would be reading from 2 Samuel 19, then spends the next six minutes or so singing bits of R&B love songs’ lyrics. He sings lyrics from “If I Ain’t Got You,” by Alicia Keys; “Reunited,” by Peaches and Herbs; “Always and Forever,” by Heatwave; “Never,” by Jaheim; and “No One,” by Alicia Keys. What’s more, this R&B song-singing bishop stands in the pulpit crooning with most of the church’s choir and pew sitters in tow. Now, although the bishop in this video occasionally mentions God or Jesus’ name in passing, and although he inserts an amen, a word or two of testimony, slivers of Gospel principles, and he even restates his sermon’s foundational Scripture, in between the aforementioned different songs, it is painfully obvious that he does so merely to make his point, which is that the love songs he is singing are about the Lord instead of the world.

For sure, many of the people who are familiar with the love songs this bishop sings might not find any fault with his method of worshipping God with R&B love songs; some even might say that since the Holy Bible says that God is love then it is okay to sing secular love songs in church worship services; some might even believe that, even though the bishop’s method is more modern than some other worship services’ methods, that God is still being glorified. However, they all would be wrong, because they all have failed to see the bigger picture! They fail to see that whatever pastors and spiritual leaders use to bring the unchurched and unsaved masses into their churches is what pastors and spiritual leaders will have to keep on using in order to keep these unchurched and unsaved masses there.

The people who find no fault with the method this aforesaid bishop is using to lead his congregants into a worship experience also have failed to understand that music cleanses no one. The unadulterated Word of God is what regenerates spiritually dead human spirits, and the unadulterated Word of God is what cleanses sin-sick souls. Therefore, the reason why these people also have failed to see the broader picture is because they have failed to see the sad truth, which is that this bishop and other pulpit preachers like him who are using the music and lyrics from R&B, Rock, Rap, Hip-Hop, Country, or other worldly styles of music, to bring the unchurched and unsaved individuals into their churches only are demonstrating how they (the pastors and other spiritual leaders) have mastered the art of slappin’ Jesus on the lyrics of secular songs. In essence, this bishop and other pulpit preachers like him merely are providing ONLY worldly “entertainment” instead of spiritual nourishment.

Case in point, as the videoed bishop sings his medley of R&B love songs, he not only ends up wooing his more secular-minded worshippers but also succeeds in losing many of his seasoned believers’ attention. This last statement is made evident when this pastor, after seeing the expressions on some of his older and perhaps more spiritually minded believers, admits in the video that he has lost many of his congregants. Then, immediately after he makes this admission, he swiftly segues into an old traditional church hymn (“Near the Cross”). He sings this song, sad to say, more so to appease those members whom he might have offended by his R&B renditions instead of for the purpose of making a joyful noise unto the Lord.

Using the music and lyrics from R&B, Rock, Rap, Hip-Hop, Country, or other worldly styles of music as a “possible” contemporary evangelistic tool is symptomatic of the  problem that Christians are experiencing in churches all over the world today. This problem that especially is troubling American churches is the bringing of the world’s ways into the CHURCH specifically through music.  Without a doubt, the world is changing the CHURCH instead of the CHURCH changing the world. Therefore, while some people might be able to prove that this videoed bishop’s method would be most effective in the hands of genuine sold out for Jesus the Christ apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and so forth, who are out in the mission fields, it is more difficult for these proponents to prove how this kind of soul-reaching method would be appropriate for the House of the Lord corporate worship services.

Of course, not every one sitting on churches’ pews is born again and saved. However, the main objective of worship services is to worship Father God in Spirit and in Truth through the faith that comes by hearing the “preached” Word of God (and not necessarily from hearing “sung” hymns, spirituals, gospels, or Christian rock and hip-hop songs). There is of course a time and a place for everything, including a time and a place for using various forms of worship music during worship services. But when the songs being sung during worship services begin to make the worship service sound and look more like the world, then it is evident that the pastors and spiritual leaders using this so-called evangelistic tool in their churches have been deceived by the tricks of the Devil.

That having been said, getting the CHURCH back to worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth should be the main goal of every pulpit preacher. That’s why if contemporary pastors and other spiritual leaders who, in their hope of reaching the youthful unchurched and unsaved individuals who are sitting in their churches, are using the method of slappin’ Jesus on the lyrics of R&B, Rock, Rap, Hip-Hop, Country, or other worldly styles of music, then they need to turn their focus back to prayers, meditations, testimonials, and other tried and true methods that actually prepare hearers’ spirits (hearts) for the unadulterated Word of God.

Once again, getting the CHURCH back to worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth is why today’s pastors and other spiritual leaders need to stop using worship methods that only lead their worshippers into what is just a “feel good” experience. Without a doubt, when God, the Holy Spirit, or Jesus’ name is just tacked on to whatever pastors and other spiritual leaders are singing, preaching or teaching, the occasional use of the Godhead’s names only will give what is sung, preached, or taught the appearance of being a godly anointed Word! Furthermore, since this is that prophesied time when even long-time believers could be seduced by the Devil’s music, this is another reason why pastors and spiritual leaders should put more emphasis on singing those songs that specifically have been written for the purpose of worshipping God, instead of using those songs that specifically were written for purposes other than godly worship.

Finally, more so than ever before, today’s pastors and other spiritual leaders need to remember that their churches already have too many individuals in them who “…act as if they are religious, but they … reject the power that could make them godly” (2 Timothy 3:5a, NLT). For this reason, today’s pastors and other spiritual leaders also need to realize that the “power” that is able to make anybody godly certainly is not the power of R&B, Rock, Rap, Hip-Hop, Country, or other worldly styles of music!