Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Anarchy, Disaster and America - By Don McGee -
http://www.raptureready.com/2017/10/08/anarchy-disaster-and-america/ It is obvious that anarchists and the havoc they are causing are having a negative impact upon our country. Their motive is typical of anarchists; they want what they call complete freedom in life. They want a society where there are no rules for living and no accountability for their actions. Many anarchists claim that no one should have an abundance of anything, and that all things should be equally divided among all people. That is why they are prize targets for those wanting to impose socialism or communism upon a free market society; they are already leaning in that direction. All of that is obvious. But what is being missed is the real reason behind it all, and that is because the reason is spiritual in nature. And we can be assured that American society will never invite spiritual cause/effect into the arena of public debate on this issue. Time and again Christian apologists have attempted to explain spiritual cause/effect to secularists, but they are as clueless as a wild boar hearing Beethoven's 5th. And 1 Corinthians 2:14 explains this disconnect, "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." In context of this situation in our country, a distinction must be made between motive and reason. Motive is personal; it is the internally held worldview behind a person's conduct. But, reason is different because it is rooted in an external influence that is often unknown to those involved. Satan is orchestrating this present turmoil, but a growing percentage of Americans would never admit this because the existence of an evil spirit being who would enable and exploit destructive behavior is foreign to their thinking. And that is just fine with Satan as long as his goal of lawlessness is reached, for that is the ideal situation for the introduction of his man of lawlessness, a man whom the Bible calls Antichrist. Human conduct is always the result of influence. In his base state the natural man is influenced by his Adamic nature to often act like a child; that is, he wants what he wants, whether he earns it or not, and he wants it now. He is always looking for something free no matter the cost to others. Though all things are created by influences that have costs associated with them, anarchists do not care about such costs. That the result of anarchy and socialism is mass, across the board poverty means nothing to those making such demands. And though Satan exploits this to no end, it matters not a wit to him if anarchists are irrational. The only thing of importance to him is the inherent lawlessness in such movements, for this is the kind of social condition that brings panic usually followed by the rise of a charismatic liberator. At this point it is important to make something very clear. As American Christians we are mostly tuned in to what is happening in our own country. But, we must not lose sight of the fact that Bible prophecy was not written in context of the North American Continent. What we are seeing in our country has already happened in other places with many successes for Satan. Presently it seems that our country is just one of the final dominoes that must either fall completely, or be sufficiently damaged to the point of being impotent in worldwide affairs. This will expedite Satan's efforts at global instability. Some people are beginning to wonder if America's deep divide politically and socially will morph into unbridled anarchy and social turmoil which could be critical factors in America's eventual crash as a constitutional republic. They are wondering if super-wealthy global financiers with no national allegiances (such as George Soros who admitted, "I carry some rather potent messianic fantasies..." LA Times, 4 October 2004), can possibly incite and exploit this atmosphere of unrest to a point where martial law will become the new norm. Is a crisis looming that will prompt drastic government action? It just might be so. Relatively new to American anarchism is a hate group called ANTIFA, an acronym for "anti-fascists ". These are mostly middle class white college kids who have a burning, visceral hatred for those they label as nationalists and political conservatives. They are violently hostile toward people they think are anti-black racists, yet do not have the testosterone to stand against anti-white racism. They are all for free speech as long as it conforms to their view, and those who disagree become recipients of their cowardly violence. Essentially they are brain-washed socialists/anarchists who believe they have license to assault and destroy in the name of their two-faced political correctness. But, like others of their caste these are mere pawns in the hands of a malicious, evil spirit being. Satan does not care about their agenda as he does not care about the homosexual agenda, the transgender agenda or any other depraved agenda that is destroying the stability of our country. His goal has nothing to do with the goals of these people; he simply wants to orchestrate a situation that will bring society to such a place of desperation that citizens will demand the government do something no matter the cost to liberty. Eventually, as the world moves deeper into the caldron of anarchy he will have a man ready to step in and say, "I have a plan..." Some are plunging their heads deeply into the sand saying this will never happen in America. Think again. Just 50 years ago nobody in their right mind would have thought that TSA bureaucrats at commercial U.S. airports would have the authority to essentially grope passengers boarding airplanes. Immediately after the Muslim attacks on 9-11 much of the public protested this new policy, but such protests have mostly grown silent today. And it is all in the name of this foolish idea that a nation can successfully exchange liberty for security. Natural disasters like Katrina and Harvey have proven time and again that looters, anarchists and other such plunderers will, like wild beasts, mercilessly prey on the weak and vulnerable. We might wonder what liberties Americans will be willing to relinquish in the false hope of quelling massive outbreaks of violence, especially if they come face to face with anarchists as unarmed, helpless citizens. Many Americans already see large fractures in the Constitution because of the Muslim attacks in 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, the fidelity of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution was further eroded. In a little publicized case the U.S. Supreme Court decided in an 8-1 decision in Kentucky v. King that police, in certain situations, can now kick down doors when they are not in hot-pursuit and without a warrant. Certain situations? That is a very slippery slope with no firm stops along the slide into the dark pit of totalitarianism. Still, it can't be certain that anarchism in and of itself, accompanied by martial law, will be the critical factor in America's fall. Satan does not know this either, but he is exploiting the situation to the fullest because he knows, as some Christians know, that it will at least be favorable to his ultimate plans. He is the reason behind all this, but his eggs are not all in the proverbial one basket. Though he does not know exactly what will happen, he does know that anarchism will definitely lend itself to societal fear and desperation. So, will God allow some other kind of dreadful event(s) to afflict our country? Barring full-blown national repentance and a national turning to God the answer is yes. Is it possible that this could happen before the church is removed? Yes. This kind of talk is anathema to most Americans, even to most Christians. But, our concern should have nothing to do with what most people think, Christian or not. Our concern should be with what God might allow to happen to any nation that flaunts its brazen debauchery in His face. Any student of the Bible, and especially of Bible prophecy, knows there will be no national revival in America, or any other nation for that matter, in these last days. And any nationally elected leader who would attempt to lead such a national repentance would immediately be lampooned and caricatured as a fool worthy of impeachment and a straight jacket. So, what might God allow? He will allow whatever He wants, but many Bible students believe that the most likely event will be one of three general scenarios, or a combination thereof: enemy attacks, economics, or natural catastrophes. And the interesting part about this is that any of those events can act as a catalyst for further anarchistic conduct and martial law. Though these are not sure things, they should be kept in mind. Another Islamic attack. Only a fool would think that the Muslim world has decided to not press its attack on America. It makes no difference whether it is Sunni or Shite, American liberty is not compatible with Islam. One is equally foolish to believe Muslim immigrants want to assimilate into western culture. They want to control and change it. Media outlets parade their "experts" before the American public, and they speak of our Muslim "partners" in our efforts. What will it take for us realize that, in the end, we have no real Muslim partners in any of our efforts? Evidently 9-11 didn't have sufficient shock value to do it. Economics. No matter how any financial expert tries to spin it, when a country is $20 trillion in debt with this fiscal year's interest on that debt at $276.6 billion, that country is on the precipice of bankruptcy. And the pathetic thing about this is that most people, especially those with the entitlement mentality, think we can just print more money to cover it. And some of those entitlement people are in the Congress and Senate. Natural calamities. Catastrophic weather systems are mostly what we are seeing today, but that is not the worse thing that could happen. Nine of the 23 largest super volcanoes in the world are in the U.S., the most recognizable one being the Yellowstone Caldera. The results of such an eruption are inconceivable. In addition to the immediate death and suffering, there will be long term air pollution, the destruction of water aquifers, power grids, highways, airports, pipelines, buildings, crops, communications, etc. Americans will suddenly be thrown into individual survival mode, medieval style. And it will be hard-core, dog-eat-dog survival. Our country needs to be led into national confession and repentance for our national rejection of God. But, that is not going to happen. Further, catastrophic events will not prompt it, either. Perhaps on a personal level, but not on a national level because we have no such leader that is of sufficient spiritual strength. Nor have we had one of late, or else we possibly would not be wallowing in the sewer of depravity today. There is one more thing that will happen, and it can happen at any moment. Jesus is going to remove His church from this world. We know He will do so prior to the tribulation, but what is not known is if He will do so before He is forced to send some kind of horrific judgment on this country. It is the opinion of many Bible students that this event alone will be sufficiently dramatic as to cause such social unrest that the world, including our country, will be demanding that somebody do something at any cost. It is very probable that somewhere on this planet Antichrist is alive and well, just waiting for the right circumstances to usher him in. The question that each one should be asking is: Where will I be one minute post-rapture? DLM Israel's Defense Minister: Lebanon's army 'an integral part' of Hezbollah - By Anna Ahronheim - http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israels-Defense-Minister-Lebanons-army-an-integral-part-of-Hezbollah-507127 "Whoever wants peace must prepare for war, and I hope that our enemies on the other side will think carefully about every step taken against the State of Israel," says Defense Minister Liberman. Lebanon's army has become an integral part of Hezbollah's network, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman stated on Tuesday, warning that the next war on Israel's northern border will not be confined to one front but will see conflict with both Syria and Lebanon. Addressing IDF soldiers during a celebratory event marking the festival of Sukkot at his sukka in the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Liberman warned that preparation for the next war was of great importance, as it will likely include the Lebanese military along with Hezbollah. "We're talking about Hezbollah and about the Lebanese military, and unfortunately this is the reality," Liberman said, adding that the "Lebanese army has lost its independence and has become an integral part of Hezbollah's network." "Even if the next campaign develops, and it does not matter where it develops, in the north or the south, it will immediately become a battle on two fronts," the defense minister said. "We are supposed to prepare for every possible scenario, and the new reality also prepares new challenges for us. If we once talked about the Lebanese sector, then there is no longer such a sector, there is a northern sector in every development," he continued. Senior officials from Israel's defense establishment have repeatedly stated that while the chance of escalation on the border is low, the smallest incident or a miscalculation by either side would have the possibility to lead to conflict. "Our entire effort is to prevent the next war, but in the new 'Middle East,' the assessments we previously made are simply irrelevant. The reality now is fragile, it can change from moment to moment, from today to tomorrow," he said. "Whoever wants peace must prepare for war, and I hope that our enemies on the other side will think carefully about every step taken against the State of Israel, so that we will not have to demonstrate the full strength and capabilities of the IDF." Israeli officials, including Liberman, have repeatedly voiced concerns about the smuggling of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah and the growing Iranian presence on its borders, stressing that both are red-lines for the Jewish State. Both France and the United States have provided Lebanon with advanced weaponry, and this past summer, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) received 50 armored vehicles, 40 artillery pieces and 50 grenade launchers from the United States as part of an aid package to bolster the Middle Eastern country against the threats posed by militant groups. Saudi Arabia in March halted its military aid program to Beirut after Lebanese President Michel Aoun defended Hezbollah's arsenal in an interview with an Egyptian TV channel, calling it "an essential component" of the means to defend Lebanon. "Hezbollah weapons are not contradictory to the state, but are an essential part in defending the country," Aoun told the Egyptian TV network CBC satellite channel. "As long as a part of the territory is occupied by Israel, and as long as the army is not powerful enough to fight Israel, we feel the need to maintain the weapons of the resistance to complement the army." Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly 33-day war in 2006, which came to an end under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon, the deployment of the Lebanese army and an enlarged UN force in the south. According to IDF assessments, Hezbollah has increased its military capabilities due to its fighting in Syria, and has spread its troops across the entire Middle East. In addition to a massive arsenal of rockets and missiles, Hezbollah is able to mobilize close to 30,000 fighters and has flouted its tunnel system, complete with ventilation, electricity and rocket launchers. Some 200 villages in south Lebanon have also been turned into "military strongholds" from which Hezbollah militants are able to watch Israeli soldiers at any moment. On Saturday, Lebanon's Al-Akhbar news website reported that security services had arrested three men who were allegedly gathering intelligence on Hezbollah and transferring it to Israel's spy agency, the Mossad. Israel asks US to plumb real motive behind Sisi-sponsored Palestinian talks - https://www.debka.com/israel-asks-us-plumb-real-motive-behind-sisi-sponsored-palestinian-talks/ Israel was startled by the Egyptian president's comment that the Palestinian reconciliation process he is brokering would lead to peace with Israel. Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi put it this way in an interview on Sunday, Oct. 8: "The Egyptian moves aimed at helping the Palestinian brothers to start a new stage of unity of the Palestinian ranks would pave the way for a just peace between Palestine and Israel." He defined his goal as being: "The establishment of an independent Palestinian state to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a secure, stable and prosperous life." El-Sisi added no further details, but he said enough to finally rattle the Netanyahu government. The Palestinian reconciliation process was clearly intruding on terrain that properly belonged to negotiations with Israel. Jerusalem's policy of standing aside from Cairo's efforts to broker the internal Palestinian rift between |Hamas and Fatah had left Israel without a say in the process as it advanced. It was becoming clear that Cairo was no longer briefing Israel, despite its promises to do so, on the directions to which Egyptian intelligence officials were leading the Palestinian negotiations for burying the hatchet. (On Oct. 3, DEBKAfile warned that Israel would pay a price for standing aloof from the process.) The Netanyahu government had finally begun appreciating that trusting the Egyptians with closed eyes might lead to untoward circumstances and loss of control. The Trump administration was therefore asked to find out what was going on. As a result Jason Greenblatt, the president's special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, is due to arrive in Cairo Monday, Oct. 9, to ask the Egyptians what they are up to. That is why the round of Cairo talks between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas was put back - albeit by just one day - from Monday to Tuesday. The Trump administration was also taken by surprise by the direction indicated in the Sisi interview. His mediation effort was perceived in Washington as designed to remove the meddling hands of Iran, Turkey and Qatar from the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian effort was now revealing a quite different motivation. Hamas negotiators, too, are preparing to land a couple of surprises on the next round of talks in Cairo. DEBKAfile has received exclusive information on this nature of those surprises. They are clearly ploys to "pave the way for a just peace between Palestine and Israel," in keeping with the Egyptian president's words Sunday, while at the same time not giving an inch on their interests. Hamas will give Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Egyptian mediators a pledge to rescind its claim to representation in the future Palestinian unity government. In the absence of Hamas ministers, Israel will have no grounds for refusing to deal with a Palestinian administration which has no terrorist component. Hamas will also promise not to run as a movement against Abbas' Fatah party in future elections to the presidency and parliament when it is called by the Palestinian Authority. Hamas is offering to establish a new party under a new name - such as the "Palestinian Justice Front" - for its adherents to elect, and assure Abbas and his party of victory in a general election. By these stratagems, the extremist Hamas movement places itself on the road to achieving its two main objectives: One is to hand over full budgetary responsibility for administrating the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority and Abbas; and other is to preserve the operational autonomy of its armed wing and arsenal. Defense minister: In next war, Israel will face fighting in north and south - Stuart Winer - https://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-in-next-war-israel-will-face-fighting-in-north-and-south/ Avigdor Liberman says Syria and Lebanon now one unified front, and Lebanese army controlled by Hezbollah terror group Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Tuesday said the next war in Israel will see the Israel Defense Forces facing both a unified Syrian and Lebanese foe and another front in the Gaza Strip. He also declared Tuesday that the Lebanese army has been fully integrated with Hezbollah and now operates under the terror group's command. "When the next campaign begins, and it doesn't matter where it begins, in the north or the south, it will immediately become a two-front campaign. There is no longer a single front, and that is our basic assumption. We are preparing the army for that," said Liberman, addressing the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv during an event for soldiers to mark the ongoing Sukkot festival. "And also regarding the Lebanese front we are no longer talking about Hezbollah alone," he added. "We are talking about Hezbollah and the Lebanese army; regrettably that is the reality. The Lebanese army has become an integral part of the Hezbollah apparatus under its command." The defense minister said that Israel's northern front now included both Lebanon and Syria, where he predicted fighting against the Jewish state would be coordinated. "The new reality also prepares new challenges for us. If once we spoke about the Lebanese front - there is no longer such a front. There is the northern front. In any development there may be, it will be one front, Syria and Lebanon together, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and all the Assad regime supporters." Although Israeli and Syrian forces clashed in Lebanon during the 1982 First Lebanon War, the two countries have not fought across their common border since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel was working to prevent a war, but the situation was "fragile" and a confrontation could erupt at any moment, said Liberman. "All of our effort is to prevent the next war, but in the 'new' Middle East the assessments that were familiar in the past, such as low likelihood [of war], are simply irrelevant assessments," said Liberman. "The reality is fragile; it can happen from one moment to another, from today to tomorrow." "It's all based on the fact that we have to prepare for a serious battle, and there is no battle without tremendous firepower," the defense minister said. "My personal basic view is that 'those who want peace should prepare for war.' I hope that our enemies on the other side will think well about each step they take against Israel, in order that we not be required to demonstrate the full force and abilities of the IDF." Israel last fought a full-scale war with Hezbollah in 2006's Second Lebanon War, and tensions have remained high even as the northern border has remained relatively quiet in the past decade. Hezbollah is believed to have an arsenal of between 100,000 and 150,000 short-, medium- and long-range missiles and a fighting force of some 50,000 soldiers, including reservists. A Hezbollah commander said last month that the group has more than 10,000 fighters in southern Syria ready to confront Israel. Hezbollah has been fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime as it tries to suppress a six-year long insurgency. Israel worries Hezbollah and its backer Iran could launch a war against the Jewish state from southern Syria. Recently, Israeli officials have warned that any attack by Hezbollah, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament, would be seen by Israel as an attack by Lebanon. Nearing Midnight: Another Year, Another Record for Mass Murder in America - Todd Strandberg - http://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ It is truly stunning that, within 16 months of the Pulse Massacre, I am forced to report that we have set a new record for mass murder. When Omar Mateen walked into the Orlando gay nightclub last year and killed 49 people and wounded 58 others, he created the worst mass murder event in American history; surpassing the 35 people killed in 2007 in the Virginia Tech shooting. Gunman Stephen Paddock has killed at least 58 people and injured more than 527 others. This man shot more people in 72 minutes than all the mass-murder sprees from the 1940s to the 1980s. When Charles Whitman in 1966 killed 18 people and wounded 30 others from the University of Texas clock tower, people thought that such a horrendous milestone would stand forever. The cunning calculations, from what is being called the Mandalay Massacre, is off the scale. Paddock had rented a luxury suite at the hotel, and he had stocked his room with a small armory of weapons. The police recovered 23 guns, some with scopes, two with tripods. He fired at the concert crowd from two carefully selected vantage points. Paddock had two video cameras attached to his door so he could monitor the police as they closed in on him. Most shooters act out on a spur-of-the-moment decision. Paddock spent several days setting up his rampage. The strange and scary thing about Stephen Paddock is that he does not fit the typical pattern of a mass- murder gunman. He was a multimillionaire real estate investor, who lived in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada. He had no criminal record, no army training, and no known dispute with another person. He seemly had everything to live for; and yet, he was a man of great evil. Normally, any type of terrorist event has always been a gut-punch to the financial markets. This rule of thumb was strangely ignored on the next trading day after the attack. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 152 points to a record high. Shares of U.S. casino operators with MGM Resorts International, which owns the Mandalay Bay, was down 3.5 percent; but most other casino stocks were mostly unchanged or up with the general market. In the early hours of the news coverage, the Islamic State proudly claimed responsibility for the Las Vegas mass shooting. The terror group said Stephen Paddock converted to Islam months ago, and "executed the operation in response to calls to target countries of the coalition," The AP reported. ISIS had also claimed that it was behind a terror attack at a Manila, Philippines casino. The perpetrator of that attack turned out to be an indebted gambler, who started a fire in order to allow himself to steal gambling chips. It is understandable why ISIS might want to make such a transparently false claim. They want to maintain their monopoly on acts of terrorism. The liberal Media should not be facilitating this organization's desire to be the clearinghouse of carnage. They should be shaming ISIS with the same energy that has applied to the racist terror groups. The Left wasted no time in calling for a ban on gun sales to people with a history of violence or mental illness. They want a total ban on the production of automatic weapons, even though these types of weapons have only been used in three crimes since 1934. The Liberal's mantra that gun ownership equals more death is completely false. While the number of people who own guns has remained mostly flat, the gun homicide rate is down 49 percent since its 1993 peak. Most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago, because they can see what is headed their way. Our urban centers have become no-go zones of uncontrolled violence. We now regularly have violence in places that were once unthinkable. Last week, a gunman open fired at a Nashville church. The Mandalay Massacre is strong evidence that we are living in the "days of Noah;" the time of wickedness that will lead to the tribulation hour. Just as Noah and his family were spared by the ark from God's first major judgment of mankind, the rapture will spare true believers from the Lord's second outpouring of wrath. Genesis 6:5 says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." "For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark" (Matt. 24:37-38). What the Feast of Tabernacles Reveals About Jesus' Rule Over the Nations - Ron Allen - https://www.charismanews.com/world/67652-what-the-feast-of-tabernacles-reveals-about-jesus-rule-over-the-nations Today marks the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, the last of the seven feasts of Israel. The Feast of Tabernacle is also known as the Feast of Ingathering of the Harvest. It was conducted for eight days, beginning on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month Tishri, as a time to celebrate the harvest and rejoice before the Lord. The people were instructed to build booths (the meaning of the word "tabernacle") of tree boughs and live in them for seven days, to remember how they lived in booths when God brought them out of Egypt. The feast opened with a ceremony involving water from the pool of Siloam, which the priests likened to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit with joy, and closed on the eighth day with a similar ceremony. Jesus used this ceremony to announce that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on His believers (John 7:37-39). The rabbis also viewed the Feast of the Tabernacles as looking forward to the time when all nations would worship the Lord. They noted that there were 70 bulls sacrificed during the feast, corresponding to the number of the nations listed in Genesis. In addition, they pointed to the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles by all nations in Zechariah 14:16. They also expected that Messiah would come to rule, praying as they carried tree branches that God would send salvation through the Son of David. This ceremony was, in fact, repeated when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Today's Christian viewpoint on the Feast of Tabernacles follows the Rabbinical view that the Feast represents the ingathering of the nations to be ruled by the Messiah. We, of course, add the understanding that Christ came as our Passover Lamb and then sent us the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. He paid for our sins as unleavened bread and arose as the first fruits of the dead. He will return with the trumpet of God and will judge us on the Day of Atonement. Then we will tabernacle with the Lord forever. The church would do well to remember that we are all going to be together as one which we tabernacle with the Lord for eternity. Now would be a good time to practice by following Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-23 that we be united in Him as a witness on Earth. We urge you to practice Christian unity and consider attending the Kairos 2017 Christian Unity and Revival meeting in Kansas City on October 24-26, 2017 (See Kairos2017.com for more information). We should also remember that the old rabbis were right to say that joy must accompany the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that we can recover the joy of our salvation. So have some fun this Tabernacles Feast Week. Daily Jot: Satan's shell game - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com There is a lot of rage in this country. I hear it a lot in Christian circles. People are angry about a lot of things. Sometimes that anger turns to judgment against others. A whole lot of judgment going on. The NFL is getting a lot of judgment. The President is helping fuel that fire. But while he is attacking the NFL and its players, the DC swamp is not getting drained-no repeal of socialist healthcare; no tax reform; no illegal immigration reform. The list seems to grow. But a whole lot of people are angry, especially conservative Christians. We are goaded everyday. The godless left is on attack. I submit that this is a shell game by satan, using anger-generating events to deter us from our mission. We need to focus. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 says, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are outside? do not you judge them that are within? But God judges them that are outside." In direct speak, it means that it's not our business to judge those who do not know the gospel by our standards. That's why we are exhorted, even commanded, to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey what the Lord has commanded us. We must find ways to make Christianity relevant. It has been tainted to be identified with political ideals, when in reality, the political ideals should be identified with Christianity, foundationally centered on God's love and love for one another. The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:17-19, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:13-14, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in 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?" Jesus said in Matthew 24:23, "Then if any man shall say unto you Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not." Our national identity and, more importantly, our personal salvation is diluted tremendously if we, as Peter put it, "scarcely be saved." If America's preachers are so intent on preaching/teaching a self indulgent, extra Biblical and emotional version of the Christ, then what Christ are we following--the real Son of God, crucified and risen, for our sins, or some humanist version of Christ that fits a social or political extra-biblical gospel? It is here, not on the national policy front, that we as a people have lost our identity. Our identity is in Christ, and he has set before us a mission. Let's not play the satan's shell game. Daily Devotion: Our Defense against Worry - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7 We live in such a stress-filled society today. We could write these words on the tombstones of many Americans: Hurried, worried, buried. We're constantly in motion, going from one thing to another, from one worry to another. We can get so stressed out that we're almost immobilized. Sometimes worry can absolutely paralyze a person's life. But as my friend Max Lucado has said, "Your anxiety decreases as your understanding of your Father increases." That is really the heart of the matter. On July 24, 2008, my wife and I heard the news that no parent ever wants to hear. We found out that our son had suddenly left us for Heaven. Anxiety, panic, worry, and fear all crashed in at the same time. And as I bent beneath the weight of it, I honestly wondered if I could survive such a thing. As a pastor, I had spoken with people over the years who had lost children, but when it happened to me, I honestly wondered if I could handle it. But God was there for me. And one of the reasons I have continued to preach since that day is because of that, because God was there. If the Lord had not come through for me on that day, I would have given up preaching. But He did come through for me. I'm not saying it has been easy. We still miss our son, of course, and we still feel deep pain. But we have found the truth of Philippians 4:6-7: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (NKJV). Apply this truth, and turn your worries into prayers. FROM THE HEART
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