Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Monday, December 15, 2014

In The Name of Freedom

Monday, December 15, 2014, 1:23 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Only In Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. Between yesterday and today I read Psalm 2-7 (ESV).

Breaking Boundaries

In context, nations, peoples and rulers are raging, plotting and taking their stand against God and against Jesus Christ (and against his followers). They say,

“Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.” ~ Ps. 2:3

The Lord Jesus gave me a picture of this particularly here in America, although this certainly applies to the world as a whole, as well. This has to do with breaking away from God’s/Christ’s commandments (his instructions), his boundaries he has set for us, and us throwing them off as though they don’t matter, and even hurting others in the process without concern or care. And, yet we are not hurting others only, but ourselves and our relationships with God, and with others, when we willfully throw off those limits (controls and regulations), thinking we are exercising our freedoms. In fact, many who call themselves Christians are doing this very thing in the name of “freedom in Christ.”

Law-makers-breakers

One of the ways this is presently happening here in America is within our government, which I believe very much so is setting itself up and is taking its stand against the Lord Jesus and against those who hold to his testimony, who do not deny his name, and who keep the commandments of God/Christ, i.e. his word. They are breaking down God’s moral laws, are changing the laws, and are even breaking their own laws that have been governing this nation for many years. This recent move with the Obama administration in granting some type of amnesty to nearly 5 million illegals in this country was just another step in breaking down laws and sending a message that says it is ok to break the law.

I believe our leaders also create crisis situations just so they have an excuse to change the laws – changes which are not in our favor. This amnesty situation could be one of those cases, as it appears possibly to be leading to individual states seceding from the union, so to speak – history repeating itself, perhaps. If you couple that with the recent flare-up in racial tensions, which I also believe was orchestrated by our government, then it is looking a whole lot like they are trying to initiate some type of civil war (uprising) within our nation, pitting American against American. Obama has been promoted as a double (clone) of Lincoln, after all. I believe they are also willfully bankrupting this nation, i.e. they are on a course to destroy America from within in order to make way for the rule of the beast.

I have seen this M.O. played out in various nations throughout the world in recent years. First they knock the squirrels out of the tree, and then they go in to “save” them, but not really to save them. If we believe the Bible, and if we believe the book of Revelation, we have to know this is coming. It is inevitable. If we open our eyes, and pray for discernment, I believe we will see that our government is not who we think they are, and they are not doing the things they say they are doing, but they are liars and deceivers of the worst kind playing on the naivety and ignorance of many people while they do their dirty work behind closed doors. They are working for the beast. There is no right and left. Right and left is just another game they play to keep us divided and distracted. They are one force united. And, they are taking their stand against God and against us who believe in Jesus.

In The Church

Yet, this is not just taking place within an ungodly government, but within the worldly church here in America. “Church” has become a corporation of humans under the government of the US – a business of human origin run just like any other business. Yet, the true church of Jesus Christ is not an organization but an organism, as a young pastor in our area reminded people lately. These organizations call themselves “church” but so many of them barely resemble what God intended his body to be. So much of what we see in these “church” meetings is marketing 101 at its finest, with game playing, manipulations of emotions, twisting of the Word of God, a diluted gospel, feel-good messages, and entertainment for the masses being what is served up every Sunday morning.

As well, the “church” promotes government worship, which I believe leads to people here in America giving unquestioning allegiance (loyalty and devotion) to an ungodly government so that they are easily deceived and duped into believing their lies. The media is controlled by this one-world government beast, so they promote the government’s lies and deceptions, and the American people (a vast majority) just buy into whatever they hear without asking themselves if it is really true. As a nation, we have been dumbed-down by TV, I believe, and the sad reality is that this is a good picture of a large percentage of the church here in America, too.

Lies and deceptions are everywhere! God has been reduced to a doting grandfather in the sky who is there to grant our every request, but who requires nothing of us, but does everything for us. He even lives out the Christian life through us without a need for our cooperation whatsoever. Yet, this makes no sense. So, they devise a concept that says that there are two of us, i.e. the real us and the flesh, which is not the real us, so when we sin, that is not the real us doing it for the real us is righteous and thus when God sees us he only sees good and thus he smiles on us all the time, he never gets upset with us, he will never punish us, but he is pleased with us no matter what we do. And, so, when they sin they just focus on how they believe God sees them, and thus it removes any kind of guilt over sin, and consciousness of sin, or any need to even repent of sin, because nothing is required of them. They have their ticket into heaven and so they are good.

I suspect this false theology has its roots in Paul’s words in Romans 7:17, yet Paul’s teachings definitely show us that we are to take personal responsibility for our sin, and the whole of the New Testament teaches us that God does see when we sin, that he gets grieved over our sin, that he does discipline, rebuke and punish (chastise) us for our rebellion, and that he will judge his adulterous church (See: Rev. 2-3), yet not to destroy her but to deliver her out of the grip Satan has on her and the grip the world has on her, I believe.

In Our Individual Lives

In America we have been brought up on TV, which I believe has greatly influenced the thinking, reasoning, behaviors, standards, beliefs and philosophies of many people in America, including or most especially so many Christians. Then came home computers and the internet, and suddenly the whole world of evil was available to all right at our fingertips in the privacy of our own homes. But, that was not enough. Then came tablets (like IPads) and smart phones, so now most Americans have absolute private internet access around-the-clock, even our children and grandchildren, whose parents or schools give them to them. It is not a wonderful thing that schools are handing these out to our children!

And, so many parents are blind to the dangers or are fooled into thinking their kids would never go bad places or that their “net-nanny” will alert them if their kids wander off to the wrong locations, not realizing that kids are a whole lot smarter in these areas than us adults, and they know ways around things, or their friends do. It breaks my heart to see smart phones, tablets and personal computers handed to children and them allowed to have complete privacy with them in their bedrooms. We might as well hand them an X-rated movie or a playboy magazine, only much worse. As a grandmother of 12, this concerns me greatly! I weep over this!

What is happening here is what this verse in Ps. 2 is talking about. All restraints are being tossed aside in the name of freedom, including “freedom in Christ,” and so very many of the people of God are living in rebellion against their God and Lord by discarding what God has put in place for us for our protection. So many people are loving delusions and are seeking after the false gods of this world. So many people are believing and are telling lies. So many people are “pregnant with evil” and conceive trouble and give “birth to disillusionment” (See: 7:14). I believe we are living in that time of “rebellion” spoken of by the prophets that must precede the rise of the antichrist. And, so much of it is so subtle.

America is on the decline. The church in America is on a decline. Yet I believe with all my heart that God intends to revive his church here, but that he will do it through suffering and through persecution, because that is the only way the church in America, for the most part, is going to live in the fear of the Lord. When we have hit rock bottom and we have nowhere else to turn but to God, and we, as a nation, cease fighting against God’s authority, and we, as the church in this nation stop giving our allegiance to humans, and we stop trusting in our own resources, but we finally let go and let God, then he can deliver us out of Satan’s grasp, and he can renew his church and can make her into the holy people he intended her to be all along so that she will have purified herself and made herself ready for her husband for when he returns.

ONLY IN HIM / An Original Work / February 19, 2014

Based off Isaiah 30

Woe to those who look to man’s help;
Who turn away from Jesus Christ;
Forming an alliance not in step with God;
Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,
They close their ears to what is right.
Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;
Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.
Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.
Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.
Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.

Your Lord will be gracious to you.
He cares all about you, ‘tis true.
He forgives you all of your sin
When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be
When you bow to Him on your knees;
Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.
He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.

Now you will sing praises to Him.
He delivered you from your sin.
You’ll tell others now of His grace,
So they may see Christ face-to-face.





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