Friday, June 26, 2015,
4:44 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “You are Loving and Forgiving.” Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read 1 Timothy 3:1-7
(NASB).
It
is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is
a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the
husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to
teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the
love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his
children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to
manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not
a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the
condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with
those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare
of the devil.
What does it mean to be “above reproach”? “’Above reproach’
means that the overseer’s life, as well as all of our lives, is free from
sinful habits or behaviors that would impede his setting the highest Christian
standard and model for the church to emulate (Hebrews 13:7; 1 Peter 5:3)” - http://www.gotquestions.org/above-reproach.html.
If he does not have a reputation for godly and holy living, free from
accusation against him for known patterns of sinful behavior, then he (or we,
too) might easily fall prey to the devil’s snare, and be entangled by the lies
and deceptions (tricks and traps) of Satan, and end up moving away from the
truth of the gospel to following after a false gospel, a false Christ, and a
false grace, which gives a false hope of salvation.
So, in what ways might the devil snare someone who is not
walking closely with the Lord and who is, perhaps, dabbling in the things of
this sinful world? I believe we have a present-day example of such a snare, and
it came through Obama’s eulogy today for Rev. Clementa Pinckney of “Mother
Emanuel” AME Church of Charleston, SC. A spiritually discerning ear can quickly
pick up on the twists of truth, and on where Obama was headed with his speech
today. He cloaked what he said in all kinds of spiritual phrases, but what he
taught, and what he promoted was not of God. [See link to transcript at end of
this writing.]
As a side note, Rev. Pinckney's first name has the root word
"clement" in it, which means "not too hot or too cold."
Sound familiar? Jesus Christ chided the church in Laodicea for being neither
hot nor cold, but for being lukewarm, and he said he was about to spit them out
of his mouth, yet he called them to repentance (See: Rev. 2-3). These churches
written to in Revelation are not just for that time period, though, for they
represent the church down through the ages. Many people believe the church in
Laodicea represents this last days’ church, which has wandered off from the
truth to follow lies. I believe that is where Obama and the Pope are both
leading the church right now, at least the institutional church.
A Better World
Obama began by making reference to Hebrews 11 and to those greats
of the faith who did not live to see the promises of God fulfilled, but only “welcomed
them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on
earth.” That was the end of his quote from Hebrews 11, but the passage goes on
to say that “They were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.” And, God
“has prepared a city for them.” Yet, as we will see throughout Obama’s speech,
this quotation from the Bible was a subtle tie-in to Obama’s message about a “better
country,” only not a heavenly one, but a kingdom of human-making which is
presently in the works.
Obama made numerous remarks concerning “a better life,” a “better
country,” a “better world,” and a “more perfect union” (the clincher). So, according
to Obama, how do we get this “more perfect union” and “better world”? We have
to “encourage progress” by not pushing our own ideas alone, but by seeking the
ideas of others, partnering with them to make things happen. We have to feel
with others, be able to walk in their shoes and “see through their eyes.” A lot
of what he says has elements of truth to it, and some of it sounds good on the
surface, but we have to be discerning to see what lies beneath. If we are not
discerning, we are vulnerable to fall into the “devil’s trap.” What he is
talking about here is oneness of mind and heart with all people regardless of
difference in religious beliefs.
Phoenix Rising
He said the Christian faith “demands deeds and not just
words.” That is true. Yet, he alludes to a “collective salvation” which he
indicates involves feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc., which are
things we should be doing for our religion to be “pure and faultless.” Then, he
goes on to talk about how Rev. Pinckney was a “good man,” which he felt was the
best thing to have said about you when you are eulogized. He spoke of the
church as a “community center” where we “organize for jobs and justice,” and
are places of “scholarship and network.” Do you see where he is headed with
this? He made a reference to the church being “not just for blacks,” and “not
just for Christians, but for every American who cares about steady expansion of
human rights and human dignity…”
In case you have not picked up on this yet, what he is
getting at is a one-world religion which is primarily concerned with social
welfare and social justice and which is all-inclusive, but which excludes those
who believe their way (the way of the cross) is the only way. He mentioned that
the black church means “our beating heart, the place where our dignity as a
people inviolate.” He said, “There’s no better example of this tradition than
Mother Emanuel, a church built on blacks seeking liberty, burned to the ground
because its founders sought to end slavery, only to rise up again, a phoenix
from these ashes.” A phoenix rising from the ashes is symbolic of this New
World Order “beast” rising from the ashes of the former (old) order of things,
which will be destroyed and is being destroyed by this “beast” right now. That
is what this is really all about, and the sooner we get this, the better.
He spoke of a long history of “bombs and arson and shots
fired at churches, not random but as a means of control, and a way to terrorize
and oppress,” and he spoke of an act by this killer that “he imagined would incite
fear and recrimination, violence and suspicion, an act that he presumed would
deepen divisions that trace back to our nation’s original sin.” So, what was
our nation’s “original sin”? Anyone know? I don’t, but what I do know is that
what he just described here is what he and our government and their allies in
the New World Order have been doing across the globe for some time now. And, a
lot of it is an “act,” i.e. it is faked, or partially faked, and for the
purposes he just mentioned, and then they blame others and convince us that it
was “terrorists” who did it, and this is so the International Community can go
in to “save the day” with a solution to the problems they created.
Amazing Grace
He had, as his central theme, God’s grace, and partially he
was right, but with a twist. He said that “according to Christian tradition,
grace is not earned. Grace is not merited. It’s not something we deserve.
Rather, grace is a free and benevolent favor of God.” He suggested that, “out
of this terrible tragedy, God has visited grace upon us for he has allowed us
to see where we’ve been blind.” God is using these tragedies to open blinded
eyes, and to show us where we have been blinded, but not in the way Obama is
suggesting. He is preaching social religion (oneness of faith) in which we
become “good people” doing “good deeds” and where we don’t stand on any
particular ideals which might be different from others or that might offend
others or make them feel less in any way, i.e. we are not to talk about sin and
the need for repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ as our only hope.
He spoke of us searching our hearts, and “recognizing our
common humanity,” and that by doing that we “express God’s grace.” Then, he
again brought out the fact that “We don’t earn grace. We’re all sinners. We don’t
deserve it. But God gives it to us anyway.” Yes, it is true that God’s grace is
a gift, and we don’t earn it or deserve it, but listen to what Obama said next.
He said, “And we choose how to receive it. It’s our decision how to honor it.”
No, we don’t get to decide how to receive it or how to honor it. It is not our
decision. God set the standard and the rules for us to follow. He said we must
receive it by faith, and that faith means we die with Christ to sin, and we are
resurrected with Christ to new lives in Christ, “created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness” (See: Eph. 4:17-24; Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet.
2:24-25; 2 Co. 5:15; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1-5, etc.).
The Devil’s Trap
Obama is a primary voice of the New World Order, which is
working towards bringing all nations, and all peoples and all religions
underneath the rule of a one-world dictatorship, and this means it is bad to be
different, and it is bad to stand on Biblical principles, and to believe in the
gospel of salvation, because the gospel is not all-inclusive, and the gospel
offends people, and he believes we need to have greater tolerance and
partnership and to discover our common humanity, and to not focus on what they
consider “extremism,” which they are working to eradicate (to eradicate us and
the gospel – out with the old).
When he speaks of not letting our history define us or our
future, and he speaks of the need to make progress, and to get on “a roadway
toward a better world,” it is not for our good. The “better world” he is
promoting is the New World Order “Beast,” so don’t buy into it, even though it
sounds good, and it has elements of truth to it, for it is a trap – the devil’s
trap. He is trying to lead you away from the true gospel, true grace, and the
only true Savior, to a false grace, false gospel, false Christ, and a false
hope. Instead, put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, stand strong on the
hope of the gospel of our salvation, and do not bow to this “beast” and its “all-inclusive”
grace and social gospel, which lets us decide how to respond to God’s free
gift. Believe the Word of God, not the word of man.
You are Loving and
Forgiving / An Original Work / February 19, 2012
Based off Psalm 86
You are loving and forgiving,
Jesus, Savior, King of kings.
You provided our redemption.
By Your blood You set us free.
You are gracious; full of mercy.
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Great are You; there is none like You.
Glory be to Your name.
Teach me Your way, and I’ll walk in it.
O Lord, I will walk in Your truth.
May I not have a heart divided,
That Your name I give honor to.
I will praise You, O Lord, my Savior,
For great is Your love toward me.
You have delivered me from my sins.
Your grace has pardoned me.
You, O Lord, are full of compassion,
Slow to anger, bounteous in love;
Faithful to fulfill all You promise;
Glory be to Your name above.
Hear, O Lord, and answer Your servant.
You are my God. I trust in You.
Turn to me and grant Your strength to me.
You are my comforter.
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