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."

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Rulers Take Counsel

Saturday, September 24, 2016, 5:33 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 2 (ESV).

Nations Rage (vv. 1-3)

Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ is under attack in the church, in our world, and in the USA like never before in my lifetime. The enemy infiltrated the church in order to destroy her and to destroy the gospel, and he has largely been successful, for a time. The church, which used to preach the gospel as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles, has largely gone the way of the world, and has turned the church into big business, and they are marketing it just like big business, too. Since they operate just like any other business, they have to have a product that sells to the general public, and that will keep their customer base coming back for more of the same. They also have to compete with others who are selling the same product, and so they must change things often in order to keep up with their competitors.

Thus, the gatherings of the church, at least here in America, have largely turned into big shows for the purpose of entertaining the masses. They must give people what they want, and what makes them feel good inside, so they will come back for more. So, they entertain them in volumes, and they use gimmicks and trickery to keep them coming back. Thus, the Word of God has largely been replaced with books on how to grow your church, i.e. your business, and with books written by mere men. Movies, which have sexual scenes in them, or which glorify sin in any way, have “approved” clips played from them for the masses during “worship” services. Many pastors have turned into “game show hosts,” rather than being men of God and of the Word of God. They paint for us a picture of “church” as having to be “fun.” And, thus, the gospel must be diluted so as not to offend anyone, because if you offend people, they won’t want to come back to your place of business, right?

The product they are selling has little resemblance to the gospel as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles. They teach people that all they have to do is pray a prayer after someone, and that they are now guaranteed heaven when they die, no matter what they do from this point forward. They tell them, too, that God requires absolutely nothing of them – no repentance, no obedience, and no surrender to Christ and submission to the cross of Christ. All they have to do is “believe,” which is rather ambiguous in the way they say it, as to what that really means. We have to remember here, though, that James warned that even the demons believe, and they shudder. So, obviously there is something more to salvation than some ambiguous belief which is absent of the cross of Christ in the life of the “believer.”

Not content with just destroying the church and the gospel, as taught within the church, they have gone to silencing those who are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ outside the walls of the institutional church. If we read the speeches of our leaders much at all, it should be real clear where they are heading with all of this. They want to do away with all which divides us as the people of the world so that we can all come together as one people united under a one world government with a one world “all inclusive” religion, of sorts. So, they have been working hard to create an environment in the USA, and in the world, where they can build a case for having to silence those they deem to be “religious extremists,” who they also call hatemongers, bigots, and intolerant. So, they have created “false flags” and have orchestrated riots, mass murders, racial tensions, and have pitted various people groups against one another so that they have an excuse to “save us” from ourselves.

We must know that the media, for the most part, is party to all of this, and that they only report what they are told to report, and that much of what we see on TV, and think is real, is not real at all, or is partially real and partially faked or orchestrated to make it look like one group did something when it was really these world leaders who are doing this. So many of these mass murders we are seeing in the news are not what they appear to be at all, for these are orchestrated by world powers in order to subvert sovereign nations and to bring them into subjection to the New World Order. And, this is what is taking place in America now, too. We are seeing the same M.O. going on in our nation as we have witnessed going on in other nations throughout the world for some time now.

My King (vv. 4-9)

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Yet, God is not shaken by them and their threats against his people, and neither should we be shaken by them, because their time is short, and their works will perish, and they will be destroyed by God. Instead, we should keep our hearts and our minds focused on Jesus Christ, and we should continue to share the full gospel message of salvation despite all threats and opposition against us. Our God is watching over us who are his, and he is completely sovereign over all that he has made. None of this catches him by surprise. The enemy can do nothing if God does not allow it. As well, Jesus never promised us that we would be free from persecution. In fact, he promised us that we would be hated and persecuted as he was, so it should not unsettle us that this is what is happening now in America, or in any country in the world.

Be Warned (vv. 10-12)

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

There is a warning here to those who are coming against the Lord, and against his Anointed. God may allow you to have some level of success, or apparent success, for a short period of time, but your doom is sure unless you repent of your sins and you turn to follow Jesus Christ with your lives. It is not enough just to give lip service to God while you plot against his people, his saints, behind their backs. God sees what you do in secret, in dark places, even if no one else sees, and he remembers, and he will pay you back for what you have done unless, of course, you do repent of your sins and turn to faith in Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ will not be diluted to something which does not resemble the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by him and his NT apostles. His Word endures forever! You can’t kill it, no matter how hard you may try. His Word teaches us that coming to Christ means we die with Christ to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. It teaches us that God’s grace is not a free license to continue in sin without guilt and without remorse, but God’s grace, which brings salvation, teaches us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, godly and upright lives while we wait for Christ’s return. It teaches us, too, that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. This is what it means to walk in the fear of the Lord. And, all who take refuge in HIM are blessed.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.


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