Tisha b'Av: The Third Holy Temple Plans Have Begun

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O Nosso Pai Trabalha de Maneiras Maravilhosas

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Reverendo John Powell
[Our Father Does Work in Wondrous Ways]

O reverendo John Powell, catedrático na Loyola University em Chicago, escreve sobre Tommy, seu aluno na aula de teologia da fé:

Há uns doze anos, no início do semestre, eu observava meus alunos entrando em fila na sala para a nossa primeira aula de teologia da fé. Foi a primeira vez que vi Tommy. Na hora ele me chamou a atenção. Penteava sua longa cabeleira loira que ia até o meio das costas. Eu nunca tinha visto um rapaz com os cabelos daquele comprimento. Acho que estava começando a ficar na moda. Mesmo sabendo que o importante não é o que está fora, mas dentro da cabeça, naquele dia eu estava despreparado e tive uma reação exagerada. Imediatamente classifiquei Tommy com um “E” de estranho... muito estranho.

Descobri que Tommy era o “ateu de plantão” no curso de teologia da fé. Ele constantemente fazia objeções, sorria debochando, ou questionava a possibilidade de existir um Deus Pai que ama incondicionalmente. Tivemos uma convivência relativamente pacífica durante todo o semestre, embora eu deva admitir que, às vezes, ele era uma dor de cabeça!

No final do curso, ao entregar sua prova final, ele perguntou cinicamente: “O senhor acha que um dia eu vou encontrar Deus?”

Imediatamente decidi usar terapia de choque: “Acho que não!” — Respondi enfaticamente.

— E por

que não? — ele indagou. — Pensei que era isso que o senhor estava promovendo.

Deixei ele se afastar um pouco na direção da porta, e falei bem alto:

— Tommy! Acho que você nunca vai encontrar Deus, mas tenho certeza que Ele encontrará você! — Ele deu de ombros e saiu da sala e da minha vida.

Fiquei um pouco desapontado ao pensar que ele não tinha entendido a minha resposta esperta — Ele vai encontrar você! Pelo menos eu achei que foi esperta. Um tempo depois fiquei sabendo que Tommy se formou, e senti-me devidamente grato.

Em seguida recebi a triste notícia de que Tommy estava com câncer em estágio terminal. Antes de eu procurá-lo, ele veio me ver. Quando entrou na minha sala estava esquálido, a cabeleira dissipada pela quimioterapia, mas os olhos brilhavam e a voz era firme. — Bem diferente do jovem que eu conhecia.

— Tommy, tenho pensado muito em você. Ouvi dizer que está doente. — fui logo dizendo.

— É verdade, estou muito doente. Tenho câncer nos dois pulmões. Restam-me apenas algumas semanas de vida.

— Você quer falar sobre isso, Tom? — Perguntei.

— Claro, o que você gostaria de saber?

— Como é ter apenas vinte e quatro anos e saber que está morrendo?

— Acho que poderia ser pior.

— Como assim?

— Bem, por exemplo, ter cinquenta anos e não ter valores ou ideais, ou achar que bebida, mulheres e dinheiro são as coisas mais importantes da vida.

Comecei a percorrer as minhas fichas mentais de pessoas na categoria “E”, de estranhas, onde eu tinha incluído Tommy. (Parece que todo o mundo que eu tento rejeitar na minha classificação, Deus sempre coloca de volta na minha vida para me ensinar alguma coisa.)

Tom então disse que a visita se devia a “algo que o senhor me disse no último dia de aula”. (Ele se lembrava).

— Eu perguntei se o senhor achava que eu encontraria Deus um dia, e o senhor respondeu que não. Fiquei surpreso, mas depois acrescentou que “Ele vai encontrar você”. Pensei muito nisso, apesar de a minha busca por Deus não ter sido nada fervorosa na época.

(A minha resposta esperta. Ele pensou muito no que eu disse!)

— Mas quando os médicos retiraram um tumor maligno da minha virilha, eu comecei a levar a sério a minha busca por Deus. E quando a doença se espalhou pelos meus órgãos vitais, comecei a dar murros desesperados nas portas de bronze do paraíso. Mas Deus não atendeu. Na verdade, não aconteceu nada. O senhor já tentou fazer algo por um longo período, se empenhou e não deu em nada? A gente fica cansado, desanimado, e desiste.

— Olha, um dia ao acordar, em vez de fazer mais apelos inúteis para aquela parede de tijolos para um Deus que podia ou não ali estar, eu desisti. Decidi que não me importava com Deus, com a vida após esta ou nada assim. Decidi passar o tempo que me restava fazendo algo mais proveitoso. Pensei no senhor, na sua aula, e lembrei de outra coisa que disse: “É muito triste passar pela vida sem amar. Mas seria igualmente triste passar pela vida e deixar este mundo sem expressar esse amor verbalmente aos que ama”.

— Por isso comecei com a pessoa mais difícil, o meu pai. Ele estava lendo o jornal quando me aproximei.

— Pai?

— Pois não —, ele respondeu sem tirar os olhos do jornal.

— Pai, eu queria conversar com o senhor.

— Pode falar.

— É algo muito importante.

Ele abaixou o jornal alguns centímetros e perguntou qual era o assunto.

— Pai, eu só queria dizer que amo o senhor.

Tom sorriu para mim e disse isso obviamente satisfeito, como se sentisse a alegria fluindo por dentro dele.

— O jornal foi ao chão. Meu pai então fez duas coisas que eu nunca o tinha visto fazer. Ele chorou e me abraçou. Passamos a noite conversando, apesar de ele ter que levantar cedo para trabalhar. Eu me senti muito próximo do meu pai ao vê-lo chorar, sentir o seu abraço, e ouvi-lo dizer que me amava.

— Foi mais fácil com minha mãe e irmão menor. Eles também choraram. Nós nos abraçamos e começamos a dizer coisas agradáveis e amáveis uns para os outros. E aproveitamos para compartilhar segredos que guardávamos há anos.

— Eu só me arrependo de ter esperando tanto tempo para fazer isso. Ali estava eu, começando a me abrir para todas as pessoas com quem sempre convivi. Foi então que encontrei Deus. Ele não veio ao meu encontro quando eu implorei. Acho que eu estava agindo como um treinador com um animal, tipo, “Vamos, pule! Eu lhe dou três dias, três semanas...”

— Parece que Deus age do Seu próprio jeito e a Seu tempo. Mas o importante é que Ele estava lá. Ele me encontrou! O senhor tinha razão. Ele me encontrou apesar de eu ter parado de procurá-lO!

— Tommy —, eu disse comovido — o que você está dizendo é muito importante e muito mais universal do que percebe. Para mim, pelo menos, você está dizendo que a maneira mais garantida de encontrar Deus não é fazendo dEle uma posse pessoal, a solução para os nossos problemas, ou um consolo imediato nos momentos difíceis, mas sim se abrindo para o amor. Sabe, o apóstolo João disse isso. “Deus é amor, e aquele que vive no amor está em Deus e Deus nele”.

— Tom, posso lhe pedir um favor? Sabe, você me deu bastante trabalho na minha aula. Mas (rindo), pode compensar agora… Você viria à minha aula de teologia da fé contar aos meus alunos o que acabou de me dizer? Se eu lhes contasse não seria a mesma coisa, não tocaria tão fundo.

— Ahh, eu me preparei para ver o senhor, não sei se estou preparado para ficar na frente da sala inteira.

“Tom, pense um pouco. Se e quando sentir que está pronto, me ligue.

Uns dias depois Tom ligou dizendo que estava pronto para falar na frente da sala, que queria fazer isso por Deus e por mim. Combinamos um dia. Mas ele não apareceu. Surgiu um outro compromisso muito mais importante do que falar para os meus alunos. É claro que a vida de Tom não acabou com a sua morte, apenas mudou. Ele deu o grande passo da fé para a visão. Descobriu uma vida muito mais linda do que o ser humano já viu ou ouviu, ou conseguiu imaginar.

Antes de morrer, nos falamos uma última vez. Ele me informou que não teria condições de ir falar na minha aula. Eu disse que entendia.

— O senhor falaria com eles por mim? O senhor falaria… com o mundo todo por mim?”

— Vou falar, Tom. Vou falar para todo o mundo. Farei o melhor que puder!

E a todos vocês que fizeram a gentileza de ler esta simples história sobre o amor de Deus, eu agradeço. E a você, Tommy, em algum lugar nos montes verdejantes e ensolarados do paraíso, eu digo que contei a todos, da melhor maneira que pude.

Se esta história tiver algum significado para você, por favor, compartilhe com um ou dois amigos. É uma história verídica e não foi escrita com objetivo comercial.

Muito obrigado,
Rev. John Powell, Professor catedrático na Loyola University, Chicago

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He preached the gospel as hijacked plane hit the water

April 14, 2015
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By Mark Ellis


Flight 961 before it hit the water, taken from tourist beach on Comoros Islands

After hijackers commandeered an Ethiopian Airlines flight in 1996 and it eventually ran out of fuel, one man stood to give passengers one last chance to hear a lifesaving message – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

About 20 minutes after Flight 961 took off from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on a flight to Abidjan, three hijackers stormed the cabin and demanded to be flown to Australia.



“The stewardesses started looking scared and upset,” British passenger Katherine Hayes told The Scottish Daily Record later. “Then this man came on the intercom. He said he had hijacked the plane and had a bomb.

Hayes says she was surprised that most people remained calm. “It was almost surreal,” she reported.

A man nearby borrowed Hayes’ book, as a dreamlike normalcy prevailed for a while. “This went on for four hours without food or drink, but we were OK,” Hayes told the Daily Record.


Pilot Leul Abate

The pilots knew, however, there was not enough jet fuel to get to Australia. As the precious fuel drained away, Pilot Leul Abate spoke directly and firmly to the lead hijacker.

“Guy, we have 30 minutes to live. Unless you allow me to land and refuel, we can not make it to Australia. The only option we have is to die in the sea,” Captain Abate later told The History Channel.

The hijackers didn’t seem to care and refused his request to land at Moroni, capital of the Comoros Islands.

Then the inevitable happened. One of the engines sputtered and stopped.

Shortly after that, Captain Abate came on the intercom and gave passengers the grim news: “We have no fuel,” he said evenly. “We have lost the left engine and we are about to lose the right. Prepare for a crash landing. That’s all I can say.”

People began yelling, screaming and crying and some became nauseous. After the adults got upset, children began to cry.

“They’d been blissfully unaware anything was wrong. But as soon as the adults got upset, so did they,” Hayes


Katherine Hayes in a hospital after she survived the crash

told the Daily Record.

At 21,000 feet, the second engine failed. The 150-ton plane was still gliding, however, falling out of the sky at 2,000 feet per minute. They would hit the water in about 40 miles at that rate.

Andy Meakins, 43, from Beckenham, Kent, who worked with the Christian charity Tear Fund in Addis Ababa, was on the flight, seated next to his wife.

Franklin Graham met Meakins in Ethiopia in the ‘80s and recounted the next critical moments as retold to him. “Andy Meakins was a gentle giant of the faith, an Englishman who loved Jesus Christ and served Him in Africa for many years,” Graham recounted.

With a courage and boldness supplied by the Holy Spirit, Meakins felt compelled to do the unexpected. “Andy’s wife heard the snap of a seatbelt being unbuckled and turned to see her husband stand up,” Graham reported.

“Many of us might die in this crash,” Andy called out, “so there’s something you need to know.”

Andy then began to explain the gospel message with urgency but simplicity. He moved to each part of the cabin so that everyone would hear.


One engine hit a coral reef, which catapulted plane end over end, and caused it to break up

“He invited people to place their trust in Jesus Christ in repentance and faith,” Graham recounted.

“A flight attendant heard Andy’s words, bowed her head, and asked Jesus to forgive her sins and come into her heart. She watched many more respond and, along with another survivor, later told the story.

“Of the 175 people on board, 125 died, including Andy, who was still on his feet preaching the Gospel as the plane hit the water.”

“Every day tens of thousands of people slip from this world into eternity – the vast majority unprepared, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, NKJV). We need to take every opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel, the only message that will make a difference to a lost soul. Just like an airplane going down, time is running out…”

Watch on Youtube here.

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Greece reaches deal with creditors, avoids euro exit

By Pan Pylas And Raf Casert, AP, Jul 13, 2015

BRUSSELS (AP)–After months of acrimony, Greece finally clinched a bailout agreement with its European creditors on Monday that will, if implemented, secure the country’s place in the euro and avoid financial collapse.

The terms of the deal, however, will be painful both for Greeks and their radical left-led government, which since its election in January had vowed to stand up to the creditors and reject the budget cuts they have been demanding.

Before it can get 85 billion euros ($95.07 billion) in bailout cash and support for its banks to reopen, the Greek government will have to pass a raft of austerity measures that include sales tax increases, reforms to pensions, and labor market reforms.

Greece will be on a tight timetable to implement its reforms–a reflection of how little its creditors trust the government to honor a deal. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras infuriated his European partners last month when he called for a popular vote against economic reforms the creditors has proposed.

The Greek people voted against those proposals, but will be horrified to see that they now face even tougher measures.

Both sides acknowledged the bitterness that marked their negotiations and kept them negotiating nine hours past a Sunday midnight deadline.

“Trust needs to be rebuilt,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adding that with the deal, “Greece has a chance to return to the path of growth.”

In a first step toward getting its bailout loans, the Greek government has to pass a set of measures into law by Wednesday.

Measures include an increase in the sales tax and reform of the pension system. In later weeks, Greece will have to open to competition industries that have long been protected, such as the energy sector. Labor laws will be made more flexible.

If it meets these requirements, Greece will get a three-year rescue program and a commitment to restructure its debt, which is unsustainably high at around 320 billion euros, or around 180 percent of annual GDP.

Tsipras argues that because of these concessions Monday’s deal is, despite the tough austerity, actually better for Greece than the proposals Greeks voted down just a week ago.

“We managed to avoid the most extreme measures,” Tsipras said. “Greece will fight to return to growth and to reclaim its lost sovereignty.”

He said he had managed to avoid a demand by some creditors to transfer Greek assets abroad as a form of collateral and to avoid the collapse of the banking sector.

Greeks seemed mainly relieved that the country was not facing financial collapse.

Kostas Lambos, a pensioner, said things would be “difficult in the beginning” but people had to understand the severity of the situation.

“This was a necessary step for the country to emerge from the dead ends that had been created in the last few years,” he said.

Greece’s banks, which have been shut for two weeks, were still closed on Monday and limits remained on cash withdrawals. Without a deal, they faced the prospect of collapse within days as they are steadily drained of money.

When the banks will be able to reopen will depend on whether the European Central Bank decides to increase emergency credit to Greek banks now that a bailout deal with Greece has been clinched in principle. It was unclear whether the ECB would make such a decision on Monday or after Greece passes its first batch of reforms.

French President Francois Hollande said the Greek parliament would convene within hours to adopt the reforms called for in the plan and he celebrated Greece’s continued membership in the euro.

Losing Greece, he said, would have been akin to losing “the heart of our civilization.”

Other European officials were less emotive.

“The Greeks have to show they’re credible, show that they mean it,” said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers and a longtime critic of the Tsipras government.

If the talks had failed, Greece could have faced bankruptcy and a possible exit from the euro, the European single currency that the country has been a part of since 2002. No country has ever left the joint currency, which launched in 1999, and there is no mechanism in place for one to do so.

Greece had requested a three-year, 53.5 billion-euro ($59.5 billion) financial package, but that number grew larger by tens of billions as the negotiations dragged on and the leaders calculated how much Greece will need to stay solvent.

Greece has received two previous bailouts, totaling 240 billion euros ($268 billion), in return for deep spending cuts, tax increases and reforms from successive governments. Although the country’s annual budget deficit has come down dramatically, Greece’s debt burden has increased as the economy has shrunk by a quarter.

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10 Unusual Ways to Be Exceptionally Productive

Jeff Haden, LinkedIn Pulse, Jul 12, 2015

Whatever your definition of success (each person’s definition of “success” is and should be different), one thing is true for everyone: Success means getting things done.

Highly successful people are able to get a lot more things done, and here are simple ways you can too.

1. Eliminate every “ego” commitment. We all do things that have more to do with ego than results.

Maybe you serve on a committee because you like how it looks on your CV. Maybe you teach at a local college because you like the words “adjunct professor.” Or maybe, like me, you do radio interviews just because it seems cool to be on the radio, though it in no way benefits me professionally. (There are a few I would do no matter what just because I like the hosts.)

Anything you do solely for ego is a waste of time. Think about things you do mainly because they make you look important, smart, or cool. If it provides no other “value,” drop it.

Anything you do that serves the greater glory of you is a waste of time; besides, the best glory is reflected, not projected.

2. Don’t struggle for that extra 5 percent. I’m fairly competitive so when I start to do something I soon start wanting to do it better than other people.

(OK, I’m overly competitive.)

Take cycling. I’m faster, fitter, etc., than the average person. But compared with the fast guys, I’m nothing. They can drop me within a few miles. Drives me crazy. Makes me ride more and train more and spend tons of hours on a bike–and for what? So I can hang with them for a couple more miles? So my time up a certain mountain is only 30 percent slower than theirs instead of 40 percent?

The kind of improvement has no real importance.

Sure, I may get in better shape, but at that point the improvement to my overall health is incremental at best. And in the meantime I have to spend hours on cycling I could spend working toward more important goals.

Or I could just spend more time with my family, the most important goal of all.

Think about something you already do well but are trying hard to do even better. Then weigh the input with the outcome.

Sometimes “good” truly is good enough, especially if that 5 percent gain is hugely disproportionate to the pain required to reach it.

3. Find the perfect way to say no. Most of us default to saying yes because we don’t want to seem rude or unfriendly or unhelpful. Unfortunately, that also means we default to taking on more than we want or can handle.

It’s important to know how, with grace and tact, to say no.

Maybe your response will be as simple as, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t have time.”

Develop your own way of saying no and then rehearse so it comes naturally. That way you won’t say yes simply because you think you should–you’ll say yes because you know it’s right for you.

4. Eliminate useless “me time” commitments. I used to play fantasy baseball and football. But when I thought about it, I had no idea why. Sure, I could rationalize it created a nice break in the week. I could rationalize it was a “mental health” activity that let me step aside from the stress and strain of business life.

I could, but that wasn’t true. I just did it because I had always done it, and once I start every year I don’t want to quit because, um, I’m not a quitter. (I know that sounds stupid, but I’m willing to bet you do at least one thing for the same reasons.)

Look at the things you do because you’ve always done them and decide if it’s time to stop.

5. Set hard limits. Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but typically not in a good way. We instinctively adjust our effort so our activities take whatever time we let them take.

Tasks should take only as long as they need to take–or as long as you decide they should take.

Try this: Decide you’ll only spend 10 minutes a day on social media. Just 10.

The first day you’ll get frustrated because you won’t get everything done you “need” to get done. The second day you’ll instinctively skip a few feeds because they’re not as important. The third day you’ll re-prioritize and maybe use a tool like Buffer to get better organized.

By the fifth day you’ll realize 10 minutes is plenty of time to do what you need to do; all that other time you used to spend was just fluff.

Pick a task, set a time limit, and stick to that time limit. Necessity, even artificial necessity, is the mother of creativity. I promise you’ll figure out how to make it work.

6. Establish a nighttime routine … The first thing you do is the most important thing you do, because it sets the tone for the rest of the day.

So be smart and prepare for that “first thing” the night before. Make a list. Make a few notes. Review information. Prime yourself to hit the ground at an all-out sprint the next day; a body in super-fast motion tends to stay in super-fast motion.

7. … And a morning routine. Then make sure you can get to that task as smoothly as possible. Pretend you’re an Olympic sprinter and your morning routine is like the warm-up for a race. Don’t dawdle, don’t ease your way into your morning, and don’t make sure you get some “me” time (hey, sleep time is me time). Get up, get cleaned up, get fueled up–and start rolling.

My elapsed time from bed to desk is about 15 minutes (easy since my commute is two flights of stairs), so there’s not much I can improve. So I do something else; I get my most important task done before I check email.

Think about it this way: Sprinters don’t do cool-down laps before they race. Neither should you.

8. Outsource the right tasks. I was raised to think that any job I could do myself was a job I should do myself.

That’s why it took me a long time to decide the kid down the street should cut my grass. He can use the money. I can use the time.

But that’s a simple example. Here’s an even better approach: Write down the two or three things you do that generate the most tangible return. Maybe it’s selling. Maybe it’s developing your employees. Maybe it’s building long-term customer relationships.

Me? I make the most money when I’m writing; anything else I do that takes me away from writing limits my ability to generate revenue.

Figure out the two or three things that you do best–and that generate the best return on your time–and then strip away all the other “stuff” by outsourcing those tasks. (Or, oftentimes, simply by eliminating those tasks.)

Your bottom line will thank you for it.

9. Fix what you often break. I used to be terrible about putting meetings and phone calls on my calendar. I figured I’d get to it later, and then I never did. Then I spent way too much time, often in a panic, trying to figure out when and where and who …

All that time was wasted time. So I finally decided I would immediately enter every appointment into my calendar the moment I made it–no matter what.

You probably have at least one thing you tend to mess up. Maybe you don’t file stuff properly. Maybe you put off dealing with certain emails and then forget them. Maybe you regularly find you’re unprepared for a call or meeting.

Whatever your “things” are, fix them. You’ll save time and aggravation.

10. Don’t multitask. Plenty of research says multitasking doesn’t work. Some research says multitasking actually makes you stupid.

Maybe you agree. Maybe you don’t. Either way, I feel sure there is at least one thing you do that is so important, you should never allow a distraction or a loss of focus.

Choose one important task and commit to turning away everything else when you tackle it. Focus solely on that task. See if you do it better.

I bet you will–and I bet that will make you decide to stop multitasking when you perform many other tasks.

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Former Atheist’s Testimony Will Restore Your Faith In God

Former Atheist’s Testimony Will Restore Your Faith In God from videosforyouth on GodTube.

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Read Before Banned: This Man’s Vision Already Happened - George Orwell's 1984

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Will We Also Be Buried In Profound Obscurity?

A Comparison between Ancient Israel and Modern Day America
(Excerpt from the soon to be released book Where is America in Bible Prophecy?)
By Dennis Edwards:

After King Josiah’s death, four more kings rule for a short period of time in Jerusalem. The last king of what we would call ancient Israel is Zedekiah, the King of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, set up. But,

He (Zedekiah) did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen: and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, until there was no remedy.[1]

Therefore, God brought upon them the King of Babylon,

who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man nor maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.[2]

And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia.[3]

The destruction of Jerusalem occurred in 586 BC making the history of the Southern Kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah, from the time of Saul to be around 450 years. It is interesting to note that although the Babylonians had a pantheistic religion and used divination and astrology, they did not practice child sacrifice. The divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah had adopted this practice from the Canaanites whom God had commanded them to destroy. They failed in their mission and in the end took on the ungodly practices of the Canaanites which led to their own destruction.[4]

The reason I went through this brief history of Israel of old is to show the comparison or similarity between ancient Israel and the modern nation, the United States of America. Because of a few righteous men (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), God enters into relationship with Israel. Even so, her descendents are brought under bondage in an oppressive empire (Egypt), the world power of that day. They cry out to God for a deliverer and God sends them one (Moses). Through toil and suffering, he brings them forth into a new nation.

They must overcome the native people living in that land (Canaanites). But because of their obedience and righteousness, more than the nations around them, God blesses them and they become a rich and powerful nation (Israel under David and Solomon). But in their prosperity they forget God and in disobedience turn to their own understanding. God sends them warning after warning that they have gone astray, but generally they refuse to listen. Until one day sudden destruction comes upon them and their nation is destroyed. They, too, are carried away captive by their enemies.

Similar to the ancient Israelites, many of the founding fathers of the USA were religious peoples, like the Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom from the oppressive nations in Europe. Our founding fathers, too, must have cried out to God for deliverance as many were being persecuted, marginalized and even killed for their faith in their European homelands. But God makes a way of escape. Through much toil and suffering and danger, they cross the Atlantic Ocean, like the desert of Sinai, and God brings them forth into a new land.

They overcome the initial difficulties and God delivers them from the most powerful world power of their day (England). They prosper, becoming a new nation. As long as they obey God’s voice and keep his commandments, they are blessed. But in their prosperity, they forget their maker and begin to serve and cleave unto other God’s. They begin to do more outlandishly than even the nations that God destroyed before them.

In Ezekiel we read how the Lord would use Nebuchadnezzar  to destroy Jerusalem. The Lord says,

Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.[5]

James Perloff, whom I mentioned in an earlier article, makes the same comparison between Israel of old and America in his book, The Shadows of Power:

Ancient Israel was founded as a land of God. It thrived and knew great power. But eventually it became engrossed with its material abundance, forgot the laws of God, grew weak, and was conquered, its people scattered abroad. Similarly, America was founded as a land of God, a Christian land. It became the freest and strongest nation on earth. But, like Biblical Israel, it too is losing sight of its religious roots, floundering in materialism. Will the United States also be conquered?[6]

Will America suffer the same short history as many nations before her? Daniel Webster, who lived from 1782 until 1852, the American orator and Secretary of State for three US Presidents warned,

If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is one to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper, but if we and our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.[7]

He also warned,

If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, then error will be. If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendency. If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will. If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of this land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.[8]

Like the Bible verses I have quoted earlier,

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.[9] But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord.[10]

Before ending this article, I want to digress to the words of Jeremiah the prophet, who lived during the last days before the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was called to his mission as “prophet of doom” in his youth. Because he exposes the sins of the nation, its priests and people, he is hated. If we listen to Jeremiah carefully, many of the Lord's pronouncements against the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel ring as warnings to America, a nation that knew God.

First of all, God calls Jeremiah, "a prophet unto the nations."[11]He is not just a prophet to Israel of old, but to all nations, especially those nations who had the knowledge of God, and forgot Him. He is a prophet to us today in the United States of America. We will look at just a few of his warnings and see how his judgments against ancient Israel can be applied to America. Here’s the first one.

And I brought you unto a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.[12]

In my Bible, the word "defiled" is footnoted as meaning "ruined." In a little less than four hundred years since the first Pilgrims arrived in New England in 1620, we have managed to ruin "a plentiful country" and its goodness. We have also ruined many countries around the world where our international corporations have helped to pollute and or destroy the natural habitat of those countries. I am not going to go into a lengthy documentation of this fact, but I am sure you are not unaware of the growing "Green" movement worldwide. We could mention nuclear arms and nuclear energy plants as part of the defiling of the land. We could mention Monsanto’s pesticides and herbicides used in farming which have entered into the water system. The topic of pollution could be a long draw out article, but that is not my object here, but just to draw similarities between ancient Israel and America today. The truth is that God's pronouncements against Israel apply to us today here in America.

Let's continue from Jeremiah:

The priest said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handled the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.[13]

Where are the men of God admonishing us to get back to God? Where are the men of God telling us we are going down to wrong path? We do not want to hear it, but as Paul said, and I have mentioned in an earlier chapter:

For the time will come when they shall not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.[14]

Remember the definition from Wikipedia: “Itching ears is a term used in the Bible to describe individuals who seeks out messages and doctrines that condones their own lifestyle, as opposed to adhering to the teachings of the apostles.”[15]

You see Paul taught the whole counsel of God, not just the part that was easy to digest. But he warned that after his departing grievous or savage wolves would enter in as false pastors not sparing or having mercy on the flock, and would speak perverse things, contrary to sound doctrine, drawing away disciples after them.[16]

But today, we want to hear a politically correct gospel that does not offend anyone. We do not want the whole counsel of God. It’s too difficult to defend and may give us persecution or cause us condemnation by others. Like Angelina Jolie, we want to talk about the power of forgiveness without talking about He who has the power to forgive us our sins, without talking about He who gives us power to forgive and to overcome. We want the gift, without the giver. We want to talk about love, without talking about the source of that love, Jesus Christ.

When I as a youth in the early 1970’s had my epiphany experience and a supernatural love flooded into my being, I knew that love was the answer. But my first question was, where does this love come from? Was this what Jesus was all about? I began my search for the source of that all empowering love, a love that changed me from a introspective, depressive, pessimistic youth into a happy, outgoing, optimistic youth. Because at that time I had rejected Catholicism and Protestantism, I searched into other “isms.” But I did not find the answer in Eric Fromm’s love psychology, nor in the “Be Here Now” of transcendental meditation, nor in Siddhartha’s “Eight-fold Path,” nor in yoga, organic foods, or Judaism. I found some truths in each one, but not the truth.

It was not until November 7th, 1971 when the two hitch-hikers I picked up coming out of Columbus, Ohio led me in the sinner’s prayer and I accepted Jesus as my savior and asked him into my heart that I finally found the source of love, Jesus Christ. That same day I prayed that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide into all truth. It was at that point where I began to read and study the Bible, especially the words of Jesus in the Gospels. I fell in love with Jesus and hungrily devoured and absorbed his word. I was as a new born babe desiring the sincere milk of the word as Peter so aptly phrased.[17] It was that prayer and constant study of God’s word and applying it to my life which has led me to the conclusions I am presenting to you today.

If you are interested in the subject of God’s warnings to ancient Israel, read and study the book of Jeremiah in the Bible and apply its condemnation to America, a nation that knew God and was blessed because of it.

America, as well as every other nation that forgets God, is and shall continue to suffer the consequences of rejecting the truths found in God’s word. We as a nation and as a world are headed for destruction because of the hardening of our hearts to the Biblical truths.

And you? Will you turn back to God with all your heart, mind and soul? Or will you continue wandering in no-man’s land on the eve of destruction. Jesus is only a prayer away. Call upon him. He will not disappoint you, but will lead you in the way, the truth and the life. He’s promised to, if you seek him with all your heart. He says, “Call upon me and I will answer you.”[18] “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” [19]

Footnotes: 

[1] 2Chronicles 36:12-16
[2] 2Chronicles 36:18
[3] 2Chronicles 36:19-20
[4] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10937-moloch-molech
[5]Ezekiel 5:5-11(Read verses 1-5 also.)
[6]James Perloff, The Shadows of Power, Western Islands Publishers, Appleton, Wisconsin, 1988, p. 221
[7]http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/31180.Daniel_Webster
[8] Ibid
[9] Psalm 9:17
[10] Jeremiah 12:17
[11]Jeremiah 1:5
[12] Jeremiah 2:7
[13] Jeremiah 2:8
[14] 2Timothy 2:3,4
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itching_ears
[16] Acts 20:27-30
[17] 1Peter 2:2
[18] Jeremiah 33:3
[19] Jeremiah 29:13

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“Justifying Yourself” (Racism part 3) by Mark McMillion

http://markmcmillion.com/justifying-yourself-racism-part-3/
Posted on July 7, 2015


There’s an incredible Bible verse from the book of Job, check this out. Job said, “If I justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me. If I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.” (Job 9:20) About 1800 years later Jesus told one man to love his neighbor. Here’s what it says was the man’s response. “But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbor?’” (Luke 10:29)

It’s just the hellish, inborn sinful nature of man to “justify himself” and struggle mightily to ever be able to admit guilt and confess sins. Adam did it. “It was the woman that You gave me!” Eve did it. “The serpent beguiled me!” King Saul did it. “The people made me do it!”

And it’s probably worse today that it’s ever been. But right now it may be that the Lord is dealing with a lot of people here in America and perhaps around the world with racism, as a result of the mass murder of the 9 African-Americans in South Carolina recently.

They know it’s not of God; but it’s just something some hold on to, for whatever reason.

If you’re already a Christian, then some of these concepts shouldn’t really be new to you. The Bible says, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper but he that confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13) There may be some right now who know in their hearts they’ve harbored racism and nurtured racism all their lives. They know it’s not of God; but it’s just something some hold on to, for whatever reason.

“He that covers his sins shall not prosper but he that confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”

And here’s what can happen. “But Mark! What about the liberals, Mark! Look at the evil Muslims, Mark!” “I’m actually a really good person! I go to church! I…” This is just the nature of sin and it’s something we all do. We all want to turn the spotlight to someone or something else. We want to say how good we actually are. “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness.” (Proverbs 20:6) But what does the Bible say? “He that covers his sins shall not prosper but he that confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”

But some may say, and I’ll admit I’ve said this, “But I just can’t forsake it. It’s a part of me; it’s who I am and what I am, even if I know it’s wrong!” I even quoted a verse to justify myself, “Can a leopard change his spots?” (Jeremiah 13:23)

I’ve been there and been through that. There was a time in my life when the Lord exposed a deeply-rooted sin and I knew it was true. But I just honesty didn’t know how to get over it. It wasn’t like drinking, drugs or violence. It was a deeper thing and not something I could just stop doing physically or by an act of my will. So the Lord gave me this verse as a promise.


“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

God said to me through that verse, “If you confess it, I’ll cleanse it.”

When the Lord opened my eyes to that verse, it was like a new beginning in my life; it gave me hope when I had none. It was like a contract between me and God. In so many words God said to me through that verse, “If you confess it, I’ll cleanse it.” And that happened. I confessed my sin and the Lord did the work of cleansing me of it. It was a process but I’ve moved on from that very dark period in my life. And I should add that Proverbs 28:13 says, “…he that confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.” You’ve got to not only confess it, you have to forsake it. You have to hate it and really turn away from it.

And perhaps millions of people today need to do this. They don’t need to justify themselves. They don’t need to tell everyone how wonderful the Confederate flag is. They don’t need to point fingers at all their old enemies on the Left or beyond our shores. Like another Bible verse that many of you know, “Judgment must being at the house of God” (I Peter 4:17). He will start with His own children before He deals with those not His. Jesus told us “to get the beam out” of our own eyes. (Matthew 7:5) And let’s face it, there are a lot of beams in the eyes of many Christians today. Racism and hatred may be near the top of the list for some.

Don’t justify yourself. “The jig is up”, as they say. Confess it, just like you would if it was adultery or some other sin that’s more censured in Christian circles today. Racial hatred has been a blight and a plague on the soul of Christians, especially those from the southern States, for centuries. And I know what I’m talking about because my family lived in Alabama and Mississippi before they migrated to Texas in the 1870’s.

How can God bless hatred of our fellow man? “Ye were sometimes darkness but now are you light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) The deliverance is there. But if you go with the prevailing tide of self righteously justifying yourself which is still so common, you’ll never get the deliverance you desperately need. “He that covers his sin shall not prosper.” (Proverbs 28:13) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Get right with Him (and with others) today. You’ll be glad you did.

We’ve all got something like this. I’ve sure had to do this many times. “The times of this ignorance God winked at but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30) Get right with Him (and with others) today. You’ll be glad you did.

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The Serpent and the Dragon

http://markmcmillion.com/the-serpent-and-the-dragon/

So many Christians nowadays are talking about the Dragon, violent physical attacks of the Devil. But it seems the Serpent, with his lies, fears and confusion, is the one who’s really doing the most for the Evil Kingdom.

The book of Nehemiah shows how that works, perhaps more than any other in the Bible. During the entire time of Nehemiah, the Enemy never actually attacked God’s people openly and physically. It was all in words: lies, fears, distractions, threats and whatever else it took to persuade them to stop the work God had called them to.

But, thankfully, Nehemiah saw through it all and recognized the hand of his spiritual enemy in those things. “I am doing a great work and cannot come down“, he told his enemies. (Nehemiah 6:3) He and the people of God back then remained persistent and focused in the calling they were given and didn’t get persuaded or scared into coming down from the wall of God’s will and calling.

However, so often in history this hasn’t happened. You can find so many people today who are terrified of some foreign attack on these shores; they are electrified with the vision that “Sheriah law” will be established in the United States. Admittedly, I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point there is some outside attack from Islamic extremists or even extreme American nationalist here, however big or small that might be.

But most of the time, the Devil doesn’t need to send the Dragon if the Serpent will do. And the Serpent seems often to be far more effective, so that the Dragon isn’t necessary.

If the Serpent can keep whispering in your ear his lies, his fears, his prejudices, lifting you up in pride, casting you down in hopelessness and fear, filling your mind with confusion and double-mindedness, then the victory is his. You may be a Christian. But you have become a completely defeated Christian, stopped in your tracks along the path of faith and rendered virtually worthless to the cause of Christ.

Perhaps more are waking up a little as the darkness rapidly deepens.

Of course he doesn’t only do this to Christians. The Deceiver is active across the land, propagating his bedarkened views which mostly are supposed to be “enlightened” and modern. Jesus said, “If the light that be in you be darkness, how great is that darkness.” (Matthew 6:23) That’s why the Devil is called “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). It even says that the Devil showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” and then the Devil told Jesus “all this power I will give you, for it is mine.”(Luke 4:6) How often Christians forget this. They think they’re living in “a Christian nation”. It’s sad. But perhaps more are waking up a little as the darkness rapidly deepens.

“Mark, this sounds pretty hopeless. You’re really being Douglas Downer here.”

Sometimes you have to be shocked enough to see the spiritual reality around you.

My experience is that sometimes you have to be shocked enough to see the spiritual reality around you.And while I see some progress here in American Christianity, I see a lot of people who are still focused on their fears of violent, outside attacks on the USA, the work of the Dragon. But all the while the effects of the Serpent on them and the rest of the country progressively weaken millions from within.

The decline and fall of great empires mostly happens from within, not without.

Most students of history have seen that the decline and fall of great empires mostly happens from within, not without. And the same can be said of great people or people who had great possibilities. “It was not an enemy that had done this. But it was you, my familiar friend. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.” (Psalm 55:21)

So it is with the workings of the Serpent, “the father of lies” (John 8:44). What’s the solution? Pray sincerely and desperately. Baptize yourself with God’s Word. Obey God’s Word first and foremost. Paul said to “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). But the only offensive weapon he listed was “the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

Jesus didn’t quote Socrates, He didn’t pull out His pistol. He just quoted the Word of God to Satan.

When Satan mightily came against Jesus in a prolonged temptation, Jesus didn’t quote Socrates, He didn’t pull out His pistol. He just quoted the Word of God to Satan.And after doing that a few times, “the devil departed from Him and angels came and ministered to Him.” (Matt. 4:11) Even Jesus Christ Himself knew the power of the written Word of God in battling and defeating the Devil.

Millions of Christians struggle with the Serpent while they’re fixated on some distant Dragon.

How many know how to do that today? How many even know that the Serpent has beguiled them and rendered them useless and a reproach to Christ? ISIS didn’t do that. The government didn’t do that. Our foreign enemies didn’t do that. But millions of Christians struggle with the Serpent while they’re fixated on some distant Dragon.May God, and the dear Lord Jesus, have mercy on us all.

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