Tag: Church

Reconciliation excerpt

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In this day and age most of society implicitly and/or explicitly rejects the premise which has been clearly set forth in the Holy Bible that “all have sinned.”  Rather most folk seem to prefer to meander towards the tendency to want to believe that some people are naturally good and others have, probably through no fault of their own, unfortunately been influenced to be bad.  We use “science” today to say the fault probably lies in our genes.  However the human race is suffering as a result of the sin of Adam, or it is suffering for no reason at all.

In the 2,000 years of church history following the time of Jesus’ physical presence in this world many theologians and scholars have set forth their thoughts in an attempt to define sin.  Some have defined it quite broadly making it out that practically everything that a human being does which is not specifically an act of devotion toward God is sin.  The problem with that definition is that it degrades the problem of sin which is, God is holy and He will not permit those who are hostile to Him and offensive to His absolute purity to dwell in His presence.

I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24)

God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment (2nd Peter 2:4)

An overly broad definition of sin can also cause those who are trying to trust and obey Christ Jesus to feel very insecure in their faith walk.  Another definition, which was offered by the renowned theologian John Wesley: “Sin is a willful transgression of a known law of God.” This is a far more scripturally sound explanation of what sin is even if, perhaps, a bit too narrow a description.  Temptation is not sin, it can lead to sin, but it is not in and of itself sin.

Sin came into the world through the disobedience of our first parents, and spiritual death by sin.  The enormity of such an offense is nearly impossible for us to truly comprehend.  Consider the fact that we are told that Adam was able to converse with his creator on a regular basis and then he chose to disobey a plainly articulated command with concise consequences.  Man lost the favor and friendship of God and incurred His holy displeasure and righteous indignation.  Fallen man became separated from God.  It is easy to write or read those words, but who is competent to fathom their fearful import!

The concept of Adam as the head of the human race and that his actions determined the natural direction for all his posterity is clearly taught in the Holy Bible.  Sin, the willful disobedience, snapped the golden cord which had united man to his maker.  Even as God confronted Adam regarding his disobedience He began articulating the methodology of the remedy He had predetermined that He would use before He had ever begun His creative work.  If we follow Adam’s path we will experience eternal separation from God; if we follow Jesus’ path we may experience eternal companionship with God on a superior basis to even that which Adam enjoyed before the fall.

Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:

Therefore as by one offense sentence came on all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came to all men to justification of life.

  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:12, 18-19)

Such repetition and emphasis intimates the basic importance of the truth here revealed and also hints at our slowness or rather reluctance to receive the same.  Interestingly enough, the meaning of these declarations too plain for any unprejudiced mind to misunderstand.  “In Adam all die.” (1st Cor 15:22)  Every member of the human race enters into this world a guilty sinner, alienated from The Supreme Being before he ever commits a single transgression on his own.

Yes, dear reader, it is a bleak picture being painted thus far and we still have more groundwork to be laid out before we can truly get to the bright colors of hope and victory which are coming our way if we allow the confusing clutter to be cleared from our pathway by this bleak portion.  From whence came this clutter?  The enemy of our soul who has been seeking to work us woe from way back at the beginning of human history.

Jesus v Muhammad

An Excerpt from my book “Reconciliation”

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“sIn”

  “If a man possesses a repentant spirit his sins will disappear, but if he has an unrepentant spirit his sins will continue and condemn him for their sake forever.” – Buddha

“The first sin in the Universe was Lucifer’s self-conceit.” – Thomas Carlyle

“Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it is hurtful” – Benjamin Franklin

Sin exists.  Sin separates man from God.  What is sin anyway?  Mr. Franklin’s little statement quoted above can take us a long way toward understanding the Ten Commandments: The “Thou Shalt” and “Thou Shalt Nots” thingy, and the purpose behind them; obey them and have a better life, ignore them and things just won’t go as well.

Sin is not a word we hear much outside of religious circles.  The main reason for that is due to the fact that our world, meaning primarily western culture, has replaced the word with many others in an effort to describe behavior which it does not consider to be currently socially acceptable.  Unfortunately, changing the name does not change the reality of the concept; a skunk by any other name is just as smelly.  Some behaviors are not right, regardless of society’s fungible norms or the words used to describe them.

In this day and age most of society implicitly and/or explicitly rejects the premise which has been clearly set forth in the Holy Bible that “all have sinned.”  Rather most folk seem to prefer to meander towards the tendency to want to believe that some people are naturally good and others have, probably through no fault of their own, unfortunately been influenced to be bad.  We use “science” today to say the fault probably lies in our genes.  However the human race is suffering as a result of the sin of Adam, or it is suffering for no reason at all.

In the 2,000 years of church history following the time of Jesus’ physical presence in this world many theologians and scholars have set forth their thoughts in an attempt to define sin.  Some have defined it quite broadly making it out that practically everything that a human being does which is not specifically an act of devotion toward God is sin.  The problem with that definition is that it degrades the problem of sin which is, God is holy and He will not permit those who are hostile to Him and offensive to His absolute purity to dwell in His presence.

I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24)

– Pastor Ward Clinton

Stand Strong

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young uncle sam

A word of encouragement to our pastors, who, now more than ever, are on the front lines of the culture war given the assault on marriage and religious liberty.

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, a lesser-known hero of the War for Independence, was a pastor and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1775, he preached a sermon on Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Pastor Muhlenberg closed his sermon with these words:

“In the language of Holy Writ, there is a time for all things. There is a time to preach and a time to fight. And now is the time to fight.”
He then removed his clerical robes and revealed to the congregation that he was wearing the uniform of an officer in the Continental Army.

Pastor Muhlenberg’s example of a man of God fighting for our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should give increased fervor and devotion most especially to those who lead us in the fight for faith, family and freedom.

Like few times in our nation’s history, this is a time to fight for the values we cherish!   — Gary Bauer

If anyone wonders whether the founding fathers thought the federal government should define marriage and not the states, and whether it should interfere with our religious beliefs, here is what Thomas Jefferson thought:

Thomas Jefferson letter to Samuel Miller

Date: January 23, 1808

I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from inter-meddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the States the powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly, no power to prescribe any religious exercise or to assume authority in any religious discipline has been delegated to the General Government. It must then rest with the States.

It is times like this that we need to strengthen ourselves by reading the book most hated by liberals which was penned by their greatest enemy whom they can never defeat.

1 Peter 1: 19-21  And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Morals

We do have to change

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It’s by design. As I, and others, have repeatedly warned, the establishment of so-called “gay marriage” as a newfangled federal “right,” and the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment simply cannot coexist in harmony. Things diametrically at odds cannot possibly occupy, with any coherence, the same time and space.

The secular left is tripping over itself right now to prove my point. In the wake of last month’s Obergefell v. Hodges opinion – an opinion that somehow divined a top secret “constitutional right” for Patrick Henry to “marry” Henry Patrick – liberals are now demanding, as both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito predicted, that Christian university’s immediately abandon recognition of, and obedience to, God’s unequivocal natural sexual order, and adopt, instead, the new pagan orthodoxy. – by Matt Barber, 20 July 2015, eaglerising.com/21183

As the Obama administration cracks down on Christian institutions and principles while citing the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as their supposed justification, the Obama administration conspicuously coddles the religion of Islam in order to display a sort of tolerance to Muslims strictly denied to Christians.  Will Christian universities, businesses, churches fold under pressure man or will they stand for God?  The blessings from God are for those that endure, not those that wilt like the spineless Lindsey Graham or, equally weak, John Boehner.

Hillary says we have to change our deeply held religious beliefs.  We know what she means by that and we should be very concerned by the fact that she said that.  On the other hand she is correct in that we need to become more aligned with Yahweh, the one true God.  Bill’s wife won’t like that, but that is her problem, not mine.  There are a whole lot of people who won’t like that fact but that is their problem, not mine.  As for me, I’m going to align myself closer and closer to God.

Psalm 127:1

We in this country (USA), in this generation are, by destiny rather than by choice, the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.  We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our powers and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve for our time and, as long as God permits, peace on earth, goodwill towards all others of goodwill.

    Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion…are undermining the solid foundation of morals-based security for the duration of free governments. — Charles Carrol

The Christian religion – its general principles – must ever be regarded among us as the foundation of civil society. — Daniel Webster

 Except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.

– Pastor Ward

Wake up, everyone

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Islamophobe is a word crafted by Moslem leaders and clerics to be used against non-Moslems in order to silence them. It has also been added to the arsenal of the PC police to silence dissent that could lead to the awakening of the American people who are going about their personal business not really aware of the looming disaster that is stealthily approaching.

One man awake awakens another,
The second awakens his next door neighbor,
And three awake can rouse the town,
and turn the whole place upside down.
And many awake can raise such a fuss,
That it finally awakens the rest of us.
One man up with dawn in his eyes – multiplies.

What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’  Mark 13:37

-Pastor Ward Clinton

PC is Thought Control

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Say that “Bestiality Is Wrong” or “Polygamy Is Wrong” and it’s not considered hate speech, at least not currently.  However if you have the opinion that “Gay Marriage Is Wrong,” watch out!  It is going to feel like the whole world is jumping up and down screaming “racist” “bigot” and “hater” at you as they call for someone to grab a rope so they can deal with you. [hashtag, love wins], of course.

This is becoming the politically-correct norm, but no matter what one argues, this is the suppressing of free speech by hate-filled fascists.  Yes, they are very fascistic in their so-called “tolerance” which is tolerant of only those who think exactly like they do, hence they are fascists pretending to be open-minded.

No one targeted pro-gay bakeries, but gay activists target Christian bakeries for extermination. “Support Gay Marriage” is what one Christian bakery was sued for because they dared to refuse to put that slogan on a cake for an event to support the gay agenda. Yes, Christian bakeries that refuse to make pro-homosexual marriage cakes because of their deeply held religious beliefs are getting sued for being “intolerant.”  They get fined, they get death threats, and they lose their businesses.

One person decided to ask thirteen different gay bakeries to bake him a Pro-traditional-Marriage cake and he was denied service by all of them.  This experiment proves beyond doubt that the militant gay agenda is not just about their freedom to practice a sexual orientation, but the suppression of free speech.

On the other hand it is even worse than that:

The folks at Shoebat.com decided to call some 13 prominent pro-gay bakers in a row. Each one of them denied them the right to have “Gay Marriage Is Wrong” on a cake and even used deviant insults and obscenities against them.

Several Christian bakeries were sued in the United States with several who lost their businesses and we said enough is enough.

One baker even said all sorts of profanities against Christians and ended the conversation by saying that she will make me a cookie with a large phallus on it.

It was all recorded. It will stun the American people as to how militant and intolerant the homosexual bakers were. Even after we completed our experiment we got a ton of hate messages saying that we were “hateful” for simply giving them a taste of their own medicine. They argued that the slogan “Gay Marriage Is Wrong” is not the same thing as “Support Gay Marriage” as [though] an opposite view of a view is hateful. This would mean that the majority of Americans who oppose gay marriage are “bigoted” and  “hate filled”. “Support Polygamy” or “Polygamy is Wrong” are views, yet the first which the Muslim supports and the second most Americans would never support, but both are opinions and are considered free speech.

The above quotations are from the shoebat.com website.  There are many examples of the hate-filled intolerance from the militant homosexual community which could be presented in this particular blog and the ultra-bigots seem to be totally blind to their hypocrisy.  George Takai, whom I used to follow on social media, was a little overboard at times but he seems to have gone full-bore psychotic post SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage.  “Hey, George, your side won; why are you so angry?” got me blocked.  No problem, it just shows how ridiculous that “#love wins” thing is.
Someone else had something to say about the insanity from the “tolerant” left:
 A gay baker and chef has come out in support of Christian bakers who have come under fire for refusing to make same-sex wedding cakes, labeling those individuals and activists who are trying to force them to do so as ”Nazis” who are using “bullying” tactics.

Jesse Bartholomew uploaded a two-minute video to his Facebook page earlier this month, expressing his frustration with some of his fellow gays and lesbians who have gone after bakers who decline to make cakes for gay ceremonies.

 The clip came just days after it was announced that Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa, would be fined $135,000 for refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.

“Hi guys, my name is Jesse and I bake wedding cakes for a living, and I cannot tell you how disgusted I am with my fellow gay and lesbian community — that they would stoop so low as to force someone to bake a cake for them who simply doesn’t agree with them,” Bartholomew said. “And before you can go and blame me and say that they have to — no, they don’t have to. They don’t have to bake a cake for you.”

Bartholomew, who did not explicitly name the Kleins, went on to explain that wedding cakes cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and questioned why gays and lesbians would want to pay that much money to make someone bake a cake against their will.

“Are you stupid? That is your personal piece of your wedding. Your guests eat that,” he said. “That cake is involved in your photos. That cake is taken in your mouth, and you eat it in your stomach.”

Bartholomew went on to accuse some of bullying — and worse.

“There’s no other bakers out there?” he rhetorically asked. “It’s plain and simple: you are bullying someone, you are forcing someone, you are being a Nazi and forcing someone to bake a damn wedding cake for you when there are hundreds of other gays and lesbians that would gladly have your business. Shame on you.”

— theblaze.com, “Are you stupid?”: Gay baker lashes out at his fellow gays and lesbians for “bullying” Christian bakers who declined to make same-sex wedding cake, Billy Hallowell, 20 July 2015

Be careful, Jessie, the PC fascists are going to come after you and try to make you get your mind right, but I do pray that God will protect you from them

The left can never tolerate resistance to it’s tyranny, that is why they resort to death camps, to gulags, and to ridicule and bullying.  If they tolerated dissent their agenda would receive proper scrutiny and therefore would never be implemented.

though control
 No one who came to Jesus in humility seeking His mercy was ever turned away, while those who came to him in their arrogant self-righteousness were immediately denounced.
 The self-righteous left may enjoy some successes in bullying Christians and intimidating them into silence in this day but they will never succeed against Jesus Himself.  In that day, when they have to stand in His presence, He will point to the Holy Bible and inform them that His Word has condemned them and they will be reminded of every opportunity which they had to repent and accept Him as their Savior and which they rejected.  Then they will be told “You’ve made your choices, depart from Me and make your abode with the demons.”
  Today is the day to make sure you are in full obedience to Jesus, The Christ.  Today is the day to let Him begin to equip you for Heaven.  Tomorrow may be too late.

No one can beat Israel

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israel

Stand in opposition to Israel and you are needlessly putting your very own soul in jeopardy.  Many centuries ago God declared He would put the Jews back into the land; not because they deserve it but because of who He is.

The wise move is to stand with Israel because the one true God has already chosen sides.  Don’t like it, don’t whine to me about it; take it up with God.

It is in times like this that we need to strengthen ourselves by reading and all the more carefully studying the book most hated by liberals which was penned by their greatest enemy, whom they can never defeat.

1 Peter 1: 19-21  And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Culture War

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young uncle sam

A word of encouragement to our pastors, who, now more than ever, are on the front lines of the culture war given the assault on marriage and religious liberty.

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, a lesser-known hero of the War for Independence, was a pastor and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1775, he preached a sermon on Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Pastor Muhlenberg closed his sermon with these words:

“In the language of Holy Writ, there is a time for all things. There is a time to preach and a time to fight. And now is the time to fight.”
He then removed his clerical robes and revealed to the congregation that he was wearing the uniform of an officer in the Continental Army.

Pastor Muhlenberg’s example of a man of God fighting for our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should give increased fervor and devotion most especially to those who lead us in the fight for faith, family and freedom.

Like few times in our nation’s history, this is a time to fight for the values we cherish!   — Gary Bauer

If anyone wonders whether the founding fathers thought the federal government should define marriage and not the states, and whether it should interfere with our religious beliefs, here is what Thomas Jefferson thought:

Thomas Jefferson letter to Samuel Miller

Date: January 23, 1808

I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from inter-meddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the States the powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly, no power to prescribe any religious exercise or to assume authority in any religious discipline has been delegated to the General Government. It must then rest with the States.

It is times like this that we need to strengthen ourselves by reading the book most hated by liberals which was penned by their greatest enemy whom they can never defeat.

1 Peter 1: 19-21  And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

 

SCOTUS – Christian religion is the established religion

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What This Supreme Court Justice Ruled About Christianity in 1799 Isn’t Taught in Public Schools Today
http://conservativetribune.com/supreme-court…/…

Samuel Chase was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and served on the U.S. Supreme Court. While not as famous as some of his contemporaries, he’s still important for a number of reasons.

One of them, a ruling in a 1799 Supreme Court case, will drive liberals nuts. Needless to say, you’re not going to hear about this ruling in public schools.

Back when Supreme Court justices would also serve on lower courts, Chase would write the opinion for the Massachusetts Supreme Court case of M’Creery’s Lessee v. Allender.

The case involved whether an Irish immigrant by the name of Thomas M’Creery had become a naturalized U.S. citizen and whether he was eligible to leave his estate to a relative in Ireland.

“Thomas M’Creery, in order to become … naturalized according to the Act of Assembly … on the 30th of September, 1795, took the oath … before the Honorable Samuel Chase, Esquire, then being the Chief Judge of the State of Maryland … and did then and there receive from the said Chief Judge, a certificate thereof. … ‘Maryland; I, Samuel Chase, Chief Judge of the State of Maryland, do hereby certify all whom it may concern, that … personally appeared before me Thomas M’Creery, and did repeat and subscribe a declaration of his belief in the Christian Religion, and take the oath required by the Act of Assembly of this State, entitled, An Act for Naturalization,’” Chase’s opinion read.

Not only that, in another 1799 case — Runkel v. Winemiller — Chase opined that Christianity was America’s established religion.

“Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people. By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing, and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty,” he wrote (H/T WND).

Chase’s words aren’t oft repeated by liberals, and for good reason. It completely destroys their myth of church and state separation.

However, that doesn’t mean we can’t remind them of Samuel Chase’s bold statement about Christianity’s place in American life.