Chrisalm

There is a new ecumenical blending of religion taking place under the lie that "we all worship the same God, and that there are many paths to that God". It is called Chrislam.
It probable origin is Muslim born Shamsuddin Saka of Nigeria ” it was after returning from a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca that he was inspired – he says instructed by God – to launch his new ministry: “That was about 19 years ago. I was praying and I [laid] down and the Lord told me, make peace between Christian and Muslim.”

Now let me stop here to say that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". John 14:6 That should settle the matter that there is only one path, not many. There is no possible way that Islam is compatible with Christianity. This is nothing more than the continuing emergence of The Great Harlot of Revelation:
REV 17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 This title was written on her forehead:

MYSTERY
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

REV 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
Many years ago I was reading a book on cults. I notice that they all had certain similarities. One of which I called the "preparation for the AntiChrist". They were all looking for, or had claimed to have found, a future leader/messiah/savior. They were preparing their converts to accept and worship the coming AntiChrist of the Bible.
How does that relate to Islam/Chrislam? Islam too is waiting a future leader/messiah/savior. Shiite Islam's spiritual leaders are called Imams. They are supposed to be able to trace their bloodlines back to the Prophet Muhammad's cousin Ali. There is a prophecy of a comming "twelfth Imam - Muhammad al-Mahdi". Here is a list of the things the he is supposed to do and be. the relation to the Bible's version of the AntiChrist is obvious:

1.Islam's primary awaited savior
2.Descendant of Muhammad
3.Caliph and Imam of Muslims worldwide (at present there are many)
4.Unparalleled political, military, and religious world leader
5.Revealed after a period of great turmoil and suffering on earth
6.Establishes justice throughout the world
7.Leads a revolution to establish a new world order
8.Will go to war against all nations who oppose him.
9.Makes a seven year peace treaty with a Jew of priestly lineage
10.Conquers Israel for Islam and leads final battle against the Jews
11.Rules for seven years in Jerusalem
12.Causes Islam to be the only religion on earth
13.Discovers biblical manuscripts that convince Jews to convert
14.Brings Ark of the Covenant from the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem
15.Has power from Allah over wind, rain, crops
16.Will possess and distribute great wealth
17.Face will shine like a star and will be loved by all
Randall Price. "The Second Coming of Islam." World of the Bible News and Views 8, no.1 (Summer 2006);3.

Here is an excellent site that describes what Chrislam is and where it probably originated. It is worth the read.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/10/what-is-chrislam-and-does-anybody-really-preach-it.php

Follow-up

Well, it seems that my hunch was correct. The Obama administration has been working behind the scenes to remove the Israel designation from Jerusalem. It is part of a 1967 borders package that will be given to the Palestinians for statehood to be proclaimed by the United Nations. Palestinians are pushing for a U.N. declaration recognizing them as a nation. This is not new they have brought it up before and it was vetoed by Great Briton. Now our U.S. Government is throwing its weight on their side.

In Joel3:1 it is written, "In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

JOEL 3:2 I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will enter into judgment against them
concerning my inheritance, my people Israel,
for they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land.

There is judgement for those who would divide and partition the land that God gave to the Jews. This latest round of man trying to make peace on earth without God has brought a record number of tornadoes, floods, 1000 homes burned in Texas (and more out west), an earthquake that cracked the very symbols of our government, prolonged unemployment, stagnant war, and record budget deficits. Our wealth is being poured out into the coffers of our enemies at a record pace.
How long will it be before we are repeating the words of the Egyptians to Pharaoh. "do you not know that the whole land has been destroyed?".

Here is where I think this is all going to happen. I see statehood for Palestinians being declared at the U.N. Land outside of the 1967 Israeli borders is given to them for a homeland. Israel politely says, "go fish". The U.N. then responds with a series of sanctions and finally authorized force. That force is gathered and led by Gog, Magog, Meshech and Tubal, as it is written...

EZE 38:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops--the many nations with you.

EZE 38:7 " `Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

EZE 38:10 " `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people--all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" '

EZE 38:14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

EZE 38:17 " `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'

EZE 39:1 "Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.

EZE 39:7 " `I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel. 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of.

EZE 39:9 " `Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up--the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD.

EZE 39:11 " `On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.

EZE 39:12 " `For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I am glorified will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD.

EZE 39:14 " `Men will be regularly employed to cleanse the land. Some will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those that remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search. 15 As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 (Also a town called Hamonah will be there.) And so they will cleanse the land.'

EZE 39:17 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: `Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls--all of them fattened animals from Bashan. 19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,' declares the Sovereign LORD.

EZE 39:21 "I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. 22 From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.

EZE 39:25 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD."


And I think that somewhere within that scenario will be the Rapture, leaving the Anti-Christ a stage to enter. I think its all that close!

...they that curse you.

Let's see now, a stock market plunge this month, an earthquake in Virginia, and a hurricane coming up the coast, hum!
I haven't seen the new this morning yet, but I'll bet that the Obama administration is about to make a demand or pronouncement against Israel.
Bill Koenig, in his book Eye To Eye, has documented the relationship between land for peace deals and natural disasters and other catastrophes. From 1991 to 2005 there were 57 of them.
I did not fail to notice the Obama administration telling Israel it is time to pull back to the 1967 borders and the greatest tornado outbreak in U.S. history this past April.
Soooo, let's just see what the President is cooking up against the land God made a covenant with Abraham to give to his descendants, Israel.

June 2011 Quote of Note

“Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness, whether pursued or attained. In other words, if it ever were to be possible to eliminate affliction from our earthly existence...the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal or trivial to be endurable. This of course is what the cross signifies, and it is the cross more than anything else, that has called me inexorably to Christ.”


Malcolm Muggeridge

Of The Gospel, I am Not Ashamed!

The Sandwich, Ma. First Church of Christ is the Church pictured in background of the Elvis "How Great Thou Art" album.

RO 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

RO 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.


The 372 year old First Church of Christ in Sandwich, Massachusetts, has a new minister. An 11 member search committee interviewed 74 candidates over the course of 1 year to replace outgoing minister Rev.Brian Gertz. He had been leading the church for 28 years. By a vote of 170-26 they elected Rev. Anne Cubbage to replace him. She is an openly unrepentant homosexual, and married to another woman!
This Church was founded in 1639 folks. I have to guess that the first chapter of Romans will no longer be in the pew Bibles. So I'll put it here:

RO 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

RO 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.

RO 1:26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

RO 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

A Good Servant? Part 3

If you haven't read "Good Bye Best Friend" you will not completely understand, and enjoy this post.

So what else can be learned from having had such a good dog?
I wonder if the Lord would be saying to me what a good boy?

Do I bring a smile to the face of God when he thinks or talks about me the way Grizz did? You know I am not one of those happy all the time, light up a room, make everyone feel good, bubbly type of people. When I used to talk about Grizz people would notice and say, "you're smiling"! When God bragged about Job to Satan, ( JOB 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.") I wonder if there was a smile on God's face?

Does my excitement at the presence of God mirror the enthusiasm of Grizz when I would come home? Grizz acted like it was the greatest thing in his world. The presence of God is the greatest thing in my world. Do I take that for granted?

When I sense that God has moved off, do I chase after him? When we walked the paths in the woods Grizz would sometimes wander off the path and explore. I would keep walking or jogging. I would tap on trees, along the path, with his stick, to announce my position. When he noticed I was not near by he would come running until he was right beside me again. He never wanted to be in one room if we were in another. He had to be with us. Do I always walk with God or do I wander off the path?
The Israelites camped with the Lord in the desert. They watched and waited for the cloud, or pillar of fire to lift, signaling that God was moving on. They packed up and followed. Their enemies were watching and waiting for any opportunity to to destroy them. God was their protection and provider. To not stay close meant death. Today we have whole churches and even denominations that have not kept up with the move of God or even stayed camped where they knew him. They have wandered off on their own path, made pacts with the enemy, gotten lost in the dark, can no longer hear the masters voice, and are being led to destruction.

Grizz would bark and shout out with excitement at the food that was being prepared for him. He gobbled up any morsel that was tossed his way from the counter and demand more. He knew that there was good stuff in the refrigerator. When ever it opened he was there.
Do I devour God's word, my spiritual food, with such appreciation or is is a chore and difficult to fit into my time each day. Do I look at the Bible, able to open it on my own, and take from it the "good stuff" I know is in there, with the same eagerness?

When we woke up from our sleep and came downstairs Grizz was excited and delighted. He just needed to love and be loved. His whole body shook and pranced and he would grab a sleeve, pant leg, or drawstring, and pull us to a seat for excited rubbing and loving. It always started my day with a smile and a warm heart. I always enjoyed coming home and finding him waiting, bursting with joy at my arrival. This scripture speaks volumes to loyalty and love that I learned from having had such a great dog:
PS 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

PS 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

PS 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

PS 37:6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

PS 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

Much of what Grizz was, was because of how we treated and trained him. He reflected the love and joy that we gave to him. Isn't that how it is with God and his Holy Spirit in us, reflecting back the love that he is? Makes you wonder how we ever go astray, doesn't it?

The haters of God's people often call them "dogs". Soon the words "Christian Dogs" will be heard echoing around the world. I am not going to consider that an insult. A dog at the Master's feet is much better than the enemy being crushed under his feet. I'd rather be a happy and content dog, curled up on the rug, at my beloved masters feet!

Good Bye Best Friend

There is a gigantic emptiness in our household today. A life, a happiness, an enthusiasm, a joy: a love is gone. The home is barely more than a big house, cold and lonely as it was before he came into our life. It hurts awfully so!
It is very difficult to let go of what we love. One writer devoted an entire book to say that, "learning to let go was what learning love was all about". We go through stages of growth in love suffering and grieving, small then larger, losses of what we love, learning to love with freedom, then ultimately letting go of what we love the most, our own life, trusting our soul into the hands of Love. We love self the most and must learn to become selfless. There is no selfishness in love.
That thought put me over the desire, to put off my own pain, and allow my best friend and unconditional love out of his pain. I knew the exact thoughts that would tear at my heart. There would be no more greetings at the door when I came home. He would hear my truck, and the garage door opening, come running for the mud room, hit the rug, and slide "smack" into the door, then stand there his whole body shaking with joy, his tail thwacking out a beat against the drum of the clothes dryer. I would have to open the door so carefully pushing back his enthusiasm. I was home and we both loved it.
There would be no more of his gentle coaxing to go out for a walk. First it was just a look, a stare with longing sparkling tigers'eye brown eyes, then came a pooof of breath just filling and spilling out of his jowls. Next a "boof" as small air touch his vocal cords, then louder, and finally a bark. If that wasn't enough his big paw came up and pulled gently at my stomach. The whole thing was so like one of those Zen alarm clocks ever gently increasing the demand to "Get Up".
I would miss how happy he got when he noticed one of his toys, a pine cone, or a stick on the ground. With delight he would bounce up into the air like a pony feeling his oats. Then a dance, up and down, in and out, and round a circle would transpire, before he softly took the object into his mouth, showed off what he had and marched proudly off, kicking his legs like a Tennessee Pacer. If it was a pine cone, which we usually took away from him because of his tender stomach, He would look at us with a "side eye" glance, shake his head with delight, and then trot off, "chase me"! What fun?!
No more would the affirmative trumpet of his "your fixing my food" bark be heard from the kitchen, as momma's knife hit the cutting board. Every chop of cucumber, broccoli, melon, apple, chicken or beef, was met with a resounding "YES" bark. A steamed baby carrot was gobbled up as though it was Fillet Mignon.
Then there was the way he met you after you woke up to get ready for work. Not climbing the stairs to the second floor bedrooms, he waited down below. He heard the alarm go off the first time you hit the snooze. Then the creaking of the bed, the feet touching the floor,and the water running down the pipes. His excitement built until it waved through his body from head to tail. As you came down the stairs he could not stand it any longer and the front paws came up the first, second, and third step to greet you faster. He would grab your sleeve or pant leg and pull you to your favourite sitting spot where an orgy of love, kisses, rubs and hugs took place, each time as if there had been days apart.
My personal favourite moments were the jogs on the paths through the woods. I holding a stick, in my hand, at my side, he holding the other end in his mouth. Joined at the stick were we, thick as brothers.
Gone also would be the pain, that he cried through the Memorial Day Weekend. His insides no longer able to sustain his precious life. I had to let him sleep and pray that as "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"(1CO 2:9) will include this bundle of unconditionally loving dog.
"Night, night, Sweet Boy"! "Good night Grizz", the words were those we used to speak when we turned out the light to go to bed. They were on my tongue, but they would not come out, choked by the immediate growing grief.
As his pain came to an end, mine began, convulsing from my torso, up to grip my heart, strangle my throat, and explode out my face, in only seconds. Oh, I miss you soooo much!!

Part 2: Why God? Why?!

Malcolm Muggeridge writes:
“Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness, whether pursued or attained. In other words, if it ever were to be possible to eliminate affliction from our earthly existence...the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal or trivial to be endurable. This of course is what the cross signifies, and it is the cross more than anything else, that has called me inexorably to Christ.”


So I was in the Vet’s office, sitting there, struggling to say its time for my sweet boy to go night night. I cannot think of anything in my life that was more difficult to do than this day. The Vet agreed that I made the right decision. I signed a paper, ordered a paw print in fired clay, turned away from my best friend, and went out to my truck to get the blanket that would serve as his shroud. It was the very one that we brought him home in from the breeder’s. I handed it to the ladies at the front desk and pulled my truck around back, to await his body. I just could not bare to watch him close his eyes and not come back.
We have 6 acres of land mostly wooded where Grizz and I cut walking/jogging paths, and spent most off our out door time together. There was on spot near the top of a hill that he always went to. That spot is where I would bury him.
Waiting for him, in back of the clinic, seemed like forever and I couldn't’t control my grief. The loss, the guilt of abandonment, the questions: Did I do the right thing? Was it necessary? Would he have recovered and lived? And Why God?!!! Finally the door opened. They wheeled him out on a cart. I gently scooped up his lifeless body, as though it might break, laid it in the back of the truck and secured it.

Through the convulsing pain and tears I dug a 4ft by 4ft by 5ft deep hole. With every push and toss of the shovel came thoughts, questions, frustration and a few answers. So much of my prayers over the last year had been for that puppy/dog. It was Sunday night (Memorial Day Weekend) while on my way to work that my prayer time was different. The Holy Spirit had been very strong in his presence that night. I know that I had made a real connection and that God had heard me. I had asked for the dog to get better, and left room for God's will to be done, but I had also asked for clear direction about what to do on Tue. when the Veterinarian would be in his office. I wanted peace of mind. I got peace from that time with God, but when the Dog was better, and only slightly better, the decision was not easily made.
Q: "Why God? Why God? Of all the litters, and of all the pups whelped in this one, why did we get this one. You knew which dog we would get, how sick he would be, how much we would spend trying to give him a normal life, and how it would all end?"
It had been 1 year and 7 months since we put our deposit down with the breeder. We waited 3 months to get him in Feb. of 2010. A month later it was confirmed he had a liver shunt. ( the blood is allowed to bypass the liver) Eventually 2 trips to Manhattan and an operation would mostly correct that problem, but damage had already been done to his kidneys, as they had been doing all of the work. We spent enough to buy a house in Detroit or Youngstown giving him a chance.
A. "Mark, do you see how much love you have in your heart for the Dog? Do you see the pain your wife has because of the love in her heart for the Dog? Give that love to each other"!
This sliding relationship with my wife had been about 1/3 of my prayers over the last 18 or 19 years. The answer was one that I could give to her, but I knew there was more to this whole experience than that. In her pain she rejected the thought as acceptable. I went to bed that night, unsatisfied and still asking, “why?“
That night at work things got worse as I read in the Wall Street Journal the story of the E-Coli vegetable problem in Europe. In describing the symptoms and results of the disease I realized that E- Coli was what had caused my problems the week before. Symptoms are cramping diarrhea, dehydration, bleeding, and kidney failure. The cruelty of the article was that it can be passed from humans to animals and from animals to humans. Did I cause his illness? Did he have to die or was it treatable. "OH GOD, PLEASE LET ME OUT OF GUILT JAIL"!
A: "Mark, do you remember that the Vet said, 'you did the right thing'? "Remember he talked you out of it in the past." Remember our time together Sunday night"? "I heard you". "Remember Abraham, how I called back his hand, before he could slay Isaac"(Genesis 22:12)? "Would I not do the same for you"? "Would I intentionally hurt you?"
"No Lord you word says, "for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you…“ (Jeremiah 29:11 ).
"Remember how Grizz hit 100+ lbs, and then lost weight on the next 3 consecutive visits over 6 weeks, and his kidney problems?"
"Yes, Lord and I remember how you did not hold back your hand from your own Son", and how you had previously said," this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.(Matthew 3:17)"
Then the realization hit me hard; this is how much God loved humanity, this is how much God loved me. This is a small taste of the pain God felt when he made Jesus to die for us.
Barely had I swallowed that revelation when I thought of Jesus crying out, "my God, my God why have you forsaken me"(Matthew 27:46) Just as I could not bear to see my beloved dog slip into sleep and breath his last. (I had turned my back on him going to the truck and picking him up afterward.) So it was that I got just a taste of the pain the Father felt in turning his back on his Son in his greatest moment of need. For that moment in time the Father had to turn his back on his Son because of the sin placed on him. For that moment in time the Holy Trinity was fractured as Christ felt the aloneness of the broken relationship. That pain felt when turning his back is how much sin hurts the heart of God.
My thoughts raced to a clip of Ravi Zacharias saying, “you and I, sir, will never really get serious about sin, until we realized just how much it hurts the heart of God!”

“Mark!”
“Yes, Lord”
Q: “Was your boy’s death for no reason, a waste?”
A: “No, Lord. It was his time, and he gave us sooo much!” “Thank you for his life with us”
Q: “Mark, was my Son’s death for no reason, a waste?”
A: “ No Lord, That death ransomed all of creation, and reconciled believers to you”!
Q: “What if no-one believes?” “What if the Gospel is made of ’no effect’”?
A: “That would be the most terrible tragic waste ever, Lord”
Q: And that would happen how”?
A: “How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? and how can they believe, in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!“ (Romans 10: 14-15). And “if the salt has lost it flavor…” (Matthew 5:13), if the testimony is no good, then it is no effect and Christ’s death was for nothing.”
“Mark! Go and tell”!


“Blessed are they that mourn. For they will be comforted.(Matthew 5:4)” Could it be that only they that love, mourn? Could it be that because they have love, they are rewarded with comfort?




(4) Malcolm Muggeridge, quoted in Donald McCullough, Waking from the American Dream (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 1988), 145

You Cannot Set A Date !!!!

Jesus made it clear that no man knows the day or the hour of his return, not even him, only the Father in Heaven. Jesus says his coming will be, "like a thief in the night". It think in my 45+ years in the Church I have heard maybe 100 such predictions, from some crackpot, come and go. I don't really like to hear that someone else has made the same mistake. Such foolishness degrades the integrity of Christianity and the message of truth, that is the Gospel.
MT 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

MT 24:42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

There have been may non-Christian speculators surrounding the Aztec calender ending in 2012. I think it is awesome that God has waited beyond 2005 for the Rapture. If the Rapture is pre-tribulation, as I think it to be, then there are at least 7 years left before Armageddon. That destroys the myth of the Aztec 2012 world ending.

We do know that he is coming soon. In the scripture just preceding the one I gave above Jesus says,"MT 24:32 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The "Fig Tree" is Israel. It spread its branches in 1948. "This Generation" that saw Israel reborn as a nation is listed in the obituary every day. Time is indeed running out quickly!
Further evidence of his coming can be found in the increasing frequency and magnitude of natural disasters, wars, persecution of the Church, and Christian revival in places such as China, North Korea, and Russia.
Again from Jesus in Matthew: " MT 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

MT 24:4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

MT 24:9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Jesus uses the words "birth pains" They get closer together and more intense. It seems now as though there is almost no separation between groups of bad news. What did we have just in the past two weeks. Travelers trapped in London, France and N.Y., earthquakes in Chile, mudslides in California, tornadoes in the south, snow in the Australian summer, North Korea threatening the South with war and nukes, Christians slaughtered in Iraq and Egypt... tsunami in Japan, floods and tornado outbreaks in the U.S.... !
Finally, another ominous sign is the cornering of Israel. Israel is being backed into a corner all alone. They will come out fighting, but with the entire world against them they will have to rely on supernatural help.
The sequence as I see it unfolding is 1)the supernatural destruction of the forces of the King of the North, but not before major devastation in Israel. 2) A protection Treaty with the AntiChrist though they will not know who he is. 3)God's deliverance at Armageddon.
This week our on U.S. President kicked Israel to the curb and joined their list of enemies. Remember, God has said the throne will be in Jerusalem for a millennium. Satan is saying, "no"! The Real fight is over the worship of the Jews and the city of Jerusalem. Now our President says to Israel, "give it back" to the 1967 borders. That includes "old" Jerusalem and the Temple mount where Christ's throne will be. America will pay a heavy price for this turning away, "unblessing", "cursing" of Israel!
There are not many grains of sand left in the hour glass!

Egypt, Food, and the King of the South

The protests, and eventual riots, in Egypt calling for an end to Mubarak's rule are right in line with the Bible.
From the days of Joseph We see that people are willing to sell their lives into slavery for a "little food for them and their little ones".
GE 47:13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up."

GE 47:16 "Then bring your livestock," said Joseph. "I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone." 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

GE 47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, "We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes--we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."

GE 47:20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

GE 47:23 Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children."

GE 47:25 "You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh."

Today "Famine" in Egypt is not that there is no food, it is that the price is rising fast. I wrote about this in my post "A Days Wages for a Loaf of Bread" http://meditationsfromthethirdshift.blogspot.com/2008/12/days-wages-for-loaf-of-bread.html
In that post I used compounding math to show how at the current rate of food inflation it will only be a few more years before the entire American paycheck goes to food. What is happening in Egypt will soon happen here in the once great U.S.of A.
Now it is also actually expected that Egypt would have a change in government. Bubarak has lived pretty much in peace with Israel owning up to the peace accords that of Sadat and Jimmy Carter. That cannot continue much longer as the war of Gog and Magog is looming ever closer on the horizon. The King of the South must step up and play his roll.
Could food prices and Israel's farming efficiency become a kindling log on the bonfire?

Apostasy in the Church

One of the prophecies of the end times is apostasy in the Church.

In 1998 the Harris group took a poll of over 7,000 clergy in the U.S. and found the following percentages of clergymen denying the virgin birth:
19% of American Lutheran clergy
34% of American Baptist pastors
44% of Episcopalian priests
49% of Presbyterian ministers
60% of Methodist clergy
79% of Congregational pastors

Since, Christ will have a bride "without spot, wrinkle, or blemish", the Church will move on without these apostates. That would explain the rise in popularity of non-denominational church of the last 20 years. Truly Satan has gotten hold of the old line seminaries.
What does your preacher, pastor, minister believe?
If Jesus was not born of a Virgin then:
1) he is not the one promised to Adam and Eve that would crush the head of Satan. Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
2) He would not Devine, having God as his Father, but just a man. That means he would not be sinless and could not serve as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
3) that in turn means he would be a liar.

Anything that takes away from the Deity of Jesus, the completed work of the cross, or his bodily the Resurrection is heresy.
If your spiritual leader is a heretic get rid of him or find another church! I the bowl of Satanic soup you can only sip the broth so long before you have to eat the meat!




Messiah