Five-Fold Today

Holiness Living - America’s Descent into Poverty - Eternal Destinies Coming Forth - Jews DO Control The Media - Caring for the Poor is Government's Biblical Role - An Earthly King or One Who Will Reign Forever - WHY the "TEA PARTY" is UNCHRISTIAN

August 31st, 2012

Holiness Living

by Patrick Nichols

I know we use the term “works’ as a measuring stick to see if a person is a real Christian or not. This is a faulty measuring stick and cannot be trusted. it can be used as an “indicator’ that a person “might’ be a Christian but it is never a true test.

The Bible says a “Good man’ will “Fall’ 7 times and get back up again. We know there is none “good’ but God. The Bible even says of Jesus that He “learned obedience’ by the things He suffered. Does this mean that He did not always do right or does it mean he was subjected to the flesh as we have been to feel our infirmities? As far as works are concerned, there are thousands who run circles around us in the area of “Christian works’. They pray, fast, dress decent and holy, never cuss, do not drink, smoke, steal, are not lustful and they are responsible people who work full time for churches and ministries. They share God every where they go, the give their tithes and offerings, they never miss a single church service and if there is a need for finances, services, laborers, etc they always volunteer. As touching works in their daily living they are “spotless’. Yet they are religious and do not have the Spirit of God, but a deep religious fervor.

The Jews had this same thing didn´t they? Who worked harder than the Jews as far as letting their works be the measuring stick of a Godly Life. But it was ALL as Filthy Rags in God´s Sight!So many churches teach so hard that for you to be a Christian and be a “part’ of their elite group you must do as they do, for they live that life that you want to live.   This is so wrong on so many levels. it is not about works at all, whether as to your dress, your tithes, your giving, how often you attend church etc. All that is but works. Christianity is but one thing and one thing only! It is a Nature, a Faith, A Spirit, a Mind, A Knowing Conviction within, A Covering of the Holy Ghost of God. it is totally a Spiritual Event and nothing at all to do with the Flesh, for the Bible says the Flesh profits nothing at all!

I know Holiness Churches teach this and they mean well but they are not winning souls, they are only making them be imprisoned to a law that was not supposed to be an imprisonment but a nature of maturity in Christ.    Not everyone who gets born again will automatically live a life of holiness as to the way churches teach. it is something they must “Grow’ into and mature into and be convicted by God into. Else they are living a lie. Now I believe you should dress decent and holy and in modesty regardless if you are a Christian or not, that is just being a nice and decent and respectful human being. If you go to church you are coming before God as to a place of worship, so you should keep your flesh under subjection and be decent in body and in spirit. Do not let your filthy stinking flesh come before God showing its ugly head in rebellion or you will pay for that. It goes the same as if Christ be in You then keep that flesh under subjection and that body decent anyway as it is the purchased possession of the Lord. Holiness should be a Conviction of your heart, not a rule that puts you in hell for not dressing in such and such a way. The focus should be on the Spiritual part and then as we grow the bodily part.

The root of Christianity is The Faith and Nature of Jesus Christ, plain and simple. it has nothing to do with works, because when I got born again, my works were finished! He became my Works! So a person may not live the fullness of what is called a Holiness Life right away, but as they grow the Holy Ghost will convict them of what they should and should not do. If I see a man who got born again in a revival and in a few weeks I see him in a store in swim trunks heading to the beach, do I judge him and say, well I guess he really did not get saved. NO! man he is a new born babe! he has a life time to grow in the Lord! babies mess their diapers dont they? Now once they are 2 or 3 years old and they mess their diaper then the Holy Ghost will convict them and if they do not listen It will spank them and they will learn. But see how works has nothing to do with their salvation. When your little baby is born to you and it falls and cannot walk and cannot talk and drools all over you and wets and dirties its diaper, does that mean it is not your baby? NO! it is and always will be your baby! We have some children that are more obedient than others and some have to get more whippings than others, but they are all our Children. Some will make it in as if by Fire! But they do make it in and they are elect!

I am not knocking the Holiness Life, I love it! I am just saying, The Holiness Life should be lived by those who have the mature Nature of Christ within as an Example and never make it a Law that imprisons, but an example of Grace and Love and Charity for the babes in Christ to strive for out of a Love and respect for their elders and as a testimony for Christ. Not a Law that separates and divides one from another but a Way of Life of Love that takes all in with a hug and warm embrace. If a person got born again  and dressed worldy for the next week and then got killed in a car wreck and when they pulled the body out they were in a tank top, shorts and flip flops, guess what? it had nothing to do with their inward Salvation, they made it in! If they have professed to be a Christian for 50 years and was pulled from a wreck the same way then that is a good indicator that they may not have been truly born again, but even with that, you still do not know. I hope this helps. May God Bless You All! PHN

http://daystaronhi.org/holiness-living/

America´s Descent into Poverty

By Paul Craig Roberts

The United States has collapsed economically, socially, politically, legally, constitutionally, and environmentally. The country that exists today is not even a shell of the country into which I was born. In this article I will deal with America´s economic collapse. In subsequent articles, I will deal with other aspects of American collapse.

Economically, America has descended into poverty. As Peter Edelman says, “Low-wage work is pandemic.’ Today in “freedom and democracy’ America, “the world´s only superpower,’ one fourth of the work force is employed in jobs that pay less than $22,000, the poverty line for a family of four. Some of these lowly-paid persons are young college graduates, burdened by education loans, who share housing with three or four others in the same desperate situation. Other of these persons are single parents only one medical problem or lost job away from homelessness.

Others might be Ph.D.s teaching at universities as adjunct professors for $10,000 per year or less. Education is still touted as the way out of poverty, but increasingly is a path into poverty or into enlistments into the military services.

Edelman, who studies these issues, reports that 20.5 million Americans have incomes less than $9,500 per year, which is half of the poverty definition for a family of three.

There are six million Americans whose only income is food stamps. That means that there are six million Americans who live on the streets or under bridges or in the homes of relatives or friends. Hard-hearted Republicans continue to rail at welfare, but Edelman says, “basically welfare is gone.’

In my opinion as an economist, the official poverty line is long out of date. The prospect of three people living on $19,000 per year is farfetched. Considering the prices of rent, electricity, water, bread and fast food, one person cannot live in the US on $6,333.33 per year. In Thailand, perhaps, until the dollar collapses, it might be done, but not in the US.

As Dan Ariely (Duke University) and Mike Norton (Harvard University) have shown empirically, 40% of the US population, the 40% less well off, own 0.3%, that is, three-tenths of one percent, of America´s personal wealth. Who owns the other 99.7%? The top 20% have 84% of the country´s wealth. Those Americans in the third and fourth quintiles--essentially America´s middle class--have only 15.7% of the nation´s wealth. Such an unequal distribution of income is unprecedented in the economically developed world.

In my day, confronted with such disparity in the distribution of income and wealth, a disparity that obviously poses a dramatic problem for economic policy, political stability, and the macro management of the economy, Democrats would have demanded corrections, and Republicans would have reluctantly agreed.

But not today. Both political parties whore for money.

The Republicans believe that the suffering of poor Americans is not helping the rich enough. Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are committed to abolishing every program that addresses needs of what Republicans deride as “useless eaters.’

The “useless eaters’ are the working poor and the former middle class whose jobs were offshored so that corporate executives could receive multi-millions of dollars in performance pay compensation and their shareholders could make millions of dollars on capital gains. While a handful of executives enjoy yachts and Playboy playmates, tens of millions of Americans barely get by.

In political propaganda, the “useless eaters’ are not merely a burden on society and the rich. They are leeches who force honest taxpayers to pay for their many hours of comfortable leisure enjoying life, watching sports events, and fishing in trout streams, while they push around their belongings in grocery baskets or sell their bodies for the next MacDonald burger.

The concentration of wealth and power in the US today is far beyond anything my graduate economic professors could image in the 1960s. At four of the world´s best universities that I attended, the opinion was that competition in the free market would prevent great disparities in the distribution of income and wealth. As I was to learn, this belief was based on an ideology, not on reality.

Congress, acting on this erroneous belief in free market perfection, deregulated the US economy in order to create a free market. The immediate consequence was resort to every previous illegal action to monopolize, to commit financial and other fraud, to destroy the productive basis of American consumer incomes, and to redirect income and wealth to the one percent.

The “democratic’ Clinton administration, like the Bush and Obama administrations, was suborned by free market ideology. The Clinton sell-outs to Big Money essentially abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children. But this sell-out of struggling Americans was not enough to satisfy the Republican Party. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to cut or abolish every program that cushions poverty-stricken Americans from starvation and homelessness.

Republicans claim that the only reason Americans are in need is because the government uses taxpayers´ money to subsidize Americans who are unwilling to work. As Republicans see it, while we hard-workers sacrifice our leisure and time with our families, the welfare rabble enjoy the leisure that our tax dollars provide them.

This cock-eyed belief, on top of corporate CEOs maximizing their incomes by offshoring the middle class jobs of millions of Americans, has left Americans in poverty and cities, counties, states, and the federal government without a tax base, resulting in bankruptcies at the state and local level and massive budget deficits at the federal level that threaten the value of the dollar and its role as reserve currency.

The economic destruction of America benefitted the mega-rich with multi-billions of dollars with which to enjoy life and its high-priced accompaniments wherever the mega-rich wish. Meanwhile, away from the French Rivera, Homeland Security is collecting sufficient ammunition to keep dispossessed Americans under control.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following.

http://www.infowars.com/americas-descent-into-poverty/

Eternal Destinies Coming Forth

Linda Marshall

"Be still my daughter until you know how the matter will turn out, for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day." (Ruth 3:15)

The moment in time has come, for the sons of God to be revealed. For there is an uplifting, an illuminating , and a revealing of the sons of the Most High God. "Be silent , all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation." (Zechariah 2:13).

For many have entered into an appointed time of destiny. And what they have walked through: all the fires, waters. And storms, have brought them to a level of humility and faith that would not have come any other way. For as Jesus suffered outside the camp, so He being your supreme and ultimate sacrifice, has made a way for those who have set themselves toward Me and toward eternal destiny, to begin to receive the harvest of their labors. For the enduring farmer must be the first to partake of the crops. :" (2 Timothy 2:6)

So I say to you today, be made ready to step into your eternal destiny. Arise, oh Daughter of Zion. "Awake put on strength, Oh Zion. Put on your beautiful garments ...Shake yourself from the dust, Arise. " (Isaiah 52:1-2)

For you were destined for greatness in My Kingdom. And I am releasing the first wave of my harvest, the barley harvest, as spoken about in Ruth. And I am raising up a "Gideon army" ( the loaf of barley bread that rolled into the enemy's camp. Judges 7:13) And this army , which I have been preparing, will not be of human strength or power, nor of worldly fame, but will be by My Spirit , says the Lord of Hosts. For by this small army, I will awaken My church and bring forth My Kingdom harvests. A Joshua generation has arisen, brought forth by a Gideon army and in the days ahead, I will be setting in place Elijah companies, who will declare My Kingdom and My glory to be revealed. And there will be a release of utterance, which will begin to remove idols of the land, and dismantle strongholds over nations and Babylonian systems of the world. "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." ( Isaiah 56:7) I am the King of kings and I reign sovereign and eternal over the plans of man and demonic powers and kingdoms Draw near, My beloved ones , for your redemption is near and the kingdoms of the world shall become the Kingdom of your Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. (ref Revelation 11:15). Amen says the Spirit of grace

http://ft111.com/marshall.htm

Jews DO Control The Media

By Manny Friedman

We Jews are a funny breed. We love to brag about every Jewish actor. Sometimes we even pretend an actor is Jewish just because we like him enough that we think he deserves to be on our team. We brag about Jewish authors, Jewish politicians, Jewish directors. Every time someone mentions any movie or book or piece of art, we inevitably say something like, “Did you know that he was Jewish?’ That´s just how we roll.

We´re a driven group, and not just in regards to the art world. We have, for example, AIPAC, which  was essentially constructed just to drive agenda in Washington DC. And it succeeds admirably. And we brag about it. Again, it´s just what we do.

But the funny part is when any anti-Semite or anti-Israel person starts to spout stuff like, “The Jews control the media!’ and “The Jews control Washington!’

Suddenly we´re up in arms. We create huge campaigns to take these people down. We do what we can to put them out of work. We publish articles. We´ve created entire organizations that exist just to tell everyone that the Jews don´t control nothin´. No, we don´t control the media, we don´t have any more sway in DC than anyone else. No, no, no, we swear: We´re just like everybody else!

Does anyone else (who´s not a bigot) see the irony of this?

Let´s be honest with ourselves, here, fellow Jews. We do control the media. We´ve got so many dudes up in the executive offices in all the big movie production companies it´s almost obscene. Just about every movie or TV show, whether it be “Tropic Thunder’ or “Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ is rife with actors, directors, and writers who are Jewish. Did you know that all eight major film studios are run by Jews?

But that´s not all. We also control the ads that go on those TV shows.

And let´s not forget AIPAC, every anti-Semite´s favorite punching bag. We´re talking an organization that´s practically the equivalent of the Elders of Zion. I´ll never forget when I was involved in Israeli advocacy in college and being at one of the many AIPAC conventions. A man literally stood in front of us and told us that their whole goal was to only work with top-50 school graduate students because they would eventually be the people making changes in the government. Here I am, an idealistic little kid that goes to a bottom 50 school (ASU) who wants to do some grassroots advocacy, and these guys are literally talking about infiltrating the government. Intense.

Now, I know what everyone will say. That everyone tries to lobby. Every minority group and every majority group. That every group has some successful actors and directors. But that´s a far call from saying that we run Hollywood and Madison Avenue. That the Mel Gibsons of the world are right in saying we´re deliberately using our power to take over the world. That we´ve got some crazy conspiracy going down.

Okay. Fine. So some of that is kooky talk.

But let´s look at it a bit deeper.

Maybe it´s true: everyone lobbies. Maybe it´s true there are actors of every ethnicity out there. But come on. We´re the ones who are bragging about this stuff all the time. Can´t we admit that we´re incredibly successful? Can´t we say it to the world?

I´ll give my theory for why Jews don´t want to talk about their control of the media.

First of all, as much as Jews like to admit that so many of them are successful, and that so many of them have accomplished so much, they hate to admit that it has to do with they´re being Jewish. Maybe they´ll admit that it has something to do with the Jewish experience. But how many Jews will admit that there is something inherently a part of every single one of them that helps them to accomplish amazing things?

The ADL chairman, Abe Foxman, was interviewed in a great article about the subject and he said that he “would prefer people say that many executives in the industry ‘happen to be Jewish.´’ This just about sums up the party line.

The truth is, the anti-Semites got it right. We Jews have something planted in each one of us that makes us completely different from every group in the world. We´re talking about a group of people that just got put in death camps, endured pogroms, their whole families decimated. And then they came to America, the one place that ever really let them have as much power as they wanted, and suddenly they´re taking over. Please don´t tell me that any other group in the world has ever done that. Only the Jews. And we´ve done it before. That´s why the Jews were enslaved in Egypt. We were too successful. Go look at the Torah — it´s right there. And we did it in Germany too.

This ability to succeed, this inner drive, comes not from the years of education or any other sort of conditional factors, but because of the inner spark within each Jew.

Now, the reason groups like the ADL and AIPAC hate admitting this is because, first of all, they are secular organizations. Their whole agenda is to prove that every Jew is the same as every other person in the world. I cannot imagine a more outlandish agenda. No, we´re different. We´re special.

Of course, people hate when anyone says this. They assume that if you´re saying that Jews are special, it somehow implies that they´re better.

To be honest, I´m not really sure what the word “better’ even means. What I do know is that being special simply means a person has a responsibility to do good.

I think that´s the real reason most Jews are so afraid to admit that there´s something inherently powerful and good about them. Not because they´re afraid of being special. But because they´re afraid of being responsible. It means that they´re suddenly culpable when they create dirty TV shows that sully the spiritual atmosphere of the world. It means that things can´t just be created for the sake of amusement or fun or even “art.’

Suddenly, we can´t screw up the world.

The interesting thing is that Jews have done so much for the world in so many other ways. They´ve moved forward civil rights; they´ve helped save lives in Darfur, Haiti and just about everywhere else.

But that´s not enough. Fixing the world physically is only half the battle.

Our larger battle, the harder battle, is elevating the world spiritually. And this is what the people that fight with every inch of their soul to prove that Jews are just the same as everyone else are afraid of. It means that we can no longer just “express ourselves.’ We´ll have to start thinking about the things we create and the way we act. It means we´ll have to start working together. It means we´ll have to hold one other, and ourselves, to a higher standard.

The time has come, though. We no longer have to change our names. We no longer have to blend in like chameleons. We own a whole freaking country.

Instead, we can be proud of who we are, and simultaneously aware of our huge responsibility — and opportunity.
© 2012 The Times of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jews-do-control-the-media/

Caring for the Poor is Government's Biblical Role

Jim Wallis

There is hardly a more controversial political battle in America today than that around the role of government. The ideological sides have lined up, and the arguments rage about the size of government: how big, how small should it be? Some famously have said government should be shrunk so small that it "could be drowned in a bathtub."

But I want to suggest that what size the government should be is the wrong question. A more useful discussion would be about the purposes of government and whether ours is fulfilling them. So let's look at what the Bible says.

The words of Paul in the 13th chapter of Romans are perhaps the most extensive teaching in the New Testament about the role and purposes of government. Paul says those purposes are twofold: to restrain evil by punishing evildoers and to serve peace and orderly conduct by rewarding good behavior. Civil authority is designed to be "God's servant for your good" (13:4). Today we might say "the common good" is to be the focus and goal of government.

So the purpose of government, according to Paul, is to protect and promote: protect from the evil and promote the good. We are even instructed to pay taxes for those purposes. So to disparage government per se -- to see government as the central problem in society -- is simply not a biblical position.

First, government is supposed to protect its people. That certainly means protecting its citizens' safety and security. Crime and violence will always be real in this world, and that's why we have the police, who are meant to keep our streets, neighborhoods, and homes safe.

Governments also need to protect their people judicially, and make sure our legal and court systems are procedurally just and fair. The biblical prophets regularly rail against corrupt court decisions and systems, in which the wealthy and powerful manipulate the legal processes for their own benefit and put the poor into greater debt or distress. The prophet Amos speaks directly to the courts (and government) when he says, "Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts" (Amos 5:15).

But along with protecting, what should governments promote? The prophets hold kings, rulers, judges, and even employers accountable to the demands of justice and fairness, therefore promoting those values.

And the Scriptures say that governmental authority is to protect the poor in particular. The biblical prophets are consistent and adamant in their condemnation of injustice to the poor, and frequently follow their statements by requiring the king (the government) to act justly. That prophetic expectation did not apply only to the kings of Israel but was also extended to the kings of neighboring lands and peoples.

Jeremiah, speaking of King Josiah, said, "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well."
Psalm 72 begins with a prayer for kings or political leaders: "Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor."

There is a powerful vision here for promoting the common good -- a vision of "righteous" prosperity for all the people, with special attention to the poor and to "deliverance" for the most vulnerable and needy, and even a concern for the land.

Evangelical theologian Ron Sider says:
The biblical understanding of justice clearly includes both procedural and distributive aspects. That the procedures must be fair is clear in the several texts that demand unbiased courts (Exodus 23:2-8; Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:17; 10:17-19). That distributive justice (i.e., fair outcomes) is also a central part of justice is evident not just from the hundreds of texts about God's concern for the poor ... but also in the meaning of the key Hebrew words for justice (mishpat and tsedaqah).
Time and again the prophets use mishpat and tsedaqah to refer to fair economic outcomes. Immediately after denouncing Israel and Judah for the absence of justice, the prophet Isaiah condemns the way rich and powerful landowners have acquired all the land by pushing out small farmers (Isaiah 5:7-9). It is important to note that even though in this text the prophet does not say the powerful acted illegally, he nevertheless denounces the unfair outcome.

Notice that Sider says "fair outcomes" and not "equal outcomes." The political right's continuing accusation against all who would hold governments accountable for justice is that we are really aiming for equal outcomes from public policy. But that simply is not true.

Indeed, the historical attempts by many Marxist governments to create equal outcomes have dramatically shown the great dangers of how the concentration of power in a few government hands has led to totalitarian results. The theological reason for that is the presence and power of sin, and the inability of such fallible human creatures to create social utopias on earth.

Yet the biblical prophets do hold their rulers, courts, and judges, and landowners and employers accountable to the values of fairness, justice, and even mercy. The theological reasons for that are, in fact, the same: the reality of evil and sin in the concentration of power -- both political and economic -- and the need to hold that power accountable to justice, especially in the protection of the poor. So fair outcomes, and not equal ones, are the goal of governments.

Governments should provide a check on powerful people, institutions, and interests in the society that, if left unchecked, might run over their fellow citizens, the economy, and certainly the poor.

If government is rendered unable to "punish the evil" and "reward the good" when it comes to the behavior of huge corporations and banks, for example, exactly who else is going to do that? And coming to a better moral balance in achieving fiscal responsibility, while protecting the poor, should be a bipartisan effort.

The radically anti-government ideology of the current right wing Tea Party ideology is simply contrary to a more biblical view of government, the need for checks and balances, the sinfulness of too much concentrated power in either the government or the market, the responsibilities we have for our neighbor and the God-ordained purposes of government -- in addition to the churches -- to serve the common good and, in particular, to protect the poor.

Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: A Guide for Economic and Moral Recovery, and CEO of Sojourners. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.

An Earthly King or One Who Will Reign Forever

Stephen Hanson

We are soon to have a new Commander-in-Chief for the United States.  The country is divided over this issue more than perhaps at any other time in history.  In fact, this division is seen even more among the body of Christ.

It makes me think back in history to when the children of Israel had wanted a king to govern their country.  The voted and chose the man who was head and shoulders above the rest. They chose the man named Saul, and as we know even though he was what the people wanted at the time, he certainly was not God's choice. We know that the next king was a young shepherd boy named David who was chosen by God himself.  And out of the lineage of David, came Jesus.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he was welcomed with a great array of palm branches and cheers from the crowd.  Because they thought that he was the new king to deliver them from the hands of the Romans.  We know however, later, that he was not a king of this world, but rather had chosen a much different path as a king.

Today many still want a king to deliver them from the problems and evils of this life. Many think, even perhaps a great deal of Christians, that a "good man" who is elected, will indeed help propel our nation forward in such a way that we will again have a robust economy.  We will once again, have fewer unemployed.  The ills of society will be healed and hope again will reign in our hearts as our nation's wounds and calamities will be lessened.  Perhaps many of us are like those who threw palm-branches at the feet of Jesus.  We want an earthly king to save us from ourselves and from our fears and worries.

Well, we have such a king as that now.  We have a king who once walked this earth and took up a scepter and crown of thorns so that he might save us.  And at some point in the not-so-distant future, he will come once again in the clouds.  He will then triumph over all the enemies.  Death will be swallowed up.  This present earth and age will be replaced with an everlasting kingdom and we will also reign with him.  There will be no more sorrow.  

"See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Isaiah 65" 17-19

We know that at that time an infant will live out his days. The one who lives to be a hundred will be considered yet a child.  The homes that they build then will not be occupied by another. The vineyards will be their own and they will eat and partake of it, for it will be theirs. Could it be dear people, that no matter who is chosen this coming November, that God has it all in control?  Could it be that his choice will be done even if it is not ours?

"And he changeth the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise,and knowledge to them that know understanding. He revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him." (Dn  2: 20-22 )

We know that dark days are ahead for us. We should know what is coming for it is written down in the book of books for us to see. Having said that then, can we leave this next phase, this next election, this new season in his hands, and know that no matter what happens, it comes from him.

These things come as judgment has entered into the household of God, but now comes into the very fabric of a country and nation. It has come before, but this time, as the earth rumbles more and more, and the seas rise upon our shores, he is still in control.  Even though many will be deceived and several will lose their lives and their hearts because of these things, we can still prevail because of our patient endurance. We can still prevail because of our love for one another.

We can still prevail because we have the sword of truth, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith. But we will not prevail if we lose sight of the enemy's devices.  We may lose sight as division tears us apart because of our opinions and our prejudices. We may well lose sight when this division causes such a rift because of the candidate that we have chosen and the one that you have not.  We still then look for an earthly king and we've lost sight of the one that holds the true scepter and crown.

Stephen Hanson

WHY the "TEA PARTY" is UNCHRISTIAN

-by Andrew Strom

I write this as a conservative evangelical Christian. I am anti-abortion and hold all the usual 'conservative' views. But I have come to believe that the Tea Party is one of the most misguided and misleading movements in America - especially since it claims to be so "Christian".

I saw a piece written by pro-Tea Party activist recently who quoted statistics saying that the majority of Tea Party members are evangelical Christians. He coined the term, "Teavangelicals". He says they are going to have a new Awakening and "Take Back America". I don't know what kind of "Awakening" he is talking about, but it is very different from the true spiritual Awakenings of the past. America certainly needs a Revival. But not the kind that these guys are pushing. I believe it is a counterfeit of the real thing. And if we fall for the counterfeit, then the true can be utterly lost.

So what exactly is the problem with the "Teavangelicals"? Below is a very basic list of things that, in my view, make this movement truly un-Christlike and unchristian:-

(1) -An Unhealthy Mixing of Christianity with Nationalism-. When you "wrap the cross in the flag" so-to-speak, you instantly distort the entire message and essence of Christianity. You are taking two totally different "kingdoms" and mixing them together. Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world."  So in mixing Christianity with Nationalism, you are totally distorting what His kingdom truly stands for. Thus you get "Patriotic" actions such as saluting the flag or the Pledge of Allegiance being seen as "Christian" things to do. Marching off to war becomes a "Christian" activity. The two "kingdoms" are being completely confused. There is a great deal of this happening in the church in America right now - and the Tea Party is really pushing it. -Utterly distorting what real Christianity is all about.

(2) -Being Basically the Biggest Supporters of WAR in America-. (This is closely related to # 1).  One US commentator seriously stated that without the support of the American Christians the war would be over much quicker - because they are the staunchest and strongest supporters of War in the whole country. Now, can you imagine Jesus being like this? Can you imagine Him telling his disciples, "I want you to support military invasions and the shooting, killing and destroying of thousands of people"? -Because that is what WAR is. Does it sound "Christian" to you? Can we find anywhere in the New Testament where true Christians had this attitude? NO! They wouldn't have dreamed of being the biggest supporters of War in their generation! Just think what a terrible testimony this is today - to all the unbelievers who are watching. How un-Christlike. No wonder they call us "War-mongers".

(3) -Siding with the Rich and Against the Poor-. This is the exact opposite of Jesus - as we see again and again in the gospels and the entire New Testament. Pay close attention to the following words of Christ- "Woe to you that are rich, for you have received your comfort" (Lk 6:24), "How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 19:23) and "You cannot serve God and Money." (Mt 6:24). Jesus also said: "Blessed be you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven" (Lk 6:20) and "I have come to preach good news to the poor" (Lk 4:18).

Can you imagine Jesus coming across like today's "Tea Party" Christians - where they seem utterly against the cause of the poor, and totally for the Rich and the 'Big Money' interests? Perhaps we have forgotten that Big Business exists largely for MAMMON and GREED. Can anybody tell me anything "Christian" about that?

(4) -HEALTH CARE - Denying it to the Needy-.  (-Related to # 3). I am not talking about "ObamaCare" here. I have no comment on ObamaCare one way or the other. What I am talking about is a general attitude amongst Christians. I cannot tell you the number of emails that I've gotten from believers who want to deny poor uninsured Americans any decent Health Care. (I guess because they are lower-class and can't afford it).

Do you know that millions and millions of Americans are being denied basic Health coverage that is totally taken for granted in other countries? And that it is the CHRISTIANS who want to deny it to them? And do you know that there are multitudes of Americans who wind up bankrupt or losing their home simply because they can't pay their medical bills? Does that sound like a "Christian" ideal to you? Does it sound like something that believers should be fighting for? -Fighting on the side of Big Business against the "little people" who can't afford to pay? What kind of "Christianity" is that?

(5) -Pushing the Idea that "Political" Answers can Solve America's Problems-.  To me, this is the worst deception of all - the idea that America's problems can mainly be solved with "Political" activism, or a change of government, or a new President. The USA's problems are almost entirely SPIRITUAL. It is because she has lost her way SPIRITUALLY that is causing all the other problems. And to get the Christians all caught up in a "Political" movement is a total distraction. A PRAYER movement - Yes!  A "Political" movement -NO!  It will not solve the problems in any real way at all.  In fact, it is like a "counterfeit" Awakening - to push the Christians into Political activism instead of focusing on the SPIRITUAL. It is like a false savior - a "pseudo" solution. The problems in America are Spiritual - and they need Spiritual answers. Not this "counterfeit" that gets everybody caught up in Political fights.

In summary, I want to say that I believe that many of the attitudes and behaviours of the "Tea Party" evangelicals in America are totally un-Christlike and unchristian. They come across as ugly, mean-spirited and anger-filled. It is awful to see real believers caught up in anything so unlike Jesus.

I would like to challenge every Christian reading this to forward it to your conservative friends. Tell them to come and meet me over at our discussion board, if they think they can prove me wrong. I am open. If they think they can prove from the New Testament that Christians should be thinking and behaving the way these "Tea Party" people behave, then let them come. I will be waiting. THE CHALLENGE is LAID DOWN.

Here is the link to our Discussion Board to post your comments-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

PLEASE FORWARD this EMAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS.

God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.

prophetic@revivalschool.com

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