Special Report: The 'Defeated' Christian Jack Kinsella

Republished from omegaletter.com
Witnessing Tools
Thursday, June 26, 2003 Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
 
You’ve all seen him. The defeated Christian. The guy who tries and tries, but after being saved for thirty years, he still hasn’t quit smoking. Instead, he hides his cigarettes before coming to church and won’t get too close when shaking your hand for fear you’ll smell the smoke on him.
Or the Christian who you know is saved, but he just can't quite give up the bottle. Or the Christian who got saved, but doesn't go to church, because he just doesn’t think he fits in with the rest of the crowd?

Or won’t go because he thinks that everybody at church is a big hypocrite? That defeated Christian who knows that even though he is saved, it just didn't seem to ‘take' like it seemed to with everybody else, so he’d just as soon not be reminded of it all the time by being around those to whom it did.

Especially since, if he were to mention it, somebody would point out it was either because of some unconfessed sin, or maybe he just wasn't all that sincere when he first accepted Christ.

Why is it that some Christians get saved, and immediately become a new creature, where others get saved, and look remarkably like the old one?

Don’t tell me you don’t know somebody like that. Maybe you even ARE somebody like that. And it’s hard . . . so hard to keep trying and trying when it seems to come so easy to everybody else. It’s enough to make anybody give up.

I’m going to leave the usual beaten path, now, to address an issue that comes up fairly regularly in our forums. Those of you who have no besetting sin, no secret sin in your heart that only you and God (and the enemy) know of, go make yourself a nice cup of coffee. The rest isn’t for you.

Now, for the honest readers . . . Why does God deliver some people from booze, cigarettes, pot . . . fill in your besetting sin here _______?

The answer? I don’t know. Disappointed? Don’t be. Sometimes He just doesn’t. It doesn’t mean you aren’t a Christian. It doesn’t mean you aren’t saved. It doesn’t mean God has abandoned you. It only means you feel defeated. You still have that sin.

Now, how come you feel defeated? Is it your weakness? God's? Haven’t you been to Him with this? How come its still an issue in your life? You KNOW God is real, so . . what’s WRONG WITH YOU?

Nothing.

Welcome to the Church of the Walking Wounded. That’s why so many people find fellowship on the internet they don’t find in church. No guilt. Nobody can see you sneaking that cigarette or that beer.

You come looking for God, and looking for that forgiveness you keep hearing about, but never find in church.

Instead, you learn that if you smoke, (or whatever) you are defiling the temple of the Holy Spirit and you must give that up first to find fellowship. Except you have been trying for years and just can't quite make it.

You sit there in the pew, thinking about the cigarette you are going to have on the way home, and you feel ashamed, guilty. Why even go back to church? You hypocrite!

You are taught that God forgave you at the Cross, but now you are on your own. All these sins you now know about yourself are left for you to deal with on your own. Only NOW you know what they are.

So every time you sneak that cigarette, you feel guilty. “Fred got saved and within a week, he cut out smoking, he cut out drinking and he cut out cursing.”

(You think to yourself, “Sure. And for entertainment, Fred is now cutting out paper dolls in the Happy Home,” – but then there you go – you sinned again!)

Sin is the disease of the human race. No human being is exempt from it. The Apostle Paul, speaking of sin, said, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

Creative hyperbole? Or do you believe every Word of God is true?

The Apostle Paul was, according to God's Word, chief among sinners. He must have had a difficult time being chief among sinners and chief among the Apostles, but that’s what the Bible says.

It must have bothered him, like it bothers you. (Those not getting coffee right now) Knowing what is right, but succumbing to temptation to do the wrong thing. Over and over.

This is a very difficult subject – I am approaching it with much fear and trepidation. There will immediately be those who will jump on me for preaching a license to sin. I am not.

Before you jump on me, read it again first, please. I am quoting the Apostle Paul, not my opinion.

Paul writes, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” (Romans 7:14-15,17)

Maybe Paul isn’t speaking to you, but he is playing MY theme song. “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:22,23)

Does this sound to you like a guy who was having an easy time of it? Why didn’t he just do what the pastor tells you? “Just take it to the Lord and He'll take care of it.”

Ever do that and then He didn’t? So you found some good reason why not, or instead just figured you weren’t worthy? Or maybe that He cared more about Fred the King of the Paper Dolls?

Paul wrote of, “a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” (2 Corinthians 12:7) Now, I’ve heard this verse exegeted many times.

To listen to the theories, Paul must have fallen into a thorn BUSH. I’ve heard Paul had a speech impediment, that it was his failing eyesight, that he was unattractive to look at, even one argument that he had halitosis!

What does the Bible say Paul’s thorn in the flesh was? Everybody looks for something specific to make sense of the verse. They are looking for some physical flaw that Paul thought would hamper his effectiveness for God. In so doing, they miss the forest for the trees.

The Apostle Paul, the ‘chief among sinners, specifically said that his thorn was a ‘messenger from Satan sent to ‘buffet' him. Paul’s thorn was his SIN which kept him from being 'exalted above all measure.' “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8)

Stay with me here and see the picture. Here's poor Paul, knowing the task the Lord has set before him, knowing that he is ‘chief among sinners' and knowing his weakness for whatever that sin might have been.

So he takes it to Jesus, (just like you did) sincerely expecting Him to handle it for him, just like the pastor told you He would for you.

“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (v.9)

The Bible says that we are sold unto sin. That it is our natural state. That the most unnatural thing a man could do is NOT sin. You are saved, you believe, yet you wrestle with your besetting sins.

Every time you whip one down, a new one crops up that you have to deal with. It's a never-ending battle and you are losing. How can this be?

How can you be sincere, be sincerely saved, and still battle with sins that don’t seem to bother other Christians?

There is only one logical answer. It is so simple you are going to immediately say, “I knew that.” But you probably really didn’t.

Jesus did it all. Really. ALL. The most simple of principles, yet most preaching is based on the deception that He didn’t. Instead, most are taught in principle, that Jesus got the ball rolling at the Cross, but now that you are saved, whether or not you fail or succeed in beating back your sin nature is up to you.

Therefore, when constantly confronted with your sin and how bad it is, it is much easier to give up and not go face the weekly confrontation. You believe you are defeated.

Rather than being free, you are in bondage to your guilt. How many people do you know who went to the altar call on Sunday who weren’t guilt-ridden by Wednesday?

Salvation is either a gift of grace through faith or it is a product of faith plus good works.

Moses had faith and good works. So did Abraham. So did David. But without the Savior, they would be dead in their sins.

The bondage of sin to a Christian is the weight of the guilt of that sin that keeps him from seeking God's face. Jesus set us free from the bondage of sin. Is this a license to sin? As Paul said, “God forbid.”

“All things”, Paul said, “are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1 Corinthians 10:23) Interesting word, ‘expedient.' It means, “Appropriate to a purpose.”

The reality is, we are humans. Even after we become new creatures in Christ, we co inhabit the castle of flesh with the old man.

You will have your battles, but your defeat only comes when you give up. Following Paul’s lamentations about his struggle with the flesh and the duality of man, Paul writes, beginning with Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

This verse also tends to get spiritualized out of context. I’ve heard it argued that if you sin, then you are walking after the flesh, rather than after the Spirit.

I put it to you: Did you ever, since you were saved, commit a sin and not care, not feel any responsibility before God? Well, then, Who are you walking after? The irresponsible flesh? Or the living Spirit?

It isn’t sin that defeats the Christian.

It isn’t that you still haven’t quit smoking, or whatever else it might be that you think is defeating you. Sin is what humans do. Forgive is what God does.

It is GUILT that keeps you defeated, and keeps you from the Throne. It keeps you from telling people about Jesus. It keeps you beaten down.

It is incumbent upon a Christian to try and live a more Christ-like life, but the dichotomy is that the Bible says it is impossible.

Even those of you now scandalized and convinced I am preaching libertine Christianity KNOW that you still have a sin problem. Whether it's a big sin, a little sin, a habitual sin or an occasional sin, its still sin. Even as we sin, (and Scripture says we ALL do) we hate it, as Paul did. But we sin. As Paul did. Read Romans 7 again.

If we COULD live a sin-free life, then why was a Savior necessary? And what was Paul rambling on about when he talked about the 'good that he would' and so forth?

If there were a formula that involved accepting Christ and THEN living a sinless life, then why did He need to go to the Cross at all?

Why not just make the revised Ten Commandments read, 'Accept Christ and don't sin" and THEN you can go to heaven? The answer is obvious. Nobody would be there.

We are living in the last days. There is no time to bandage the walking wounded, the battle has been joined. Every soldier is desperately needed on the line.

A soldier on the line does his best, and that is all anyone can ask. Especially the One Who really KNOWS that you are doing the best you can.

And He not only understands, He made you to a specific purpose, which is why all things were lawful to Paul, but not all things were expedient.

What may appear as defeat to you from your vantage point in the action may actually be a tactical victory somewhere else up the line. Only our General knows, and He says, 'Trust Me'.

Take heart! Don't let the fact you are a sinner steal your victory. The only prerequisite for being a Christian is that you must be a sinner first. God has a plan for your life, and He has somebody for you to talk to.

That appointment is so important to God that He has arranged your whole life until now -- just so you would be available to keep it when that appointment comes due.

Will you be there to keep it? Or will you be licking your wounds in defeat off in a corner somewhere? We're running out of time, and the enemy's sole focus for your life is to keep you defeated and ineffective as the hours tick down to the Final Confrontation.

“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians (12:9)

The rest of you can come back from the kitchen now.

Excerpted from the Omega Letter Daily Christian Intelligence Digest Vol: 21 Issue: 14

The Hal Lindsey Report 04-10-2016

Watch video!

What Does the Lord Want From Me Anyway?

Reposted from gracethrufaith.com

Saturday, April 9th, 2016

How to live the Christian life.

Almost everyone has come up with their own answer to this question, usually a list containing some do’s and lots of don’ts. But amidst all the human opinions and the many admonitions in both old and new testaments to behave in certain ways and do certain things, is there a clear undisputed answer, a bottom line requirement?

So What’s the Bottom Line?

I think there is one. There’s a minimum standard without which any other behavior becomes at best irrelevant and at worst repulsive to the Lord. (see Isaiah 66:3)
Let’s take the Old Testament first. There are several places we could look, but to me the clearest is in Micah 6:8. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Sounds simple, just three little things, but like most of the bible there’s more here than meets the eye.

What Do You Mean by That?

1. Act justly; make sure your own behavior is above reproach.
2. Love mercy; give thanks whenever you or someone else is spared the deserved punishment for sinning.
3. Walk humbly with your God; recognize that you often fail to act justly, and be grateful to a merciful God who doesn’t give you what you deserve.
Catch the priority? Still sound simple?

Up Close and Personal

Notice these are personal admonitions. Nowhere are we held responsible for another person’s obedience, only for our own. Nowhere are we called upon to judge whether another has met the standard. The Lord makes it clear that He will do that. We need only worry about ourselves.

Where’s the Evidence?

Trying to live this way is the primary evidence of our love for God. But so many today are much more focused on other people’s behavior than their own. Even the body of Christ seems amply populated by people whose hearts have grown cold. They think it’s their personal responsibility to identify every infraction of the rules (I thought that was Satan’s job). They self-righteously cry long and loud until these infractions are duly noted and fully punished. Like Jonah they actually get angry when some great sinner repents and thereby avoids the penalties, and when someone stumbles or falls they’re quick to question whether the person was ever saved in the first place. When someone confesses, their reaction is to wonder what other sins remain secret. This is neither acting justly nor loving mercy, and reveals a gross lack of humility. 0 for 3.

Justice is Served

In the New Testament the definitive passage is John 6:28-29. “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'” This question presented an unmatched opportunity for the Lord to list every additional bottom line requirement. And so He did, for there is only one. We can’t fulfill the first requirement of Micah 6:8 on our own so He came to do it for us. And again we’re not asked to determine whether another has met the requirement. We need only worry about ourselves.

What’s Concealed will be Revealed

Here’s another case where truths contained in the Old are explained in the New. The Old Testament ordinances were established to provide a channel for God’s mercy. By keeping them the people were spared the punishment they deserved for their sins. However, because the remedy provided by their substitutionary sacrifice was insufficient and temporary, the people could never do more than break even (get back to where they had been), and had to regularly repeat it just to stay even. The intention was for them to realize that they could never earn their way into God’s presence; that apart from His mercy they were doomed.

Mercy vs. Grace

In the New Testament God’s mercy was superceded by His grace; the temporary sacrifice being replaced by the Permanent One. Sacrificing Himself, He took care of everything, forward and back. And it was way more than sufficient. Now the people don’t just break even, but in one fell swoop are forever elevated to a position no one had ever dared dream of; heir to eternity.
In the Old, the best one could hope for was to not lose anything. In the New the least we can expect is unimaginable gain. That’s the difference between mercy and grace. One is not getting what you do deserve; the other is getting what you don’t.

Walking Humbly

As for humility, next time you see someone stumble or fall, or suffering great torment, recall your own sinfulness and instead of wagging your finger or tongue think, “There, but for the Grace of God, go I,” and give thanks.

Memphis, Chicago, Black Lives Matter, and Bubba: The Consequences of the Rhetoric of Racial Division

Reposted from kingsjesterswordpress.com kingsjester

A few days ago, a certain Former POTUS, who was once referred to as "The First 'Black' President of the United States of America", "got real" with a bunch of protesters from Black Lives Matter, who would not allow him to continue a speech on behalf of his wife, who is running for Democrat Presidential Candidate Nomination.

Suffice it to say, ol' Bubba ruffled some feathers.

According to buzzfeed.com,

Racial justice and Black Lives Matter activists based in New York say they question the sincerity of Bill Clinton’s statement at the NAACP last summer that the longer sentences in the 1994 crime bill were “overdone” after he clashed with BLM protesters earlier this week.On Thursday, after protesters interrupted Bill Clinton’s remarks at a rally in Philadelphia, the former president criticized the demonstrators and defended his wife’s use of a controversial term — “superpredators” — in 1996 that has been the source of protests in recent months.

“I don’t know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out into the street to murder other African-American children,” Bill Clinton told the protesters. “Maybe you thought they were good citizens—she didn’t,” he added. “You are defending the people who killed the lives you say matter. Tell the truth.”

On Friday, BuzzFeed News contacted a dozen activists based in New York, which will hold a primary on April 19. The activists said they now question the calculus behind Bill Clinton’s speech last summer, in which he said his administration was wrong for signing a bill that required longer sentences for many low-level criminals that did not justify their crimes. (“I signed a bill that made the problem worse. And I want to admit it,” he said then.)

Bill Clinton, they said, seemed to justify his wife’s 1996 usage of the term “superpredator” with the same rationale widely debunked by criminologists — a term she has apologized for and distanced herself from.

Tamika Mallory, a prominent activist and member of the board of directors of Justice League NYC, said the former president’s views are out of touch.

“Bill Clinton’s comments beg the question whether his apology — about how his policies as president negatively impacted the black community — was genuine or a campaign strategy to make Americans move past the devastation his administration caused,” she said. “What we saw yesterday is a person who is very much out of touch and I believe his true colors have once again appeared.”

"Out of touch"? Hardly.

Any American with common sense, would say that ol' Bubba's off-the-cuff remarks were spot on.

Please allow me to use my Hometown as an example of what Former President Clinton was addressing.

Jody Callahan, writing for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, posted the following article on April 3rd:

By at least one measure, the homicide rate in Memphis this year is nearly twice that of Chicago, a town that is generating unwanted notoriety for its soaring number of killings.

Through the end of March in Memphis, 60 people had been killed in the violent first three months of the year. As of the latest U.S. Census estimate, the Memphis population stands at 656,861, for a homicide rate of 9.13 victims per 100,000 population.

Through the same period in Chicago, 151 people had been killed. As of the latest U.S. Census estimate, the Chicago population stands at 2,722,389, for a homicide rate of 5.55 victims per 100,000 population.

If the Memphis numbers continue rising at that rate for the rest of the year, the city would record more than 240 homicides, a tally that would obliterate the record of 213 set in 1993.

By any measure, it's too much death, too much killing. And it's overwhelming those in the city charged with responding to it.

"It's an emotional strain on everybody right now, the whole community," Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said. "But in terms of strain on the office, sure. That's potentially 60 more cases of the most serious nature. These are the most emotionally draining and difficult cases we handle."

Memphis Police Department Acting Lt. Col. of Investigative Services Caroline Mason said the homicide unit was coping with the influx, aided by solving 46 of the 60 killings.

"Homicide is a tight-knit unit. The morale is high because they are solving these cases," she said. "It's not like it's 60 unknown, or mysteries. Again, the solve rate is 77 percent."

When asked how much extra stress the homicide increase has put on the unit, Mason said, "I wouldn't say anything about extra stress, because this is just what we do."

But a former homicide detective who spent 17 years in the unit before his retirement said he's heard the strain has been tremendous.

"It would be daunting. You have so many coming in, but so few people working on them. You're just not able to give the attention to them that you should be able to. They're coming in too fast, you're spread too thin. A lot of times when they're coming in that fast, you're going to miss stuff," Bill Ashton said, remembering his time in the unit when homicide rates were up. "When they come in that fast, you get frustrated because you don't have enough time to work on them." It's not just Memphis and Chicago, either. Other large American cities are seeing jumps in homicide numbers. A New York Times story last year pointed to such increases in several cities, including Baltimore, Milwaukee, New Orleans, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

"It's a nationwide trend," Weirich said. "For the latter part of 2015, we were all watching as major cities across the nation noticed their violent crime spiking. We ended 2015 looking good, and then lo and behold (came) Jan. 1, 2016, and all that good work is gone."

Except, DA Weirich, Memphis is now in first place, in a race that no self-respecting municipality wants to win.

Is it just me, or, gentle reader, do you also remember that we are supposed to be living under the first post-racial president?

It certainly does not seem that way.

Ever since Obama got into office, all I have heard from him is the Rhetoric of Racial Division and Class Warfare.

It reminded me of all the historical conflicts which I used to read about, during the course in college which I took, titled “The Rhetoric of Social Protest“.

Karl Marx knew long ago that all you needed to do to touch the heart of the common man was to convince him of a shared struggle.

Vladimir Lenin took this a step further, by using the concept of a shared struggle to convince the Bolsheviks to help him overthrow the Czar of Russia and murder him and his family during the Russian Revolution.

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but fiery rhetoric spoken by a national leader and his "New Bolsheviks" has consequences.

President Barack Hussein Obama is as responsible for what has happened in Ferguson, New York, Baltimore, and is happening in cities across America,  as any thug wannabe in those cities.

However, he is not alone in his responsibility.

Also responsible are the black political leaders, who make their living and get their 15 minutes of fame by exacerbating racially-divided situations. Their silence speaks volumes.

For example, by the Mayor of Baltimore, purposely giving carte blanche to the rioters to destroy her city by ordering the police to stand down, she, like the Roman Emperor Nero, lit the match that has set her kingdom ablaze.

If Black Lives truly do matter, it is the black community who are going to have to save themselves.

With a nationwide illegitimate birth rate of 74%, black Americans, with help from Uncle Sugar, have succeeded in tearing apart the very thing that kept them safe and strong for decades: the Black Family Unit.

Until that Sacred Foundation, which taught individual responsibility to generations of black Americans, is restored, the violence and disrespect for others will continue.

I remember, as a 9 year old in Memphis, Tennessee, watching my parents’ black and white television as the National Guard was called into action on the night that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

I remember after that Civil Defense Announcement that President Lyndon Johnson come on national television to make the announcement of Dr. King’s death. I remember a feeling of helplessness and of fear, as a nine-year-old, that I had not felt before.

It wasn’t just the fact that we were living in Midtown Memphis, that made me afraid.

It wasn’t just the fact of the out-of-control violence itself, that caused my consternation.

It was watching my beloved Hometown on the verge of going up in flames.

And now, 48 years later, Memphis is the #2 Most Dangerous City in America, as ranked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and has borne witness to over 60 homicides so far the year, the overwhelming majority of which were black Memphians killing one another.

Words can hurt or words can heal.

A President who was supposed to bridge the Racial Divide in this nation…has, instead, widened it.

And, with every divisive word he and the political activists whom he champions speak, the chasm of Racial Divisiveness, which has created a gaping hole in the fabric of American Society, grows wider.

Words mean things.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Jews Are Not Descended From Khazars, Hebrew University Historian Says

 Reposted from Haaretz.com
The research ended up taking him four years. “I thought I’d finish in two months, but I discovered that there was a huge amount of work. I had to check sources that aren’t in my field, and I consulted and got help from many people.”

New study finds no evidence that Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of Khazars, or that subjects in the medieval kingdom converted to Judaism en masse.
Ofer Aderet Jun 26, 2014 2:22 AM

The ruins of an 11th-12th century house in Itil, a Silk Road city that served as the Khazar capital, in July 2005.AP

    Shlomo Sand's 'The Invention of the Jewish People' is a success for Israel
    Shattering a 'national mythology'
    DNA links prove Jews are a 'race,' says genetics expert
    Ashkenazi Jews descend from 350 people, scientists say
    DNA tester: 75 percent of Jews trace ancestry to Middle East

The claim that today’s Ashkenazi Jews are descended from Khazars who converted in the Middle Ages is a myth, according to new research by a Hebrew University historian.

The Khazar thesis gained global prominence when Prof. Shlomo Sand of Tel Aviv University published “The Invention of the Jewish People” in 2008. In that book, which became a best seller and was translated into several languages, Sand argued that the “Jewish people” is an invention, forged out of myths and fictitious “history” to justify Jewish ownership of the Land of Israel.

Now, another Israeli historian has challenged one of the foundations of Sand’s argument: his claim that Ashkenazi Jews are descended from the people of the Khazar kingdom, who in the eighth century converted en masse on the instruction of their king. In an article published this month in the journal “Jewish Social Studies,” Prof. Shaul Stampfer concluded that there is no evidence to support this assertion.

“Such a conversion, even though it’s a wonderful story, never happened,” Stampfer said.

Stampfer, an expert in Jewish history, analyzed material from various fields, but found no reliable source for the claim that the Khazars – a multiethnic kingdom that included Iranians, Turks, Slavs and Circassians – converted to Judaism. “There never was a conversion by the Khazar king or the Khazar elite,” he said. “The conversion of the Khazars is a myth with no factual basis.”

As a historian, he said he was surprised to discover how hard it is “to prove that something didn’t happen. Until now, most of my research has been aimed at discovering or clarifying what did happen in the past ... It’s a much more difficult challenge to prove that something didn’t happen than to prove it did.”

That’s because the proof is based primarily on the absence of evidence rather than its presence – like the fact that an event as unprecedented as an entire kingdom’s conversion to Judaism merited no mention in contemporaneous sources. “The silence of so many sources about the Khazars’ Judaism is very suspicious,” Stampfer said. “The Byzantines, the geonim [Jewish religious leaders of the sixth to eleventh centuries], the sages of Egypt – none of them have a word about the Jewish Khazars.”


Stampfer said his research had no political motives, though he recognizes that the topic is politically fraught. “It’s a really interesting historical question, but it has political implications,” he said. “As a historian, I’m naturally worried by the misuse of history. I think history should be removed from political discussions, but anyone who nevertheless wants to use history must at least present the correct facts. In this case, the facts are that the Khazars didn’t convert, the Jews aren’t descendants of the Khazars and the contemporary political problems between Israelis and Palestinians must be dealt with on the basis of current reality, not on the basis of a fictitious past.”

Sand had tied the Khazar issue directly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, telling Haaretz in 2008 that many Jews fear that wide acceptance of his thesis would undermine their “historic right to the land. The revelation that the Jews are not from Judea [ancient Israel] would ostensibly knock the legitimacy for our being here out from under us ... There is a very deep fear that doubt will be cast on our right to exist.”

Stampfer believes the persistence of the Khazar conversion myth attests to researchers’ reluctance to abandon familiar paradigms. “Those who believed this story – and they are many – usually didn’t do so for malicious reasons,” he says. “I tell my students that the only thing I want them to remember from my classes is the need to investigate and ask – to investigate whether the arguments they hear are credible, reasonable and well-founded.” 

read more: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/1.601287

The black goo theory of everything

Joseph Morris´ prophecy update

The Gated Community

Republished from hallindsey.com

by Hal Lindsey On Sunday, followers of Jesus commemorated the pivotal moment in history when Christ our Champion defeated death.  We also remembered why He died.  He received in Himself all of His own wrath against sin and evil, so that we no longer have to fear death, or His wrath.  

It’s something of a shock for many Americans of the 21st century to think about God having wrath.  But He does.  Deuteronomy 29:23 speaks of God’s wrath toward Sodom and Gomorrah.  Psalms 78:49 tells us about God’s wrath against Egypt before Pharaoh relented and released the Children of Israel.  The Book of Revelation speaks again and again of the wrath of God.  In fact, it’s spoken of scores of times throughout scripture.

Colossians 3:6 says, “The wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.” (NKJV)  Psalm 7:11 says, “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.” (NASB)  

He is righteous, so of course He has indignation.  Sin is repugnant to righteousness.  It’s filthy and destructive, and righteousness sees it clearly.  We humans fall far short of God’s righteousness, but even we feel a certain level of indignation against sin.  When you hear of someone cheating the vulnerable, stealing from the poor, abusing children, or any one of hundreds of other evil and demeaning human activities, don’t you feel indignation?  So does God.  The difference is, He sees every gruesome detail with perfect and painful clarity.

People claim to reject God because He allows such things to happen.  But do they really want Him to put a final stop to sin and evil?  In most cases, they want Him to judge some of the world’s evil, but not all.  When He finally judges all of it (and He will), that judgment will include every person who stands outside the protection of Christ’s shed blood on the cross. 

For many, including many Christians, that is the shadow hanging over Easter.  To them, the Christ-centeredness of salvation seems undemocratic, exclusionary, and even un-American.  “Why only one way?” they ask.  “Why can’t we all just believe what we want to believe?”

They point out what they see as our exclusionist message by asking, “Will Jews go to heaven?”  The answer for Jews is the same as for anyone else.  Those who accept God’s gift of salvation in Christ will be saved.  Heaven will contain millions of Jews, including Peter, John, Paul, and Jesus Himself.  But it will not include anyone who rejects salvation in Christ.

Peter stood before the “rulers and elders and scribes” in Jerusalem and spoke to them about Jesus.  He concluded by saying, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NASB)

Bible-based Christianity makes clear that Jesus is the exclusive means of salvation.  And that really gets under a lot of people’s skin.  

Suppose someone of infinite wealth decided to build the perfect subdivision — every house a mansion and every mansion a masterpiece.  The infinitely wealthy person puts a high wall around his subdivision and allows only a single door in the wall.  He makes it the ultimate “gated community.”  That might sound exclusionary, but suppose he then said, “Everyone is welcome to come inside, pick out a mansion and live there forever for free.  I only ask that you come in through the door.”

Jesus said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved.” (John 10:9 NASB)  

Anyone!  How can it be exclusionary if it’s free and excludes no one?  Romans 6:23 tells us that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  It’s a gift, and it’s free to “whosoever will.” (Revelation 22:17)

Some still say it’s not fair, but that will change.  They apparently expect to talk their way into heaven by standing before God on Judgment Day, and convincing our all-knowing, all-powerful Creator that their sense of morality trumps His.  Instead, when the day comes, they will stand quivering before Him, a pile of fast-melting jell-o, feeling like the biggest fools who ever lived.  

In John 14:1-6 (NKJV), Jesus said, “‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

The question isn’t how you feel about God’s way of salvation.  The question is, is it true?  

In scripture, you can look at the record of Jesus’ life.  You can look at the impossibility of any mere human fulfilling the ancient prophecies about Him.  And you can look at those prophecies and see that the Messiah must be divine.  You can also look at prophecies, including His own, regarding His return, and see that we live in that time.

You believe in God.  Inspect the record, and you will believe in Jesus, too.  Trust Him.  The amazing stories are all true.  He really is who He said He is.  When you get to know Him, and His character, you will realize the power of His words, “If it were not so, I would have told you.”

Still Report #758 - Trump: Massive Recession Looms

Hillary’s Freudian Slip is Showing. Refers to Unborn as “Person”. Uh Oh. by kingsjester

This is a debate about our understanding of human dignity, what it means to be a member of the human family, even though tiny, powerless and unwanted. – Henry Hyde

[Where am I? This is July…not January. What are all these bright lights? What’s that smell? I don’t understand. I was inside my mother, sucking my thumb, all nice and safe and warm. The next thing I know, I feel this pressure on either side of my head, and I was ripped out of my mother.

Why is this happening to me? I have a whole life ahead of me.

I deserve a Mother and a Father. I will never have those. Grandparents, either. Heck, I won’t even get to know my cousins.

I want to know what milk tastes like. I want to hold a Cheerio in my hand and put it in my mouth. I want to know what it’s like to get my first tooth…to take my first step….to hear music for the first time. I want to hold a puppy. I want to have a first day in school. I want to have a best friend. I want to ride a bike. I want to have a best friend and go out to play with them. I want to know what Christmas is all about. I want to eat a turkey leg at Thanksgiving…and to see a fireworks display on the 4th of July. I want to wear costumes on Halloween. I want to go to ballgames with my Father.

I want to watch cartoons. I want to love and be loved.

I want to fall in love. I want to experience my first kiss. I want to have my parents drop me and my date off at the movie and then pick us up. I want to play sports in school…or be an artist…or be a musician…or, just be a kid.

I want to go to a pep rally. I want to dance at a prom. I want to get a report card. Heck, I want to taste a school lunch.

I want to graduate and go to college. I want to start work…and have a family.

I want to live!

Wait! What are you doing with those scissors! Don’t…]

I was born three days before my mother’s 40th birthday. To say I was a surprise is an understatement. As I recently wrote, I truly believe that they were going to name me “Oops”. That being said, I am grateful that God convicted them, regarding the sanctity of the life that my mother was carrying within her.

The issue of why "personhood" begins has always been a contentious one, as far as the subject of abortion is concerned.

Legally, America's legal System, time and time again, have charged those criminals who have stopped the beating hearts of both a mother and unborn baby with the crime of murder, with the leagal charge or First and Second Degree Homicide, respectively.

Yesterday, the presumed Democrat Presidential Candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, throw a verbal "pipe bomb" in the middle of this already volatile argument.

The Washington Times reports that

Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton ran afoul of both the pro-life and pro-choice sides of the abortion debate Sunday when she said constitutional rights do not apply to an “unborn person” or “child.”

“The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights,” Mrs. Clinton said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Now that doesn’t mean that we don’t do everything we possibly can in the vast majority of instances to, you know, help a mother who is carrying a child and wants to make sure that child will be healthy, to have appropriate medical support.”

Mrs. Clinton also said “there is room for reasonable kinds of restrictions” on abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Diana Arellano, manager of community engagement for Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, said Sunday that Mrs. Clinton’s comments undermined the cause for abortion rights.

The comment “further stigmatizes #abortion,” Ms. Arellano said in a tweet. “She calls a fetus an ‘unborn child’ & calls for later term restrictions.”

Describing the fetus as a “person” or “child” has long been anathema to the pro-choice movement, which argues the terms misleadingly imply a sense of humanity.

In addition, the specific term “person” is a legal concept that includes rights and statuses that the law protects, including protection of a person’s life under the laws against homicide. Pro-choice intellectuals have long said that even if an unborn child is a “life,” it is not yet a “person.”

Guidelines issued by the International Planned Parenthood Federation discourage pro-choice advocates from using terms such as “abort a child,” instead recommending “more accurate/appropriate” alternatives such as “end a pregnancy” or “have an abortion.”

“‘Abort a child’ is medically inaccurate, as the fetus is not yet a child,” the guide reads. “‘Terminate’ a pregnancy is commonly used, however some people prefer to avoid this as terminate may have negative connotations (e.g., ‘terminator or assassinate’) for some people.”

“‘Abort a child’ is medically inaccurate, as the fetus is not yet a child,” the guide reads. “‘Terminate’ a pregnancy is commonly used, however some people prefer to avoid this as terminate may have negative connotations (e.g., ‘terminator or assassinate’) for some people.”

The guidebook also advises against the terms “baby,” “dead fetus,” “unborn baby” or “unborn child” when discussing what it is that’s being aborted. Instead, it recommends the terms “embryo,” “fetus” and “the pregnancy.”

“The alternatives are medically accurate terms, as the embryo or fetus is not a baby,” it explains.

The exchange with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday came after Mrs. Clinton blasted Republican front-runner Donald Trump last week for saying that women should face “some form of punishment” for having abortions if they were illegal. He later reversed his statement, multiple times, after an outcry from both pro-life and pro-choice groups.

Conservatives also caught Mrs. Clinton’s words and drew implications. Commentary Editor John Podhoretz said the gaffe is comparable to those of Mr. Trump.

“This is Trump-level gaffery,” Mr. Podhoretz said in a tweet. “If you acknowledge personhood, then the unborn has every Constitutional right.”

Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro also said that Mrs. Clinton’s statement “demonstrates just how incoherent and evil the left’s abortion position is.”

As everyone knows, who was actually paying attention, Trump responded to a "What if" scenario, in which abortion was illegal. Just like Liberals lied about Michael Brown and the "Hands up. Don't Shoot" garbage, they attempted to lie about the Trump situation, as well.

But, this post is not about Donald J. Trump.

In a speech in April of 2015 at a Women’s Summit, Democratic Presidential Hopeful, Hillary Rodham Clinton, told Christian Americans. that were going to have to change our beliefs, in regards to abortion. Breitbart.com reported at the time, that

“Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth. All the laws we’ve passed don’t count for much if they’re not enforced,” Hillary Clinton said at the Women in the World Summit on Thursday night. “Rights have to exist in practice, not just on paper.  Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”

Clinton made it emphatically clear she’s not just talking about, say, the horrific abuse of women by Islamist extremists: “As I have said, and as I believe, the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their societies is the great unfinished business of the 21st century, and not just for women but for everyone… and not just in far away countries but right here in the United States.” She pointed at the very ground she was standing upon, to emphasize the point.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a Far Left Radical Follower of Saul Alinsky, like Hillary Rodham Clinton, should feel this way.

Hillary, like Obama, sincerely believes that she is the smartest person in any room that she happens to walk into.

There is no room in her ego-filled heart and mind, for a Supreme Being. Hillary, herself, believes that she is the sole arbiter of Right and Wrong in her life.

Have you ever tried to have a discussion with an ardent  pro-abortion supporter, either on Facebook or face-to-face? You won’t hear these “Champions of Tolerance” call those innocent lives, babies, human beings, a life, a soul, a gift from God, or anything remotely resembling something that they should feel remorse about killing.

Pro-Abortionists are opposed to the taking of sonograms of the woman’s womb, before she has an abortion. They’re afraid that the “seed-carrier” will realize that IS a HUMAN BEING inside her, and will decide not to kill that baby.

Heck, I have even, on a Facebook Political Page, run into one, so out of touch with reality, that they, to this very moment, insist that a baby is not a "person", until the moment of birth.

They insist that, until then, it is just a fetus.

Of course, I informed them that "fetus" is Latin for BABY.

But, that did not seem to matter to them.

If those in favor of abortion would acknowledge the personhood of a human being inside their mother's womb, they would also have to come to grips with a very harsh reality.

From the scientific perspective, Dr. Carlo Bellieni, in his book “Dawn of the I: Pain, Memory, Desire, Dream of the Fetus,” writes:

As soon as it is born, the child shows in a scientifically demonstrable way that it recognizes its mother’s voice and distinguishes it from that of a stranger. Where has he learned that voice other than in the maternal womb?

There are also direct proofs. For example, we register how the movements and cardiac frequency of the fetus vary if we transmit unexpected sounds through the uterine wall. And we see that at first the fetus is startled, then it gets used to it, just like we do when we hear something that does not interest us.

In fact, the scientific evidence is immense. We cannot understand how it can be thought that it becomes a person at a certain point, perhaps when coming out of the uterus.

From the physical point of view, at the birth very little really changes: Air enters the lungs, the arrival of blood from the placenta is interrupted, the type of circulation of blood in the heart changes, and not much more.

As I often say, only blind faith in magic arts or some strange divinity can lead one to think that there is a “human” quality leap at a given moment — certainly not science.

While this Presidential Election is not about Social Issues, this is an important gaffe by Hillary.

Why?

First, her Freudian Slip was showing. She called the being that a mother is carrying in her womb an "unborn PERSON", possibly having their Constitutional Rights violated by being murdered in their Mother's womb.

Second, the pure political entertainment value provided by that slip is priceless.

Hillary's "Moonwalk", in her attempt to limit the damage that her Freudian Slip caused, reminded me of Michael Jackson in his prime.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Three Sheets to the Wind

Republished from servehiminthewaiting.com

The vicious snake

Republished via servehiminthewaiting.com

Four Lessons From Jonah

Wednesday, June 18th, 2014

Commentary by Jack Kelley

For being only four chapters long, the Book of Jonah packs quite a punch.  Jonah was called by God to take a message to Nineveh (modern Mosul in Iraq) but ran away instead. He thought he could escape on a boat bound for Tarshish, which was about a thousand miles in the wrong direction. Of course the Lord watched him do this and created a great storm in the Mediterranean Sea as Jonah was trying to cross.


Jonah quickly realized Who had sent the storm and why. When the waves threatened to overwhelm the small ship, he convinced the sailors their only hope was to throw him over the side and when they did the storm subsided. Then the Lord summoned a great fish to rescue Jonah and He spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish while contemplating the folly of his ways. When Jonah repented, the Lord had the fish vomit him out on dry land and the next time the Lord asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, he obeyed immediately.

It’s a great lesson on the folly of trying to avoid the Lord’s call on your life, but the lessons we can learn from Jonah don’t end there. That was only the first one.

Lesson #2

Nineveh was a Gentile city, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and had no covenant with God. They had made no agreement to obey Him like the Israelites had (Exodus 24:3), and God had no obligation to save them. At one time their ancestors had known the Lord but over time the people had drifted away and taken a different path, one of paganism. But in a demonstration of His love for them in spite of their rejection of Him, God saw fit to warn them of impending judgment, and when Jonah finally arrived with God’s warning the response was remarkable to say the least.
The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” (Jonah 3:5-9)
The Pharaoh of Egypt had arrogantly asked Moses, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) But unlike him, the King of Nineveh remembered God and knew He had no desire to judge them, but that their behavior had made it necessary. If they changed their behavior maybe He would be merciful.

They changed their behavior, God showed compassion, and judgment was averted.
Now this was no small feat. Nineveh was a large and important city. According to Jonah 3:3 a visit to Nineveh required 3 days just to see it all. Jonah 4:11 tells us 120,000 people lived there. And everyone of them from the greatest to the least obeyed the King’s directive.
Besides fasting, praying and donning sack cloth we’re not told just what the Ninevites did to postpone their time of judgment. The King’s decree called on the people to give up their evil ways and their violent behavior, but there’s no indication that they ever converted to Judaism or offered sacrifices for their sins, or even began to worship the God who had threatened them. We don’t know of any who were saved through faith in the coming Redeemer. They just tried to behave in a manner they thought would be more acceptable to Him.

It was external, physical, national behavior and to some extent it worked. One generation of Ninevites was spared a terrible judgment and allowed to die in peace, but as far as we can tell they all went to Hell anyway. And the next generation went back to behaving as badly as ever. They conquered the Northern Kingdom and scattered its people to the four winds, leading them away into slavery. The one after that came within one day of conquering the South before God put an end to their evil ways. The night before the battle, when they were camped on Mt. Scopus looking down over the Temple Mount, God sent an angel into their camp with devastating results.
Then the Angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. (Isaiah 37:36-37)

Of course God knew all this would happen when He sent Jonah to Nineveh. He knew He was going to empower the Babylonians to conquer the so-called known world and that Nineveh and the entire Assyrian Empire would soon be no more. So what was His point?
I think this lesson from Jonah was intended as a message to the Israelites. The Northern Kingdom was over 100 years into it’s flirtation with idolatry and Jonah was a prophet from the land of Zebulon who was known to the King (2 Kings 14:25). Later, the southern Kingdom would fall into idolatry as well and over a 23 year period God would offer them a deal even better than the one Jonah carried to Nineveh.  Jeremiah 25:3-6 tells us that God promised not to harm them if they would just turn from their idolatrous practices.

In an effort to turn his people back to Him, God was using Nineveh to give them a demonstration of His Promise to them in 2 Chronicles 7:14; “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
The Ninevites were not God’s people and they weren’t called by His name, but when they humbled themselves and turned from their wicked ways the scheduled judgment was postponed. Tragically, the Israelites of both kingdoms, who were God’s people, missed this lesson from Jonah, ignored His promise, and suffered the consequences. The lesson was wasted.

Lesson #3

700 years later Jesus said He would prove Himself to Israel’s leaders using Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish as a sign. It would be another lesson from Jonah.
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:38-40)

He was speaking of the resurrection, an unmistakable sign that He was who He claimed to be. It was the definitive proof they had asked for, and should have removed all doubt that He was their Messiah. After all, how many other times had someone made such a prediction and then fulfilled it? And just as Jonah had given Nineveh 40 days notice, Jesus waited 40 days after His crucifixion for Israel to recognize Him before finally departing for Heaven (Acts 1:3,9). That lesson was wasted, too.

Lesson #4

In Romans 15:4 Paul said that everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. That being the case there’s a lesson from Jonah for us, too. But remember, things that were external, physical and national in the Old Testament often become internal, spiritual, and personal in the New. (Read Something Old, Something New.)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

When Jesus came into the world we began receiving clues that God’s focus was widening to include all His creation, not just Israel. Henceforth the emphasis would shift from external, physical, national behavior to internal, spiritual, personal belief.  It’s not how we behave that saves us, but what we believe.

The Ninevites responded to Jonah’s warning with external, physical, national behavior and their generation escaped the coming judgment. So if God sent a prophet like Jonah with a similar warning to us today, what would be the proper response? Is there a New Testament equivalent to 2 Chron. 7:14? The answer is yes and it’s John 6:28-29.
 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

It’s becoming more and more obvious that the world is under judgment. No nation is exempt. Escape from judgment has become a personal matter, and can only be found by joining a people of no nation, but of a Kingdom that’s in the world but not of the world. The Kingdom of God. And our King, who cannot lie, has promised to protect us from the judgment.
They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath (1 Thes. 1:9-10).
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes 5:9).
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth (Rev. 3:10).
No matter what country you live in, trying to appropriate Old Testament promises made to a different people under a different set of rules won’t do any good. You can’t save your country but you can save yourself by believing in the one God sent to save you. And then by the power of the Holy Spirit you can show others how to save themselves the same way. Remember, it’s internal, spiritual and personal.

If you know for sure you belong to the Lord, then you have nothing to worry about. Your challenge now is to live in such a way that your life serves as an example that attracts others to Him. If you’re not sure you’re His, you should hurry to make yourself so. Everyone who asks receives, all who seek will find, and to whoever knocks the door will be opened (Matt. 7:7-8). No one is refused, no one is excluded. All you have to to is to admit you’re a sinner, and ask Him to be your Savior and to forgive your sins. He will send His Holy Spirit to show you what to do from there (Ephes. 1:13-14). The Church could disappear any day now, without a prior sign or warning, and those who are left behind will soon be living in a much less friendly world.

When the people of Nineveh heard the voice of Jonah they responded immediately and although Nineveh’s destruction was foreordained, their generation was spared. The same is true today, but the appropriate response is different. Instead of being external, physical and national it’s internal, spiritual, and personal. The destruction of the world is foreordained. If you hear the voice of the Lord, respond immediately and you’ll be spared. It’s our most important lesson from Jonah. Don’t let it be wasted like the others. 03-10-12