THE WAR WITH HAMAS

By Jan Willem van der Hoeven

Four year-old Daniel Tragerman, hy"d, the victim of Friday's Hamas mortar fire on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, was laid to rest Sunday morning at the Hevel Shalom cemetery in the Eshkol Region amidst heartbreaking scenes. Daniel's mother Gila eulogized him: 

"I do not understand what's going on at all, sweetie," Gila stated. "I cannot believe I'm here to say goodbye."

"We were the happiest family in the world and I do not accept this," she added. "My Daniel, we want to thank you for teaching us to love, to smile, and for giving us many moments of joy in such a short time. You're smart, sensitive, beautiful."

"I find comfort in that you were a child who was loved, and who was happy, until his last moments," she continued. "We wanted to protect you, but even the 'code red' siren did not protect us."

"God in heaven, strengthen us, give us the strength to continue," she concluded. "We left you your Spiderman costume you loved so much ... we don't want to say goodbye."  

Four year old Daniel Tragerman was one of the last casualties of the just fought war with Hamas. The eulogy of Daniel's mother is heartrending.

Of course we all would wish peace to return to all of Israel's population as a result of the just concluded ceasefire deal by way of Egypt. But this is not the way it is going to be. Peace, like in Europe after the defeat of the Nazis will only come in the way Elisha prophesied to the King of Israel as reported in 2 Kings 13:14-19:

Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, "O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!" And Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and some arrows." So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. And he said, "Open the east window"; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot"; and he shot. And he said, "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them." Then he said, "Take the arrows"; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground"; so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times." (2 Kings 13:14-19)

So if in light of this Israelis will ask what Israel needs to do, Israel needs to win a war if she wants to win a peace.

What brought peace to Europe?  Endless ceasefires and subsequent endless negotiations?  No!  You have to win a war to win a peace. This is the lesson of history and for that matter also of the Bible!

There is this story of the prophet Elisha coming to the king of Israel.  He says to him to shoot his arrow in the direction of Syria, "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance."  The king does it three times and the prophet is upset and says to the king of Israel, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck till you had destroyed it." (2 King 13:19)

This then is the lesson of history - it was only after the allied forces came to Berlin and conquered the Nazi system, with all its evil, that peace came and reigned over Europe for over fifty years.

When Shimon Peres quips, "peace you make with enemies" he forgets this lesson that Europe, which he so admires and wants to be the example for a new Middle East, has peace today not because we negotiated with our enemies but because the Allies won the war!

Therefore when Shimon Peres quips, making the seemingly true - but highly deceptive - statement that "Peace one makes with one's enemies," he in fact is making a historical blunder.

Throughout history, peace has been made with conquered enemies OR with enemies who underwent a change of heart and mind, and were therefore willing to live in peace with their former foes. But none of this is true insofar as virtually all of Israel's present enemies are concerned. They have never been truly defeated and they have shown no change of heart. They are eaten up by an all-consuming hatred for little Israel!

Just as the Nazis were soundly defeated by the Allied forces, so Israel's enemies need to be defeated before there is even a chance of living in peace with them!

And this is precisely what God repeatedly spells out in the Tanach throughout Israel's history: Do not make an alliance or a peace treaty with those who have shown again and again that they are your sworn enemies.

And yet this has been Israel's modern history through the outcome of the suicidal foolishness of OSLO, when Israel's leaders made "peace" with the instigator of all terrorism, Yasser Arafat - trusting him enough to give him guns and weapons to guard this lie - a peace that never was his intention nor that of his Palestinians.

For this treaty Arafat, together with those Israeli leaders, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in Oslo!!

This, then, is the end result, as Israel has sadly and bloodily experienced in all the years that followed OSLO: death and destruction and the breaking of all promises made to Israel by Arafat and the Palestinian leadership.

Even contemporary history abundantly bears out the truth of this, God's wisdom. Churchill, not Chamberlain, became the instrument that secured peace for Europe through the total defeat of Nazism. For where Chamberlain's way was a treaty with Adolf Hitler that was full of holes, Churchill's was to bring a complete victory over the evil of the Nazi's philosophy.

May peace then come to Israel these days, not in man's way, but in God's way as expressed in the ancient - but still true and appropriate - words of the Psalmist:

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah

Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, "Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession." O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83)

And if there has to be a war it is better to have it now before our enemies have the nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, rather than later when the human toll will be unbearable.

May G-d help Israel therefore next time, if she has to fight another war, not just to win another battle or another ceasefire, but may God, also in answer to our prayers, cause Israel to win this war so that peace can come to this region!

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director

International Christian Zionist Center

Email Address: iczc@iczc.org.il        

Web-site: www.israelmybeloved.com

Promises Made to the Children of God

 - by Pastor Mike - 

http://www.churchofgod-usa.org/1/post/2014/08/promises-made-to-the-children-of-god.html

 Of all the chapters in the Bible that provides a description of what  promises are afforded to the redeemed child of God, (and there are many) Romans chapter 8 is my personal favorite and I want us to jump right in and discover these rich, wonderful promises that God has given us, through Jesus Christ , our Lord.

 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.

8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

This has got to be one of the most beloved chapters for myself  that Paul ever  wrote. So much promise and hope for  following after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because of His love for us, we do not fear the condemnation of a Holy God. We walk after the Spirit, demonstrated by the life of our Savior as our perfect example. Because we could not keep the Law of God perfectly, as God knew from the beginning that we could not, God became man and took on our likeness in the flesh, so that all who believe in Him, are not condemned through the breaking of His Law, but are saved by grace, as a willful, glorious act of divine love and mercy. We are clothed in His righteousness when we will stand before the Father in heaven, as God the Father will see nothing but the righteousness of His Son in us. We must die to this life in the flesh as demonstrated by the act of baptism, and become new creatures following after the Spirit of God.

8:5  "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."

Man by himself, cannot follow the ways of God as expressed in His Laws and written down on tables of stone, called the Ten Commandments. God being the author of those laws that were written by His own finger, God became man and stood on the Mount of Olives, called the Sermon on the Mount, and in this sermon gave His instructions on what was prior the letter of the law or a legalistic approach to His law. By giving us the spiritual intent of what it meant to keep the law of God by our actions, our focus, and spiritually dying to this world through belief on Him, the only Begotten Son of God, Jesus proclaimed what those laws meant to each of us.

 People who call themselves Christians fail to understand that there MUST be a change in nature, in habits, and in the way you conduct your daily life. It doesn't come "prest-chango" as some would have you believe, but is a life- long process of character building found in our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 We see so called "Christians" today that you can't tell any difference in them and the rest of the world. Does a truly converted, saved individual return to the pig trough of this world and continue in the same behavior that God was willing to save you out of? I had a conversation with some other ministers and we all were in agreement that the direction of the "modern Emergent church" is anathema to what God ordained for His church to be an example of. The church is not a building, not a denomination, not your favorite speaker on the Prosperity Gospel, but each and every one of us that have Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit residing within our hearts and dwelling within each of us, as a deposit of future glory and total redemption. We follow the Bible only, not some new feel good gospel that emphasizes personal growth in this world, but of the world that is coming....sooner than you may even think. We store up treasures in heaven, not here on earth.

 I had a gentleman who called expressing sorrow for not being able to quit sinning concerning a particular distressing manifestation of the flesh that kept occurring in his life. I had to remind him, "welcome to the human race." Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, complained the very same thing when he wrote: Romans chapter 7,

7:18  "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

 Dropping down:

  "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.

7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

God knows that we are still in mortal bodies, subject to sins of the flesh, but that doesn't mean He doesn't want us to try through faith and trust in His power, His strength, and that not of our own. When we fail, we come to Him in repentance and confess our sins :

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". 1st John 1:9.

A RECIPE FOR VICTORY IN THIS LIFE

 We are to arm ourselves with the whole armor of God, which is the only way we can stand up to the wiles of the devil. Paul detailed what it takes to be a Christian in the spirit in the times we live in. Ephesians chapter 6,

6:12  "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

There is a difference in being weak in the flesh and seeking God to deliver you from temptations and sinning unintentionally because of being mortal, but a truly regenerated Christian does not continue in willful sin. He doesn't lie, doesn't steal, doesn't commit sexual immorality, and doesn't continue to live like the rest of the world. The Christian comes out of this world, even though they are in the world, they are not of it any longer. A TRUE follower of Jesus Christ, picks up the sword as a warrior by learning to put on the whole armor of God, as found in the pages of your bible, and stamped on your soul in times of prayer. Paul explains this very clear principal in the follow verses, as we return to Romans chapter 8.

8:11 "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"

Think for a moment here about your life. Have you ever done something that instantly pricked your spiritual heart, and unsettled your mind? You knew immediately that you had done wrong, and that God was in plain view and seeing your sin. You can't hide it from Him and it brought an instant sadness, or at least when you had a chance to think about what you had done. You couldn't rest until you confessed that sin and ask forgiveness and when He forgives, (and He always does) instantaneously we are back in fellowship with Him and a weight is suddenly lifted from our shoulders and off of our mind.

 The bible is not a smorgasbord that we can pick and choose what we like and discard what is too hard, is not popular, or doesn't fit our "lifestyle". I am distressed when I hear that we can do whatever we like, after believing on Jesus Christ and God will keep us in His family, even if we live like the devil. "Now it's party time" they say. How serious were you when you made that commitment to follow after Jesus Christ? Christian means follower of Jesus Christ, as a disciple, a believer in what He said, and by taking on His likeness. Know one thing, my friend, even the demons believe in Jesus Christ, but they are not followers of His way of life, and they are not saints. James chapter 2,

2:19  "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

That's not to say that works save you. No, not at all, but it does say that works is a product of being saved...otherwise, you are putting the cart before the horse. Works does not provide salvation, but salvation does produce works. They are in separable if you be truly found in Jesus Christ. Point is, you change and you are not the same as you were before. You belong to Jesus Christ. He purchased you and you are no longer your own, but are waiting to be born into the Kingdom of God. We have that promise, we have that deposit of His Holy Spirit. It's time that we live like it.

 We all are in "bible school" and being taught and learning the ways of Almighty God, the Father and His Son. As we grow in spiritual maturity by reading, memorizing and hiding His Word in our hearts, the acts of sinning that we once committed will become less and less. Oh, the temptation will still be there, as the devil never gives up, but the desire will be buffeted with the knowledge of God's way, by reading His Word. We rely on His strength, His power, and His Holy Spirit to lead us away from the temptation and hold firm to the thought, "no, I'm not ever going to allow myself to grieve my Lord, again." We learn, we overcome, and in the end, we will win and be welcomed into His presence.

WHAT A GLORIOUS PROMISE

8:17 " And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God."

Can you fathom what verse 17 is saying? "Heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" is what it says. What does it mean? It means that what Jesus is right now, what belongs to Him as inheritance and what Family He belongs to, we will share in the same. We will belong to the family of Jehovah, (Yahweh), the Almighty. We will be of the same essence, the same spiritual body, the same power of the mind, and endued with unspeakable power and glory, all to the glory of the Father because He imparted it to us when we are changed into spirit beings with a new body(  just as His Son has a new body), at His coming for His church. It will be a glorious body full of potential. We will begin by reigning with Jesus for 1000 years as Kings and Priests during the Kingdom of God on earth, and further into the vast expanses of eternity. We will have a life of power and glory without end. Right now we can only imagine...we cannot fully comprehend it till it comes to pass. Our minds could not handle the realization and the scope of what awaits us. 1st Corinthians,

2:9" But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

God has promised all things. Nothing will be withheld from us. He will lead us to a glorified life that we cannot even begin to imagine. I reminded of a song "I Can Only Imagine."

 "Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel

 Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of you be still

 Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall

 Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all ? I can only imagine. Yes, I can only imagine"

 Yes, we can only imagine, but we cannot  fully comprehend the glory that will be found in us, because of His love, mercy, and His grace.

 Continuing in Romans,

8:20  "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

OUR BLESSED HOPE

 Notice how he lays the foundation by turning our attention to our hope. He reminds us that God purposefully made life subject to futility. Futility is a frustrating quality that wears away at one's confidence. It can produce a sense of hopelessness that leads us to think that nothing will work out. Sometimes our pilgrimage seems so long and arduous that we take our eyes from our Savior, and hopelessness builds. However, Paul reminds us that God does everything in love and wisdom and for our good. Futility is an obstacle that we must overcome through faith in God. Yet, He has willed that  futility be present, intending that we use it as a prod to use our faith in cooperation with Him despite its presence.

8:26  "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

  8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

These are powerful, positive statements concerning our struggles . Why should we be fearful that God cannot take care of us? Does God ever fail to succeed in whatever He does? Did you say never? Correct, never. These verses flatly and dogmatically state that  if we want to cooperate in faith to bring God's purpose for us to its intended conclusion, we must, I repeat, must, believe that His watchfulness over us involves every circumstance of our lives.

 Now this does not mean that God gives us everything we want, but gives us what is in His perfect will. God will always give what is best for us. That's why the Prosperity Gospel is so offensive, as it goes against the will of God. It holds God hostage and says that we know what is best for ourselves, and God just needs to give us whatever we desire. It's a serious breach of Biblical principles of God's sovereignty and His perfect wisdom. With God in our corner, what has a true child of God to fear? The answer is nothing.

8:29 " For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

God knew before the foundation of the world, who would respond to His call, and who would not. It comes down to an individual's will. God will not force His will on anyone to save them. He will give them a choice, either life or death, light or darkness. We can choose to be with Him for all eternity, or choose to be separated from all forms of joy, love, happiness, or hope by being banished from His presence because of unforgiven sin. To me, that truly is hell. That is independent of any punishment if you believe there is a hell fire, or not. To be separated from the Giver of life and loose all hope for all eternity, now that is the definition of  'Hell". We are commanded to keep the charge of what Jesus Christ told us to do with our lives. John chapter 14,

14:15 " If ye love me, keep my commandments.

14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

The Holy Spirit given on the Day of Pentecost was the start of God's focus on His church. That same Spirit is with us today, giving us strength, hope and resolve to finish this race and become sons of God.

 Notice the last verses quoted above of Romans 8, but see verse 31, as it puts a cap on why we should never be fearful of missing out on the provision of our God. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" God has the power and the will, and He does not make mistakes or empty promises. Paul then lists what God has already done for all concerned and what He wants to do for each of us in the life we live for Him. Our responsibility is to choose to put these facts to work in our specific circumstances.

8:32  "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

Satan is already defeated when we say "yes, Lord" and believe in our hearts and our minds, that Jesus is God, that He was raised from the dead, and that He lives forevermore. Satan makes charges against His saints every waking moment. He hates the children of God and accuses them mercilessly before a loving God, but Jesus stands at God's own right hand and is our Kinsman Redeemer, who bought that which was lost by shedding His own blood in a perfect sacrifice for what we could not do, save ourselves. Jesus saved us and brought us into His family as sons and daughters to God the Father, and brothers and sisters to Himself, God's only begotten Son, that through one supreme act of love, dying in our stead and receiving of what we deserved....death. He was our substitute, our sacrifice to satisfy a Holy God.

8:35  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Focus in on that nothing can separate us from God...nothing, my friend. Nothing in this material life, in the spiritual life to come, any creature, or any calamity can take us out of God's hand, or separate us from His love.

 You who have been reading these powerful words of promise, of hope, and eternal security found in Jesus Christ and Him alone, you ask yourself, am I also included in these promises? There is only one way that you can claim the promises that Paul wrote in this most glorious description of our future, eternal existence and being found in His presence, in His love, and close fellowship with the One who made you. How, you say, do I claim it?

 It's so easy, a child can do it. Jesus said,

Matthew 18:3-4 "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

 And as believing little children that by faith believe God, what is it we must believe?

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Like I said, a child can do it. I did it when I was 10 years old and was still soft and tender in heart to the calling of the Holy Spirit. Does that mean, as an adult you can't do the same? No, it just takes a spirit that humbles itself and become child-like, and says

"I can't do this alone. I am a sinner, born into sin. I want to live for eternity in your presence. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness, and I accept Jesus Christ, as my Redeemer and believe that Jesus is God, come in the flesh, and chose to die in my place. I believe now that you are alive and are coming again to gather unto yourself, the sons of God."

 You say those words with a believing heart  and do not doubt that Jesus can save you from your sins, He WILL become your best friend, your Lord and Savior, and  your Kinsman Redeemer  from your lost condition of being condemned in the flesh. But returning to the opening verse of this passage of Scripture, it emphasizes what we who have given our life and loyalty, by faith in Jesus Christ, can expect .  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."

 Humble  yourself, my reader and accept  the free gift given by God, and embodied in His only Begotten  Son, Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He calls you now.

 This is pastor Mike Taylor, praying God's salvation comes into your life today. If there be any need for counselings, prayer, or just a listening ear to what troubles you, contact me at realteam1999@sbcglobal.net, God bless you richly, till we meet at Jesus feet.

Hamas - Islamism Embracing The Moon God The Murderer

THE LIE OF SATAN

International Christian Zionist Center

Web-site: http://www.israelmybeloved.com/

ISLAM is the only world religion younger than all the others. It is not, I repeat not, the third monotheistic religion after Judaism and Christianity, because Allah is a supreme desert deity, a moon god, and definitely not the God of Israel or the Father of Jesus Christ.

According to the earliest sources Allah, by way of a union with the sun god, had three daughters: Manat, Al-Uzza and Al-Lat. Mohammed later renounced this, saying the account had been inspired by Satan - and the verses related to it "the Satanic Verses - as they became known - were expunged from the Quran.  

But this is a very grave matter, for Mohammed claimed to have had the entire Quran dictated to him by Gabriel, the Archangel - which implies that Gabriel was susceptible to inspiration from the Devil! This also then explains why, on most of the crucial points, the Quran belies or twists the record of the Bible - God's holy Word. The Quran asserts that Allah has no son; it also has no concept of Allah as Father. The Bible says, "this is the spirit of Anti-Christ, he who denies the Son and the Father." If Allah was the same being as the God of the Bible, he would want all men to know that he gave his only begotten son to die for us, that we through him the spirit of adoption whereby we can call him Abba, Father, and that we might receive eternal life.

And yet nowhere is there such fierce resistance to this Good News - this Gospel - than in the motherland of Islam - Saudi Arabia.

The Quran or ISLAM contradicts the Bible by insisting that Abraham bound Ishmael instead of Isaac to offer him as a sacrifice, and that the event happened in Arabia and not on Mount Moriah, which is in Jerusalem. The Quran gainsays the Bible and asserts that Jesus did not die on the cross, but fell into a swoon.  Thus ISLAM also denies the miracle of the physical resurrection of Jesus - robbing humanity of both forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, and of victory over death and the grave through His resurrection.

Jesus spoke these words:

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  (John 8:44-45)

There are so many instances to show that a very evil spirit stands behind this religion - one who is a murderer and a liar, just as Jesus here sets forth. From the very beginning, ISLAM came with the sword, subjugating millions of men and women to the teachings of Allah by way of its so-called holy war. As Hebrew University Professor of Islam Moshe Sharon once noted: ISLAM had the sword before it had the Quran. In his short life, Mohammed himself fought more than 50 wars.  

ISLAM certainly is not a peaceful religion but a religion of war and terror.

This was not only the reality during ISLAM's turbulent beginnings; it remains true today, as we have ample visible evidence in the earth we call this global village.

It was Muslims (19 of them!) who flew the captured planes through the Pentagon and Twin Towers, killing some 3000 men, women and children.  

Muslim-inspired nations have sought, and still seek, to wipe Israel from the map of the Middle East, rejecting as they largely still do the United Nations Partition Plan dividing the historic land of Israel so that Jews and Arabs could establish their homes.

It was Arafat - and numerous Arab terrorist leaders with him - that initiated a terrorist movement, also in the name of ISLAM, that was backed by nearly all Islamic countries, and which has cut a swathe of murder, massacre and destruction all over the world, threatening the equilibrium of decent, peace-loving society.

ISLAM gives itself the right to steal and plunder, to lie, destroy and kill, all in the name and for the sake of Allah - the god they repeatedly venerate from their minarets as being greater ('akbar') than any other.

By offering those who are victorious in this jihad battle the benefits of sex through violence either in this world or in the world to come, Mohammed gave his people a tremendous incentive for this path of conquest.

Those who seek the truth, and those who speak the truth, ISLAM will hate and kill. This is why Jesus says that unless we bind this strong man or lying principality by constant, fervent prayer, we will not be able to free and loosen those bound by it.

But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.  (John 8:40)

No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.  (Mark 3:27)

The following report by CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell shows once again how evil this principality remains:

ERBIL, Kurdistan -- Islamic terrorists in Iraq are beheading children and burying people alive, and it won't stop there. They have a message for America: "We're coming for you."

Over the past week, the army of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), also known as IS (Islamic State), swallowed up swaths of Iraq like a pervading darkness.

In just one day, tens of thousands of Christians fled from towns like Qaraqosh and Bartilla, about 25 miles away. Most came to the town of Erbil with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

"America is at a crossroad," says Retired Gen. Paul Vallely, who has more than 15 years of experience in special operations and other military ops. He shared his insight on the chaos in Iraq and how it will impact America, on The 700 Club, August 11.

"They take everything from the house, from the store, everything," one refugee told CBN News. "They hate Christian especially. We don't know why."

The choice was leave or die.

"They say if anyone don't [sic] become like Muslim, we['re] going to kill them, each one, from baby to women to old man," he said. "We don't have anything here," one woman told CBN News.

"They bombed the churches and already took our houses," she continued. "We have nothing here. No money. No ID. No travel documents."

Dr. Sarah Ahmed, with the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, called the attacks "a genocide."

"What's happening now to the Christians, to the Yazidis, to the minorities is - in the last couple of days mostly to the Christians - is a genocide," she told CBN News. "What's happening is what happened 200 years ago to the Jews [sic]."

The Yazidis follow an ancient religion with ties to Zoroastrianism.

Dr. Ahmed relayed stories she'd heard of the barbarism of ISIS.

"That ISIS was shooting the kids and people, and they were laying them on the ground and they bring tractors that they walk [drive] over them in front of their families," she said. "They take women out of their houses so if a family had three daughters, they would take one."

In the wake of the ISIS advance, thousands of ethnic Yazidis escaped to a mountain outside the town of Sinjar. Some Christians found shelter at a Catholic compound in Erbil. These families fled a few weeks ago when ISIS ethnically cleansed the city of Mosul. The Islamists gave an ultimatum to the Christians there.

"They gave us four choices," one refugee told CBN News. "Either convert to Islam or paying tax [jizya, the Islamic tax on non-Muslims] or leaving the city or the sword."

"They are using the sword to cut off hand[s] and also beheading other[s] so I don't think this is the behavior of human beings, but wild animals do that," he concluded.

ISIS looted their properties and left them destitute. One woman told CBN News they took her dentures, wedding ring, and documents.

"They took everything," she said. "We asked them please give us something to show that we owned our car, our home. They said, 'Here, you have nothing.'"

Even though these Christians are the indigenous people of the region, many simply want to leave. They're pleading for the United States, United Nations and Pope Francis to come to their aid.

"We are asking the responsible states of the international community to come and look and see how all the people are living here," one woman said.

On hearing this heartrending story, one observer correctly commented:

"There is no difference today (except for weapons) than what their prophet did with his armies to unite the Arabs and to spread this 'religion'. No difference at all. There are hundreds of thousands of Muslims in America (and in many other countries!). Where is the outcry? The silence is deafening."

All over the world this deceiving and true face of Satan can be seen: in the cruel kidnapping of over 300 young Nigerian girls by the Boko Haram, in the brutal slayings by Muslims even of one another in Syria, Gaza, Iraq and other places, in the awful massacres by the Muslim regime in Khartoum, Sudan, of the South Sudanese Christians and others, in the killings in the Philippines, Lebanon and many other places, all by fanaticized Muslims - Sunni or Shiite - it makes little difference.

The foundational reason is that all this murder and mayhem is done in the name of this lie, in the name of Allah. Muslim leaders like Yasser Arafat, Saddam Hussein, Hassan Nasrallah, Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Masha'al, Mu'amar Gaddafi, Ruholla Khomeini, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hassan Rouhani from Iran, or the virulently anti-Semitic new president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan - one thing is certain, they all believe themselves to be devout Muslims!!!

The Western World, largely through its own corruption, has become too weak to withstand this danger that is equivalent in threat to that once posed by the Nazis - infiltrated as the West is by millions who adhere in their hearts and minds to the teachings of ISLAM and somewhere agree, though maybe not all with the same fervor, that the whole world should be brought under ISLAMIC sharia law.

It seems it is only Israel that is plucky and courageous enough to fight this all-pervasive danger, yes, in a way also on behalf of the West, which is nearly helpless to confront it. Not for nothing do ISLAM's faithful call Israel the little Satan and the United States the great Satan. For these battle-hardened Muslim terrorists know that little Israel is standing in the way of them subduing Europe again, as they did in the 8th century Europe, and now also the US - so that, as the commander of ISIS declared, they can fly the flag of ISLAM from the roof of the White House!

It took a long and continual battle by the Allied forces, undergirded by the fervent prayers and intercessions of God's people, to finally win the war over the evil of Nazism. In the same way it will take a huge spiritual investment and much intercessory prayer before this evil of ISLAM is finally bound and done away with. And as God, in the days of the Second World War, used the Allied Forces to give mankind victory over the Nazis, may He strengthen His people Israel - and  Israel's allies - to do so now.

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director

International Christian Zionist Center

          

The following is a video exposing some of these lies regarding Israel.

The Fourth Apostasy

Globalism - Ecumenism

http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7857

Pete Garcia

''Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.'' (1 Timothy 4:1-4 NKJV)

After having been released by the Medo-Persian King Cyrus, the Jews under Joshua and Zerrubabel began returning to Jerusalem around 538-37 BC.  By the time Jesus was born in Bethlehem, some 500 years later, the rebuilt Jewish temple and the whole city had been fully operational for centuries.  Aside from a three year period in which Antiochus Epiphanes terrorized Jerusalem, each successive Gentile Empire (Persian, Greek, Roman) allowed the Jews to keep their temple and their worship intact.  Fair to say, their religion was firmly entrenched by the time Christ came.

So why wasn’t their crowd thronging the manger where Christ was born? Why didn’t Herod’s priests break out into joyous exaltation at the news by the wise men when seeking the One ‘born king of the Jews’? Why wasn’t Jesus followed by the leading Rabbis from his early childhood onward?  Why was Jesus unknown outside of Galilee and Nazareth?

John the Baptist seemingly recognized Him as He approached him to be baptized, even calling Him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  So why did he later ask when imprisoned, “are you really the Christ, or should we wait for another?”

Jesus performed miracles, but then told those not to call Him the Messiah.  When He had huge crowds, He gave some of His harshest messages, often laden with parables, which could not be understood by the masses.  When He was around His disciples, He allowed them to recognize Him as the “Son of the living God”, but He shunned all the Messiah worship from the crowds.  The only day in which He publicly allowed them to openly worship Him as the Messiah, was on Palm Sunday, which should have been the one day they recognized Him for who He really was.

It was exactly 173,880 days (or 483 years) from the day King Artaxerxes gave the commandment to Nehemiah to go and rebuild the city and the walls of Jerusalem.  This meant that only Jesus could be the One who could fulfill the role of a Promised King.  And knowing what lie ahead, instead of rejoicing over Jerusalem, He wept.

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44

In less than a week, Jesus would be betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, beaten, spat upon, whipped bloody, mocked, tortured, and crucified between two thieves.  The Jews demanded it, the Romans accommodated it, the guards relished in it, and the sky darkened and the ground shook upon the greatest travesty the world had ever known.

The all-powerful God who created man out of dust, and spoke the universe into existence by His sheer will, humbled Himself and allowed His creation to brutalize Him to an agonizing death on a cross made of wood, from the very trees He created out of nothing.  His disciples were scattered, His family and friends demoralized, and His enemies rejoiced.

Yet, on the third day, He rose again, conquering death and hell in the process, and forever freeing sinful man from the perfect demands, of a perfect Law, he could never possibly keep.  He died for the sins of mankind, and traded His own perfect righteousness, for our shameful sinfulness.

Some call it the most lopsided, and unfair deal in all of human history.  Yet, He did it willingly, so that any man or woman who wanted, could also obtain the righteousness of God by heeding the drawing of the Holy Spirit and placing their faith and trust into Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection.  That same Holy Spirit who drew, then also eternally sealed the believer until the Day of Redemption…guaranteeing Salvation despite our continual unfaithfulness.

In the Old Testament, God had entered into a covenant with the Israelites, at Mt. Sinai, (1500-1400BC) in which they would be His people, and He would be their God, as long as they kept their end of the bargain up. [Exodus 19:1-7]  But our Scripture records, three distinct periods, in which Israel’s apostate behavior reached a culmination point:

By Hosea’s day (755-710BC), the Northern Kingdom (Israel) had fallen into deep apostasy, and God allowed their enemy (the Assyrians) to conquer and carry them off into a lost history.  See also  2 Kings 17:21-23

By Jeremiah’s day (627-570BC), the Southern Kingdom (Judah) had also fallen into apostasy, and God allowed their enemy, the Babylonians, to carry them off into 70 years of enslavement.

By AD33, the Jews had committed the greatest apostasy, by murdering their own Messiah, and God allowed the Romans to be His instrument of their destruction.  In 70AD, they killed more than a million Jews, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, and sending the Jews into 2,000 years of diaspora.

The Fourth Apostasy

Hinting by way of question as to the length of time between the first coming and the second, Jesus asked the question ‘…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)  He already knew the answer to the question, but was conveying that Christianity’s ebb and flow would have to happen, until a point was reached, in which this body too, seemed to be at a culminating point.  It would seem as if Christ would never return…and many would turn away from the true faith and follow after whatever the world was selling.

The slide into apostasy was a gradual, yet consistent one.  An element of the apostate has always been present since the beginning, but in the latter times, it would pick up momentum.  Where true, Biblical Christianity once stood, is now being increasingly replaced by catchy slogans and marketing campaigns designed to increase attendance and generate an obscene cash flow. Where doctrinal truths are set aside to accommodate the masses.

Instead of portraying the Gospel that saves, they present a highly commercialized, highly filtered, and utterly lukewarm (as not to offend) ‘gospel’ that teaches: all love and no judgment, all blessing and no repentance and turns the focus to self, instead of being on Christ, ignores or perverts the prophetic Scripture, and teaches the “kingdom is now”.

The Apostle Paul speaks to this in various places (2 Tim 3:1-9; Gal. 1:8-9; 1 Tim 4:1) as does Peter (2 Peter 2:1-22, 3:17), Jude (1-25), the writer of Hebrews (6:4-6), and also Jesus Himself (Rev. 3:14-22).

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition 2 Thess 2:3

The last and final falling away, (apostasia) is a de-Christianizing of Christianity.  It removes the exclusivity of salvation through Christ alone, and injects salvation by works and/or promotes a Universalist salvation, in which all paths lead to God.

Although a complete falling away cannot occur this side of the Rapture (see Matthew 16:18-19), we can see modern Christendom trending heavily that way now.  The push is to unite all of Christianity together under the banner of ecumenicalism…led by the “original” universal church in Rome under the Pope.  The Charismatics, Prosperity preachers, and Emergent church devotee’s seem already onboard with this.  Their goal is to stifle dissent as being divisive.  And although it’s not an overwhelming problem at the moment, it is growing.

The Bible records that Christendom in the world does not progressively get better, but gets worse.  The last church age is not one of global conquest for Christ, but an abhorrent Laodicean church who is lukewarm and repulsive to Christ so much so, that He vomits them from His mouth.  Although true Christianity cannot be completely overcome this side of the Rapture, we see that once the Rapture does occur, what remains of Christendom will quickly slide into that final, global religion headed by the False Prophet and the Antichrist.

Assessment

Despite all the craziness going on in the world, why should this matter to us today?  Because I believe in the coming months and possibly years, the true Church, or what remains of it, will be put under immense political, economic, religious, and societal pressure to conform, to embrace religious multiculturalism and ecumenicalism.

Many pastors and denominations are even now laying down as to avoid the intense criticism and pressure the media, social networks, and activist have already brought to bear on them.  Major denominations are already refusing to come out and take a strong stance against homosexual clergy and marriages within their own ranks.  True, there will be pockets of ‘spiritual’ resistance who refuse to conform to this new, evolved Christianity-‘lite’, but these are considered well outside of the mainstream conversation, and are ignored, and relegated as Westboro Baptist-types.

What remains of the true Church, should the Lord tarry, will have to consist of an underground network of home churches as currently exists in places like China and the Middle East.

Currently, religious freedom in the United States is largely becoming a façade, which only applies to everyone…except for the born-again Christian.  And the whole world will line up behind the famous, the subject matter experts, the media mouthpieces, the polls, and the academic types who say that Christianity needs to evolve in order to stay relevant.  (Apparently, this standard does not apply to Islam)   But these famous people, these enlightened leaders will continue to point the blame at the true Christian, and state were it not for these hateful bigots who still cling to their ‘guns and their bibles’, the world would be a better place.

But what does Christ have to say?

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name…Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.   Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Revelation 3:8-10