ONE Can Happen!!!
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Month: November 2009
From: News with Views
Does a modern Christian have a right to self defense? With every right there is a correlative responsibility. The ancient right to bear arms has been described in antiquity as the obligation to bear arms in defense of your community. In those ancient times if you would not arm yourself to defend your community you were often shunned if not run out of town all together.
Chuck Baldwin in and article published by NewsWithViews.com quoted the statistic that “as of 2004, 50% of the adults in the United States own one or more firearms.” My first reaction was, why so few? As someone who once wore a badge and a gun to protect the property and lives of citizens I can testify that my biggest disappointment was the apathy and even cowardice of the people I was often expected to protect.
To refuse to come to the aid of others has been considered a crime and good Samaritan laws have prosecuted citizens who failed to assist and aid people in need of assistance or protection.
Yet, I have heard many people say they would not own a gun or they did not believe in guns. On further inquiry everyone of these purveyors of pseudo-pacifism confirmed that if someone was breaking into their house they would call the police, who will come with guns. The truth is they do believe in guns, but they are either to lazy, to cheap, to cowardly, or just to irresponsible to own one.
One of the last things Christ said to His apostles before His crucifixion was to go and buy a sword, even if they had to sell their garment to do so.[1] When armed men came “with swords and staves for to take” Jesus, one of His disciples, realizing what was coming, asked if they should “smite [them] with the sword.”[2]
Jesus chose not to fight that day. He told Peter to “put up thy sword into the sheath”.[3] Jesus did not tell Peter to throw his sword away. He simply had a better strategy to free the people from the exercising authority of the corrupt government set up by the people who were “making the word of God to none effect.”
The apostles were armed men, but they were also men of peace. They were “gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”[4] They supported the weak, patient toward all men,[5] with “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, [of] faith,”[6] but they were armed.
Jesus never came to disarm or weaken the people. That would only tempt brutes of the “world”. Had Peter, the apostles and their thousands of supporters began armed conflict to establish their liberty under God there would have been disastrous and fruitless bloodshed. The people needed to learn first hand the courage and sacrifice needed to sustain a truly free society.
There has been a lot of talk about government usurpation, declarations of independence, sovereign states, rights of citizens, and even references to revolution and armed rebellion in America, but such talk is not only foolish, but unwarranted. You have the government you deserve.
The diminishing rights of people are the direct result of personal neglect, abdication or the waiving of rights in exchange for peace, security, and bountiful benefits. The decline of liberty is always due the failure to retain rights. The failure to retain rights is always linked to the failure to put your hand to the responsibilities of the individual to society. The secrets of a free society belong to the diligent, humble, and wise.
There were no greater revolutionists than John the Baptist, Christ, and His apostles. Their call to repentance, was a call for change. The way of John and Jesus was also truly one of hope. It changed the course of history by changing the ways of the people. If the people were to be ruled by God they had to pursue the righteousness of God.
With this renewed spirit of liberty early Christians tended to what Jesus called the “weightier matters of law, justice, mercy and faith” by loving one another in a international network of faith, hope, and charity under the perfect law of liberty. They did not create a socialist state which exercised authority one over the other. That was forbidden by Christ and Moses before Him.
Entire Article Here
Related:
As a teacher of nonviolence, Gandhi advocated the right to bear arms; use of ‘violence’ to defend innocents against bullying, oppression
“Unfortunately, today’s Christian celebrities are not as prone to rend their clothes like Paul and Barnabas did in Acts 14 when people began treating them as deities.”
From: News with Views, by Paul Proctor
One of the more popular tactics of modern-day marketing is the use or should I say misuse of celebrities. They’re everywhere these days peddling this, endorsing that – posing as “experts” with a special knowledge or wisdom into whatever the public at large assumes they have simply because their face and/or voice is recognizable and trusted due to some past or present and often irrelevant career, affiliation, endeavor or event that gained them a degree of notoriety.
It is human nature for people to trust the familiar more than the strange; and marketers know this all too well. Consequently, many of us will instinctively treat the advice a celebrity gives as the counsel of an astute, discerning and well-informed friend – especially if they’ve played a memorable role, hosted a top-rated show, held an influential office or position, written a best-selling book, made a lot of money, sang a hit song or broken some record in the field of sports that impressed or moved us in some way.
Under their exploited influence, our envy and infatuation often bypasses logic, reason and sound judgment, persuading us to listen and follow their lead even though they don’t know us and we don’t know them beyond the manufactured and well-guarded image we see and hear in the media.
This is the mysterious power of celebrity – a seductive and intoxicating force that too many covet and too few fear – a form of inebriation and delusion, and at times, insanity that incites brazen and bizarre behavior from those who fawn at the feet of fame, making them say and do things they would not otherwise.
The next time you happen to be anywhere near a celebrity, don’t watch them – watch the people around them and you’ll better understand what I’m talking about. Hopefully, what you see and hear will be offensive enough to keep you from being brought under the celebrity’s spell.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
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Luke: Search your feelings, Father, you can’t do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate.
Darth Vader: It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.
Luke: Then my father is truly dead.
……………………
The Emperor: Come, boy, see for yourself. From here, you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance and the end of your insignificant rebellion.
The Emperor: You want this, don’t you? The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant.
Luke: No.
The Emperor: It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine.
……………………
The Emperor: Good. Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you.
……………………
The Emperor: [laughing] Good! Your hate has made you powerful [demon empowered – ed.]. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!
Related:
I just wrote another long comment, responding to a learned Catholic reader, Paul, who has this website Apostolic Apologetics, finally stating why I believe many of the doctrines in the Catholic Church are not biblical — why I believe the Catholic Church is largely a deception.
Up until this point, I’ve only touched upon this, but Paul put me over the edge, which I think is a good thing.
The dialogue starts here: http://tobefree.press/2009/10/31/caryl-matrisciana-halloween-is-not-innocent/#comment-2699, if you’re interested. We go into a lot of subjects, and it may not be over yet. Feel free to chime in.
I’ve also decided to add a new category on this subject, which I’m calling “The Catholic Deception • ONE!”, which I’ll retrofit into the few other posts I’ve posted on this subject.
Jeff Fenske
I’ve been trying to understand why people don’t believe what the Bible says about who goes to heaven. Here, Chuck Crismier takes a pretty good shot at it; though, this isn’t the whole story.
Transcribed by Jeff Fenske from Chuck Crismier’s Viewpoint, 11/18/09 (audio linked below)
“In reality, the Road to Hell begins at what I call, Compromise Corner. Compromise Corner is at the intersection, really of all the major roads of our lives. The decisions that we make, the terms that we negotiate at Compromise Corner inevitably lead toward what I call the Multi-lane Expressway to Destruction, even while we still believe that we’re heading in God’s general direction.
All compromise as it relates to God’s truth is compromise. And all compromise on issues of truth is deceptive and very, very seductive. [I would say because it’s actually often demonically empowered from within – ed.]
The great danger is that few travellers on this great Autobahn of Compromise, the ‘wide road,’ as Jesus called it — few travellers realize the seriousness of the seduction that they’re engaged in because they measure themselves and the correctness of their decisions by the overwhelming majority who seem to be headed with clarity and certainty toward the multi-laned expressway to hell [Did Chuck mean ‘heaven’? – ed.].
Now, you think about that. Jesus said, “straight is the gate; narrow is the way; few there be that find it.” But somehow, today, even though we know that. We know that’s what Jesus said; we just really don’t quite believe it. Why is it that we really don’t believe it? Because political correctness and its corollary of religious correctness have convinced us that in reality, the gate is very wide and the road is very broad, because God is such a loving God.
Well, that’s a new form of religious correctness. It’s contrary to what the Bible says. God is not just a loving God, but He is a God of truth and justice and judgment.
So there is this massive religious correctness that actually compels us to believe a half-truth. And it’s the half-truth that opens up the floodgates, the broad gate to Compromise Corner and then to the Road to Hell.
People reason that if popular pastors, para-church leaders and the seeming majority seem comfortable with their direction it must be okay; even though, deep in their heart they have this haunting suspicion that something is wrong.”
“It’s as if truth doesn’t matter anymore.“
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From: Chuck Crismier’s Viewpoint Audio Archives
| Date | Title | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11-19-2009 | SEX…and the price tag w/ Pam Stenzel | Listen | Save |
| 11-18-2009 | The “CONSPIRACY” of COMPROMISE How the road to hell is paved | Listen | Save |
I’ve been trying to understand, lately, why jealousy and envy are in Paul’s Gal-5 list of who doesn’t go to heaven.
Perhaps this is a clue:
“When you’re in first place,
everyone wants to knock you down.”
— Bob Chapman
(Transcribed by Jeff Fenske from The Alex Jones Show, 11/20/09)
Bob even mentioned the words, “jealousy” and “envy.” Instead of wishing others well and cheering each other on, LOVING our neighbors as ourselves, knowing that we’re in this boat together, “these people are vindictive” (I believe God said). They lash out, wish each other harm, which is reverse-Christianity.
Notice how many relatives of jealousy and envy are in Paul’s Galatians-5 list:
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders [James-3 curses?], drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In the body of Christ, we need each other. We are all uniquely different and are all important. And when one does spiritually well in his/her role, the others have the potential to do better. We should be cheering each other on so the body will be healthy, so we can all better function under the Head, Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 12:
18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now they are many members, but one body. 21 The eye can’t tell the hand, “I have no need for you,” ….
25 …there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
“When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” That’s how it’s supposed to be. So then why are the prophets getting dissed — those who speak the word of truth that would make the body more healthy, helping us to right with each other and to again be attached to and led by the Head, Jesus Christ?
1 Cor. 12 continues:
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second* prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps….
So where is the acknowledgment of the prophets in the church today? Are they to be relegated to the “out of sight, out of mind” corner, never to be heeded? “We don’t need prophets. We’re doing just fine, thank you. And if you try to come out of your corner, we’ll shoot you down — James-3 curse you real good. Don’t rock the boat! We like our boat.” Even though it’s sinking, because “The eye can’t tell the hand, ‘I have no need for you.'”
So if I repeat the quote above that I started this discussion with:
“When you’re in second* place,
everyone wants to knock you down.”
Why don’t pastors seek out and find those who clearly hear words from the Lord for the church? Do pastors really think they can lead without prophets?
“Our only hope is to be ONE.” We need all who are called to be leaders to function together.
Let us be ONE!
FREEeeeeeeeeeeeeee————DOM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeff Fenske
Related:
Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures — Narrow is the Way
This is the forgiving-others prayer that I use. It’s based upon the prayer that my Wellspring-Ministries-trained counselor had me pray numerous times. [Art Mathias’ version is in his book: Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s Truth]. The process continues as long as we still are hated on and James-3 cursed.
Both Jesus and Stephen prayed forgive-them prayers out loud for those who were physically acting out their curses on them, violently killing them. How could they do this unless they had been praying for their ‘enemies’ in this way all along.
This prayer is a little bit more detailed than theirs. Perhaps the more we grow in Christlikeness, the more we are full of the Holy Spirit, the simpler our prayers can be. But for now, it seems that praying this more detailed prayer out for all of those who have or are hurting us seems to be more effective in releasing the Mt.-18 tormentors from our lives.
Jesus said the tormentors will be allowed to torment us unless we forgive everyone from our heart. Matthew 18:
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. 24 When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ 27 The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ 30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ 34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”
Paul also showed how not-forgiving gives demons a right to enter our lives. Ephesians 4:
25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 neither give place to the devil.
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Repentance Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of The Lord Jesus, I purpose and choose to forgive (name) from my whole heart for (what they did).
I release (name). I cancel their debts and obligations to me in this issue.
Dear Lord, I ask you to forgive me for my bitterness toward (above name) in this situation.
In the name of Jesus, by the power of Your blood, I cancel all of Satan’s power and authority over me in this issue, because I have forgiven them, and You have forgiven me. It is done and over with.
Holy Spirit, please come and heal my heart. And please tell me your truth about this situation.
I now purpose and choose to forgive myself.
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The counselor then gives the person praying an opportunity to speak what God often says. This is a great way to hear God’s voice!
Then mine asked:
Do you feel any guilt or condemnation?
Does it hurt anymore?
If there is still pain in the memory then there is still unforgiveness, Art Mathias and Wellspring teaches.
Also, the prayer my counselor had me pray says this:
[speak out loud so the dark side can hear it]
I don’t know if this is necessary or not, but it’s probably a good idea. The main thing, I think is to mean what we say and forgive even from the bottom of our hearts — to let God deal with them.
It’s amazing to me that to Jesus, it is so important for us to be right in our hearts toward everyone that He willfully allows us to be tormented by demons until we purpose and choose to forgive those who hurt us, just like He and Stephen did. Then we’ll be free!
By the way, I purposely redden the word, heart in many of my posts to emphasize that this literally means from our actually pumping hearts, that are more than just pumps. They’re the center of our emotions. And forgiving or loving others from the bottom of our hearts can even mean from a place deeper than that, which is why I have the “heart, soul, mind, gut?” category. Scientific studies show there is brainlike tissue not just in the heart, but also in the gut.
The Bible talks about the heart about 1,000 times!
Forgive and be FREE!
Related:
Art Mathias on It’s Supernatural: Spiritual Roots of Disease — Healed Through Forgiving
Transcribed by Jeff Fenske
“[Drugs are] not going to take the demons away. You’re trying to do something that only Jesus Christ can do. … You cannot drug your body into good health. It’s impossible. … You’re dealing with demonic problems, and you’re doing it through mind altering drugs, or pharmakeia. How does that make sense from a Biblical standpoint?”
“Do you know how many people in the churches are on these type of drugs, and they think nothing of it? And their pastor says nothing about it?”
“The spirit of drug induced control is rebellion against God’s plan.””60% of the population is taking at least one pharmaceutical drug every day … and it’s all by design.”
“It’s built on the backs of people who are sick, diseased and dying. It’s not about getting them better. It’s about getting them addicted to these medicines and controlling them.
Heart disease example of the fallacy of medicine:
“They’ve swept the symptoms under the rug for so long that now they’re a surgical candidate.”
“Lecithin helps to clean out the arteries. It helps to defat the liver and the fat or the plaquing of the arteries.”
“The medical solution is to put them on meds until they have the heart attack. Sweep the symptoms under the rug, and then we’ll do the surgery. We’ll make thousands and thousands of dollars. And we’ll look like we’re really smart because we’re surgeons. And we can go in there and put a stint in. … You haven’t done anything to fix the problem. You’ve got hundreds of miles of blood vessels in your body, and they’re plaqued up too.”
“These elderly people that are on 15-20 meds, laying there in vegetative states in retirement homes, or wherever they’re being taken care of, they see things, they hear voices. It’s no wonder.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7CdHmK-tOY]Dr. Scott Johnson – Pharmaceuticals As Pharmakeia/Sorcery –
Roots of Modern Day Drug Industry 1/26
*PDF FILE HERE – http://playpdf.sa-media.com/media/928…
Scott’s Homepage – http://www.sermonaudio.com/drscottjoh…
Scott’s Forum – http://www.endtimescurrentevents.free…
21st September 2008
Pharmakeia: Sorcery, Pharmaceuticals & the Roots of Modern Day Drug Industry.
Pharmakeia is a form of the Greek root word from which we get our English words: Pharmacy, Pharmacist, and Pharmaceutical. In the Bible, pharmakeia carried with it the idea of sorcery, occultism, and black magic. It is in this sense that Paul used the term in Galatians 5.20 as the word ‘witchcraft’. In Rev. 9:21 & 18:23 it is translated ‘sorceries’.
Do you find it rather disturbing that approximately 60% of the population is taking at least one pharmaceutical drug every day? Some are taking up to fifteen and twenty! We are told that we are living during a time of the greatest medical breakthroughs in the history of the world yet, over one hundred million Americans suffer from various health problems. Why has such a large majority of the world become dependent on pharmaceutical drugs?
Partial list from: Wikipedia
The Bad Popes is a 1969 book by E. R. Chamberlin documenting the lives of eight of the most controversial popes (papal years in parentheses):
- Pope Stephen VI (896-897), who had his predecessor Pope Formosus exhumed, tried, de-fingered, briefly reburied, and thrown in the Tiber[1]
- Pope John XII (937-964), who gave land to a mistress, murdered several people, and was killed by a man who caught him in bed with his wife.
- Pope Benedict IX (1032-1044,1045,1047-1048), who “sold” the Papacy
- Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303), who is lampooned in Dante‘s Divine Comedy
- Pope Urban VI (1378-1389), who complained that he did not hear enough screaming when Cardinals who had conspired against him were tortured.[2]
- Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503), a Borgia, who was guilty of nepotism and whose unattended corpse swelled until it could barely fit in a coffin.[3]
- Pope Leo X (1513-1521), a spendthrift member of the Medici family who once spent 1/7 of his predecessors’ reserves on a single ceremony[4]
- Pope Clement VII (1523-1534), also a Medici, whose power-politicking with France, Spain, and Germany got Rome sacked.
From: National Post
Bankers say Jesus would have approved of fat paycheques
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“Profit is not satanic,” Barclays chief executive John Varley said at the historic St. Martin-in-the- Fields church on London’s Trafalgar Square, one of several top executives to argue that Jesus would have approved of their pay packages.
“Profit is not satanic,” Barclays chief executive John Varley said at the historic St. Martin-in-the- Fields church on London’s Trafalgar Square, one of several top executives to argue that Jesus would have approved of their pay packages.
Bloomberg reports:
The 53-year-old head of Britain’s second-biggest bank said banks are the “backbone” of the economy. Rewarding high- performing bankers with more pay doesn’t conflict with Christian values, he said. Varley was paid 1.08 million pounds ($1.77 million) and no bonus in 2008. …
True enough, maybe, but is the church the place to make the argument? Jesus wasn’t famous for his love of money-lenders. Wasn’t there something about chasing them out of the temple? …
Brian Griffiths of Goldman Sachs spoke at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Bloomberg reports, where he argued that “The injunction of Jesus to love others as ourselves is an endorsement of self-interest…We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieving greater prosperity and opportunity for all.”
Related:
From: Charisma
Many people in the world today are fighting fiercely to climb the ladder of success. A great deal of their energy is focused and spent on building a reputation in the eyes of others in order to “make it big.” In the process of their pursuit, they quickly become addicted to the approval of others.
Jesus did just the opposite—He made Himself of no reputation (see Philippians 2:7). In other words, He stripped Himself of all His kingly rights and humbled Himself to become human. The Creator literally took the form of His creation. Instead of living His entire life to build a name for Himself, He endeavored to build a name for His Father.