In her letter to the Light House Trails blog, a lady says, “Deception and the wiles of the evil one care not whom they lead astray, as long as His people are hurt by those they love.” She refers to a Christmas greeting she received from the wife of a church elder that concluded in “namaste.” Read the post.
You can also read an article about Oprah and her new age workshop, as one commentator described, ending with a “new age alter call.”
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
CNSNews.com – Al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based affiliate, which on Saturday shot dead an American journalist and a South African teacher to prevent their rescue by U.S. Special Forces, wants the world to know that it opposes beheadings and other forms of brutality practiced by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL).
Read the article at CNS.com.
Wow. And there are “churches” that want to join together to form a religious alliance with these folks. I mean, seriously. If we aren’t facing the Last Days, if these things aren’t leading to the final battle between good and evil. . . I’m mean seriously, shooting a person dead is so much kinder than beheading. Wow!
Lord Y’shua, have mercy upon us. . .
This morning, while awaiting repairs on my wife’s car, I’m looking at “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmityi with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of G-d” (James 4:4). I then found Real Christianity and found this definition helpful.
Prepare? For what shall we prepare? A quick look at Ready.com shows us that there are a lot of things that can happen for which we should prepare. And there are a lot of very practical things we can do in our preparation for various natural and unnatural disasters. But I’m not talking about those disasters at the moment. No. I’m thinking more about preparing for the a time when our G-d, who is slow to anger, has His fill and brings His wrath upon the earth. G-d said:
I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung. Zeph 1:17
This distress that G-d will bring on humankind makes us walk like the blind. This distress is spoken of also in Joel 1:15, where there is great famine. There are many who say that war brings famine, which is followed by disease. But in the case of West Africa today, it is disease that came first, then famine is following closely behind. In South Sudan, war prevented planting of the fields, which is leading directly to famine over the coming months. The Day of the LORD is a day of great distress. Walking like a blind man could mean stumbling, like one might do if one were famished, ready to die from starvation. Walking like a blind man might also mean that the people simply don’t see they must humble themselves and seek the LORD, who is gracious to save.
Salvation. We are talking about Salvation. And if humankind suffers distress, humankind won’t seek out the LORD for His salvation to come. The time to seek the LORD is, and always has been, now. First, we must SEE and understand G-d’s purpose of salvation. “For G-d so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16). Second, we must SEE and understand that our problem is separation from G-d. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of G-d,” (Romans 3:23). Third, we must SEE and understand that G-d’s remedy is The Cross. “For there is One G-d and One Mediator between G-d and men, the Man Christ Y’shuaJesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,” (1Timothy 2:5,6). Fourth, we must SEE and understand that we must respond by trusting in Messiah Y’shuaJesus. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of G-d, to those who believe in His Name,” (John 1:12). And Fifth, we must SEE and understand that G-d provides assurance though His Word. “For whoever call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved,” (Romans 10:13). [From commentary in The Billy Graham Training Center Bible)
And we have this to consider BEFORE the distress of the Great Day of the LORD:
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.” Zeph 2:3
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
The following is an update on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Anita Femiano, from Renewal Ministries Fellowship, is in regular contact with pastors throughout Africa and Asia who have provided a wealth of information.
“When we unite together in prayer even the worst, most terrible situations can be transformed into testimonies of praise. We are beginning to hear such testimonies from Liberia and Sierra Leone, nations that have been so devastated by the Ebola outbreak.
“In May 2014 Ebola was spread from Guinea to the city of Kenema in Sierra Leone. A woman turned up at the Kenema hospital with a fever, and was bleeding heavily after a miscarriage. She and 13 others had become infected at the funeral of a ‘traditional healer’ who had been ‘treating’ Ebola victims in neighbouring Guinea. These people had brought the virus into Sierra Leone and it started spreading throughout the nation. As the hospital started collapsing under the weight of the ensuing epidemic the Red Cross built a treatment centre there. Now some of those who have recovered from the virus are returning to the Red Cross treatment centre to be trained to help others suffering from Ebola. As these Ebola survivors were interviewed on a secular radio program each one gave glory to God as they shared that their recovery was due to their prayers and the prayers of their family, friends and church. One young man testified that after he had been diagnosed people gathered to pray for him and he suddenly felt better and went on to recover fully. These ones who have recovered now have some immunity to the disease and so, instead of hiding in fear, they are boldly returning to the very place where they suffered so much and learning to care for others who are now suffering.
“Contrary to all predictions and expectations the Ebola infection rate in Liberia (the country worst hit by this virus) has started declining. There are empty beds in treatment centres and the number of burials has declined. There may be as much as a 25 percent week-on-week reduction in cases in Liberia.
“This does not mean that the crisis is over. Around 4,000 children in Sierra Leone have now lost one or both parents to Ebola. In Monrovia countless children are left orphaned by Ebola, then shunned by neighbours terrified to even touch them. Liberia and Sierra Leone are suffering food shortages (many small farming communities have lost 30-40% of their population so food production has become most difficult) and huge price increases are making life difficult for everyone in these nations. The health systems in both nations have suffered terribly and people are dying of treatable diseases and complicated labours because so much is consumed with Ebola that these health needs are not being met. A decline in the infection rate is not yet a defeat of the disease, it can easily have a resurgence – we need to remain vigilant in our prayers and continue upholding our brothers and sisters in these nations.
“Be encouraged by the ways that God is answering our prayers and keep on praying until we see this disease eliminated and these nations restored.”
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
The appeals are over for Asia Bibi, who has been tried and convicted of blasphemy (see earlier post). Unless the Islamist government of Pakistan grants some extraordinary stay she will be executed soon. The Spirit of G-d has upheld Ms. Bibi; the Lord’s right hand kept her from falling away from her commitment to our Lord. She has not denounced Messiah. She has endured.
Have you ever seen one of those action movies where a team of mercenary soldiers go into a country to rescue someone? This is one person that should be rescued. But that isn’t likely to happen, unless the Lord opens the cell doors and releases her. Our prayers and our hopes for her release, for her return to her children, have come to nothing. Well, that isn’t totally true. For she has endured. Lord willing, she shall endure until the end. Then shall she be summoned to the foot of our Lord, given a new white robe, and encouraged to wait a little while until all who are to die for the Lord Y’shuaJesus do so.
But the one who endures
to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:13
And yet I have to ask a few questions: Why didn’t I do something for Ms. Bibi? Why hasn’t there been an outcry from Christians worldwide against her being held a prisoner? Why hasn’t there been an ‘million man march’ on Washington to get attention to the injustice being committed by a country we support, that is suppose to be our ally?
We’ve been told that Islam is a peaceful religion. We’ve been told that only a few Muslims are terrorists, and that they don’t really follow the Qur’an. Pakistan is our friend. Our friend is going to murder Ms. Bibi for expressing herself. Expressing herself is not her right, according to the law in Pakistan. Is Pakistan then not following the Qur’an? Or is Pakistan carrying out what is actually in the Qur’an? Is that the way it’s going to be throughout the world where Islam is able to take over?
It seems to me, as Christians, we’ve turned the other cheek a few too many times; we’ve been good little doormats. Here in America we’ve let atheists and homosexuals and humanists determine the way we conduct ourselves in public. Hotels and motels are being pressured to remove Bibles from rooms. Christian clubs are forbidden in many schools. Even children who bring Bibles to school are being sent home. In Houston, TX, pastors are not allowed to exercise their rights of free speech and freedom of religion as granted by the U.S. Constitution. Christians who meet at home are, in some places, in violation of a local ordinance prohibiting such acts. In some “free” countries, speech can be termed “hatefull,” and the speaker fined or jailed or both. Christian businessmen and women are being told they must go against their own faith and do what is unthinkable just so as not to offend an unbeliever. For instance, Christians who run businesses having to do with weddings are told they must take on homosexual wedding customers. (And if you say, “What’s wrong with that?” to any of the above, then you are part of the problem; and you are a lukewarm mouthful of water that the Lord will one day spit out.)
Soon we’ll be coming to the winter holiday season. Yes. Winter Holiday Season. Not Christmas anymore. We’re told not to say “Merry Christmas” because someone might be uncomfortable with it. And, yes, I know, the Apostle Paul talked about not eating meat sacrificed if it may make a weaker brother stumble. Does that apply? But really, is Christmas our holiday or theirs? And, yes, it’s about them and us. Us being the Christians. Them being the pagans, the unbelievers.
Lord forgive us. We really haven’t a clue of what we’re doing. We don’t deserve Your blessing. We don’t deserve being kept by You. We don’t deserve You shining upon us. We don’t. But by the grace You granted to us, through the sacrifice of Y’shuaJesus, we are saved anyway, not based upon our actions or in-actions, but based upon Your desire, Your decree.
For God So Loved the World:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.
John 3:16-21
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . . for it is for this that He came, died, and rose. Praise The Name of the LORD our G-d.
Yesterday, a friend who is an epidemiologist for the CDCs said that the biggest difference between ebola and cancer is that ebola is viciously contagious. Basically, ebola, if left unchecked, will kill at least 6 out of every ten people in the world. While ebola is thought to be transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a person showing symptoms, it’s clear that while wearing approved clothing it is being transmitted. We’re told ebola isn’t airborne, which is a good thing, but what we don’t know is how easily it can be transmitted one person touching a surface previously touched by a person showing ebola symptoms. This is why, in Dallas, TX, the ambulance that transported the first U.S. ebola patient, as well as his apartment, was sanitized. Now that two nurses are confirmed with ebola, one of whom flew on a plane while exhibiting minor symptoms (a low-grade fever), health officials are contacting each person on the plane. These people won’t be quarantined, but they will be asked to curtail direct contact with others, and monitor themselves for possible symptoms. But being contagious may not be the worst of the ways ebola is killing us.
The pastor in Liberia who shared with me that all commerce has been shut down, also said he’s running out of food. How long can you stay in your house without going out to get food? I’ve talked about this before, when talking about my pantry. In the last few years, during winter months, we’ve been shut down for nearly a week three separate times. I know folks that would be hard pressed to find more than a box of cereal in their homes, let alone enough to go a week. I don’t really know how they made it during those winter-weather shut downs. Here in the States, as in Europe and many large cities throughout the world, food is available stored in jars, cans, or dried. But in more rural towns in most places in the world, food is brought fresh to the market. Sure, rice and beans are available dry, and easily stored, but not so available are vegetables or meat. Shut down commerce and people starve. So sure, we can stop the spread of ebola by isolation, but that success doesn’t ensure that anyone will be alive after the epidemic. What’s left to do?
Well, stock something up while you can, if you can. A bag of rice, a bag of beans. Some water. Prepare to hunker down for awhile.
Pray. Pray, too, for the people of Africa that are in the middle of this nightmare.
Lord Bless, Keep, and Shine. . .
The Ebola epidemic is horrifying. It has people throughout the world at near panic. So, this all needs to be put into some sort of perspective. Basically, ebola is currently an epidemic ongoing in parts of West Africa, with cases now appeared in the United States as well as Spain. The outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013 then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. It spread later to both Senegal and Nigeria, but is now contained in those two countries and is no longer a threat. So, in ten months, around 4,000 known deaths have occurred with double that number of cases. Those are the official number; it is thought to be at least double that number. In contrast, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), various “cancers figure among the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths in 2012.”
Looking at Liberia alone with its population of 4.294 million, there have been 2,316 officially recorded deaths. If we double that number, we have 112 deaths per 100,000 people. About the same as the worldwide death toll from cancer. If the same number of deaths per 100,00 population in Liberia from Ebola deaths per 100,000 in the United States, 336,000 people in America would die. If we look at a world-wide pandemic of Ebola, about 7.8 million people would die. Almost the number that WHO reports die from cancer each year.
So why is ebola scary? We don’t think cancer is contagious. Cancer also doesn’t kill a person in a week, but lingers on. We’ve had cancer around for a pretty long time, and perhaps have gotten use to it. Ebola is relatively new on the scene. And we know we can catch ebola. We are as likely to develop cancer as we are to catch ebola, but ebola is a strange new disease to us (yet has been around since its discovery in 1976). Governments think it can be contained by easily applied procedures, where all that we’ve tried, we continue to have cancer.
Lord Bless, Keep, and Shine. . .
There is compelling evidence that the Last Days are upon. Throughout the world, we find it more and more difficult to sing of the lazy, hazy days of summer. Even people who normally don’t outwardly mention such things are wondering what’s really happening. People are becoming scarred. Now, certainly, the world has faced its disasters. Since the early Twentieth Century, there have been two world wars with great loss of life, an epidemic that took the lives fifty million people, devastating floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and many prolonged, deadly wars and civil conflicts. Crime is endemic. Here in the United States we have armed our local police departments as if preparing for war. And throughout the last 70 years we’ve had the threat of nuclear annihilation hanging over us. But this year is different.
“Nearly on a daily basis, we witness our very earth in what seems like birth pangs— be it nuclear threat, terrorism, hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes—or violence, wars and rumors of war—while most people seem almost oblivious to what is happening (or may see something is amiss but do not turn to Scripture and Bible prophecy to understand the implications). Again, God is sounding out a warning to make ready.
“Even now, while the reality of the Antichrist and a one-world religion is looming closer and closer all the time, preachers and teachers are sitting at their desks inking out sermons that discredit Bible prophecy.” Lighthouse Blog
“The world is moving so fast, and so many devastating things are happening on a daily basis that even serious issues are constantly placed on the back burner to make way for a more serious or a more current piece of bad news.
“Just to name a few, the list includes: ISIS, Ebola, drought, famine, drug cartels, unabated illegal crossings at our Southern border, a house of cards economy, kidnappings, a gridlocked Congress that is more concerned with inflicting damage on the opposing party than serving the people, unaddressed massive government scandals and potential terrorist attacks on the homeland.” Worrisome Things, Charlie Daniels
See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Matthew 24:4-8
What’s a Christian to do? First, we are told by our Lord Y’shuaJesus to not be alarmed, all these things are to take place. Despite this, I long for the conflicts to end, for peace in this world to prevail. I feel the hurt of the millions of suffering people, and wish for resolve. I feel powerless to stop the agony. And then there are time in which I sit back and say to myself, “Fine. If there is war and disease and famine, let it be.” For these things are to happen. They happen because we made them happen. G-d didn’t start the wars, didn’t make us suffer disease, didn’t make us starve. G-d didn’t inspire a jihad that destroys rather than builds up. G-d, when He stood as a man looking over Jerusalem said that He’d wanted so much to gather up His people like a hen would gather her chicks. G-d wants us to have peace; we choose conflict. We are guilty. We hate. We sin. We have cried out for justice, and we have gotten it.
The second thing that we must do is summed up on that post from Lighthouse Blog: “If you love Jesus Christ and His Word and if you really want to serve Him, now is the time to be fully surrendered to the Lord without reservation. Whatever the cost. We are invited to the wedding feast, ready to meet our Savior, with wicks trimmed and lamps burning. Now is the time to make ready.” Lighthouse Blog
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you. . .
Today the following email arrived from Renewal Ministry Fellowship, having been sent to its prayer line.
From: Pastor Charles S.W Smith (sonponcwsmith76@yahoo.com ) in LIBERIA:
How are you and family, we are still praying … for aid in this Ebola crisis in our nation.
On behave of all affiliates of Liberia and Sierra Leone that is afflicted with the Ebola and Economic crisis. Please pray for our nation the outbreak of the deadly disease Ebola in west Africa. Many people are dying and medical centers are refusing victims of this deadly disease. Our president just declare the closure of all offices both private and government. Investors and foreigners are leaving our nation due to this outbreak.
This has cause breakdown in the economy of our nation, many people are out of food/medical supply and the scarcity of commodities…
Remain blessed
Pastor Charles S.W Smith
Jonah’s Song 