endtimesencouragementnews

World News Through the Third Lens: Closed!

2012-01-30T11:50:00.014-05:00

"What if your church was evicted tomorrow?" read the subject line in an email dated January 28, 2012 from the Family Research Council. There are probably thousands, if not millions, who call themselves Christians here in the United States who either don't care to consider the question or who are unaware that it is happening right now............RIGHT NOW in the land of the First Amendment! As is often the case, persecution against a particular group of people (those of the Christian faith in particular) usually begins on the margins. Wholesale attacks against the main body of that group are rare in the beginning.

Marginal attacks tend to cause the main body to think, "Oh, it's just those radicals, so we have nothing to worry about." Or the thinking goes, "That's just happening in _______, but nothing like that would ever happen there," or "If we just don't make any waves, that will blow over." In times like this I often think of the words of Martin Niemoller.

"First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak out because I was a Protestant.
Then they cam for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."

The above captioned email says that unless a change is made, "on February 12, 2012, as many as 100 churches in New York City face eviction on February 12, as the school board's ban against the use of property by religious congregations goes into effect. The evictions could be devastating to small congregations and church plants in the city and......opportunities for ministry in many areas of the Big Apple would be effectively shut down." All of this is happening in spite of the fact that: 1) The Lamb's Chapel decision by the Supreme Court several years ago guaranteed equal access to government buildings by all groups (even religious groups), and 2) the churches using schools in New York City have been model tenants, providing much needed revenue and services to the city.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture......There are some prophetic portions of Scripture that tell us that there will come a time when such incidents will not be isolated or infrequent. In fact, because all of the last days events are described as "birth pains" we can expect that they will increase in both intensity or severity. Consider: "But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness......You will be hated by all for my name's sake" (Luke 21:12-13, 17). This whole passage could serve as a summary of the life of the Apostle Paul.

This confirms that such persecution of the followers of Christ has been around for almost 2000 years, but remember the birth pangs. One of the agonizing results of our military intervention in the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan (in addition to the loss of so many of our finest and bravest) has been the increase of persecution of Christians in these countries. Many have died and many more have fled for their lives. Some of the places to which Christians have fled are Muslim countries, formerly ruled by moderate, secular governments, but which, in the name of "democracy" have undergone revolutions, only to be ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood (e.g., Egypt). Since becoming "democratic" persecution of Christians has increased in these countries.

"Of course," you might say, "the persecution mentioned in Luke 21 is future, not now," or, "New York City is not the Bible belt," or, "Egypt is not the USA!" May I remind you, there were a lot of things Martin Niemoller was not, but he spent 5 years imprisoned at Dachau. The Bible makes it clear that there is a time coming when persecution of true Christians will be world-wide. "And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.** And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the Lamb who was slain." (Revelation 13:5-8).

Just because Christians have been being persecuted from Acts 3 until this day, make no mistake about it; the events spoken of in Revelation 13 are the same as those spoken about by Jesus in Matthew 24 depict a time like never before seen in history. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved [physically].But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short." (Matthew 24:21-22) Those days will be cut short, as you follow the sequence of Matthew 24, by the Coming of the Son of Man, or the Rapture. It is obvious that the church does not escape exposure to the Great Tribulation. Death will be the portion of many, but it is said of them, "And they have conquered him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." (Revelation 12:11)

So, how can we be encouraged in the midst of such dire predictions, predictions which are seeing early (from a western viewpoint) signs of fulfillment? What can and should we do? I believe this is a time when every commandment, every promise in the Word of God, when rightly viewed in the light of unfolding prophecy should be considered with the utmost urgency. The followers of Christ need to:

1. Read, understand and practice, with all seriousness, the Great Commandment(s). "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)

2. Read, understand and practice, with all seriousness, the Great Commission. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

3. Read, understand and begin to find ways to practically live within our own culture as the early church did (Acts 2:42-47).

At some point, the Lord willing, we will explore these three points in much greater detail. Until then, encourage others with, and be encouraged yourselves by the fact that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again. When He does, it will be obvious "....that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)

World News Through the Third Lens: Birth Pains

2011-12-17T11:53:00.005-05:00

Birth pains, with respect to child birth are something I have never experienced. I am told, by reliable sources, that they usually begin in relatively mild fashion and then increase in intensity as the birth draws ever closer. Likewise, the pains begin spaced quite far apart and increase in frequency as the baby's arrival approaches. When I was training to be an EMT, we were taught that when dealing with pain, one of the things we should ask the patient to do was rate their pain on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very mild and 10 being the worst they had ever experienced. One of the students in the class, a mother of 3 piped up and said, "For female patients, they should add an 11th class - birth pains just prior to delivery.

In the picture above, birth pains are not necessarily being illustrated, but we can see the foot print of the little one pressing hard against its mother's stomach. At the very least, it's a picture of discomfort, and a sign that birth is not far off. I cannot say with certainty whether the world has now entered the birth pains stage of history, just prior to the return of Christ, or whether we are just in an ever-increasing state of discomfort. One thing is for certain, both the intensity and the frequency of troubling events is increasing.

I am far from being the most learned or informed person on the planet concerning the end-times and how current events fit into the prophesied scheme of things. I do know that many who claim to be experts, and who enjoy large spheres of influence are constantly getting it wrong. The errors range from naming the Antichrist to picking the date of the Rapture; from proclaiming an imminent (anytime, signless) Rapture, to preaching a feel-good Gospel with no mention of the prospect of suffering. And so they come, in Christ's Name, and deceive many with messages that appeal to the flesh.

In Matthew 24:3 Jesus' disciples asked Him three questions: 1) When will this happen (temple destroyed)? 2) What will be the sign of your coming? 3) What will be the sign of the end of the age?Jesus' first response was, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name claiming, 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains." (Matthew 24:4-8)

The "I am the Christ" deception is not speaking just of those who claim to be the Christ, but also of those who claim to speak for him. So little is being done these days to prepare the saints for the return of Christ. The Bible makes it clear that the saints will have to endure all the way through and up to the sixth seal of Revelation 6. That means that the false Christs, the false peace-maker who initiates a 7-year covenant with Israel, wars and rumors of war, famines and earthquakes, the breaking of the 7-year covenant and the persecution of both godly Jews and Christians that follows will all have to be endured. Thus, the Bible does not fit with a "Your Best Life Now" philosophy or any variation thereof. The Bible declares "...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

Jesus was asked to give signs of His coming. Jesus gave signs of His coming. The last sign, immediately preceding the return of Christ (the event which will cut short those days of terrible tribulation for the sake of the elect - Matthew 24:22) is the darkening and shaking of the heavenly bodies and the coming of the Son of Man visibly, as lightning from east to west (Matthew 24:27 - 30). And what happens at this coming? The angels are sent to gather the elect with a loud trumpet call (Matthew 24:31). This is the Resurrection/Rapture, right down to the trumpet call (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

When Jesus was in the midst of listing all the things that would take place prior to His coming and the end of the age, He declared, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm (endures) to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:12-13). It is from this verse 13 that Encouragement for End-Times Endurance was birthed as a ministry. The only way to prepare people to endure is to speak a challenging message about the necessity to gird up our minds with a "boot-camp" mentality. Some teachers and preachers have said, with an air of righteousness, "I'm not looking for the Antichrist, I'm looking for Christ." That sounds so nice, but it disregards the fact that right in the middle of the signs that PRECEDE His coming, Jesus speaks of the revelation of the Antichrist, and his persecution which begins in Jerusalem and spreads throughout the world (Matthew 24:15 - 21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation 13:7-8).

Contrary to other installments of this blog, there is no mention of a particular news item, followed by a Scriptural commentary. They are coming so fast and furious these days: Arab Spring Wars, Syrian oppression, Iran's nukes, economic chaos in Europe, floods in the Philippines, earthquakes in Turkey, famine in South Africa..........Rather than comment on any one, I would like to point out something I believe the Lord gave me. I say that, not to suggest that I am someone special, but to say that I have never read or heard this from any man. The signs which Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 would have meant little to people living 150 years ago, much less 1800 years ago. In fact, you and I are living in what has been dubbed "The Information Age." We are living at a time when virtually anything happening on the planet can be seen by anyone else on the planet. We are living in an age when the signs are more significant than ever, for they are signs for all people, signs that can be measured and counted, just just like birth pains.

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:19-25)

World News Through the Third Lens: Limited Nuclear War?

2011-11-17T17:09:00.006-05:00

Russia’s military chief warns that heightened risks of conflict near borders may turn nuclear (Associated Press, November 17, 2011).

Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, cautioned over NATO’s expansion eastward and warned that the risks for Russia to be pulled into local conflicts have “risen sharply.” Makarov added, according to Russian news agencies, that “under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons.”

FRANCE HAS RULED OUT A MILITARY OPTION IN DEALING WITH THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR THREAT: France has expressed deep concern over the Iranian nuclear program and its clear progress towards development of a nuclear warhead. The latest report by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency made it clear that Iran is intent on creating such a weapon. Nevertheless, the French government opposes a military strike against Tehran
because it might cause irreparable damage. Juppe said France would tighten sanctions by asking the European Investment bank to freeze loans to Iran. (INN, November 17, 2011)

Through the third lens of Scripture: The prophet Ezekiel spoke of a war between nations to the north of Israel, described by ancient names, such as Magog, Meshech and Tubal. There is not full agreement as to the present-day names of those nations (parts of Turkey, some of the "stans" and even Russia are possibilities). There is no doubt about the identity of one of the countries mentioned by Ezekiel. Persia is definitely present-day Iran. With no further ado, and with no commentary on my part, I invite you to read Ezekiel 38 and 39 and see if there might be some connection between these Scriptures and today's headlines.

Jesus said there would be signs preceding His coming and He told us to watch. Others He told to be watchmen. I pray that by His grace I can do both.

World News Through the Third Lens: Upside Down or Rightside Up?

2011-10-21T15:17:00.005-04:00

"The world is pretty much upside down," stated Bill Wilson, senior analyst with KIN in the October 21, 2011 edition of Koenig's Eye View. He proves his point with these remarks:

"We have presidential candidates in the United States who profess to be Christians but are unwilling to call a cult a cult. Heaven forbid that a Christian offend anyone with the truth. We have a president who says of communists, Islamists, anti-American protesters, 'We understand their struggles, and we are on their side.'"

"We have politicians who believe the bizarre idea that they could spend trillions of taxpayer dollars that they don't have and somehow create enough debt that the nation would prosper. And through it all, we have people who say they are followers of Christ who get angry when these truths are pointed out."

Wilson goes on to point out how the Arabs/Islamists of the middle east have millions of acres of land, their own closed societies, and significant amounts of money and wealth. Yet they continue to contend for a small area of land in the Jerusalem area whose value, truth be told, is that it contains Jews and is the center of God's promises to them. They are intent upon exterminating the Jews once and for all and in taking over the land promised to them. Satan, in his age-old attempt to defy and usurp God is behind it all, but politicians are so duped in their group-think that they believe that if they give the terrorists what they want, there will be peace.

Through the third lens of Scripture: "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20) Our American society and most other cultures of the world suffer woe because evil is being called good and good is being called evil. Just try and convince a politician or a corporate CEO that the economic woes of our country are really the result of serious moral failure as a nation. We have taken the practices of homosexuality and called them good, normal, alternative, genetic, and a dozen other things rather than what God calls them: "abominations." We have taken the practice of infanticide and called it a choice, a woman's right, a necessary medical procedure, et al rather than call it what God calls it: "murder."

"Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against His people." (Isaiah 5:25) Since people are so caught up in not only doing those things which anger the Lord, but societies and nations have gotten on board and legitimized those very things, should it surprise us that God is bringing judgment born out of His righteous anger? Yet He is a merciful God and as Jeremiah says: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23) So rather than bring judgment in one swift stroke, He does it in increments. These increments are compared to the pains of a pregnant woman in labor (Matthew 24:8).

Ironically, the Bible makes it very clear that a peace treaty (which proves to be false) between Israel and her neighbors will usher in a seven-year period in which calamity will increase world-wide on an exponential scale (Matthew 24:4-14; Revelation 6:1-17). Yet the world still clamors for this peace treaty, in spite of the overwhelming evidence from the natural perspective, that it's a sham. The Bible goes on to tell us that even when the treaty is broken Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) and the lawless one (Antichrist) is revealed, many will worship him (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; Revelation 13:8) and will thus perish, their names not being found in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Many professing Christians will be caught up in the worship of the beast and the taking of his mark. That day will come upon them like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3) and they will fall for the deception. The deceptive work of the devil is aided, often inadvertently, by the false teaching that Christians will be raptured from the planet before the Antichrist begins his work. Consequently, they will be ill-prepared to face the great distress (tribulation) in those days (Matthew 24:21) and will succumb to the great deception. The deceptive work of the devil is also aided by the wide-spread teaching of "Once-saved-always-saved). Without getting into the details of this, suffice it to say that eternal security is dependent upon remaining in Christ. God's merciful keeping power has a lot to do with our remaining in Christ, but in the end, if faced with a choice of denying Christ of die physically; God will sufficiently aid those who choose to remain true, but He will not override the choices made to deny Him. Read the parable of the sower and you will find that there are those who once received the Word with gladness, but when persecution and affliction arise because of the Word, he quickly falls away (Matthew 13:21).

While there is yet time, all those who proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior (beginning with me) need to embrace a movement of God in their own hearts. This is not so much about jumping and shouting and claiming it as it is about a sober, solemn and humble reflection of the times in which we live vis-a-vis the Word of God. After all, Jesus was asked "...and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3) Jesus gave a number of progressive signs and then concluded with the most prominent one of all, which immediately follows the distress of those days (referring to the period of time from the revealing of Antichrist until Jesus' return). "'..the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all nations of the earth will mourn [note how this matches with Revelation 6:12-17). They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather the elect from the four winds [note how this matches with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18], from one end of the heavens to the others." (Matthew 24:29-31)

This is biblical; this is part of the doctrine of Christ, about which John wrote: "Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son." Paul give this admonition to the professing Christians in Corinth (and through them to us): "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless of course you fail the test." (2 Corinthians 13:5) It is better to test oneself now while there is time, and thus be prepared to meet the real test (Jeremiah 12:5). To help turn your part of the world upside-down and make it right-side up, continue to speak the truth in love. That is the spirit in which this is meant to be written.

World News Through the Third Lens: Israel Again!

2011-09-27T14:43:00.008-04:00

Jerusalem - Israel OK's 1100 new East Jerusalem settlement homes. (msnbc.com news service) US calls building in area coveted for 'Palestinian Capital' counter-productive to peace talks. The US also said that this move will complicate an international effort to diffuse the crisis caused by the Palestinians bid for statehood recognition at the UN. According to US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, this is "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties and we have long urged both parties to avoid actions which could undermine trust, including Jerusalem, and we will continue to work with parties to try to resume direct negotiations."

Through the third lens of Scripture - I know this is the second time in a row that the topic of this blog has been Israel and Jerusalem, but because this is the epicenter of God's end-times fulfillment of so many prophetic promises, it probably will not be the last. Scripture has so much to say about this, but I will try to be succinct here.

Jerusalem will be a problem to the nations until God finally says "No more!" "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:2-3).

In Luke's account of the Olivet discourse, a long and short term implication is given concerning Jerusalem when Jesus said, "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). The first part of this statement was fulfilled in A.D. 70. The latter part has been on-going ever since. Even since 1967 Jerusalem has not been completely under Israeli control, especially the Temple Mount.

Again we read, concerning the temple and its courts (located in Jerusalem), "But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months" (Revelation 11:2). So Israel, and Jerusalem in particular is a problem for the world. So much so that the US appears more troubled by the construction of homes in this area that it is by the continued rocket attacks against Israel (even in land defined as pre-1967). Irrationality flows through the issue like a water through a 5" hose. Yet........

Peace will come. I don't know how much more volatile the situation must become before peace is so desired that it will finally be accepted as brokered by the man of Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 6:2. This is what we are to be looking for. When? I don't know, but I suspect soon. According to 2 Thessalionians 2:3 this individual will not be revealed until the middle of the 7 year peace treaty, so there is no use trying to guess his identity now.

I only urge the saints, in the middle of everything else that you do to fulfill the purposes God has for you, to keep an eye on Israel. She is God's prophetic time clock, and as we do so, we shall not be ignorant of the "times and seasons" (1 Thessalonains 5:1).

World News Through the Third Lens: Israel Dominates the News

2011-09-14T15:50:00.003-04:00

Israel dominates the headlines, but not in the United States. I found none of the following stories in the local paper, either yesterday or today. Life goes on in the West, with precious little concern for the land of God's promise, or the people to whom He promised it. Meanwhile things are heating up on all sides surrounding the little strip of land called Israel. US Veto of PA Bid for UN State Recognition Not the End of the Matter (Jerusalem Post). Palestine could still gain recognition as a non-member state, with observer status. This would require only a simple majority vote of the General Assembly. 120 countries have already recognized Palestine. A decision is expected before the end of September.

UN Secretary General: Palestinian Statehood is Long Overdue. (Ha'aretz) Ban-Ki-Moon went on to say, "The two state vision where Israel and Palestinians can live side by side in peace and security -- that is still a valid vision and I support it." As illogical as was the original Road map to Peace, it at least contained certain conditions that Palestine must keep for the process to move forward: 1) recognition of Israel as a legal state in the region, 2) renounce terror against the Jewish nation, 3) dismantle all terrorist groups within its territory, 4) end all forms of anti-Israel incitement within its systems. Not one of these conditions has been met, and yet the UN is about to recognize Palestine as a legal state. To Islamists, the two state solution is neither a reality nor a vision.

Israel Faces Worst Crisis With Egypt for 30 Years as Diplomats Flee (INN). Hundreds of protesters tore down the protective barrier in front of the building housing the Israeli embassy, stormed the building and entered the floors of the embassy, destroying hundreds of documents in the process, while 86 embassy members were air-lifted to safety. Egyptian security forces did not intervene, even as the Israeli flag was torn down and burned. This is the new face of "democracy" in Egypt which was supported by President Obama. The peace between Israel and Egypt has now been strained to the breaking point.

Jordanians Planning March on Israeli Embassy (INN). A group in Amman has called for one million people to gather at the large mosque near the Israeli Embassy, and to then march on it and do what protesters did in Cairo just last Friday.

Turkish Warships to Challenge Israel (DEBKA). Turkish PM, Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkish warship would henceforth accompany any aid ships on route to the Gaza Strip. This is in spite of the fact that this piece of land was given over to the Palestinians by Israel, and included in the cost was the displacement of over 9,000 Israeli citizens. The Palestinians destroyed most of the infrastructure left behind, killed many of their own during the infighting between Hamas and Fatah, and then continued to bombard the south of Israel with rockets and missiles. This lead to Operation Lead Cast in which Israel defended herself as any sovereign nation would, only to incur false defamation on the part of UN inspectors. Even now, rockets and missiles are fired into Israeli settlements, with no regard for targets.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: "The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 'Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that i will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it'" (Zechariah 12:1-3). It's beginning to take shape, just as the Lord declared it. The problem in the Middle east, with Jerusalem the epi-center, will get so intense that peace will be sought at all cost; and to the relief of the un-believing world, it will be gained. Even the majority of Israel, gathered in the land in unbelief, will accept this 7 year peace agreement.

This will be the time for the saints of God to be watching and waiting for the return of their Lord and King. It will mark the beginning of Daniel's 70th week and the opening of the first seal in Revelation 6. It will be a time when faith must be strengthened, and trust renewed, for this will mark the beginning of sorrows. Follow the drama in Matthew 24. This will be a time when deception runs rampant, man-made and natural disasters increase, persecution of the true church intensifies, false prophets abound and apostasy runs rampant. This will lead right up to the "abomination of desolation" spoken of in Daniel 9:27, followed by the worst persecution the church has ever faced. Those days will be cut short by the return of Christ, who will raise the faithful dead, and in an instant transform those living in Him, gathering them all together to meet Him in the air (Matthew 24:22, 31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

This is just a brief summary of events to expect in the future, and in no way is meant to predict the timing of Christ's return. However, it is important to say to anyone reading this, "Let no man deceive you..." There is much deception out there concerning the return of Christ, ranging from exact date predictions (like last May 21st) to an "any-time rapture." While we do not, and will not know the day or the hour of Christ's return, He has gone to great lengths to give us the signs. That is why Paul said, "...concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write you" (1 Thessalonians 5:1). He goes on to say that "the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Don't be deceived into thinking that the day of the Lord is the entire seven years of Daniel's 70th week. It is not! The day of the Lord is not unbelieving man's wrath against the church, neither is it the wrath of Satan through the Antichrist against the church. The church must go through all of this, by which she will be purified and made spotless. The day of the Lord comes and He pours out His wrath upon the world, sometime well into the second half of the 7 year period, and only after He has gathered His saints unto himself - thereby cutting short the Great Tribulation. This happens between the 6th and 7th seals of Revelation. The signs are all there. Today's headlines are just harbingers of the signs that are yet to come..........shortly, it seems.

"And when you see these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift your heads; for your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:28).

World News Through the Third Lens: The Nations Are Raging

2011-08-09T14:55:00.006-04:00

British police face public anger as riots rage (The Associated Press, Tuesday, August 9, 2011). Britain began flooding London's streets with 16,000 police officers Tuesday, nearly tripling their presence as the nation feared its worst rioting in a generation would stretch into a fourth night. The violence has turned buildings into burnt out carcasses, triggered massive looting and spread to other U.K. cities.

US urges citizens to leave Syria immediately (Fox News, Monday, August 8, 2011). The United States urged US citizens Friday to depart from Syria "immediately," and noted the Damascus government had placed "severe" constraints on the travel of US diplomats in the country. The travel warning expressed growing concern over the violent crackdown by President Bashar Al Assad's security forces against pro-democracy protesters.

Arab League tells Syria to halt violence as more than 60 die in Assad's latest crackdown. (Ha'aretz, Monday August 8, 2011). Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday called on Syrian authorities to "immediately halt" a violent crackdown on anti-government protests and expedite steps to preserve the country's unity.

US stocks sink after Fed predicts slower growth (New York AP, August 9, 2011). The Federal Reserve spoke - and the financial markets responded with a dive. Stocks dropped Tuesday afternoon after the Fed said that economic growth this year has been "considerably slower" than it expected and that it will keep interest rates at their record low of almost zero until at least the middle of 2013.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and His Anointed, saying, "Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath. and distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'" Now therefore, be wise O kings; be instructed you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 2:1-12).

Why do the nations rage? The question is left hanging without an answer. The inspired psalmist goes on to describe in broad strokes their raging and plotting, and the consequences of such actions, but he never answers the question, "Why?" Based on the whole counsel of Scripture, this seems to be the point to which human nature devolves, when left unchecked. In happened between the time of the first sin (Genesis 3) which quickly led to murder and polygamy (Genesis 4) which eventually led to this: The lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5).

A New testament view of this same regression in natural man and his societies is seen in Romans 1-3. There Paul declares The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness...(Romans 1:18). In chapter one Paul focuses on the sins of idolatry, the rejection of the truth of God's Word, and it being exchanged for the lie of Satan, and homosexuality. While all these sins are indicative of the practices of Gentiles (people without a relationship with God), in Chapter 2 Paul turns on the Jews (who had a covenant relationship with God). He says that they do the same things; that they are stubborn and unrepentant, and that they do not practice what they preach. By the time you reach Romans 3:9, Paul concludes, "...Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin."

Then, just in case somebody dares to think that they belong to some special, third class of people, Paul writes, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This sin produces death. It will kill a nation, a society, a culture just as surely as it will kill an individual. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"(Romans 6:23).

When speaking of national sin and impending judgment, I have often quoted "Righteousness exalts an nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34). That is as true today as it ever has been. Perhaps it will help to distinguish between the judgment of individuals and the judgment of nations. I especially hope this is helpful to friends who, like me, have donned the uniform of the USA and consider themselves patriots. The Bible makes it very clear concerning the judgment of individuals that some of their sins are judged in this lifetime while others are judged in the next. Sins judged in this lifetime include all those sins that a person has washed away when he acknowledges that Jesus Christ bore them in His body while hanging on Calvary's cross (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Peter 2:24). The person who judges himself a sinner in need of a savior, and then in repentance cries out to Jesus for salvation will not be judged along with others in the world (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).

Nations are not eternal, as is man. Nations have been and will be judged in this life. People are all the time being saved from God's judgment by faith in Christ, even though they live in a nation which is under God's judgment. The nations are raging now - trying desperately to throw off the reign of God, and doing nothing positive to prepare for the arrival of His Kingdom. In all their raging, God is laughing, knowing that there is nothing they can do to thwart the purposes of God. The nations are raging and the Middle East is in turmoil. What will happen if next month, the UN declares Palestine a separate nation? I don't know, but I do know that there is nothing the UN can do to keep the Lord Jesus Christ from sitting upon His throne on the holy hill of Zion (which is Jerusalem)! The turmoil of this world will increase before that Day happens, and the Lord shall receive His inheritance of the nations out of the ashes of the outpouring of His wrath.

Why do the nations rage? It's their nature to. Don't get distraught by all the raging; don't get caught up in all the raging. "Kiss the Son" or pay Him the homage He is due. Prepare your heart as a throne for Him, before He assumes His rightful throne in Zion. "Blessed are ALL who put their trust in Him (Psalm 2:12).

World News Through the Third Lens: Clemens Mistrial

2011-07-14T12:27:00.007-04:00

Judge declares mistrial in Clemens Case read the headlines today as reported by NewsCore on Fox Sports website. The reason for declaring a mistrial was because the federal prosecutor presented to the jury "evidence" that had already been declared by US District Judge Reggie Walton as inadmissible during the pre-trial. The evidence was a video clip of former Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte's wife Laura testifying before Congress that she heard her husband say that Roger Clemens had told him that he had used human growth hormones.

The judge had ruled, during pre-trial, that Mrs. Pettitte's testimony was hearsay, and therefore inadmissible. When the prosecutor presented the video to the jury, Clemens' lawyer objected and requested a mistrial, which was granted. Lot's of tax dollars have been spent to reach this point where there is still no verdict. Whether there will even be another trial is up to the federal prosecutor's.

Through the third lens of Scripture: The Bible makes no direct comment concerning the use of human growth hormones, or even vitamins or protein shakes to enhance one's athletic performance. I do believe that the Bible makes it clear that our culture's infatuation with and idolization of sports and the stars thereof is wrong. Consider "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them...." (Exodus 20:3-4a)

These are the first two of the Ten Commandments.

Please understand, I do not sit in judgment of anyone who is a sports fan, or who is an athlete. I myself am among the former and in my younger days was among the latter. This is a matter of one's own personal conscience. I will say though that if sports had not reached the place of idolatry on a national/international level that there would not be $20MM+ salaries being paid to professional athletes who are playing games and who are unionized.

Concerning this whole matter of athletics and physical training, the Bible says: "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). You see, this body of flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50) so anything done to improve or enhance the body has benefit for this life only. Godliness, and anything which trains the soul towards godliness (which by the way tends to keep the flesh and all its desires in check) has benefit in this life, AND the next. This is a subject worth several pages of teaching. Suffice it to say that the flesh and the spirit (soul) are at war with one another (read Romans 7:7 - 8:17), and the flesh (sinful nature) could care less about the Kingdom of God because it won't get to go there.

Now, continuing with Roger's case - the whole trial is about whether Roger lied in his testimony before the Congressional Committee. I find this a bit of a laugher because congressmen lie to each other and to us all the time. The president lies before Congress and the American people. The interesting thing is that Roger probably would not have gone to jail had he told the Committee that he used HGH (assuming that he did). That wasn't a crime, and for a number of years wasn't even against the rules of Major League Baseball. Had he admitted to using them though, his reputation would have been tarnished, and his entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame placed in jeopardy.

Let me conclude that if Roger did lie, he was guilty of breaking the 9th Commandment. Whether a court ever finds him guilty will make no difference to God. He has the last say in matters of justice and mercy. I only pray that Roger, who like me has probably broken most, if not all of the Commandments, throws himself on God's mercy. To do so will require him to confess his sins and repent from them (change his mind about them) and place his trust in Jesus Christ. And then God, who in His holiness declares that breaking one commandment is as bad as breaking all of them (James 2:10) will cause mercy to triumph over justice (James 2:13). When we stand before the judgment seat of God, there will be no mistrial, no getting off on a technicality. The only way to escape judgment is to accept God's mercy and forgiveness offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10).

Be encouraged as you walk free from fear, children of God, and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17).

World News Through the Third Lens: Israel and the Apocalypse

2011-05-21T14:28:00.005-04:00

Local ministers don't think today is the last day read the headlines in today's Johnson City Press. In the same issue, another headline declared Israel's leader rejects U.S. plan on borders. Thus this blog will look at two current event items through the third lens of Scripture. In an effort to not make this blog too long, only the surface will be scratched. The first headline was prompted by the proclamation of Harold Camping, 89-year-old retired civil engineer and the leader and founder of the fringe ministry group with the innocuous title: Family Radio Worldwide. Camping claims that his study of the Bible and numerological calculations make it clear that the end will come beginning at 6 P.M. on May 21, 2011, beginning in New Zealand. As I write this blog, it is now 6:40 A.M. on May 22, 2011 in New Zealand and I have heard no reports of their demise or of any of the other nations now on the other side of 6 P.M. the 21st.

Most pastors interviewed for this article, and several others, judging from posts on facebook, base their rejection of Camping's wild claims (which hundreds bought into and poured themselves and their resources into proclaiming the message) on Jesus' statement: "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matthew 24:36). The Scripture is true and accurate, but it is far from the best reason for Camping's prediction being declared false. Camping's claim that the end of the world is today includes the claim that true believers will be raptured (taken up) by Christ. And here is where it gets a bit messy. A short blog is no place to mount all the defenses that the truth of Scripture provide, so I will make just a few statements, with limited Scriptural reference.

The article in the Johnson City Press states, "The Rapture - the belief that Christ will bring the faithful into paradise prior to a period of tribulation on earth that precedes the end of time - is a relatively new notion compared to Christianity itself, and most Christians don't believe in it." This ludicrous statement underscores the concern I have when somebody like Mr. Camping gains some notoriety. 1. He will be proven false, and by analogy, many sincere people with an interest in eschatology (the study of the last days) who have been called with a prophetic voice at this time in history (I believe I am one) will be labeled as false, fringe or fanatical. 2. Articles will be written which have little biblical foundation, but will be read and believed by the uninformed. 3. Many will conclude that Christianity as a whole is a joke, or irrelevant

The Rapture is not a new notion in Christianity, unless you want to label the inspired writings of Paul as "notions"; unless you you consider A.D. 49-54 as "recent." In Paul's two letters to the church at Thessalonica (a church founded by Paul over a period of about 3 weeks), he addressed concerns that this young church had about the Second Coming of Christ. In the first letter, he dispels their concern that the people in the church who had already died would miss the Second Coming. He did this by making it clear that the resurrection of all those in Christ would take place first at His Coming followed immediately by all the living Christ-followers being changed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Thess. 4:13-18 and 1 Cor. 15:51-52) and all would be gathered together to meet Christ in the air, and forever be with Him.

The Rapture will take place, but not without signs preceding it. In fact, in Matthew's Gospel, just before Jesus spoke about no man knowing the day or the hour, these are the things He spoke about preceding the Rapture: 1. Deceivers and false Christ's, 2. wars and rumors of wars, 3. famines, pestilence and earthquakes (all labeled "the beginning of sorrows"), 4. Great tribulation and martyrdom, 5. more false prophets and deception, 6. a great falling away or apostasy, 7. the abomination which causes desolation (which requires the building of the third temple in Jerusalem and which will serve to reveal the Antichrist), 8. the actual sign of His coming (cosmic disturbances. Thus far, Matthew 24 parallels Revelation 6. Then the Rapture (Matt. 24:31, 37-42), the exact day or hour of which is unknown, but which is preceded by signs and the surety of which is a obvious as is summer following the budding of the fig tree (Matt. 24:32-35).

There is much more I could write in this vein, but now we'll move to the second headline concerning Israel and our president's exchange with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Our president is in office for a time such as this. God raises up one leader and He puts down another. Our president sided with the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt and Mubarak was, in addition to being a dictator, was a secularist and he honored Egypt's peace treaty with Israel. There is precious little hope that the Muslim Brotherhood will do the same. Bashar Al-Assad, the president of Syria is also a dictator, and has killed hundreds of Syrians who have been protesting for reform, but the USA has done little against him. He is a hater of Israel and is aligned with Iran in a desire to exterminate her. I could go on and cite pages of evidence which display President Obama's true feelings towards Israel.

So, with Obama's ascension to power, God is now on the verge of being in a position to justly judge the United States for all of the innocent blood shed in the land (well over 50 million abortions and those are just the ones reported). God is now in a on the verge of being able to justly judge the USA for making a mockery out of His rules for marriage and family. I don't mean to sound like I am in a position to determine when God can and cannot act; it just seems like He has been withholding judgment for a long time now. It seems entirely plausible that the only thing that has kept the sword from falling is God honoring this promise: "I will bless all those who bless you, And I will curse all those who curse you" (Genesis 12:3a). Insisting that Israel withdraw to the pre-June 1967 borders is tantamount to cursing Israel. Those borders included a section of Israel less than 9 miles wide. It would make Israel virtually defenseless (one reason that we know it was by YAHWEH's intervention in 1967 that Israel captured the land that she did. Netanyahu rejected Obama's plan. But concurrent with the USA's backing of Israel diminishing under the present POTUS, we have seen our country ravaged by recession, mounting debt and potential insolvency, natural disaster upon natural disaster, and an influx of illegal aliens adding their burdens to an already strained system.

I have said it before and I will say it again, a diminished USA superpower seems to be inevitable for a one world government/economy/religion to prevail. Joel Rosenberg wove this theme into his last days novel, Dead Heat, I found very interesting in spite of his error in the timing of the Rapture. It grieves me to think that our brave men and women in uniform, who have been putting themselves on the line to defend us, have been able to do little to defend us from the real enemies - the enemies within. As a reward for their selfless service, they have been used as guinea pigs in social experimentation. May God pour out special grace upon them, especially as Memorial Day approaches.

World News Through the Third Lens: Tornadoes - A Deeper Meaning?

2011-04-29T11:45:00.004-04:00

Tornadoes strike six states: over 250 killed. Until Thursday morning we had no idea just how bad things were because of the string of tornadoes that struck the southeastern United States. I can remember years ago when a tornado struck Connecticut, heavily damaging the air museum near Bradley Field, but I never remember regular TV programming being pre-empted by constant weather forecasts, warning about one tornado-laden storm after another. The storms which began in Alabama and Mississippi moved into Georgia and southeastern Tennessee by late afternoon on Thursday. Beginning with the 5 PM News, the northeastern Tennessee/southwestern Virginia (aka the Mountain Empire) was put on alert. The warnings which covered a time frame of 7-10 PM (later extended to 1 AM) showed a whole string of thunder storm cells moving roughly parallel with the Smokey Mountains. Many of the cells were packing hail and/or revolving winds.

After supper, we were glued to the TV and reading (check the following "Through the third Lens of Scripture" section for some of the reading material). Every storm cell was moving at speeds of 65-70 mph, so they came and went quickly. Most of them seemed to follow along the path of Interstate 81 (about 20 miles from us). Then one was projected to follow the north side of Route 11E (about 3 miles from us). Along about 10:30 PM one was shown as hitting Camp Creek area of Greene County with a projected path right over Telford (where we live). At that point Barb and I and Barb's Dad and the dogs headed for the cellar. There's no TV there, but with my computer and no loss of power or Internet service, I was able to track the cell. When Doppler showed it to be right over Telford, the wind could be heard roaring outside. However, that turned out to be just the cell passing through. The rotating winds never touched down and the trouble blew right by.

The next day everything in our area looked normal, while just a few miles over into Greene County, dozens of homes were destroyed and 7 people were killed. We've been praying a lot, for those who have suffered loss that God would comfort, and would show us how to be instruments of that comfort. We've also been thanking Him for our protection, and for protecting everyone else that we know personally in the area.

Through the third lens of Scripture: Here are some of the things we were reading on Wednesday...... "I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest"(Psalm 55:8). "And there will be a tabernacle for shade in daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain" (Isaiah 4:6). "For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall" (Isaiah 25:4).

I'm about to transition from something that will cause most people to say, "Praise God!" to something that might stir up a little controversy. Perhaps I can minimize that by saying that in no way do I attribute the fact that we were protected Wednesday night to some higher level of personal righteousness. I have no doubt that many God-fearing people suffered loss in those storms. What I am going to suggest, with absolutely no insinuation that God was punishing specific people for specific sins in those storms, is that God was once again trying to get our corporate attention.

On April 27, 2011, the Alabama House Health Committee was to vote on two personhood bills. That vote was delayed because of the introduction of amendments to exclude the earliest stage of human development, beginning at conception - thus denying personhood. Within hours, over 200 of Alabama's citizens had been killed by the fierce storms. Consider this: "And God said. 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:.... So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them" (Genesis 1:26a, 27).

As this was happening, the military began its sensitivity training as a result of the repeal of the "Don't ask; Don't tell" policy. Here's how part of the curriculum goes..... If a marine sees two other male marines at the mall kissing each other, they should react no differently than if they had seen a man and a woman kissing. Some who have seed video portions of the training say, "They would make Sodom and Gomorrah look like Sunday School." Now consider this: "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion...... Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do those very things but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:26-27, 32).

As a parting note, consider this statement concerning how God uses things like tornadoes: "The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds...At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them. He brings the clouds to punish men or to water His earth and show His love" (Job 37:9, 12-13). Like I said, I do not believe for a minute that in this recent devastation the guilty suffered loss and the innocent escaped unscathed. I do think that all of us need to reflect seriously on God's holy standards; realize that we cannot live up to them apart from Christ; and then do what we can to be examples of righteousness in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, states and nation.

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"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows" (Galatians 6:7).

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).

World News Through the Third Lens: Pastor Fired

2011-03-24T12:34:00.005-04:00

"Who's in Hell? Pastor's Criticism of Eternal Torment for Some Sparks Fierce Debate." (Fox News, 3/24/11)

No, it's not the pastor who's image is gracing this blog (Rob Bell, Mars Hill Church) although he is definitely involved. This time it's Pastor Chad Holtz, who until recently pastored the 80 member Marrow's Chapel United Methodist Church in Henderson, NC who not only sparked some fierce debate by defending Rob Bell's recent book "Love Wins," but found himself being fired by his church. He had hoped that his personal beliefs, posted on facebook, would stir up some debate, but he never expected to be fired. His beliefs in the area of heaven and hell were deemed to be out of step with the beliefs of the people of Marrow's Chapel. When questioned about the incident, Gray Southern, district superintendent for the area that includes Henderson, said that there was more at stake than Holtz's facebook comments concerning Bell's book.

Holtz stated that church members had also been unhappy about his posts concerning gay marriage, the mix of religion and patriotism and that that the Bell posting was probably the last straw. Highlighted in the Fox News release was Bell's criticism of the belief that a select number of Christians will spend eternity in the bliss of heaven, while everyone else is tormented forever in hell. "This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world so desperately needs," Bell writes in his book."

Through the third Lens of Scripture: Rob Bells quote makes Jesus sound like a flower-child-hippie from the '60's. Jesus did bring a message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that is desperately needed by our world, but because His own cross was in the center of that message, He warned that it would NOT spread contagiously. Pastor Bell must have forgotten that the use of the word "world" in John 3:16 in no way supports his heresy of Universal Reconciliation. God's love was demonstrated towards the whole world, every last sinner, including you and me; but it would benefit only "whoever" believes. "For God so loved the world ['kosmos' - spec. inhabitants] that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, NKJV).

As you read further on, you quickly realize that the entire world was under the condemnation, so that He came into the world, not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him. The only way to escape condemnation is to believe on Him, in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:17-18). These verses record the words of Jesus, thus they are His message. His message continues "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit spoke these words concerning Jesus, "This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:11-12).

Concerning the 'contagiousness" of Jesus' message, Jesus and the apostles had some pretty interesting things to say. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14). That doesn't sound like Jesus (the gate) is all that contagious. Right after this, Jesus warns us to beware of false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing. (v. 15).Did you ever stop and think about how many people are born into a religion? If you are born of Muslim parents, you are born a Muslim. If you are born of Hindu parents, you are born a Hindu. If you are born of Buddhist parents, you are born a Buddhist. And, while I don't wish to pick on any Roman Catholics here (I recognize there are some who actually preach the need to be "born again"), most people born of Catholic parents are considered Catholic. Other "Christian" denominations also place too much importance on natural birth, and run children through a program of religious instruction without ever mentioning the necessity of being "born again." Jesus said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Again He said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.....Do not marvel that I said to you, 'you must be born again" (John 3:5, 7).

So we come with the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ, but immediately must proclaim to people that the way they were born will not get them to spend eternity in Heaven with God; they must be born again. The new birth is describe by John in these words: "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God..." (1 John 5:1a) What it means to believe that Jesus is the Christ cannot be written on a bumper sticker. Paul scratches the surface best with these words: "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel, which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all, that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

A person is not saved by believing some other gospel, no matter how sincerely he believes it. A person is not saved if he believes the true Gospel in vain and does not hold fast to it. Rob Bell's message of everyone ultimately being reconciled to God is a false gospel that makes him universally accepted by those who "perish because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Universal Reconciliation is the prelude to the "falling away" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) that will precede the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the prelude to a one-world religion spoken of in Revelation 13 and 17. The only thing that will stand opposed to this false religious system in the last days is true Christianity, which stands upon the exclusivity of Christ and His cross. "..the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God,,,,we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23-24).

This message offends many who wish to be saved (assuming they even consider salvation) according to their own terms. When this message is preached accurately, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew :10-12). That doesn't sound like Jesus and His message will be all that contagious. And as the signs of the end times increase in frequency and intensity like birth pains in an expectant mother, Jesus placed right at the top of the list "deceivers" (Matthew 24:4). He went on to say, "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake" (Matthew 24:9).

Let me close with this additional warning, followed by a word of encouragement. "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Luke 6:26). Continue to stand on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Warn and admonish others that He is the only Way and having done all to stand, continue standing. Remember Jesus' promise: "But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24;13).

World News Through the Third Lens: Rejoicing & Weeping

2011-02-26T19:07:00.004-05:00

Said Mussa Released: According to a report from the Religious Freedom Coalition today, Afghan Christian convert, Said Mussa, was released and escaped to a European nation. Even with our huge military presence in Afghanistan, the US media had little to say about this incident. Just a few days ago, Encouragement for End-Times Endurance posted a link on facebook by which people could pressure our US State Department to intervene in Mussa's behalf. This also pointed out the need for prayer for our Christian brother. Praise God for his release and escape to safety.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:3, NIV).

The Obama Administration Will No Longer Defend DOMA according to several news sources this past week. This makes official what the Justice Department has (not) been doing for the past two years - the only difference being that they will no longer have to fake it. DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton, and defined (for federal purposes) marriage as between one man and one woman. Once the LGBT agenda became a civil rights issue rather than a moral issue, the battle was lost. Now we have reached the point where one man (President Obama) has elevated himself above the Congress and the Judiciary, declaring a law to be unconstitutional. This is a quantum leap from a democratic republic into the realms of dictatorship.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: "Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush" (Jeremiah 8:12, NIV). Conduct that was hardly spoken of in secret 50 years ago is now being paraded around as normal, as a civil right, and as legal. That's a far cry from blushing. God's proclamation on such behavior: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20, NIV). The people of God must be counted as those who "...grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done..." (Ezekiel 9:4a, NIV) and NOT as those who "...know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve deserve death (yet) they not only continue in such things but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:32, NIV).

World News Through the Third Lens: State of the Union

2011-01-26T16:53:00.008-05:00

"Leadership is now a shared responsibility" stated President Obama in his State of the Union address last night. Sounds a bit like the playground bully who dominates and dictates the rules until someone calls him out. Then he wants to govern by committee. How pompous is that? So let me get this straight. When the Dems were in power, it was their (B. O.'s) way or the highway. After the most lopsided transfer of congressional power since 1938, it's time to share the leadership? What leadership? There hasn't been any, and the American people said, loud and clear, that that horse won't plow any more.

Of course the president was polite, and some times even made an attempt at being humorous. He threw a bone of congratulations to the new congress and to the new Speaker of the House (who looked, most of the time, like enduring the speech was worse than wearing cactus underwear). He acknowledged the tragedy in Arizona 3 weeks ago. (One of the biggest tragedies is that with dozens of eye-witnesses, Jared Loughner has plead "not guilty" and probably won't go to trial until October). Gabrielle Giffords seat was vacant an often in the view of the cameras.

The president then launched into his four point plan with epithets such as, "We need to out build, out-educate, out-innovate the rest of the world." "We need to take responsibility for the deficit and reform our government." (Who was it that spent trillions in stimulus money, appointed dozens of powerful czars without Senate consent, and chose to use the military as a laboratory for social perversion?)

Step #1 - Innovation. While he stated that free enterprise drives it, the government has to help. He said we need a "Sputnik moment," and that the budget will reflect this. OK, let's spend some more money we don't have because we've about busted the free enterprise system with red tape, regulations, penalties and taxes. Then he said something scary - about promoting clean energy technology, establishing a goal of having 1 million electric cars on the road by 2014 and 85% of our electricity being generated by "clean sources" by 2035. Can anybody say, "Here come the EPA Police with way higher electric rates!"? Then he said that politicians have to work to make this happen/ Why not business and industry?

step #2 - Education. He began by lamenting that we as a nation are 9th in math and science. Then he stated that good education starts at home, yet nothing is done to honor home schooling by the granting of tax relief or school vouchers. Then he revealed the "Race to the Top" program whereby the States who show the best plan get the money. (Like there's not enough cheating on things like Mastery Tests for the money's sake already). Then the ominous left foot fell as he stated that there were hundreds of thousands of students in schools who aren't citizens and that we have to address the issue of illegal aliens once and for all. His conclusion was that many of these are good students and that America loses if they are sent back home to be scientists and teachers in other countries. Ouch! I don't hear much of a plan there other than to keep paying for the education of citizens of other countries PLUS entice them to remain in this country with further rewards for being ILLEGAL! Many would argue that the 10th Amendment excludes the Federal Government from being involved in education.

step #3 - Rebuild America's Infrastructure. I can see the Federal Government being involved in the interstate system and other means of travel across state lines (air, train, bus, etc.), but why do they have to get involved in making the Internet and digital technology available to everyone. I would think that the private sector would figure this out eventually. I don't think that the American taxpayers should subsidize some guy's Internet just because he chooses to live 100 miles from Point Barrow. I do agree with the president's statement that the tax code should be simplified and loopholes cut. (I've never heard a politician openly say the opposite, while the opposite is what always seems to happen). Then he plugged his healthcare reform program, admitting that it could be improved, but offering no suggestions for improvement. How about deleting all coverage for abortions, tax-payer funded or not? How about removing all so-called "domestic partner" benefits?

step #4 - Stop the Debt. He said that government must live within its means, just like individuals and families have to. Good! He called for a 5 year freeze on annual domestic spending (which for some crazy reason only amounts to 12% of the budget! Oh, I guess that the $720MM spent in Lebanon, only to have the government now controlled by Hizbullah is part of the 88% non-domestic spending not subject to freeze. He spoke of initiating medical mal-practice reform We'll see if the lawyers let him get away with that, although it's long overdue. He said he will submit a proposal to streamline the government. (Start by getting rid of the czars, their staffs, regulations and budgets!) And just when i couldn't take any more, he said, "American Muslims are part of our American family." Mr. president, there may be some; but why do we seldom hear of a Muslim taking a stand against terrorist organizations and terrorist activities? Why do we not see them upholding the American flag. Why do they keep pushing for Sharia law? And why hasn't Major Nidal Malik Hasan faced a firing squad yet?

Through the third lens of Scripture: I realize that some of the things I've said do not sound very loving, but the truth has a tendency to sound that way at times. So please let me begin this part with an oft repeated mantra of mine: "We must pray for President Obama." We must first of all that he "be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Why should we do this? He is obviously not saved, and God wants him to be (1 Timothy 2:4).

Paul writes: "I urge, then, first of all. that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -for kings and all those in authority...." (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Now for a few observations about his speech as compared to the Word of God. He played the pride card several times. We're the richest, we have the best institutions of higher learning, we have the largest economy, we have grit, determination and ingenuity. Not once did he acknowledge any of these as coming from God, nor that we are accountable to Him for how we use them. Then there is this warning: "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Wouldn't it be better to be second or third or ninth and right rather than first and wrong?

Many parts of the speech reminded me of how these words of wisdom have frequently been ignored: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" (Proverbs 6:16-19). By his silence, or by his contrary actions, President Obama has been an affront to Almighty God in these seven areas and more. Prideful looks, lies (or at least hiding the truth) concerning his birth and even records right through college, his radical pro-abortion stand, rushing quickly into the repeal of "Don't Ask - Don't Tell," Lying about abortion provisions in the health care reform, and pandering to Muslims who will even don a US Army uniform to attack US Soldiers.

I fear that the last global superpower is about to be brought to her knees. I don't know how far we can push God's mercy and avoid His justice. "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). One small step towards righteousness and towards trimming the budget - cut off all funding to Planned Parenthood ($320MM)!

World News Through the Third Lens: It's For the Birds

2011-01-07T18:50:00.004-05:00

Dead birds showing up everywhere around the world declares the headlines of Internet news source, http://www.offgridsurvival.com/ This source, along with several others which are better known, such as http://www.msnbc.com/ has reported hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dead birds of varying species showing up dead in Italy, Sweden, Canada, South Korea, et al. Dead fish are also showing up in different places well beyond the Arkansas River. The fanatical group led by Rev. Hocking will probably declare that this is further proof that the world will end on May 21, 2011. Meanwhile, popular actor/evangelist Kirk Cameron has declared that the dead birds and fish are not a sign of the Apocalypse.

So who do you believe? Is the end coming this year. Are these things signs of the end? Should we buy a bunch of MRE's, fuel up the 4 X 4 and head for the hills? All I can say is: "Read your Bible and believe/obey what it says.

Through the third lens of Scripture: Watch for the biblical signs, such as: 1) false Christ's, deceiving many; 2) wars and rumors of wars; 3) famines (those already present get very little news coverage); 4) pestilence (birds and fish dying in large numbers could definitely qualify); 5) earthquakes (2010 was quite a year for these - first 7 days of 2011 rather quiet); 6) being hated for being a Christian (U.S. Gov't. even getting a little alarmed because of Christians being murdered in Africa and middle East); 7) rise of false prophets (the list of those present and popular is too big to tackle here); 8) lawlessness (just read the papers. USA has highest percentage of incarcerated people in western world, and yet new crimes dominate the news).

What are we to do. Since these instructions come from Scripture, they speak primarily to Christians. 1) Do not let anyone deceive you; 2) occupy until Christ returns; 3) preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the world as a witness (see blog on this topic at http://www.endtimesencouragement.blogspot.com ); 4) endure until the end; 5) look up, for your redemption is drawing near; 6) bear the testimony of Christ; 7) love not your life, even unto death; 8) remain ready, always loving and always living in faith.

So, don't be frightened by scary news; neither dismiss everything thinking that everything will go on as it always has (western version - just keep getting better and better. After all, we spent 3.8% more on stuff for Christmas this year than we did last year). Be encouraged in Christ. "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!"

2010-12-24T12:46:00.007-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Christmas began in the heart of God...

It is not complete until it reaches the heart of man.

May your hearts be open to the Savior of the First Advent

And prepared for the Lord of Lords and King of Kings of the

Second Advent

Encouraged by Christ.......and you

Les & Barb Young

World News Through the Third Lens: What About the Next Generation?

2010-12-13T11:54:00.004-05:00

"Narnia cruises to No. 1 debut with modest $24.5M" declared the banner headline in today's Johnson City Press. While it was number one at the box office this weekend, the figures are less than glowing; in fact they pale in comparison to "Narnia 1's" opening take of $65.6 million and "Narnia 2's" opening which did $55 million. Without delving into the mysteries of Hollywood and the movie industry, I was immediately brought back to some headlines I had read just a few weeks ago. After looking up the details on-line, I can tell you that....

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 set all-time opening for the franchise with over $125 million," reported Box Office Mojo. Further checking revealed that this Harry Potter release has grossed over $777 million world-wide in its first 3-1/2 weeks. Why would I care about that? I can guarantee you that I not looking to become Roger Ebert's new partner in the movie ratings business. No, there really is a Scriptural connection to these two recent Hollywood blockbusters.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: In this morning's reading from Our Daily Bread The lesson was drawn from 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 and from the Zebras and Wildebeests of the Serengeti Plain. From the animals we learn that the Zebras and the Wildebeests travel and migrate together because the Zebras have keen eyesight and a poor sense of smell, while the Wildebeests are just the opposite. By traveling together, they are both less vulnerable to predators. From the Scriptures we learn. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12). "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!'" (1 Corinthians 12;21). So while I may come across as a strong exhorter, I understand that God has placed such people in the body of Christ for a reason. While my strong suit may not be mercy, God has placed others in the body who excel in dispensing mercy (see Romans 12:8).

That leads to today's exhortation, which connects back to the opening remarks about two movies and their respective draws at the box office. Both of these movies are filled with fantasy, greatly enlarged by the silver screen. Both depict competing forces which might be labeled as "good and evil" or "light and dark." However, the Harry Potter movie, in fact the entire Harry Potter series, is much more dark than light; much more evil than good. The good displayed in these movies is more of the human variety, and the Scriptures declare, concerning this subject: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6a). On the other hand, the Narnia movies reveal a different kind of good; a good that is redemptive and that comes from outside of humanity. In these movies, the Lion Aslan is seen as a type of Christ.

So what do we have here? We have a movie which is heavy into magic, both black and white, with little redeeming value grossing 5-6 times as much as a similar movie which, although fantasy, portrays biblical truth in an entertaining format. I would venture to say that 5-6 more children have seen Harry Potter as have seen Narnia 3. And the Scriptures declare: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6). I would challenge those parents who think that there is no difference between the two movies to think again. Some of the most dangerous thoughts we can entertain are, "It doesn't mean anything. It's only for fun. It's just an act. It's just entertainment." This applies to music, TV, movies, concerts, etc. Remember, a little bite of a piece of fruit got us all in one big jam.

Yesterday our pastor brought a message entitled, ""Bring the Children" (Developing a Faithful Generation). It was probably the best exposition of Matthew 19:13-15 I have ever heard. That passage reads: "Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there."

I could never hope to do justice to Pastor Hilton's message, but allow me to recap the three main points to his message: 1) Bring the children to Jesus. I dare say that there is a lot more Jesus in the Narnia movie than in the Harry Potter movie. Children must be brought to Jesus, so that in a spiritual sense they might feel His touch. 2) Do not keep children from Jesus. It's one thing to bring them to Jesus, it's another thing to not keep them from Him. Often we adults get in the way by failing to prioritize children, or by being ignorant of their value (this begins at conception). We train by example as well as by instruction. 3) God works generationally. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Someone once said that Christianity is only one generation away from extinction. It is up to us to raise up the next generation in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

So, let's be good role models to the children. Let's bring them to Jesus, which includes church at the top of the list, but also includes pointing out Jesus in every area of life. It means always being on the lookout for the answer to W.W.J.D.? (What would Jesus do?) As we develop a faithful generation, God has promised great blessing on them. "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever." (Psalm 112:1-3).

Be encouraged in Christ!

World News Through the Third Lens: What values Are Being Defended in the Afghan War?

2010-12-03T12:40:00.005-05:00

"High-level Interests? Afghan Christian convert's case may be the subject of a U.S. meeting" reads the November 30, 2010 banner to a by-line by Mindy Belz of World Magazine.

"The case of Afghan Sayad Mossa, who has been in a Kabul jail since May 31 allegedly for converting from Islam to Christianity, will be the subject of a meeting between Gen. David Petraeus and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, according to legal counsel who arrived in Kabul this week to assist the 45-year old Mossa."

Belz goes on to state in her article that there have been a number of conflicting reports concerning Mossa's case, who had just last week been able to secure legal representation through Advocates International, a faith-based association with 25,000 attorneys in 130 countries. Belz quoted the prosecutor in charge of western Kabul, Din Mohammad Quraishi, as saying that Mossa and another prisoner, Ahmad Shah, are being detained and charged with apostasy: "They are accused of conversion to another religion, which is a crime under Islamic law. If proved, they face the death penalty or life imprisonment."

The article goes on to point out the tenuous situation in Afghanistan, the touchy issues already on the table following Karzai's criticism of NATO troops and the recent leaks from Wikileaks revealing the US's raw frustration with corruption within the Karzai government.

Through the third lens of Scripture: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you." (Matthew 5:11-12). "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony: they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." (Revelation 12:11). How easy it is to post those Scriptures from the comfort of my office. Nobody is persecuting me today because of the profession of my faith in Jesus the Christ. Yet the day is not over, and because I am about to encourage all Believers through this blog to get ready for what may be in our lifetime a time of widespread persecution of Christians, I expect some to be repelled by the message. However, I am compelled, not by a desire to be liked by everyone, but only to hear my Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant," to speak what I know to be the truth on what are often disturbing subjects.

There is a mixed message in this country as to whether the church is gaining in influence and popularity or whether the opposite is true. I suppose the answer could depend on your definition of the church: is it the institution with its outward appearance or is it those who have experienced the new birth and have chosen to walk the narrow road that leads to life? Certain segments of the visible church have demonstrated a continuing willingness to go along with political correctness so as to get along with the powers that be. Homosexuality has been redefined from a moral abomination to a legitimate alternative (and thus a civil right); marriage has been redefined from "one man-one woman-for life" to (well....we've already started down the slippery slope so there's no telling where it will end). To stand up for the sanctity of life or biblical marriage will always invite persecution from somewhere.

And now to speak ill of Islam, or our country's ominous war on terrorism is to probably walk on thin ice also. So be it. How can there be any question that our presidents have gotten it wrong when they label Islam as a "religion of peace?" Virtually every nation on the planet where Islam is in the majority, Christians are persecuted to some degree or another. How could the United States of America, with its Constitution (including the First Amendment) expend so many resources (including human lives where are of inestimable value) to free a country from Taliban rule, only to replace it with a government set up to persecute Christians? What values are our service men and women putting their lives on the line to defend? Could it be a portent of things to come where, even in the USA, all manner of religious expression other than Christian is protected? The best way to prepare for and yes, even prevent such an eventuality is to speak and live biblical truth now, at every opportunity.

Be encouraged in Christ!

World News Through the Third Lens: Dare We Speak Against Islam?

2010-11-20T14:02:00.004-05:00

Woman in Austria faces prison for speaking against Islamic law (Diana West, Johnson City Press editorial, November 19, 2010). On a recent trip to India (which, by the way, cost our bankrupt nation an outrageous sum) President B. Hussein Obama set us up for the Big Lie when he said, "I think all of us recognize that this great religion [Islam] in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence towards innocent people that is never justified." Then why is it that all of the sacred books and schools of Islam say differently? One need not distort the Islamic texts to justify the violence of jihad from Mumbai to Tel Aviv to New York City to Bali to Madrid and beyond.

Just yesterday, the Religious Freedom Coalition reported that in the past week there were 30 Islamic terror attacks in 12 different nations with 83 dead and over 200 wounded. RFC also reported that two weeks earlier and Islamic terror attack on a Syriac Catholic church in Baghdad left 58 dead and 78 wounded. Not a week goes by but what multiple events like this happen, most of them not reported by the media. Asia Bibi, a 45 year old Christian woman in Pakistan (supposedly one of the USA's partners in the war against terror) has been condemned to death for insulting Islam. You can click this link to get a first-hand report on what conditions are like in Afghanistan, a country where our military have been laying it on the line for the past 9 years - for what? http://video.foxnews.com/v/4348748/daanger-of-missionary-work-in-afghanistan

All that is backdrop for the case of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, the Viennese mother and housewife who will go to trial on November 23, in which her home country of Austria will attempt to send her to prison for as long as three years for "hate speech" against Islam, very similar to those I've just written. Her statements were not without foundation based on personal experience and intense study. From living as a child of an Austrian diplomat stationed in Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, to working in the Austrian embassy in Kuwait at the time of the Iraqi invasion, to working at the Austrian embassy in Libya on 9/11, she has seen wide-spread fanaticism on display. She has studied the Islamic texts, commentaries, apologetics and critiques at length and eventually decided to exercise her God-given right to free speech and begin educating others.

In seminars promoted by the Association of Vienna Academics and the anti-Islamization Freedom Party, since 2008 she has been educating Austrians about Islam, the Koran and Shariah law. It so happened that one of the seminar attendees was a journalist for the left-wing publication NEWS, who branded the seminar as a "hate school." This caused a huge uproar in the establishment, and one bishop, who never attended a seminar, weighed in with, "One must never speak about any religion the way Ms. Sabaditsch-Wolff did about Islam." Elisabeth's husband, a military surgeon and her father (a career diplomat) know the truth and support her 100 percent.

Through the third lens of Scripture: It appears to me that Elisabeth is about to stand trial because she is a courageous proclaimer of the truth - something which threatens all states of denial. He plight mirrors that of Paul with the Galatians, where he said, "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16). I know experientially how quickly this can happen within the Body of Christ; therefore it's no surprise how one's own country can turn against some of its best and brightest citizens. I'm not a doomsayer, just an encourager - be prepared all of you Christian patriots.

And when it comes to confronting false religion, Jesus was the Master, and He warned His disciples, "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved....A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master....If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!" (Matthew 10:22, 24-25). I don't have time in this article to point out all of the places where Jesus confronted false religion. Here are just a few examples: Matthew 23; Mark 7:6-13; John 7:23.

No confrontation with false religion would be complete without exposing the truth. To begin with, every Muslim who claims to have no affiliation with jihad, terror, or Shariah does not have far to go to remove themselves from Islam. And the "fanatics!" Well, they already have what it takes to become zealous Christians. We must remember that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was the full and satisfactory payment, not just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2). And so let us not be afraid of sharing the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ, even with those who would appear to be its greatest enemy. Just reread Acts 7-9 for a refresher.

Caesar is still Caesar

2010-11-03T11:13:00.005-04:00

I don't know what election year this particular image is supposed to depict, and I don't know exactly how yesterday's election changed the colors; but one thing I do know is the CAESAR IS STILL CAESAR. There is a lot of celebrating in the US of A today, and rightfully so. Liberty, freedom, the Constitution, free enterprise, government of, by and for the people have all made their voices heard in the polling places around the country. Messages have been sent to the establishment. In some cases, righteousness has actually won the day. I praise God for this, even as I know that CAESAR IS STILL CAESAR.

It matters some whether Caesar is colored red or blue, for the heart of the king (Caesar - whether he be self-appointed or democratically elected) is in the hand of God and He turns it whatsoever way He wills, even like the rivers of water. (Proverbs 21:1). A righteous king (or government) brings blessings to the land and its people and they rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan (Proverbs 29:2). Changing a state's color from blue to red doesn't automatically establish righteousness in government. The people have to desire righteousness and pursue it.

CAESAR IS STILL CAESAR and he will make his demands on the people, and the people must give to CAESAR that which is his. Glory and worship are not CAESAR'S no matter how much he may portray himself as a god. As it is written, "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." (Matthew 4:10). In worshipping the One True God and serving Him only, one is constantly challenged. Yesterday in Colorado, the home of a number of large, well-known ministries (i.e. Focus on the Family) there was an item on the ballot entitled "Amendment 62." If passed, it would have declared personhood to begin at conception (which is biblically correct and therefore righteous), conferring to babies in the womb all of the rights and privileges granted to any other person under the Colorado Constitution. The measure failed to pass by about 70% to 30%.

So even where the people have spoken (the people in CT for example do not have a right to speak as did the people in Colorado), unrighteousness still prevails. Unfortunately, little babies in the womb are being killed in red states as well as blue states. Every state in the union runs red with the blood of innocent babies. So Christian, you and I have a lot of work to do and it should include the following:

1. PRAY. Paul did not distinguish which kind of king merited our prayers; he just said, "Pray." "I urge you first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for every-one--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

2. Live godly and holy lives, whether we can do that in peace or not, remembering these other words from Paul, "...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12) There will always be those who persecute the godly. It's a terrible thing when its the government that is doing the persecuting.

3. In godliness and holiness we must cry out in behalf of those who have no voice. David was able to cry out to God to save him from bloodthirsty men because he had a voice. He was able to declare, "Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice." (Psalm 55:17) Babies in the womb often have no voice but yours and mine.

4. Jesus has not yet put a halt to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Continue to proclaim the Good News with your life and with your words. When they are in harmony, the song is beautiful. When you stand as a witness in front of an abortuary, you are not just proclaiming the sanctity of life, but you are offering hope, love, forgiveness and salvation to troubled Moms and Dads as well. Thousands of salvations have taken place in the vicinity of the killing places as the theology of the church becomes the biography of the streets.

5. Stay involved. Find was to practically apply the words of Jesus when He said, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5:13-15)

That should keep us busy until the next election.........

Be encouraged - No matter who thinks they are king, Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

World News Through the Third Lens: The Value of a Life

2010-09-11T16:37:00.005-04:00

Today being the ninth anniversary of the 9-11-01 attacks on American soil, there has been much written and said about what happened that day, vis-a-vis the degree to which religious tolerance is part of the bedrock of this nation, the proposed burning of the Koran by a small Florida church and the planned construction of a mega-mosque within two blocks of Ground Zero in Manhattan. I do not think for one second that I can compete with the rhetoric that has been expended on these topics. Yet I am stirred in my heart to write something that might be of value to someone. In my attempt at that, I will be abandoning the normal format of this blog in favor of stringing together some thoughts which in total I pray might glorify God and encourage the soul of a fellow pilgrim.

Ground Zero has taken on an aura of holy ground over the years, probably because of the magnitude of the tragedy that occurred there nine years ago. That's usually the case with us fallen people; we tend to place some unknown value on a human life, and then multiply it by the number of lives lost. Yet this leaves us with just a "bigger" unknown value, but because it is "bigger," more honor should be given. Consequently, when almost 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001; in the following years a complicated formula would be devised to determine the value of each particular life.

Much has been said of those who died that day: innocent, hero, unlucky, in the wrong place at the wrong time, selfless. With the exception of the 19 individuals who hijacked the 4 aircraft, everyone else probably was innocent with respect to having done nothing which justified the taking of their lives by another. Bible truth declares however that "There is none righteous, no, not one..." (Psalms 14:1; Romans 3:10); "....for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 2:23). And then, "For the wages of sin is death...." (Romans 6:23a). So no one who died on that die could claim innocence in the sense that they deserved to avoid death.

So the innocence of those who died should not have been a factor in their worth. It must have been the huge numbers. Because over 300 firefighters died that day, their individual lives must have been worth more than the lives of the three who died a week or so earlier while fighting a fire. (I hope you sensed the sarcasm). The families of the three collected maybe $150,000 - $200,000 total while the value of each one who died on 9-11 was worth well in excess of $1,000,000. This just shows how flawed the human system is. The Bible states clearly that every soul is of equal value to God. It's apparent in perhaps the most well-known passage of Scripture in the New Testament: "For God 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).

"Whoever" is the word which clearly indicates the value of each and every life. The Bible says that God "...is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9). This repentance involves acknowledging our own personal sin and that Jesus is the only one who can save us. "Nor is there salvation in any other name under heaven given among men by which men must be saved." (Acts 4:12). Allah cannot save; Mohamed cannot save; Buddha cannot save; and man surely cannot save himself. If this sounds condemning, please listen to the words of Jesus. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:17-18).

Islam is a lie, and none who follow it will be saved from sin and allowed to enjoy eternal life. Buddhism is a lie, and none who follow it will be saved. Secular humanism is a lie, and none who follow it will be saved. I'm not going to make a statement that Christianity is the truth and all who follow it will live because Christianity exists today in many aberrant forms. I will say what Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). True Christians follow Jesus as both Savior and Lord. When it comes to the lordship of Jesus Christ it is important to remember His words: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21).

True repentance involves a yielding of ones ways to the ways of God. It is a false belief within false Christianity that you can profess Jesus as Savior and wilfully say "No!" to Him as Lord. You can be forgiven every sin, big or little, when you come to Him in repentance; but you cannot use a cloak of "Christianity" as a license to do whatever you want. While it is the truth which sets people free, it is complete futility (or worse) to try to stamp out everything that is opposed to the truth. Truth will always stand on its own. So Christians do not fight Islam by burning the Koran (a book of lies) but rather by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with Muslims. Christians do not fight abortion by shooting abortionists, but by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with them and those who seek their services. Christians do not fight the assault on the sanctity of marriage by degrading gays, but by sharing with them the Good News of Jesus Christ.

What is the value of a life? Every human life is so valuable that, "inasmuch then as the children [you and me] have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus Christ] likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15). Now Jesus is able to say, "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen." (Revelation 1:18). His life and His death and His resurrection alone are able to save. It is this truth which needs to be spoken and lived.

World News Through the Third Lens: America's Problems Are Moral, Not Financial

2010-08-23T18:53:00.006-04:00

A posting from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR)stated today that America's problems are moral, not financial. They then went on to cite the Tea Party Movement (TPM) as being a reflection of America's discontentment with the the direction this country is going, while stating that the TPM doesn't go far enough. They stated that with few exceptions, the TPM fails to address the greatest human-rights tragedy of our day - the abortion of pre-born children. I agree completely with this statement.

CBR went on to say that this September they are going to be displaying large photos of aborted pre-born babies on truck mounted billboards in key gubernatorial and Senate states, such as Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, and Ohio. Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life and a CBR board member is wholeheartedly behind this effort. I applaud this effort as well as the efforts of such dedicated organizations as Operation Save America. Please God, may the shedding of innocent blood end in this country, now!

Through the third lens of Scripture: The Bible is so clear and simple on this issue that it sounds almost trite to restate it; yet I declare this to be the absolute truth as revealed by the Holy Word of God - life is sacred from conception until natural death. In fact the idea of death of any sort is so contrary to the will and nature of God that in His great love for the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.

Regarding life in the womb, God has this to say: Speaking to Jeremiah as He called him to be a prophet of Israel, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) King David was given this divine insight which he penned as follows: "For you [God] created my inmost being; you knot me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well....your eyes saw my unformed body..." (Psalm 139:13-14,16)

God, the author and creator of all life has made it clear; it's not a lump of tissue; it's not a problem; it's not a woman's right to privacy' it's not a reproductive health care issue; IT'S A BABY! And this is a very important issue. God states clearly that He detests those who shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:16-17) and He will exact vengeance because of the shedding of innocent blood (Jeremiah 22:17-19). While abortion may top the list of egregious national sins, it is still a symptom of the wholesale abandonment of righteousness that has occurred in the USA in the past 50+ years. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." (Proverbs 14:34). God bless the people who don't shy away from controversial issues but who seek to promote righteousness on a community and even national level. It has become a huge task and is much more than one issue. Consequently (and this is not a criticism of them), but CBR hasn't gone far enough. The church, the body of Christ, hasn't gone far enough. The standard of truth, which is Jesus Christ and His Gospel has been entrusted to the church but what have we done with it? The answer to that is, "Apparently, not enough!" and is a subject for another day.

In closing, I can only encourage those who claim to be followers of Christ to take up your cross daily, and in denying yourself, make a difference in your world. Bring the truth of the Gospel to bear on an issue that burns in your breast. Our country's problems are many, and like Israel in Jeremiah's day - we may have crossed the line and can only expect judgment. That's not my call - my call is to speak and live the truth as well as I can, by the grace of God....and so is yours.

World News Through the Third Lens: The Love of Money

2010-08-05T15:57:00.004-04:00

Trustee: Man owes trust funds $2.2 million read the banner over a one column story on the front page of today's local paper. This blog is not being written to exploit or defame anyone. Decades ago my mother taught me, when looking at someone elses plight, rather than be judgmental, say, "There but for the grace of God go I." I will try to write in that spirit without watering down the truth. I will say that this incident strikes closer to home than most things I read from various news sources because I know many of the parties involved. Needless to say, the whole thing came as a shock.

There is no need to reiterate the number of transgressions that were reported in the article, nor to speculate beyond that which was reported. Rather I would like to use this as a launching pad into a brief look at God's Word. Some people have gone through the Gospels and have concluded that Jesus spoke more about money than He did about any other subject. I can't prove or disprove that, but I can assure you that God does have a lot to say about money.

Through the third lens of Scripture: The very first money Scripture that comes to mind is one that is often misquoted. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..." (1 Timothy 6:10a). Often times the word "love" is left out, incorrectly stating that money itself is a root of all kinds of evil. Money is neutral - it's man's affection for it that leads either to good or evil. The verse goes on to say: "Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:10b). So a poor man can be eager for money and live to rue the day he departed from ethics, morals, or even common sense in an attempt to get it. A rich man may succumb to a pattern described by the richest man ever, King Solomon, in these words: "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

I live in the southeastern part of Connecticut, where in the last 15 years, two of the largest casinos in the world have arisen out of the ashes of an industrial-military economy now only a shadow of its former self. During this period of time there have been many accounts of fiduciary accounts in the hands of lawyers and accountants being mishandled; trustees of the public treasuries caught embezzling funds, and non-profits being ripped off by their treasurers - often to feed or cover up a heavy involvement in gambling. I don't know whether today's reported incident has a gambling connection or not, but some of the money being held in trust for certain beneficiaries was loaned (without collateral) to a former chairman of the tribe which owns one of the afore mentioned casinos. Here's just one of many biblical warnings to those who seek to get rich quick (the desire which fuels the gambling industry): "A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 28:20).

To bring this little blog to a conclusion, a trust account was created because one man worked hard and shrewdly, yet he went the way of all flesh and left his wealth to another. "For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others." (Psalm 49:10). A successful accountant was charged with managing the trust for the benefit of its beneficiaries. It appears that, although he was successful and wealthy in his own right, that the desire for more clouded his judgment and his ethics were tossed to the wind. "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." (1 Timothy 6:9).

I've learned some of my lessons the hard way, and I've learned some of them by sticking to God's Word. I've come to prefer the latter; so I pass this on to you, the reader, with hope that by following the Lord's instructions, you will be blessed. "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:17-19). And to those who have blown it, there is a word of encouragement: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).

World News Through the Third Lens: A Calculated Deception

2010-07-20T17:02:00.007-04:00

"President's Rhetoric = Calculated Deception" reads the headline of an article written by former White House policy advisor, Peter Ferrara, as posted on www.onenewsnow.com website. Ferrara accuses the president of "playing" the American public, and to prove his point he cites remarks made at a stump speech in Nevada recently. He quotes Obama as saying: "You know, when we were trying to pass the healthcare reform bill, everybody talked about all these scary results that were going to come out of the health bill. And now look; we passed it three, four months ago, and where are all these scary results they were talking about?"

Ferrara is quick to point out that the provisions of the healthcare reform bill don't kick in until 2014, meaning that the effects of those changes won't be recognized for several years; which causes him to ponder out loud: "Just how stupid does he (Obama) think we are?" He further adds that manipulation is a problematic leadership tool that Obama uses to get his way. Ferrara concludes that once again the American public has been shamefully manipulated by "calculated deception" because Obama thinks we're too stupid to pay attention.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: There's a whole sermon's worth of Scriptures I could use through which we can view the above news item; but I'll refer to only a few. First, I would like to remind President Obama and all of his cronies that the Scriptures are filled with warnings against such brazen audacity. "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood [such as via the abortion provisions that are still in the healthcare reform, despite executive orders], a heart that devises wicked schemes....." (Proverbs 6:16 - 18) How about this one? "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18) And one more from the New Testament, after Paul has reminded Christ followers of what happened to disobedient Israel: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12)

I hope you realize that these admonitions from Scripture (hence from God Almighty) are not just for President Obama, but for all of us. However, there is a scriptural principle that is applicable here: "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2) Now, as concerning deceitful or manipulative speech, here is one warning out of many: "These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other and render true and sound judgment in your courts." (Zechariah 8:16) Faithfully adhering to such high standards is impossible without help from God, whether you're the President or Joe the plumber. Perhaps that will help guide your prayers.

World News Through the Third Lens: Why Read the Bill

2010-07-16T18:29:00.005-04:00

Congressman John Conyers: "Why read the bill?

I know this is old news, but it is as relevant as today's headlines, and the Word of God is timeless. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Mark 13:31) In the spirit of this blog, I will keep it brief and simple, trusting that you, the reader will be able to grasp the principle and then apply it.

In May, 2009, Representative John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee addressed the National Press Club concerning the then, proposed Healthcare Reform Bill. When questioned about reading the bill, he remarked, "What good is reading the bill if its a thousand pages and you don't have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?"

Yesterday, July 15, 2009 the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill passed the senate and is awaiting the president's sure signature. This bill is reported to be over 2,000 pages long, doing precious little to correct atrocities at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, while imposing several restrictions on your local/community bank which had precious little to do with the financial meltdown. I suppose that would take 4 days to read and 4 lawyers to tell you what it meant.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: Jesus said, referring to the then Jewish custom of swearing by things thought to possess various degrees of holiness, and the thus complicated system of swearing oaths which would then carry all sorts of loop holes and escape hatches if only ordinary language was used. While Jesus was not condemning the need to sometimes explain or equivocate, He did leave us with a good principle which should be applied to the making of laws. "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No.' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37)

14th Century English logician, theologian and Franciscan friar, William of Occam, developed a principle that came to be known as Occam's Razor. In essence it said that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity." The popular interpretation of that came to be, over the years, that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. While there may be exceptions to that principle, I will leave you to ponder how Jesus' statement and Occam's razor might apply to our political system, and perhaps even to your relational life. God bless!

World News Through the Third Lens: The Important War

2010-07-11T19:21:00.007-04:00

"In Afghanistan it includes a war on Christians" reads the sub-banner of an article published in the July 17 issue of World. They quote Michael O'Hanlon, writing in The Wall Street Journal as saying that there is "too much loose talk and sloppy thinking" on Afghanistan. "Along with the debates on timelines for U.S. troop drawdowns, the confusion feeds a sense of strategic drift that is not helpful to maintaining national resolve on this important war." In context it becomes clear that O'Hanlon was not talking about something that began with General McChrystal's off the cuff remarks to a liberal journalist in a Paris hotel. It has characterized much of U.S. policy toward Afghanistan for the nine years of war in that country.

Since I have a 21 year old grandson who is currently serving in the Marines in Afghanistan, such remarks really caught my attention. While I am incredibly proud of my grandson (he continues a military tradition in my family that goes back to WWI), I am deeply disturbed by the apparent fact that our country seems to have no viable strategy for Afghanistan, unless it's the waste of $70 Billion a year; along with the waste of the lives of brave warriors whose patriotism is being used to cover up a scheme almost too diabolical to imagine. It goes way beyond the fact that our forces cleared the Taliban militants from mountaintops, only to have them sweep back in via the valley's back door. It goes beyond graft and corruption being fed on an epic scale with U.S. dollars. It goes way beyond rules of engagement being changed so as to favor an enemy with no respect for human life or the Geneva Convention.

The significant event marking the "loose talk and sloppy thinking" began back in 2004 when Afghanistan's constitution was adopted to the applause of Washington and Kabul alike. Since then our troops have been risking life and limb in a battle against two evils, where it is difficult to distinguish which is the lesser thereof. Officially the "lesser evil" is the government of President Karzai, but this government is officially an Islamic republic, with "Islam as its sacred religion." Article 3 states that no law can be contrary to Islam. Article 130 allows for "Hanafi jurisprudence," a form of Shariah law, to take precedence where there is no legal provision on any issue. These provisions marked the end of free speech and personal liberty in Afghanistan before they had ever been secured - so what are our troops fighting for?

The country's Christians (much like the Christians in Iraq) have been discovering the effects of such provisions. Christians have been arrested - some released only after intense international pressure - and others have been forced to renounce their Christianity. What happens out in the country, out of sight from TV cameras is anybody's guess. Afghan Christians had already been living in fear and worshiping underground; overnight they became targets. NGO's (non-government organizations) with the word "church" or "Christian" in their name have had their work suspended. There has been little international pressure for the Karzi's government to grant a greater measure of religious liberty, and there has been NO statement from the White House, or from U.S./NATO leaders in Kabul to this regard - for 6 years!!!

None of the news outlets with full-time correspondents in Afghanistan have covered this issue. A lesser known editor who picked up on World's story contacted the State Department, but received only silence. The only people to speak up is a group of 150 Afghan Christian exiles, all living in New Delhi, India who fled their homeland under duress. What have they said? "We do not know how the whole world and especially the global church is silent, while thousands of their brothers and sisters are in pain, facing life danger...persecuted and called criminals."

So what are we in Afghanistan for...to defend Kabul's right to kill Christian converts? If our government supports - at such a high price - such activities in other countries, how long will it be before they support it at home? If it is still OUR government, then WE need to do something about it.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: Today I heard a sermon which was based on part two of Jesus' answer to one of the Pharisee's questions concerning which, of all the commandments, is the most important? Jesus' answer was, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31) The preacher made it clear that the kind of love we are to extend to our neighbor can only come from a vital love relationship with God. Then, referencing Luke's account, where Jesus answers a follow-up question: "...who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29b), he went on to explain that our neighbor is someone as close as our own spouse or child, extending out to fellow members of our faith community, to those outside that community and even as far as our enemies.

I cannot begin to fathom whether there ever was any moral purity underlying our initial involvement in Afghanistan, but it certainly appears to have vanished as long ago as 2004. Why should our troops be on foreign soil enabling a people who, at their very core, consider the U.S.A. as the "great Satan" and Israel as the "little Satan" to persecute a minority who have chosen to trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? The Scriptures mandate that followers of Christ should "mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15) and "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves." (Romans 15:1) "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:3)

I know this is not true of all the church, but in general there seems to be too much partying going on. There need to be loud outcries to heaven and to the halls of injustice on earth. This will probably not result in popularity, but remember Jesus' words: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

World News Through the Third Lens: Public Prayer

2010-06-29T16:24:00.004-04:00

Christian Leader to Plead "Not Guilty" at Arraignment after being arrested for praying on a public sidewalk outside of a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Washington, D.C. (www.christiannewswire.com June 29, 2010). The article goes on to say that Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of Christian Defense Coalition, was charged with "unlawful entry" as he was praying and reading his Bible on a public sidewalk, several dozen feet from a Planned Parenthood Clinic in the nation's Capital. Rev. Mahoney stated, "This marks the first time in the history of our nation's capital that prayer and First Amendment activities have been prohibited and banned on the public sidewalk. Sadly the city of Washington, D.C. has chosen to protect the abortion industry and Planned Parenthood rather than the First Amendment. These actions should send shock waves to all Americans who cherish free speech and civil liberties."

Rev. Mahoney has pleaded, "Not Guilty!" to the charges and will be represented by the American Center for Law and Justice." He further stated, "As I plead not guilty to these outrageous ad baseless charges, I am affirming the power of the First Amendment and free speech and joining a long, proud tradition of Americans who refused to keep silent and go quietly into the night and surrender their God-given rights and liberties."

Rev. Mahoney can be contacted at (540)-538-4741 for more information.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that a Christian gets in trouble for praying publicly. In Daniel 6, as King Darius was about to place Daniel in charge of all 120 of his governors, the governors got jealous and wanted to see Daniel convicted of some sort code of conduct violation. They concluded. "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." (Daniel 6:5) So the governors went to the king and hoodwinked him. Appealing to his pride and vanity, they convinced him to make a decree that for 30 days, no one in the kingdom could pray to any god or man except the king. The penalty for violating the decree would be an overnight stay in the Hungry Lion Motel. Their motive is revealed five verses later.

"Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows faced toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before." (Daniel 6:10) Daniel got to stay at the Hungry Lion Motel, but the power of God that attended him made the lions a whole lot more sleepy and content, than hungry. The attack against Daniel was at its roots an attack against the God Whom he worshipped. It is no different with Rev. Mahoney.

This explains why, in our Nation's Capital, a city filled with public prayer, Rev. Mahoney was arrested. Sessions of Congress open with prayer; sessions of the Supreme Court open with prayer; and references to the Bible, Almighty God and prayer are inscribed in granite all over the city. But that's old stuff. It's OK - it's part of the pluralism which is running rampant in the land. This year - 2010 - Tony Perkins was disinvited to pray at Andrews Air Force Base; Franklin Graham was disinvited to pray at the Pentagon; and there was no National Day of Prayer observance at the White House. More and more it is becoming clear that to allow public prayer to the One True God is to acknowledge that He may in fact exist, and if He exists, then we might just be accountable to Him........And that is unthinkable in these days of secular humanism, socialism, Marxism and all the other "isms" which are an affront to Holy God.

My encouragement to the body of Christ is to pray all the more. Yes, pray in your prayer closet, for we are admonished to do so (Matthew 6: 5-15). The real point here was not so much to pray in a closed room where no one could see you, but to not pray so as to curry favor and admiration from men. So go ahead, pray in public also. Pray corporately; don't just be "led" by a celebrity prayer. Pray with and for others - even your enemies (Matthew 5:44). Let your light shine; individually like a candle set upon a stand and corporately like a city set upon a hill (Matthew 5:13-15). How much better, as a follower of Christ, to be arrested for Patrick Mahoney type behavior than for running a red light or neglecting our kids. (1 Peter 2:20).

Practical Application: Coming this fall (Sept. 22 - Oct. 31) to a city near you is a 40 Days for Life event. Get involved.

World News Through the Third Lens: Judging and Being Judged

2010-06-26T13:11:00.005-04:00

"Judge not, lest ye be judged," (Matthew 7:1) is a Scripture often quoted by people who respect neither God nor His word, just to silence someone who may be speaking Biblical truth. I wish to say at the outset, that i do not set myself up as judge over Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan - the Lord is more than capable of doing that. However, He will judge according to his revealed word. He is not going to pull out some ancient rule book that no one has ever seen and judge everyone according to some secret code. The general principle behind this statement can be seen in these two antithetical promises of God found in Deuteronomy 28.

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 28:1-2) The antithesis: "However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:" (Deuteronomy 28:15).

It should come as no surprise to you that there are judges in the modern world who place themselves above God, and judge according to some undefined standard that changes and evolves through time. They judge according to situational ethics or relative truth; meaning that there is always a surprise lurking in their judgment. There is some serious evidence that the current Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, is one of those judges. There is evidence abounding that she is anti-life/pro-abortion; that she is pro-LGBT while at the same time supporting Sharia concepts which condemn LGBT people to death. It looks like she is for anything that is against Christianity and the bedrock truths of the Bible, which will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35) The video clip at the following link is evidence of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZNQ7qcQ4&feature=player_embeded

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: The judges of Israel, who refused to judge according to the word of God wound up high on God's own judgment list. The directives given to judges was clear, as in this passage from 2 Chronicles. "He (Jehoshaphat) appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. He told them, 'Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.....You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. In every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities - whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or ordinances - you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise His wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this and you will not sin......Act with courage, and may the Lord be with those who do well.'" (2 Chronicles 19:5-7, 9-10, 11b)

God's view of those who take the law into their own hands and judge with partiality is clear throughout Scripture. "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." (Leviticus 19:15) "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law." (Malachi 2:9).

Lawlessness is already running rampant in the land. The executive branch of the federal government has been usurping powers not granted to it by the Constitution, and we have seen several signs of a judiciary legislating from the bench. The people have become confused and don't know where to turn. "We all growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. Justice is turned back and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter." (Isaiah 59:11,14). Read the rest of Isaiah 59. Apart from God, and His Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ - there is no help. But they who put their trust in Him will not be disappointed.

World News Through the Third Lens: The Economic Consequences of Abortion

2010-06-11T16:19:00.008-04:00

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake warned on Wednesday that "the federal budget appears to be on an unsustainable path".....Bernake, testifying before the House Budget Committee also recognizes that an "exceptional increase" in the deficit has been necessary to ease the pain of recession. To Republicans, he offered warnings about the fiscal perils of an aging population and the potential threat of soaring long-term interest rates. (Source: World Watch Daily, Koenig International News, June 11, 2010)

The picture above is of me and a good friend Vinny, standing in front of a place in Bridgeport, CT called the "Women's Summit" which is nothing more than an abortuary - where innocent babies are killed and women (and some men) are scarred for life - sacrifices made to the god's of greed, fear, and convenience. The picture that Vinny (who with other faithful saints come to this killing place twice a week, every week, regardless of the weather) is holding, as gruesome as it is, is real, truthful evidence of what happens when a baby is surgically dissected and ripped from its mother's womb. Few people, when they see these graphic pictures, just shrug them off. Praise God, across this land they arrest the attention of thousands of mothers before they enter the killing fields. What usually happens then is that the sidewalk counselors give them literature, encouragement, and genuine offers of real tangible and spiritual help. In Bridgeport alone, 120 mothers changed their minds and brought their babies to full term. Many of these mothers also entered into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and made life-long friends.

The other side of that praise report is that last year, about 1500 babies were killed at the Bridgeport abortuary, and since January 22, 1973 over 50,000,000 babies have been killed because of the legalization of abortion on demand. The number of surgical abortions in the country has dropped somewhat in the last decade. Many abortuaries have closed. It's hard to tell whether that represents on any increased appreciation for the sanctity of life, or whether just more and more abortions are being performed by "the morning after pill." A conservative guess would be that at least 20-25,000,000 of those aborted babies would now be in the workforce, all contributing to social security and medicare (two huge unfunded liabilities carried by the federal government). They would also be consumers, helping to drive the economy.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: God's dealings with the people of Israel, from the time of Moses, until the last king (until King Jesus returns) in the line of David serve as an ongoing object lesson for us (see 1 Corinthians 10: 1-11). We can see from Israel's history that time and time again they were judged when they turned to idolatry, often accompanied by child sacrifice. "They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves. Therefore the Lord was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. He handed them over to the nations and their foes ruled over them." (Psalms 106:37-41) Without citing the many times that it actually happened, let this prophetic illustration suffice to show what happens to nations who reject God. His judgment often begins with some sort of financial disaster, which in an agrarian society would include famine. "Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. ..... They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined." (Deuteronomy 28:47-48, 51)

Judgment is beginning - its footprint is all over the land, in the halls of government and in the so-called citadels of justice. One "pro-choice" (which really means "pro-death") advocate caught sight of one of those graphic signs, being held by a mother defending life, and yelled out, "How can you allow children to see those horrible pictures?" To which the mother rightly responded, "How can you allow children to become these awful pictures?" In an effort to stem the tide of judgment (or at least be a witness to the fact that God is both just and merciful) I am joining with Personhood USA to help bring the personhood initiative to Connecticut. Abortion must stop. If not now, when? If not through us, through whom? This is the first step towards financial reform - not Senator Dodd's proposed legislation.

World News Through the Third Lens:The War of Gog & Magog?

2010-06-08T15:58:00.004-04:00

RUSSIAN, IRANIAN AND TURKISH LEADERS MEET, reads the headlines today (AP/RIA Novosti, June 8, 2010). "As Israel becomes increasingly isolated from the world, Russia, Iran and Turkey are meeting today in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss how to form a closer alliance......Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti Monday that in Istanbul, Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also discuss bilateral cooperation....Putin said he will meet with Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Istanbul Tuesday ahead of a UN Security Council vote to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran."

Through the Third Lens of Scripture: I will make very little comment here, other than to point out some of the modern names for countries listed in Ezekiel's prophecy. While there is not unanimous agreement among Bible scholars, the majority seem to agree on these names. Most also agree that Ezekiel is not describing the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16, 19) nor any other event which takes place during the 70th week of Daniel, but rather some yet future event which will precede this last 7 years of human history as we know it.

Ezekiel 38 begins with these words: "Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Son of man, set your face against God, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, 'This says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all of its troops; the house of Togarmah from the north and all its troops - many people are with you....After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely." (Ezekiel 38:1-6, 9)

Ezekiel goes on to describe a vicious war in which God intervenes, wiping out the combined forces arrayed against Israel, granting her victory. To understand how today's headlines might be a portent of this event, it helps to know the modern names of the nations.

Gog probably refers to the name of the ruler of Magog.

Magog was identified by Josephus as the land of the Scythians, now occupied by Russia.

Rosh, Meshech and Tubal - parts of modern Turkey.

Persia - Iran

Ethiopia - Ethiopia and northern Sudan

Libya - Libya

Gomer - Eastern Turkey

Togarmah - part of Turkey bordering with Syria

Land of those brought back from the sword - modern Israel

This is not a time to be caught up in the temporary pleasures of the world. It is a time to remain prayerful and alert. It is a time for watchmen to mount the walls and blow the alarm. "....When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life." (Ezekiel 33:2-5)

World News Through the Third Lens: A Stench Rising to Heaven

2010-06-02T16:33:00.009-04:00

The Book of Revelation describes an angel offering the smoke of much incense mixed with the prayers of the saints on the altar before God's throne. (Rev. 8:3:4). Immediately after this beautiful picture is described, the wrath of God is unleashed on the earth, as a censer, filled with fire from the altar is hurled to the earth, unleashing the seven trumpet judgments which contain also the seven bowl judgments. (v.5-6). While the prayers of the saints are described as a sweet incense before God, I can only imagine what a stench to His holy nostrils the wickedness of mankind must be.

Three items in particular which were in the news over the past few days caught my attention. The first was one in which I was caught right in the middle, so to say. Last week I had the privilege of attending the Watchmen on the Wall Briefing in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Family Research Council. They are a class organization, led by some classy people who love the Lord and who love this country. During the 3-day briefing, those who had made arrangements, were given an opportunity to visit with our congressmen on Capital Hill. Since both Senator Lieberman (D-CT) and Rep. Courtney (D-CT) were busy with legislative matters, I had arranged to meet with their legislative aid and chief of staff, respectively. I was received with courtesy and was allowed to read Isaiah 59 in each office, pray for the congressmen and their staffs, and to make a plea for the nation to be returned to a foundation of righteousness. In short, I did everything that God laid on my heart to do.

To my dismay, Friday's news revealed that the House of Representatives had voted to repeal the Military's mandate of "Don't ask; Don't tell." This policy, implemented during the Clinton administration, while a far cry from the moral virtue of years gone by, it still allowed the military to function with a modicum of moral decency. So that's stench #1.

Today I received a video of vicious beatings suffered by innocent Christians in Asam, India. This was followed shortly thereafter by a very disturbing article concerning child trafficking and prostitution - also from India. The radical Hindus apparently are allowed to go on rampages with little or no intervention on the part of the police. The video showed unarmed people being beaten to death by club-wielding fanatics, while the police just stood on the fringes. Later, the police came in and supervised the removal of the corpses! If that isn't bad enough, www.Examiner.com of Hartford reported "hundreds of children are trafficked to Amur, Rajasthan region from Delhi and other regions in India. According to the report, girls as young as six months old are trafficked into the villages, where they were given sexual hormone shots, oxytocin, to accelerate their sexual maturity to enter prostitution. ......The Rajasthan police denied the allegation." These are stench #2 and #3.

Through the third lens of Scripture: How can you possibly extract anything biblical from such nasty news, and then publish it on a site entitled "End-Times Encouragement News?" My answer to that, in the vernacular, is that God is not a "sandbagger." Webster defines the slang use of this term as "to deceive (an opponent) by deliberately playing poorly. Some of you may remember Paul Newman, in the movie "Cool Hand Luke" getting his knuckles busted because he "sandbagged" by playing pool poorly when the stakes were low, suckering people in to bet the big bucks, only to clear the table. God does not do that. He does not sucker us into "summer time and the living is easy" life styles, only to hammer us when we are ill-prepared. That's the ploy of the devil, and I hate to say it, but too many sermons feed into his game plan. Godly encouragement comes from looking with open eyes at the things God has said concerning the end-times and preparing accordingly.

The majority of congress is acting with abject stupidity. How else can you describe educated, experienced people who defy nature and nature's God, by imposing their own warped thinking on our nation's military. There are a lot of commandments in the Old Testament which involve ceremonial law - those very detailed matters of worship which all pointed to the Messiah. Jesus was/is that Messiah and He fulfilled the entire Law. Consequently, Christians do not embrace any form of sacrificial worship. Many of the other commandments were in the category of "good advice" from the all-wise Creator. Obey them and you will reap natural benefits; disobey them and you will reap natural detriments. These include such matters as diet, sanitation, crop rotation and sewing patches on garments. Other commandments are what we would describe as God's moral law. As Christians we do not always live up to the high standards of God's moral law, but we should always aspire to do so. And we must never call God's moral law as evil and man's substitute as good (Isaiah 5:20). God calls "man lying with a man as one lies with a woman" (homosexuality) a detestable thing. (Leviticus 20:13)

Now, here's a passage of Scripture which describes those who thing that repeal of "Don't ask; don't tell" is something noble. "For though they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.... Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.... Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men.... Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:21-32). This sounds awfully harsh, perhaps making the one who quotes it appear over the top in piety. So please let me remind you that in this same letter to the Romans we read: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption which came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23-24). The problem is not that homosexuality is so much greater than the sin of some straight person; it's that the sin of homosexuality has been normalized and even placed in a category of special rights and privileges, and now is being forced on our military. This is just plain wrong! I urge you to let your congressmen know so.

The beatings of innocent, defenseless people is nothing but demonic. There is no logical explanation of such behavior. Jesus gives an apt description of the spirit behind such horrific activities and the people who commit them. "You are of your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) For us who have not yet faced such persecution, let us "Remember those in prison, as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:3) Keep in mind Jesus' promise: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven..." (Matthew 5:10-12)

And what can we say regarding the poor little ones being used to satisfy the lusts and greed of men? Pray for them as Hebrews 13:3 exhorts, and remember that those who harm such little ones will reap their due reward (Matthew 18:6). The entire godless economic system, which the Bible calls "Babylon the Great" will suddenly come crashing down under the wrath of God (Revelation 18:2, 17). At the end of the list of all the merchants who suffer loss are those who "traffick in the bodies and souls of men." (Revelation 18:13) Divine justice will be satisfied, and the innocent little one, beginning with those conceived in their mother's wombs will be recompensed, for "...in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 18:10)

Be encouraged by Christ, that you might encourage one another. Rev. Les Young is the founder and director of Encouragement for End-Times Ministries, www.endtimesencouragement.com His teachings concerning the end-times and how we must live can be accessed from the website or directly at www.endtimesencouragement.blogspot.com

World News Through the Third Lens: Connect the Dots

2010-05-14T10:11:00.003-04:00

"Teachers won't budge on contract. Union rejects concessions to help shortfall." Norwich Bulletin, May 14, 2010.

"State to pull troopers from schools. Officials cite lack of funding." Norwich Bulletin, May 14, 2010.

"3 arrested in Times Square bomb searches." The Associated Press, May 14, 2010.

"Thailand: Chaos in capital reignited by shooting." The Associated Press, May 14, 2010.

"Hispanics, rest of U.S. split on immigrants." AP-UNIVISION POLL, May 14, 2010.

"Top General: It's a draw in Afghanistan." Norwich Bulletin, May 14, 2010.

"BP will try to suck spewing oil to the surface." Norwich Bulletin, May 14, 2010.

"Business lobby joins health care lawsuit." Norwich Bulletin, May 14, 2010.

"Netanyahu: The battle for Jerusalem is a battle for truth." JNN News, May 13, 2010

"Israel's gestures to Palestinians met with slap in the face." JNN News, May 13, 2010

"59 women showed up, 13 turned around or changed their mind, 46 babies were killed." OSA-CT Street Report, May 1-11, 2010 (Summary of activity at Women's Summit in Bridgeport and Planned Parenthood in New Haven, where abortions are performed on a regular basis.

"Iran test-fires same missiles as handed to Hizballah." DEBKAfile, May 13, 2010

"PA finds Bibi's biblical reference distasteful" israelnationalnews.com May 14, 2010

"ACLU trying to stop Enfield graduations." Peter Wolfgang, Exec. Dir. Family Institute of CT, May 13, 2010

I could go on and on and on - "ad infinitum, ad nauseum" as some would say. There was nothing special about today, other than when I asked the Lord what to write, that still small voice responded, "Connect the dots!" The Lord God, knowing how each of us is wired, worked with me a bit until I understood to just gather together a few random headlines. I was not to do a search based on a particular subject; having been convinced that some common threads would be revealed in the process.

So I have completed my rather limited, albeit random survey of news banners from various sources, and there is a connection. I understand that there is some risk of being labeled as a fanatic (or worse) by suggesting that all of these headlines are connected. Risks aside, they are connected. They are not specifically connected to any one political party; they are not even specifically connected to some a-nationalistic group like the CFR or the Bildebergers; and they are not specifically connected to President Obama. They are all connected, however, to the Bible - the inerrant Word of God, and he who fails to connect the dots, does so at his own peril.

Through the third lens of Scripture: All of the world's problems, ranging from shortfalls in school budgets to violence in Bangkok, to environmental disasters in the Gulf, to continued unrest in the Middle East, all find their origin in man challenging the very first sentence in God's revealed word. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Ken Ham, founder of the ministry, Answers in Genesis, claims that the reason many pastors fail to preach with power and authority is because they "have compromised with some of the books of the Bible - such as Genesis - and therefore don't really have a firm foundation for their doctrine." I agree with brother Ham, and when this happens in our pulpits, is it any wonder that the truth of God's Word is being challenged, dismissed and dishonored by virtually every facet of our western post modern culture?

The first challenge to God's Word is recorded in Genesis 3, when Satan, in the form of the serpent (we can only imagine what that beast looked like before he was cursed by God to crawl in the dust, ultimately to be defeated by the Messiah [Genesis 3:14-15]) said, "Has God indeed said.....?" (v. 1), "You will not surely die." (v. 4), "....eat of it....and you will be like God.." (v.5). Being deceived, believing the lie, disobeying God, the forbidden fruit which appealed to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (v. 6) man ate of the forbidden fruit and death and the curse entered the Paradise of Eden (v. 8-24) and has spread throughout the whole earth (Romans 5:12-13).

When it comes to each one of us as individuals, responsible for our own actions, the Bible states, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). This is the good news, offered as a gift, meaning that it will benefit only those who truly receive it. So, while the Bible gives us an accurate record of how the trouble got started, and what the remedy is, it also gives us a pretty clear view of the future - which is now!

In 2 Peter 3:3-7, Peter outlines four things about which people in the last days would scoff at, sort of complimenting or rationalizing their own lustful life styles. They are: 1) the Second Coming of Christ (v. 4), 2) creation (v. 4-5), 3) the flood (v. 5-6), and 4) judgment (v.7). When men begin to scoff at these truths, such as a literal creation (which is made compatible with much that is currently observable by natural science by #3 in the list - the flood), he begins to forget God. He begins to forget that he is a created being, subject to his creator. He forgets that he is prone to deception and believing the lie that he can know it all and do it all. He joins together with his fellow creatures, where ultimately some form of human government, bereft of God and His laws, is presented as the savior of the world.

Consequently, individually and corporately we violate the first three commandments, thinking there shall be no adverse effects. The nanny state gives us public education, which began with the best of intentions, where now moral absolutes have been removed; replaced by relativism, diversity and tolerance. 50 years later, we have a problem because all this has led to a need for police officers in our school halls, but we no longer have the money to pay them. We have a healthcare problem because we have done precious little to punish the abusers and the thieves. Our medical ethics have become so messed up that we require parental permission for a 14-year old to receive an aspirin from the school nurse, but that same 14-year old can be taken by the school to get an abortion while the parents are kept in the dark.

The Scriptures declare that parents are to raise their children "in the training and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4). So what are we considering here in Connecticut as a possible means to raise more revenue? Lowering the gambling age at the casinos to 18. There are two verses which, while following one another, are profoundly connected. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender." (Proverbs 22:6-7). A couple generations of parents teaching their children that nothing should be denied, thrift doesn't matter but the latest fashions do, and our debt-driven economy is about ready to implode. Governments need more, so legalizing gambling and promoting gambling look like good ideas. A decade or two later and all the increased revenues have done is stoke the the fires of spending other peoples money and promote the vices of greed and control. "A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him." (Proverbs 28:22).

I hope it is becoming clear to some that the dots are connected. All of our troubles stem from ignoring or rejecting God's Word. Teaching evolution instead of creation eventually devalues human life and produces a whole new vocabulary. A baby in the womb is called a fetus (check Luke 1:41). Abortion is not called murder but Women's Reproductive Health Care. The USA ignores the promise that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed by God (Genesis 12:3), and sets itself up as arbitrator to an ungodly 2-state solution. We quickly forget that "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34). Judgment has not yet come (except in limited warning signs which are more dots that need to be connected), so collectively we scoff. We say, "If there is a God, where/why...........?" May I remind you "The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan." (Proverbs 29:2) If that leads you to trusting God instead of man and government, that's a good thing. Connect the dots while you still can.

World News Through the Third Lens: Free Speech and the First Amendment

2010-05-07T17:09:00.003-04:00

Free speech is a right that must be used with wisdom said the headline in an editorial by Kent Bush, of GateHouse News Service, May 4, 2010. Don't let the date bother you - the applications are timeless. Mr. Bush states: "There is a fine line between a tool and a weapon. A hammer is a very useful tool. Few structures would be built without one. But in a fit of rage, a hammer can be used in a gruesome attack." He goes on to state that the First Amendment gives all Americans the right to free speech, and that like a hammer, most applications are beneficial.

While espousing the value of the First Amendment, Mr. Bush wishes that more people would use this basic right with more restraint and wisdom. He says, "The difference is one of can and should. He points out the work of Matt Stone and Trey Parker in their crudely drawn and written cartoon, "South Park" as something that constantly pushes the bounds of decency, with mockery, blasphemy and obscenity in almost every episode. Recently they took a swipe at Islam by making a not so flattering depiction of the prophet Muhammad, just to show that they could.

A website called revolutionmuslim.com posted a poorly veiled threat saying that Parker and Stone might end up like Dutch Filmmaker, Theo Van Gogh - dead. So the South Park episode went in the tank. In response, Molly Norris, and artist from Seattle declared May 20 to be celebrated as "Everyone Draw Muhammad Day." She has since stated she is not involved with this any more. We may have freedom to speak, but words - like actions - often have consequences. Bush concludes his editorial with these words: "You have to choose wisely if you should say everything you can say. (My note: Today's issue of the Norwich Bulletin ran a blurb that Comedy Central was developing a cartoon series that would be titled "J.C." depicting Christ as a "regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow." I think a typical Christian response to insult is seen by most people as being a polar opposite to an Islamic response to insult.)

Through the third lens of Scripture: The Bible has a lot to say about our manner of speech. I good place to start would probably be the Golden Rule. "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12) The Bible tells us that "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check....The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and itself set on fire by hell." (James 3:2,6)

As Christians find themselves aligned with Conservatives and Tea Partiers on many issues, we must be careful not to pick up on hurtful and defaming rhetoric. If there are things wrong in government, society, culture or even the church, we should "Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose (reprove) them." (Ephesians 5:11) If we, as followers of Christ, feel we must engage in such activities, "Let your speech be always seasoned with salt, that you may know how you should answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) We should remember and apply the words of wisdom from David and Solomon: "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies." (Psalms 34:13) "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." (Proverbs 13:3) Although much more could be written on this topic, we'll close with words from James, the brother of Jesus. "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." (James 1:26). The First Amendment grants us freedom, not license.

World News Through the Third Lens: Federal Flood Aid Denied

2010-04-28T19:58:00.003-04:00

Individuals denied federal flood aid as reported by the Norwich Bulletin, April 28, 2010 - commentary by: Les Young

"Home and business owners won't be getting federal financial assistance to rebuild from March floods, a decision Connecticut's governor is vowing to fight. President Barack Obama has denied the state's request for individual aid to New London and Windham County homeowners, renters and employers. The White House on Friday approved aid to municipal governments in New London, Fairfield and Middlesex counties. 'This decision is not only disappointing, it's wrong, and I will appeal it," Gov. Rell said in a press release.'"

Further on in the article, after numerous town officials, business owners and homeowners voiced their consternation over President Obama's decision, one homeowner was quoted as saying, "I accept Obama's decision, especially after a Saturday tornado in Mississippi that killed 10. There are a lot of people worse off than I am," she said.

Through the third lens of Scripture: Don't worry, I am not going to launch into some comparison between the flooding in CT and RI on March 29-30, 2010 and the world-wide flood in Noah's day. Neither am I going to suggest that the flooding was some sort of judgment inflicted by an angry God on the people of southern New England. Jesus himself warned against such tactics in Luke 13:1-4. Jesus does go on to give a warning that is meant for anyone who has ears to hear. "I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:5). So the first point, whenever disaster strikes is to engage in personal judgment, knowing that we have this promise: "For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).

Another point is to remember the slogan of the Worth Reading blog site: "The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." Then there are the words of Thomas Jefferson" "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." I don't criticize people in our area for rushing to meet deadlines and filing tons of paperwork in hopes that they might benefit from some government help. I would just hope to remind anyone who might read this blog that in God's order of things, the help pyramid should look like this: God first, then family, then the community of faith, and then maybe the government. In Bible times, "princes" were synonymous with "government, and the Bible says: "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes" (Psalms 118:9)

The next order was family, and the Bible says this: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8). The next ordered source of help is to be the church. "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). I don't expect that one short blog is going to change the way the country has gotten used to doing business, but perhaps someone will finally understand that God has a better way than either the Democrats or the Republicans.

World News Through the Third Lens: Ezekiel's War

2010-04-20T15:19:00.004-04:00

The "New Hizballah" built by Syria sparks ME summer war fear;

Gates: US has no policy for stalling Iran's nuclear drive.

Thus read the headlines of two exclusive reports posted by DEBKAfile on April 18, 2010. I will attempt to summarize these two reports, followed by a biblical commentary. DEBKAfile's military sources stated that Syria has increased the flow of smuggled Syrian and Iranian weaponry across the Lebanese border to Hizballah, transforming the 25,000 man militia into an organized, mobile army.

The new Hizballah is being trained to carry out offensive operations such as capturing parts of Israel's Galilee, and launching missiles, such as the Syrian M-600, to knock out warplanes, warships, and armored units as well as the Dimona reactor in southern Israel. This new arsenal will be added to the 40,000 rockets that Hizballah has been allowed to stockpile since the 2006 Lebanon war. Iran and Syria's joint training will produce 5 Hizballah commando brigades. While Jordan's King Abdullah has expressed concern that a Middle East war will break out this summer because of the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic stalemate (pinning the blame on Israel), sources in Israel claim that war this summer depends on 2 actions: 1) a decision by US and/or Israel to launch strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, or 2) a decision by Tehran to unleash its allies against Israel, spearheaded by Hizballah, to preempt such an attack.

In another report, the NY Times, Sunday, April 18 revealed a secret memo from US Defense Secretary, Robert gates, determining that the White House has no effective policy for dealing with Iran's steady progress towards nuclear capability. Israel's leaders have been assuring people that it was safe to line up behind the US's strategy for preventing Iran from developing or obtaining nukes. Gates confirmed that there was no strategy to line up behind.

Through the third lens of Scripture: The prophet Ezekiel spoke of a day when a coalition of nations to the north of Israel, along with some North African nations (Ethiopia and Libya) and Persia (the name by which present day Iran was known until 1935) would attack Israel. The prophet speaks of Israel as being a land recovered from war and whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations. The land would be made up of unwalled cities and be living in relative peace. (Ezekiel 38:1-11) In spite of tensions, 2009 was one of the most peaceful years Israel has experienced in her 62 year history. One of the objectives of the attack would be the looting and plundering of goods. (Ezekiel 38:12-13) The prophet also foresees God sovereignly involving Himself in behalf of Israel, supernaturally defeating her attackers. (Ezekiel 38:18 - 39:6)

As a nation, Israel has been fighting against a numerically superior enemy since day one. President Harry Truman, against the counsel of his political and military advisers, was the first head of state to acknowledge the fact and right of Israel's existence among the nations of the world. Since then, Israel has (understandably so) sought the love, affection and support of the nations, especially the USA. In their desire to be like the USA and to be liked by the USA, God has this to say: "You say, 'We want to be like the nations, like peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.' But what you have in mind will never happen." (Ezekiel 20:32)

While it is not this writer's objective to state that the war, prophesied by Ezekiel, will occur in the Summer of 2010, it is clear that things are heating up. It's as thought many prophecies yet to be fulfilled are rushing towards a period of convergence when they will be fulfilled within a very short time span. Events and nations are lining up on the world stage to play their respective roles at the Director's command. Israel is about to become extremely wealthy due to the discovery of resources beneath the surface, namely oil and natural gas. God has a purpose for Israel to fulfill, and it will be fulfilled. Despite all of the power the enemy can muster to destroy her; despite all of the deception the church can purvey through replacement theology, God's purpose for Israel will be fulfilled. It will not be easy for Israel. Continue reading in Ezekiel 20 and and you will see that Israel goes through a judgment and a purging (v. 35, 38).

We must continue to pray for Israel and for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalms 122:6). Pray that God would raise up leaders like David - men of prayer AND action. Pray that the USA would not abandon Israel, perhaps the one remaining strong reason for God to bless our nation. And let us keep our eyes on Israel, that we would not fall asleep during these critical days.

World News Through the Third Lens: Voluntown honors Marine's sacrifice

2010-04-15T13:38:00.002-04:00

"He loved Voluntown. This was home to him, and he would have loved seeing the patriotism and the pride that has been on display in this community and in your hearts this week in his behalf." Words spoken by Rev. Franklyn Ward at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler Owen Griffin in Voluntown, CT Wednesday morning. Griffin was killed in Afghanistan on April 1 during combat operations, after being in the country just 30 days. He will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery.

The center of this town of 2700 people was closed to through traffic for 5-6 hours Wednesday, as the Baptist Church and Constitution Field across the street were dedicated to paying respect to its 19-year-old hometown hero. The field was outfitted with two large tents and scores of picnic tables brought in from several organizations in the region. Several fire department members were on hand, either in dress uniform at the funeral or doing fire police duties to control traffic. Hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers were involved in an effort of excellence to honor this young man who made the ultimate sacrifice. Volunteer efforts ranged from official duties, to erecting tents, to making sandwiches and cookies.

At the service, two memorable comments (among others) were made. U.S. Navy Chaplain Don Biadog said: "The highest tribute we can give to Tyler is not grief, but gratitude for making the ultimate sacrifice. His memory of sacrificial service to our God and country will always brighten our dreary days." And then Rev. Ward said that Tyler left behind an important message. "It is not how long we live, but how meaningfully we live that matters. It is the donation, and not the duration, that adds eternal significance to our lives." Connecticut Governor, M. Jodi Rell, and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal paid their respects in person. Mr. Blumenthal was quoted as saying, "Seeing the flags and firemen, police and townspeople was a very powerful tribute. It brought tears to my eyes. This town is united for one of their own. They helped nurture him and he did them proud."

Lance Corporal Tyler Owen Griffin's body will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, 19 April, 2010.

Through the Third Lens of Scripture

Because the big picture of a military unit venturing into a combat zone is that of personal sacrifice for the purchase or preservation of liberty in behalf of others, the first Scripture that comes to mind is something said by Jesus. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) I think it can be said that Tyler Griffin loved his family, his friends and his country. Some people demonstrate this sort of love without ever experiencing physical death in the process. They do this by becoming living sacrifices, denying their own ambitions and taking up their crosses, ministering to the needs of others as they follow Christ.

"Then Jesus said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) Jesus was not talking here about physical death, for that could not be experienced daily. That's a one shot deal (Hebrews 9:27) He was talking about daily dying to self-ishness. Paul put it this way: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1) I spent 4 years in the Army myself, so I'm not going to romanticize this, nor am I going to portray everyone who ever put on a uniform as a saint. Even the Band of Brothers of the 101st Airborne Division, after distinguishing themselves in battle after battle across northern Europe, were engaged in some rather despicable acts while acting as an Army of Occupation. Nevertheless, when a manor woman puts on the uniform, they are in principle denying themselves. They no longer go where they want, but where their orders command. Their mission is no longer to achieve personal pleasure and comfort. For these and many other reasons, I honor and respect the military - veteran and active duty alike. Those people who launch protests at military funerals are barking up the wrong tree. Unfortunately, many of them portray themselves as Christians, which only gives Christ a bad name.

The motto "for God and country" is familiar to most people, but is it biblical? Yes! For millennia God has identified Himself with nations and countries. This subject alone could comprise a rather extensive Bible study. Suffice it to say here that for the last 4000 years, God (YHWH) has identified Himself with the people and nation of Israel. The following is a portion of His promise to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you" (Genesis 12:2). About 3000 years ago, these inspired words were penned, which could apply to any nation: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34); "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..."(Psalms 33:12a). Then about 2000 years ago, the last book in the Bible was written, in which we find these words concerning the New Jerusalem, which is a yet future reality: "The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it." (Revelation 21:24). In addition to the Bible, I would recommend that you read two books by Peter Marshall: The Light and the Glory, and From Sea to Shining Sea. If you don't already, after reading those books I think you agree that God Almighty had a hand in the founding and formation of this nation.

Without getting into the politics of wars, or even whether the engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan are even constitutional, I'm sure Tyler did not portray himself as a politician, a lawyer or a bureaucrat. He was a Marine (generically a soldier). God has always validated soldiers who conduct themselves with integrity and bravery. From what I know, Tyler griffin was such a soldier. The Scriptures say: "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). I have a 21-year-old grandson, Andrew, who is also a Marine, and who arrived in Afghanistan about 10 days after Tyler. Andrew graduated from Griswold High School a year before Tyler and went to boot camp a year before him also. I pray several times a day for his safety and protection, and that Andrew will conduct himself with honor. Andrew lived in Voluntown for a few years, and his connection to Tyler will continue. Last night the Three Rivers Young Marines collected a lot of deserts that did not get eaten at the reception - and they are sending them to Andrew and his unit.

As the return of the Lord Jesus Christ draws ever closer, we have been told by Him that one of the signs would be "...wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pangs" (Matthew 24:6-8). (for a teaching series on this whole topic, go to www.endtimesencouragement.blogspot.com) In the meantime, Voluntown - we did a noble thing. Let us remain humble in our pride, for God was in it, motivating and enabling us to do His will. (Philippians 2:13) For He tells us to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7).

One day all of this will end. "He (God) will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4). Until then, rest in peace Tyler, and thank you for what you have given. And may the Lord bless and keep Andrew; thank you for what you are giving.

by: Les Young, a proud grandfather, a blessed resident of Voluntown, and a humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

World News Through the Third Lens: Tiger Woods

2010-04-09T15:27:00.005-04:00

Woods at 4-under after first round; received well in much-anticipated return read the Associated Press headlines this morning. A more up to the moment report on ESPN this afternoon had Tiger at 6-under par and the debate continuing about his immoral behavior/poor role model and his positive reception by golf fans at Augusta National. One of the commentators was saying that people just don't care about his morals; all they want to do is view and admire a good game of golf. Others want to see Tiger at least booed with every swing of the club, or banished from public life altogether at worst. His every move on the course is being scrutinized for signs that his anguish might be affecting his golf game. In the end, the conclusion was, "....Woods looked every bit the same golfer Thursday when he opened with a 4-under 68 - his best ever first round at Augusta National..."

Through the third lens of Scripture: Several things come to mind when reading today's paper and when checking in on the mid-afternoon standings in the Masters. Included in the mix are a jumble of thoughts stemming from keeping limited tabs on the Tiger Woods saga since last November. First, there is the dangers that accompany a successful/popular life, lived in the spotlight of public opinion. Jesus pronounces three woes on such people. These are pronouncements of judgment to those who continue therein and warnings to get out. "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets." (Luke 6:24-26) Speaking of people who have been given much (and certainly Tiger has been given much) the Bible says, "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48b)

Secondly, to all of those who rush to judgment (and here I am not talking about the spiritual man who judges sin as sin - see 1 Cor. 2:15), there is this warning: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12) "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive,and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37) Thirdly, do not be surprised, for the Bible gives an accurate picture of the moral climate in the last days. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

I have no idea how many of these indictments apply to Tiger, and frankly I don't care. Even if he had lived within the bounds of marital fidelity, and even if he gave half of his fortune to the poor, he would have had to come face to face with the same fact that you, me and every person on planet earth has to: "...There is no one righteous, not even one......for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:10,23) Tiger has by no means been reduced to poverty, but God has allowed him to see a multi-million dollar shrinkage in his fortune. It may be His means of grace in getting this message to him: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is uncertain, but to put their hope in God..." (1 Timothy 6:17) Perhaps this will open Tiger's heart, not to some false hope of Buddhism, but to the fact that "...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

One thing seems certain: that Tiger Woods has not lost his golfing skill. Two things are certain: 1) great golfers like Tiger, Arnold and Jack and duffers like me are all sinners, and can never earn our way into heaven (even if we have millions to pay); 2) "[God] wants all men (including Tiger Woods, whose sins have been so well publicized) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-4) I don't know about you - maybe you find golf boring, or the waste of a good walk - but as for me, I intend to watch a few rounds of the Masters and pray for Tiger's salvation. Who knows, maybe he'll stumble across this blog.

World News Through the Third Lens: Easter

2010-04-03T15:32:00.005-04:00

"Churches join to follow Jesus' footsteps" reads the headlines of one local newspaper: by Les Young

To say that the secular media has been full of reports concerning the events and celebrations of Holy Week would be a misstatement. Oh, there has been an article here and another one there. Please understand, my aim here is not to criticize the secular media for incomplete or inaccurate reporting, nor is it my intent to lampoon churches for bringing secular (perhaps even pagan) rituals into their celebrations of this season. It is not the job of the secular media to preach the Gospel; that mission was given to the church (Matthew 28:19-20). And who am I to say when a church has crossed the line where the bait once used to fish for men has become an object of worship by means of tradition?

Valerie Schultz, blogging in the Bakersfield Californian, tells of a conversation she overheard recently in a local mall. "Now that the kids are gone," one woman said, "Easter hardly matters." "I know what you mean. My kids are too big for baskets. I don't even dye eggs anymore," said her companion without blinking. It is a "no-brainer" that bunnies and colored eggs have nothing to do with the real meaning of Easter, and the events that led up to it. To some extent, the most important event in history has been hijacked by Madison Avenue and K-Mart. To a lesser extent, but perhaps more dangerous, the real meaning has been hijacked by the church as well.

On this day in history, our president, who claims to be a Christian, gave his Easter Address. While he mentioned the Jewish observance of Passover, and the fact that he and his family, will join other Christians around the world in marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So far, so good, but as happens all too often in the church pulpit, so it is with the president's bully pulpit: essential truths are left out and erroneous elements are mixed in. The president went on, trying to build unity between "Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, believers and non=believers alike." "On this weekend, let us hold fast to those aspirations we hold in common as brothers and sisters, as members of the same family - the family of man," he said. For the complete address, go to www.whitehouse.gov

A biblical (third lens) perspective: The commercialization of Easter is best understood by looking at one of the most frequently Scriptures in the Bible. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:10) Come to think of it, that may be a reason for watering down the Gospel in the churches, trying to appeal to the masses. Nickles and noses are important to church business to. But are they important to God - I mean important enough to change the message just for the sake of a big following. The answer to that is a resounding "No!"

Just think of some of the things Jesus said. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are MANY who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are FEW who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). (emphasis is mine). I can still remember as a kid being deeply moved by black and white depictions of Jesus' death and resurrection, but I never had any idea why it was necessary, and what would be involved in really partaking of its benefits. Again, the words of Jesus: "...Who is My mother and who are My brothers?....For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:48, 50) Without being brought into the family of God by accepting the grace of Jesus' death and resurrection for us, we are still dead in sins and trespasses and are of our father, the devil. (Ephesians 2:1-9; John8:44). No matter what the common aspirations are of the family of man, apart from Christ, man is doomed, and no government, no religion, no economic policy can save him.

The words of Paul: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached (i.e., don't let it be replaced by some other gospel or tradition) to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living..." (1 Corinthians 15:1-6) Christ died for our sins. He died in our place, receiving the just punishment that each of us deserves. This is great news, but it would be nothing more than a warm sentiment if He were not raised again on the third day. Paul goes on to say: "...if Christ has not been raised your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17)

Tomorrow morning you may hear people greeting one another with the proclamation, "Christ is Risen!" followed by the response, "He is risen indeed!" This comes from "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:20) Let us not get lulled into thinking that Easter is just a cute holiday to be celebrated with bunnies, colored eggs, and chocolate crosses. Let us not get lulled into thinking that the various religious beliefs don't matter because we are all just part of the brotherhood of men, with the same hopes and dreams. Good Friday (which should be renamed Good Wednesday or Thursday - but that's another story) happened because sin is awful and demanded an awful price. Easter, (better labeled as Resurrection Sunday - a fixed day, not one that can vary by almost 30 days - but that's another story) happened to validate what happened on Good Friday. Those who believe are of the family of God, and are on the narrow road to life. Those who don't..........

World News Through the Third Lens: Socialism and Christianity

2010-04-01T18:28:00.005-04:00

Socialism and Christianity by: Les Young

Normally the religious moniker of "Christian" is connected with the political label "Right Wing Conservative." This is not necessarily accurate or flattering. Take, for example, the group named "Hutaree," which means "Christian Warrior." The Bowling Green Daily News today labeled them as bad as the terrorists we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The problem with all of this is that real Christians don't fight this way. On the other side of the coin, "Christians" have been formally connected with socialism for decades. As far back as 1966, in hearings before the U.S.A. House Committee on Un-American Activities on February 26, 1966, Richard Arens, general counsel to the Committee, declared: "Thus far, in the leadership of the National Council of Churches, we have found over 100 persons in leadership capacity with either Communist-front records or records of services in Communist causes. The aggregate affiliations of the leadership is in the thousands."

In the late 1970's, as an independent insurance agent who also had a Master's degree in Forestry, I had put together a special workers' compensation safety group, designed to improve safety and lower insurance costs for loggers. A contact was made with the "social justice" department of a well-known Protestant denomination, headquartered in New York. One of their projects at the time was to try and unionize loggers in Mississippi. Suffice it to say that in dealing with these people, there was nothing "Christian" about their strategies or their language.

As a nation, we have been moving in the direction of socialism for a long time. The biggest steps in that direction seem to come in times of crisis. (The New Deal during the Great Depression, the Patriot Act following 9/11, Federalization of banks, auto manufacturers following the economic crisis of 2008). If the passage of Health Care Reform sticks, we will have made another giant step in that direction. Religious groups seem to be lined up on both sides of many issues, earning them political labels such as: "Progressive Liberals" or "Tea Baggers." Just what are the politics of Christianity when it comes to the economy, labor, management, and profit and what tactics should be employed to effect reform? I can't thoroughly answer those questions in this blog, but I can put forth a few Scriptures that should at least cause us to think.

A Biblical (Third Lens) Perspective:

Concerning management and labor: "Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free. Masters, it's the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same master in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them." (Ephesians 6:5-9, Mssg)

Concerning rewarding everyone equally, regardless of effort/results: "...his work will be shown for what it is because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss..." (1 Corinthians 3:14-15, NIV)

Regarding being able to earn from investments as well as labor: "The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more...The man who had received the five talents brought the other five....See I have gained five more. His master replied, 'Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness." (Matthew 25:16, 20-21)

Regarding being able to enjoy the fruit of your own labor: "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too I see is from the hand of God, for without Him who can eat or find enjoyment?" (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25). And under the perfect rule of the Messiah: "They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands." (Isaiah 65:21-22)

All of this seems to be closely akin to the spirit of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And while Christians of good conscience have always been willing to take up arms to secure and defend such rights, the normal method of Christian combat (or reform) can be described in these two Scriptures: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). Christian! Fight the good fight of faith!

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-27T16:50:00.003-04:00

Obama and Netanyahu meet twice at the White House: by Les Young: It has been reported various ways by various media that President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. On the heels of the U.S. scolding Israel for announcing the proposed start of 1600 new housing units in East Jerusalem during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit, Netanyahu came to the United States. On Monday, March 22, 2010 Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC's annual convention, attended by a record 7,800 people. While Netanyahu had apologized more than once for the untimeliness of the housing announcement, explaining that it had been in the works for years, he drew a line in the sand at the AIPAC's meeting, when he declared, "The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3000 years ago, and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital. But there is one thing I will never compromise - and that one thing is Israel's security.

The next night, the Obama administration again put it's arrogant and antagonistic attitude towards Israel on display, this time by the President himself. An hour plus into the meeting, the president excused himself to have dinner, while Netanyahu and his party were ushered into the Roosevelt room to wait. Obama's parting remarks were something like, "If anything changes, let me know." A while later, Obama returned from dinner and the meeting resumed for another 35 minutes. What a snub! Can you imagine having important guests at your house, and you leave the conversation in the living room while you go to the dining room alone to eat!!!? This is on top of the fact that no photographers were invited to the meeting, yet Obama has no problem doing smiling, cuddly photo-ops with Marxist dictator, Hugo Chavez.

Oh, while I'm on a roll here - while the U.S. hierarchy, from Obama to Hillary to Mitchell were tying themselves in knots over the Jerusalem housing announcement, what were the Palestinians doing? They were dedicating a square in Ramallah to the woman terrorist, Dalal Mughrabi, who, in 1978, led a terrorist team that hijacked a bus and killed 37 Israelis (13 children) and one American and wounded 80 others. Our American leaders said nothing - totally ignoring this incident. They just keep demanding that Israel divide her land until she is reduced to a large ghetto, believing that once that is done, the Palestinians and the Muslims will love them and everyone else. And there was more, much more, but we must move on to part II.

A Third Lens (Biblical) Perspective: God said that he would bless those who bless Israel and would curse those who curse her. (Genesis 12:3) Speaking of the days in which we are now living and fast approaching, Zechariah prophecies: "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it shall be injured." (Zechariah 12:2-3) I am afraid that our president, with all of his anti-Semitic upbringing, has no idea who he is dealing with. He is not just insulting Mr. Netanyahu, or the nation of Israel, he is insulting Almighty God, and God has said that the penalty would be judgment. "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land." (Joel 3:1-2) At times Obama acts as though he were the sovereign lord of Israel, but he is terribly wrong. Yeshua is the Sovereign of Israel and Jerusalem (Zion) is His City. And the U.S.'s current fuss with Israel has happened at the same time that the largest advance towards socialism in the history of our country has been pushed onto the American people in the form of health care reform.

Brothers and sisters, "...let us not be asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us put on faith and love as a breast-plate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5: 6-9)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-25T12:52:00.006-04:00

Obama bans federal funds from paying for private-insurance abortions by: Les Young, March 25, 2010

The captioned headline appeared in the local paper today, over the byline by David Espo of the Associated Press. At the same time a blog was posted by the editor of "Worth Reading" which reads: President Signs Meaningless Abortion Executive Order. Both reports stated that, unlike Tuesday's signing of the massive socialistic law which was done publicly, before cameras and a partisan crowd, this signing was done in private, with no cameras and in the presence of a small group of "anti-abortion" Democrats, including Rep. Bart Stupak. When comparing the two reports, it appears that the phrase, "bans federal funds from paying for private-insurance abortions" is key. The executive order covers only certain elective abortions. What it fails to cover are abortions that would be performed at community health centers - many of which will be Planned Parenthood Clinics - created by the legislation.

Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion president in history, signed the order as his payoff for votes from pro-life Democrats. The sad thing is that the executive order is basically worthless. As mentioned above, it does not even address certain abortions. It is no wonder that the head of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation, was at the bill signing, smiling approval. Secondly, executive orders cannot stand up in court to the extent that they override law. Just think for a moment; if they could, there would be no need for the legislative branch of government. If President Obama didn't like the abortion provisions present in the bill, he should have vetoed it. Thirdly, executive orders can be undone at the drop of a hat, by Obama himself, or any succeeding president.

All poisonous legislation is given such innocuous labels. The so-called "health care reform bill" is now a law, titled the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." Affordable! Caterpillar Corporation is estimating an almost immediate increase of $100 million in the company's health care costs. A law which ultimately socializes 1/6th of the U.S. economy is going to produce a fallout of horrific proportions. There are different degrees of socialism, but we are now past the moderate fringes of this ideological enemy of freedom and liberty. There is currently underway a strong movement in more than 30 states to take the law to court. The state of Virginia has already passed legislation refusing to comply with it.

Through The Third Lens of Scripture: In the history of Israel, following the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam ascended to the throne. A group of men, led by a man named Jeroboam went to Rehoboam and pleaded: "Your father put a heavy yoke upon us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put upon us, and we will serve you." (2 Chronicles 10:4) Rehoboam put them off for three days while seeking counsel. The elder statesmen who had served under Solomon said: "If you would be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants." (2 Chronicles 10:7). Rejecting this advice, Rehoboam went to his own cronies who advised: "Tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions." (2 Chronicles 10:10-11). Reheboam listened to the advice of his younger peers and three days later, delivered his decision to the rest of Israel. Here's what happened: "When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: 'What share do we have in David [for Rehoboam was grandson of David], what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!'......So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." (2 Chronicles 10:16, 19). This could be descriptive of the political and social fallout from this law, especially if it is followed up with more socialistic laws, such as cap and trade, amnesty for illegal aliens, etc.

Concerning the abortion provisions in the law, coupled with the fact that by split decision judicial fiat we have abortion on demand as the de facto law of the land already, and we have made a real mess for ourselves. Scripture is far from silent on this issue. Life begins at conception, is precious to God and not without purpose. Consider these words of the Lord, speaking to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5). Or this, where David is speaking to the Lord: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place...." (Psalms 139:13-15). Therefor, when children are sacrificed (innocent blood shed) to some false god, such as fear, convenience, necessity, etc. this is God's attitude. "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him.....hands that shed innocent blood," (Proverbs 6:16-17). "Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord's command, in order to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive." (2 Kings 24:3-4).

I hate to say it, but once the smoke is settled, many of us are going to have to deal with a battle of conscience. Virtually every person I know who takes the Gospel of the Kingdom to the streets, and offers the life alternatives to those for whom Jesus shed His precious blood, while standing against the shedding of innocent blood, are law-abiding, tax-paying citizens, who accomplish more good with one dollar than the government can with $100. But what will we do when it is for certain that our tax dollars are paying for the genocide of the pre-born? Hopefully there will be some jurisdictions who have enacted righteous legislation.

Let us not forget that there several different ways in which one can suffer suffer. You can suffer for being a law-breaker. To this, the Lord says: "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler" (1 Peter 4:15). You can suffer for being a Christian, and again the Lord speaks: "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that Name" (1 Peter 4:16). And you can suffer, Christian or not, just because you live in a nation that has rejected God and is undergoing judgment. This was the lot of Jeremiah, to whom the Lord said: "...Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place" (Jeremiah 16:9 - also the next 4 verses) Then there is the ultimate suffering of those who do not repent, but who continue to offend the Holy God, rather than cry out to Him for mercy. These may enjoy "the good life" for a season. Asaph struggled with this, but eventually God revealed truth to him; a truth which comforts all those who love the truth. "...I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.....They are free from the burdens common to man......always carefree, they increase in wealth....When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!" (Psalms 73:3,5,12,16-19)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-17T15:11:00.005-04:00

Millions being spent as lobbying on health care kicks into high gear. (The Associated Press, 3/17/10), commentary by Les Young: With time and tempers short, everyone's playing hardball in the drive to pass - or stop - President Barak Obama's massive health care legislation by the weekend. Business groups are spending $1 million a day to depict the bill as a job killer in television ads in the home districts of 26 wavering House Democrats. A new ad barrage from supporters of the legislation went up Tuesday in 11 districts. And unions are threatening to come through for Obama - or pay the price in the fall elections. "We here in Congress are giving a new meaning to March madness," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, an opponent of the legislation, said Tuesday. The debate is so fierce that an estimated $200 million has been spent for political advertising on health care since the beginning of last year.

A biblical (third lens) perspective: I can add to this the fact that I get 10-15 e-mails per day from pro-life organizations (that's not a negative) and also several nudges on facebook per day to get involved. At this point I have prayed, paid, and "parlaised" in trying to stop this bill from passing. And it's not because I don't think health care needs reforming. It does! But it does not need: 1) government takeover, 2) an abandonment of sound business practices, 3) big-brother mandates, 4) bureaucratic fat, and 5) funding for abominable practices among other things. What I am about to say will probably make sense only to those who take God at His Word. His Word tells us that a time is coming when no man will be able to buy or sell (including medical insurance and medical services) without taking "the mark of the beast." To do so will be to abandon God and His plan of salvation. "He [the false prophet of the Antichrist] also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the number of his name.....If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath." (Revelation 13:16-17; 14:9-10).

This sounds so distressing - either take the mark so that you can buy and sell (equivalent to live) but risk eternal separation from God; or refuse it and die, so that ultimately you can live forever. Yet this has always been a choice some people (we call them martyrs, which is Greek for "witnesses"). These are people about whom God declares, "...the world was not worthy of them.." (Hebrews 11:38) God has special rewards for them. But God has always made provisions for His own, even when nothing was available from a natural perspective. When it comes to healing and health care, God has a wonderful plan and the premiums have already been paid by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He declares that if we will honor His Word, He will put none of the world's diseases on us (Exodus 15:26). He is the One who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. (Psalms 103:1-5). He placed all of our sins, sicknesses and diseases upon Christ, and by His stripes we have been healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:24). He has made it possible for believers to minister healing to one another. (Mark 16:18; James 5:14-15). When the darkest hours fall, the church will experience the power and glory of God like she hasn't since the first century - and it won't be for the sake of a side-show, an new book, or the exaltation of man. It will be the daily business of the Bride getting ready for the Bridegroom. (Rev. 19:9)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-11T15:46:00.004-05:00

ISRAEL WARNS BAD OPTIONS ARE NEARING

Les Young commentary (Fox News as reported by JNN): The two "bad options" for Iran, letting the country develop nuclear weapons, or using force to destroy its nuclear capabilities, are closer than they were a year ago, Israel's U.N. Ambassador said Tuesday. Gabriela Shalev warned: "...our intelligence tells us....Iran is racing towards this type of nuclear capability." former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, warned earlier this week that Israel has just two choices: a strike aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities, or a nuclear Iran. "Israel has limited time to prepare its next steps," he said. "If Israel is going to use force, it needs to do it sooner rather than later." High ranking Israeli and U.S. government and military leaders this week are discussing whether a military strike could stop Iran's nuclear program.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: Many are the Old Testament Scriptures upon which Israel relied as God's promises for victory in the face of their enemies. "O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me. Many are saying of me, 'God will not deliver him.' But you are a shield around me, O Lord, you bestow glory on me and lift up my head" (Psalms 3:1-3) God's many promises concerning the land (much bigger than the current State of Israel, even including the so-called occupied territories) were made to Abraham and passed on to his son Isaac and passed on to his son Jacob. Jacob later had his name changed, like so many others, after an up close and personal encounter with God - changed to "Israel." We read also in the Psalms: "You are my King and my God who decrees victories for Jacob." (Psalms 44:4) Those who fear the Lord do not want to be messing with Israel. Those who disregard the Lord, attack Israel at their own peril. God promised Abraham (and through him, the nation that would be birthed), "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse..." (Genesis 12:3) Our supportive relationship with Israel, which has been stretched thinner and thinner since 1990, may be the one thing that is keeping God from bringing terrible judgment against the United States because of all the other abominations in the land. Judgment seems, for the moment, to be coming slowly, in an agonizing and excruciating manner paralleling the implementation of socialism in this country. "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him." (Psalms 32:6)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-07T16:29:00.005-05:00

HOW HARVARD, YALE AND COLUMBIA ARE LEADING US TO ARMAGEDDON (by Bill Koenig, watch.org, 3/5/10) with commentary by Les Young:
"Graduates from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton and other Ivy League schools have accelerated our nation and the world toward the final-day battle of Armageddon. These schools with a Christian history are now bastions of secular humanism They have produced leaders who are directly responsible for the debacles that we are facing....and are threatening the very survival of America and the world, as we know it. These very bright and gifted people have left us with accelerating problems on many fronts. They include:

Forty years of flawed Middle East policy - leading to the world's final battles.
The LGBT agenda which is legalizing immorality and leading to judgment.
The financial derivatives collapse - a worldwide financial contagion.
The financial collapse on Wall Street leading to a one-world financial order and a one-world currency.
Secular humanism which has led to a godless, immoral world.
Ecumenical meetings between Protestant churches and Muslims, the R.C. church and Muslims, etc. leading to a one-world religious order.
Islam (including its atrocities being legitimized to insure the world's oil flow.
Islam's Sharia finance system being endorsed.
The global warming hoax as another attempt at a one-world order.
Violation of the U.S. Constitution which is leading to one-world accountability and the federal government's takeover of America.
The ACLU's excesses targeting church and state issues.

How did the eight "Ivy League" schools go from being training grounds for Christian missionaries and ministers, and respected citadels of higher education to what they are now - propaganda factories for every leftist, perverted, radical, tyrannical, failed ideology known to mankind? Unbeknown to them, all of these schools are rapidly producing leaders in our country that are leading us to the final days and Jesus Christ's return to Jerusalem. America may not be predominant in last-day Scriptures, but no nation is a more significant catalyst to the final days than the United States of America under the leadership of academic elites whose god is secular humanism."

Bill Koenig goes on to list all eight of the schools, giving a brief background as to their original purposes. Then he lists some of the leaders produced from these institutions over the past 70-80 years, and how they have been instrumental in leading this country to the brink. For further information, go to http://www.watch.org/

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: It is interesting to note that education and learning are mentioned in Scripture with respect to the last-days. A couple of them are repeated here as examples. Paul, speaking of the perilous times in the last days, describes a generation who, along with embracing all sorts of abominable behavior, are......"Ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) Maybe this explains, to some extent, why many of the decisions handed down by governments and courts don't make any sense. The apocalyptic book of Daniel closes with these words: "But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4)

Sometimes we as Christians act as though we were caught on the horns of a dilemma. As we try to engage our culture and act as salt and light, we often find our selves caught up trying to preserve some institution or tradition, by restoring its former glory. Perhaps we try too hard to go along so that we can get a long, sprinkling a grain of salt here and shining a pen-light there. Let's face it - Jesus never tried to reform dead old traditions; He spoke to people's hearts. What He offered was a radical heart transplant, not the same old heart in a wrapped up in some refreshed religious system. It is that message we are called to preach and model. It's called the Gospel of the Kingdom. I'll get back to that in a moment.

Peter, speaking of the Second Coming of Christ, which includes the afore-mentioned Armageddon as part of the Day of the Lord, challenges the followers of Christ with these words: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it's coming....." (2 Peter 3:11-12a) "...Speed its coming..." Peter said. A lot is being written about what godless people are doing to speed the day of judgment, and sometimes the message in those writings (Expressed or implied) is that we Christians should do something to stop it. Social activism has become a whole new branch of "Christian Ministry." What is it really that we Christians should be doing, that will speed the coming of that day? Jesus tells us clearly in His discourse concerning the Last Days. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) May this blog, and your sharing of it be a step in that direction, so help us God.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-02T14:34:00.006-05:00

US BACKS OFF SPEEDY IRAN SANCTIONS PROMISED ISRAEL (DEBKAfile, 3/2/10) Commentary by Les Young: Washington eased the threat of harsh sanctions hanging over Iran's head because of its nuclear program at the very moment it was beginning to take effect and Tehran was showing signs of stress. Tuesday, March 2, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton told reporters on her plane to Buenos Aires: "We are moving expiditiously and thoroughly in the Security Council, I can't give you an exact date, but I would assume sometime in the next several months." This abrupt reversal of US tactics on Iran's nuclear activities took place when Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, was hardly out the door from Washington after receiving assurances from administration officials that a new round of tough sanctions would be in place by the end of March, with or without the Security Council.

The news release goes on to say that Clinton had assured the same thing to a Senate panel last week and that she and US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, were so sure of that timetable that a return visit to Washington by DM Barak had already been scheduled for a date that would be after the sanctions were in place.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: "Again you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, 'Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by earth, for it is God's footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.'" (Matthew 5:33-37) Jesus speaking here, tackles what had become a tradition of the Jewish people. They felt that if a person swore an oath, and swore by something divine, then it was really binding. If one swore an oath by something common, it was somewhat binding. Jesus said in essence, "Never mind all that dead traditional stuff. I'm telling you that everytime you say a simple "Yes" it should mean "Yes!" Similarly, a simple "No," should mean "No!" And how about this from the Old Testament? "It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin..." (Ecclesiastes 5:5-6a)

LIEBERMAN: HEALTH CARE WILL PASS (Norwich Bulletin, 3/2/10) Commentary by Les Young: U.S> Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., believes a version of health care reform will get through Congress this year..... Speaking with the Norwich Bulletin's editorial board on Monday, Lieberman said he believes a health care bill based on one that passed the Senate will be worked through the House of Representatives with enough compromises to pass. He also believes it will pass again in the Senate by the politically risky move of reconciliation, by which the Democratic majority can pass it with 51 votes while warding off a Republican filibuster. He went on to say that it wouldn't be easy and that nobody has seen the bill language.

Most observers of this donkey and elephant show concerning government health care reform are convinced that the bill that may be "forced" through by a process called "reconciliation" (Can you see Huxley's "double-speak" at work here?) will contain provisions for abortion on demand being funded by tax-payer dollars. Concerning a government takeover of health care in general, I could cite several Scriptures as warning shots. Today I'll use two. "He (God) said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you." (Exodus 15:26) "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7) Regarding the taking of innocent life in the womb for any reason, consider that among the things that God hates, yea even detests, are "hands that shed innocent blood." (Proverbs 6:17).

And here's a scary thought for you. Since 1988, Washington Correspondent Bill Koenig of watch.org and some of his colleagues have been keeping track of something that has gone way beyond coincidence. It seems that over the last 22 years every time the U.S. government has acted so as to: 1) advance the pro-death agenda (abortion, euthanasia, etc.), or 2) advance the GLBT agenda, or 3) advance the exchange of land for peace agenda in Israel, or otherwise squeeze Israel or reduce support for Israel, some sort of calamity visits the U.S. Sometimes its of the natural variety (flood, fire, hurricane, etc.) and other times it's financial (stock market fall, ENRON, S&L, Madoff, etc.). They've kept the records and it always happens: sometimes within minutes, other times within a week or two. Based on the above two news items, we are probably in for one hit and perhaps a "double whammy." There is no time like the present to begin trusting the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-03-01T11:24:00.005-05:00

1,000 VISITORS TO JOSEPH'S TOMB IN SCHECHEM (as reported by INN, 2/28/10) Commentary by Les Young: The ancient Jewish Biblical sites in Judea and Samaria continue to make headline news: Following the mass entry into Jericho and an ancient synagogue there last week, and after PM Benjamin Netanyahu included the Machpelah Cave and Rachel's Tomb on the new National Heritage Site List, it's now the turn of Joseph's Tomb in Schechem. A crowd of over 1,000 people from across Israel made their way to Joseph's Tomb on Wednesday night, in honor of the Fast of Esther. MK Danny Danon expressed dismay at the Arab vandalism he saw there, especially the site's smashed dome. "It's shocking to see the barbarism of those who are supposed to be our partners in peace," Danon said.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: "And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Schechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the Father of Schechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants." (Joshua 24:32) It is this writer's opinion that incidents such as this stir up so many outcries of hatred and even violence for two reasons: 1) The discovery of such sites, or the reclamation of them is just further proof that the Bible is true. Many do not want to reckon with this notion, because to do so is to have to reckon with the God of the Bible and the fact that we are all accountable to Him. Often, those who do not wish to seriously consider biblical claim respond to them with anger; 2) They are reminders of God's special dealing with Abraham and his descendants, including promises concerning the land. Again, to accept such claims as valid will ultimately draw one into an encounter with many other biblical claims. I'll mention just two from Paul's letter to the Romans. "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) These are truth claims that should be seriously considered by every one of us.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-26T18:44:00.004-05:00

U.S. SLAMS ISRAEL OVER DESIGNATING HERITAGE SITES by Les Young.

I searched and searched my local paper and I couldn't find anything with respect to this report out of Israel, so the report cited here is from Bill Koenig at watch.org., the Washington Post and other Internet news sources.

The Obama administration criticized Israel Wednesday for designating two shrines on Palestinian territory as national heritage sites, calling the move "provocative" and unhelpful to the goal of getting the two sides back to the table. The criticism came as Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton said she hopes long-stalled peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians will resume. Clinton told a Congressional committee that groundwork is being laid to restart the talks with the help of US envoy, George Mitchell. Her remarks came amid a flurry of U.S. diplomatic activity in the region, even as efforts are underway to convene another meeting of the Quartet in Moscow on March 19th.

U.S. with the designations of the Cave of the Patriarchs in the flash point town of Hebron, and the traditional tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel in Bethlehem has been conveyed to senior Israeli officials, according to State Department spokesman, Mark Toner. Jews revere the site - the Cave of the Patriarchs - where the Bible says the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were buried along with three of their wives. Muslims call it the al-Ibrahimi mosque, reflecting the fact that Abraham is considered the father of Judaism and Islam. The Palestinians also claim all of the West Bank as part of the future state of Palestine.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: Before introducing any Scriptural commentary, I would like to ask a couple of questions which require thoughtful answers. What solutions do the final status talks contain? Who can deliver a plan that the Palestinians will accept? [It has been clearly stated by so-called Palestinian leaders and allies - actually terrorists in business suits - that there will be no satisfaction until the little Satan (Israel) and the big Satan (the USA) are destroyed]. And, what is Palestine and who are the Palestinians? The term wasn't even used until introduced by Yassar Arafat in 1967. Without trying to answer any of those questions, I will stipulate that the situation is extremely complex and will not be settled until a false peace is effected by the anti-Messiah. About that, Scripture does speak.

"...the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. [done in AD 70 by Roman General Titus] The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He [the ruler of the people to come] will confirm a covenant with many for one seven [7-years]. In the middle of the seven he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple [a rebuilt 3rd temple, obviously a condition of the covenant], he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. (see Revelation 19:17-21) (Daniel 9:26-27) Jesus also spoke of this man in His prophetic discourse recorded in Matthew 24-25. "So when you see standing ion the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." (Matthew 24:15-16) Paul spoke of this peace and the man who implements it, who remains somewhat hidden until the middle of the 7-year covenant, when he desecrates the rebuilt temple. "While people are saying 'peace and safety,' destruction will come upon them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, but they will not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:3) [For a further development of these times, read the blog "Birth Pangs and Fig Trees on http://www.endtimesencouragement.blogspot.com/] Paul speaks further of this event: "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God [that's why he is known as the Antichrist] or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-24T11:32:00.005-05:00

WOMEN TO SERVE ON SUBS (Washington, staff and wire reports, 2/24/10): "The Pentagon has moved to lift a decades-old policy that prohibits women from serving aboard Navy submarines, part of a gradual reconsideration of women's roles in a military fighting two wars whose front lines can be anywhere. At issue is the end of a policy that kept women from serving aboard the last type of ship off-limits to them. The thinking was that the close quarters aboard subs would make coed service difficult to manage. Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified Congress in a letter signed Friday that the Navy plans to repeal the ban on women aboard subs. Congress has 30 days to weigh in."

The article went on to include comments from two local veteran submariners. Bob Hodge, a 24 year veteran said that he wasn't surprised and that "in terms of job skills, it's not a problem." He went on to say that the living conditions present an obstacle though. "There's no privacy on a sub, except for officers' quarters. When you're jumping out of bed at night for a battle stations drill or a fire drill in your underwear, there's no time for privacy." Jim Paulsen, a 20 year veteran said, "I think it's a bad idea. You're in very close quarters. I think discipline could break down."

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: The Bible has nothing to say about submarines, but that's not the end of the issue. Some people have labeled the Bible as the manufacturer's handbook, referring to the fact that God created everything, including men and women, and the Bible is His revelation to us. In it He tells how things originally were, what went wrong, and then there is a long revealing of His plan to restore things. God tells us (mankind) what our problem is (sin) and how this affects everything. One of the things affected by sin is the whole gender/sex thing. From before the Revolutionary War, the military in this country seemed to understand certain biblical principles, whether or not chapter and verse were quoted.

The Bible records that before the entrance of sin, the relationship between the man and the woman was pure, heterosexual and monogamous (Genesis 2:24-25), and that of co-equal partners (Genesis 2:18). After the entrance of sin, the purity of their relationship was marred and their nakedness became a problem (Genesis 3:7, 10). In addition, contention, pain and sorrow were introduced into their relationship (Genesis 3:16).

Knowing the sinful nature of man, God, through Moses, instituted rules for living because the carnal desires of man were not a sufficient guide. The entire 18th chapter of Leviticus is devoted to standards concerning sexual relationships. The pagan nations into and through which God was about to lead the Israelites had a practice of erecting altars to their false gods that were elevated several feet, and had to be approached by steps. In those days people did not have jockey shorts, so the Lord gave these instructions concerning any altar built for Him. "...if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it." (Exodus 20:25-26).

Somebody may be saying at this point, "That was all Old Testament law. We now live under grace and Jesus changed all that." The first thing I must point out at this point is the fact that Jesus made it clear that our (sin) problems went much deeper than outward adherence to some moral code; our (sin) problem was embedded in a sinful heart. His teachings, especially in Matthew 5-7 make it clear that the Law could not save us, and that He came to fulfill the Law. In the midst of this teaching He made it clear that we need a Savior. To stay on point, listen to what Jesus said with respect to "sex." "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28).

I am not saying that every sailor in the submarine service is now going to be guilty of the sin of adultery, inwardly if not outwardly. I am saying that the Navy's latest plans are in defiance with the Manufacturer's Handbook, and as such, are a recipe for disaster. When this gets coupled with the planned repeal of the "Don't ask; Don't tell" policy, it gets even worse. I'm sure we'd agree that not every person who has served in the military has been a paragon of virtue, but at least officially, military and morality have gone hand in hand. This is now being destroyed from the foundation up. "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3) God help us.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-19T16:18:00.004-05:00

CORRUPTION AT FEDERAL RESERVE BANK IGNORED BY NEWS MEDIA (Jim Kouri, 5th Vice President, National Association of Chiefs of Police and columnist for The Examiner and New Media Alliance, 2/19/10): America's banking industry is aiding and abetting lawbreakers and there appears to be no one in Washington, D.C. interested in conducting an investigation into this corruption. While the mainstream news media are hard at work covering the Democrats striving to achieve their dream of taking control of American' health care, the Federal Reserve Bank continues working with the Mexican government to make it easier for illegal aliens to export US money to their homeland.

The Fed is currently devising several programs that will extend banking services to illegal aliens.......One such program being utilized by illegal aliens from Mexico is a remittance program with the ultimate goal of bringing illegal Mexican aliens ---who send money home---into the mainstream of the US financial system, regardless of immigration status. In other words, the Federal Reserve System is aiding lawbreakers in moving their cash around in the US and Mexico. This obviously includes the myriad alien gangs and the more than 50,000 gang members who are involved in narcotics trafficking, identity theft, homicides, and other criminal activity. To read the rest of this disturbing report, (Click Here).

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: So many parts of our government (and the federal reserve system is not even "federal" but a consortium of international bankers whose interests transcend those of any nation or any patriot and certainly any follower of Christ. They have been given unmitigated, and by most counts - unconstitutional, power to regulate money supply, interest rates and thus economies. Scripture says of such: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.hey are corrupt,their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good." (Psalm 14:1) To all the Christ-followers out there, for the time being we are still participants in the economic system of our respective countries. Realizing how corrupt these systems have become, Scripture asks us a rhetorical question: "Can a corrupt throne be allied with you - one that brings on misery by its decrees?" (Psalm 94:20) Such practices as are described in this blog will one day soon lead to an economic system described thusly: "He [the false prophet of the Antichrist] also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17) Just in case somebody might think it no big deal to conduct his finances via a micro-chip embedded in his right hand, I caution you to think again. "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he too will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-17T18:48:00.003-05:00

MARINES LINK UP IN AFGHAN BATTLE (Alfred de Montesquiou, The Associated Press as reported in the Norwich Bulletin, 2/17/10): Marjah, Afghanistan - Marines moving by land from the north linked up Tuesday with U.S. units that have faced nearly constant Taliban attack in the four days since they were dropped by helicopter into this insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan. [After giving some details of the use of non-lethal smoke rounds for fear of civilian casualties, naming the two Marine Companies involved, the article closed with these words] A Taliban spokesman, however, claimed that insurgents retain control of the town and that coalition forces who "descended from helicopters in limited areas of Marjah" were now "under siege."

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: First, because this is in effect an op-ed piece, this report, as the phrase goes, "makes me sick." The picture in the upper left is of my grandson, Andrew, and was taken on the day before his graduation from Marine Basic Training at Parris Island in 2007. He is now training with his reserve unit at Camp Pendleton, CA and in about 3 weeks will be deployed to Afghanistan. I love this young man to pieces, and I am proud of him and his comrades for service to God and country. I could go on (and have in other writings) about the deterioration of "American Values" that our men and women in uniform are being asked to defend, but I won't in this piece. For now I just want to remind those reading this piece that Jesus has said to us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God." (Matthew 5:9) Notice that Jesus said "peacemakers," not "peacekeepers." When it was God's intent for the Israelites to come into the land He had promised them, His command was: "...when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy." (Deuteronomy 7:2) Not since WWII have we treated the enemy as an enemy that must be defeated. History records how well the peace treaties worked when the Allied Forces made peace through victory. Look at what has happened since - from Korea to Vietnam to the Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the political hot potatoes is "when are the troops coming home?" If we have a right to be there in the first place, the answer to that question should be, "Not until we win and peace is made."

I probably have strayed more in this piece than in any I have written thus far. I don't pretend to have all the answers and I don't pretend to be a military genius. However, it doesn't seem to be a coincidence that as morality and righteousness has spiraled downward in our country, the number of unresolved military conflicts (wars and rumors of war) we have been drawn into. Even the reports of action on the battlefield brought to us by our press has given the enemy the last word!! Please pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2) and pray for our military.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-16T15:00:00.004-05:00

SECRETARY CLINTON : IRAN BECOMING MILITARY DICTATORSHIP. (AP 2/16/10): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Obama administration believes Iran is becoming a military dictatorship. In remarks to Arab University students in Qatar, Clinton said the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran appears to have gained so much power it is effectively supplanting the government. Last week the US Treasury Department announced it was freezing the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of a Revolutionary Guard general and four subsidiaries of a previously penalized construction company he runs because of their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction. Clinton urged Iran on Sunday to reconsider its "dangerous" nuclear policy, saying Teheran's stance leaves the world community little choice but to impose "greater costs." Meanwhile, Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday he would push for crippling sanctions on Iran during his meetings with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and PM Vladimir Putin this week.

BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: Concerning the continued rhetoric from the west, aimed at Iran: "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' "No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37) Concerning the threats aimed at Israel: "O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever more." (Psalm 131:3) Concerning the plans of dictators and nations: "He (God) rules forever by His power, His eyes watch the nations." Psalm 66:7)

BATTLE OF THE VEEPS: Cheney says Biden WRONG that new attack unlikely. (Matt Spetalnick, Worth Reading, 2/15/10): Vice President Joe Biden rejected rejected assertions by Dick Cheney on Sunday that the Obama Administration was soft on terrorism and waterboarding should have been an option for the suspect in an attempted Christmas Day Airline bombing.

In an unusual round of dueling interviews played out across Sunday morning television talkshows, Biden said his Republican predecessor "either is misinformed or is misinforming" and accused him of trying to "rewrite history." Cheney, a chief architect of former President George W. Bush's counterterrorism policy and a harsh critic of President Barak Obama's approach, said Biden was "dead wrong" to have recently deemed another September 11-style attack on the United States to be unlikely. (more)

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: To the nation that turns away from the Word of God, the Lord says: "In then morning you will say, 'If only it were evening!' and in the evening, 'If only it were morning!' - because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see." (Deuteronomy 28:67) Regarding the exchange of hot air: "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." (Proverbs 13:3). "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3:6)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-15T18:08:00.003-05:00

ALL OF US FOUND OUR ROLES IN HAITI (Dr. Anthony Alessi, Norwich Bulletin, 2/15/10) Following a trip to Haiti made by four health professionals from Norwich along with eleven others from Greenville, N.C., Dr. Alessi's journal of the trip has been running in the Norwich Bulletin. He has expressed nothing but admiration for the compassionate professionalism delivered to the people of Haiti by his colleagues, and the gratitude of the Haitian people. My hat is off to Dr. Alessi (neurologist)and his team members: Dr. Tom Bell (surgeon), his wife Patty Bell (surgical nurse), and Cindy Davis (critical care nurse). As a former EMT and one who has been on two mission trips to Haiti, I can appreciate what these caring professionals accomplished, and how they themselves must have been impacted by all they saw and experienced.

I so appreciate the spiritual element that Dr. Alessi included in Day 2 of his journal, in a section he captioned "Joy amid ruin." Cindy started the week as part of a group that went to the village of Miragaone to set up a clinic. When the team was invited to Mass on Sunday, it found the cathedral was destroyed. "Mass was in a simple building and the people were so well-dressed," she said. "The makeshift church and the surrounding hillside were filled with families, yet they moved chairs forward for each of us to sit on. I'll never forget the joyful sound of the choir singing 'Amazing Grace' a Capella while surrounded by ruin."

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: I get the distinct impression that the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was involved in this medical mission, and as such, the healing ministry of Jesus as described by Matthew is probably appropriate here. "Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people were brought to him with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them." (Matthew 4:23-24)

$100 IN THE BANK COUNTS AS $1000 (William Murray, Religious Freedom Coalition, 2/12/10 and earlier reported by Jerry Robinson in Bankruptcy of our Nation, New Leaf Press, 2009) An explanation of the Federal Reserve Bank's fractional reserve system: "If the reserve requirement is 10%, for example, a bank that receives a $100 deposit may lend out $90 of that deposit. If the borrower then writes out a check to someone for that $90, who then deposits it in the bank, the bank receiving that deposit can then lend out $81. As the process continues, the banking system can expand the initial deposit of $100 into a maximum of $1,000. ($100 + $90 + $81 + 71.90 +.......=$1000). In other words, about 90% of the money ion circulation doesn't really exist. President Barak Obama wants to increase the phony money supply with yet another stimulus. It is mathematically impossible, at this point in time, to pay off the national debt.

First of all, it is no wonder that many of our founding fathers did not want the United States of America to adopt any semblance of the central banking system that was employed in Europe during the 18th century. Initially Thomas Jefferson and similar thinkers prevailed, citing Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution as grounds for keeping private central banks from gaining control over their own government's monetary activities. In spite of this, President Washington signed the First bank of the United States into law in 1791, along with a 20 year charter which expired in 1811. In 1811, Congress voted against renewing the charter. President Madison, under great pressure, signed into law the Second Bank of the United States in 1816, again with a 20 year charter. The schemes of the Central Bank were to lead the country through periods of inflation and recession, with the bank (owned to a large degree by foreign individuals) to profit, no matter the direction of the economy. As the country became aware of these schemes, the charter was not renewed in 1836, thanks to the efforts of Andrew Jackson, under whose leadership the US national debt was paid off for the first and only time. Unfortunately, in 1913 the Federal Reserve was created by an act of Congress on December 23. The Federal Reserve is not Federal but a partnership between the federal government and the private banking system. Listen to U.S. Congressman Ron Paul's summary of the Federal Reserve System. "From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dotcom bubble in 2001, every economic downturn suffered by the country over the past 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy."

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: The prevailing view in Jesus' day (and little has changed for the past 2000 years) was that to be wealthy was a sign of God's special favor and to be poor was a sign of God's displeasure - an idea soundly rejected by Christ (Luke 6:20, 16:13, 18:24-25). The Bible identifies greed and the pursuit of wealth with idolatry, which is demonic (1 Corinthians 10:19-20; Colossians 3:5) which can bring about enslavement (Matthew 6:24). Riches can be an obstacle both to salvation and discipleship (Matthew 19:24, 13:22), give a false sense of security (Matthew 13:22) and demand the loyalty of one's heart (Matthew 6:21). The few people who are behind the Federal Reserve System are seeking temporal riches at the expense of the many, employing an economic model driven by debt. With China and other foreign nations holding large portions of America's national debt, we need to seriously consider this biblical wisdom: "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender." (Proverbs 22:7)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-12T16:33:00.005-05:00

REMAINS OF CHRISTIAN FILM-MAKER FOUND IN HAITI RUBBLE (Associated Press, Colorado Springs, Colorado 2/12/10)

The state department has confirmed that a body found in rubble from the earthquake in Haiti is that of David Hames, who had been working on a film project for the Christian children's ministry, Compassion International. Hames and colleague Dan Wooley were in the Hotel Montana when the earthquake hit Jan. 12. As the walls collapsed, Wooley made his way to an elevator shaft. He was rescued after spending 60 hours there. Family spokesperson, Melanie Dobson said, "We all know David loved Jesus, and we know that he is safe today, at home with our Heavenly Father. Now we will band together to care for his sweet wife and two adopted children.

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: My wife and I have been involved with Compassion International for years, sponsoring children. Years ago we sponsored a child in Haiti but the instability in the Haitian government at the time force Compassion to back out for a while. Our sponsorship was switched to a 9-year old girl in Dominican Republic, named Lara. It was our privilege to go on a mission trip to DR in 1991 and actually spend a day with our sponsored child. We continued to sponsor her until she was 18, at which time she went off to nursing school. Lara, wherever you are today, God bless you. Concerning Compassion's work, Scripture says: "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" (Matthew 19:14) Concerning David Hames untimely death, comfort is drawn from these inspired words: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15) And for David's friends and family: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep [believers who die and whose souls are in heaven] or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus [the souls] of those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

PRELIMINARY ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORDS SET AT THE THREE MAJOR CLIMATE SITES IN THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON AREA...(watch.org 2/12/10): In 5 days the Washington, D.C. area had many cities in the 40-inch-plus-range with a few areas in the 50-inch range. These are staggering amounts that all but shut down the region for the past week and dramatically affected the lives and work for millions of people. Schools in the Washington area have been out since last Thursday. Neighborhoods are lined with huge piles of snow from Wednesday's 25-40 MPH winds leafing gigantic snowdrifts. The three major airports have been closed a couple of times in the past week; much of the federal government has been closed, and Congress has put off all votes until early next week.

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: Bill Koenig, of watch.org and Koenig's Eye View has been documenting for years how this country has been hit with natural disasters or financial disasters within days (sometimes hours) of every time the federal government does something to promote any of the following three: 1) abortion on demand, 2) gay rights, 3)Israel giving up land or other sovereign rights for peace. Well, the major Friday storm hit within 72 hours of Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullens, under pressure from President Barack Obama, said they were in favor of lifting the "don't ask, don't tell policy" pertaining to gays in the military. While Scripture makes it clear that from God's holy perspective, one sin is as bad as another, and that Jesus died for them all, the sin of homosexuality is of special concern because of the tendency of civilizations to legalize and normalize it. "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.....In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men...." (Romans 1:24-27) Concerning the land of Israel, God made covenant with Abraham and through him, all of his offspring (the Jews). "The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give to you as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you, and I will be your God." "I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse." (Genesis 17:8; 12:3)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-11T15:33:00.004-05:00

IRAN HEADS FOR "STUNNING PUNCH" AGAINST WEST (From INN, 2/11/10): Iran announced this week that it will more than quintuple its enrichment level of uranium for atomic weapons. Also, Islamic Iranian leader and Commander-In-Chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday Iran would deliver a "stunning blow" to the West during this weeks 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. On Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister announced his country would export its enriched uranium to the West, but two days later this plan was withdrawn. Instead,Iranian leader Ahmadinajad ordered a major step up in the processing of uranium, enriching it at a 20% level instead of the current 3.5% level.Speaking Tuesday, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Commission, Ali Akhbar Salihi, said it was Iran's right to enrich uranium up to 100%. [It is now February 12 in Iran, so apparently the stunning blow today was Ahmadinijad's announcement that Iran had already enriched uranium up to 20%. Nuclear scientists say that enrichment now becomes easier if in fact the 20% level has been reached.

A BIBLICAL (THIRD LENS) PERSPECTIVE: "They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me," (Psalm 129:2)

PM NETANYAHU: IMPOSE CRIPPLING SANCTIONS ON IRAN, NOW: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the international community to act quickly against Iran as it continues to defy the West by augmenting uranium enrichment. He has also demanded that European Ambassadors condemn recent statements made in Tehran regarding the annihilation of Israel. "....The international community needs to protect peace and impose sanctions on Iran. Not partial and moderate sanctions. The duty is to impose paralyzing sanctions on Iran now," he said. (From Ynet)

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: "May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame." (Psalm 129:5)

HAITI JUDGE TO FREE US MISSIONARIES: Port-Au-Prince (Reuters) - A Haitian judge has decided to release 10 US Missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 children and trying to spirit them out of the earthquake-stricken country, a judicial source said on Wednesday. The source said that the missionaries, who have been in jail since they were stopped at Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic on January 29, could be released as early as Thursday.

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress....." (James 1:27) "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:10) "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." (Proverbs 25:25)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-10T10:47:00.004-05:00

NEW GLOBAL WARMING OFFICE: THANKS BUT SNOW THANKS! (From the Family Research Council, 2/9/10)

In what can only be described as bad timing, the administration announced yesterday it was creating a new agency to study global warming. Of course, no one was in town to hear the news since the federal government has been closed for two days following the worst blizzard in half a century. Interestingly enough, the President was careful not to use the words "global warming" in the title, and instead calls it the "NOAA Climate Service," which points to a major shift in environmental strategy. As the research loses its credibility, more scientists are trying to disassociate themselves from the "global warming" movement - which is growing more unpopular by the snow storm. Despite the controversy, President Obama still insists on chasing this phony science ---with your tax dollars. As more families struggle to make ends meet, I think we would all agree: the last thing America needs is another unnecessary government office.

THE THIRD LENS: Global warming is coming, but it is not the kind which phony science is predicting. Phony science lines up with phony religion and both are referred to in Scripture, right before we are told what will really happen to good old planet Earth.

"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this coming he promised? [The Second Coming of Christ] Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. [Creation, not evolution!] By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. [The flood, which explains so many things we see in the natural world] By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire [There's your global warming, which man can do nothing to stop], being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:3-7; I suggest reading the rest of the chapter)

SEX EDUCATION: IT'S ELEMENTARY (From the Family Research Council, 2/9/10)

Most third and fourth graders barely know what sex is, let alone have any desire to try it. Unfortunately, that's what the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is advocating in a new report, "Stand and Deliver." As part of a global push, IPPF "demands" that children 10 and older have access to "comprehensive sex education" that defines sexuality as a "positive force for change and development, as a source of pleasure, an embodiment of human rights, and an expression of self." Of course its no secret why IPPF would advocate for early sexual involvement. What better way to advertise for abortion than encourage young people to have sex? The most troubling part of the study is that it purposefully squeezes parents out of the equation. What children learn (or don't learn) about intimacy SHOULD be up to parents, not the government...and certainly not planned Parenthood.

THE THIRD LENS: Scripture makes it clear that the responsibility for a child's moral upbringing belongs to the parents. "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) And Scripture, through the words of Jesus, gives a harsh warning to anyone who would lead children astray. "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:5-6) Let us be reminded that Planned Parenthood performs about 25% of all the abortions in this country, and receives about one third of it's annual budget of over a billion dollars from government sources. This has missed the attention of most of the Tea Parties.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-08T11:07:00.005-05:00

Presenting the world news through the third lens of Scripture is both a joy and a challenge for me. If the Lord should see fit to provide the necessary resources, I could spend more time at this endeavor, and perhaps even employ some research assistance. There are a number of Christian and/or conservative news sites out there which report events bypassed by the MSM (Main Stream Media), but precious few who put the headlines into a biblical perspective. In the meantime, I intend to enjoy doing what I can do, rather than complain about what I can't do.

EXPLOSION AT KLEEN ENERGY PLANT IN MIDDLETOWN KILLS FIVE, DOZENS INJURED. What could the Bible have to say about this event? Nothing, from a prophetic perspective. However, the Bible has plenty to say concerning our response to such an incident. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Often these antithetical emotions will be connected to the same people and to the same location. Undoubtedly, on Sunday there were many workers who rejoiced at the prospect of working their trade and earning 1-1/2 or double time. Suddenly, in a second, things changed; able-bodied workers were now dead or seriously injured. People on scene, biblically literate or not, heard Cain's question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9) and answered with a resounding, "Yes!" Many from around the state gave the same answer, and rescue/recovery efforts continued throughout the night.

The needs resulting from this tragedy, just like the needs resulting from the tragedy in Haiti and countless other tragedies that happen every day, will continue on into a string of tomorrows. The symbolically place before us the needs of Christ, who expressed it this way. "For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison [like the 10 missionaries jailed in Haiti] and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" (Matthew 25:35-40) The initial responses to a tragedy are motivated by many different things, some good and some not so good. The long-term response to tragedy is usually born out of compassion and commitment.

HEALTHCARE REFORM UPDATE

Does anybody remember this? Congressman John Fleming, who is also an MD, representing Louisiana's 4th District, with co-sponsorship from 100 other representatives, introduced House Resolution 615: Call on Members of Congress to Enroll in the Public Option. This was nicknamed the "Put your money where your mouth is resolution." Rather than continue the debate about all of the ills of the government's intrusion into a vital 17% of our economy, this resolution would have said, "OK! Then if this is so good for the American people, all representatives and senators must take the lead by enrolling in the public option themselves." Today, Fleming reported on his web site, "Predictably my amendment was rejected out of hand by the Majority and was not given a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Here's a biblical commentary on such activity: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified His as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools." (Romans 1:21-22)

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RADICAL EXTREMIST APPOINTED TO HEAD LEGAL COUNSEL - This from the Religious Freedom Coalition - President Obama has nominated a radical, baby-hating feminist to head the Office of Legal Counsel. The nominee, Dawn Johnsen, has filed legal briefs in which she compared pregnancy to slavery. She also called pregnant women "losers" and "fetal containers." Johnsen has compared those who oppose abortion to members of the Ku Klux Klan. Johnsen is so radical as a baby hater that she opposes Democratic plans to reduce the demand for abortion. As head of the Office of Legal Counsel, she will not represent all [or most] Americans, only a minority of baby hating feminists. Representatives of numerous organizations have written to Senators asking that her nomination be rejected. A biblical commentary: "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but they also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:32) It is common knowledge now that life and personhood begin at conception, and as such, babies in the womb should be afforded equal protection as per the 14th Amendment.

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-05T15:16:00.003-05:00

News headlines are relentless; they just keep coming and coming and coming; day after day, they never stop. The Bible, on the other hand was written by 40+ authors, from various backgrounds, over a 1500 year period, and hasn't had one word added to its contents in about 1915 years; yet it is never outdated. It is as current as tomorrow's headlines, and much more accurate. It provides a crystal-clear lens through which we can view the things happening around us at breakneck speed. The Old Testament prophet described this time of the end with these words, "...many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (Daniel 12:4) How's that for a description of the jet age and the information age?

Today we'll examine a few news items you may not have seen in the main-stream media (MSM), as reported by Koenig International News on www.watch.org. "The handling of foreign policy by the Obama Administration is showing various threadbare exposures from China to Afghanistan to Lebanon. It all seems to center around the lack of support for Israel - which has been the longstanding centerpiece of America's foreign policy that has affected trade relationships, military alliances, peace and war. Since the US has taken the strategy to pressure Israel to make nice with terrorists, the wheels have come off the economy, and the fuel tank appears to be empty with regard to longstanding relationships as well as those that are tenuous. There are various areas of foreign policy problems developing like a storm cloud on the horizon."

A Scriptural commentary on this is found in the opening words of a covenant made between God and the patriarch Abraham, over 4,000 years ago. "The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.' " (Genesis 12:1-3) This writer believes that the USA's traditional support of Israel may be the only thing that has forestalled God's had of judgment against this nation for the daily shedding of innocent blood in the land (50 million abortions since 1973), among many other amoral atrocities.

Speaking of President Obama's precipitous slide in the polls over the past 4-5 months, Koenig states: "Obama reached out to the Islamic world in a TV interview with Al Arabyia 72 hours after taking office; he gave a speech to the Turkish Parliament on April 6; And spoke to the Islamic world from Cairo, Egypt on June 4. [I might add that in those speeches he was apologetic of US actions over the decades and embracing of Islam's contributions to the world]. The result: The Middle East is at one of the most dangerous times in its history. CIA Director, Leon Panetta, says he expects a major Al Quaeda terror event in the United States within the next three to six months. Obama's efforts to stop Iran's nuclear development [by negotiations] has not worked. The result: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he has a surprise for the world on February 12in honor of the 31st anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution.Efforts at meaningful sanctions have been stalled or blocked by China and Russia.

Scriptural commentary concerning President Obama, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases." (Proverbs 21:1) "....The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes." (Daniel 4:25) And concerning the saber-rattling of the deranged Iranian president, consider that in Ezekiel 38 it says that Iran, some of the North African countries, and former Soviet countries from around the Black Sea "...will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land..."(v. 16)

Fear not! Do not waver through unbelief regarding the promises of God, but be strengthened in faith and give glory to God, being fully persuaded that God has power to do what He has promised. (Romans 4:20-21 paraphrased)

World News Through the Third Lens

2010-02-04T15:47:00.005-05:00

You may remember from an earlier blog that the "third lens" is Scripture, the Holy Bible, the Word of God. You may also remember that this is a blog, and therefore is similar to an op-ed. While this blogger will make every attempt to report events with truth and accuracy, he makes no attempt to maintain a lack of bias. I believe that current events flow out of Scripture and that the Bible gives us a macro-view of the future. Consequently, it is this blogger's opinion that current events are best understood in the light of Scripture. While it is impossible to retrofit every new item into a passage of Scripture, it is the big picture of biblical truth that helps us understand the news. With the Bible as our guide, there is no need to wring our hands in despair.

From the Jerusalem Post: Iran Launches Research Rocket Into Space. "Iran announced Wednesday that it had successfully launched a 10-foot long research rocket, carrying a mouse, two turtles and some worms into space - a feat President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said showed Iran could defeat the West in the battle of technology. Western powers fear the same technology used to launch satellites and research capsules could also deliver warheads." One biblical perspective is in Zechariah 9:16, "The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people."

From INN: Prime Minister: Jerusalem to Remain Undivided, No PA Offices to Open. According to a senior official in the office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Israel has silently agreed to allow the PA to open official offices in the capital. The report claims the US has also been helping the PA develop infrastructures within the Jerusalem municipal boundaries. Dmitri Ziliani, a spokesman for Fatah, confirmed the PA holds regular official meetings in Jerusalem in anticipation of a future PA state that would encompass the eastern portion of the city. When asked about the PA's claims, PM Netanyahu's spokesman said, "The prime minister's position is clear - Jerusalem will remain the united capital of Israel." So far this is just a few of thousands of words exchanged in trying to establish a workable peace plan. The Bible makes it clear that ultimately, there will be a rebuilt Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, and there will be some sort of sharing of the city of Jerusalem with the Gentile world. Revelation 11:1-2, "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, 'Go and measure the temple of God and the altar and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months."

Today the National Prayer Breakfast was observed in Washington, D.C., as it has been for the past 57 years. President Barak Obama was there and I have watched his speech on CNN. TVC Executive Director, Andrea Lafferty in a blog on worth-reading.com stated that she heard "was a lecture on how America needs to be more civil." She went on to say (and I agree with her) "President Obama argues for civility even as he pushes abortion and homosexuality with all of the muscle available to the federal government. While other presidents have talked about appointing 'the best and the brightest' to key posts, Mr Obama offers us the 'most extreme and the least talented." Three Scriptures will be cited as appropriate commentaries.

"I urge you first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all in authority..." (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

"Remove the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness." (Proverbs 25:5)

And with respect to the "church" posturing on this stage, and not standing up for righteousness in the least, "...having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Timothy 3:5)

What on Earth is Happening: Wars and Rumors of Wars

2010-02-01T16:27:00.006-05:00

War is not a subject most people like to talk about. Even though I was an Army volunteer during the Vietnam era, and my grandson has followed suit with the US Marines, it's not my favorite subject. Yet we cannot avoid the fact that wars are being fought all over the planet, and the intelligence community is abuzz with information concerning wars that might soon take place. Some will say that this has been the case for several millennia, giving little or no credibility to Jesus' prophetic words in Matthew 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." However, there has never been a time in history like now when we can be informed about war just about anywhere in an instant. Beginning with the Vietnam conflict and becoming more and more graphic with each passing decade, the actual battlefield can be beamed right into our living rooms.

Debka File (http://www.debka.com/) Feb. 1, 2010 reported "Exclusive: US Intelligence Finds 5,000 Hezbollah Trained To Seize Galilee Towns." The training came from Iran's Revolutionary Guard instructors. A second news article today in Press TV (http://www.presstv.ir/) headlines: "Iran will deliver telling blow to global powers February 11." The significance of the date is that it marks the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Couple this with the words of Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, as reported last Wednesday by AFP, "Surely the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime" and it certainly sounds like trouble is brewing. In Ezekiel's prophecy, chapters 38-39, we read about a great horde of troops coming against Israel, among them - Persia (present day Iran, Ch. 38:5). However, God declares that He will intervene, saying: "I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel." (Ezekiel 39:7)

You may remember that in a previous blog I referred to Jerusalem as the epicenter of end-times events, and that Jesus gives us a pretty detailed description of those events. In Luke's account of this prophecy from Jesus, an event with both near and long term implications is mentioned. "....Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21:24) "Gentiles" includes all of the non-Jewish people and nations. In AD 70, General Titus and the Roman Army laid siege to Jerusalem and ultimately conquered it, devastating the city and totally destroying the temple. Since that time, Jewish worship has not included any form of animal sacrifice. A new temple is needed for that, and the Bible states that in the last days, a third temple will be built. Revelation (the last book of the Bible), in the first two verses of Chapter 11 refer to this temple and the fact that the city of Jerusalem will be Gentile ruled for 3-1/2 years. The Temple mount is a point of volatile controversy and is a conundrum that that needs to be resolved if a Middle East peace treaty is going to be effected. Stay tuned.....

What on Earth is Happening: Is There Any Hope?

2010-01-29T12:16:00.006-05:00

From these blogs, it is obvious that I am engaged in a ministry called Encouragement for End-Times Endurance. You can't encourage anybody if the message is always negative. Conversely, encouragement can't produce any lasting benefit if it is bereft of truth. Encouragement is nothing like euphoria. (This means a false sense of well-being and is the stuff political campaigns and way too many church services are made of). Therefore, this blog is an attempt t0 encourage with the truth. The only way to do that is to, from time to time, introduce matters of faith, for which no apology is made.

This morning's yahoo news headline stated that the political situation in Illinois vexes Obama. It seems as though the seat he vacated for the presidency has no clear-cut favorite, with the 2010 elections looming. The governorship of Illinois is up for re-election also. The pundits say that democratic losses here would greatly overshadow what recently happened in Mass. The sad thing is that the GOP front runner in the senatorial race is pro-abortion rights and favors more gun control. This can leave a person wringing their hands, wondering how things can ever get better. This writer states that from a natural viewpoint, they can't. Remember the third lens of Scripture? That's where faith comes in.

In a recent op-ed piece for the New York Times, columnist Ross Douthat sais: "If you treat your faith like a hothouse flower, too vulnerable to survive in the crass world of public disputation, then you ensure that nobody will take it seriously." There are a number of excellent Christian Apologists (they don't apologize for being Christian; they defend the Christian Faith), whose writings I will make no attempt to duplicate here. Check out the writings of Ravi Zacharias, Chuck Colson, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, among others. In the meantime, I will just make my faith statements.

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As bad as things will get, Jesus will return and set things right. Those who have died throughout the centuries trusting in Him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life will be resurrected and those believers alive at the time of His return will be changed; and both will be removed from the earth to be with the Lord forever. The earth and its unbelieving population will then undergo a terrible time of judgment known as the Day of the Lord. This is why the return of Christ is labeled as "the Blessed hope" to those who are anticipating it.

The strength of my belief is this has already been mentioned - it is the amazing accuracy with which Bible prophecy has thus far been fulfilled. I have no reason to believe that prophecy yet future won't be similarly By faith in Christ, we have a time to look forward to in which every wrong will be righted and there shall be no more death, crying or pain. There will be peace on earth because the Prince of Peace will reign.

What on Earth is Happening: Today's Headlines Written in Advance

2010-01-27T10:37:00.006-05:00

Nearing the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote these words to his younger protege, Timothy: "But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days, People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God---having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV)

Today, not even in the peaceful hamlets and villages of New England are exempt from such things dominating the daily news. Here's just a sample from today's Norwich Bulletin: "Man pleads not guilty in Yale killing." "Man who tormented families gets 3 years." ""Facebook, MySpace ax offenders' profiles." "Convicted murderer charged with rape.""Physicist: Tiny aliens may inhabit Earth now." "North-South Korea exchange artillery fire." The world is shrinking and we are connected to what is happening everywhere. It is becoming more and more obvious that government social engineering projects do little to slow down these predicted trends, much less eliminate them. In fact, we have ample evidence that most government attempts to "fix things" in this country only make them worse, even for the people who were supposed to benefit most from the fix. Unfortunately, during tonight's State of the Union address, we will probably hear about more plans to fix things.

All great civilizations of the world have passed through a series of stages from their birth to their decline to their death. Some historians have listed these in ten stages.

1. From bondage to spiritual faith

2. From spiritual faith to great courage

3. From great courage to liberty

4. From liberty to abundance

5. From abundance to selfishness

6. From selfishness to complacency

7. From complacency to apathy

8. From apathy to moral decay

9. From moral decay to dependence

10. From dependence to bondage

This is not to say that every citizen of the USA experiences this regression. There are still those in this country possessing great faith, who take courageous stands for liberty. However, it must be stated that the root problem for any civilization is never political, economic, educational or spiritual; it is spiritual. The Scriptures declare: "Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a disgrace to any people." (Proverbs 14:34, NIV) Unfortunately, righteousness has been on the decline in this country for decades. Some point to the Supreme Court case in 1962 which eliminated prayer in public schools as the watershed moment. [Ironically, Madeline Murray O'Hare, who instigated that case died in obscurity, a broken woman. Her son, William Murray, became a Christian and is the founder and chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition.] Eleven years later, there was the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision, resulting in the killing of more than 50,000,000 babies in our country. It appears that the USA is rapidly approaching, or perhaps has entered, the ninth stage.

What on Earth is Happening: Sign of the Times or Time of the Signs

2010-01-25T15:08:00.003-05:00

When one looks at the times in which we live through the third lens of Scripture, one can hardly escape the notion that we are living in a unique age. Jesus compared certain signs to birth pangs and buds on a fig tree. In one case, you know that the birth of a child is near, in the other you know that summer is near. Jesus went on to say that when these signs were apparent that His Second Coming was near.

It is interesting to note that Jesus used the analogy of birth pangs and that yesterday (January 24, 2010) was Sanctity of Life Sunday. Maybe I'm just on overload here, but for me it is a quick connection between that and the fact that abortion on demand has been legal in this country for 37 years now. Mainstream media did little to point this out in the past week. I believe two big reasons why abortion is legal in this country are: 1) sacrifice made to the god of convenience, and 2) apathy on the part of the church. Rev. Flip Benham, director of Operation Save America has said, "Abortion will end in this country when the church of Jesus Christ says so, and not one day sooner." The connections don't stop there. One of the signs of Christ's soon return is earthquakes. For every decade since records have been kept, earthquakes have been increasing in intensity and severity (just like birth pangs). All the while, real birth pangs have decreased by some 50 million in this country over the past 37 years. In 2 months, as many babies will be killed in this country as people who died in Haiti's earthquake. Not that Haiti shouldn't be helped, but the genocide in our back yard is virtually ignored.

Jesus spoke of a last-days generation that would be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, ungrateful, brutal, not lovers of the good, lovers of pleasure and not lovers of God. He spoke of events that presumed the existence of national Israel and a third temple. National Israel was born on May 14, 1948, and during the six-day war in June, 1967, Israel took possession of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Today, Islam has two mosques located on the Temple Mount and much political complexity surrounds who can enter that sacred ground and when. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount continue to be at the epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Yet at the same time there is a group in Israel preparing the implements needed for Temple worship, ready to move forward with the building of the Temple.

Events are spoken of which presume present-day technology, because the prophecies imply the whole world having knowledge of them. Prophecy speaks of an army, 200,000,000 strong moving from a position east of Israel. Bible prophecy speaks of an alliance between members of the former Soviet Union and Persia (Iran) attacking Israel and being supernaturally defeated. Such an alliance is visible today. Russia is known to be heavily involved in Iran's nuclear program. Iran hates Israel and Israel is preparing for such an attack. One doesn't have to be an extremist to see that we are living in a unique time.

One specific sign given in Matthew 24 is that before the end, the gospel of the kingdom would be preached to all people groups as a witness. This holds dual significance, since: 1) several missions organizations estimate 10-20 years before the task is accomplished, and 2) faith in this gospel is the only means of escaping the worst of what is to come. This can be viewed as alarmism, or as good news - the choice is ours.