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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2015 Living It Out In Real Time Spiritual Warfare The Bible The Big Event The Life of Faith The Mysteries of God Through The Looking Glass

Saving The Planet from Ourselves

Who owns the earth?Pine Ridge2

I heard a Pastor say recently that Satan owned the earth because St. Paul calls him, “the god of this world…”

…whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:4

Aegean CUThe NKJV translates this verse correctly – it is “age” (“aeon” in Greek). This represents a period of time in which Satan is worshipped, not ownership.

So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. ~ Exodus 9:29

Signal PointThe earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein. ~ Psalm 24:1

…for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:26

 But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:28

NH Snow MtnsClearly the planet and all of its inhabitants belong to Yahweh God. Now having said that, we need to understand that we are stewards and managers of all that we occupy on the earth. God expects us to take responsibility for our earth and its environment. Please do not confuse me with one who worships nature to the detriment of human life, and don’t lump me in with those who want to save the whales while aborting babies. This is NOT what I am saying. There is a significant difference between utilizing the earth and abusing the earth. A person with a healthy respect for the planet is very different from someone who idolizes and/or worships the planet.

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. ~ Romans 1:25

FlowersEven in its fallen state, there remains so much beauty in the earth. How my heart thrills every day as I look at the majestic hills around where we live in East Tennessee. Whether the rivers, oceans, forests, deserts, or majestic lakes, our planet is blessed. However, how sad it is when I see people throw trash in Lake Chickamauga, birds covered in oil in the ocean, filthy inner cities, and piles of junk ignored.

Phony environmentalists claim America is the problem. However, having traveled to most of the world, I find that the contrary is true. Trash is everywhere in many countries. The United States is a picture of pristine cleanliness compared to MANY places to which I have been. A lot of it is simply people too lazy to clean up their own mess.

Harrison BaySeveral years ago, a former leader in our church walked in one morning and informed the staff that there was litter on the parking lot. Our church administrator at the time, the late Dr. Jim McClanahan said, “Why don’t you pick it up?” The man turned and left in stunned silence. Dr. McClanahan went out with our custodial staff and picked up the trash in question.

So… why am I carrying on about this?

Pemmaquid PointBecause good stewardship is not just our giving. We can also show good stewardship by caring for our properties, our living spaces, and our communities on this earth. We can’t fix every thing every where, but if we start with where WE are, and show respect for what God has blessed us with, we can be an example… an example that can catch on and be repeated throughout the world.

Here is a verse that stunned me as I was doing a re-read of Revelation…

The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth. ~ Revelation 11:18

There is a judgment that falls on those who destroy the earth. Let’s be good managers of all God has blessed us with.

Morning Water

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 Living It Out In Real Time The Big Event The Life of Faith Through The Looking Glass

A Clear and Present Danger

As I have observed, there are many fear-generating circumstances in our world. North Korea continues to arm itself as the world quietly looks away. The Middle East is a boiling cauldron of war, terror, and hate that is now spilling over to places like Africa, Europe, and our own shores. Christians, in particular, are being slaughtered en-masse throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Our economy continues to slide and struggle due to bad decisions made by power brokers who are more interested in special interests than the interests of the people they were sent to Washington to serve. Our government seems to play catch-up rather than give the expected leadership to our troubled world.

And exactly where are our leaders during these crises? They are at the UN harassing business leaders about the dangers of carbon and climate change.

Their “non-crisis” (the earth has been cooling for the last 18 years) has brought together our President, John Kerry, and every kook in the world to bemoan this non-danger. The earth has been through many crises and, without exception, they were catastrophic natural events — not controlled or contributed to by man:

Mt St HelensVolcanoes – A single volcano, Mount St. Helens put out more pollution in one day than all the smoke-stacks in America since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1850). With a force that was estimated to be 500 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II, the volcano erupted for 9 hours, had an initial blast that was heard 700 miles away, and killed everything for 230 square miles, including approximately 11 million animals and 4 billion feet of timber. 57 human lives were lost.
In 1883, the volcano at Krakatoa (Indonesia) erupted with 13,000 times the strength of the atomic bomb. Furthermore, when the volcano at Thera (Greece) erupted 3,500 years ago (nearly 3,300 years before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution), it is estimated to have been four to five times stronger than Krakatoa.

Earthquakes – Along with related natural events such as tsunamis, earthquakes are unpredictable, strike without warning, and leave mass devastation and casualties in their wake. The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake generated a tsunami that struck the coasts of 14 countries, including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Over 230,000 people lost their lives.

Storms – Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Andrew are just a few of the hurricanes that have devastated areas of the United States. The Halloween Nor’easter of 1991, nicknamed The Perfect Storm, cost over $200 million in damages and killed 13 people. In comparison, Hurricane Katrina, considered the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, killed in excess of 1,800 people, and cost an estimated $108 billion in damages.

Asteroids – We hear more and more of asteroids passing close to Earth. In fact, a number of asteroids have hit the Earth in the past, causing major devastation. One instance in 1490 saw 10,000 people killed in the Chinese town of Ch’ing-yang when an asteroid broke apart overhead.

One has but to read the pages of Scripture to understand that God Almighty controls the times, seasons, weather, winds, oceans, and celestial bodies. While we are to be good stewards of the earth He has given us, we have no more control over the climate, weather, or natural catastrophes than we have over the earth spinning around the sun, and it is sheer arrogance to think we do. Climate change is the least of our world’s “man-made” issues.

ISIS flagWhat should be of grave concern to the people of the world is the growing threat of Islamic groups such as ISIS. As this plague moves across the Middle East, killing at will all who stand in their path, we have leadership that refuses to identify the root problem: Islamic ideology. When a known Islamic Army officer screams “Allahu Akbar!” while shooting and killing unarmed army personnel, our leaders call it “workplace violence.” When an Islamic worker posts a quote from the Quran on his Facebook page, stating, “I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers; smite ye about their necks“, then proceeds to behead a co-worker in Oklahoma, our leaders call it “workplace violence”.

However, when an unstable young man kills students at Sandy Hook Elementary, the commission investigating it calls for a crackdown on HOMESCHOOLERS???

Just since 2001, tens of thousands of people around the world (many of whom are Christians) have been killed in the name of Islam. Yet, our government is going to crack down on homeschoolers because one former homeschool student kills 27 people?

Folks… I’ve said it before: It’s time to WAKE UP! In ISIS, we face a growing threat to the whole world. Should Iraq and Syria fall, an already unstable region will spin out of control. Do you understand that, should Pakistan fall to ISIS, these terrorists will have nuclear weapons at their disposal?

Isn’t it time for our leaders to get out in front of this, and stop ignoring a “clear and present danger” simply because it does not fit into their talking points, their political correctness, or their social calendar?

But even more important: Isn’t it time for we, the Church, to stand up, speak up, and pray up?

Personally, I think it is.

Lady Liberty

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 The Big Event

The Demonic Downgrade of America… Pt II

UTDDOA2

Last week on The Heart of Abba, I spoke about the Demonic Downgrade of America. I tackled those things going on in our society that are dragging our country into an abyss of ungodliness and despair. I cited numerous symptoms, in our government and our society at-large, that are tell-tale signs that we are running head-long down a path of moral, fiscal, and societal destruction. As I cited from the tagline of the 1984 movie, Something Wicked This Way Comes

For every desire, there will be a cost.

Well, it’s a pretty grim picture. However, the words of Jesus offer us hope…

         “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” ~ John 14:18-21

This past Sunday, I delivered the sermon Upgrading the Demonic Downgrade of America to the church body at Abba’s House. I invite you to join me now, through this video, and find the hope that exists for our nation if we but turn back to the Author and Finisher of our Faith — Jesus.

I invite you to share this video with your friends,
and join me in prayer for the very soul of our nation.

UTDDOA2

Join me this Sunday, July 6, 2014 as I discuss the Mysteries of Eternity. As we stand and watch the flames of retaliation burn in Israel following the brutal murder of three Israeli young men, we as believers need to understand the times in which we live. What do the current events unfolding right now mean to believer and unbeliever alike? Is it going to get worse before it gets better? How should we live our lives in light of these things? Don’t miss this important message.
Worship begins at 10:30a.m… to watch live, click here.

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2013 Living It Out In Real Time The Life of Faith The Mysteries of God

America: Find Your Voice

“One cannot wage war under present conditions without the support of public opinion, which is tremendously molded by the press and other forms of propaganda.” ~ Douglas MacArthur

KS77849Recently at our ministry, we have been inundated with phone calls asking what I think about what is going on in the world right now. Whether it’s the conflicts we see unfolding in Syria, Egypt, Libya, and the rest of the Middle East, or the rampant political correctness that is running amok, ruining our economy, and destroying our spirit of American exceptionalism, people have honest questions. Over these past many years, I have grown to ask myself, when I read or watch the media, “Is it fact, or is it propaganda?” Our government makes claims that seem unrealistic (at best), and then we see the American media walk in lock-step behind (and in support of) the claim.

Disagree?

Consider the “Arab Spring”. We were all told that the Arab Spring would bring democracy and positive change to the Middle East. However, instead of peace, democracy, and hope, what has happened?

  • Chaos has erupted in Egypt. Egypt was almost completely taken over by Morsi, Sharia Law, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
  • Slaughter of American diplomats and their military defenders in Benghazi.
  • Questions abound as to whether we were better off dealing with the likes of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. In my opinion… absolutely.

Now we have a civil war going on in Syria, with an American administration that wants to intervene, and help facilitate the collapse of that government. However, let’s stop for a minute and look at the record of Syria over the past 40 years, since 1973…

  • Syria has committed no aggressive act toward the United States.
  • Syria has not participated in an attack on Israel.
  • Syrian government soldiers have faithfully protected the Aleppo synagogue… the 2nd oldest Jewish synagogue in the world.
  • The Syrian government has protected the Orthodox church, including the 5000 Syrian Orthodox inhabitants (a community of believers that has survived since the time of Christ). They are one of the few communities that still speak Aramaic (the dialect spoken during the time of Christ).

Now, in just a matter of months, these so-called “Rebels” are undoing centuries of religious tolerance and peace; attacking and burning churches, and killing Christians. The Syrian government is protecting Christians, Jews, and Allawi Muslims from these Islamists that are attempting to take over the nation.

And now for the coup de grâce…

After years of being warned about “global warming this” and “climate change that”, it has been determined that the arctic has 1 million MORE square miles of arctic ice than just 1 year ago.  True science sees a trend toward global cooling – NOT warming! Taxpayers have, for years, been robbed of billions upon billions of dollars to help fund the myth of global warming that has been perpetrated upon the world. Climate expert Dr. Tsoris of the University of Wisconsin recently stated that the slight warming trend of the ’80’s and ’90’s (which amounted to 8/10ths of a degree) has reversed, and we are now in a cooling trend. As I write this, there are approximately 20 yachts trapped in Arctic ice, with summer just now coming to a close. In 1993, a British climatologist predicted the Arctic ice would be completely gone by 2013. Yet, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence, as well a common-sense observation, our government is STILL funding the global warming hoax!

Personally, I am sick to death of diplomatic slight-of -hand, government-funded corruption and cover-up, and agenda-driven junk science. Give me the sacred Scriptures! Give me the reliability of God’s Holy Word! Give me the liberty that comes from the ONLY truth that brings freedom! Give me the church of the Living God — the stronghold of truth in a world running from deception to deception!

Now, a multimillion-dollar presentation entitled Do The Math (which affirms the global warming myth) is about to air on none other than Al Jazeera-owned Current TV. Al Jazeera is owned by Muslims, and Current TV was recently sold to them by it’s owners, including Al Gore.

Just so you understand: One of the loudest voices in the “climate change” camp sold his TV channel to a media company owned by “Arab Oil” — the biggest fossil fuel producers and polluters in the world.

Am I the only one that sees the irony here???

When are we the people going to get tired of being suckers and saps? When will we stop being sheep, led blindly to the slaughter of all that we hold sacred? When are we going to stand by the convictions and creeds on Monday that we espouse on Sunday?

When are we going to demand of our leaders the same standard to which they hold the people?

When are we going to frack and drill from the huge natural reserves that we have been blessed with, and stop funding the very people who are trying to kill us?

When are we going to find our voices, and remind the government that yes, we ARE still ONE NATION UNDER GOD?

Surely, if I know this, living (as I do) in Chattanooga, TN, someone in Washington D.C. knows it as well.

It is time to find our voice.