Tag: righteousness

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Showdown: A Gamble of Long Odds

He came out of nowhere to confront the political establishment of his day. He was an outsider in the truest sense of the word.

JezebelSpiritThe nation’s leader was married to an un-elected, unselected ambitious woman who was the enemy of people of faith. This man of mystery spoke words that threatened the establishment, so they attacked this interloper, and put him on the run, for trying to overturn the corrupt and ungodly orders of an equally corrupt leader… corruption that, among other things, unjustly sent many to their deaths, seized the property and wealth of a law-abiding family by executive order, and after first framing the owner by accusations brought forward by false witnesses, had him murdered by an angry mob.

This woman unleashed her entire corrupt establishment on the “mystery man” in an effort to destroy him as she had every enemy before him. She sent her minions and surrogates after him to strike him down.

No… this is not Donald Trump and the Clintons. The woman in this story is Jezebel and the man she attacked was Elijah. Jezebel was eventually overthrown and fed to the dogs, and the nation was spared her continued and pervasive ungodliness. It was the spirit of Elijah that fell upon the nation.

The showdown on the mountain between Elijah and the 450 heathen prophets seemed like a gamble of long odds. However, the showdown ended when Jehovah God answered by fire from Heaven. It was the prayer of one righteous man that prompted God Almighty to show His power to His people who had strayed from Him. At 450 to 1, it WAS a gamble of long odds…

… And the 450 prophets of Baal never stood a chance.

KS77759Today we need some folks with the anointing of Elijah to bring down the corruption in America. We need people of faith to stand on their God-given rights and boldly speak the Word of truth to a people that have lost their way. We need leaders who will rise up, and declare the words of Proverbs 14:34 from the rooftops…

Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.

We need people of God who will stand up in the face of overwhelming odds, look the enemy squarely in the face, and laughingly say, “Is that all you brought?”

Washington MonumentIt is time for the petty bickering to end.

It is time for sin to be called out, and for the righteous to stand firmly in the face of evil.

It is time for our leaders to rise up, stop mincing words and playing along with politics as usual, thinking they are somehow not complicit in the downfall of our nation and society.

It is time for those in authority to start defending the laws they swore before God to uphold.

It is time for the Church to find its voice, lead the way, and declare our dependence on God as “one nation under God.”

Yes, it is a gamble of long odds. And when the people of God stand in unity, the enemy doesn’t stand a chance.

Pray.

Seek God.

Vote.

May God bless America once again.

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 Fresh Oil New Wine 2015 Living It Out In Real Time The Big Event The Life of Faith

As The World Burns…

Burning EarthAs I sit here watching the Middle East and Europe burn in a blaze that is rapidly moving this direction, I am baffled…

It is beyond my understanding how any Christian of any race could support the leaders of our government who refuse to acknowledge the Islamic fanatics and their fiendish goals toward the world.

When a Muslim with ties to Al-Qaeda opened fire in Fort Hood, killing 13 brave servicemen-and-women, this administration categorized it as “workplace violence.”

When a kosher deli in Paris was viciously attacked, and four Jews were murdered by a shooter who had pledged support to ISIS, our president referred to it as an “act of random violence.”

Recently, at a press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder sarcastically chastised Fox News for its criticism of the administration’s unwillingness to invoke the terms “Islamic” or “radical Islam” when discussing terror attacks. He said…

“The terminology has, it seems to me, little or no impact on ultimately what we have to do.”

Well, Mr. Holder, I think any military strategist (or second-grade football coach, for that matter) will tell you that properly identifying your enemy is the first step in defeating him. Correctly diagnosing any problem is the first step to solving it. You are going to have a hard time getting healed of cancer if, when you go to the doctor, he refers to your condition as a “broken toe”, and treats you according to that diagnosis. Ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu said…

If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril… If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.

And now, as the president’s Summit on Extremism gets under way, the phrases that have, basically, been discouraged from the summit???

Radical Islam and Islamic Extremism.

Coptic ChristiansThis White House has been immune to criticism because its critics are wrongly called racists — those who point out the president’s refusal to defend Christians, Jews, or their values. Whether citing climate change as the greatest threat against our world, or rushing in to talk about street crime in America’s cities, this administration has done precious little about the threat of groups like ISIS and their horrific acts — like the recent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians (Christians, Mr. President — not citizens). Dare we speak of the slaughter of tens of thousands of black Christians in the Sudan, Libya, and Somalia. And while this administration supports abortion on demand, gay marriage, and just about every other ungodly, liberal cause you can imagine, the world continues to burn.

In the Book of Esther, there was an ungodly man named Haman in a position of power whose desire it was to slaughter the Jewish people. Yet, in the face of this evil, a young queen named Esther risked everything to defend her people. When faced with the decision whether or not to take a stand, her cousin Mordecai told her…

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ~ Esther 4:14

As our leaders stand in Washington, wringing their hands and mincing their words, leaders in countries like Jordan and Egypt are taking decisive action against these acts of terror. Leaders in countries like France are making bold declarations with regard to the growing threat of anti-Semitism.

However, more than on the political stage…

RP & PauletteHow silent can the pulpits of America remain in the face of war looming in Russia and the Middle East? Pastors white, African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic must stand on the side of the Bible in opposing evil, abortion, homosexuality, and the genocide of Christians, as well as stand in unwavering solidarity with God’s people – Israel.

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. ~ James 4:17

We as Christians — pastors and laymen alike — will give an account to God for how we live, and upon what side of the issues we stand. Pastors, however, will be held to a higher standard…

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. ~ James 3:1


 CrossFor pastors, the time is long past for complacency and “milk-toast” Christianity. It is time to stand squarely on the Word of God, rightly-divide His Word, and be a voice of salvation, truth, and hope instead of political correctness and cowardice. Pastors – if you are more concerned with being relevant than righteous, or “hip” than holy, you are probably in the wrong line of work. We don’t preach from the book of the month… we are guided by the Book of the Ages!

It takes courage to stand in the face of overwhelming evil.

It takes courage to say no when everyone else is saying yes.

It takes courage to face off against the giant.

It takes courage to stare into the mouth of the angry furnace.

You, my friends, have been put here for such a time as this.

It is time to stand.

Pastor Ron

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 The Big Event The Life of Faith

In The Wake of Jihad

On Wednesday, it was announced that American journalist James Foley was brutally beheaded by ISIS Islamic militants in Iraq. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Foley, and pray God’s strength and comfort for them during this time.

In the wake of these events, I can stay silent no longer.

Christian          I have done everything I can to contact those in leadership in our nation – the President, the Vice-President, our congressmen and senators — about the murder, the slaughter, and the disgrace that we are allowing to happen, first in Syria, and now in Iraq. It is a national shame, and America will give an account to God for allowing this to happen… and I’m not talking about what has happened in just the past few weeks.

We have sat back in this country and allowed the Islamic caliphate to almost take over. I stated years ago, when the “Arab Spring” started in Tunisia, that they were trying to rebuild the Islamic caliphate. (The Islamic caliphate starts in Tunisia, goes to Egypt, skips Saudi Arabia, then continues to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey — the old Ottoman Empire.) I’ve said for years that the Antichrist is coming out of a revived Ottoman Empire, not a revived Roman Empire. I stated when the “Arab Spring” happened that Hosni Mubarak should never have been overthrown in Egypt; we had a better friend in him than we did in Morsi, who the military in Egypt was forced to overthrow before he destroyed the country. America has stood back and allowed a 20-year friend, who had peace with Israel, to be lied about and run out of office in Egypt. Since 2012, we have watched the same scenario play out in Syria with President Assad.  While he was accused of using chemical weapons on his own people, there is much evidence reported to the contrary (including the testimony of a Syrian guest who visited Abba’s House in 2011). However, since coming into office, the Assad regime has not fired a shot at Israel or America.  The fact is that Syria has not exhibited any aggression toward Israel since 1973. The largest synagogue in the Middle East was in Aleppo, Syria, and was being protected by Assad. Yet, it is the rebels in Syria who were known for telling Christians to “either convert to Islam or die.” There was actually one video making it’s rounds on social media of a “rebel leader” who, while standing over his defeated foe, cut the man open, cut out his heart, and ate it. And THESE were the people we were supposed to be pulling for??? These were the people our government was purportedly supporting against the Assad regime??? Now, as a result, the largest group of Aramaic-speaking Christians — a genealogy of Christians who date back to the time of Christ — have been scattered and slaughtered under our watch.

What we as Americans have allowed to happen with regard to the slaughter of our fellow Christians, not only in Syria and Iraq, but in the Sudan as well — people by the thousands being driven from their homes by Muslims — has got to stop, even if it has to stop at gunpoint. There comes a time that you have to fight for your family, fight for what is right, and fight for what you believe in.

I have been saying for the past couple of years that what we are now seeing in the Middle East was coming. In 2011, I spend four Sunday nights discussing the coming storm of Islam in our world. Now it is coming to pass before our eyes. It’s time for every person reading my blog — Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Tea Party, Independent… whoever you are — to speak up and let your voice be heard by the people you elected into political office, and start making a difference. It’s high time for those in our government to stop hiding behind political correctness, start calling these events, and the people involved in them by their proper names, and start using the power of our government, whether it be political, financial, humanitarian, or military, to help these Christians who are being slaughtered “en masse” by Muslims all over the Middle East. When I see rallies being held on our own American soil in support of known-terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS… we have gone too far. When I see celebrity-types speaking out of defiant ignorance, and slamming our Israeli friends and allies, it is time to put the truth out there.

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

I believe in peace, but even Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). In Hebrews 12, Paul says, “You’ve not resisted unto blood” fighting against sin. I am telling you right now, it does not take a PhD or a rocket scientist to figure out that cutting off the heads of children and placing them on poles for public display, raping women and murdering their husbands, and forcing people from their homes and sending them to flee and die of starvation and thirst in the desert — all because they are Christians — is evil. This type of behavior should not and can not be tolerated in the world in which we live. Maybe you don’t agree with me now, but you probably will when they show up on our shores, and force your wives and daughters to wear a burka, and mutilate their bodies in the name of Allah.

It’s time for the church of Jesus Christ in America to WAKE UP!

It is time for those in our government to stop playing “political chess” with every two-bit dictatorship around the world, and stirring up the pot of political unrest in these places, overthrowing leaders who are less-than-perfect, and creating political vacuums that are being filled with the horrors of Islamic ideology. It’s time for the people of our great nation to demand more from their leadership than empty promises from empty suits. It’s time to start holding leaders accountable for the words they speak. It’s time for the people of America to start having an attention span that lasts longer than the last worthless sound-bite, and start demanding truth, accountability, justice, and righteousness from those in the seats of power in Washington D.C., and every capital building in every state across this great land. It’s time for the Church to be the Church, come together in unity, and be the force that has the ability to change the world with the most powerful weapon in the universe… the love of Jesus.

This link is to a video recorded on the floor of the Iraqi parliament on August 5, 2014. It is approximately three minutes long… please watch.

We cannot sit and do nothing any longer. We must take a stand against evil at home and abroad. We must pray fervently. We must all contact our representatives and leaders and demand more from them. Demand the truth be told. Demand action be taken. Demand that this country, firmly established and founded upon Judeo-Christian values, take a stand against the tyranny of Islam that is being perpetrated across the deserts of the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and is slowly seeping into the fabric of our great nation. While I am all for religious freedom, what I will not stand by silently and watch is for a political ideology that masks itself as a religion to invade our nation, and steal the hope of a better future from the rising generation.

May God bless America, protect our Christian brothers and sisters abroad, and grant peace to Jerusalem, all of Israel, and the Middle East.

Pastor Ron

 

To write the President of the USA:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers for the White House:
Comments: 202-456-1111

Switchboard: 202-456-1414

FAX: 202-456-2461

Send E-Mail:

President Barack Obama:
president@whitehouse.gov

Vice President Joe Biden:
vice.president@whitehouse.gov

To contact your member of Congress, please visit… http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 Living It Out In Real Time The Big Event The Life of Faith The Mysteries of God

The Deception of Diversity

A recent poll revealed an interesting statistic regarding sexual orientation in our nation. A Center for Disease Control and Prevention poll reveals that, when asked regarding sexual orientation, only 1.6% of American adults self-identify as being gay or lesbian, and 0.7% as bisexual.* Yet, the LGBT lobby has become one of the most powerful political lobbies in America.

So, why is that?

Consider this story from the Bible…

      Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. ~ Genesis 11:1-9

God created unity to be a powerful force, but misguided unity can be just as powerful. By His own admission, He knew that, in order to thwart the prideful plan man had devised, He would have to create confusion and disunity. God knew there is great power in agreement…

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

By confusing their languages, it brought the building of the Tower of Babel to a screeching halt.

If we take the above statistic and plug it in according to the population of the United States (317 million), that would mean that there are approximately 7,291,000 people who claim to participate in an LGBT lifestyle. Now, contrast that with the fact that there are between 75-100 million people in the United States that claim to be Christians.

So why does the LGBT community seem to have a louder voice than a Christian community more than 10 times it’s size?

It’s all about unity.

Consider a beehive. Science tells us that, in the course of an individual bee’s life, it will produce 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey. However, an average beehive will produce 60 lbs. of honey in a year. Bees “know” that it is not about the individual bee. It is about the entire community working together to complete the task — queen, drones, and workers united for a single task, with everyone performing the function they are made for, not concerning themselves with what they are not meant to do.

The liberal idea of diversity is killing our nation. Liberals think that, in order to be diverse, we must accept everything — unacceptable or not. It is the idea that I must unquestioningly throw my support behind those things that are contrary to my convictions. We have seen it recently in the infamous Hobby Lobby case: The idea that, in the name of anti-discrimination, and “women’s rights“, a family-owned company must sacrifice their own faith-based convictions on the altar of political correctness and diversity. Liberals choose to ignore that real facts (that of the more than a dozen types of birth control Hobby Lobby offers their employees, the only one in question was an abortifacient that ends the life of a fetus), as well as the inherent hypocrisy of a law that, in the name of anti-discrimination, discriminates against people of faith. You cannot sacrifice truth for diversity. You cannot claim to be positively diverse simply because you have a bunch of differing opinions, races, and ideologies. Lack of a distinctive is not constructive diversity… it’s just randomness.

True constructive diversity is different elements working together for a common purpose or good. If a football team was made up of a bunch of punters, you could kick field-goals all day, but you probably would not get close enough to make one. If a baseball team was made up of a bunch of outfielders, who would pitch the ball? In sports, a team is made up of a diversity of talented individuals who all serve a common purpose in differing capacities. A Swiss watch is a precision timepiece made up of a diversity of useful parts, all working together. However, if those parts are not aligned and set up correctly, all you have is a box of junk. An orchestra is a vast array of instruments — some brass, some wooden, some stringed, some percussive — that, when playing a Prokoviev concerto in unity (not to be confused with unison), creates a beautiful, dynamic, and emotionally moving sound. Remember, unison is everyone playing the same part. Unity is many different parts working together for a common goal. World War II General George Patton once said…

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.

So why is the church not more of an effective voice in our society? Why are we the largest, yet most ignored group in America?

Lack of unity.

We major on the minors. We fight between denominations and church groups. Within our individual churches, we fight over craziness… the color of hymnals, our worship styles, the visions different groups within the church have for the church, parking spaces…

It’s time for the church to stop dying on hills of battle that don’t matter, and look to the One who died on the hill called Calvary. The life and example of Jesus should be the standard by which we all live. The Word of God should be the benchmark for how we relate and confront a society that is bent on removing His Presence and guiding hand from all memory. If we would stop trying to pressure the church down the street into our image, and instead join hands with others of differing styles but the same Lord, the Church of Jesus Christ could once again be a mighty voice for righteousness, goodness, and promise in a society adrift, without a moral compass or hope.

Unity is the beginning of revival! A Church in unity would be a force strong enough to weather any storm, and intriguing enough to attract the hardest heart to the love of Christ.

* http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/health-survey-gives-government-its-first-large-scale-data-on-gay-bisexual-population/2014/07/14/2db9f4b0-092f-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html
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America Living It Out In Real Time The Life of Faith The Mysteries of God The Secret Place

Radicals, Racism, or Righteousness: The Choice is Yours

Society is being turned on it’s ear, and we are being given a front-row seat.

I could sit here for days and decry the many ways in which our culture is losing it’s soul. I could catalogue the multiple symptoms that are evidence of the demise of towns and cities all over America.

I mean, think about this…

To steal an eagle’s egg in the U.S. carries a $10,000.00 fine, yet killing an unborn human is perfectly legal. Since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973, if the same fine was imposed for the nearly 55 million abortions that have taken place since then, the cumulative monetary fine would be more than $545,596,150,000.00

Staying sexually pure is mocked, while sexual promiscuity is lauded as normal. While the acceptable age for “sex education” in our schools goes younger and younger, “abstinence education” is frowned upon and virtually ignored. Meanwhile, the out-of-wedlock birthrate in our nation is at a disastrous 40.7%.

To speak out against homosexual activity is viewed as more reprehensible than the activity itself.

Time and time again, the national media is caught in the act of “creating news” instead of “reporting news”.

The city of Detroit is now in the process of filing bankruptcy. Political corruption and out-of-control crime are being blamed as two of the contributing factors in the city’s demise.

While the country was focused on the George Zimmerman trial in Florida, the murder statistics in cities like Chicago continued to skyrocket — virtually ignored.

So what do we do? How do we as Christians respond to such overwhelming bad news? How do we stand against the forces of dishonesty, corruption, and division that would tear our country apart?

Righteousness.

Now you say, “Pastor, that sounds a little simplistic and naive.” Maybe it does, but the fact is that truth is not a difficult concept. Regardless of how complicated we try to make things, the best way is, in most cases, the simplest. Throughout history, the most popular ideas and inventions are often the most practical ones. The problems that most people have with Scripture are not based on the doctrines of Scripture, but on our own personal hangups…

  • We have an aversion to calling sin by its proper name: SIN. Because of political correctness and fear of the “thought police”, we suffer from a lost consciousness of evil, and confusion over right and wrong. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 18:21 that…

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

So the question becomes: Are you eating the wholesome and delectable fruit of righteousness and truth, or the poisonous, rancid, spoiled fruit of “conventional wisdom” and “popular opinion”.

  • There’s an old saying: “If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for everything”. Truth is not subjective. Truth does not change. The consequence of standing in front of a speeding train is certain death, regardless of how much you disagree with the laws of physics. The consequence of breaking the laws of God is spiritual death, regardless of how much man ignores, defies, or denies Him.
  • There is an immutable fact in nature: “You reap what you sow”. The Bible is very clear in Galatians 6:7-8:

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

No society can long survive lawlessness and corruption. Any civilization that forsakes righteousness and truth is not long for the world. As President Ronald Reagan once said..

“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under.”

  • God didn’t call us to be a “white church” or a “black church” — He called us to be “THE Church”. We cannot begin to expect to change a culture that is (sadly) so racially divided until we break down the walls that divide us in within the family of God. In the Bible, the primary racial divide was between the Jew and the Gentile. Paul addressed that divide in Ephesians when he said:

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in His flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. ~ Ephesians 2:14-18

We don’t need a culture of more “open-mindedness”… we need a culture of Godly righteousness.

We don’t need more “gun control”… we need more “self control”.

We don’t need leaders who will prove themselves once they get into public office… we need servants who have already proven themselves in order to get into public office.

We don’t need more programs for fatherless children… we need more “real men” who will honor women, and make them wives before they make them mothers.

If we are still bound and determined to be a “colored church”, then let’s be the “Crimson Church” — covered by the crimson blood of the One who died to make us all one in Him.

Join me at Abba’s House this Sunday as I talk about Righteousness as I continue my series “Seven Words that Work Wonders”. If you can’t be there, click here to watch us online.

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Living It Out In Real Time The Life of Faith Through The Looking Glass

Hollywood & A Holy Perspective

Through the Looking Glass                      Randall Wallace is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director, having worked on such movies as Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, The Man In The Iron Mask, and Secretariat.         Mr. Wallace had this to say about his faith…

“An essential reason that I am Christian

is that I fully understand

that I’m not God… I need God.” *

Wallace Sword

Mr. Wallace understands a couple of truths that some politicians, performers, and pagans for years have failed to come to grips with:

Truth #1: There is a God in Heaven Who is holy, righteous, loving, merciful and just.

Truth #2: You are NOT Him.

We do ourselves and God a great disservice when we ascribe to Him our flawed humanity instead of the glory and honor that are due Him. We as the creation must continually resist the urge to make the Creator less than what He is… HOLY.

I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.” ~ Isaiah 43:15

*(http://www.pluggedin.com/upfront/2011/randallwallaceracingthegoodrace.aspx)