Blessed of God.

Deu 28:1 And it will be, if you shall listen carefully to the voice of Jehovah your God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command you today, Jehovah your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth.
Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on you and overtake you, if you will listen to the voice of Jehovah your God.
Deu 28:3 You shall be blessed in the city, and be blessed in the field.

Deu 28:6 You shall be blessed when you come in, and blessed when you go out.

Deu 28:12 Jehovah shall open to you His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall loan to many nations, and you shall not borrow.
Deu 28:13 And Jehovah shall make you the head, and not the tail. And you shall be always above, and you shall not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you today, to observe and to do them.

These are quite some words from the Most High God that I serve. I have read and heard several arguments for and against them. Parts of them get repeated continually in prayers and sermons.

I accept and receive these promises and hold them dear to my heart. I am indeed blessed by God in marvelous ways.

I have heard that if you do not obey ALL of Gods commands then this does not apply to you. The then go on to say that it is Faith Jesus alone that gives us blessings.

This I also believe. I believe that it is in Jesus only that we receive blessings from God. I believe that by accepting Jesus as Lord of my life and placing my every care and concern in His Mighty Hands that I indeed do have these blessings.

This is quite a list of blessings. God did not write about them for us to glaze them over and not totally accept all of their wonderment.

Some claim them all just because they love God. I believe this to be true also. If we truly Love God with all our heart, soul and mind then we can have this list of blessings poured over us fully.

Yes the scriptures above do state “observe and to do all His commandments “.  But as we have found out in our lives, this is impossible to do on our own. To strictly obey each and every commandment that God gave to mankind over the years is impossible.

But that is exactly why Jesus came to Earth to die. He came to die in our stead to accomplish what it is impossible for any of us to do on our own. He paid the penalty of sin imbedded deep within our soul. Through His death and resurrection we have the Power from His shed Blood to claim these promises.

I claim the blessings as I come and go into the country and into the city and I am the head and not the tail and I am above and not below. All because of what Jesus has done for me. He laid down His life for me and shed Blood to allow me to be an heir to the Most High God.

Jim Gregg
July 9, 2009

Bishop Ewo from Nigeria.

Joh 7:37 And in the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
Joh 7:38 He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
Joh 7:39 (But He spoke this about the Spirit, which they who believed on Him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.)

We should have Rivers of living water flowing through us. We should live life that overflows with the Holy Spirit, free of struggle.

Mat 11:28  Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.
Mat 11:30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

My yoke is easy My burden is light. Life should be free of struggle filled with the Holy Spirit. Read, pray, obey without struggle.

Joh 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The well is life. The Spirit flows like a river of water through us. Not just for me but for others.

A well is stagnant and not exciting, but a river flows clean clear and with excitement. It flows and touches other people. Life is meant to be like a river, full of life.

I need to have an overflowing of the Holy Spirit in me.

Peter was changed at Pentecost from one who denied Christ, to a river of living water flowing freely to others, touching 5,000 others for Christ.

I can not minister effectively without the power of the Holy Spirit flowing freely through me. Make the Holy Spirit my friend. There is no place for myself without Him.

If I thirst let me come to the well and drink freely. Then the fullness of the Holy Spirit will flow through me as a river. Not my own strength but the Spirit of God.

With the Spirit my strength and energy will build up. I will no longer walk with struggles; He makes the difference in my life.

“Come to me and drink” – “Out of my belly will flow rivers of living water.”

Grace, Love, Power. Renew with the power of the Holy Spirit daily. It is a daily walk with Him, not just a one time fill-er-up thing. Daily be filled with the Holy Spirit.

That which I do not desire, I will not attract. Desire the fullness of the Holy Spirit. He will change my weakness into strength; only by the power of the Holy Spirit that works in me.

Desire Him into my life day by day. Ask Him to fill me to overflowing and to rule my life. Drink deeply, and then I will be an instrument of God.

God saved me to GO, not for salvation for myself. I have been saved to influence society.

Do people know me as a child of God where I work? Live?

I am to make a difference to my generation.

Act 1:8 But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Jim Gregg

June 28, 2009

What an incredible time we had at the intercessory prayer meeting last night. The Spirit of God was unleashed as we held up Israel and the United States Government continued support of the Jewish people.

Gen 12:3 And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

President Obama was lifted up to God in fervent prayer that he would accept Jesus as his personal Savior. In the past there were visions of the President having a Damascus road experience where he would dynamically be converted. There were also visions of his demise by the hand of God if he does not trust Jesus with his life soon.

Our country is on the verge of a climax. The rest of the world is in the wings waiting on the outcome. “We The People” have been the moral and Christian stalwart to the world for two centuries, ever since our founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence based on God’s word.

What happens to America and to Israel will foretell what happened to the rest of the World. We are not dealing with kids toys here, these things are eternal and have weighty consequences.

My life as an intercessor/prayer warrior has come into full bloom. The first few meetings Ana and I attended were rather difficult for me. I seemed to be an onlooker looking in on the meeting from the outside. I did not make connection to the flowing of the Spirit of God as He filled the room with prayers.

In the past few weeks my Spirit life has taken on a new revived meaning. Something that Pastor Ewo said brought my life into order with a passion for things Spiritual.

Pastor Ewo mentioned our needing to drink from the well that Jesus gives us but that in order for rivers of living water to flow out of our bellies, that we need to be basking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Thinking of this opened my Spirit to Gods Spirit in a way that has allowed me to speak in the Holy Language with ease. I now feel the flowing of rivers of Spiritual blessings and meaning come out of me.

Joh 7:38 He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Putting this new burning impulse to speak out the flowing of the Spirit within me, with the ever increasingly involvement with the state of the World, has unleashed a flood of prayers and feeling and words to God.

My place as an intercessor at Word of Life has come about. I am firmly planted in a vital function of the church that edifies me as well as the functioning of the church. I am elated over my new found prayer life. Ana and I agree that this is the place God wants us to be functioning in at this time.

We (Ana and I) are in a training camp for the up-coming “Christians United for Israel” conference in Washington D.C. in two weeks. Ana discerns mighty things happening at this series of meetings; things that will shake the world; things that will change our lives as a couple. We are destined for great and mighty works for the Lord.

Last night the Spirit of God flowed through the room as we bared our hearts and souls to God asking Him to uphold America. We prayed as if with one mind. Hutch mentioned that collectively we were speaking the mind of God. The experience was elating but very draining.

The group functioned together as one being in the Spirit; each one taking part and honoring the prayers of the others.

At the end of the two hours we prayed over one another; anointing the ones being prayed for. It was a blessed event rampant with emotional feelings of closeness with God and to each other.

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope for it?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we wait for it with patience.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And He searching the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Peace.

Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Peace. What is it? Absence of worry, fretting, care, concern, trouble, strife, fear, anger…..

Last night we had an elongated time of peace as we heard the Father tell us to “Be Still”.  This came after an hour of praying and lifting our hearts up to God.

It was wonderful just being together without a care in the world coming to mind. Just being engulfed in the presence of God and having His peace flow over and around us.

Psa 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God!

It seemed sort of strange to not be thinking of anything. Suddenly the house became very quiet. The dogs were asleep; the refrigerator not making its noises; outside the city was strangely quiet. God was in control. Not us, but Him who sustains our every being, our every moment.

Time seemed to stand still as we relished in the quiet. Nothing was bothering us enough to break through this stillness. As if we were in the presence of God and waiting eagerly, yet patiently for His will to be unfurled over us.

Nothing of Earth shattering importance came over us or was reveled to us. Nothing but the utter joy of feeling such stillness and peace fill us so full that there was room for nothing else.

Thoughts of today, tomorrow, the end times, the invasion of Israel or the utter destruction of it had any weight. Not the aches and pains abated our minds. Saving the lost, encouraging our families, painting our house, going to Washington, nothing was strong enough to enter in and conquer the stillness given to us by the Master and Commander of the Universe.

It was like receiving a profound revelation from God. It just came upon us. Nothing we could do to bring it on, or nothing that we can do in the future to revive it once again. It was a simple yet beautiful gift from Him.

We succumbed to it totally and lay there drinking in the absolute absence of anything but His presence. How sweet was the nectar we drank in; it was refreshing, so light and pure.

The end of times could have ushered in around us, yet we would not have cared or possibly even noticed. Can this serene state of being be a glimpse of what it will be like in Heaven as we sit at the feet of our Lord and Savior? I hope it so.

Father I thank You for this sacred time being in Your presence basking in the warmth of Your Love for us. May this experience come again, if not I will hold its pleasure close to my heart and know what a foretaste of You it presented.

It is like You told us to be still and know the absolute peace that comes from drawing nearer to the Divine Creator of the Universe.

The Deception of America

Ana Gregg
06/04/2009

In Romans 13; 1-4 Paul point out that we are to have an orderly government which is part of God’s provision, even in a wicket world.

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities. For there is no authority but of God; the authorities that exist are ordained by God.
Rom 13:2 So that the one resisting the authority resists the ordinance of God; and the ones who resist will receive judgment to themselves.
Rom 13:3 For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the bad. And do you desire to be not afraid of the authority? Do the good, and you shall have praise from it.
Rom 13:4 For it is a servant of God to you for good. For if you practice evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is a servant of God, a revenger for wrath on him who does evil.

Under normal circumstances the Christian is to be obedient to the laws of the land. This does not mean we are to obey the regulations that are unmoral or anti Christian.

In such case we are to be obedient to God and not to man.  We are to speak up and stand up for what is right. We are not to fellow the leading’s of the corrupt leaders leading us into a down fall in America.

We have to take a stand against abortion. This is NOT a blob of flesh that has no life. Fourty million abortions have been allowed in America.

We have children that are in school and have to pray in secret because Prayers are not allowed in schools.

They are talking about taking “IN GOD WE TRUST” off of the currency.

The Ten Commandments hold not value in courtrooms or in the schools.

Our students are not allowed to study their bibles in school.

Prayers is not allowed in the schools.

Merry Christmas is not allowed for it may offend none believers.

That same sex marriages in okay and they are trying to pass it in all states.

They are passing the hate crime law which will make it illegal to speak out against abortion, gays and Muslims.

It’s time for the remnant to stand up and take notice of what is happening to us.  We have to wake up before the raft of God falls upon us.

Right know America is in a free fall of deception, our economy is crashing and we seem to be asleep.  WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

Our very foundations are been shaken to the core.  Our nation cannot spend its way back to wealth; our hope is not in Washington bail out; our hope is in the Lord of Glory.

We have to return back to the bible and back to God.
As John Hagee Stated

“So what shall we do?  We must have a moral and spiritual revival that takes us back to the God of the Bible, back to the motility, back to individual responsibility and back to the 10 commandments. He states, I am begging every Bible believing Christian to stand up, to speak up and never shut up until our nation and our government returns to the GOD OF OUR FATHERS”.

Recovering Our Lost Influence
By R. Loren Sandford

Recently I’ve heard prophecies that America has just two to three months to turn things around before the judgment comes. Those voices have it wrong. The two to three months applies to a period of time concerning which the Lord spoke to me at the end of last year, and the judgment is not on America, but on the church in this country.

After Obama’s election I believe the Lord told me that we would see six months of delusory hope, followed by a whirlwind. Caught up in the whirlwind I saw a flurry of papers representing accelerating change. I suspect the papers represent a flurry of legislation. We will see the effect of it two to three months from now.

I don’t see judgment falling on the nation yet but rather on the church—God’s people—and it has only just begun. 1 Peter 4:17 clearly indicates that judgment begins with the house of God.

The first stage of judgment—already in motion—is that we have lost both our power as a voting block and our cultural influence. We have lost these things (1) because we have presented ourselves to the nation in the religious spirit rather than the Spirit of Christ and (2) because our integrity in high places has been badly compromised.
The second stage of judgment on the church in days to come is that the culture of this nation will continue in the direction it has been choosing to take for the last 40 years. The judgment is that we can do nothing to stop this slide into lawlessness and immorality because we’ve sacrificed our moral authority.

Where the world is concerned, we’ll begin to see an economic recovery take hold at mid-year. The signs are already beginning to surface and will take a long time to have full effect, but we will see the beginning. Morality, however, will continue its downward spiral, and in many cases, legislation will back it up.

At the root of our loss of influence politically and culturally is the spirit of the Pharisees, the religious spirit. The Bible teaches us that Jesus invites righteousness, the grace that leads to repentance, while the religious spirit tries to force behavior. Jesus demolishes walls and builds bridges while the religious spirit creates a chasm between those who think themselves righteous and those the righteous judge to be defiled. Hatred results.

The Pharisees called people to repent, but the only motivator they could offer was condemnation—and condemnation presents too great an obstacle for anyone to overcome. For example, in Luke 19 the Pharisees grumbled against Jesus because He honored Zacchaeus, the sinner, by going to stay at his house. Condemnation never motivated anyone to repent and change, but love and honor do. In response to the honor Jesus offered him, Zacchaeus gave away half his wealth and restored four times to those he had cheated. Honor and grace lead to repentance.

Remember the power of the Republican Party just four and eight years ago? Do you remember how that party was widely viewed as the party of evangelical Christians? Do you recall the power both Republicans and evangelicals wielded in every election? Today many are singing death songs over the Republican Party and over evangelical Christian influence in general. I’m not saying that one party is better than the other. I’m saying that any political party left to itself without a balancing influence is a bad thing.

We can’t pray in the schools. Islam and the New Age can be taught in the classroom but not Christianity. State after state approves gay marriage. The Ten Commandments get removed from the statehouse lawn. But that’s not the fault of the unbelievers, nor can we lay that at the door of Barack Obama. We might cry, “Bad Democrats! Bad liberals!” as if it were their fault, but it isn’t. Nor can it be blamed on unbelievers. Neither the liberal left nor the devil did this to us. Don’t blame them. We Christians did it to ourselves.

President Vows Middle East Solution in Two Years

By: Mike Evans

Centuries of conflict have surrounded the Jews and Palestinians, both claiming ownership of the tiny parcel of land that is Israel. Learned men have devoted themselves to a resolution; politicians have haggled over the perfect peace treaty that would, ultimately, mean a star in their negotiations crown. Men and women have died to preserve the nation of Israel, and now comes President Barack Obama who has given himself just two years to resolve the Israel/Palestinian issue. Is he foolhardy, or will he abandon Israel in order to achieve his goal?

The president will travel to Egypt later this week to deliver a speech that the White House says will “take on the tough issues.” At the top of his list of concerns is a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

According to White House advisers, in his speech in the Egyptian capital this week, Obama will “take on the tough issues” including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and offer to help overcome disparities with the Muslims predicated on “mutual interests and mutual respect.” Apparently, the president believes he must placate the Muslim nations by sacrificing Israel on the altar of appeasement. Unfortunately for Mr. Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t seem too eager to satisfy the president’s desire to interfere in Israel’s political future.

President Obama’s foray into the Middle East will begin with a visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and a meeting with King Abdullah. One can but wonder if he will again bow to the sovereign of a Muslim nation as he did on their first meeting. Obama and the king will review the Saudi peace initiative which calls for, among other things, Israel to return to her 1967 borders and give East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as a capital.

Denis McDonough, Obama’s foreign policy advisor said, “Some of the things that you will hear in the speech are returning to proven and effective policies and initiatives that have . . . served the national interest well in the past.” Would someone care to translate that into understandable English? To what policies and initiatives does this statement refer? Many of the proposals proffered by past administrations place Israel in the vice of appeasement, demanding that it relinquish yet more land-for-peace – a plan that has never worked, and never will.

Egypt has long been a U.S. ally, and is the largest Arab nation worldwide. Cairo, its largest city, is home to 18 million people and to Al Azhar University, the center of learning for Sunni Arabs.

Egyptian historian Mahmoud Sabet applauded Obama’s choice of Cairo to deliver his address to moderate Muslims: “If you are going to conceive of Iran as being a rival in the region, and Iran is a Shia country … if you are going to tell the vast majority of Sunni Muslims that you are not their enemy, it makes sense.” There is some concern, however, about the president’s overtures to Iran, a Shia nation at odds with its Sunni Arab brethren. Arabs, moderate and fanatical, are clamoring for a Palestinian state for only one reason; it would mean the demise of the state of Israel.

This is the aim today, as it has been since the miraculous founding of the Jewish state in 1948. It is the reason the PLO was founded in Cairo in 1964, and the explanation for Yasser Arafat’s deadly intifada against the Jewish people. It is the reason Israel has been compelled to go to the bargaining table time and again and forced to accept agreements that were detrimental to the safety and security of the tiny nation.

With the delivery of a speech in Cairo on Wednesday, President Barack Obama will join the long list of American presidents who have tried to back the Israelis into a corner. It will be interesting to see how the pugnacious prime minister of Israel reacts to the determined president.

Saturday (May 16, 2009) morning at 3:45 AM I heard the Lord tell me to write down 1,000 prayer requests. I heard this several times.

I know that these are to come from me and not be solicited from others. It is an exercise to deepen my prayer life.

Friday (May 29, 2009) I finished the project. This was a very rewarding task. It caused me to grow in my thinking of how and what to pray for.

The first hundred or so prayer requests were easy. You know; me, me, me, my wife, my kids, my job, and my finances.

Then it became harder. I did not want to repeat any prayers, but did since new aspects of them came up over and over.

I tried to include relevant topics affecting the world and America. Sometimes this was easy and other times it was a grueling process.

Many of the requests have already been answered. Praise God for this.

A few days before Memorial Day I asked God to give us something interesting to do.

Monday morning we went and decorated Cella’s grave. We then decided to see where Ana’s Ex Brother-in-Law was laid to rest. After looking up the plot location we went there. As we drove up I noticed a biker standing by a grave. He seemed to be in deep sorrow.

When we were ready to leave he was just heading back to his bike. Ana said that the Lord had prompted her to talk to him. So we went over to him and engaged in a short conversation.

He was a typical Harley Biker; big burley and sort of overweight. Black leather outfit with POW, MIA, and Semper Fi badges adorning his vest. His father had passed away last year. He was very sad and bitter at the doctors.

We talked to him about the loss of his father, and his anger. This led him to tell of his concern about the hopeless state of America. A little more talking and he responded to Ana’s plea to accept Christ as his personal savior.

What a great start to the day. The rest of Memorial Day was spent in the mountains driving, eating, walking, and shopping.

I printed off the list of 1,000 and let Ana read/pray through them. We prayed over them and lifted them up to God. I will mention them at the next intercessory prayer meeting.

The enemy is mad because of this. I have crossed over into more of his territory and am a viable threat to him. I have been attacked with sleepiness, dizziness, and bowel problems since last week.

I rebuke the dark forces of this world and those attacking my body. James tells us.

Jas 4:7 Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I am now ready for God to reveal to me more and mightier things.

Last night at our intercessory prayer meeting, an hour was spent praying for the salvation of President Obama.

He is our appointed leader and wee need to pray for him and uphold him to God. But first he needs to know God personally. He needs to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

We believe that this will happen. Then he will be a fitting leader, working with God to pull America out of the spiritual slump it is in.

In a previous article “Christian America” I mentioned the Christian beliefs of our forefathers as they set up our independence from England.

These were Mighty Good Fearing Christian men. They walked the same halls, slept in the same bedrooms, ate in the same dining rooms, officiated in the same offices, and served in the same Congress as President Obama is presently doing.

It was our fervent prayer last night that President Obama would feel the hallowed presence of these great men who walked before him. We prayed that the presence of the Holy Spirit would fall mightily upon him. We further petitioned God to make his nights miserable and sleepless until he confronted the living God of the Universe and gave his heart over to Jesus.

Join us in this prayer. God will answer. He says so.

Mat 18:19 Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven.

Jim – May 8, 2009

America was founded on Biblical principles and a strong belief in Jesus Christ. See my article “Christian America”.

Not only did our forefathers build Christian beliefs into our structure, but they also sent our missionaries into the entire world to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world.

This sowing of seed is what Jesus declared to us as his parting comment and command.

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth.

Mat 28:19 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.

By these seeds God has opened the windows of Heaven on America. We have grown up as the most prosperous and influential country on Earth.

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. And test Me now with this, says Jehovah of Hosts, to see if I will not open the windows of Heaven for you, and pour out a blessing for you, until there is not enough room.

Have you ever wondered why Americans do so well and other countries do so poorly? I know I have.

Last night at our intercessory prayer meeting (we prayed for our country and the salvation of President Obama – See my article on “Obama’s Salvation”) Mark, from Guyana, Africa, revealed to us the following things:

Africa was founded on idol worship and not Christianity. So they have suffered such oppression and poorness for centuries.
When he was 13 he was the first generation of his family to accept Christ. He was saved at a revival sponsored by a Pentecostal missionary.

This has happened to many people in Guyana and it that country is more Christian than pagan. Because of this their country has turned around economically and socially. They are now a major oil producing nation and have an abundance of Gold.

The blessings of God have been poured out over them from Heaven. Just as it was over America.
Early in his life he remembers a severe drought where they had to struggle just to buy a single grain of corn to eat. The felt lucky to eat something they considered animal food.

I visited Kenya, Africa in 2005 and was amazed at the potential there to grow so many crops. Yet the people did not thrive at all. 

They were right on the equator and had ample sunshine and moisture. The ground was fertile and anything planted would grow vigorously. Yet they struggled as a people barely surviving and constantly waiting on the government to support them. 

American companies, like Dole, have gone in and planted massive pineapple plantations which thrive. But this does not benefit the native people. The money goes out to America. 

But now knowing what Mark, from Guyana, said, I now know why. America had God’s blessing on her. God’s hand has been on our shoulder as we grew from the first colony to a Union of 50 states.  

We are in great peril of loosing God’s blessing by our casting Him out of our lives. Prayer has been banned from schools. We murder unborn children. We openly accept immorality. Violent crimes are prevalent throughout the land. We worship the God of money over the true God and creator of the Universe.  

No wonder America finds itself at a crossroad in history. If we continue on the wide enticing path laid before us by Satan, we will reach ruin. But if we hold to the narrow path of Righteousness provided by Jesus Christ we will continue on as an influential and prosperous nation. 

Islamic nations want to annihilate us; wiping us totally from the face of the Earth.  

This happened to the Jewish people many times in the Old Testament. When they honored and obeyed God, they prospered. When they built alters to Baal on the high places, God handed them over to other nations for discipline. 

We as a nation need to get back to our roots founded in the Bible and belief in Jesus Christ. The remnant of faithful Christians left in America need to cry out to God for revival. God promises to heal our land.

2Ch 7:14 if My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

One of the most eye opening thing that Mark said was; as America goes, so does the rest of the world. Other nations all look up to us for direction and hope. 

Evil has crept into all other nations and brought them down spiritually and morally.

Mark prophesized that if America succumbs to Satan’s wiles, then the last vestige of righteousness and hope will be removed from the World. Can the end be fare behind?  

Jim – May 8, 2009

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things we hope for, the certainty of things we cannot see.

Expectations from God. – unseen future. Without Hope life is meaningless. Faith is the substance (foundation) of things Hoped for.

Three aspects of Hope:

2Th 2:16  May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,

Tit 2:13  as we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he has given us a new birth to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Our Hope is alive – in things not seen – not worldly.

Good moral integrous character (God’s). Blessed hoping joyous God’s hand on it. Something God has spoken into. Full of indestructible life. Without Hope you will perish.

The Foundation is God’s Word. The Hope is for the unseen spoken Word of God. It manifests His purpose in my life. I live on the Foundation but have Hope for the future.

There is no Expiration date on Hope. It is a living Hope.

1Ti 1:1  From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope,

Jesus which is our Hope. All my Hope is wrapped up in Jesus.

Heb 6:18  so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might have a strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.

Hope set before us – always in front of us.

Heb 6:19  We have this hope as an anchor for our souls, firm and secure, which reaches behind the curtain,

Hope is an anchor for my Soul. Keeps me stationary in the storms of life. In times of extreme trial we needed the anchor. Something past that moment of time to live for.

Psa 71:5  For You are my hope, O Lord God, my trust from my youth.

Jesus is my Hope.

Psa 71:14  But I will hope without ceasing, and I will add more in all Your praise.

I will continually have Hope. Keep Hoping, Keep Praising. If you have Hope you will have Praise for Christ. Quit wining and start Praising Jesus.

Hos 2:15  And I will give her vineyards to her from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

We have a door of Hope to enter through.

Jim – 12/07/2008

America was founded on Christ and Christian standards derived from the Bible. Here is some information I gleaned from some writings.

For instance:

Of the 56 signers of the “Declaration of Independence” 52 were deeply committed Christians. The other 3 believed the Bible.

Patrick Henry said:

“An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

“I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator.”

President Adams said:

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

Calvin Coolidge wrote:

“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”

The United States Congress voted this resolution:

“The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”

William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey Reader wrote:

“The Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it are derived our notions on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe. On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free institutions. From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures. From all these extracts from the Bible I make no apology.”

In the original Harvard Student Handbook, rule number 1 was:

“Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments”

James Madison wrote:

“We have staked the whole future of our new nation not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”

How can President Obama now state:

April 7, 2009 In a press conference in Turkey, President Obama said, “One of the great strengths of the United States is … we have a very large Christian population — we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

I say:

What set of values? If not from our founding forefather’s belief in the Bible, just where do these values come from?

Secular humanism comes into play here. We have grown away from our Biblical foundation to a belief (worship) in the goodness of human beings and scientific thought. Now there seems to be no need to address the “fall of man” or “the Blood of Jesus” with this new thought. We just put God on a shelf along with other oddities of little value to man in his new enlightened state.

God forgive us for our sins. We have shoved You aside, as the benevolent creator of the Universe, to believe the lies of Satan. Bring us back to the Christian nation that founding fathers set out to build. See my other article “God’s Blessing’s on America” where I discuss the outpouring of the storehouse of Heaven on America.

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. And test Me now with this, says Jehovah of Hosts, to see if I will not open the windows of Heaven for you, and pour out a blessing for you, until there is not enough room.

From Wikipedia:

Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as the basis of moral reflection and decision-making. Like other types of humanism, secular humanism is a life stance that focuses on the way human beings can lead good, happy and functional lives.

The term “secular humanism” was coined in the 20th century to make a clear distinction from “religious humanism”. A related concept is “scientific humanism”, which biologist Edward O. Wilson claimed to be “the only worldview compatible with science’s growing knowledge of the real world and the laws of nature”

Hebrews states:

Heb 12:1 Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Heb 12:2 looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

Heb 12:3 For consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your minds.

Heb 12:4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Jim – May 8, 2009

The other day I used my raspberry brambles as an example of cleaning up our spiritual lives. This writing is about another story concerning my raspberries and how they relate to our faith in God.

I grew up in central Kansas where there are vast expanses of wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Each fall these dedicate flatland farmer’s plant their seed. This involves a tremendous amount of work and money. A 10,000 acre farm takes days to till and days to plant. Fertilizer and seed can run in the $100,000 range. Yet the farmer has faith that all of this will bring in a crop enough to pay that back with enough more for living and expansion.

That in itself is quite a lesson in faith. If we had that kind of faith in the seed we plant for God, our existence would be truly blessed.

I always marveled at their patience and trust. At any one time they would have far money tied up just laying in the ground than most people make in a year. A dry year, flood, hail storm, tornado, and on and on, could wipe out that investment. Yet they calmly waited for the day of harvest before they would realize any gain from their toiling.

Now on to the story about my raspberries.

I do not think that I would make a very good farmer. I am too impatient. Have you ever planted something only to go out in a couple of days to dig around it to see if it is growing yet? I do. The farmers don’t. They put in the seed and go about other meaningful tasks knowing that the crop will appear as scheduled.

I bought three Golden Raspberry plants at the nursery one spring and planted them in the corner of my small garden plot. Every day I was there looking at them. Poking and pinching them to see if they had survived the trauma of transplanting. My faith was weak based on several other attempts at growing blueberries and nectarines and other delicacies.

It suddenly got hot and the scorching sun beat down on those puny little plants. Oh! You poor things. Will you ever grow?

Well one of them did not. What a waste. I am failing at this plant husbandry effort. Poor me!

Two of the plants held on, but only barely; such scrawny growth. What about those abundant lush golden berries I had seen on the package? Where were they?

The first season ended with a handful of berries. They were luscious in their taste; golden nectar from above. Wow! What will next year bring?

Next Spring I saw dozens of little plants springing up around the two remaining vines. Great! I will actually have a crop of berries.

I tended to these little sprouts like they were my own offspring. Tenderly watered and fertilized. Yes! They responded and soon turned into lush green plants full of golden fruit.

Next Spring. What is this? Hundreds of new green offshoots from the several dozed plants from last year. This is great – I think? What about my garden? It is being taken over. Oh! Well. There will be so many raspberries that I will indulge myself in their eating.

Ouch! These nasty little things have sharp thorns, especially when you have to wind your way through the ever expanding thicket just to get a small hand full of berries. They seemed to have lost their taste somewhat; maybe because I eat them every day.

Hey! Do you want some raspberries? Here dig up all you want. Take these also; they are coming up in the lawn and rocks now.

What I fought to make grow now grow everywhere without any care or concern from me. Actually my concern is how to maintain the large overgrown thicket. Even little rabbits have moved in to find protection from the wild outsides!

So just how is this a lesson about our Spiritual life and growth of seed’s we plant?

We plant seeds of money and witnessing into other peoples lives and into other ministries hoping for a bountiful harvest. But we fret and worry and wring our hands and hearts about the outcome.

When will the fruit come? Will it ever come? Not realizing that seed will do the only thing that it knows to do – Grow.

Once planted and left alone it will grow. The Kansas farmer would go crazy if they worried about every little grain of wheat put into a 10,000 acre field.

When allowed to grow, as my first two berries, they will start to produce on their own. First a little, then a lot. Yes, we are still involved in their care and feeding, but the God given spark of life is within them compelling them to grow.

Paul did this as he traveled about planting seed of faith into small churches. Then years later he would return to see the growth that had occurred on their own, feed by his teachings.

We need only the faith needed to let the seed go and produce what God had designed inside of it to produce. Worry and fretting about them will not speed up the process. On the contrary it may ruin the growth. My digging around the small plants could have easily killed the tender new growth.

Isaiah tells us how God’s word will not return void but produce a harvest.

Isa 55:10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and does not return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring out and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

Isa 55:11 so shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do.

John tells of the bountiful harvest:

Joh 4:34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

Joh 4:35 Do you not say, It is yet four months, and the harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white to harvest already.

Joh 4:36 And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit to life eternal, so that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

Joh 4:37 And in this is the saying true, One sows and another reaps.

Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and you have entered into their labor.

Matthew tells of the need for laborers:

Mat 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.

Mat 9:38 Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send out laborers into His harvest.

Mar 16:15 And He said to them, Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to all the creation.

Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Jim – May 3, 2009

There is a lesson to be learned from the humble little raspberry.

I planted a couple of raspberry plants that eventually turned my 30 x 15 foot garden plot into a bramble. I think there were even some little rabbits living there.

This spring we finally decided to clean up the garden area by removing the mass of vines. They were full of sharp thorns and bramble like, coming from everywhere. When we first started to pull them out it seemed to be a daunting task. Oh! Where to start, there are so many; all tangled up.

So one by one we pulled them out and placed them in trash bags. Little by little we progressed forward. Soon we were half way done. Wow! There were a lot but the task was less ponderous now.

We’re done! Doesn’t the garden look so much nicer now. We have room to plant so many different things in it.

BUT Wait! What is this over here in this corner? And wait! Here are some more! Little bitty raspberry plants coming up from the roots. Lot’s of them. There are hundreds of them!

We couldn’t see them before; now they stood out like sore spots before our eyes. So I reached down and gave one a tug. Wow! It came right out; not like the larger stalks which had to be wrestled out of the ground.

So just a little more work and the garden is free of the menacing raspberry. I expect to find a few more stragglers popping up but Not to worry; tug and they will be gone.

So just what does this strange story about the raspberry brambles have to do with anything in my Spiritual walk with Christ?

As we progress with our walk with the Lord things are brought to mind that hinder our complete growth into the person He designed us to be.

The raspberry bramble dominating the garden.

When first confronted by this Spiritual blockage in our walk it can seem dauntingly impossible to handle.

The mass of tangled vines choking each other out.

With God’s help through prayer, meditation, reading His Word, or talking with trusted Christians the task begins to seem much easier to accomplish.

Pulling out just one plant at a time relentlessly until victory becomes evident.

Soon the stronghold upon our lives has been put under the Blood of Jesus and conquered by His love.

The garden is now cleaned out.

Now God reveals other much smaller things that have also taken root in our flesh which need attention. They were previously hidden but now exposed to the pure light of His love.

Look at all the itty bitty plants.

Now our task is easier as we draw closer to God and He draws closer to us. We are becoming more like Him each day. More clean up is needed but our vision is more acute and sharp.

Tug and out they come.

Now we know what to look for and are better prepared to eliminate them from our walk with Christ.

We know there will be more pop up but they soon will be eradicated.

Our continued walk with the Lord will take us higher and higher with Him.

Finally – Put on the whole armor of God . . . 

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world’s rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13  Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14  Therefore stand, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

Eph 6:15  and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Eph 6:16  Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,

Eph 6:18  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.