Tuesday, December 31, 2013

IRONY AS CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENTISTS GROUNDED IN ANTARCTIC

LESSONS LEARNED?
UPDATE: NO LESSONS LEARNED!!:
What happened down in Antarctic with the stranded Australian ship would be a comedy of erratic stupidity, were it not so tragic - for the fools involved and those who follow their trumped up "climate change" hoax. Why are they fools...well, here is what God says about many like them in Romans 1: 20b-23 "So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

These people's friends in the elite circles like media, politics and academia can cover up their ungodly ideas, which is costing people their livelihoods in coal country while driving up electric utility bills for real working people, but none of them seems to have learned their lesson from this misadventure. This trip has caused a Chinese icebreaker to get stuck in the ice; cost major expense in rescue helicopter, fuel and manpower and now to compound the folly - they want to plant trees!

Yes - trees! To make up for their folly, which one writer calls "the Ship of fools", these Australian geniuses plan to plant up to 5000 kauri trees to offset their "carbon footprint" caused by the massive attempt to rescue their lives from what they thought was a melting ice cap in the South Pole! Up to news time - no location for the planting of these trees...since no tree can survive in the South Pole!  This reminds of what the Good Book says in Psalm 2:4 about the leaders and rulers of this earth "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision!" (updated Jan 7, 2014)

CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX SHIP RUNS INTO GOD'S CREATION
21"You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great! 22"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle?...Job 38:21-23 (As God questions Job as to "Where were YOU when I created all of this, tell me...." and He asks the same of the world today....and smart-aleck, knowing everything-while knowing absolutely nothing world)


As the world and its internal combustion engines prepare to rescue a group of so-called "Climate Change research" scientists, what are we to make of this....apart from God having a sense of humor? By the way, these "scientists" are not hurting one bit, they were shown on Network TV yucking it up, having big meals and seminars INSIDE the ship, while others risk their lives to rescue them with fossil fuel-powered Icebreaker ships. 

In a year, with one of yet another cold winter, these men and women of the world have not seemed to learn the lesson of those who have challenged God. Within a day or so, they will be rescued by helicopter but will they learn the lessons of the past five or so years? In early March 2009, a band of global warming activists stormed Washington DC to have, what they billed as, the biggest ever "Civil Disobedience" sit in at Congress for "Climate Change". They did not count on the real Climate Changer (Jesus Christ the Creator) sending the biggest snow storm that winter, which shut down all of Washington DC!

Almost 4 years to that same date (in March 2013), a "Global Warming" hearing was cancelled in Congress....and the one in 2010....and the one in 2007....due to, you guessed it - snow! There are numerous other examples, but the funniest one involved the 193 leaders of this secular world who showed up to the biggest Global Warming Summit in Copenhagen in years! This happened in December 2009. A sizable minority of world leaders showed up without proper clothing for winter, expecting...well...and believing their own malarkey about "warming"! Well, four inches of snow was dumped on them immediately as their conference begun and panic ensued. It would have been hilarious, were their unbelief not so sad and in the long run, horrifying for them.

Here is how the December 17 2009 Drudge Report played it, tongue firmly planted in cheek:

Before these scientists left for what they thought was disappearing ice in Antarctica, they were extremely full of themselves as to what they would find down at the South Pole, as they set out to document "climate change". Here is an excerpt from Australian TV (ABC), quoted by NEWSBUSTERS.ORG:
Australian Broadcasting Company presented the mission on its show “Lateline” on November 25: "They explicitly described the mission as documenting “ominous signs” of climate change:  
MARGOT O'NEILL, REPORTER: Here in hot, dusty Queensland, scientist Chris Turney is training for the icy desolation of Antarctica. He and his team must learn how to drive this all-terrain vehicle, because if sea ice collapses under them, this vehicle will float. [!]

CHRIS TURNEY, CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH CENTRE, UNSW: So we've got to cross this sea ice of 60 kilometres to try to get into the windiest place in the world....

MARGOT O’NEILL: The research stakes are high. Antarctica is one of the great engines driving the world’s oceans, winds and weather, especially in Australia. But there’s ominous signs of climate change." (!!!)
As they discovered when their "SS Titanic-ClimateChange Hoax" got stuck on Christmas Day (the day we celebrate the Creator's birth), there was not a thin film but 10 solid feet deep of ice!
Naturally, we pray that no harm will come to the unfortunate souls stuck there, but we do hope that they will use this time of solitude to reflect on how they got into this predicament and realize that no man created this planet, therefore, no man can mess with or destroy it. They need to realize that there is a higher purpose for every person alive and all we need to do is look up and ask.....if we are willing. 
Will this happen? God alone, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, knows!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

NOT SOME FANCY WORLD LEADER!

PART ONE - THE MODEL OF THE CHIEF SHEPHERD

Whenever a world leader gets ready to travel, the protocols and advance teams  are a thing to behold.  For instance Queen of England travels with massive luggage, four different outfits per day; her press/publicity people; doctors; nurses; special dietary counsel  and  a whole lot more!

Whenever a modern US president travels either to a foreign trip or a fundraiser in Hollywood, the modus operandi is the same – forty limousines; fighter jets; C-130 transport planes; support staff etc etc. Both of these two highest profile world leaders’ travel costs their countries run sometimes into the 10’s of millions of dollars, depending on the length and distance of the travel.

When the Creator of all of this; the Creator of Life; the Creator of the Universe and galaxies outside of our own; the Ancient of Eternal Days….when He decided to come to the earth; coming off the Throne of Heaven, He had no sanitized hospital room; no heated blanket and no doctor or midlife to deliver Him. 


The real Commander in Chief of the Universe, the Lord of Hosts and Heaven’s Armies which cannot be defeated was not born into a religious family; a wealthy family or a famous family. The King of Heaven was not even revealed to the religious leaders of Jerusalem but rejects and outcasts whom those self-righteous priests did not even allow to come into the House of the Lord (the Temple). 


Jesus Christ, the Owner of All those Titles and He Who will overrule and judge kings, presidents, chief justices and all mankind with an iron rod, revealed Himself to create a new paradigm! This paradigm involved outcasts, the Shepherds of Bethlehem becoming under-shepherds to the Chief Shepherd!


This could only make sense in the Awesome Mind of God! Why the Shepherds and not the Religious Temple trained Priest? Well, go back to Isaiah 53:  …”All we like sheep have gone astray”.  As smart as we think we are, we are dumb, single minded (with our heads down, instead of looking up) sheep in need of a shepherd. As we see from my previous post on the Shepherds of Bethlehem, these men were a different breed. 

The characteristics of a Judean shepherd were not very flattering.  The corrupt priests in the Temple in Jerusalem actually considered these shepherds dishonest; untrustworthy; unclean and just plain disgusting (and a lot, not all, were not nice people). They had to be kept out of the city, even though they provided all the lambs for the Temple Sacrifice, because of uncleanliness, under the Law of Moses. 


The Lord looked at these shepherds from the Gospels and saw people like you and I – unclean (yes) but with potential. These hardworking shepherds had to be on point 24/7/365. 


Sheep did not take Sunday morning off for coffee and donuts before singing three and out hymns, with an okay sermon and two pastoral prayers. Sheep were constantly getting stuck in the brush; falling down into creeks; getting attacked by wolves; or even stolen from their herds by renegades or robbers. If you look at the description of what these hard-working men had to do, you can almost say things are not much different in the church today!

These were  and are the qualities Jesus, One Third of the Triune God, looks at when choosing an under-shepherd to represent Him - The Chief Shepherd. These are the qualities of a man (and pastors are supposed to be men, in order to obey the Scriptures) who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and get in the trenches to help rescue the flock. In a sense these are the qualities of a man who is supposed to look like the King of All Eternity Who lowered Himself to be born in a dirty cold cave over 2000 years ago.

So what happened....at least in the West, where the Gospel was sent out to first, via Paul, Peter and John? How did the still in force concept of the "Poimenes" of Bethlehem (Shepherd-Pastor) become more celebrity... more CEO of a church... more manager of an uninspiring Sunday morning service which is meeting almost no one's Spiritual needs....more of an insulated form of royalty, not much different from those same priests which the Lord wanted nothing to do with on that cold Shepherd's field.

What happened to cause Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ's own under-shepherds to be viewed in a favorable light by less and less people each year?
NEXT: WHY ONLY 47% OF AMERICANS TRUST THE CLERGY/PASTORATE

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:13-14)

This direct message from heaven was for all mankind from all over the earth, for ALL time.  The fact that the Good News of Christ's descent to earth to bring Salvation (since the name "Jesus" means "He will save the people from their sins") has reverberated worldwide ever since we began celebrating His birthdate as December 25! It is confirmation of John 3:16, where our Great God in Heaven SO loved us (the world) that He gave His only begotten Son. 


This gift is celebrated many different ways in almost all countries. Each culture has its own rich tradition. I have lived in both first and third world countries and love the Flavor of Christmas with both the Irving Berlin "White Christmas" setting as well as the Feliz Navidad Caribbean/hispanic and others I've witness both here in North America and elsewhere.

There are different stories of Christmas in every country. The traditional Christmas food in each land is amazing! From the black rum cake and punch de creme of the West Indies to the Shepherd's Pie of Great Britain to the pastries of Europe and the Christmas cookies of North America....the assortment is mind-boggling! 

So what about music? Well,the wide range of Christmas music is phenomenal, as wekkm and so rich! So without further ado, here is a sample of Christmas music from around the Globe, on Christmas Day:

THIS ONE COVERS ALL CULTURES IN ONE FELL SWOOP
FROM AFRICAN TO AUSTRALIAN TO AMERICAN: 




HAWAII:

Afrikaans
"Geseënde Kersfees en ‘n Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar"
Arabic
"I'd Miilad Said Oua Sana Saida"
Argentine
"Felices Pasquas Y felices ano Nuevo"
Armenian
"Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand"
Basque
Eguberri on
Bohemian
"Vesele Vanoce"
Breton
"Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat"
Bulgarian
"Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo"
Chinese
[Mandarin]
"Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan"

SPANISH LANGUAGE:

IRELAND:

GERMANY (WORLD WAR 1):
[Catonese]
"Saint Dan Fai Lok"
Cornish
"Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth"
Croatian
"Sretan Bozic i Nova Godina"
(Merry Christmas & Happy New Year)
Czech
"Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok"
Danish
"Glædelig Jul"
Dutch
"Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar"
Inupiaq Eskimo
(Kotzebue area in NW Alaska)
"Quvianagli Anaiyyuniqpaliqsi suli Nakuuluni Ukiutqiutiqsi"
(Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)
English
"Merry Christmas"
Estonian
"Haid joule ja head uut aastat"
Farsi
"Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad"
Filipino
"Maligayang Pasko"

ITALIAN (TRADITIONAL):

ITALIAN (FUNNY):

FRANCE:
Finnish
"Hyvaa joulua"
French
"Joyeux Noël"
German
"Froehliche Weihnachten"
Greek
"Kala Christouyenna"
Hawaiian
"Mele Kalikimaka"
Hebrew
"Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova"
Hindi
"Shub Naya Baras"
Hungarian
"Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket"
Icelandic
"Gledileg Jol"
Indonesian
"Selamat Hari Natal"
Iraqi
"Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah"

JAMAICAN:

TRINIDAD:

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:




Irish
"Nollaig Shona Dhuit"
Italian
"Buone Feste Natalizie"
Japanese
"Shinnen omedeto, kurisumasu omedeto."
The first part is translated Happy New Year.
"Kurisumasu omedeto" means Merry Christmas.
Korean
"Sung Tan Chuk Ha"
Latvian
"Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu"
Lithuanian
"Linksmu Kaledu"

Navajo
"Merry Keshmish"
Norwegian
"God Jul"
Pennsylvania German
"En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr"
Polish
"Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia"
Portuguese
"Feliz Natal" "Boas Festas"(Good Holidays.)
Romanian
"Craciun fericit"
(Merry Christmas)

Russian
"Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva s Novim Godom"
Serbian
"Hristos se rodi"
Slovakian
"Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce"
Samoan
"La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou"
Scots Gaelic
"Nollaig chridheil huibh"
Serb-Croatian
"Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina"
Slovak
"Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok"
Slovene
"Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto"
Spanish
"Feliz Navidad"
Swedish
"God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År"
Tahitian
Merry Chrismas:
" Ia orana te Noera"
Thai
"Sawadee Pee Mai"
Turkish
"Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun"
Vietnamese
"Chuc Mung Giang Sinh"
Welsh
"Nadolig Llawen"
Yugoslavian
"Cestitamo Bozic"
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL THE WORLD!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

6TH ANNUAL NATIVITY SCENE LAUNCH - BEST EVER!



On Tuesday December 3, 2013, the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee launched our 6th Annual placing of the beautifully arranged marble representation of the Holy Family. What is now an annual tradition, was powerfully gifted to the community in song, word, praise and prayer. We had one of our biggest crowds in years as the Springfield First Baptist Church Praise Team, led by Music Pastor Brian Morgan filled the Illinois State Capitol Rotunda with the heavenly sounds of hymnal Christmas carols.

Bernie Lutchman, SNSC member and president of Business Men In Christ Springfield/Decatur opened up the proceedings with a reading from Micah 5:2-6 and prayer and was followed by Springfield Archdiocese Bishop Thomas Paprocki; Pastors Charlie Carver (South Tower Community Church in Dawson), Brian Williams (Broken Chains Church) and our SNSC Legal Counsel Tom Brejcha. Springfield pro-life activist Beth Rogers also spoke. Tom Brejcha is the lead counsel of the Thomas More Society of Chicago, which has defended the constitutional rights of many citizens and continues to do so! His message gave the legal authority, under both the US and the Illinois state constitutions for a PRIVATE religious observance to be allowed in the People's House - The Illinois State Capitol itself. We are the first state to allow a Nativity Scene on government property. The states of Mississippi and Florida (this year) have followed. Rhode Island's governor has finally allowed a "Christmas" tree inside their capitol, after a big controversy there last year

Pastors Charlie and Williams gave the gospel of Christ and the salvation message loud and clear. Bishop Paprocki spoke eloquently, as he always does, on Religious Liberty and charity. But a new feature this year was the addition of my good friend United States Emergency Corps Chaplain Steve Holden, who had just returned from a long period of ministering to the victims of the tornade-devastated Washington, Il. Chaplain Steve started this national First Responder Chaplain Corps right after 9/11 and heads up "Wreaths Across America" which lays Christmas wreaths at ALL National Cemeteries around Christmas team, to honor those who have defended freedom. We had our own Veteran Memorial ceremony led by Chaplain and several veterans in the audience as well as our own committee member himself - Tom Brejcha!

The program is already in motion for the 7th Annual launch and our music is already set as several in attendance requested First Baptist Church Praise Team returns in 2014! Merry Christmas to one and all and thank you for participating with us, praying for us and for praising Jesus forever and ever! Amen. 
The Springfield Nativity Scene is the brainchild of the late Dan and Julie Zanoza. Julie is our Master of Ceremonies and did a fabulous job this year! 
US EMERGENCY CHAPLAIN CORPS FOUNDER STEVE HOLDEN 
CHAPLAIN STEVE AND I IN FRONT OF THE VETERANS MEMORIAL WITH WREATH

MASTER OF CEREMONIES JULIE ZANOZA (LEFT) WITH FIRST BAPTIST PRAISE TEAM IN BACKGROUND

Sunday, December 15, 2013

MAKING IT RIGHT, PART 3

We have all gone to these amazing Classic Car shows each summer or Fall to marvel at these ancient, beat up or rusted out old wrecks restored to seemingly better than original condition. To the aficionados and collectors, this is not just a hobby but a passion...even an obsession which most times exceeds these people's passion for God Himself.

Job was not a modern day Classic car collector but he WAS a man for whom God Himself had a tremendous amount of esteem. We see the growth and maturity of a man who yes, had definitely more faith in God, than those around him, including his wife. But when the time came for testing, he did what a lot of us would do today - rationalize and question. 

As we examined in the previous two segments of this short series on Job,  The Lord Himself took the occasion of Job and his friends' insidious reasoning to, basically, explain God to them and ALL mankind specifically. THEN the Lord anointed Job with a new mission - Prayer Warrior! Yes, He did! 

Read from Chapter 42: "7 And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

Three times God used the words "My servant Job". When God called His top generals all through Scripture, He did so twice (Moses, Moses....Samuel, Samuel....). When He says something three times, He is deadly serious and one had better pay attention!

Now the record does not go into any detail or mention of Job actually praying. However, we know, in the Spirit, that he did! God does not call a man "My servant" three times and then predict that His "servant" WILL do something in order for Him to forgive those three bloviating friends who escaped punishment because of God Himself granting Grace....if He did not mean it!

Two things here - Job obviously threw himself headlong into maturing his new-found relationship with the Almighty, Whom he understood fully for the first time and secondly, the mercy of God extends to us even when we deserve nothing but death. That mercy is Grace powered and only available by prayer and the sacrifice of self. The sacrifice of self is a repentant heart and a love for the Lord above all else.

Hence the result of all of this is - RESTORATION. The end of the actual first book of the Bible (in Chronological time) says (from Job Chapter 42): "12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 

14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days".

Are you in need of  Restoration? Is your internal spiritual GPS as completed wrong in its coordinates as those three friends of Job, who thought they spoke for the God Who disciplined their folly? Or, are you like Job, with some Faith, who sought Truth and found a calling? If the answer is both - a category into which most of all fell into, at some point in our lives - then there is so much Hope. All we need to do is go to Job 42:1-6 and acknowledge our error and make it right, with the Great God of Heaven.

The key thing to remember in "making it right" - as Job set out to do in this entire process, is that God is still in the Restoration business. He can take our entire broken down wills, spirits, souls and bodies and make something new and beautiful that can shine just like those exquisite priceless classic cars, which are becoming just as rare now, just as true followers of Christ are.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come....2 Corinthians 5:17 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

MAKING IT RIGHT, PART 2

JOB RELENTS AND RESPONDS
The LORD had had enough of Job’s complaining and putting words in His own Mouth, which He never said or thought! The LORD had had enough of Job’s three friends – Zophar, Eliphaz and the “shortest man in the world” – Bildad the Shuhite!  These three men were like modern day theologians. They were putting out PhD dissertation after PhD dissertation which belong more in Princeton and Yale, than in the Holy Halls of the Heavenly Tabernacle.(The body of the majority of these men's errors can be found in the lengthy speeches of Job Chapters 4-37).

Therefore, in Job Chapters 38-41, the LORD Himself showed up to set the record straight. In a series of endless rapid fire questions, the LORD Himself revealed HOW HE CREATED THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING IN IT! (As an aside, the Book of Genesis states the facts of Creation. Job Chapters 38-41 give the “how”. WATCH THE PLUMBLINE DISCUSSION ON CREATION BY CLICKING HERE).

GOD ANSWERS JOB
Here are a few of those piercing questions, which no Charles Darwin; no Richard Dawkins or Stephen Hawkings will ever answer or have a chance to have answered:
Job 38
1 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
for I will question you, then you answer me!
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THESE CHAPTERS DIRECTLY FROMTHE BIBLE:

When the Lord is through with the incredible defense of His Power and Might, what follows next is a wonderful example of what a truly chastened, humble and obedient man (or woman) of God should be. Such a son or daughter of God could be found in Job's Prayer of Repentance that was introduced in Part 1. This prayer has to be looked at more closely as God has put every word of every phrase of every verse of Scripture for our instruction and growth, that the man or woman of God can apply to our own specific situation, when necessary. So in light of this fact, as promised, let us examine Job’s final prayer – his prayer of Repentance, which led the Lord to restore Job 100 times (or more) better than he was before this trial of his Faith.

Job 42: 1-6 (WEB):
1 Then Job answered Yahweh,
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know.
4 You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you.
6 Therefore I abhor myself,and repent in dust and ashes.”
(My Exposition)
     Verse 1: In the literal Face of a barrage of legitimate questions from the Master he presumed to speak for, Job had no choice! He could not answer a question with another question. The questions which God asked Job were so full and completely impossible to answer, that his first response to his “deposition” was to “brace himself like a man”. Job and his friends thought themselves “man enough” to speak for God, the Almighty was going to deal with them accordingly. This is not unusual and is very typical of a Graceful God Who loves mightily.  Here is what He has told unbelievers “come let us reason together AS MEN.  Though your sins are scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”. God does not have to do this and suffer the sins of men.  However, He desires a relationship with us, of His own Accord. 

Verse 2:  Here, God is giving Job a chance to “man up”! Except – Job cannot! He is wise enough to know the Power and Might and more importantly – the Sovereignty of God! The secular meaning of the word “Sovereign” is “above or superior to all others; chief; greatest; supreme in power, rank, or authority or holding the position of ruler; royal; reigning….independent of all others” (http://www.yourdictionary.com/sovereign) . In Biblical terms, the Sovereignty of God means that, as the ruler of the Universe, has the right to do whatever He wants. Further, he is in complete control over everything that happens (http://christianity.about.com/od/glossary/a/Sovereignty.htm

 For the first time Job fully comprehends the Sovereignty of God. He knows now that no mere mortal or thing can restrain or cause God to do anything that He does not plan on doing.  Men can shake their fists at God and demand an explanation for this or that purpose. However the Lord does NOT owe us any answer, favor or otherwise. Everything we receive in this life is a free gift (or simply put - GRACE - God's Riches At Christ's Expense). If anything, we deserve the opposite - judgment - rather than all the goodness we get in life. 

Verse 3: Job's eyes have been opened to the fact of his puny standing in the world! Before this, he really had no clue of the Power and Presence of God even though his faith was singularly focused on Him! Now Job can see with his spiritual heart as well, for the first time, the Plan of God as well, and it is just blowing him completely away! This is a good thing for us to grasp as well. In our own way, the mankind - especially the elite and the educated - really think they know more about God, this planet and all therein.  Here is where we get hoaxes like Global Warming, Climate Change, Evolution and more.  All of this is simply unbelief and rebellion....and plain ignorance. Job has more sense than the 10 Ivy League and Oxford Universities faculty put together in one handful of sackcloth and ashes than the entire group of those unbelievers, who are really not much different than Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. 

Verses 4 and 5: Job just came to a realization that he has just had a fresh encounter with God! The details which the Creator blistered him with sent him to his knees, literally and metaphorically. The discipline he received from this dressing down is something which I have received from The Lord myself at two different times. I can tell you now friends, He is not to be trifled with.  

In chronological terms, Job is actually the first book of the Bible as Job is estimated to have lived closer to or just before the time of Abraham (circa 2000 BC). Genesis was written by the LORD YaHWeH through Moses around 1500 BC. The Faith which God mentioned about His servant Job in Chapter 1 is even more amazing given this timeline! Job's faith was obviously real and he knew ABOUT and believe in God. 

He therefore had such complete faith and trust in God that he said all the things I mentioned in Part 1 - refusing to blaspheme God, when all the bad stuff started happening. But now, his spiritual eyes were opened to the sheer majesty, power and AWE of the Almighty and he is a transformed man! Remember, he is still in sackcloth and staph infections! But look at the energy and passion in his voice in these verses (4 and 5) You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. 

Job now knows the true peace, joy and contentment and Kingdom Authority that comes with a REAL relationship with the Lord! The Favor of God rested on Job...and now, the true Power and Salvation of the King is affirmed, because of verse 6! 

Verse 6: Job discovered over 2000 years before Paul that Romans 3:23 applies to ALL men of ALL time (Romans 3:23 - "all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God). Job gives us the Classic illustration of Repentance here: "Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 

This is the key - the first step to Restoration through Repentance is to hate your sin so much, that it will sicken you to the core, until you get rid of it...except, you and I cannot - Jesus has to wash them away!  To crown this earliest example of Repentance and making it right in Biblical History and the history of Mankind - Job WAS speaking with Jesus - that is Who YaHWeH is! 


Part 3 (The Conclusion) - JOB, THE PRAYER WARRIOR, RESTORED!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

MAKING IT RIGHT, Part 1


JOB'S PRAYER OF REPENTANCE
From the beginning of time, people have thought, said, taught and proclaimed some of the most incorrect and even vile things about God.  All of this comes from one place – the father of lies. This created being told the first lie ever recorded in Genesis 3:4 (“surely you will not die”) and it has been downhill since.

There is the lie of Evolution and the Big Bang – “first there was nothing, and then a big bang happened”!! (huh??) There is the lie of Universalism, where God is whatever or whomever you proclaim him to be. There is lie after lie after lie. 

Some of them come from seminary trained pastors and preachers, who should know better. But they consider themselves and their earthly “ministries” so supremely important (mostly to their own financial well-being) that are willing to knowingly sacrifice the Eternal Abode and Rewards for the temporal riches of this world.

Job was NOT such a man. Job stood strong in his Faith in Yahweh (I am Who I am, or Jehovah, YHWH) from the beginning. Job said in Job 1:22 He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”

When his wife told him to curse God and die after all the tragedy and tribulation struck his life, Job refused. He said in Job 2:10 “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Then the Bible says “Job did not sin with this lips.”

Job loved God so much he said in Chapter 13:15 “Though He slays me, I will trust in Him”. Then he gave us one of the most famous verses of Scripture here ….and one which has even become a popular song “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, He will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25)

My Redeemer Lives! Nicole C. Mullen wrote a song on this same verse! Can you and I say these things in light of even one tenth of what Job experienced? Can we even stand in the face of a loved one (his wife) egging him on to act just like everybody else in this world? Can we? Yes, we can – if we have a repentant heart.

Repentance is a word you never hear in churches anymore for many reasons. The main reason is that in order to use the word “repentance”, it means the person actually has something –sin- of which to repent, period!

Job had his uninformed friends, whose diatribes, he had to listen to for most of the book of Job. His friends’ “advice” are not too unlike the pop psychology and self-help books or curricula you find in the front of today’s Christian bookstores!  Job was like the rest of us. He fell into the trap of developing his own concept of his awful situation and therein lay his error.

We too fall into wrong thinking about ourselves and our positional, temporal condition before God even when we know better. We then proceed to ascribe all kinds of attributes about the Great God of Heaven without true knowledge of the Holy. It is perfectly sound to have legitimate questions for the Creator and the Holy Spirit (if we are saved) will interpret and reveal the answers, in time. It is another thing to start proclaiming, writing, making YouTube videos based on things we will be held accountable for on Judgment Day, if they are not made right here on earth.

After almost three dozen chapters of this error, God did not answer Job as Job expected. Instead, God – YahWeh (or Jesus) Who spoke to Moses at the Bush and was not speaking to Job- came back with a series of the greatest questions ever. We will examine those questions next time.
 
There was no way Job could answer any of those questions.  He had no clue and no standing in the Ways of YahWeh. Still, he did have standing and favor before Him, in righteousness. Once Job realized that he was completely wrong, even in his pain and tribulation, he prayed one of the most significant prayers in the Bible.

As you and I look at this prayer, place yourself in it because we carry the same sin, in one form or another. Then repent and ask forgiveness from the Lord. Then watch how He uses you and I to bless and pray for someone else!

JOB’S PRAYER OF REPENTANCE (JOB 42:1-6 WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE)
Then Job answered Yahweh, 
“I know that You can do all things,
and that no purpose of Yours can be restrained.
You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
therefore I have uttered that which I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know.
You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”


In Part 2 of this post, we will go deeper into this prayer and see what Job meant by verse 2, when he said “I know that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be restrained”.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

HISTORY OF WORSHIP MUSIC - FROM CREATION (ONGOING SERIES)

FROM THE PLUMBLINE TV SHOW:
Psalm 95:1 - O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Right now, this very minute and from eternity past, we know there is an ONGOING worship service around the Throne of God. Here is the proof: "And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:7-11, ESV)
We are exhorted to encourage and enlighten each other "in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Colossians 3:16) as modern day believers. But where did all of this start? Well, God Himself told Job where it started! Here in Job 38:4-7:  

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
    and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Here is a brief history of Worship music from there until present times. It is part of an occasional look at the great Hymns and music of the Faith of those of us who love Jesus Christ and believe in Him.