Hi folks, I ask each of you to please read very carefully all of the contents. Especially when you are at the "Connecting the Dots" section to read it very carefully.
I also learned that before 2009, the central governing structure of the EU will appoint, not vote in, the permanent leader for all of the EU. Oh, folks, the time that Jesus spoke of in the Gospels to the disciples about recognizing when the End is near, seems to be among us.
Please, please keep watching, praying and sharing the Gospel of Christ with any and all who will hear. We all need to be about our Father's business.
In His Service,
Patty
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Washington forbids Israeli anti-missile offensive in Gaza, wants issue determined by special US military delegation - not IDF
May 13, 2007, 2:24 PM (GMT+02:00)
Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, US Palestinian security coordinator
Therefore, there was not much point in the prime minister calling the national security cabinet into special session Sunday to decide on military action against ongoing Qassam missile attacks from Gaza and the Hamas war build-up.
The chief of staff and heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad and national security council were present. Some ministers echoed popular demands for an expanded military incursion into the Gaza Strip to put an end to the daily missile attacks against Ashkelon and Sderot, and destroy the war infrastructure Hamas is building up on Israel's southwestern border.
Prime minister Ehud Olmert, FM Tzipi Livni and defense minister Amir Peretz talked them down.
On the recommendation of Lt. Gen. Keith G. Dayton, US security coordinator, instructions from Washington reached Jerusalem last week, according to DEBKAfile's sources in the US capital, forbidding the launch of a ground offensive or any other major military operation in Gaza.
To hold the Israeli government to this directive, the Bush administration will be sending an military delegation to Israel this week, to survey the damage caused by the Palestinian missiles and draw up guidelines for dealing with them.
Olmert's assent to the US government determining what form the IDF's response to the Palestinian missile blitz from Gaza should take has left Israel's security and military establishments aghast. They are furious at being summoned to a phony debate in the cabinet Sunday, purportedly for a hearing at long last of their plans to quell the threats building up from Gaza.
DEBKAfile's military sources report their plans is based essentially on in-and-out incursions for the pursuit of terrorists and missile-launchers, the destruction of war materiel and infrastructure, and targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders.
____________________________________________________________________Under bright skies, Jordan's Abdullah's calls off flight to Ramallah Sunday claiming bad weather. He had scheduled talks with Mahmoud Abbas on new plan, first revealed Friday in DEBKAfile Exclusive
The plan to link Jordan and West Bank was presented to Israel and Palestinians last week by a high-ranking Jordanian emissary, according to our Middle East sources. Amman proposed the new state framework to be established before the rise of an independent Palestinian state.
Amman is not thinking in terms of confederation or the West Bank's reversion to annexed Hashemite territory, the status it held before Jordan's 1967 war defeat.
Former Jordanian prime minister Abdul Salem Majali, who led the negotiations which culminated in the 1994 peace accord with Israel, presented the outline to Israeli and Palestinian leaders. It also calls for Jordanians to be part of the Palestinian team holding final-status negotiations with Israel.
Amman is acting out of concern for the shaky Palestinian Authority, but DEBKAfile notes that the framework could draw Israeli into backdoor recognition of Hamas's role in Palestinian government.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not in favor of these links. Cairo suspects that if the arrangement works on the West Bank, the Jordanians will want to scoop up the Gaza Strip too. Riyadh is historically opposed to any enhancement of the Hashemite throne, a former rival.
Olmert, who meets the king Tuesday at a gathering of peace nobelists in Petra, assigned Kadima member of the Knesset foreign affairs committee Othniel Schneller to discuss the initiative with Majali. The emissary then presented it in broad lines to a number of Israeli politicians - from the left-wing Meretz leader Yossi Beilin to the right-wing minister Avigdor Lieberman.
The king, he said, had not yet signed off onto the project whose exact shape has yet to be determined. It was gaining support among the heads of Jordan's security services as a strategy for fortifying the kingdom against the shocks of the US troop withdrawal from Iraq, which would leave the kingdom exposed on two fronts: Iraq, where Amman expects the US military to start pulling out in late summer, and the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority is on its last legs. Its breakdown would engulf the territory in the sort of chaos and violence which has swept the Gaza Strip.
DEBKAfile's military sources disclose exclusively that the kingdom has set in train military and securing preparations for the coming upheavals. King Abdullah is convinced that resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict is more urgent than ever.
The Jordanian initiative if finalized would kick off, according to Majali, with Jordanian-Palestinian talks for two objectives:
1. To delineate the relationship and define the political and security links between Jordan and the West Bank.
2. To forge a Jordanian-Palestinian consensus on the demands put to Israel in negotiations for a permanent solution of the conflict.
Sources close to Israeli security circles doubt the tottering Palestinian Authority will survive long enough to see the final shape of the Jordanian plan. Amman will then have to choose another Palestinian partner, an alternative to Abbas.
____________________________________________________________________Cheney Lines up Middle East Arab Allies for US Iraq Pull-out and Possible Iran Attack
DEBKAfile Special Report
US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Riyadh Sat. May 12, with a full caseload for his talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz . He is seeking coordination with the Saudis in good time for the approaching winding-down of US military forces in Iraq. Cheney will also clinch the Bush administration's offer to double the Saudi air force in size, boosting its capability for contending with Iranian air might and the Revolutionary Guards' naval and marine strength.
The USS offer of advanced warplanes was first revealed by DEBKAfile when it was presented in Riyadh by visiting US defense secretary Robert Gates last month.
The vice president's regional presence from Wednesday, May 8, set up a whirlwind of activity. In Baghdad, he had a tough message for Iraqi leaders that time was running out and the country's security crisis had reached a critical point.
"We've got to get this work done. It's game time. ... Everybody's got to sit down, raise their game, redouble their efforts," he is quoted as saying.
He then flew to Abu Dhabi for talks with the deputy chief of UAR armed forces, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahayan.
Friday, aboard the USS John Stennis, one of two US air carrier strike groups deployed in Gulf waters, the vice president pledged the US would "stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region."
This statement was not taken in the Gulf as a military threat, but rather a message that Washington is not looking for a military showdown with Iran, at this sensitive juncture ahead of a US troop withdrawal from Iraq, but rather bidding for strategic understandings to hold in check Iran's nuclear weapons plans, on the lines of the accommodation with North Korea, while conditionally allowing enrichment of uranium to go forward.
In the last two weeks, Washington has marginally trimmed down the US buildup opposite Iran's shores. Shortly before Cheney arrived, the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike group reached the Gulf with 6,000 men - not to augment the US naval presence, but to relieve the USS Boxer Strike group which is returning to base.
While no Bush administration official has publicly admitted to a timeline for the US pull-out from Iraq - and has in fact fought one tooth and nail through Congress - DEBKAfile's sources in Washington, the Gulf and Baghdad report that Cheney is bringing the news to the Middle East rulers that Washington will make its decision in the second half of August and an evacuation will begin shortly thereafter.
In parallel with preparations for a partial US exit from Iraq, DEBKAfile discloses that Washington and Iran will embark on negotiations, which could lead to the Bush administration accepting parts of Tehran's civilian nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment in agreed quantities.
In the meantime, as part of US preparations for this event - and a possible Iranian threat - American military strength in the Gulf is regrouping, while Saudi forces are being buttressed.
The coming weeks may, therefore, see President George W. Bush backing down on two of his most stubbornly-held foreign policy issues: a timeline for US forces to depart Iraq and uranium enrichment by the Islamic Republic.
Israel, which will be vitally affected in the years to come by these sweeping regional changes, happens to be ruled by a leadership too crippled by survival tactics to look ahead and prepare.
Its Arab neighbors are in contrast running ahead, with the Saudis and Jordanians already on the move in April. (Jordan's Abdullah has launched a new diplomatic initiative for the West Bank, disclosed in a separate report in this page)
April 1, the Saudi monarch met Adm. William J. Fallon, US Central Command chief. April 16, he received defense secretary Gates and, two days later, April 18, he held a long conversation with the US state department Iraq coordinator, David Satterfield.
These talks led to a decision to make the Saudi air force the biggest in the Middle East, on a par with Israel's air might, by an infusion of sophisticated aircraft equipped with the most advanced avionics, electronic warfare instruments and missiles.
In a war contingency, the boosted Saudi air force will undertake the key function of immobilizing the antiquated Iranian air force, preventing it from posing a threat to the Gulf or providing air cover for sabotage squads or marines seeking to attack oil installations, disrupt oil tanker passage through the Gulf or seize territory in Gulf emirates.
DEBKAfile's military sources report: The Iranian air force, numbering 600 combat-ready fighter-bombers, is technologically backward and weak in combat skills. Some of its planes are early American models or home-made craft based on outdated US, Chinese or Russian technology.
The Saudi air force is smaller 350 aircraft organized in 17 squadrons - but more modern and in better shape - even before the promised American infusion, which is likely to consist of first line F-16 Cs and Ds, F 15 Es and possibly the F 22 Raptor. Israel has strenuously objected to this upgrade. However, since last year's Lebanon war, the Olmert government has by and large found itself talking to deaf ears in Washington.
____________________________________________________________________US, Europe to boycott Jerusalem Day celebrations - www.ynetnews.com
EU president Germany informs Foreign Ministry that ambassadors of European countries will not show up for events marking 40-year anniversary of capital's reunification; US ambassador to follow suit Ronen Bodoni
European Union countries will not take part in the celebrations marking the 40-year anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification, EU president Germany said Thursday in a diplomatic letter sent to the Foreign Ministry and the Knesset.
US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones will also not participate in the events. Diplomatic sources told Ynet that the event was not on the ambassador's timetable.
Ambassadors of all EU countries will not show up for the special Knesset session which will be on Jerusalem Day on Wednesday.
European countries do not recognize Jerusalem's reunification. As far as they are concerned, east Jerusalem, which was occupied during the Six Day War, is an occupied territory.
Among the EU countries there is a difference of opinion regarding the participation in the Jerusalem Day celebrations. Germany decided to send the letter to the official bodies in Israel, but a number of EU countries are considering violating the boycott and taking part in the celebrations.
The Egyptian and Jordanian ambassadors were also invited to take part in the events, and Foreign Ministry officials expressed their concern over the possibility that they would also fail to show up.
Sources in the Foreign Ministry noted that diplomatic moves were taken in a bid to prevent the European boycott. The ministry's spokesperson said that "Jerusalem is Israel's united capital. This week we will mark 40 years of reunification. Many guests were invited to take part in the events, including diplomats. We expect them to attend."
Sources in the German Embassy in Israel told Ynet on Sunday morning that the international community viewed Jerusalem from a different point of view.
"We believe that Jerusalem's future should be part of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Our point of view is not new and Germany must take this stance in accordance with the rest of the countries.
"We cannot force other European Union countries to accept our opinion, but we can definitely decide for ourselves. Germany cannot take part in an official event of the Israeli government, if this implies that we recognize these borders of Jerusalem."
____________________________________________________________________More than half of Jews willing to divide Jerusalem - www.ynetnews.com
Poll for 40-year anniversary of capital's unification shows 58 of Israeli Jews willing to make concessions in Jerusalem in exchange for peace with Palestinians
Fifty-eight percent of the Jewish public in Israel is willing to make concessions in Jerusalem in the frame of a peace agreement with the Palestinians, a poll conducted by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies revealed on Sunday.
The poll, conducted toward the 40-year anniversary of the capital's unification, showed a 5 percent drop compared to 2006.
A drop in the Israeli Jews' faith that real peace could be reached was also revealed in the poll. Only 16 percent of the public believes that peace with the Palestinians can be reached, as opposed to 20 percent in 2006.
The shift in opinion was noted among the secular public, where 21 percent said they believed peace could be reached as opposed to 31 percent last year.
Some 92 percent of the respondents said they felt it was important to have a significant Jewish majority in the capital, and 81 percent said agreed that Jerusalem, with a Jewish majority, contributed to Israel's national strength.
Sixty-two percent of Israeli Jews said they felt that Jerusalem has been becoming strictly Orthodox over the past few years, while 24 percent of Israeli Jews feel that Jerusalem is a frightening city to live in.
Ten percent of the respondents said that there was no place to hang out in the city, while 68 percent agreed that Jerusalem was the most beautiful city in the Israel.
Forty-eight percent of the respondents agreed to the statement that Jerusalem is a poor city.
The poll, which was conducted among 500 adults comprised of a representative sample of the Jewish population in the Israel, is conducted annually and examines Jerusalem's image and importance as a component in Israel's national strength.
Another poll, taken by the Zionist Council in Israel, showed that 64 percent of Israel's residents that do not live in the capital have visited the city at least once in the past year.
___________________________________________________________________Hamas may conquer Jerusalem within 12 years, says mayor - www.ynetnews.com
Uri Lupolianski warns cabinet ministers that demographic shift could lead to Palestinian group gaining control of Israel's capital. As government discusses 40-year anniversary of city's reunification, Olmert promises to invest in its development
A demographic shift could lead to Hamas gaining control of Israel's capital, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski said during Sunday's cabinet meeting.
"Jerusalem may, God forbid, not be under Jewish sovereignty, but ruled by Hamas, which knows that it can conquer Jerusalem demographically within 12 years. We need a plan in order to ensure that Jerusalem remain Israel's capital for all eternity," Lupolianski said.
The government met for its weekly meeting at the Menahem Begin Heritage Center located opposite the Old City walls, in order to mark the 40-year anniversary of the city's reunification.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert clarified at the start of the meeting that the government would approve a series of decisions aimed at strengthening Jerusalem.
Olmert noted that the government would invest NIS 5.75 billion in activities aimed at strengthening Jerusalem by developing the Old City, transferring government units to the capital and encouraging economic growth through grants.
"We all need to take the mayor's comments seriously," Minister Jacob Edery said during the meeting. "The threat is severe and significant to the Jewish future of Jerusalem. We must act to strengthen the population of Israel's capital for eternity," Edry added.
Last week, Ynet published a new study revealing that the Jewish majority in Jerusalem was decreasing. Since 1967, the Jewish population in the capital grew by 140 percent, while the Arab population grew by 257 percent.
Out of approximately 720,000 Jerusalem residents, the Jews constitute 66 percent of the population. According to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, if this trend continues, in 2020 the Jewish population will drop to 60 percent and the Arab population will reach 40 percent, and in 2035 it will reach 50 percent.
The institute's researchers said that the data presented a contradiction between the reality in Jerusalem and the declared government policy of maintaining the Jewish majority in Jerusalem since the city's re-unification.
What do they suggest? "We are raising a number of alternatives, such as expanding Jerusalem's border to the west, removing Arab neighborhoods from the city's municipal area and making Jerusalem more attractive for the young people and middle class," Dr Maya Hoshen, a researcher at the institute, told Ynet.
____________________________________________________________________Dozens of rabbis ascend Temple Mount in unprecedented visit - www.haaretz.com
Dozens of rabbis from the national Zionist camp visited the Temple Mount on Sunday in order to increase awareness and emphasize Jewish linkage to the site.
A few days ago, the rabbis had released an announcement permitting Jews to enter the Temple Mount.
Sunday's visit marks the first time such a large group of rabbis, including the head rabbi of the Yesha Council Rabbi Dov Lior, Ma'ale Adumim Yeshiva head Rabbi Nahum Rabinowitz, and Rabbi Daniel Shaleh, have visited Temple Mount together.
Last weekend, the religious media published a notice signed by Bnei Akiva Yehiva head Rabbi Chaim Druckman, his colleague Rabbi Avraham Zuckerman, and Kiryat Shmona Chief Rabbi Tzfania Drori. The rabbis called on "the entire holy public to ascend the Temple Mount in purity ... to arrive in coming days to the allowed sites near the entrance to the Temple Mount."
By publishing the announcement, rabbis Druckman, Zuckerman, and Drori joined dozens of other rabbis from the national Zionist camp who have recently decided to permit Jewish entry into the Temple Mount, subject to halakhic (Jewish law) restrictions.
Allowing the entry is a clear deviation from the general halakhic rabbinical consensus, including both from the ultra-Orthodox camp and the national Zionist camp, which maintains that Jewish entry to the site is forbidden.
The accepted explanation for the entrance ban throughout the years was that the exact location of the temples and the Holy of Holies is unknown, meaning Jews could unknowingly set foot in forbidden areas.
Another central explanation maintained that by allowing a general entrance, the general public would arrive at the site, and could set foot in the forbidden areas as well.
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God's Judgment on the United States - Jerry Golden - www.thegoldenreport.com
If you are a student of God's Word you know that Israel is the center of His Word in Prophecy, and when God says in reference to Israel the Apple of His Eye in Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. God is not kidding or joking around, He is very serious. In fact, I have never read anywhere in His Word where He said something that He didn't really mean. And just for your information Israel is the apple of God's eye now and always will be. And if you are a gentile and want to make it to heaven you will have to be grafted into the natural roots and the promises given to Israel by God's Grace through faith in your acceptance of the Jewish Messiah, the Bible you read is a Jewish Book and your way to heaven is through Yeshua the Jewish Messiah. Many have been lied to, but there is no other Gospel that will secure your soul in a relationship with God for eternity, and if you have accepted any form of replacement theology it will send you directly to hell.
I know that many dislike what I have to say about George W. Bush but the fact is he is the most dangerous enemy Israel has ever faced. He has an agenda not only for Israel but for the US as well, and the southern open borders should be enough to open more eyes to what he really is.
With the above in mind I will say once again that George Bush has brought God's judgment on the United States, and continues to make the same mistakes over and over because he seems to be driven by a spirit to destroy Israel with his Road Map to Hell. We don't know how he was able to make Ariel Sharon do a 180 degree in his life and dedication to the Jewish State, but some how he was able to convince him to withdraw from Gaza making over 9,000 Jews homeless in there own country. And give the enemies of God and to Israel the land promised as an everlasting covenant to the Jewish people. To make matters worse he became the first Prime Minister to accept a Palestinian State even against his party's platform and the wishes of the Jews in Israel. We saw New Orleans destroyed and hundreds of thousands made homeless in there own country (The USA) directly after the Disengagement of Gaza. Before Sharon's stroke he brought a man from the 33 position in Likud (Omert) and made him #2 in a new Party formed to continue the destruction of Israel.
Time and time again when Bush sends Rice to the Middle East to push the Saudi Peace plan that Bush calls his Road Map suddenly disaster strikes the US within days. With millions of Believers in the US telling him that he is wrong in forcing a Palestinians State on the little State of Israel, bringing about the eventual destruction of Israel, he continues to keep the plan of the New World Order that controls him. And as I have stated before God's judgment always seems to be in direct proportion to what Bush forces on Israel. Now we see Florida and California or fire and Florida with the largest fires ever reported in that state and it isn't over yet. We see the entire middle part of the US flooding and the rain keeps coming. Honey bees are dying by the billions and that can cause a terrible situation with the nation's food supply. The worse tornado ever reported in the United States destroyed a whole city, others tornados killing and destroying towns. Even with hundreds of thousands of Christians marching on Washington DC he still won't listen and reconsider his policy towards Israel.
With Syria massing its troops on our northern border and armed with Russian missiles capable of reaching any part of Israel we have reason to be nervous. It should also be remembered that Iran and Syria has an agreement that if one of them goes to war against the Jewish State the other will as well. Hezbollah has rearmed and they are now stronger than before last summer's war thanks to Iran, Russian and the United Nations. So we now have Hezbollah, Iran, Syria and possibly Egypt all wanting to destroy the Jewish State of Israel and all the above have spent all the money they possibly could on rearmament over the past few years getting ready for this war. I am repeating this just to say now is not the time for Israel to have a US President doing back room deals with the enemy or enemies and sending Rice to speak with our enemies behind out back. It's also worth noting that Bush has given his Saudi friends the latest in F-15's and F-16's along with high tech radar planes that can keep a close watch over Israel. The Saudis now has an air base within a few minutes of the southern Israeli border.
The following is not much more than the way I see it and how it could happen within the next few months possibly sooner. I am wondering if Bush is trying to get Israel into a war with our neighbors knowing Iran will jump in so he can have his excuse to attack Iran as it would look like he did it in defense of Israel, knowing that the majority of the public in the US support Israel. If this is the case it would certainly cost Israel dearly and many would die here as Syria has armed their missiles with chemical warheads possibly biological warheads as well. And if Iran gets lucky and gets a missile with a nuke on it through to Israel it would well be the end of Israel. Why do I say this, well we all know Bush is not in control of congress and could never get approval to attack Iran in a democratic congress such a war would solve that problem for him. The price paid could well be Israel but like I've said so many times before it is now obvious that he has been trying to deliver Israel to the Arabs with his Road Map to Hell this would just expedite the process.
BUT, God and even Israel has something to say about all of this, even with the corrupt Government Israel would not sit still for any attack, and we would see Isa. 17:1 and Damascus would be totally destroyed just like God's Word says it will. Hezbollah under this kind of war would last a couple days at most with many thousands dead in Lebanon. The US and Israel together would take care of Iran but at a terrible cost to Israel, the Saudis would do as usual and crawl into their holes and just try to keep supporting terrorists around the world. Egypt is another matter all together and could cause terrible damage to Israel thanks to Bush and the US supplying them with F-15's, F-16's and high power artillery, and Russian and North Korea making their navy second to none in the Middle East.
So even though all the above is just a possibility of it happening, I think it could be fairly close, the wild card is Russia who might have secret agreements with several Arab countries to join in and help destroy Israel. But the instigator behind it all is none other than George Bush, all I know many will disagree with that, but time will prove it to be right. The one thing that is certain, it has all gone to far now to be stopped and the Middle East will go into a terrible war soon.
BUT, this is where God comes in, He will not allow Israel to be destroyed and all those who come against Jerusalem are in terrible trouble, Zechariah 12:9 AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT DAY, THAT I WILL SEEK TO DESTROY ALL THE NATIONS THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM.
You might notice that Europe is not mentioned in the above and the only thing that will happen there is once again the Jews will be blamed and another Holocaust will be their answer to the problem, kill the Jews is already being a cry heard throughout Europe. This is not a war that will last long because of the kind of weapons that will be used with awesome power millions could die within days.
____________________________________________________________________Connecting the Dots Bush Agreement Accelerates American Integration as Part of One-World Order - by Bill Wilson, KIN Senior Analyst - www.watch.org
The Bush Administration and the Democratic Party are rapidly moving in unison toward integrating the United States into a global, one-world economic order, accelerating ancient prophecies of a global government. Two events within a month of one another in Washington, D.C., reveal that the United States is unconstitutionally being submitted to a one-world order: On April 30, President George W. Bush signed an agreement to integrate the economies of the U.S. with the European Union; and on May 20, 100 delegates from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will gather for a "North American Model Parliament."
Bush signed what resembles a treaty that begins with, "We the leaders of the United States of America and the European Union " The document unites the governments on economic integration and encourages "other countries to adopt the transatlantic economic model of respect for property rights, openness to investment, transparency and predictability in regulation, and the value of free markets." The North American Model Parliament is supported by the same Council on Foreign Relations people who are working with American politicians of both parties to establish a North American Union. Among the "parliament's" goals are to develop the participants' sense of "North American identity."
The apocalyptic book of Revelation foretells the coming of the Antichrist, a powerful figure of whom Revelation 13:7-8 (NKJV) says, "Authority was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life for the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Many have wondered how such a person would take over the world, especially since a nation as powerful as the United States stands as a beacon of freedom and independence. As evidenced by these events, there is a substantial movement within the caverns of government and politics that is planning for the day of the one-world government.
Once in a while, discerning citizens are given a glimpse of the plan to integrate America into one of the ten regions of the Antichrist's government. Daniel 7:24-25 describes the one-world order and administration of the Antichrist, saying, "The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. Another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones and shall intend to change times and the law."
We are witnessing the treasonous, unconstitutional and voluntary submission to the one-world order by the U.S. government. Where are the patriots and the men of God?
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It's what's inside that counts - Greg Laurie - www.worldnetdaily.com and www.harvest.org
When it comes to identifying whether a person is really a Christian, there's an "outward-inward" dynamic that we sometimes fail to realize.
Let's take a closer look at some of the aspects of this.
No. 1: A person may pray and still not really be a Christian.
If we're to believe the statistics from opinion surveys, nine out of 10 people in our nation pray. Three out of four believe God is a heavenly Father who can be reached by prayers. In addition, recent scientific studies have verified that prayer improves the health of those who are sick.
But that doesn't necessarily mean you're truly a believer if you pray. Most of us pray when we're in trouble. What's the first thing on the lips of most people when they're confronted by a crisis? You've heard it: "Oh my God!" That's a prayer, whether they admit it or not.
It was true of me, too, before I was a Christian. Whenever I found myself in a tight spot, I called out to God.
But when the storm passes, when the crisis blows over what then?
People also pray to appease their guilt-ridden conscience. It may be more accurate to say they "offer prayers," instead of truly pray. Jesus pointed out a self-righteous religious man who was in the temple who "stood and prayed thus with himself" (Luke 18:11). Likewise, God spoke in judgment of people who "draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me" (Isaiah 29:13).
Jesus then went on to mention another man who knew his true condition spiritually, who could only utter the words, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus concluded it was this man, not the other, who had his prayer heard.
If you haven't admitted to God that you're a sinner who desperately needs His forgiveness through Jesus Christ, then all the "prayers" in the world will not really help you. As the psalmist wrote, "If I hold onto iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18).
No. 2: A person may make some visible changes for good in his life, and yet still not be a Christian.
The book of Acts tells a fascinating story about a sorcerer named Simon. When Philip the evangelist came to his city and preached the gospel, "the people believed Philip's message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized." Simon got caught up in the excitement: "Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the great miracles and signs Philip performed" (Acts 8:9-13, NLT).
Only later did Simon's true heart and motives become clear, when this sorcerer offered money to the apostles to try and "buy" spiritual power to do miracles. The apostle Peter told him:
May your money perish with you for thinking God's gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right before God. Turn from your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitterness and held captive by sin. (Acts 8:20-23)
It's no different today. People will "get converted" to get what they want. A non-Christian guy asks an attractive and virtuous Christian girl out on a date. She turns him down, saying, "Sorry, I only date Christians." Soon the nonbeliever is saying, "Praise God! I'm really into this Christian thing." Probably not! And it's only a matter of time before the mask falls off and his true motives are revealed. Or a politician runs for office and suddenly has a "faith message" because he wants to capture that evangelical vote.
In another example from the Bible, we read about King Herod's great respect for John the Baptist. Herod found himself strangely drawn to John's message, and even made changes in his life as a direct result of John's influence. Yet because of the pressure of others (primarily his wicked wife, Herodias), he later had John beheaded and his heart grew hard as stone (Matthew 14:1-12). Though some changes took place in his life, the most important change of all complete commitment to Jesus Christ never took place.
No. 3: You can live a good life, be religious, and even keep the Ten Commandments to the best of your ability and still not necessarily be a Christian.
In the New Testament, the Gospels tells us about a rich young ruler who approached the Lord. One of the accounts tells us that, in his eagerness, he came running to Jesus. Breathless, he said, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
Jesus tested him by saying, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."
The rich young man answered, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" (See Matthew 19:16-20.)
Look how far this earnest young man had gone: He'd not only heard the commands of God, he kept them. To the best of his ability he kept all of them. Not only that, but he'd done this since childhood.
But he didn't go far enough! He stopped short of Jesus. When Jesus asked him to sell his possessions and come and follow Him, the young man turning his back on the Lord and sadly walked away. There's no record he ever came back to Jesus.
It just goes to show that contact with holy things, when they don't convert and change the heart, can actually harden the heart. If someone sees the light of Jesus Christ and hears Christ's words, then turns away from Him, he or she is plunged deeper into darkness.
Knowledge brings responsibility! And even now, my friend, you can no longer claim ignorance after reading this article!
There are a number of examples in the pages of the Bible of people who came close to God close to Jesus but stopped short. They were so near, and yet so far. There was Judas, who perhaps more than any other man in Scripture was absolutely without excuse. He was the "hypocrite extraordinaire," fooling everyone but Jesus. Think of it. Judas heard Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount as well as so many other teachings, witnessed the miraculous feeding of the multitudes, and was an eyewitness when Lazarus was raised from the dead. Even in the end he came close enough to Jesus to actually kiss Him as he was betraying Him to death.
Here's the bottom line: The outward without the inward is only an empty shell. You can hear the Gospel and even believe in its truth, and still not necessarily be a Christian. You can pray and believe in miracles, and even believe that Jesus is coming back, and still not necessarily be a Christian. You can live an exemplary life, be religious and keep the commandments of God from earliest memory, yet still not be a Christian. You can be in church with other believers, hear the same messages they hear, receive communion and even be baptized and still not be a Christian.
Sometimes, so-called "Christian activity" has not been preceded by actual conversion.
While it's true, as the apostle James tells us, that faith without works is dead, it can be said as well that works without faith are also dead.
So are you a Christian?
____________________________________________________________________Maranatha ! - (Lord Come Quickly)
"On Christ the SOLID ROCK I stand, all other ground is sinking sand"
YBIC-Randy