One Picture May Be Worth a Thousand Words...But You'll Never See Them

If one thing is true about how we Americans get our news, it's that the news we see is generically pretty, even in war. How different it would be if Americans were allowed to be exposed to the real picture of war. Of course, these very real, horrible and disturbing pictures of the results of man's in humanity to men, women and children is not available to the average American, and certainly not at supper time. We like our wars, and those of our friends, clean and just something we can vaguely be aware of but not really have to face since we have to go the mall before they close.

Government certainly doesn't want to be showing pictures of screaming parents holding pieces of their former children or family members. Who wants to see the charred bodies of truck drivers caught in a bomb run or grandpa buried with only his hands sticking out of the rubble? Not Americans and the government would just as soon have you believe that somehow those people are used to being shot at, bombed, blown up and dying badly. Since we aren't used to this, we best not show it to ourselves.
I think the government also learned one lesson from Vietnam. Of course it was not the one we would have wished, but one thing is sure. ..Never, Never show the American people what invasions, war, bombs, fire, rocket attacks and mortars can do to humans. Never show them what it does to children. And never let on you might have weapons that would make your blood boil..literally, if so chosen. Once Americans began to see their tax dollars at play in war, they wanted no more war. So that is one lesson learned from Vietnam. The other lessons were long ago forgotten.

It is interesting to me how that men who never have been to war, flap their mouths the most about why war needs to be inflicted upon this or that imagined enemy. Those that have been to war usually get marginalized when those who either never had to go, skipped it or were given safe places to wait them out start a war. We may have a "war President," but we don't have one that has ever seen a war. Causing them, encouraging them, provoking them, threatening them, is NOT the same as SEEING them. I can't put my finger on it, but there is a sense to me that some in high places get some kind of enjoyment in holding the power of life and death over helpless souls. Maybe it's just me, but it seems so. Mocking those that one has turned down for execution seems to lend itself to that feeling.

The talking heads of radio that have never been to war and wouldn't obey an order given them if their life depended on it because no one tells their ego what to do, harp on needing to kick ass pretty often these days. Not a few tell us that they are mouthpieces of even more powerful people who wish events to go and public loyalties to spin their way. I would encourage them to sign up or at least send a few relatives to war to give them some kind of credibility when they harangue us for not thinking that blowing humans out of the way is the way to get ones way.

I have a feeling that being lied to has been raised to an art form these days. Maybe they think they are telling the truth, but when they are told they are not, they don't stop "propelling the propaganda," as the President probably accidently said recently. Someone had told him that's how to get a point across and he forgot to leave that out of the public explanation. Freudian stuff!

So, if you want to stop a war, just show a war. Punch in a few key words or find the sites on the net that are willing to show you just "what God hath wrought." You won't like it. You'll swear you can't look at "stuff like that." Some of you just might stare and wonder how it was in the final seconds of that persons life. Some of you will think about your own children and what if that happened to you. Most of you will simply say "oh my God." But you won't see it on the news or in the news in America. Too messy. Too honest. Too not helpful to whatever cause is being pushed at the moment and unhelpful in pushing the present truth.

If your biggest trial of the day is getting to the mall or getting the yard mowed, I'm glad for ya. If what to wear tonight or where to go is the biggest thing on your mind, then good for you. If the sermon you hear tomorrow or next week or next month is about love, compassion, getting along and full of warm fuzzies, well great. If you go to a church where the Pastor rants and raves about how Jesus is coming soon and the King of the North will swoop down and be pressed by the king of the South, and then Iraq will be this and Iran will be that with Jerusalem being surrounded by armies and Angels swooping in to deliver them all and make YOU a saint, you're not in a church, you're in a holy war recruiting station. If he is going to do493 that, at least ask that he show the congregation the pictures of the current invasion of Lebanon and stuff that really goes on when humans do the Lord's dirty work for him. If you nod your head in pleasant approval of such things and think that the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount is also the Jesus of Revelation, better try again and see if you can't back into a group that at least believes the Kingdom of God is made up of whole children and not just pieces.

War of the Worlds: Signs of the End of the Age

Jesus said there'd be days like this.

The disciples came to Jesus asking: "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matt 24:3)

Jesus answered: "...many will come in My Name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places ... because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved..." (Matt 24).

Things are going to get worse here on the 3rd rock from the sun before they ever get better. Count on it. That's why it is the acme of foolishness to spend all our resources trying to get comfortable down here. We don't belong here, folks! We're citizens of Heaven, as Christians, just passing through. We are "seated in heavenly places.." (Eph 1:3). We're are good as there as followers of Christ. That's either true for right now, or it's a lie. But we've been given a job description to make as many disciples for Christ as we can while we inhabit these earth suits. How's that going, by the way?

Count the cost before you dare to become a radical disciple of Christ because, as things worsen, the persecution of Christians will increase. Are you SURE you want to make yourself conspicuous? If we're fortunate enough that we're not living among those who are suffering the worst of the anti-Christian persecution, you'd better believe we're going to be held accountable for all that we could have done/should be doing with the many resources the Western Church has at its disposal. We can, and MUST, support the work of the Kingdom, with prayer, time, talent and finances. NOTE:the purchase of new playground equipment, repaving a parking lot, or buying a new gargoyle for the cathedral is probably NOT what the Kingdom requires from us at this time. Finances may be the most difficult to part with because our hearts are so tied to our purse strings. Think about that next time you make an impulse purchase or stick your head into that basement, attic, closet, or garage full of important stuff God has "blessed" you with. How much we trust God is evidenced by how much we trust him with our money. Fact is, we have nothing God hasn't given us, not as some sort of reward, but as a steward.

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH?

Why is it that so many Christians seem more ready to support military action against the Islamic world than we seem willing to adhere to the commission of Christ, all the while playing the "tolerance card" with our Muslim neighbors in the states, attempting to maintain status quo? It's BECAUSE of our tendency toward self-preservation as well as our greater faith in the government than we have in our God. Doesn't our support of violence against anyone in retaliation for their violence toward us make us their lowlife equals? My Mom taught me that as a boy. Is this the way of the Lord Jesus? He said "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (Matt 5:44).

Surely we don't believe that the duty of the Western Church is to protect the Gospel through force! God no more needs our military might to protect and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ than He needed Peter to slice the ear off of poor Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Repeat! God no more needs our military might to protect and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ than He needed Peter to slice the ear off of poor Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Folks, any religion or philosophy that intends to advance by way of military might is no better than Islam. Such a gospel would be, in fact, a religion of lies straight from the pit of Hell. Might does NOT make right! In fact,it's in great part because our faith WAS once promoted by the tip of the sword that there remains such resistance to it today. That plus the fact that we aren't making anyone jealous for what we've supposedly found through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The world is rarely impressed with us

In a nutshell, there will not be ... can NOT be ... peace without Christ. Violence will get worse, and the disciples of Christ will suffer increased global persecution.

People of Planet Ea111Crth, I have two words for you: Jesus Christ. Hope is in Him alone, and in submitting to the Father in accordance with His Word. Though Christians may not be kept from the effects of war, for it rains upon the just and the unjust, we must come to the point where we openly, in front of God and everybody, abide in the Peace of Christ. THAT they WILL notice!

God is more concerned with the character of His kids than He is in our carnal comfort. Despite all the "stuff" that's happening and is GOING to happen on planet Earth, we are an army and must not lose the focus of our objective. Soldiers of the Cross, there's a Kingdom to advance in the Name of the King we love.

A CALL TO ARMS!

We see and hear so much about Christian political activism. Prayer in school, gay rights, women's right, abortion, gun laws...what does all this have to do with the Great Commission of Matthew 28 to 'go and make disciples'? Where is the saint who travails in prayer for souls? Even Muslim souls? And Chinese souls (6 of 11 Christian converts are Asian or East Indian)? Where are the people of God who will cry out to Heaven for the revival that will have a greater impact than a thousand years of political and social activism?

Jesus never taught that His followers should attempt to change the social or political order of things. We are not another special interest group. Not another subculture. If anything, we're a COUNTER culture - IN the world, not OF the world.

The word for the Church right now is "Repent!" In this instance, repentance begins when we turn from the solutions offered by this world, and put our trust in God. Some men trust in chariots, some in horses ... will WE trust in the Name of our God? (Ps 20:17)

There is a war of the worlds going on. It's not physical. Despite its appearances, it's not REALLY Islam vs. the West at all. It's SPIRITUAL, for our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the hordes of hell... a demonic force that, for the moment, seems to be making dramatic progress (Eph 6).

POST-CHRISTIAN CHRISTIANITY

Some are saying that we are currently living in a Post-Chrsitian age; that the Church as the world has known it, is a relic of the past. The present religious situation in Europe and North America is often described as becoming secular, where many people no longer believe, and therefore are defined as post-Christians. Post-Christianity is an expression to describe a 'secular' status in which Christianity is losing its central role in shaping the lives of the people. More and more, trends seem to be pointig toward a time when only the minority of those calling themselves 'Chrsitian' retain meaningful ties with traditional Churches. It's already here. Most people - Christians included - are living their lives independently of the Christian faith and the teachings of the Churches they (used to) belong to. Church-life has become extraneous to them.

The days are getting darker. What if there IS coming an end to Christianity? If that were the case, that certainly does NOT mean there has come an end to Christ, nor to His remnant of True believers.

I contend that it's "CHURCH-ianity" that is lying sick upon its deathbed, gasping for air, and NOT the glorious Bride of Christ, at all.

The Lord is with us, saints of God! Let us seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness. Now, let's lock 'n load! The war is with Hell ... on OUR turf and by OUR GOD's rules! Drop to your knees in fervent prayer, reconcile people to the God of the Bible, wield your checkbook, get your passport up to date so you can mobilize if called to overseas duty as a missionary. Quit waffling about, wondering when God will put you into the game. You're already IN the game. It's time to get your uniform dirty. The call to serve is REALLY a call to PREPARE! Get prepared.

Look around ... each of us is surrounded by resources that could be used to advance the cause of Christ! I know elderly people, children and cripples that are giving the devil a black eye on a daily basis by doing all they can. There are others, for example, who forward these weekly messages from t.e.a.m. ministries to hundreds of others within their scope of influence. My goodness, if we would ALL do at least THAT!

Fear not, Army of the Lord! The gates of Hell shall not prevail aga570inst us! Let's make it really hard to go to Hell from your sector of influence. Give till it helps! Don't worry, you cannot outgive God.

Remember this: all it takes for evil to continue to prosper is for good Christians to do nothing. It's a statistical fact that a soldier in battle will miss 100% of the shots he never dares to take.

So, how's YOUR aim lately?

Selah

Pastor Michael is founder of t.e.a.m. ministries (team1min@aol.com). His eMail broadcasts, known as "Your Town for Jesus" (SEARCH it!) are reaching tens of thousands WEEKLY. Log on at http://www.PlanetaryMinistry.org Michael's mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Michael is the author of numerous booklets on a subjects that will interest the thinking Christian. Since 1999, he has written and broadcast nearly 500 inspirational articles and a dozen booklets, al designed to accelerate the process of spiritual development in God's people.

The Difference Between Prayer in Kabbalah and Religion

We're all familiar with the concept of praying: "Dear Lord, please let me get a good grade on my Chemistry exam and help my little brother get out of the hospital soon. And do forgive me for all my sins. In return, I promise to be a good boy for ever and ever."

But in Kabbalah, prayer does not mean asking the Creator for "goodies." Rather, it is an act of self-analysis, a process of inner change. A person sees himself as facing the unchanging quality of absolute love that enlivens the whole of Nature, and only the person's ability to feel it undergoes gradual change and improvement.

So a Kabbalist wouldn't try asking the Creator to stop treating him harshly or to give him better things in life. He knows that the Creator is invariant, so the only thing to ask for is personal change. This kind of prayer means judging, analyzing, and comparing oneself to the unchanging quality of complete, unconditional bestowal that generates life. It is much like how a scientist discovers a law of Nature, and performs experiments to measure its effects. The Kabbalist's research, however, takes place within himself: He measures the difference between him and the Creator, and what it takes to become similar to the Creator.

Adherents of major religions are convinced that people should ask the Creator for things during prayer, and entreat the Creator to change toward them. Kabbalah explains that this sort or prayer may be effective as a form of psychological support, since a person truly believes that positive changes will happen in his life. But the fact remains that the Creator already treats everyone with absolute love and bestowal, since his only quality is "goodness" that doesn't change.

Kabbalists are people who have changed their inner qualities in a way that unifies them with the Creator. In practical terms, this means that they have transformed their perception, and are able to sense a wider spectrum of reality, beyond the boundaries of the physical world. From that high point of vision and perception, they see that the Creator always treats us with absolute good and never changes.

They advise us to do the same: To remember that the Creator is invariant and not to waste our time and efforts on asking Him to change. Only by changing ourselves will we suddenly see that the world is good and that the Creator always treats us with absolute kindness.

Yet, religious people also say that you have to change, don't they? The difference is that they are talking about changing one's external "good deeds," and performing certain rituals. This kind of change has nothing to do with transforming your inner qualities and perception, and hence religion fundamentally differs from Kabbalah.

Thousands of years of "praying" show us that it's futile to ask the Creator to change. We don't try to change gravity or any other force of Nature, and in the same way we should relate to the Creator as the all-inclusive force of Nature, a permanent force of love and bestowal.

Bnei Baruch, http://www.kabbalah.info is the largest group of Kabbalists in Israel, sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah with the entire world. Study materials in over 25 languages are based on authentic Kabbalah texts that were passed down from generation to generation.

http://www.kabbalah.info/engkab/kabbalah-video-clips/revelation-vs-belief