CAN MERCY AND JUDGMENT COEXIST? 3

GodThoughtsWired!                         New Year's Eve, 2010 Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion

You are subscribed as %%emailaddress%% CAN MERCY AND JUDGMENT COEXIST? 3 "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." James 2:13 Yesterday I said, May I suggest to you that judgment is an extension of God's love! (see Hebrews 12:5-11). And may I also suggest to you that,  in this illustration (see yesterday's GT), righteously judging the criminal would have extended mercy to both the victims parents...AND the criminal. And then I asked the question, "How could it be possible that judging the criminal righteously would be "merciful?" Well, let me give you my answer in the form of a true story from my old "youth pastor days:" "When our youth ministry grew to several hundred students, I needed to hire a security officer to be on campus.  One night, I caught one of our own students attempting to sell drugs.  I severely reprimanded him and then assured him that if I ever caught him again, I would call the police, right there on the spot. Sure enough, a few weeks later I caught him again!  And can you guess what I did? That's right!  I did what I told him I would do...I CALLED THE POLICE!  It was a terrible scene right there on our church grounds.  The police arrived and handcuffed the student and halled him off to Juvenile Hall." Initially, the experience was AWEFUL!  I felt TERRIBLE!  Everyone in the church felt bad.  The boy's mom approached the Elder Board demanding that I be fired immediately!  As you might expect, the boy, along with his family, never returned to our church. However, one day, about a year later, I received a phone call from the young man that I had "called the cops on" a year earlier.  He was calling to thank me! He said, "You were the first person in my life to ever do what you said you were going to do."  He further told me that "That experience changed me.  I was headed down a bad road, and God used you to change my direction." How could it be possible that judging the criminal righteously would be "merciful?" I believe I just answered that question. "For those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines..." Hebrews 12:6 For more information about the GodThoughts Ministry, click here. For more information about the author of GodThoughts, click here. PLEASE prayerfully remember GodThoughts with your year-end giving (click on "donate" button below). The cost to provide this FREE Ministry world-wide in 2010 was $40,700.00 (see Annual Report for full details).

GodThoughtsWired!

"The Actual Meaning of Christmas"

We live in some very ignorant times,

"Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children."Hosea 4:6

Because there is such nominal knowledge of God in our land, the actual meaning of Christmas has been all but lost.  During this current Christmas season, billions of people are setting aside their typical lifestyles to decorate their houses, participate in parties, attend special Christmas events at their local churches and...buy, Buy, BUY!!!  Christmas is EVERYWHERE, but the original "reason for the season" is virtually...GONE!


If someone were to ask you, "What is the meaning of Christmas?"  What would you say?  Undoubtedly (I hope), many of you are saying, "I know, I know!  Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ."  Well done!  You're right!  But let me ask you one more question,

"What was the significance of the birth of Jesus?

Well?  What's your answer?


Here's what the Bible, the word of God says,

"And the Word(Jesus) became flesh and dwelt 
among us...He is the radiance of His(God's) glory 
and the exact representation of His nature...
He is the image of the invisible God." John 1:14; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15

 Jesus came to this earth to show us what God is like!  In fact, Jesus IS God in the flesh!  One day a guy by the name of Phillip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father." And Jesus said to him, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (see John 14:1-10).


Phenonenal, isn't it?  All other religions and belief systems reflect man's feeble attempt to get to God, but the Bible tells the story of God's attempt to reach out to man!

"And there is salvation in no one else (Jesus),
for there is no other name under heaven that 
has been given among men by which we must be saved."Acts 4:12

Merry Christmas! 

"What Will You Do?"

PART 1

"See to it that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deception,
according to the elementary principles of the
world, rather than according to Christ."Colossians 2:8

"See to it!"  We are to be pro-active in our dilligence against false teaching.  We must passionately fight it!  How?  Well, they teach those in the banking industry that the best way to identify a counterfeit is to be familiar with the real thing.  Such is the kingdom of God.  

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6).  And so it is today.  "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priest rule on their own authority...(see Jeremiah 5:30-31).  Multitudes are being "carried about by every wind of doctrine" (see Ephesians 4:14).

Why?  Because we don't know our Bibles (brothers and sisters, my only hope...your only hope...our ONLY HOPE!...is to know our Bibles).

The 7 Sins of the American Church

INTRODUCTION

 

"The Church of America has become God's enemy

and He is preparing to come against it.  

The Bride of Christ has become a whore. 

The 'Age of Apostasy' is here, and the 'Great Falling Away' has begun."*

-pastor Brad Reiches, GodThoughtsWired!, March 16, 2009 

 

The United States of America is in a bad way...and God blames His Church!  His Bride has become a whore.  This very hour God is preparing His hand of judgment, not upon the country (not yet), but upon His Church!

 

"For it is time for judgment to begin

with the household of God; and if it

begins with us first, what will be the

outcome for those who do not obey

the gospel of God?"

1 Peter 4:17

 

"Judgment?" You say.  "Judgment from what?"  Judgment against the seven following sins that the Church of The United States of America is currently guilty of:

 

SIN #1.  The Perversion of Grace.  "Certain persons have crept in unnoticed...persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness..."(Jude 4).

 

SIN #2.  The Rejection of Truth.  "And with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

 

SIN #3.  The Tolerance of Sin.  "I (Jesus) have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel...so that they commit acts of immorality..."(Revelation 2:20).

 

SIN #4.  The Hypocrisy of Leadership.  "Woe to you...Hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." (Matthew 23:27).

 

SIN #5.  The Love of Money.  "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have fallen away from the faith..."(1 Timothy 6:10).

 

SIN #6.  The Proliferation of False Gospels.  "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). 

 

SIN #7.  The Multiplication of Counterfeit Churches.  "I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead"(Revelation 3:1).

 

Over the next several editions, I will address each of these sins in detail, and then conclude this series with an explanation of what God's ultimate purpose is for bringing such "judgment," and what God's true children can do about it.

 

 

*For those of you wondering, "Could this actually be true?"  Consider the following Bible verses:  James 4:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-15; 1 Peter 4:17; 1 John 2:15-17; Revelation, chapters 2-3.

                      Welcome to GodThoughts Wired! 

The GT Ministry is called to Evangelizing the "Church" in the "Age of Delusion." The era the Bible refers to as "the beginning of birth pangs," is here (see Mark 13:9). The age of "delusion" has begun! (see 2 Thessalonians 2:10-15). False teachers and false gospels are everywhere! The "angel of light" (see 2 Corinthians 11:14) has become so influential in the "visible church" that even "false bibles" have made their way into mainstream Christianity (see "The Message").

Tens of millions of sincere church-goers are being led astray by celebrity pastors and teachers presenting a "false gospel of grace" nowhere to be found in scripture. GodThoughtsWired! exists to make sure that when Jesus says, "Depart from Me, I never knew you"...He's not talking to you!

"An...Obama-Nation"

Today's GodThoughts will be the last of my comments on our new President...for now.*  Let me go ahead and give you the practical application of today's final message (for now) here at the very beginning lest anyone be misled.   The Conclusion is this:   #1.  Please join with me in praying daily for our new President, his Cabinet, and our Senate and House of Representatives...   "I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions... be made...for kings and all who are in authority..." -see 1 Timothy 2:1-8   #2.  Understand that we are called to "obey our leaders and submit to them" (see Hebrews 13:17) only insofar as they are obedient to The Word of God...   "We must obey God rather than men." -see Acts 5:17-32   And now...TODAY'S GODTHOUGHTSWIRED!   "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an a Obamanation." Leviticus 18:22 (mispelling mine)   abomination:  "a vile, shameful, or detestable action."   Hopefully you are thinking, "Why in the world is pastor Brad bringing up the issue of homosexuality at such a time as this?"  Is that what you're thinking?  :)  Well, I sincerely wish to God that I didn't have to talk about it.  Unfortunately, however, I just got done reading from our government website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights/.  Three-fourths of the entire page is dedicated to the promotion of the LGBT agenda.  Or, let me re-phrase that in a more politically correct manner, "Support of the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgendered Community."  I sure do encourage you to read for yourself:   "President Obama has also been willing  to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia --  that continues to surround HIV/AIDS." http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights/    Christians!!!!!!  ARE YOU OUT THERE???  DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING?    The most powerful man on earth... the President of the United States of America blatantly declares on the White House web-site that he supports what God calls an "abomination."   Our President blatantly, and openly supports what God opposes.    " Even if we expelled every Christian in America,  whose Christianity would we teach in the schools... which passages of scripture should guide our public policy?  Should we go with, uhh, Leviticus, which uhh, suggests slavery is ok?  Or we could go with Deuteronomy which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith.  Or should we just stick to the sermon on the mount, a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own defense department would survive its application...Now I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, to take one example, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice I can't simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will.   I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths including those with no faith at all.  Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible as many evangelicals do, but in a pluralistic society we have no choice."  -President Barack Obama (bold and underline mine)   In answer to your question, President Obama, "Whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?"  We would teach the Christianity that we originally taught in our public schools...biblical Christianity.  I personally own a copy of the original public school book, "The New England Primer" which many of our Founding Father's grew up learning from...a book that takes much of its foundation from...THE BIBLE!   And then, in response to President Obama's justification, "If I seek to pass a law banning the practice I can't simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will."  WHY NOT, President Obama?  George Washington did.  Franklin D. Roosevelt did.  John Adams did.  Thomas Jefferson did.  Calvin Coolidge did.  Abraham Lincoln did.    "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God and to obey His will." -President George Washington   "O Lord, give us faith, Give us faith in Thee... Thy will be done, Almighty God." -President Franklin D. Roosevelt   "The highest story of the American revolution is this; it connects in one indissoluble bond the principles of civic government with the principles of Christianity." -President John Adams    "The foundation of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible  that it would be difficult to support them  if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country." -President Calvin Coolidge   The original premise of a "Republic" is to elect leaders who have the courage to lead based on conviction...NOT COMPROMISE!     *To my African-American brothers and sisters out there let me reveal to you how difficult it is to write a message like this one in light of how profoundly meaningful it is to have our first African-American President of These United States.   I truly rejoice with you over this.  Some of my dearest, and closest friends are African-American, and while I cannot relate to having ancestors who have had such heinous and dispicable evils promulgated against them because of the color of their skin,I can rejoice with the entire African-American community over such a victory as having a Black man as President. As those of you who know me are aware...my comments never have to do with the color of a man's skin, rather the condition of a man's heart. President Obama mocks Sermon on the Mount   President Obama says "We are no longer a Christian Nation..."   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #1   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #2   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #3   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #4   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #5   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #6   Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #7		GODTHOUGHTSWIRED! "EVANGELIZING  THE CHURCH  IN THE AGE  OF DELUSION." GODTHOUGHTS  WORLD HEADQUARTERS 1675 School St. Moraga, CA, USA  94556 1.925.376.3550 brad@godthoughts.org

Understanding Today's America"

3

 

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."

Hosea 4:6a

 

In his third "Law of Motion," Sir Isaac Newton stated that "for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction."*  In other words, every action has a consequence.  Newton identified the universal principle of "sowing and reaping" (see Galatians 6:7) in the natural world.

 

Well, the 3rd Law of Motion, or the principle of"sowing and reaping" applies to the spritual world as well.  In other words, there are spiritual or "supernatural" consequences that are set in motion determined by how we respond to the laws of God.  In 1963, Abington v. Shempp, the United States Supreme Court ruled that voluntary reading of the Bible in public schools was "unconstitutional."  They said,

 

"If portions of the New Testament were read 
without explanation, they could be and have been 
psychologically harmful to the child."

 

What was once considered a vital part of the healthy develeopment of every american child since the founding of the country had suddenly become "psychologically harmful."  Tragically, now more than 40 years since, the subtle slide of Christianity away from the public square has become a spiritual avalanche.

 

The Bible says, "You will know them by their fruit"(Matthew 7:20).  So, what's the fruit?  According to a recent TIME magazine:

 

"Only half of U.S. adults know the title of even one Gospel.  Most can't name the Bible's first book.  
The trend extends even to Evangelicals, only
44% of whose teens could identify a particular quote as coming from the Sermon on the Mount."

-April 2, 2007

"We have become "a nation of biblical illiterates." -George Gallup

"Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."  -God

 

 

 

*Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis, 1686.

"Understanding Today's America"

On May 15, 2001, CBS News Anchor Dan Rather appeared on a show called The O'Reilly Factor.  In an explanation that he gave as to why he thought Bill Clinton to be an upright man Rather said, "I think you can be an honest man and lie about any number of things."

 

Those who are deceived 
don't know they are deceived because they are deceived.

 

In order to truly understand today's America, we must first become students of our history.  Only then can we see how far we have "drifted."  In 1778 the 4th president of the United States, James Madison said,

 

We have staked the whole future 
of American civilization...
upon the capacity of each and all

of us to govern ourselves according 
to the Ten Commandments of God.*

 

102 years later "sin" had taken away our understanding.  In 1980, the "delusion of sin" was in full effect at the highest level of our legislative branch of government, the United States Supreme Court.  Literally ignoring 150 YEARS! of precedents, the Supreme Court ruled in a Kentucky case, Stone v. Graham, that the Ten Commandments could not be posted in schools:

 

"If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments

are to have any effects at all, it will be to induce

the school children to read, meditate upon, and

         perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments...

This is not...a permissible...objective."

 

Tragically, we have forsaken the warnings of our forefathers:

 

"Let the children...be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion.  This is the most essential part of education.  
The great enemy of the salvation of men...
never invented a more effectual means 
of extirpation (removing) Christianity 
from the world than by persuading mankind 
that it was improper to read the Bible at schools."**

-Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence

 

 

*James Madison.  1778.  Beliles and McDowell, Providential History, p.221.

**Benjamin Rush.  Letters of Benjamin Rush, Princeton, New Jersey:  American Philosophical Society, 1951.