Pastor Baldwin: The Religious Right is AWOL From the Real War

From: News with Views

…the real battlefield today is not abortion. It is not homosexual marriage. It is not Social Security. It is not al Qaeda. It is not taxes. It is not inflation. It is not electing conservatives. It is not posting the Ten Commandments. It is not even the high cost of gasoline. …

The battlefield where the devil has amassed his greatest forces and is thrusting his deadliest armies is the surrender of our national sovereignty and independence, and the creation of global government. And it is our own political and corporate leaders that are facilitating this chicanery. Furthermore, by refusing to oppose this surrender, our Christian leaders are complicit as well.

Obviously, the surrender of our independence has been ongoing for some time. However, under Bill Clinton and especially under G.W. Bush, the pace has quickened exponentially.

Doubtless, the biggest reason President Bush has more aggressively hastened the pace of America’s merger into supranational government is because he enjoys widespread support among evangelical Christians. Absent opposition from Christian leaders, G.W. Bush has virtually had a free hand. And please know this: before Bush was a Republican, before he was a “conservative,” before he was a Christian, he was and is a globalist, as was his father and grandfather before him.

Because our national Christian leaders are content to revel in the lap of political cronyism with President Bush (and the Republican Party), they have abandoned their positions as watchmen on the wall. Instead of being watchmen and heralds of truth, they have become political lackeys and toadies for the GOP.

[...]

With the attention of the American people (and Congress) focused on the Middle East, Bush and his cabal of elitists are moving forward with plans to surrender our national independence and merge our country into a regional government. Friends, this is the real war; this is the real battlefield.

When America loses its sovereignty and independence, we will lose all of our fundamental liberties. The Constitution will be meaningless and irrelevant. The Bill of Rights will be moot. The principles of religious liberty, the right to life, and the Christian foundation of our country will be passé. And, as I said at the outset of this column, our national leaders, especially our Christian leaders, are totally absent from this battlefield.

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Related: Most of My ToBeFree Website

Does the American flag belong in church? Our allegiance belongs to God, not state power

From: The Christian Science Monitor

…American Christians seem as devoted to their government as Ruth was to Naomi. But should they be? Do either the flag or the Pledge have any place in the Lord’s house? …

The trouble doesn’t lie with Christianity but with power. The two have always been at odds. Political power is a synonym for “physical force,” for bending people to government’s will regardless of their inclinations, interests, or welfare. But Christianity is love – power’s antidote. Anyone who sincerely follows Jesus Christ will never try to compel others – because he didn’t. Jesus sought to persuade by word and example, loving men so much that he let them judge for themselves the truth of his teachings. …

And many support a war in Iraq that has killed tens of thousands and put civilians – including Iraq’s brave but tiny Christian community – in great tribulation. Sadly, I have yet to hear any American church pray for Iraqis as they endure the persecution, poverty, and pain this war has inflicted. But congregants who are Americans first and Christians second often ask God to bless our troops on Sundays.

If they think about it at all, most believers probably see the flag and Pledge as tokens of affection for their country. In reality, both symbolize an infatuation with government. Churches hope to change circumstances through political force when Jesus called us to change hearts and minds with his message. We cheat ourselves, trusting the state’s inferior and transitory power instead of the Almighty.

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Related:

[Video] Greg Boyd on ‘Charlie Rose’: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

MacArthur: The Prostitution of Christianity–”My kingdom is not of this world”

Rethinking Matthew 24: “…then the end will come” — after the Pete Townshends “know”?

This video, in which Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, The Who, perform their last song of the evening, “Tea and Theatre,” is an excellent example of a burden that I have about why it’s crucially important that ONE happens soon.

From the beginning of the prophecy, Let Us Be One, A Kindness that I Want to Flow From My Body:

On the night before Jesus sacrificed his life for us, he prayed that those who would follow would be one. His heart still longs to see this fulfilled in our lives – “that the world may know.”

Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me. (John 17:20-23)

Millions, if not billions of people, right now, are not compelled to become Christians because of the bitter taste that professing Christians are leaving in their stomachs. In fact, many see more love in some non-Christians—which is exceedingly sad, and needs to be remedied.

People have a right to see the real thing—real Christianity. “That they may be perfected into ONE,” Jesus said. “That the world may know.”

When ONE happens in just one group, and then it spreads like wildfire, then if people choose to reject it, so be it. At least they had a chance to really see what they were rejecting—the beauty of what real, Biblical Christianity is!

For a number of years, for some reason, I’ve had a particular burden for Pete Townshend to see ONE happen before he leaves this earth. I think his heart would leap when he sees the real thing, which is probably what he’s been yearning for all his life. When Pete Townshend sees it (whether he becomes a Christian or not), then I think we’ve done our job, then the world will know. Everyone has a right to see the real thing before they die.

Many think Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 are about people just hearing a message, that once all of the unreached peoples hear the Gospel story then the end will come. I’ve been thinking lately that it’s more about once the world sees ONE happen, then the world will know and then the end will come. consider Matthew 24:11-14 in light of John 17:

Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray [which is happening by the droves through most pastors and priests today]. Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

What is being preached by most ‘Christians’ today isn’t really a testimony to the nations. Jesus said in John 17 that the world will know when ONE happens, not just when people hear the Gospel story.

I think Pete Townshend is a good example of a deep thinking, intuitive person who isn’t fooled by hypocrites, who profess Christianity but aren’t even going to heaven, themselves, because they’re not abiding in Christ. Pete will only be impressed by the real thing—which needs to pass the Pete Townshend Smell Test.

I think Jesus call for us to be ONE in John 17 is the testimony to all the nations in Matthew 24. And we can bring this about, by His grace/enablement, as we abide in Him, together!

Then the world will know, and then the end will come.

Freedom!

May we be ONE!

Jeff Fenske : )

John Michael Talbot: Psalm 42—Like the Deer

Notice the God-beam lit Redwoods reaching towards the heavens at 0:50.

YES!!!

Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life;
when can I see the face of God?

John Michael Talbot: Psalm 91

Today the number one concern world-wide is security. Everyone worries about safety. Who will ensure our safety and provide the refuge we seek?

These selected quotes (in the video) from the psalm are set to music with the same title by John Michael Talbot.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he knows and understands My Name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love and kindness- trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honour him.

With long life I will satisfy him
And show him My Salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16 AMP

Source

Mandisa: God Speaking

Psalm 8

The Source of Christian Love Within Us. Where is the ‘Heart’?

Where is the heart (mentioned almost 1,000 times in the Bible)—from where LIFE/rivers of living water should flow in born-again believers?

This is the area that God wants us to keep especially clean—very pretty—pure—so His love can flow!

It’s lower than we think, I think. But may also include the actual heart, which is more than a pump.

This has many ramifications. One of which is achieving real freedom—deep within! And could healing waters come from here too?

I think this may be the source of the love of Jesus within us.  May we learn to flow in it.

Let us be ONE! : )

Consider John 7:38, literally:

HeartQuotes: Truth

Be not astonished at new ideas;
for it is well known to you
that a thing does not therefore cease to be true
because it is not accepted by many.

- Spinoza

Click for the Sandscape Version

Pastor Baldwin: Today’s ‘Christians’—No Hope In God’s Way

From: News with Views

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah faced a generation that is very similar to the one we face today, I am afraid. Political and corporate leaders had given themselves over to corruption and duplicity. The fundamental underpinnings that founded and supported the nation were being dismantled. And the spiritual leaders seemed to be powerless to do anything about it.

Accordingly, Jehovah God told Jeremiah to give this message to the people of Israel:

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When these Hebrews said, “There is no hope,” they were not saying, “It’s all over. We are all doomed. It is helpless.” No, they were not saying that at all. What they were saying was, “Doing it God’s way offers no hope. We will do it our way. We will rely upon our own devices, wisdom, and strength. We can get ourselves out of this mess.” That is the spirit these people possessed.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit that this is exactly the same spirit that many professing Christians display today.

Most everyone, including Christian people, realize that our country is in a mess. They readily agree that a divine healing is needed. They even use the great stories and examples of the Bible to teach our boys and girls how to obey and trust God. They extol the examples of Daniel, the three Hebrew children, Simon Peter and the Apostles, etc. They use these stories to illustrate the importance of putting obedience to God and God’s principles above the machinations and demands of men.

When it comes to voting for and supporting candidates who have proven themselves to be unfaithful to the fundamental principles of liberty and good government, however, these same Christians suddenly become enamored with “the lesser of two evils,” and pragmatism. Doing right gives way to being “practical,” and standing for principle gives way to “not throwing my vote away.”

Had Daniel been “practical,” he would have stopped praying for a few weeks and stayed out of the lions’ den. Had the three Hebrew children been “pragmatic,” they would have given a symbolic bow to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. And I can just hear Christians living in the First Century talking about how they would vote for Nero over Caligula, as he would be “the lesser of two evils.”

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Related: Chuck Baldwin posts at ToBeFree