WHAT IF?

For the sake of argument, consider the reaction of the liberal media types if President George W Bush would have opened his speech at the United Nations with something like this: "Oh God, giver of all life, grant that your Son, Jesus Christ may come, as you have promised, may this General Assembly come to know His Righteousness..." Or similar words to that effect, what if President Bush had uttered such comments? Imagine the firestorm that would have been created? Yet, when the little man from Iran opens his speech to the world with similar language--not a word is spoken against him. It fact, it is eerily silent, to the point that seemingly many are in agreement.

This is how it played in Tehran:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have faced ridicule in the United States by suggesting there were no homosexuals in Iran, but he won praise at home on Wednesday for taking his country's case to "the Lion's Den."

Generally, politicians and media in the Islamic Republic -- even some who have previously criticized the president -- described Ahmadinejad's visit to New York as a triumph and denounced the university president who called him "a petty and cruel dictator."

This is what Joel Rosenberg had to say on the Glenn Beck Show on Monday, September 24, 2007:

"When Ahmadinejad was elected in June of 2005, he began telling people that the end of the world was just two or three years away and that the way to hasten the coming of the Mahdi, the Islamic messiah, was to annihilate Israel, the Little Satan, in his view, and the United States, the Great Satan. And now we are two years into that, right? We`re now in the fall of 2007, two years later. We don`t know exactly his timetable, but we know what he`s been doing over the last two years: building military alliances with Russia, China and North Korea, three nuclear powers; building 3,000, that we know of, centrifuges to enrich uranium; and building alliances with Syria and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to prepare for this annihilation."

Rosenberg adds in another part of the show, the following comments:

"But the 12th imam does not come back to Iran. This is critical that you understand this, because both Osama bin Laden say this is important, and President Tom says this is important. Where does the 12th imam return?"

ROSENBERG: He goes to Kufa, Iraq. He first comes to Mecca, then Medina, but he then goes to Iraq. And in the conditions of chaos and carnage, that`s where he emerges to take over the world and create an Islamic caliphate where, as one of his key advisers, the Ayatollah Amini said -- and I quote him in "Epicenter" -- the Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians. If they accept, they`ll be spared. Otherwise, they will be killed."

It is so strategic that we are in Iraq. You can understand the hatred of the United States of America by these fanatics, because our soldier's boots are on the Holy ground of where their 12th Imam is going to return.

If the Democrats and those who are allied with them, have their way and we pull out of Iraq, there will be a genocide and bloodbath of unparalleled proportions. It will be a fight for the heart and soul of that nation. Their blood will be upon those who do not understand what they are doing.

My friends, this is no madman in Iran, but an instrument of evil that is possibly going to usher in the great battle of Ezekiel 38. Note his alliances, and they fit perfectly with those enemies that will attempt to destroy Israel, either at Armageddon at Megiddo, or the enemies from the North and East, Iran, Russia and China.

Stay tuned...

The Twelfth Imam

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at the United Nations today. Notice how he opened his speech with a prayer: . "Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory and make us his followers and those to attest to his rightfulness". When he has spoken at the UN in the past, he closed his speech with a similar prayer. Why did he now choose to open his prayer this way? This man feels that his god has called him to wreak chaos in the world and especially in the Middle East. For it is out of this chaos that will hasten the return of the Twelfth Imam--their Messiah. So when Iran arms the insurgents in Iraq to kill American soldiers, they are fulfilling the mission of their god. Creating chaos!

Please read Joel Rosenberg's blog on this subject. It is astonishing! You can read him at:
http://joelrosenberg.blogspot.com/

For every truth in God's Word, the devil has a counterfeit. Jesus said, "Many false Christs would arise in the last day.

Friends, I pray that the Christian Church will awake to the momentous hour in which God has placed us. We are sitting in the balcony watching prophecy unfold before our eyes. As the apostle has spoken in God's word, "It is high time to awake out of sleep, for our redemption draws near."

Follow the news closely, we are headed to Armageddon! But, if I understand prophecy, The Church will be raptured before then...Are you ready?

My Arsenal

The digital revolution has changed how I do ministry and study. When I first started out, I collected every book I could get my hands on. I still love books, only many of them now have moved to my digital library. It's called Libronix Digital Library System. I have the "Scholars Edition" and this includes many resources for ministerial study and personal enrichment. I am saving most of my hard copy books for my two sons who want them when I pass on. This Logos Library even catalogs my sermons and includes them in search material. This is a long way from my Royal Manual typewriter, AB Dick Mimeograph machine (what a messy way to do ministry) and other such devices, which most readers under the age of 40, have never heard of.

"Good Ol' Days? Naah...I like today and the opportunities it offers to reach many more people than ever before with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Check out their web-site: www.logos.com

"SWEETER AS THE DAYS GO BY"

Those are the words to a song Gospel quartets used to sing. Of course it refers to a relationship, in this case, one to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. However, my mind was going back to the late 1950's when I met a young lady by the name of Milbre Mock. She had transferred to our town with her job and started attending our little church in La Marque, Texas. We became friends and then the acquaintance grew into something more serious. On September 17, 1960, we were married. She became my "September Bride". I was thinking of the words to that chorus when I contemplated our 47th anniversary in a couple of days. Yes, we have had our share of difficulties, as most do, but the relationship has really grown 'sweeter" as the days and months and years have flown by. Time has taught us patience, perseverance and stronger love for each other. I really am thankful for this girl from De Ridder, Louisiana, that came into my life, and stayed!

Happy Anniversary, sweetheart!

"A Day In Infamy"

Tomorrow, our nation will mark the 6th anniversary of the horrendous event when 19 young Arabs hijacked four airliners and commenced flying them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the fourth was headed for the Capitol building or the White House, when passengers took command and overpowered the remaining hijackers and the plane went down in Shanksville, PA.

9/11/2001--"a day (to paraphrase President Franklin Roosevelt) that will live in infamy". It is interesting to read the various theories of what happened; conspiracies of secret cabals, explosives that were pre-positioned in the W.T. C. to detonate after the planes struck to collapse the towers.

They are saying some of the same things they said about Roosevelt, leading up to Pearl Harbor, that he and certain government agents knew in advance that the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor, but wanted an excuse to declare war against Japan and Germany. And now, some are accusing the government of having foreknowledge of 9/11, but wanted the mighty war machine of the the World's greatest superpower to declare a "War on Terror. See the following link: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories

It would be unthinkable and treasonous for any Government leader to knowingly allow something such as this to happen and destroy so many lives. Personally, I don't believe it!

Taking the facts as we know them to be, these radical Islamics awakened a sleeping nation and sorely underestimated the will of the American people to challenge this bunch of cowards, hiding behind religion to kill and maim innocent men, women and children.

I remember the rage, the tears, the horror and the patriotism that swelled in my heart when our President, George W Bush, stood on the rubble of the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York and declared, "Those who destroyed these buildings will hear from us..." I remember that the nation rallied behind our President as we prepared for war. Young men stood in line to volunteer to be a part of those who would fight.

Since those fateful days, much has happened: Not only a war in Afghanistan, but also Iraq. Thankfully, to this date, there has not been another attack on American soil. But I am disturbed at the political leadership of our nation who now use this war as a "political football." I am deeply concerned that we (as a nation) might be forgetting why we are in this struggle. It is not against a nation, it is an idealogical war. Two civilizations fighting for supremacy!

May God Bless America and cause us to turn our hearts toward the true and living God! Let us join our hearts in prayer for our nation. If we don't, a worse fate could await us in the not so distant future. One nuclear device, set off in a major city, that could kill a million people. Unthinkable?" Yes, but is it possible? I pray not.

God Bless America!

"Knowing the Time"

What an exciting time to be alive! This is the day that the Bible calls "The Last Days". Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ told us that He would return. He was going to the Father, but would come again. He spoke of signs by which we could recognize when we were getting close to His return, although, He said, "No one knows the day nor hour," but God. However, he spoke that the days just prior to His return, there would be "Wars and Rumors of War"; Kingdom would rise against Kingdom"; "Knowledge would be increased"; "Men would run back and forth throughout the earth".

In the short span of less than a generation, we have witnessed phenomenal advances in knowledge. With the advent of the Internet, access to knowledge has never been greater. Much of this vast storehouse of technological information has gone into greater war machines, more skillful ways to kill and destroy. Instead of ushering in peace and safety, the world has grown more unsettled. We are in a great idealogical war in a clash of civilizations. The radical Islamics want nothing less than total destruction of Western culture and civilization. Therefore, since 9/11/2001, we have been engaged in a "War on Terror", with fighting on many fronts. Just this week has witnessed the disruption in Germany of a band of terrorists who were/are planning spectacular assaults on U. S. targets. Even today there is saber rattling between Syria and Israel. The war goes on!

In the midst of such turmoil and gloomy outlook, Christians should be looking up because all these events are pointing to the soon return of Jesus Christ. If you are not a believer, this would be a good time to turn your heart toward God and ask Him to come into your life.

The Old Has Become New Again

Our church, Northwest Family Church, in Auburn, WA has debated and planned in a series of Cohort's about our purpose, mission, values and core beliefs. That process is ongoing. One of the decisions that has been made is to attempt to reach different segments of our community that may not respond to one style, but is there a style they would respond to?

A decision was made to hold a more traditional style of service on Sunday that would certainly appeal to a large segment of our church (since we are in our 85th year as a congregation), and to have another service more contemporary that would appeal to the younger people. While the first would sing from the hymnals, have a choir, and actually sit down to sing, the second service would be more guitar driven, louder, etc.

Today was the first day that the new service format was offered and it seem to be well received from all sides. The first Sunday attendance at each service was almost equal.

While I realize this debate has been going on in many churches and denominations, we desire to make this a sincere effort to reach our community and, yes, we want to reach younger people as well, since they are our future. This is the second time our congregation has begun a traditional service, and I believe it will be successful this time. There are many young people that need the Lord, but let's face it: we have to reach some of the older one's also, they may not have another chance. The fastest growing demographic is the 50 plus, since all the 'boomer's are coming of age. We will not forget them!