Looking for a Job

The Pathway of Suffering IS the Pathway to Perfection

Did you know that the Book of Job is widely considered to be one of the oldest books of the Bible...and perhaps even the first written book of the Bible?

Consider then the significance of this message being potentially chosen as God's first documented words to man.  There is much for us to learn from Job, especially as we encounter the trials of life.

In the two-part message linked below, Pastor Zac Poonen discusses the Book of Job and important truths we can learn for our lives today.

God is looking for a Job; a person who is blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil (Job 1:1).  Those are perhaps the very first words of inspired Scripture that God gave to man.


Click here for Book of Job - Part 1

• Shows us that something happens in the Heavenly realm when God's children suffer on earth; many things which happen on earth are being closely watched by God, the angels, Satan, and all in the Heavenlies.
• When a man is godly, God allows him (and his family) to become the target of Satan's attacks...but God does not forsake him.
• Just because a man is godly does not mean his wife will be...and vice versa.
• A godly man will be misunderstood by religious people; religious people do not know God, but know facts about God.
• A godly man is often a lonely man because a spiritual man can only be understood by those who are spiritual.
• God pointed out to Satan a man who "feared God and eschewed evil", and the mouth of the accuser of the brethren was shut.
• The prosperity 'health and wealth' gospel has its roots in this first book of Scripture.  It was first preached by three men (Job's friends) who did not know God.  Job lost his health and his wealth and was completely in the will of God.
• A godly man has concern to bring up his children in godly ways.
• A godly man is concerned with sin in the heart.
• A man is godly because he has a life hidden away in continual communion with God.  He makes offerings to God even in good times when there is no trouble.
• You can never be a servant of Christ if you seek to please even one man (Galatians 1:10).  Seek to please God only.
• God has put a hedge of protection around a godly man's life, his family, and his possessions (Job 1:10).  Satan cannot touch a godly person without God's permission.
• God is omnipresent, but Satan can only be at one place at a time.
• Satan cannot see the future.
• Upon hearing of the destruction of his children and property, Job's first response to worship God (Job 1:20).
• Satan often uses our loved ones to tempt us.  A lot of believers are waiting on calamity to hit godly men - and are secretly happy when it does - because of jealousy.

Click here for Book of Job - Part 2

• Job's three friends offer their thoughts on Job's situation, but God eventually says "My wrath is kindled against thee...for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right." (Job 42:7)  What they said was wrong because the spirit behind their words was wrong.  Men may find a lot of people's sayings 'right', but God will find it 'wrong' based on the motive behind the words.
• Eliphaz concluded that Job was suffering because of sin in his life (Job 4:8), but he was wrong.  He believed that secret visions, angelic visitations, and supernatural experiences made him authoritative about the things of God (Job 4:12-16).  However, we must be sure that the spirit behind the supernatural is the Holy Spirit; and in Eliphaz's case, it was not.
• Bildad assumed that Job's children must have sinned (Job 8:4-5).  Again, this was false.  He believed he represented God's authority because he appealed to the traditions of their forefathers (Job 8:8-19).  Yet, man's beliefs and traditions are not the standard for God's anointing.
• Zophar accused Job of being a wicked man who didn't really serve God at all (Job 11:3-12); yet again we know he was wrong for God later calls Job the most godly of the bunch.  Zophar was a self-appointed critic, offering a fleshly imitation of Godly judgment (Job 11:2-20).  He was an angry man who used harsh words to find fault with others and cut them to pieces.  This is not the anointing of God.
• The problem with each of Job's three friends is that none of them knew the character of God.
• After all have said their peace, a young man named Elihu speaks.  God had no criticism for Elihu's words for they were true, but Elihu had never been through trials himself. While Elihu understood the character of God, he had not gone through the deep waters with God to have that character forged in him; therefore God's anointing also did not rest on his words.   You can be a 'good' man/woman and even have a 'good' ministry, but remain shallow because you've had no experience with suffering.
• It is false to believe that only the wicked suffer.  The truth is that wicked people often live long, are wealthy, are able to see their offspring grow, retain their possessions, have businesses that prosper, spend their days in pleasure, and are not under God's chastening (Job 21:7-13).  Our earthly situations (which are temporal) are no determinant of our standing with God.
• When God speaks to Job, reminding him of God's omniscience and power, Job is convicted.  God is in complete control and nothing occurs by happenstance.  God doesn't speak to Job about his sin or his children's sin; He simply reminds Job of His own greatness and all Job could say is, "I am nothing." (Job 40:4-5)
•  Although Job was an upright man, he also had spiritual pride in his godliness.  That is why God took him through this trial: to make him godly and humble.  Paul was also taken through suffering by God to keep him humble (II Corinthians 12:7).  This is the reason why God allows His people to suffer, so that He can keep them humble and thereby keep them as vessels of His grace (James 4:6).
• God restored Job after he prayed for his friends.  A godly man prays for those who persecute him, loves his enemies, and does good to those who harm him.

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation..." Job 13:15-16a

Maybe It's Just Me...

But I expect to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Not only some time far off in the future, not one day when I 'get to Heaven', but even now as we live and breathe in this world.

I wake up each day looking to see my Savior and to have there be a continued difference in my life because of Him.  I have the expectation daily that souls will be restored and captives set free; that people will be turned from darkness to light.  That God will move in miraculous and wondrous ways which cause His name to be glorified...even amongst those who may have denied Him the day before.  I expect that I will walk in as well as be changed and kept by His awesome power.

We are not just serving some pie in the sky speculation, but God is more real than you and I.  He is a Father who desires to commune with us and have us as His own.  Every second is being worked out according to His sovereign will, and nothing is able to change that.

I pray each day that I see things as He sees them.  That my heart be filled with the desires of His heart.  That my ears be open to His words...and my will be quick to obey.  Like a trusting child, I can yield myself to Him without reservation, knowing that He cares for me and desires only that which is best for me.  Even His chastening is done out of His love for me.

I will keep my eyes on things above so that no circumstance overtake, deter or distract me.  I will keep my mind on Him so that I will be in perfect peace, even when in the midst of turmoil.  I can rejoice, even in my sufferings, for He is with me and He strengthens me.  He even strengthens me to wait upon Him when it seems no answer is near.  I know by His promises that I will also share in His resurrection for He has already overcome the world.

I refuse to settle for the religious existence of a shallow life where I confess the Lord with my lips, but do not actually know Him nor am known by Him.  I know that I can and will experience Him personally in my life each day as I make Him a priority.  I am His and He is mine; He is the lover of my soul.

Today, I trust that God will order my steps, provide for every need, and have His perfect way in me as He uses me as a vessel of His love to others.  I pray, trust and believe these things because...

I expect to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  And this hope purifies.

"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalm 27:13-14

Choose Life

"Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these." Jeremiah 2:34

Today is the 38th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision which was the landmark case legalizing the murder of unborn children in the United States. Since that time - in this country of freedom, democracy, and opportunity - over 50,000,000 (that's right, 50 million) babies have been slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers.

The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) wants Americans to commemorate this occasion with a "Blog for Choice" day.  While I am all for choices, what exactly are people being encouraged to choose?  According to NARAL:

"We believe that women should have option to choose abortion. Today they can, thanks to the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. But even though access to abortion is legal, our right to it is far from safe. Anti-choice groups attack our right to choose at every opportunity."

Why is this "choice" so important?  Because - as President Obama says - if my daughters get pregnant, I don't want them to be punished with a baby for that mistake.    Didn't you know that an unplanned baby is a punishment and a mistake?

So, those in agreement with NARAL (and President Obama) are fighting for women's "rights" and "choices" to protect them from being unduly punished.  Conversely, others are supposedly "anti-choice" and seeking to "attack" these protections.  Hmmmm....put in those terms, it sure isn't too hard to see who the "good" guys are, right?

But let's look at this "choice" and dissect what we are really speaking about.  The biggest evidence for the hideous nature of the "choice" NARAL and others want to defend is the fact that they have to hide behind sanitized words which obscure the reality of the cause being championed.

The following practices for enacting this "choice" are used around the world:

Mifepristone & Misoprostol: a medical abortion procedure up to the first seven to nine weeks used to end the life of an in utero (in the uterus) baby. It is also referred to as RU-486, the abortion pill and Mifeprex.  This drug is taken in pill form and works to block the hormone progesterone which the woman's body is producing to sustain the life of the child.  Blocking this hormone causes the uterine lining (which connects the baby to the mother) to shed thereby stripping the baby from his/her source of nourishment.  Then 24-72 hours later, the woman uses Misoprostol to cause the uterus to contract and expel the dead body mass, which has been still residing in her womb.

Methotrexate & Misoprostol (MTX): a medical abortion procedure used up to the first seven weeks of the unborn baby's life.  When the availability of RU-486 to women in the United States was delayed during the 1990s, researchers looked to other drug alternatives.  Methotrexate had been used in the United States since 1953 as a chemotherapy drug.  Since chemotherapy targets and kills rapidly dividing cells (i.e. cancerous cells), researchers tested its effectiveness for targeting unborn babies.  Methotrexate can stop the implantation process that occurs during the first several weeks after conception or affect attachment to the uterine wall. Again, misoprostol is used to induce contractions so that the baby's tissue is expelled from the body.

Suction Aspiration: a surgical abortion procedure used to end the life of an in utero baby between 6 to 12 weeks of gestation. It is also referred to as suction curettage or vacuum aspiration.  This first trimester abortion involves three main steps: (1) an injection to numb the cervix, (2) insertion of a soft flexible tube (a cannula) through the cervix into the uterus; the tube is connected to a vacuum, (3) suction created by an aspirating machine (the vacuum) or a hand-held mechanism pulling the baby apart limb by limb.  The baby's body parts are then sucked out through the tube. If any of the baby's tissue remains, a curette (hook-shaped knife) is used to scrape away what remains.

Dilation & Curettage (D & C): a surgical abortion procedure used to end the life of an unborn baby between 13 to 15 weeks gestation. It is also referred to as suction curettage or vacuum aspiration.  Curettage of the uterus (womb) is the scraping of the lining of the uterus.  While intended as a health procedure for women who have miscarried or have irregular menstrual cycles, it is now used to cause the miscarriage in the cases of abortion by cutting the baby to pieces.  A curette (a hook-shaped knife) is used to scrape the uterine walls and cut the baby in order to extract the pieces of its body from the womb.

Dilation & Evacuation (D & E): a surgical abortion procedure used to end the life of an unborn baby over 15 weeks gestation.  It usually includes a combination of vacuum aspiration, dilation and curettage (D&C), and the use of surgical instruments.  This procedure is usually done over 2-3 consecutive days. On the first day, an ultrasound (sonogram) is performed to determine the size and position of the baby. Then, the procedure begins by numbing the cervix with injections and inserting dilators into the cervix. Overnight these dilators gently expand, opening the entrance to the uterus, simulating labor. The next day, the cervix is again numbed, the dilators are removed, and the doctor uses the instruments (such as forceps) to grab the baby. The teeth of the forceps are used to twist and tear the bones of the child repeatedly until it is totally dismembered. Usually the spine must be snapped and the skull crushed in order to remove all the pieces of the baby from the womb. The final step is suction using the aspirating machine. When the baby is over 24 weeks gestation, additional dilators are inserted on the second day and the baby is removed on the third day. 

Induction Abortion: a surgical procedure performed on in utero babies over where salt water, urea (i.e. urine), or potassium chloride is injected into the amniotic sac.  This begins to burn the outer layer of the unborn baby's skin and also poisons him.  The baby breathes and swallows this solution which results in dehydration, convulsions and brain hemorrhage.  The doctor will then induce labor.  There have been instances where babies are born alive even after this procedure.  Here is one such testimony.

Partial-birth Abortion: a surgical procedure performed to end the life of an unborn baby over five months in gestation. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist pulls the baby feet-first out of the womb and into the birth canal, except for the head. The head must remain lodged just inside of the woman's cervix or the procedure would legally be considered murder. The abortionist forcefully punctures the base of the baby’s skull with a surgical instrument, such as scissors or a pointed hollow metal tube called a trochar. He then inserts a tube into the wound, and removes the baby's brain with a powerful suction machine. This causes the baby's skull to collapse, after which the abortionist completes the delivery of the now-dead baby.

When we speak of a woman's right to a 'choice of abortion', we are literally speaking of a woman's right to have her own child tortured, dismembered, burned, but ultimately: murdered.  Such advocates are literally pro-(the choice of) murder for their own children!  How many people want to put that on their protest signs?  Why don't they proudly proclaim, "I have the right to dismember my children!" or "A child would inconvenience me, so my right to personal liberty allows me to kill him!"?  Why don't they walk around proudly displaying pictures of the results of these procedures they so staunchly defend?  Why do they prefer that women make such decisions in darkness rather than having access to information (i.e. ultrasounds) on these "tissues" they seek to destroy? 

Inherent in the justification of this "right" to murder is the false belief that unborn children are the property of the mothers. That they are simply a collection of cells over which a woman has jurisdiction as an extension of her own body.  However, an unborn child is a separate and distinct life from the mother with his/her own physical traits and genetics.  Pro-choice advocates will tell you that, unless a baby has reached the age of being viable outside of the womb, he/she should not be considered a living human being.  Yet, once life has been conceived by the fertilization of the egg....a new life has been conceived. That is why it is called conception.

If a child's inability to sustain his/her own life apart from the mother is a reasonable ground upon which to legitimize murder, then why don't we accept the same claim for babies when they are born?  Babies certainly remain dependent upon parents for survival outside of the womb, so why don't we allow parents to contract for the medical disposal of their children after birth?  Not only do we not permit it, but such is a crime. 

parental neglect: n. a crime consisting of acts or omissions of a parent (including a stepparent, adoptive parent or someone who, in practical terms, serves in a parent's role) which endangers the health and life of a child or fails to take steps necessary to the proper raising of a child. The neglect can include leaving a child alone when he or she needs protection; failure to provide food, clothing, medical attention or education to a child; or placing the child in dangerous or harmful circumstances, including exposing the child to a violent, abusive or sexually predatory person.

There is the expectation that parents have a responsibility to provide and care for their children, even if it requires a sacrifice of themselves. A parent's right to "personal liberty" ends precisely when it starts to endanger the life of another; in this case, their own children.

You cannot be a Christian and be pro-choice.  If one is pro-choice, then one knows not Christ and the Spirit of God is not in you.  Harsh words?  Maybe.  But true nonetheless.

Either you have faith in a Creator who personally and sovereignly creates each human life or you have no such faith (Psalm 139:14).  Either you acknowledge that our lives and bodies are not our own, or you think that your life belongs to you to do with what you please (Psalm 127:3; I Corinthians 6:13, 20).  Either you stand against murder, or you condone it (Exodus 20:13; James 2:11; I John 3:15).  Either you believe and obey God or you deny Him (I John 2:4).

So on this day where many in the world want you to champion the "choice", I wonder who is crying out for the child?   While they extol the merits of the "choice", who is honest enough to actually consider the consequences?

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" Deuteronomy 30:19

Interestingly, an entertainer named Nick Cannon was almost aborted by his mother when she became a pregnant teen and he wrote a song called, "Can I Live?" dedicated to her for letting him live.  There were some thought-provoking lyrics to this song as the "unborn" baby Cannon speaks to his mother about the "choice" of abortion.  "$300, that's the price of living?...What do you want, morning sickness or the sickness of mourning?...If I could talk I'd say to you, "Can I live?""

What if every mother was attentive to consider the voice of their babies in the womb?  What "choice" would they make then?

Building Up of the House of the Lord

A Time of Great Shaking

"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." Haggai 2:6-7

This morning, God led me to the Book of Haggai.  I believe it would also be a helpful reading for others.  Remember, we are the temple of the Lord.  We need to be about building up our spirit man at the expense of all else.  As the days unfold and the Lord increases the shaking of this world, how will we otherwise be able to stand?  We need to be stirred up towards obedience to the word of the Lord (II Timothy 1:6; II Peter 3:1-2).

"And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God." Haggai 1:14

So if you have a moment today, I encourage you to read the Book of Haggai as it is a timely message for the church today.  It is two short chapters, but is a powerful message.  After reading it, I also found a bible study on Haggai by Pastor Zac Poonen which is edifying as well.

How Do I Love Thee?

In the Name of Love

We have spoken before about "love" and how true love is not what many think it is. 

We know from Scripture that God is love. God's illustration of love is that He sacrificed Himself for us...even unto His death (John 3:16).  This is the standard of love that He calls us to walk in as believers in Christ.  He calls us to a life of selflessness, which is synonymous with the expression of God's love (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).  We may think that our actions or words are motivated by sincere love, but if our own desires, needs, hurts, or wants are at the center of it, then we deceive ourselves.

If we let the world define "love" for us, then we will think that love can motivate us to do even what God forbids.  According to popular culture, "love" can justify fornication, adultery, pedophilia, homosexuality, murder, lying, stealing, gossip, anger, unforgiveness, revenge, and a host of other sins. Many crimes against God and man are done in the name of love.

We - and especially our young people - need to understand that not all "love" is the same and not everything we think to be love actually is.

In Pastor Zac Poonen's book entitled,"Sex, Love, and Marriage: The Christian Approach" he says the following:

The New Testament was originally written in Greek and that language has four words for "love" - agape, philia, storge and eros. Of these, storge is used almost exclusively to refer to the love of parents for their children and of children for their parents. Since we are dealing here with love between the sexes, we shall ignore storge and consider only the other three words. Agape, philia and eros refer to three levels of love - which could correspond to man's spirit, soul and body.

Beginning at the lowest level, eros refers to the love of physical passion. It has been defined as "the hot and unendurable desire" and has primary reference to the union of the body of one with that of the other. It is a love based on something physical in one person that can satisfy the craving of another. It is a love that always seeks to receive.

The next word is philia. This is the commonest word for "love" in Greek, and refers to affectionate regard and the love of friendship. The idea is of cherishing. It has primary reference in marriage to the union of the soul of one with that of the other. It is a love based usually on similarity of intellectual and emotional outlook. It means more than physical love but it can still be self-centered, for its satisfaction often comes from the feeling that one is wanted, or that one is a benefactor or a protector of that other needy person.

The third word - which speaks of the highest level of love - is agape. This is the love of God imparted to us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). This word has primary reference in marriage to the union of the spirit of one with that of the other. It is a self-giving love - the love of Calvary's cross.

William Barclay in `More New Testament Words', says, "Agape is unconquerable benevolence, invincible goodwill. It is not simply a wave of emotion; it is a deliberate conviction of the mind issuing in a deliberate policy of the life; it is a deliberate achievement and conquest and victory of the will. It takes all of man to achieve this love; it takes not only his heart; it takes his mind and his will as well. It is impossible for a man to have this love unless the Spirit takes possession of him and sheds abroad the love of God in his heart."

A Greek lexicon referring to agape says, "It chooses its object with decision and self-denying compassion. This is love in its fullest and highest form. It has its source in God. The verb-form stands for kindliness towards its object and has reference to the tendency of the will."

...In the married life of a believer, all these loves should exist - but in the proper order - agape first, philia next and eros third. This is in accordance with the teaching of 1 Thessalonians 5:23, which puts spirit first, soul next and body third. This was the order that God intended should exist in man when He created him.

In fallen man however this order is reversed, and therefore even his concept of love is perverted. An attraction of the carnal mind and body of one to the carnal mind and body of another is what this world calls "love". It is just philia and eros - and alas, sometimes eros alone. Yet in God's eyes, nothing is worthy of being called "love" unless it has the agape constituent in it.

The love of God motivates us to deny ourselves for the benefit of others. Anything we do which puts our needs or desires first is therefore not being done under inspiration of the love of God.

If we donate money to a charity, but do so because we want to be seen as generous, then that is not love.  If we volunteer to help the homeless because we want others to witness our sacrifice, then that is not love.  If love leads us to disobey God - or entices others to do the same - then that is not the love of God.

God doesn't just look at what we do or say, He looks at the heart. A true revelation of God's love will keep us from a lot of heartache and error when it comes to the things of the Lord.

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." I John 3:16

A Return to Truth

Our Deepest Fear

In 1992, an author named Marianne Williamson wrote a book called "A Return to Love" which went on to become a New York Times bestseller.  Since that time, an excerpt from this book has taken a life all its own.  It has become an inspirational mantra for younger generations, being incorporated into various movies and television shows as well as integrated as a teaching tool in educational systems.

On Ms. Williamson's website, it states:

A Return to Love is considered a must-read of The New Spirituality. A paragraph from that book, beginning "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure" - often misattributed to Nelson Mandela's Inaugural address - is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers...

She has been a popular guest on television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, Good Morning America and Charlie Rose...Marianne also founded The Department of Peace Campaign, a grass roots campaign supporting legislation to establish a U. S. Department of Peace...According to Time magazine, "Yoga, the Cabala and Marianne Williamson have been taken up by those seeking a relationship with God that is not strictly tethered to Christianity."

Similar to the hit song "The Greatest Love of All" made famous years ago by George Benson and later Whitney Houston, it teaches a principle of "love" that is the anti-thesis of biblical love.  It promotes "love" as an innate attribute in man stemming from his own abilities and inner brilliance.  It is not God who is love and the center of all, but man is as he begins to realize that we all have "god" within us.  Similarly, Ms. Williamson's mantra is just as much of a delusion.  It states:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Just as many churchfolks embraced "The Greatest Love of All" and commonly had children singing this anti-christ anthem during services, this latest mantra is also being embraced by churches as children are again made to be the puppets/targets of this satanic lie.

In reality, man's "greatest fear" is that we are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" apart from God (Revelation 3:17).  To cover up this 'greatest fear', man follows Satan's greatest lie that we need to be "enlightened" (have our eyes opened) to our own inherent greatness & goodness (Genesis 3:4-5).

No, we don't need God at all.  We can live independent of Him because we already contain a great 'light' within ourselves, but we just don't know it.  We don't need Jesus.  We don't need to be saved.  We just need the awakening of the third eye so that we can merge with the divine who already exists within us.  It is then that we shall be as gods (Genesis 3:5).

Yal (I can say 'yal' because I am from the south) Satan hasn't changed and neither have his lies.  All he has done is slapped some sappy sentimentalism on the lie in the name of a false idea of "love", played on people's desire to be puffed up about themselves, and folks fall for it hook, line, & sinker.

Jesus said that there is none good except God.  These demonic "inspirational/motivational" texts say that you are more than good; you are brilliant and powerful beyond measure containing within yourself the greatest love you will ever find: a love of yourself.  You not only become the Savior for yourself, but you become the Savior for all mankind as you "do what thou wilt", and give permission for others to do the same.

Church, who will we believe, God or man?

"But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:23

This concept of awakening to this presence of 'god' within is often called becoming aware of our "Christ-consciousness".  It is a concept continuously promoted by Oprah Winfrey for example, and has become a mainstream idea - even in the churchworld.

Many churches are now speaking of a coming "shift in consciousness" which will result in a "new breed" of "illuminated" humanity, and this is nothing besides new age occult doctrine.  The Lighthouse Trails research group posted an article yesterday describing how Rick Warren is pulling upon these concepts in the launching of his health and wellness program designed for Saddleback Church. While this in and of itself is no surprise since Rick Warren preaches a false gospel, many professing Christians are adopting these concepts with seemingly no understanding of their satanic origins.

We must remember that even the forbidden fruit looked "good, pleasant, and able to make one wise".  However, the knowledge of real truth always leads to godliness (Titus 1:1); anything else is a lie leaving us blind and lost.  The moment we start finding "truth" apart from God, we are on the pathway to deception.

The Overcoming Life Conference

We have posted several messages from Pastor Zac Poonen on this site, so hopefully you are familiar with him.  Pastor Poonen will be in the United States February 25-27, 2011 for a conference in Austin, TX.  The theme is "The Overcoming Life".

The conference itself is free and the lunches provided during the conference are also free.  They simply ask that you register so that they can plan accordingly.

You can find more information about the conference here:  http://www.ravensministry.com/Zac2011Feb.pdf

Registration details are here: http://ravensministry.com/attend.html

Live webcast link for those unable to attend in person: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zacaustin2011feb

Links to previous year's conferences: http://www.ravensministry.com/download.html

There is also a Men's Conference with Pastor Poonen at River of Life Christian Fellowship in Loveland, CO on March 18th-20th, 2011.  This too is free for men 18 years and older (or 15 years and older when accompanying a male parent/guardian).

Pastor Poonen will also be speaking at Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Mountainview, California on the following days/times where all are welcome:

Feb.12 (4:30 pm) and Feb. 13 (8:30 am and 11:00 am)
Feb. 19 (4:30 pm) and Feb. 20 (8:30 am and 11:00 am)
March 5 (4:30 pm) and March 6 (8:30 am and 11:00 am)
March 12 (4:30 pm) and March 13 (8:30 am and 11:00 am)

Ethnos Shall Rise Against Ethnos

We Be Abraham's Seed

"Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." Luke 21:10

In the text above, the word "nation" is the Greek word ethnos, which refers to people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture.  According to Jesus, one sign of the end times is that there will be an increase in the struggle between ethnicities.

Not only is this true in the world at large, but we see this same distractions in the churchworld as racial tensions rise around the physical identity of Israel.  All across the globe, racial separatists are claiming to be the "true Israel" of God...and there is a reason why these groups are picking up steam: the pride of life.

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." I John 2:16

While it may be pleasing for the old man to believe that anything of the flesh contains some sort of redemptive value, God tells us that if we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption (Galatians 6:8).  Know that when you embrace the pride of life - and those who promote it - you are demonstrating that you are not of the Father.

Fallen man always desires to be lifted up.  Anytime you find a religious group defining inclusion or God's acceptance based on the flesh, then you are dealing with the nature of unregenerate man.  This is why you will often find the hallmark of such groups to be pride; a boasting of themselves, their identities, and their "works".

It was the same in Jesus' day as the religious leaders claimed to be justified through the lineage from their father Abraham, yet Jesus reprimanded them (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:33, 39).  In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, because He makes of both one new man (Romans 3:9, 9:24, 10:12; Ephesians 2:15, Galatians 3:28, 6:15; Colossians 3:11; I Corinthians 12:13). 

Someone recently commented on an article asking if I believed that the Jews currently in Israel are the actual Jews spoken of in the Bible.  I would like to share my response here:

I believe foremost that the Lord knows those who are His. So the "who is Israel" question is not very pertinent. By that, I mean one's physical lineage has no bearing on salvation. Even the physical descendants of Israel need to turn in faith in Christ - where there is no longer Jew nor Gentile.

I also believe that we are in the latter days. Specifically that the seven year peace treaty with Israel and the surrounding Arab countries will begin the seven years of tribulation. This doesn't mean that all natural Israelites are in Israel (or that all in Israel are natural Israelites), but it means that God's timetable is on track to unfold end time sequences.

For me - and I believe for most born again believers - this is a non-issue.  However, there is a falsehood undergirding many of these sects saying that the Jews in Israel are not true Israelites, but rather impostors who converted to Judaism. 

In the following video entitled "The Khazar Myth Debunked - 13th Tribe - Arthur Koestler Refuted", Chris White illustrates how race has nothing to do with one's genealogical descent.  You cannot tell who is or who is not a physical Jew based on skin color. He also reviews evidence to discount the theory that the Ashkenazi Jews are merely descendants of the converted Khazar Turks.

God did choose a specific people of a specific ethnicity as His own in order to bring forth the promised redemption for mankind; yet, they too must turn in faith to that Savior. The advantage of the Jew is that they should more readily be able to recognize and yield to Jesus Christ because to them had been entrusted the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2). 

"But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain." Titus 3:3

How is it that so many are turning to arguments of genealogies and attributes of the flesh in order to define righteousness when Scripture is clear that such is in vain?

Don't be deceived in these last days by falling prey to "ethnos rising against ethnos".  Those who have truly been born again understand that we can place no confidence in the flesh and neither know any man after the flesh (II Corinthians 5:16; Philippians 3:3). 

For whatever value this adds to those seeking truth, I pray that it helps.  However, the most important thing to know is that such issues as ethnicity - and any attribute of the flesh - have no bearing or significance on our standing in Christ.

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Romans 2:28-29

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7

You may also want to read the following sermon by Pastor Voddie Baucham as he addresses the issue of race from the Scriptures in: The Table of Nations: Are there Many Races or One?

Jesus is Not Schizophrenic

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:28-29

Scripture says that those who love God and have been called by Him are predestined to be "conformed" to the image of Christ.  But what does this mean?  What does it mean to be "Christ-like"?

conform: to act in accord with the prevailing standard; to be or become similar in form, nature, or character; to be in harmony or accord; to adapt, adjust

The standard for the Christian is Jesus, and those called by God are to reflect His very nature as they are changed by the power of the Spirit (II Peter 1:4).

And here is the kicker: Jesus Christ is real!  He is not a myth, a figment of man's imagination, or a generic moniker for things we consider "good".  He is literally the Word of God who was made flesh and dwelt amongst men.  He has a distinct character, nature, and personality.  There are things He likes, and things He dislikes.  Faith in Christ results in an actual transformation so that - even now - we will be as He is (I John 4:17).

Yet, if we went by the professions of many Christians, one might think that Jesus is schizophrenic.  There is the gay Christian...liberal Christian...hip hop Christian...feminist Christian...conservative Christian...Southern Baptist Christian...Charismatic Christian.  Jesus is like the Baskin Robbins flavor of the month where each and every person has his own version.  But what do these qualifiers really mean?  It means that we do not want to be conformed to Jesus; rather we are conforming HIM to our own image.

Since we are not in agreement with Jesus just as He is, we fragment Him into pieces.  The parts of Him we like, we accept.  The parts we don't like, we replace with our own ideologies.  The end result is that we wind up with our own flavor of Christianity.

However, the truth is that Jesus Christ is real; and if we claim to belong to Christ, but do not bear His image, then we are simply lying to ourselves.  We cannot append anything else to Him.  It cannot be Jesus and...such and such.  It must be Christ alone. 

We must be conformed to His image.  It is not enough to name His name, and yet not have His nature within.  Such will find themselves outside of the Kingdom, no matter how much they have professed in this life to belong to Him.

In the message below, Pastor Zac Poonen discusses the topic of what it really means to be conformed to the image of Christ, so that we may all examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith.

The Book of James

Life is But a Vapor

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil." James 4:14-16

In the following videos, Pastor Gary C. Price does a study on the Book of James.

By introduction to the message, Pastor Price gives a short overview of a book called "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne.  This book teaches new age occultism by encouraging men to tap into an energy source or higher power so that man can dictate what happens in his own life.  He also shows how this approach to self-actualization is permeating through all parts of society.

Yet "The Secret" is actually no secret at all.  It is the same old lie spoken by Satan in the Garden of Eden which seeks to undermine God's words and entice man to determine what is good or evil for himself.  Set your own path.  Create your own destiny.  Speak your own existence into being by the power of positive thinking and proclamation. 

Take this book, change the words "higher power" to Jesus, and you have an exact mirror of the Word of Faith heresy being taught by false preachers all across the globe.  The world is being woven together in a humanistic, antichrist matrix and the enemies to this system will be those who stand for Jesus Christ alone, refusing to modify or compromise on His words.

Will you be obedient and endowed with power by God to stand or will you believe the lies of the god of this world and be deceived?  Will you fall for The Secret - even if it is dressed up in the name of Jesus - or will you submit to the Truth who is The Way?

Our life must not be grounded in this world, but in Christ. Therefore, our focus must be in preparing for true eternal life in Christ and not building up temporal, pseudo-kingdoms in the earth.

These messages are part of live broadcasts from Omega Church & Ministries Center which occur at 1:00 pm EST on Sundays at the following site: http://www.stickam.com/omegaministries.  So feel free to tune in directly to participate in the bible studies as they occur.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4