How do we get to a one world currency and government?

Revelation 13:16-17 (New King James Version)

16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or[a] the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

I have often wondered how we as a world get to the point where nobody in the entire world can buy or sell without having the mark of the beast. How do we get to this point in our society that seems so radical? Well, in the past few weeks I can finally see the road that will take us there.

Our world is tied together by our economies. Its easy to see this one daily basis just by looking at the effect that our rising and falling currency has on the rest of the world and ourselves. This is important to understand, in order to grasp the danger that lies ahead. The economy of Greece is on the verge of collapse, and other economies of the world are heavily invested in Greece. When the economy of Greece finally collapses it will have a domino effect hitting other world economies. The next to fail after Greece will be Spain, England, and Germany since they are so closely tied to Greece. When these three fail then the entire EU will fail. The EU failing will cause the United States to fail if we have not already. When the US fails the world fails.

I said that the US would fail if we had not already. Our economy is in deep trouble because of the massive spending over the past couple of years. Economist say that by 2020 just 10 years from now, and maybe sooner, Medicare, Medicaid, and Interest on our debt, will consume every tax dollar collected. Think about that. That does not include any other spending just those three. We cannot afford to keep spending like we are. Look for our dollar to be inflated in order to attempt to pay for all of our debt. other economies of the world are spending just like we are and that is why Greece and the EU are in trouble as well.

No the question is, what happens when the economies of the world collapse? Well look at the EU. They started out as the EC, a European Commonwealth, that just had a shared currency and now they are unified under a government. When the economies of the world collapse, its a perfect time for a group like the United Nations, though I'm not saying this is the group, to step in with a common world currency to try to stabilize the world wide crisis. The problem with a single world currency is the governing that follows.

We are on the edge of disaster and it seems that none of our leaders have a clue. Friends, get out of debt, turn to Christ, and pray. A time of great tribulation is coming and Christ is the only thing we can cling onto that will not fail us. Repent from your sin, get on your knees in prayer, turn back to Christ and fear no more. I know this seems radical and weird, but its how I see it through my eyes. Until next week.....pray.

The Middle East on Fire

This morning I heard a news report that President Obama snubbed visiting president Benjamin Netanyahu not once but twice. Obama is demanding that Netanyahu stop the building in Jerusalem and come to the table to accept a two state peace between Israel and Palestine. This will never happen, and tensions are rising. Our president as of this morning has only a 9% approval rating among Israelis. I've spoken before about the war of Gog and Magog. We see that all the players are aligned in this present time, like never before in History. Iran is allied with Russia and are on the fast track to getting an operational nuclear weapon to use on Israel, or try at least. Turkey has abandoned their alliance with Israel, while Iraq and Egypt are at peace. This is the picture of Gog and Magog. Friends, the time is close, and the world is being positioned for biblical prophecies to come true.

Matthew 3:2 (New International Version)

2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

The time to repent and come to Christ is now. You do not want to be on the losing side when Christ returns. Come to Jesus, and live.

Do we still Love our Neighbor?

Jesus gave us the two greatest commandments in Mark chapter 12 verses 28-34, but I want to focus on the second one. To love your neighbor as yourself. This comes to mind for me because I was reading about the last days in Matthew 24 and a verse stood out to me. Verse 12 listed below is what hit me so hard.

Matthew 24:12 (New King James Version)

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

While examining my own heart, I wonder if I truly love my neighbor or has it grown cold? I end up asking myself some questions. Have you watched what is going on in this world? Are you frustrated with the school systems? Are you frustrated with the Government? Are the laws in this country backwards, when a person drives drunk and kills someone gets 6 months in jail, but someone who kills a dog gets 2 years in jail? Do you get tired of the bias toward Christianity? Does it bother you that Christ is being erased from all facets of life for the sake of separation of church and state? Is common sense dead? It feels like lawlessness is more acceptable now-days, rather than the biblical world view of living life.

After all of this examining of ourselves, do we still pray for our political leaders faithfully or do we just yell at the TV about how crazy all of this mess sounds? Do we pray for our teachers and school boards everyday, or complain about what our children are being taught and wish someone would do something about it? For me I fear that my love for my neighbor is at least getting chilly and I need to spend more time on my knees. I challenge everyone to examine yourself, so we do not fail at one of the greatest commandments. Lets love our neighbor.

How much do you love the Lord?

This post is meant to open our eyes to what is really important in our life. Do you love the Lord with all your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength? This is the greatest commandment according to Jesus when asked by scribes in Mark 12:28-31. Also, He says to Love your neighbor as yourself, and that there are no greater commandments than these two, since all the law is wrapped up in them. Again I ask you and myself, How much do I love the Lord? I would like to think that I can answer in the affirmative to both of these statements, but I need to ask myself some questions first. Am I willing to give up anything for Christ, or rather live without stuff for Christ so that He alone is Chief in my life? In the following passage a rich young man comes to Christ to ask him about eternal life.

Matthew 19:16-22 (New King James Version)

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good[a] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good?[b] No one is good but One, that is, God.[c] But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[d] and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”[e]
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth.[f] What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Are we willing to sell our computers and give the money away so that we can follow Christ? Are we willing to sell our cars, house, clothes, electronics, our way of life? Are we willing to sell all we have and give the money away to follow Jesus? What is it in our life that we are putting before our relationship with Christ? We are so blessed here in America and even our poor have more than most other countries. I feel we are a country of rich young rulers that would go away sad if we had to sell our comforts to follow Jesus.

Now for the hard part. A day is coming, though I do not know when, as believers we can see the signs of our sinful world moving towards the return of Christ. We may be asked in our lifetime to choose between our faith in Christ or the comforts of our life. As we read in the following passage in revelation,

Revelation 13:16-17 (New King James Version)

16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or[a] the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

To take the mark of the beast is to reject Christ and doom our soul to eternal Hell. We as believers need to make sure we have our life's priorities in order with Christ at the top. Now is the time to repent and cling to the Lord. Now is the time to get right and put away our selfish desires. Pray hard, study your bible, reach out to your friends and share Christ. Do not be afraid now when the persecution is little. Be bold and brave knowing that Christ is with you and will not forsake you.

Now I'm not saying lets all go out and sell all we have, but I am saying lets evaluate our life. Lets all make sure we have Christ first in our life, and that we can see that in our own life by examining our own actions. Lets act now before we are forced to make that decision. I pray we all, including myself, strive to Love Christ with all of our Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength.

Trust in the Lord

I am sorry it has been a while since my last entry. I have no excuse other than I have been lazy and complacent. Please pray for me that, I will not be so distracted by the world that I forget to give God time in my daily life.

This passage jumped out at me the other day while I was browsing through my bible waiting for Sunday School to start.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[a] your paths.

It is such a simple truth but how often we abandon this clear path that God has prepared for us. The first part is Trust. The definition of the word Trust is as follows: "Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, of a person or thing; confidence." -Websters Dictionary. Can we honestly look at ourselves each day and say we are Relying on the Strength and Surety of the Lord? Or do we fall into what the second part of the verse says. "...lean not on your own understanding". So many days I get up in the morning and choose not to pray and dedicate my day to Christ. So many days I go through and forget that Christ is there to help me and guide me through out the day. Instead of relying on Christ, I jump into the day with the understanding that I am making the choices of the day alone. Now the day may not have turned out bad, BUT, how many opportunities have I missed today that the Lord had prepared for me? Could I have been a witness to someone today if I was in-tune with Christ? He tells us in the following verse that if I acknowledge Him in all I do he will guide my path. Wow! Just think about this for a second. The Creator of the universe wants to have the type of relationship with me that will guide me through each day in his perfect will. I imagine holding the Hand of Christ as I walk through a busy life knowing that I have His protection and guidance. So, to sum it all up, lets start our day off right by trusting the Lord, acknowledging Him, and following His guidance. True joy comes from a right relationship with Christ.

Are your sins too bad to be forgiven?

Have you ever believed that what you have thought, said or done is so bad that God could not possibly forgive me or love me. I say to you know that is not so. There is nothing you can do that is so bad, that when you call upon the Lord he will deny you forgiveness. This passage in Luke I was reading the other day and it touched me in a profound way. The passage below is about a sinful woman or presumably a prostitute forgiven.

Luke 7:36-50 (New King James Version)

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Jesus was invited to a Pharisees house for a meal and sat down to eat. Now its the custom of the day to treat your guests with certain customs like washing their feet and greeting them to welcome them into your home. The Pharisee did none of this, but a prostitute or sinful woman in the area heard that Jesus was going to be at this house and she made it a point to be there. This woman had done many things sinful in her life and Jesus even points out that her sins are many, but first he lets the Pharisee know his error. I find it interesting that the Pharisee treated Jesus so rudely. Could it be that the Pharisee had a hidden agenda in inviting Jesus over for diner? I guess the whole point is that the Pharisee also had sin in his life, but he felt it necessary to point out to Jesus that the woman weeping at his feet was a sinner and he should not be associating with her. But Jesus knows the hearts of men, and knew that this woman had sacrificed much to get to Jesus so she can be forgiven. This woman knew she had sin in her life and knew there was only one way to get forgiveness and that was to get to Jesus. She had faith that if she could just get to Jesus and be allowed to clean his feet, which I think she didn't even feel worthy to do that, she could be cleansed of her sins. She didn't even feel worthy to clean his feet because of her many tears shed at his feet. She did not care how much the alabaster flask cost or that she was getting dirt and filth in her hair, all of that was a small price to pay for the chance to be cleansed by our Lord. Oh how often I have felt so unworthy to even approach Jesus, that if I could only crawl to Him and touch His feet maybe He will have mercy on me. The most powerful verses of this passage, to me, is the last 3 verses. He tells her "Your sins are forgiven", and then in the last verse He says to her,
“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” We have just seen a salvation, wow. This woman, even though her sins were many, came to Jesus in faith knowing that others would talk about her actions, it did not matter. She showed faith that Jesus could save her, and what anyone else thought it did not matter. What a beautiful picture of repentance, forgiveness, and salvation. Then Jesus said go in peace. There is no other peace like that of having your sins wiped away and trusting in the Lord.

Believe

I look around me and see others plodding along through life feeling empty, while wearing a mask of happiness. I see those people that are successful, according to the American culture and appear to have peace in their lives, but I know that on the inside they are searching for something. Case in point would be Tiger Woods these past few days. Who would have thought that Tiger Woods had all of that dirty laundry in his life? A better question might be, Why did Tiger Woods have all of that dirty laundry in his life? If we look at him he was a millionaire many times over, with all the homes, cars, and stuff that anyone would have a desire for. He was married to a model for a wife with two beautiful young children. So what did he NOT have? Now I do not know Tiger's heart so I will not judge him, however; I would guess that he is lacking a relationship with Jesus Christ that brings true joy, peace and happiness to life.

I often wonder what life must be like without Jesus. It seems to me that Hopeless would be the answer, and that is frightening to think about. I attended a funeral a while back of a man that was lost. Those around that man knew he was lost because he often proclaimed a verbal denial of Christ and his resurrection. That was the most depressing and hopeless funeral I had ever attended. What hope is there if you know your loved one is in hell? I see a world all around me that desperately needs Christ and the real hope that He alone can provide. Jesus is the answer to all of the worlds problems without exception.

Jesus is an amazing gift that God has given us. I've been pondering lately the sacrifice Jesus made for mankind's sins. In the old testament before we had Christ believers had to have a substitute for the punishment they deserve for sin. We all have sinned and fail to reach the requirement for entering into the presence of God. Just one sin is enough to condemn us to death. It doesn't matter that we have lived our life mostly good, but instead it matter that we have done wrong in the sight of the creator God. Sin is anything that goes against the nature of God. For Example when we lie, we are committing an act that is in direct opposition to the nature of God. God is absolute truth and has no lie in Him. God cannot be in the presence of a being that is in direct opposition to His nature. Therefore we must pay the price and that is eternal punishment away from God. Before Christ a perfect Lamb was used as a sacrifice and substitution for the punishment we deserve. That lamb was killed and burned so that the sins could be forgiven of the person sacrificing it. It must have been a horrible site to see all of that blood and pain to cleanse the sinner.

God made a better way for us. A young lady named Mary, a descendant of David, was visited by the angel Gabriel. She was told that she would have a child even though she was still a virgin. She was going to have the Son of God, through a miracle. I wonder if she was scared since she was engaged to be married to Joseph and could have been abandoned or stoned to death. She was protected by God Joseph did not abandon her. now imagine that you are nine months pregnant with your first child and you have been ordered to go to a town 80 miles away for a census on a donkey. Nazareth is about 80 miles from Bethlehem. I have two kids and I don't think my wife would have enjoyed that ride at all. When they finally made it to Bethlehem all the hotels were booked up since people from all around were in town for the census. They found one innkeeper to let them stay in the barn for the night. Have any of you been in a barn lately? A barn is full of dusty straw, smelly animals, mice, bugs, and any number of unsanitary things since the animals eat sleep and poop there. Not a place that I would have chosen to have a child. But, God was with Mary and Joseph and she gave birth with no recorded problems and swaddled him up and laid him down to sleep in the manger. I cannot even imagine what Mary and Joseph must have been thinking, giving birth that night. How scary for two people traveling away from home and neither of them had even been to medical school. Then as if that wasn't enough after Jesus was born shepherds showed up telling you a grand story of how the whole sky opened up with angels singing to the new born King. What a night that must have been. Do you ever wonder what Mary thought when she looked into the eyes of her baby that was conceived by God? Did she know that her Son was to be the Lamb sacrifice for all humanity for all time past, present, and future?

There was a miracle that night in that stable in the small town of Bethlehem. God has provided a way of redemption for us through the Lamb of God. That is what Christmas is all about. We don't have to be lonely, empty, lost. We can have a peace that our sins are forgiven, and a peace from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God provided the lamb, all we have to do is believe.