the scripture that says "a kingdom divided will not stand" is appearing to be true. sunday one of our pastors was a guest teacher in our class. he taught on jeremiah chapters 26 to 29. the chapter is about babylon's destruction of jerusalem, and how GOD let babylon do it. jeremiah has been labeled the "weeping prophet", because the people would not listen, so GOD told jeremiah to let them go into exile for their choices and mistakes.
HIS command to the people was to pray during to their turbulent time and continue to live through the hard times. for most of us the thought of the united states falling is devastating, but we reap what we sow. it breaks my heart. i think of all the lives we have lost over freedom, and it will be taken away. we are now in the position that the people ignored the warning signs and chose not to listen. we chose the easier way and not the right way. we have become a very, lazy nation when it comes to doing what is right.
i could blame our government and our leaders. i could, but i could also suggest that our pride and greed got in the way. i don't know one person, including myself where this has not come into play. over the years we had to have more and more. we felt as though we didn't have enough. maybe it is time for us to fall; the good and the bad. great nations have before and great nations will fall again. the roman empire and egypt fell all because of power, greed and pride. to assume that GOD will be forgiving and blind to united states is probably our biggest mistake.
currently, i am reading a book called "slave" by john macarther. i would not have normally picked up anything up with the word slave it, because i understand the western view of slavery and know the historical facts. i believe and hope that at one point, or another in time that we as a nation can forgive ourselves for treating men like an animals, and that an entire race that were treated like animals can forgive us. with that said i decided that i would give the book a chance, and thought maybe this is something new about how we can repair that damage. i had no idea what the book was really going to tell me.
doulos, is the greek word for slave. every translation going back to the king james version and the geneva bible has been changed from slave to servant. every bible and every sermon that has been taught has been about us serving him, not about us being owned by HIM when CHRIST died. now we can fully understand the jouney of the disciples.
the reason why i even mentioned this book is because there is a paragraph that i will write below that regards what we have been taught regarding GOD, and what has been ignored by churches. this country was founded on religious freedoms; christian freedoms. i kind of look at the united states now the same way i look at israel. they fell over and over again all because they wouldn't listen and hold true to what HE told them. they are still falling. history repeats itself over and over again, because of man's inability to listen to their mistakes and not show humility. GOD warned us of this in every book of the bible.
so what do we do now? i guess we are going to have to suck it up and live with it. this is not just the government's fault. we chose to take more and more from mankind. every empire before us failed, because they wanted more from its people when they couldn't give more. the desperation now has set in, because people don't have more to give. our president is starting with the ones that have the most, and he will continue to take more and more from each class until they have enough. what will be enough? i guess the only answer is to get your home in order, because what it is going to come down to is just being able live.
i could suggest we read the history of this country and why we went to war with britain. i could suggest we read about every empire that fell in history, does that even matter now? we have never really learned from history whether we believe in GOD or not. yesterday a friend that i have known since high school got into a debate with me over religion. the friend does not believe in GOD, and said that the bible is just a book of stories; damn good stories. they are really good stories; life lessons. of course i disagree with him regarding GOD, because every thing that GOD has warned us about has happened over and over again. i believe that the answer to why this is happening to us all started with genensis when adam ate the apple. i also think that churches have done some disservice in the fact that they have sugar coated the fact that GOD is vengeful, jealous, and dangerous when you disobey.
am i sad that we are in this place now in our country; yes. do i blame our government; no i don't. i blame all of us. we have to pray for enemies and those we love, because we will see hard times ahead. i really hope that all of us will be able face this. every nation has fallen when they turned from HIM; every nation. if you don't believe in HIM it doesn't matter, because we are still going to fall. a few days ago i started to write another blog about politics well i'm not going to do that, because i cannot separate GOD from politics. it is time for us to face some facts.
the debt ceiling will go up whether congress approves it, or not. our president will invoke the 14th amendment. taxes will go up on the rich, the coporations, industries and small businesses; more job loss. they will move down to the middle class, then the poor when they need more. both plans that are being presented by republicans and democrats will have more money added to our deficit. the only difference is forcing a balanced budget amendment into law that will force our congress to solve the problem, and hold our president accountable for his policies. we are not going to default now, but if we don't pass the amendment we will in the future.
our health care system that we currently have will no longer exist. we opted to take away advances in healing individuals and the care of individuals, because we wanted it to be free. nothing in this life is free. good health care is gone unless you have the cash to pay for it. they have pushed out the really great doctors and nurses. it is time for each american household to get their homes in order. our time has come.
i have lost faith in our federal government, but i am watching state governments and their governors. if your governor is cutting and not raising taxes commend him, or her, because they are getting out of the red and making sure there is a surplus. this is all because they want the citizens of their state to be able to handle the storm of what the federal government is going to do. i don't agree with a lot of the cuts our governor in the state of texas has done, but he is getting us ready for what is going to come. the oil industry in this state alone is about ready to get slammed, and that provides a lot of jobs for people. he is making sure that the free market continues to work for the people of texas.
our president will get back in. he's not going to give up his power. he has bypassed congress regarding war in libya and he will invoke the 14th amendment if a bill is passed without raising the debt limit. if he gets in again i can bet you money that he is going to suggest terminating presidential term limits. he wants the power, the money and he is smart enough to get it.
have i lost hope; no. i just hope and pray that we have enough courage and faith to withstand HIS wrath whether we believe HE is there, or not. i commend our founding fathers for having a beautiful dream they turned turned into reality and we have destroyed it all, because we thought we were entitled to it. welcome to exile and the death of a nation's freedom.
"we don't hear about that concept much in churches today. in contemporary christianity the language is anything, but slave terminology. it is about success, wealth, health, properity and the pursuit of happiness. we often hear GOD loves people unconditionally and wants them to be be all they want to be. he wants to fulfill every desire, hope, and dream. personal ambition, personal fulfillment, personal gratification - these have become part of the language of evangelical christianity - and part of what it means to have a personal relationship with jesus christ. instead of teaching the new testament gospel - where sinners are called to submit to christ - the contemporary message is actually the opposite; jesus is here to fulfill all your wishes. likening him to a personal assistant or a personal trainer, many churhgoers speak of a personal savior who is eager to do their bidding and help them in their quest for self-satisfaction or individual accomplishment.
the new testament understanding of the believer's relationship to christ could not be more opposite. he is the master and owner. we are his possession. he is the king, the lord and the son of god. we are his subjects and his subordinates. in a word, we are his slaves." john macarther - slave, the hidden truth about your identity in christ.
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