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RECAP NEWSLETTER - 5/1/4 Issue 5 Many Christians in America are under the delusion that God could never judge America, that we are special because we have His name on our money and national motto, etc. So did Israel. They are more special to Him than any other nation. Yet, for all the mercy that He showed them, He still judged them repeatedly to draw them back to Him. Vs. 24 specifically asks the rhetorical question of who did all the the destruction of Israel and Jacob. Isaiah answers the question by stating that God did! Isaiah then stated that it was because "we have sinned". He then specifically mentions two areas in which they sinned. "They would not walk in his ways", and "neither were they obedient unto his law". Before you state that this could never apply to America, consider that just because a nation has all the trappings of Christianity, with religious knick-knacks selling like crazy, seeker-friendly churches, etc., does not make that nation a God-fearing nation! When Constantine legalized Christianity, it became the hottest thing since sliced bread! Everyone was taking the title and terminology of 'Christian'. In vs. 20, Israel is described as "seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not." We have a plethora of sound doctrine, teaching, and materials available in this country; but most do not take them to heart and apply them to their life! In these seeker-friendly churches that are sprouting up everywhere, the physical growth may be impressive, but the spiritual growth can be stagnant! In vs. 25, God notes a characteristic of these people who are judged. I hope and pray that it does not describe you. He states that when He judged Israel, there were people so devoid of a fellowship with Him, whose conscience was so seared, that they did not even know they were being judged by God. "hath set him of fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart." (vs.25)
Get right with God, plead with Him to forgive any sins that hinder your
walk with Him, grab a hold of the altar and pray that you will never
become so cold and indifferent, that you cannot ever hear Christ calling
to you. God is not interested in our sacrifices and outward showing
of piety and 'Christianity'! He yearns for people who will just hear
Him!
MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS
"TV is worse than smoking argues Jack Taylor, writing in the New Oxford
Review. After citing statistics on cigarettes' reducing life expectancy,
Taylor noted, "Television, on the other hand, robs us of time here and
now, not at the end of our days. Given that the average American views 26
hours of TV per week, we can expect to lose about 12 years of our lives to
the tube - 50 percent more time than a pack-a-day smoker would
lose....When television becomes a main communicator of values in the home,
children learn immodesty, premature sexualization, crudeness, violence and
materialism"
CURRENT EVENT RECAP Last year on this occult date, the House of Representatives was opened in 'prayer' by the homosexual, 'Rev.' Steven Torrance (Religious News Service, May 9, 2003, by David W. Cloud, Port Huron, MI.) In the period between then and now we have seen the abomination of homosexuality, a.k.a Sodomy, explode into the forefront of the news. All over Europe we have seen celebrations of the new members to the EU. I have read several news articles on the subject, and while this new additions will not make the EU a paradise, per se, it will make the EU twice as large in population as the United States. Larger markets, combined with free trade, lower wage areas, etc. will boost the economy and power of the EU. Already, the EU is getting more clout in the international areana. For once, the US cannot readily afford to brazenly or unilaterally act without international censorship. Along with a larger EU, we may see more and more court cases in our country being based of international court precedents set by the larger system in the EU. Also of note, one scientist (Robert Sarmast) officially started his search for the fabled city of Atlantis, as well. The logo for his CYPRUS ATLANTIS EXPEDITION 2004 prominently features the pyramid. In mythology (which he is very familiar with), Atlantis was home to the Atlanteans, children of the gods. He says, "The ancients believed that the demise of Atlantis marked the end of an era on earth--the Golden Age, when gods dwelled among humanity and ruled according to the wisdom of heaven." Hmmm... Also, in Russia, the May Day celebrations had several groups voicing the need for a return to the former days of the USSR. We have also seen the increasing nationalization of Yukos, a major oil industry in Russia, whose logo also is a capped pryamid. An increase of religious violence has flared up in several places this week. Clashes between Muslims and 'Christians' has erupted in Indonesia and Thailand. In Iraq, on the one-year anniversary of the declared end of fighting, America 'retreats' symbolically as we have allow a former Saddam general to mediate. More and more, people are starting to question what we are being told about the war. I saw an article yesterday comparing how we deal with the war, versus other governments. The nation of Italy had a large state ceremony honoring their fallen soldiers, while our government tries to hide the numbers of how many of our soldiers are dying, and then it turns out that after we overturn a dictator accused of torture, some of our soldiers regularly used torture on Iraqi prisoners as well. Now that this has gone out in Iraq, the attitude toward are presence is understandably cold and turning sour. With each notable news report about the US situation in Iraq, several countries sound for cry for international and UN intervention. Eventually, what the US wants may become a mute point. One would almost think I was planned that way...
REMINDERS
May God richly bless,
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