Shunning: What about it?

We were invited to a Mennonite wedding and saw something for the first time. The eldest son of one of the elders (maybe deacons) had left the church. He was shunned. When one is shunned that person becomes to some degree a non-person within the group. A shunned person loses fellowship! I believe that as most "churches of Christ" that in order to be considered a Christian one must be a member of that organization. Regardless, he was shunned. At the wedding he was left to eat on a card table by himself, removed from all others. He understood the reason and accepted it. (He has since returned to the fold).

My first thought was "That's cruel!", but there is a reason behind it. The shunned person is motivated to miss the communion of fellow believers and even family. Missing the communion, which is through God, is believed to call the shunned person back to the fold. Maybe that's a good idea. Of course some Amish groups totally shun. Possibly some place in between is the correct balance between alienating a believer and bringing the believer home again.

Non-Christians are not shunned. Groups of Christians as those associate with people in the community. If they're doing their job, they're telling others about Jesus! Shunning is for other Christians who are in disobedience:

2 Thessalonians 3:6 "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us."

The "brethern" are brothers who are disciples of Jesus. Yes, Christians can walk "disorderly"! Some define "disorderly" to different degrees. Paul elaborated:

1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."

"Fornicators" are those Christians who engage in sexual activity outside of marriage. That will be discussed more shortly. Christians who are "covetous" have desires to have what others have. It may be property, prestige, wealth, wisdom, or even the spouse of another. A Christian "idolater" is one who neglects God or diminishes his authority by placing other things before God. That can be anybody who is "in the flesh". Whatever their desire is becomes their idol! A Christian who is a "railer" is one who bullies by verbal abuse. A "drunkard" are those who're not sober. In today's milieu this would include those who abuse drugs. A Christian who "extorts" are manipulators. It's using unbalanced scales for gain. I would even place gambling under this category because gamblers depend on the weaknesses of another in order to obtain wealth!

Paul's point: For Christians whose lifestyle is one of sin, we are to shun! Why, other than to make them want to return to the fold? They can influence the life of other Christians! If the sin of one Christian is still accepted, tolerated and included; there's a vile message sent to other Christians: "Sin is okay! Others sin and are tolerated. If I sin, I too will be!" One of my favorite thoughts is: "Scripture teaches obedience, not tolerance of sin!"

If we are Christians we are to live as Christians live:

1 John 1:9 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."

Calvinists won't like this, but Christians who live a life of sin "abideth not in the doctrine of Christ". In short, their heart does not love God nor the things of God. For those who live lives of sin "whosoever trangresseth", we are not to receive that person nor even wish them well! If we fail to shun those deserving isolation, we become sinful,  "a partaker of his evil deeds". Therefore, it's for us and our relationship with Jesus that we don't tolerate sinful sinners. It's obviously not speaking of those who err and repent, but those who put sin before God.

John refers to Balaam who became a stumblingblock to the faithful. He set a bad example for the Israelites. His sins were putting idols before God and fornication. He was pretty much what we call a pimp today! In John's time the problem was with the followers of Nicholas. God hated the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. They brought sexual activity into the church. I'm not speaking about the church building because there were none, but into the doctrine of Christ; the Christian community!

Revelation 2:14 "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate."

If a Christian lives in sin that person becomes a stumblingblock to others in the Christian community. It weakens the fortitude of every Christian when they see even one Christian "getting away" with sin! A Christian who lives a sinful lifestyle becomes an emissary of Satan. That Christian makes another Christian stumble and submit to temptation. They are in danger of becoming Christian brothers in jeopardy of apostasy! With a continued lifestyle of sin they may become insensitive to the Holy Spirit and become reprobate. After all, God hated the doctrine of those people!

Yes, we are to shun Christians who live lives dedicated to pleasure, wealth or reason. However, for those who don't know Christ, their deep sin is an opportunity to reach them! Many who are sinful are guilt-ridden and have no joy. As Christ did, we can associate with unsaved sinners who need salvation, but it must be done by those well-grounded themselves so that they won't stumble. For those who reject Christian doctrine we're told what to do:

Matthew 10:14 "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

We are to shun those who reject the doctrines of Jesus. Yes, we're to tell them about Jesus, but if they fail to listen or to even hear us out, we're to go on our way. Even the dust of our feet from standing in their presence is to be shaken off so that we remain clean ourselves!

Yes, shunning is important! The politically correct calls that "hate" and "intolerant", but if you really love another you will use God's "toughlove". Toughlove works. Compromise leads to destruction. Tolerance is damning!

The Thought Police and Religion

The Bowling Green Daily News publishes nearly all my letters-to-the-editor. This one they didn't! If the astute person is savvy to "political correctness", it will be recognized that my letter is totally unacceptable to the "Thought Police".

A nominal Christian woman married a Muslim. The newspaper had printed a "Faith and Values" section on how well they get along and accept each others faith. The message is that they worship the same God in different ways. Many people believe this lie. This letter was my response to interfaith marriages:

To: Bowling Green Daily News
Re: "! God, 2 Faiths, A Marriage" In Faith and Values Section

That Allah and the "One True God" is the same is the heresy called Universalism. God's name is not "God" nor "Allah". From the Greek it's transliterated by the tetragrammaton "YHWH" pronounced "Yahweh", meaning "TO BE" since God's name is "I AM" (Exod 3:14). Because "Allah" is Arabic for "God" doesn't make their deity YHWH any more than the mythological Zeus is God! The gods of the different religions are not YHWH! To believe that is apostasy.

Allah is monotheistic as is YHWH, but the "One True God" has three personalities called the "Trinity", being Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Islam's god does not, and that is the most important thing in both Judaism and Christianity. (Judaism has yet to recognize Jesus, believing in the coming Messiah). For Christians the belief that Jesus was the propitiation for all our sins is paramount!  In order to be "born-again" one has to have faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, JHWH himself, on the Cross!

It would appear that neither Lori nor Ather would ascribe to traditional Christianity. Recognizing Jesus as only a prophet doesn't fill the bill as Jesus being necessary for salvation (Romans 10:9). Believing that we worship the same God is violation of the "First Commandment".

From a Christian standpoint, Islam is a pagan religion and God called on the Hebrews to put away their foreign wives! It wasn't because they were of a different nationality, but they were of pagan religions. This  statement isn't meant to be intolerant, but a viewpoint based on our "Holy Bible". Theologically, Mohammad blended Judaism, Christianity and the pagan religions with his theology of Islam. While there is truth in some of it, in order to be divine requires truth in all of it!

I write this because those ignorant of scripture will be confused by the misleading article. Although marriage can be of different peoples, the faiths are not to blend, and if Lori is to fulfill the "Great Commission" she must convince Ather that Jesus is the way!

Glamorizing Forgiven Sin

It's supposed to be this way: Sinners are drawn by the Holy Spirit. He makes us feel guilt for what we've done. Those who proclaim to be born-again, if authentically so, do pretty much the following:

• the Spirit tugs at everyone's heart
• the sinner hears the word
• the sinner applies the word to his/her own life
• the one who heeds the Spirit feels sorrow for having sinned
• the sinner believes in Jesus and his sacrifice (grace)
• the convicted person repents of past sins
• Jesus forgives past sins and provides the justice for future sins (remisses)
• The sinner is now saved. As a result of salvation:
• The new Christian testifies publicly of their "new person-hood"
• The New Christian seeks baptism at the earliest possible time to symbolize the "new birth"
• Christian growth through scripture, praying and obeying
• Living a sanctified life; no longer looking back at the "old self".

No steps were "skipped"! There is sincerity in all aspects and the individual comes to terms with God on God's own terms. However, some follow only these steps:

• the Spirit tugs
• The sinner hears the word
• the sinner believes in Jesus
• the sinner gets baptized
• The sinner continues to live as the person always lived

There are several steps left out. The person believes that he or she is a Christian, but may be playing both sides of the fence! The person wants to be saved, but enjoys the world's fruits which the flesh desires. There has been a war for the person's soul, the person is deceived, Satan is a happy camper, but God is not pleased!

An even shorter route are those who forget everything, but the baptism part!

2 Corinthians 7:9 (NIV) "yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11a See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done."

These passages say it all! It's our part in salvation. It's not that you were walking along one day as Paul was and were blinded by God and made a believer. "You become sorrowful as God intended". That's the calling of the Holy Spirit. That's the start of grace working in you! And then when God makes a person sorrowful, a person reflects on their life and rightly feels guilt.

Being "sorry" is regretting what you did or are doing. The fact that a person feels sorry means they wish they had never done the deed and feel badly enough that they won't do it again!  Let's take for instance the time when I was twelve and was caught stealing. The person who caught me stealing was someone I really loved and admired.  I was shamed! I was truly sorry for wronging a person who I respected. Other than a pencil or two or maybe some paper which I brought home from a job, I learned my lesson. (I do point out that taking paper and pencil home was wrong, but the intent was different).

When we come to God with all our baggage we are free to unload it on him. Jesus paid the fare for our baggage, having none himself!  However, before he takes our baggage we MUST want to rid ourselves of it!  Ridding ourselves of sinful baggage means also not savoring the memory of pleasurable deeds. If a person was a drunk, mentally enjoying a beer is the same as partaking. For a person who has quit using drugs, if one dwells in their memory of the solace found there, that sin is still baggage. If a person remembers the enjoyment of illicit sex, it's the same way. It's baggage! Do you doubt me?

Genesis 19:15 "And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.  17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked cities. All types of lasciviousness was in those cities. The men even desired men more than women and surely it was the same for women. Imagine if you will, San Francisco and Las Vegas! All types of iniquity are in those cities. That's the way Sodom and Gomorrah were, only maybe worse. There was pleasure to be had in those cities. Why did Lot's wife look back? To see the fire? To get a last look at her friends? No! Lot's wife longed for the iniquity that these cities offered.  She was relishing memories of what she likely had enjoyed. She remembered the glamour of the cities.

 God is just! Symbolically Lot's wife was saved. She was allowed refuge outside in another city based on the righteousness of Lot. She was told to not look back, but she did just that! She disobeyed God and longed for fleshly desires. That is no different than those who are Christians, but dwell in the sins which were! The sins which are forgiven by God are not forgotten by the person. This type of "Christian" is what political science calls a "Mugwump"! It's a person with their "mug" on one side of the fence and their "wump" on the other side. In this case they want the safety of being a Christian, but yet live the life of a non-Christian!

A person, let's call him "Jack" had been a hefty drug user, primarily marijuana. Like any non-user can see in a user, performance and motivation is diminished. What's more the Bible tells us:

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world..."

"Soberly" means with a clear mind and acute reasoning!  That means that people are not to walk around in a stupor of any kind regardless of how pleasurable it may be! It's a sin to ingest substances which impede the call of the Holy Spirit:

1 Cor 12:3b "...no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."

Those high on marijuana are non-coherent and neither can they follow conversations nor constructively think. They are not sober. When the Holy Spirit calls they fail not only to hear, but to understand. Marijuana is a barricade to the message from God! On a personal basis I have been close to several regular marijuana users. The conversation is erratic and selfish on their part, however outstanding they may think they are. They are not sober! In fact with overuse they may be reprobate unless they're caught while they're clean!

Back to Jack! He's a Christian, but he has fond memories of marijuana. He tells stories about when he was high and clearly enjoys those memories. He no longer is a user, but he glamorizes the image of what he once did! As did Lot's wife, he looks back at Gomorrah! His false perception of marijuana is that he was a better driver, more alert and had more fun. He may have had more pleasure with complacent non-caring memories, but he certainly was not a better safer driver as he remembers.

The example recounted is of a man who glamorized what he once did. He looks back with pleasure on "forgiven sin". God "forgot" that sin because of his grace, but Jack did not:

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

God "remembers no more" our sin because he can do that! But why does he do that? Because we earnestly are sorry and repent! If those steps are not taken our sins are not in remission!

 Matthew 26:28 "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

 Sorrow and repentance are key activities. We must DO these things to be saved. Calvinists would say that we are predestined and cannot even prevent our own salvation! That's a lie from the devil. We must DO THINGS! We must be sorry for our sins and ask for forgiveness! Without repentance there is no salvation and how can a person repent of sins he or she is not sorry for? By reliving or glamorizing past sins and pleasurable events the person is not truly sorry for what God has already redeemed the sinner for! It's disrespectful to God; and possibly the person is not even truly saved and their "Christianity" a mere safety measure so they can live without fear!

Who's the loser here? It's the short-changed Christian or the Christian who sins in reflection!

My example was for marijuana use. Any sin fits if that if what we look back on is with pleasure. We don't know what pleasure Lot's wife lingered on and looked back, but as a result of it, she was turned into a pillar of salt!  She was destroyed and her lingering memories damned her. Likewise, lingering memories of fondness for sins can doom us!

Sin isn't funny! I hate jokes about drunks, drug users and philanderers! Activities which destroy others just are not funny to me. It's pitiful! For me nothing is more pitiful than a person to suck on a roach as if for dear life. It brings the person down to gutter stage. I went into a men's restroom at a Bar and Grill one evening. On her hands and knees was a woman slumped over the toilet sucking cocaine through a straw into her sinuses. That's disgusting and a crumpled roach in a beautiful woman's lips is no less disgusting.

However, we all do things disgusting to the Lord. I did too. Sometimes I think back with delight on things I did wrong until I get "checked" by the Holy Spirit. He lets me know quickly that if I do things in my mind (lust) it's as bad as if I actually do them!

Matthew 5:28 "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

This verse is specifically about lusting after a woman, but it applies to any sin. If we desire to steal a diamond, we've already stolen it! The desires we dwell in, past memories, are as if we are doing them in God's eyes!

What can we do to avoid lusting after the past? We can live righteously and keep our eyes on Jesus! Not looking back at the old "self" is sanctification. It's living righteously by setting the self apart from the world.

Heaven is for Real: Hell is for Real!

My two cousins back in the hills in 1893 were in the barn when the sheriff was shot to death.They were arrested for suspicion of murder.  Since one of the two had a "reputation" for ignoble deeds, their guilt was assumed. The friendly (sic) folks in this country town went to the jail, procured the two brothers and hung them on the hanging tree. (This was early justice much as in Ferguson, Missouri recently). Sixty-five years later on her death bed the real murderer confessed. The brothers were innocent, yet they were dead! This was "country justice".

The lynch mob was led by a prominent citizen and politician. My dad told me of this man and his death. It appears that when he died, he cried that he was on fire! He had those waiting hang a blanket between him and the fireplace thinking that sheltering himself from the heat would ease his agony. He screamed that he was in hell, and dad said, for those watching, he was really in hell!

In this day and age "Positive Christianity" is taught. No mention is made of punishment nor hell. Many theologians consider the concept of heaven and hell to be mythology, but many others cling to heaven for the hope it provides, but dismiss hell as a fiction of those who believe in a demiurge; an evil God who made the material world.  As I've written before, Joel Osteen is of this persuasion. Many believe what he says because they only hear about reward. Unfortunately, the disobedient don't get the reward!

When we dedicate our lives to Jesus, we are "saved". The important thing to ask is "Saved from what?

Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

Saved from condemnation is the answer, which is hell! Here, it's clear that there are two eternal choices: salvation and condemnation. Osteen preaches only one of these. It's half a gospel! The concept of heaven has been examined earlier and hell will be done later. The point for this discussion is that "Hell is for Real" and it's the gospel truth!

Revelation 20:11 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

The English Standard Version uses "Hades" for "Hell". Different people have different concepts about hell and Hades, but it appears that those in hell or Hades have the same destination: "the lake of fire". A lake of fire by any other name is still a "lake of fire" and semantics will never save anyone!  These passages among many, show that "Hell is for Real"! They ought to make a movie about that!

These passages are called "The Great White Throne Judgment". I'm sorry to inform the Osteenites that someday everyone will be judged and  "narrow is the gate". Hence, most people will be taking their pilgrim journey to hell or by whatever name you chose to call "the lake of fire".  Speaking of the "lake" is not positive. We shouldn't do that should we? Because a person fails to believe truth doesn't make truth false! Every person should consider that one sentence. It's imperative to having the soul saved from destruction!

Hell is real! It's a "lake of fire". Shadrack, Meshack and Ebednego were in a fiery furnace that's symbolic of hell and it is seven times hotter than fire. The rich man who saw Lazuras in Abraham's Bosom wanted one dropof water to drink. He could not go to Lazuras because a "chasm" lied in between those condemned and those saved. A chasm is a wide rift or impassable space between two lands. For the rich man it was symbolic of eternal slavery and the inability to escape! "Hell is for Real" and Hell is eternal! For Osteen hell is no more than a gimmick to intimidate the unbeliever, and if one is a Christian, hell is of no importance.

In my own situation the thought of eternal damnation in hell, frankly, scared the hell out of me! To avoid what I deserved, I submitted to God and put my trust in him. At that point I still didn't love God, but was grateful for sparing me from my deserved punishment. As I contemplated his love for me by sacrificing his only Son, I grew to love God; not in a emotional sense, but by the realization that an innocent man died in my place and he was the Son of God! My emotions didn't drive my mind, but my mind made me emotional. I learned to cry!

If a person doesn't believe in hell and it doesn't exist, there is no prize. Lying in a grave (Sheol) isn't much better! If a person doesn't believe in hell and it does exist, it's likely that the unbeliever will find that to be his eternal home.

If a person believes in hell and it doesn't exist, he too lies in the grave for eternity. However, here's the kicker, if hell does exist that leads to salvation and the believer is "saved" from an eternity in Hell!

For the unbeliever there is no hope. For the believer there is hope! If the faith of the believer is firm, then the possibility of them even considering that hell doesn't exist is remote, and hope is the reward!

What are you, reader, saved from? You're saved from hell! Where lies your hope? That the death of Jesus saved you from knowing that "Hell is for Real"!

Stand Tall: Reach the High Fruit

And now you're a Christian! The angels sing!

Luke 15:10 "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."  2 Corinthians 7:10a "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation..."

I would assume that angels were singing for joy since they are noted for their singing! Likewise, it appears that their joy is because the repentant person repented unto salvation. That's worth singing about!

Romans 3:25a "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past..."

The propitiation of God's own blood was for all sins ever committed or to ever be committed. Further sacrifice is no longer required! However, when a person is saved they are forgiven for their past sins. That rightfully implies that each time even a Christian sins forgiveness must still be sought.

 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Forgiveness is had for the asking!  But look for whom this is written: those who "walk in the light". That's "salvation" and the phrase used to describe it according to this anonymous writer of John's First Epistle. In short: Christians still sin! If we deny that we do, we're liars. (I think of Joel Osteen with this passage. In an interview with Larry King he said that he doesn't sin and Victoria said that she sometimes eats a piece of pie when she's tempted! They're fooling themselves if not lying.)

Here's where the Christian stands: sorrow, repentance, forgiveness for past sins, salvation, then more sin. There's two more steps which the sinful Christian must take: sorrow and repentance and as long as one lives that has to happen! Of course we can just be happy with the "fire insurance" we have with only our past sins forgiven, but we are to stand tall! Babes in Christ stand short if they can stand at all! Mature Christians are to reach for the high fruit. Remembering that the twelve fruits of the spirit are believed to be: hope, love, faith, gentleness, temperance, truth, joy, meekness, long-suffering, peace, goodness, and modesty; those are the fruits we're to pick.

Which are low fruit and which are higher on the tree? For me hope, truth, and faith are low-hanging fruit. Maybe temperance is too!  I believed the truth and had faith at an early age, even before I asked for salvation! They were easy for me because of my Christian family and my church and friends. Likewise, temperance was easier than some of the others because I was around those with a temperate spirit. It was easy for me to quit using bad language, to not consume excessive alcohol (none for me!), and to do things Christians do! So far that made me a Pharisee! I was great at "not doing" things. That's "low-hanging fruit".

On the other hand "high-hanging fruit" is really high for me! I'm impatient, proud, and sometimes not so gentle. Those always snare me, but there's one which gets me often. I have a hard time loving God and sometimes a  hard time loving my enemies. Even some friends are difficult for me to love. For me and almost everyone else, "love" is the high-hanging fruit.

For a long time I couldn't cry for love nor money! When I thought about what Jesus did for me I couldn't even shed tears for that. I was a cold person inside!  Then one day I prayed that I be able to cry appropriate cries, that I do recognize what Jesus did for me. I prayed "God, let me have feelings! Let me cry empathetically!" My prayer was answered. As psycho-babblers would say "I made a break through!" Now I can actually hurt for the pain of others. That's high-hanging fruit and the Holy Spirit put that fruit high. It takes him to help me reach it. Yes, we're not alone. The Holy Spirit is here and comforts us when we need it.

Endeavoring, even failing to reach, the high-hanging fruit, is "righteousness". It's basically living as Christ would live as far as humanly possible with the assist of God himself!

1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Standing tall for Christ is being holy! That's reaching for the high fruit and God even helps us to be holy.

Tell Me About the Peaceful Religion Again!

The Bible says Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Salvation is a gift, but it's an elective give. To be born-again we exercise our own desire, in answer to the  call of the Holy Spirit, and choose the "Tree of Life". In doing so, we listen to the God and to the serpent and then we make a decision. That's "free-will" and is a gift of God. We have that so that mankind will be more than mere "Stepford Wives" or "Stepford People", so to speak.

"Free-will" is a constant. We always have it! We exercise it when we make the believer's decision and by "enduring to the end"; our will (or desire) is to remain faithful to Jesus until our physical death. The minute that we are born-again Satan steps up the attacks. His goal is to diminish the majesty of Christ by causing the children of God to abandon Jesus. We are to maintain our original faith so that will we "shall endure to the end", and then we "shall be saved". But you say, "You're saved when you believe!"  Let's take a look at this parable:

Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

My own parable: With salvation we get on God's ship. We are safe and under the care of the captain. He will never kick us off the ship. As long as we believe in and accept the "first mate" we're as safe as safe can be! However, out there in the sea is rough waters, turbulence, storms, great rocks, sand bars and icebergs. To keep us safe from that outside the ship the "second mate" helps us to persevere and not jump ship. However, let's say for example sirens are out there singing their sweet songs. Our desire may change. We exercise our free will and actually want to jump ship in spite of all the terrors in the water. This jumping into the sea is choosing "the wrong tree" so to speak. We still have a free-will, it's exercised and whereas we were safe before (saved), now we're not! Jumping ship is apostasy and that's what Satan tries to get us to do one "siren" at a time.

Those who stay on ship for the entire journey have "endured". In the last days we shall see many "sirens" in the world. The chief siren is the antichrist. He not only will tempt, but attack as well. His church and his government will be Satan's. My belief is that it will be a socialist caliphate. Here's why:

Revelation 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

The method of execution is by the sword. Christians will be beheaded for not renouncing Jesus. Even now Christians, called Nazarenes or Nasara in the mid-east are given a choice. They can pick "the tree" they follow with their free-will, albeit the choices are really tough (just as with Job). Their choices are to convert, be taxed or die! They die because they choose salvation! They endure to the end! At this time those Christians (Nazarenes) homes are identified with a red  "ن".

From The National Review Online (July 23, 2014):

"... the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, had marked homes and businesses owned by Christians with a red, painted ن (pronounced “noon”), the 14th letter of the Arabic alphabet and the equivalent to the Roman letter N. The ن stands for Nasara or Nazarenes, a pejorative Arabic word for Christians.

The president said that ISIL (ISIS) is not Islamic! What a fool! Here's what the Quran says about the methods of their caliphate:

 Quran 5:33-“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution (by beheading), or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;”
Quran 8:12- “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off.”
Quran 47:4- “Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), strike off their heads; at length; then when you have made wide Slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives”: thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens.”

ISIL is just doing what their religion tells them to do! They are being obedient and they are Islamic zealots.  The goal of Islam is a One-world government with Sharia Law and with the worship of Islam it hall be a world-wide caliphate. The world leader will be from the middle-east and will be"god" and "king" in mockery of Jesus!

If you're not in terror, you should be! I have Islamaphobia and if you don't "catch it" you'd better! The solution for us all is to pray to and worship Jesus!  He will win the war and for me and my house, we choose the Lord. I wear this symbol for "n" as a symbol of my faithfulness to Jesus. I hope that I'm never here to trade my soul for my head, but I might be! If so, my hope is that the Holy Spirit makes it my will to endure to the end in spite of the hazards in the sea.

Political: Dr. Tim Hulsey - Three Letters on Islam

The Australian government under Prime Minister Tony Abbott has legislated some protective measures related to the self-designated Islamic State (IS) to protect its citizens from returning jihadists. Instead of strongly denouncing IS as non-Islamic, the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) declares, “These laws clearly target Muslims and they do so unjustly… The primary basis of these laws is a trumped up ‘threat’ from ‘radicalised’ Muslims returning from Iraq or Syria… We also reject government attempts to divide the Muslim community into ‘radicals’ and ‘moderates’ and to use the community for its agenda…”

Is there no distinction between ‘radicals’ and ‘moderates’ in the Ummah? There is scriptural precedent for Muslims to support jihad by means other than fighting. There are certainly many across the globe, including clerics, who promote it.

Since there are Muslims who want nothing to do with jihad, there should be those willing to continually condemn it in the strongest terms like Dr. Zuhdi Jasser.

Somehow, jihad is always portrayed as someone else's fault. In this case. Tony Abbott is to blame for the possibility that a radicalized Aussie will return from Syria/Iraq to threaten the homeland.

Obama can’t name the threat we face in this country. His DHS writes scenarios for confronting so-called “domestic right wing terrorists” and never mentions Islamic jihad. Sun Tzu would say that Obama doesn’t “know his enemy” and can therefore never defeat it.

Laws passed to protect countries from Islamic jihadists returning from the IS assault of course target Muslims. Who else has travels to enjoy the experience? No one who invokes the name of Buddha or Shiva or the Christian God is participating, except as victim.

To be recognized as legitimate, Muslims who disavow both active and passive violent jihad must continue to proclaim it vociferously.

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“We never leave our people behind.” That is a thought people in the military and Foreign Service keep in mind as they face the rifles, RPGs, missiles, mortars, etc. fired at them by our enemies. “No matter what, They will always bring me home.” Even Tyrone Woods, Glen Doherty, Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith were evacuated by their fellow combatants from Benghazi even in the haste of an emergency where they were abandoned by the US government.

Barack Obama conveniently recalled “We never leave our people behind,” when he released five important Islamic jihadists in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, held captive for five years by terrorists. Those five were of high value to Islamic terrorist groups. Many prisoners the US has released from detention have rejoined Islamic terrorist groups.

“We never leave our people behind.” That thought gave hope to the mother of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi. He was imprisoned in Mexico after making a wrong turn on southern California roads with which he was not familiar. He had moved there for treatment for PTSD after tours of duty in Afghanistan. Three legally (in the US) owned guns in his truck led to his arrest by Mexican police even though he immediately revealed them.

Armed Mexican soldiers have inadvertently crossed into the US hundreds of times. They are questioned and released, because we know the border is not apparent in some places. All it takes is competent law enforcement and common sense.

Why hasn’t “We never leave our people behind” created as much fire in Obama’s belly for Tahmooressi as for Bergdahl? Does Obama have no clout with Mexico?

“We never leave our people behind” doesn’t seem to be as personal for Obama as it is for our military and intelligence personnel who won’t even leave behind our dead.

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"The consequences of failure [in Iraq] are clear: Radical Islamic extremists
would grow in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position
to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues
to fund their ambitions," predicted George W. Bush on 2007.

In his State of the Union Address in 2007, he said, "A contagion of violence
could spill out across the country. And, in time, the entire region could be
drawn into the conflict."

On another occasion that same year, he foresaw that "withdrawing before our
commanders tell us we are ready... would mean to surrendering the future of Iraq
to al Qaeda. It would mean that we'd be risking mass killings on a horrific
scale. It would mean we'd allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq
to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan. It would mean increasing the
probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to
confront an enemy that is even more dangerous."

As for how risky that scenario might be, he recalled that "On September the
11th, 2001, we saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world
could bring to the streets of our own cities."

Candidate Mitt Romney worried that “You could see in the Shia south, the
Iranians reaching over and grabbing to take power. You could see in the Sunni
northwest, the Al-Qaeda folks taking power and leadership in that area... And
it’s even possible that you might think a regional conflict in the Middle East
may occur.”

It seems that experience in leadership and a global perspective can lead to a
clear choice of the best alternatives for presidential action. It appears that
community activism does not!