INDEPENDENCE DAY 2012: Is Protecting Our Liberty Becoming An Inconvenience

Our nation was originally founded to establish freedom of religion. Being a Baptists, and looking back at the history of those early years, not only in this country but also in England, Germany, Wales, and etc., we have fought, bled from the lash, pinioned at the stock, and died by the untold thousands for well over 500 years to establish and preserve this freedom.

It is the first freedom guaranteed under the Constitution, followed in the same sentence by those freedoms, which mean the most to the common man and thus to you and I.

Freedoms of:

• speech, 
• press, 
• assembly and 
• redress.

If you would closely examine these freedoms, most of them are firmly rooted in Holy Scripture. And even though the Church of jesus Christ has been on the front lines of the long fight for freedom, there have been many so called "Christians" who have slowly and insidiously “limited” our freedoms.

Freedom of religion would not exist without freedom of speech. Neither can it be partially given nor partially restrained under the law or the spirit of the law.

The church has always been the first line of defense against the erosion of liberty. What we see happening in our churches and our country today is because we have been asleep, not standing for our rights in past elections, and have let "wolves" creep in and destroy the "flock." And it all has happened because we have looked upon our responsibility to fight as an "inconvenience." There is coming a day when this “inconvenience” will be our ruin. We will be called upon to offer up our fortunes, our sacred honor, and our lives—in defense of liberty, first in the House of God and then for this nation we cherish.

Freedom must be constantly, diligently and vigorously defended.

A great president once said, “Freedom is only one generation removed from extinction.”

Remember there was a pharaoh who came into power in Egypt who knew not the one true God. Could we be re-living history, today, with our present government. It seems that our president does not know the "God" we serve; the One and Only, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Bright Morning Star, who one day, maybe very soon, will call all this into account.

Will we be the generation that goes down in history as the generation who let the unthinkable happen?

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Galatians 5:1 (NLT)

Will Damascus Be Destroyed As Predicted In Scripture

What does the future hold concerning Damascus in relation to Bible prophecy.

There are actually two key Biblical prophecies that explain that at a unspecified time in the future, the city of Damascus will be completely destroyed — judged by God — and will not be inhabited again.

* Isaiah 17:1-3 — “The oracle concerning Damascus. ‘Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks to lie down in, and there will be no one to frighten them. The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and sovereignty from Damascus….’”

Damascus was the leading city of Syria, and it still is that today. Many have called it the oldest city in the world. "Damascus" in this chapter refers to the entire nation of Syria.

Ephraim is the name of a tribe of Israel, it is the name of a city, it is the name of a mountain, and it is the name of a man. Ephraim is often used in Scripture to refer to the ten northern tribes of Israel. The prophets used it in that way: "For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer.... Ephraim is joined to idols..." (Hos. 4:16-17).

* Jeremiah 49:23-27 — “Concerning Damascus. ‘Hamath andArpad are put to shame, for they have heard bad news; they are disheartened. There is anxiety by the sea, it cannot be calmed. Damascus has become helpless; she has turned away to flee, and panic has gripped her; distress and pangs have taken hold of her like a woman in childbirth. How the city of praise has not been deserted, the town of My joy! Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets, and all the men of war will be silenced in that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts. ’I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the fortified towers of Ben-hadad.’”

Damascus was one of the principal cities of Syria. It was taken by David, 2 Samuel 8:6, was retaken in the reign of Solomon, 1 Kings 11:24, and regained its independence. Its kings were often at war with the ten tribes, and once it joined with them for the destruction of Judah. To defend himself against these powerful enemies Ahaz made a league with the king of Assyria, who besieged Damascus, took, and demolished it. From that time we hear nothing of Damascus till we meet with it in this prophecy. It appears to have been rebuilt and restored to some consequence. It made an obstinate resistance to Nebuchadnezzar; but was at last taken and sacked by him. At present it is both a large and populous city, with considerable commerce.

These prophecies have not yet been fulfilled. Damascus as previously stated, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth. It has been attacked, besieged, and conquered. But Damascus has never been completely destroyed and left uninhabited. Yet that is exactly what the Bible says will happen. The context of Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49 are a series of End Times prophecies dealing with God’s judgments on Israel’s neighbors and enemies leading up to, and through, the Tribulation.

How exactly will Damascus be destroyed? When will exactly it be destroyed? What will that look like, and what will be the implications for the rest of Syria, for Israel and for the region? The honest answer is that the Bible does not say. 

The events in Damascus and Syria need to be closely monitored, and christians need to pray much for the Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy on the people of that great city. The blood shed by the Assad regime is reprehensible, and heart-breaking and is setting the stage for a terrible judgment. The believers in Christ there are being horribly persecuted, but some are still boldly preaching the Gospel and teaching the Word of God. Let’s pray that they reach all of the people of Damascus and Syria before the judgment comes.

50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK

Copied from Joel Rosenberg's blog.

On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that government-endorsed prayer in school — even if it’s voluntary — is unconstitutional. Fifty years later, do we still believe that driving God, prayer, and the Bible out of public schools has served our children well?

“The ongoing contention started when Steven Engel, a Jewish New Yorker, came together with other parents in 1958 to sue New York State over state-endorsed prayer that was being recited in schools,” notes one news story. “The Supreme Court inevitably sided with Engel and the decision was issued on June 25, 1962 — a day that lives in infamy in the minds of many religious individuals and free-speech advocates. The invocation in question was one that had been approved by the New York State Board of Regents. The prayer, which read, ‘Almighty God, we acknowledge ourdependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country,’ was relatively benign in nature. Still, the parents were adamant that it shouldn’t be uttered in the public sphere.”

The Encyclopedia Britannica notes: “The Supreme Court’s ruling was released on June 25 and found New York’s law unconstitutional by a margin of 6–1 (two justices did not participate in the decision). Hugo L. Black wrote the Supreme Court’s opinion, in which the majority argued “that, by using its public school system to encourage recitation of the Regents’ prayer, the State of New York has adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with the Establishment Clause.” The lone dissent came from Potter Stewart, who argued that the majority had “misapplied a great constitutional principle” and could not understand “how an ‘official religion’ is established by letting those who want to say a prayer say it. On the contrary, I think to deny the wish of these school children to join in reciting this prayer is to deny them the opportunity of sharing in the spiritual heritage of our Nation.”

“A year later, the high court banned Bible reading in state schools, then overturned a state law prohibiting the teaching of evolution,” notes another news story about the anniversary of the Court’s decision. “Rulings that prayers during school commencements and athletic events also violated the separation of church and state further fueled the secular-versus-faithful battle. Even unrelated disputes over abortion and health care mandates have emotional roots reaching back 50 years to a bland prayer composed by education officials in upstate New York.”

"Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?"

This comes from: www.gotquestions.org  


"I'm basically a good person, so I'll go to heaven." "OK, so I do some bad things, but I do more good things, so I'll go to heaven." "God won't send me to hell just because I don't live by the Bible. Times have changed!" "Only really bad people like child molesters and murderers go to hell."

These are all common rationalizations, but the truth is that they are all lies. Satan, the ruler of the world, plants these thoughts in our heads. He, and anyone who follows his ways, is an enemy of God (1Peter 5:8). Satan is a deceiver and often disguises himself as someone good (2 Corinthians 11:14), but he has control over all the minds that do not belong to God. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

It is a lie to believe that God doesn't care about small sins or that hell is reserved for "bad people." All sin separates us from God, even a “little white lie.” Everyone has sinned, and no one is good enough to get to heaven on their own (Romans 3:23). Getting into heaven is not based on whether our good outweighs our bad; we will all lose out if that is the case. "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace" (Romans 11:6). We can do nothing good to earn our way to heaven (Titus 3:5).

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it" (Matthew 7:13). Even if everyone else is living a life of sin in a culture where trusting in God is not popular, God will not excuse it. "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient" (Ephesians 2:1-2).

When God created the world, it was perfect and good. Then he made Adam and Eve and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God. But they were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God. He is perfect and holy and must judge sin. As sinners, we couldn't reconcile ourselves to God on our own. So God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Jesus was born to die for our sins so that we would not have to. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave (Romans 4:25), proving Himself victorious over death. He bridged the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him if we only believe.

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Most people believe in God, even Satan does. But to receive salvation, we must turn to God, form a personal relationship, turn away from our sins, and follow Him. We must trust in Jesus with everything we have and everything we do. "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference" (Romans 3:22). The Bible teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Christ. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus is the only way of salvation because He is the only One who can pay our sin penalty (Romans 6:23). No other religion teaches the depth or seriousness of sin and its consequences. No other religion offers the infinite payment of sin that only Jesus Christ could provide. No other “religious founder” was God become man (John 1:1,14) – the only way an infinite debt could be paid. Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ! “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have read here? If so, please go to http://www.gotquestions.org/questweek.html, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "I have accepted Christ today" button.