God
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The Hope of the Christian is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the grave! This is One of the distinguishing factors that separates Christianity from all other religions.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
‘The hope of the Christian is the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of living believers at His second coming. This is the primary theme of this epistle—especially verses 4:13–5:10. In fact, it is significant that this book, possibly the first of Paul’s epistles chronologically, is also the one with the largest number of specific references to Christ’s second coming.
If it were not for this hope, we would have no hope for the future. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ,” Paul said, “we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). When an unbeliever dies, he dies without hope. When a believer dies, he is simply “asleep,” as far as his body is concerned. At the same time, his soul and spirit go to be with the Lord until the resurrection day. Perhaps it is analogous to the state of dreaming, when the body is asleep in bed, while the person’s consciousness seems to be engaged in varied activities far from where the body is resting.
The Bible uses the term “sleep” to describe death only in the case of Christians—never for non-Christians (see John 11:11; etc.). There is genuine sorrow, of course, when a believer dies, but that sorrow is softened and sublimated by the “blessed hope” of Christ’s return (Titus 2:13). “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The souls of those whose bodies are asleep have gone to be with the Lord and will return with the Lord when He returns. “The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16-17). HMM ‘ https://www.icr.org/article/11171
Has New Zealand surrendered to Islam? The NZ Government had a Muslim leader lead in prayer after the mosque shootings in which he stated: “There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of God”. Are there NO Bible-believing Christians in the New Zealand Parliament? That statement is anti-Christ for Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Not Mohammad, not Allah BUT Jesus Christ is the way to God the Father! Islam fits what is said in 1John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Now, some would say “well, there has to be some give and some take”. No, there doesn’t. One is right and one is wrong. Is New Zealand going down the road to becoming an Islamic nation? This is where all this pandering is going to take that country.
Those fifty Muslims should not have been murdered!!! That was wrong! That was EVIL! The one who committed that crime should pay with their own life. However, there is not a peep from the NZ government or the NZ Muslims about the hundreds of Christians recently slaughtered by Muslims in Nigeria. Not a peep about the church bombings in the Philippines! I guess fifty brown skin Muslims in New Zealand are worth more than black Christians in Nigeria.
Since 9/11 the Islam faith has garnered more and more converts in spite of all the killings by those who claim to follow the teachings of the Quran. It seems Islam is a winner when it comes to the Western world. Kill us and we will pander to your every whim. Female mutilation is against the law of the land BUT since it is Islam’s way we will look the other way. Islam kills homos in Islamic nations so is that coming soon to NZ?
Does the NZ government understand what it has done? Sure, the murder of fifty people has to be addressed with the harshest punishment the NZ law allows. But does the government pander to a religion that continues female genital mutilation? Does it pander to Islam when its holy book calls Jews monkeys?
If NZ is to continue to exist as a free nation it will, it MUST, not continue to pander to Islam!
These meatheads are brainwashing these children into believing they are saving the earth by not eating meat on Monday! If this was a supposedly a Christian group doing this it would be called ‘child abuse’! One can only imagine if this nonsense is carried into all the public schools throughout the USA what society in the USA will be like in 25 years!
What De Blasio and his followers are really doing is defying the God of Heaven and earth, the God of the Bible. For instance, Peter, who was a Jew, had a religious diet which required him to eat and not eat certain meats. However, in Acts 10:12-15 we read Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
ENJOY YOUR MEAT!
The following article is concerning ‘mental illness’ and how churches handle those who are diagnosed with such. It is interesting that Paul said in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Thinking takes place in the mind. In Scripture, the mind and heart are closely related and according to the following two passages that is where our thoughts originate. Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
An article answering this issue in more detail from the Scriptures will be written later.
‘As studies continue to show how ill-equipped many churches are in ministering to Christians who struggle with mental illness, some who were once among the faithful are now speaking out about how the spiritualizing of their conditions in church culture forced them to flee. 
In a recent discussion sparked by a rant in a subreddit of more than 40,000 anonymous former Christians, many shared stories about how they were forced to suffer as their evangelical churches and family members urged them to pray away conditions such as bipolar disorder, anxiety and ADD before they were finally able to get help. Some, like one critic identified as just reib0t in the discussion, never got the help they needed until they were adults.
“I am 30 and was recently diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder,” the former Christian began.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness describes schizoaffective disorder as a chronic mental health condition characterized primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations or delusions, and symptoms of a mood disorder, such as mania and depression. It is often treated with a combination of medications and psychotherapy.
“As a TEENAGER I said to the Christian I looked up to, ‘Hey, I hear voices and see shadow people everywhere, also I want to kill myself.’ And I was told it was just ‘spiritual warfare’ and Satan fighting for my soul. I was told to NOT seek therapy because therapists work for the devil to drive people away from the Lord,” the ex-Christian wrote.
“I believed it easily because of the nature of my illness. He downplayed and contorted my illness so badly that even after I stopped believing in God, it took me years to get into therapy and get treatment. My life spiraled into drug abuse to cope, lost job after lost job, and my 20s wasted in pain,” the person wrote.
The individual explained that since they decided to get professional help, their life has changed for the better.
“I feel a lot better on medication, have better understanding, and am looking forward to my 30s being a lot better in general, but… I think back to my teenage years and wonder what my life could have been if I wasn’t Christian and got on the right meds much sooner. F**k the evangelical Christian view on mental health,” reib0t said.
About one in four Americans are estimated to suffer from some kind of mental illness in any given year, NAMI says, and many, according to LifeWay Research, turn to the church for help.
A 2014 study by the Nashville-based research organization, which was co-sponsored by the conservative organization Focus on the Family and the family of a man who endured schizophrenia, pointed to the lack of awareness and help available to Christians who turn to the church for help with mental illness.
The study found some pastors were reluctant to help those who suffer from acute mental illness because it takes too much time and that most Protestant senior pastors rarely spoke to their congregation about mental illness.
Asked to describe current church culture on mental illness, Tim Sanford, clinical director at Focus on the Family, said there has been some progress made in recent years but many churches continue to blame mental issues on sin.
“Fortunately, there has been positive movement in recent years as the church is beginning to respond to mental health issues and recognize their legitimacy. While many churches acknowledge mental illness as legitimate and are actively helping their parishioners with such issues, sadly, the belief (and subsequent responses) that anxiety or depression is sin or is a ‘lack of faith’ on the individual’s part is still too common in the body of Christ,” Sanford told The Christian Post.
“Blind adherence to a flawed ethic on mental illness can lead to unnecessary guilt, debilitating shame and fear. This, in turn, limits access to help and freedom — the kind of freedom and compassion Christ modeled and died for (John 10:10). Focus on The Family encourages believers to take a measured, integrated approach to the subject of mental health; hold to what is biblically true and accurate and also hold to what is scientifically true and research proven.”
One former Christian in the subreddit group identified as CastIronMystic, called out Focus on the Family, however, for what they described as an insensitive encounter when they once tried accessing a Christian therapist.
“I was told that I was sinning by having anxiety and intrusive thoughts. This caused me anxiety about anxiety and a spiral of feeling like I wasn’t a true Christian because a true Christian wouldn’t worry. Then there was the time I called Focus on the Family because they said they had a hotline for mental health. I got to their hotline and was matched with a cold rude and condescending mental health worker who tried to charge me $60 to match me with a Christian therapist in my area. Their hotline was a referral program that charged its patients a finder’s fee,” the individual wrote.
Sanford apologized for the encounter and debunked the notion that “true Christians” don’t worry.
“I’m very sorry this person was treated in such an uncaring manner and their relationship with Jesus was put into question because of anxiety. The statement ‘a true Christian wouldn’t worry’ is simply not true. I can only imagine the added stress and pain that statement caused this individual,” Sanford said.
He pointed out that Focus on the Family does not provide fee-based tele-mental health services nor does the organization function as a hotline service.
“We have a highly experienced and caring staff of 15 licensed and/or pastoral counselors who return calls to people requesting a consult. We are not a hotline service nor do we provide tele-mental health counseling services for a fee; rather we provide a free, one-time consultation for the caller. Our primary task during this brief consult is to assess how we can best assist the caller,” he explained.
“We will provide answers to questions as we are able, direct them toward resources that may be helpful (be it online or printed resources), make suggestions of professional treatment facilities to consider (if that is what is requested) and provide referrals to licensed counselors in the caller’s area for ongoing therapy as appropriate,” he noted.
As Christians with mental health illness struggle to find help from churches, research also suggests that the need for mental help is not just among the laity. Many pastors struggling with reconciling their mental illness with their faith have turned to suicidebecause they feel they have nowhere else to turn.
Some pastors, however, are choosing to fight back and turning to places like the Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat Ministry in Phoenix, Arizona, for help. The organization offers weeklong counseling retreats for men and women in ministry who are in the midst of various stages of burnout, stress, depression and conflicts of all kinds.
In the last 10 years, Pastor Phil Lee, a Lutheran pastor since 1981, and a licensed marriage and family therapist since 1999, who serves as the organization’s counseling care director, says he has seen 400 to 500 at-risk leaders.
He explained that rather than ignoring the spiritual nature of Christian leaders to address their mental health issues, they take an integrated approach to care.
“We are very careful not to separate the emotional and spiritual; they are interwoven. They are integrated. So our approach to mental health issues, whatever they may be, is that they are part of the overall human condition. Physical, emotional, spiritual — that is all interwoven,” Lee told CP.
“We do not take the simplistic approach, that just pray about it and it will be alright or just pray about it and it will go away. Mental illness is most always more complex than that. Folks on the more conservative end of the spectrum within Christianity often take a pretty simplistic approach — just give it to God. Just pray about it,” he said.
“It really does require different interventions along with Scripture and prayer. Many mental illnesses, for example depression, especially if it’s clinical depression, bipolar, those kinds of things, they really call for therapeutic interventions like talk therapy, counseling, sometimes medication, and other mental illnesses,” he continued. “More complex mental illness like personality disorders, those are things we usually don’t work with because they are more complex than we are prepared to deal with.”
He noted that based on the reporting collected by his organization, the need for the services they provide is “huge” in the Christian community.
Sanford explained that churches can help make churches safer for Christians who struggle with mental health issues by acknowledging that they exist, be knowledgeable about them, establish what level of mental health care ministerial staff can provide and have a trusted network of mental health professionals to which they can refer them.’ https://www.christianpost.com/news/as-churches-struggle-to-help-christians-with-mental-illness-many-flee.html?utm_source=The+Christian+Post+List&utm_campaign=f57bbeb629-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_25_05_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dce2601630-f57bbeb629-2218869
Don Avigliano
January 12, 1924 – October 2, 2017
Donald Paul Avigliano was an accomplished artist, astronomer, author, and Bible teacher. He served in the U.S. Army in WWII, graduated from Pasadena Junior College, and in 1947, married Helen. In 1954, he turned from atheism and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.
In the 1950s and 60s, Don studied Bible at Wheaton College and was an evangelist with Open Air Campaigners. After retiring, Don continued teaching the Bible and ministered to the homeless.
Don Boys wrote (as only he could) in an email that is sent to thousands of recipients that; ‘Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, a Muslim, was sworn into office not on the Bible but upon her personal copy of the Koran (not Thomas Jefferson’s copy as reported) to make a positive statement about Islam’s place in U.S. history stating, “Muslims were there at the beginning.” She is wrong. Muslims in America during our first hundred years were as scarce as white dinosaurs in Kentucky except for some black slaves brought to our shores by Muslim slavers.
The newly minted congresswoman’s main problem was not one of history but one of
Potty Mouth Tlaib
hysteria: a foul mouth attack on the President.
The New York Times quoted Tlaib as saying, “People love you and you win,” Ms. Tlaib told the crowd. “And when your son looks at you and says: ‘Momma, look, you won. Bullies don’t win.’ And I said, ‘Baby, they don’t.’ Because we’re going to go in there, and we’re going to impeach the mother******.” It is incomprehensible that a mother would talk that way under any circumstances but to say it to her son is beyond shocking.
Tlaib promised a crowd of leftist supporters in a bar to impeach the President using the most filthy word possible. Such despicable action shows her to be crass, crude, and without class. Shockingly, some defended her profanity including the know-nothing Socialist, congressperson Ocasio-Cortez—who has just asked for a tax rate of 70% to finance her give-away-program. Various “entertainers” defended the profane outburst and the Washington Post editorially asked, “What’s so wrong with mother******?” The new flake in the Senate, Mitt Romney’s silence has been deafening.
I ask the question that liberals love to ask going back to the Army-McCarthy Hearings in 1954, “Have you left no sense of decency?” While society has degenerated immensely since that time, the question is pertinent. What has happened to self-respect, kindness, truth, self-control, dignity, politeness, and civility? Does anyone possess a sense of shame anymore?
The House leader Nancy Pelosi refused to reprimand the foul-mouthed Muslim saying, “I’m not in the censorship business.” Pelosi suggested that the backlash Tlaib is receiving from decent people is sexist. She added that what Tlaib said was “nothing worse than the president has said”; however, Trump has muffled his public profanity since becoming President.
There is no doubt that Trump’s foul mouth has contributed to this climate of vulgarity that has fallen on America like a noxious fog over a foul-smelling swamp. He used the same vulgarity in a 2011 speech about China but he was not President at that time. A small difference. But that is no excuse for her; after all, for centuries women have been held to a higher standard than men—justifiably so. Men seem to have crudeness coming out of their genes while women are by nature kinder, gentler, etc.
The fact is she used a foul word that is used by uncouth, unthinking, uncaring, and uneducated people. After sane, sensible people came down on her uncouth vulgarity, she reaffirmed her position. No apology. Maybe Muslims don’t apologize. To their credit, a few Democrats criticized her statement.
Even non-Christians should not use that and other vulgar words. A few years ago, even the most rude, crude, and lewd men did not use such words in decent company especially in the presence of women and children. Now, even women are using the terms. Yes, the times, they are a-changin’! For the worst.
And few seem to be blushing.
Listen to the average person on the street and you will hear the F word and many other vulgar words used repeatedly in a few sentences! Of course, they hear it at work, movies, on recordings, and on television. Even some preteens use cr*p, fa*t, frik*n’, etc., as if they are acceptable. Parents, teachers, and pastors are failing; and even some Evangelical pastors are known for cursing!
The New York Times wrote of one famous megachurch pastor, “He has the coolest style and foulest mouth of any preacher you’ve ever seen.” Some pathetic pastors see this as an accolade instead of a major personal failure.
But filthy talk is wrong whether by a preacher, politician, pundit, prince, potentate, or pauper.
My critics will accuse me of living in a religious bubble and that has been generally true for most of my adult life. However, that does not mean that I have no exposure to the real world with all its corruption. After all, I have traveled worldwide, shopped, dealt with businessmen, was a life insurance salesman, served in the Indiana House of Representatives (where I reprimanded the cursing wife of a Democrat judge in front of him and their legislative friends), and appeared on hundreds of television and radio talk shows where I was called many vulgar words that I had no idea of their meaning! So my “bubble” has not meant total seclusion.
All my close friends and associates are very kind, educated, cultured, refined, urbane, sensitive people who eschew “gosh,” “heck,” “darn,” although we do lose control at times and utter “cool” or “neat.” Gasp! Maybe we say “cool” to appear cool in the eyes of others!
I am not suggesting that people who use four letter words are living in the depths of depravity, although I am saying that such words are unnecessary, uncouth, untoward, and a poor example to others, especially the young.
Most people, who use the F word don’t know what it stands for. Yes, they know what it means but not the etymology. While there are differences of opinion in the background of the word, couples guilty of fornication during colonial times were placed in public stocks with the F word written on the wood stocks. The word stood for “For Unnatural Carnal Knowledge” and was used because there was not space on the stocks to spell out their offense.
Others tell us it meant Fornication Under Consent of the King, whereby he gave permission for married people to participate in sex. Of course, no king has such authority. Still others suggest that it stood for the king’s permission to diplomats travelling on long journeys so they could stop at any home and have sex with the eldest unmarried woman.
Obviously, whatever the actual historical derivation, the foundation was sex and it has usually been considered an obscene word. As such, it should never be part of anyone’s speech, especially that of a person of influence.
Whatever we say should be unambiguous and not be embarrassing or an insult to others who believe their yea should be yea and their nay should be nay. Vulgar (ever non-vulgar) curse words are never acceptable by civil, cultured, and concerned people.
The Apostle Paul commanded in Colossians 3:8, “Put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of your mouth.” He also said, “Evil communications corrupt good manners.” Swearing results in a coarsening of society. Are you listening, Congresswoman?
If her momma is alive, maybe she could help correct past failure by washing out her daughter’s mouth with soap! That worked for thousands of us. How about it, Mrs. Tlaib?
And if her mother is not alive, there is always her husband she embarrassed with her filthy mouth. But then that’s another column.
As an afterthought, I wonder how many Christians are members of the Saudi, Pakistani, and Iranian governments. Just asking.
Boys’ Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! is now available. To get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.
(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives; ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis, wrote columns for USA Today for eight years; authored 18 books and hundreds of columns and articles for the internet and print media publications; and defended his beliefs on hundreds of talk shows. These columns go to newspapers, magazines, television, and radio stations and may be used without change from title through the end tag. His web sites are www.cstnews.com and www.Muslimfact.com and www.thegodhaters.com.)’
The other day THE LAND carried an article by the Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt. Here it is in a very abbreviated form. 
‘When it comes to climate change, religious leaders of all faiths are increasingly of one mind.’
‘Now, a multi-faith campaign to stop new coal mining, run by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) is gathering momentum. It includes Indigenous, Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish and Christian leaders from all around Australia. They are speaking with one voice about taking urgent, emergency action on climate change. This is much more than a political or even a scientific issue. It is a profoundly moral one.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says global coal use must drop by at least 59 per cent in the next 12 years if we are to avoid catastrophe.’ https://www.theland.com.au/story/5789102/climate-change-is-indeed-a-moral-problem/?src=rss&utm_email=1ec342a17f&utm_source=The+Land+Newsletters&utm_campaign=e9286c4b32-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ade9099b1a-e9286c4b32-1145686
Is Climate Change a religion? It would seem that it is. Knowing there would be false gospels Paul said even if ‘…an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.’
It was a surprise to read the good Reverend saying “When it comes to climate change, religious leaders of all faiths are increasingly of one mind.” Wow! He assuredly cannot say that concerning the Christian faith of which he claims to be a practitioner of.
The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) was something new to these ears but with a little search, it’s Internet presence was found https://www.progressivechristians.org.au/. At their website, they have a page where they may be contacted. This I did by quoting Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
ARRCC’s chair replied:
‘Dear David
I received your message via the contact system, thank you. Genesis 8: 22 is reassuring. I agree that the earth will remain, but ARRCC is quite concerned that humanity’s greed and carelessness means we may be facing the end of times for our own species and we will take many other species with us. It’s happening already. There are plenty of other readings which align with the experience of waters rising, species extinctions, more wild fires, etc and these are linked in the Bible to human sin.
Hosea 4:3 …’Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.’
Luke 21:25-26 …’and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.’
Our hope is in the many millions of people around the world who want to prevent environmental destruction from happening or who, as believers, also want to restore God’s rule on earth. We do our best to be among those people. Want to be among those who are trying to save humanity from itself?
Kind regards’
My Reply:
‘Dear Thea,
Thank you for such a quick reply. I am amazed you used the Bible to promote your cause for those passages quoted have nothing to do with climate change! Here, are some observations concerning the passages quoted.
1. Hosea 4 speaks of God’s dealing with Israel and their sins. Hosea is showing Israel what the grounds were for God’s contention with them, (Hosea 4:1,2) speaks of a general prevalence of vice and profaneness in the land, and (Hosea 4: 3) is the consequence of this contention God has with Israel. This has NOTHING to do with climate change. However, God will someday judge this world because of people’s reluctance to repent of their sins and acknowledge Him as God; Revelation 6: 9-17; 16:9-16.
2. Luke 21: 25-26 also has absolutely NOTHING to do with climate change. Luke 21:25 follows verse 24 which speaks of when the times of the Gentiles ‘be fulfilled.’ When they are then ‘there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring’.
Luke 21:26 speaks of these signs shaking men to their very heart.
Then in Luke 21:27 there will be seen the Son of man (the Lord Jesus Christ) ‘coming in a cloud with power and great glory.’ All of this future judgment is of God on men for their forsaking His Son the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection as (1) payment for their sins, and as (2) their personal Saviour from the penalty of their sins.
However, we MUST take notice that there will come a tumultuous time of political, religious, and climatic change to this world and those days are explained in Revelation 8, 9, 11-20. It MUST be also noted that the climatic changes that will be coming upon this earth are brought about by man’s rebellion against God! All the solar and wind turbines will NOT keep this world from the impending judgment of God! For, as the Lord Jesus said to the religious of His day ‘except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’ and the same holds true today.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Looking for that Blessed Hope,
David Bennett’
So far no reply but from my perspective, these religious folk at the ARRCC are similar to those to whom the Lord spoke in Mattew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Those at the ARRCC and their so-called concern for the environment hit a chord with many in today’s society but their singing is off key as far as the Word of God is concerned. Those who know the Lord as personal Saviour are ‘…to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.’
However, ‘…the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness…’ After reading much of what is contained on the ARRCC website those associated with ARRCC seem to be an embodiment of that last verse!
