Sir W Dakotah

Praise God.

Muslim come into our group's bragging that islam is the fastest growing religion, as if might makes right! I always answer that Jesus said broad is the way and broad is the gate that leads to destruction

However, we have been aware of the Chinese church for a few years now. The African church is calling Europeans to repentance. The Church in China is sending out a 100,000 missionaries under the back to the Jerusalem program. They are trained in various languages they encounter, and how to with stand torture as they travel through the "western" lands (all lands between china and Jerusalem are west) speaking the language of the lands on their way to Jerusalem evangelizing.

What is exciting about this is that they are what seems to be a grassroot movement of ordinary, or in my opinion extraordinary Christians.

God is to be Praised

Amen.

Greetings Sir W Dakotah,

We often think of a great revival in times of prosperity and good times and blessings, but this is not the case. All the great revivals in history were times of severe persecution. Blessings,

Dad Ernie

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I have to agree with you again. You are absolutely a Christian after my own heart

I am not praying for persecution, my flesh rejects that. However, flesh has to take a back seat, because I am praying for a true revival of the church in America, and in the World.

Even so Lord Jesus come

I have great expectations about America's future. I think Christ's influence is much stronger in this country than one might think. Don't believe the media. Christians have the power to sway elections and change things. We just have to be partakers in the process and we won't lose. Christians are like the big kid on the block who dosen't realize that he's infact the "big Kid". Great things can happen for the future and I am optimistic that they will.

God Bless

Dan

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We are to look for the hope of his coming Scripture is plain about that. And as far as the USA we are a blessed country, but we are not the chosen country, and God will not tolerate sin among any peoples. Nor will he apologize for judging a nation.

America is full of God fearing born-again Christians. Thats not to say that some islamonut won't sneak a nuke over the border and dust one of our cities. That would be our own stupid fault. This is the biggest problem I have with President Bush. A war on terror is fine if you understand that terrorists look for your vulnrable side. This being our crazy "come on in" border policy. Never the less, I for one still love this country and am very loyal to it. I know there is the secular side that rejects God but that is not the side that makes the USA so great. I think people get a bit to cynical and doomsdayish(I'm not sure thats a word). I would like to here from an optimist for a change. Perhaps the sky ain't gonna fall!

Regards

Dan

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How would you have liked a John the Baptist?

Ecumenism and departing from sound doctrine (apostacy) is going to get worse and worse and this is where the False Prophet will arise and will lead many astray. But those sealed and prepared by God to "stand" in those days shall be saved and will be called out as is shown here:

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

This is NOT the rapture, but it is God saying He will no longer tolerate Christians being so much like the world He can't tell the difference.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

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Greetings D E

I have to agree with you. I think there is more than one facet to this scripture, but I believe that it is calling the christian to seperate themselves from this world system.

How many times have you heard it preached that there is going to be a great endtime revival?

Yet the scriptures indicate that there will not be addition, but subtraction from christianity. The great falling away is not a rapture either. It is apostasy pure and simple. Deception is already widespread in many of our church's.

I see a lot of "TRIBULATIONS SAINTS WANNABE" among the believers( they really have NO IDEA of what the time of JACOB'S TOUBLE is going to be...9/11 and the Tsunami and Iraq etc... it will look like  a walk in the park in comparison to the HORRORS that will befall our planet in that time. A good study of the EGYPT PLAGUES and of THE WRATH of GOD in the O.T. might help!)

or I see a lot of" believers" saying that all that is happening is just like it happened in the past ( we had 2 world wars in the 20th century after all,didn't we?) forgetting to see THE STEPPING UP and THE INCREASE of EVIL and TERROR and the "natural"( ah ah ah ) events befalling us.....just like the pre/BIRTH PANGS of which JESUS talks in HIS PROPHETIC discourses in the synoptics!

Well,DENIAL will NOT change GOD'S AGENDA...CHRIST IS COMING,first FOR HIS PEOPLE ( RAPTURE) THEN WITH HIS PEOPLE ...firts the meeting IN THE AIR THEN the DESCENT ON THE MOUNT of OLIVES!!!

YES YES YES YES YES THE RAPTURE IS PRETRIBULATIONAL....please I BEG ALL ON THIS WORTHY BOARDS TO OPEN their EYES and PREPARE because HE IS COMING SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN    and it is going to catch a lot of people UNAWARE ,cause they love THIS LIFE TOO MUCH and HIS APPEARING TOO LITTLE!

SHALOM and MARANATHA and please WATCH and PRAY and PRAY for me too( my name is ROBERTO) thanks a zillion,MARANATHA!!!    

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I have to agree with you Roberta.

I watched those towers fall on 9/11 and for more than 6 months if anyone even mentioned it I would begin weeping. I still weep, if I see the site, or think about the horror of that day. But more I get angry at all we have lost since I grew up in this country.

Now imagine watching 2 billion people die from war during the tribulation. Then 2 billion more from disease and terror during that time. Scriptures tell us that 1/2 the worlds population will be wiped out in 7 short years, and if the days were not shortened no flesh would be saved.

It is an unimaginable horror. Nothing about it is going to be fun and games.

I heard a preacher once say he couldn't wait for judgement, as if he was going to enjoy watching people go to hell for eternity. This makes me want to try harder to reach more people, rather than take an see I told you so type of stance. There will be nothing gratifying seeing any of this.

Praise God for people like you. With all of this we can still say with John

Even so Lord Jesus come.

Maranatha

Now to answer the original topic. The other day for the first time, I watched videos of the tsunami.

One of the video's was horrifying. A man stood on the shore watching the wave come without moving, as if there was no danger. Others in the background pointing it out with laughter as it came closer to the shore. All seemed to see it, but for some reason, they didn't see the danger.

Our world is much like that, I think it has something to do with human nature, we can be in great danger, but are incredulous that something could really be a danger to us.

I once had an experience with a car jacker, we were at the end of our street at a stop sign, my husband was driving. A man jerked the passenger door open grabbed my arm and said "I'm sorry folks, but I am going to take this car." I was indignant I said no your not as I held onto the panic bar overhead with my left hand and told my husband to go. He did.

The man held onto my right arm running alongside the car, until he lost his balance, and fell under the wheel breaking his foot. We went and called the police. At no time was I frightened, in fact it was like I was watching it, and it wasn't real. He did some damage to my shoulder, but not once did I feel that I was going to let him pull me from that car. I was still angry when the police arrived that someone would be as stupid as demanding MY car.

It wasn't until much later that I saw the danger my husband and I had been in. If I had let go, and he pushed my husband from under the wheel, or hit him in the head with the rock he was carrying in a sack. I would have never forgiven myself. If he had not had to run so fast holding on with one hand, not being able to swing that sack to hit me in the head. I would have had more than a damaged shoulder, what if he had not had a rock but a gun?

Yet even thinking back on this situation, I would still get angry, and it would have seemed preposterous for someone to come up and try to pull me out of my car with the words "sorry folks but I am going to take this car."

I had a friend who was nearly raped by Ted Bundy, and she did something similar, she laughed at him, loudly! Threw him so completely off guard he ran. Maybe it is human nature not to see the danger.

Good Day jc 49

I ve been trying to warn them. Some of them believe this is all fun and games. Read some of my posts

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Mind I too have been given a burden for the church in America particularly because I have seen great evil come into the body of Christ in the past 46 years of my christian walk. Church's that were on fire for God, now want God to be on fire for them. It is called the prosperity doctrine.

When I got saved Holiness was preached, some in my own family have believed that God has changed and sort of winks at his own Holy laws, because repentance is no longer preached in the church.

When I was saved there was a hell to shun, as much as there was a heaven to gain. That is not taught anymore. I was taught that God expected something from me, repentance! Now the church is being taught that we are to expect from God, and we have made god into our own magic little genie..say the right thing and poof you get a new car.

God is a God of prosperity, however seek his kingdom first and HIS righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you. Yet the church is seeking things.

One thing about the post though if you break them into smaller post with larger, or even bold type it would be easier to read.

I think you will find that most people on this board has the same burdens as you do.

Most post that I have read are people who God is dealing with, he does know how to speak to his children.

And as for the what ifs..

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

If we truly follow the scriptures and not our "feelings" or someone else's misinterpretation. We will be fine. The Holy Spirit is to be our teacher who leads us into all righteousness, through the written Scriptures.

Let's be BEREANS, searching the scriptures daily..

To my brothers and sisters in Christ:

Ya know, as much as I love to debate with y'all because it gives energy to my faith, it is disheartening when we argue over misunderstandings and assumptions. And, I mean that on both sides.

But, I think it brings joy to the Holy Spirit when believers try to find common ground.  Something they can affirm in each other without compromising their beliefs. And, I think faith and works is actually one of those things that we mostly agree on, we just have different perspectives and ways of expressing it.

Here's what I think we agree on:

1.  Without the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we would all merit hell and would have no chance of salvation.

2.  His sacrifice is a gift, we can't earn it; we must however accept it.

3.  To accept His gift we must repent of our sins and make a resolution to amend our lives.

4.  To accept Christ into our lives and to follow Him means to do what He commands.

But, do we agree on this?----

That, in a sense, just as love can be an "action verb"", as expressed in I Corinthians 13, so also "faith" can be an action verb.  To have faith implies a way of life. It implies that we must DO something.  NOT that we are saved thru works, but that it is a command from Jesus as His followers to do the work He calls us to do.

Comments?

In His Love,

Fiosh

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Complete agreement. Faith without works is dead, and works without Faith is filthy rags.

We work because we have faith, we don't have faith because we work.

I will go one step further we can decieve ourselves with faithless works, or with workless faith.

Jam 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

In many ancient cultures it was believed that knowing the number of something gave one power over it.  David numbering Israel was sort of a demonstration of power, his own power, not Yahweh's.

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God said not to do it he did it anyway.

There is also something else involved in this, whether it is pledging an allegiance to the beast, or actually worshipping it. The beast is a system, a theology, and man.

Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Notice it says his mark, or his name, or the number of his name?

One thing I do know for sure though Thessolonians tells us that we will know who it is when he is revealed to us.

That day will not come until the son of perdition be revealed...this is progressive revelation

I should also assure you that there will be a rapture Scriptures say so. It is called the First Resurrection at the Last Trumpet. When Jesus returns in the clouds and every eye shall see him, and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we who are alive and remain will be caught up changed in a twinkling of an eye.

I wonder how many Christians were there in the tsunami. I have heard of Christians who were miracualously saved, and I know that there were others who were not.

Did they really lose anything?

Phi 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Have you read Foxe's Book of Martyrs? There were a lot of Stephens in the church, throuhout the ages. There are a lot of them even today in China, and Africa. Does God love them less than he does us?

If you look at the Letters to the Church in Revelation You will see that he did not have criticism of the suffering church. But the church who was rich and thought it was spiritual he said if they did not repent he would spew them from his mouth. Laodecia was a city set between hot springs and a cool lake. Hot water was piped in for medicinal baths to comfort and heal, the cold water was piped in to refresh and invigorate. If the the pipes broke the water became lukewarm and was not good to refresh, or to comfort. It was good for nothing.

American Church repent. Our brothers and sisters are suffering, while we are so busy with seeker friendliness we are of little good to the world.

God does this for Israel church when satan is cast from heaven in Revelation 12

13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.

15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.

16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring

Would you agree that there are millions of God loving Christians in the US that follow him inspite of all of ths sinful things that happen here?

Will god forsake them when he destroys America? Thats every Christian Man and Woman who has lived their life for him and their children. There are millions here in the US that fit that description. What a reward

I dont know if there will be a rapture but it seems to me that he would remove his faithful before he strikes his judgement down on the US. God rewards the faithful right?

God Bless

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I would agree that there are some true believers in the US however, I do believe there is a lot who have decieved themselves. He said if my people who are called by my name will turn from their wicked ways.

There are millions who call themselves by his name.

Lets look at the roots of the passover. Those Jews who believed Moses, and put the blood over their doors were not touched by the judgement that came on the Egyptians when the death angel came. Can God do the same for us, or has his hand been shortened?

One more question to ask did she ask Jesus to forgive her of her sin, and repent from them?

Give her these scriptures.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Most of the time it is because we do not have any ideal of the righteousness we have imputed to us.

I don't know how many times I have heard people say, I am a sinner saved by grace. I would rather curse, I always correct this with I was a sinner, but I got saved by his grace and became HIS "righteousness". That explains this verse very well, I do not trust anything that I could do as righteous, but I could accept anything that he has done for me. He was righteous, and his righteousness was imputed to me.

IMPUTED was to be put on my account. What a great deal! I give him my sin, and he takes it, and returns to me his righteousness.

I know the feeling though that she might have, as soon as I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I was assured of my sonship. The Spirit identifies with my heart that I have become a child of adoption.

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

I agree we are far from the worst. However, we are the country that is suppose to be blessed by God because we were founded on Christian principles. TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN MUCH IS REQUIRED...Judgement always starts at Gods house first.

I've wondered the same thing, Caroline.

After all, why is an identification chip a sin?  What Law of God does an identification chip break?

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I have often wondered why God judged David for numbering Israel myself. However, if God says don't do something it is not for us to question it.

I am not sure exactly what the mark of the beast will be. It could be a computer chip like the veri chip technologies. It could be something as simple as the Real ID that was passed into law yesterday. I believe that it is more than likely something that will start out as one thing, and end up being a way to keep track of every human being the beast rules over.

It will not be something world wide. Of that I am sure, only the areas under the rule of the beast. The kings of the east and the kings of the south will not be under his rule.

Will we?

I am not sure of that either since America is not mentioned in prophecy at the end.

Yesterday a national id card was passed through the senate. And will be signed into law by the President on May 12 th. With all of it's implications of being a national data base open not only to home land security, but to all our nafta neighbors upon request. Every US citizen will have to have an State ID card, connected with drivers licensing, with soc security numbers and etc. If they decide before implementation that it must contain an rfid chip all personal identification information can be read by anyone who wants to invest a couple of hundred dollars in a scanning device. Imagine the criminal implications of this! Imagine the potential of identity fraud, since most people carry their license on their persons. It can be read through clothing, purses, cars, and you won't even be aware of the danger until it is too late. ...Shades of the Mark..

I understand. God has placed a HUGE burden on my heart to preach repentance, because that is the message - the message of the cross - that is getting lost in this new wave of churches. And, yes, along with that is coming a moral decline where sin is acceptable. So, the churches that preach repentance and confront sin and give people accountability are losing people to the churches who don't get on to people about their sin.

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2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

If you read the 3 chapter of 2 Timothy it is talking about the last days. We are in those perilous times.

Sue,

The problem with the seeker friendly church we left was that repentance was never preached. Our pastor started preaching a prosperity doctrine. In other words not what you can do for God, but what God will do for you. The church filled to the brim and it is a large church.

Because repentance was not preached, he then began giving seminars on sex. I never thought I would hear such drivel coming from the pulpit. But we had people who were coming into the church, living with fiance's. It was abhorrent to me as a christian to watch the downfall of this church.

A pre-wrath study of Revelation that I am going through is in Chapters 17 and 18.  During this lecture about Mystery Babylon, it dawned on me that the USA could fall before the return of Christ.

Rev18:3 depicts our greedy and wealthy culture very well to me

For all the nations have drunk

      the maddening wine of her adulteries.

  The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,

      and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.

The consumer nation could fall in an hour by means of economic collapse, if a nuke goes off in a large city of the USA.

She will be consumed by fire...

      O Babylon, city of power!

  In one hour your doom has come!

    The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more

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Right now we are the most powerful nation on earth. Why isn't the US in bible prophecy? If you read IS 18 it would seem to be us, in that we send ambassadors by sea, and if you see the rivers of Ethopia beyond them there is the Atlantic Ocean..and us.

If this is us then notice that it starts out with a woe.

We who are supposedly a Christian nation that murders the innocent. We who are a Christian nation blessed by God who is now deviding the land of Israel..well..doesn't look good for us, because these are the precursors of judgement.

One thing I think that this topic has brought out although it started out with some who were not as serious. Is that most of us have given deep thought to this subject.

We see a time coming soon when it may not be popular to be a true Christian as it seems to be today. All of us has faced the possibility that we may be called upon to die for our beliefs. I believe that God is raising up a people who are facing these issues and are steeling themselves to be prepared. We will overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony!

Your post reminded me of a video I saw on TBN that was set in the future where a believing father was talking to his son about how things used to be... just before guards came and hauled him away (presumably to be martyred).  The words of the song can be found at I pledge Allegiance to the Lamb, but I don't know who was in the video.

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Wish it was some future time. Or do I.... MARANATHA.

Well, if you are on the Lord's side, then I'm on your side. 

I don't know anything about Canada, well, not much. I don't know their culture or the differences between regions. I know the USA, or at least my part of it. I was raised in Ohio (midwest) and lived there 30 years. I have lived in the south for the past 25 years. Yes, I'm 55! There is a difference in culture between the north (& midwest) and the south. I am culturally very midwestern. And, even from a Christian standpoint, I think I am culturally more midwestern. I have acclimated myself to the south in many ways, but I will never be "southern." So, I'm kind of an odd ball in most circles down here. I don't fit in with most women my age, well, pretty much all women my age. My husband and I work with college-age adults, and I really find that I fit in better with them, but they can't really be my best friends because of the age difference, so I really have no close friends my age. I'm ok with that, though. Most people I know around here do not take the Lord as serious as I do. They don't talk about their faith. I love to talk about my Lord, which is why I'm here on this website. I just don't fit in culturally or religiously with most people in this area, other than the college students. But, even they are pretty much caught up in their own lives.

I've not had a lot of contact with "the world." Even jobs I have had, for the most part, have placed me in somewhat Christian environments where at least people were professing Christians and/or had Christian values. It is only recently that I have begun to be more exposed to people that are non-believers or anti-Christian. It has been eye opening for me. God is showing me the condition of our nation spiritually. Oh, I pray that he would move in America in bringing revival to our nation!!

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I am also a midwesterner, and although I am not an expert on Canada, I live near the border, and have some knowledge of the Ontario area at least.

Sue I know exactly how you feel, my father was a southerner as is my husband. I was born and raised here in MI and have lived here most of my life. However, because I have a slightly different accent than most people here, I am considered an outsider. And if we go south the accent also makes me an outsider. Thats ok, we are all aliens and citizens of Heaven!

I have a great friend I use to speak with on a nightly basis who is french Canadian. I found that believers are believers everywhere. If they are truly believers, and not just give mental assent to the Word of God.

I have been out of fellowship with a local church here because our church went "seeker friendly" and being older they have no use for what they consider the elderly. I am a little older than you are Sue by 4 years, but my husband is older than I. He is also in bad health so we haven't been able to seek a more Godly church. So I go online to the boards, to christian chats.

I really don't feel lonely, most of the time, because my Lord said He would never leave me nor forsake me. Thank God for his promises.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21).

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (Luke 9:24-25)

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3:10-11).

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AMEN!!