I have written the following to give you something to think about!

From the time Adam and Eve were in the garden Scripture tells us that Satan is the great deceiver.  Revelation 12:9 tells us that Satan will deceive and lead the whole world astray.  We realize that Satan continually tries to interrupt God’s ministry but is limited by God as to what he can do.  I Peter 5:8 & 9 tells us that He is actively looking for people to accuse and attack.  He has deceived a lot of people into thinking America is evil and needs to be changed.

We are told that satanic forces look for Christians who are weak in faith and lack spiritual knowledge to reject Christ’s teachings.  Satan cannot be everywhere.  It is through his demons that his mission is to hinder in every way what God would like to see happen in the world.  We are told that in the end times we will be confronted by a beast, (Satan) who wants to be God, (the Antichrist) who wants to be Christ and, (a false prophet) who wants the power of the Holy Spirit to spread his religion.  We are warned in the New Testament that there is a powerful, evil spiritual army whose goal is to destroy the Jews and Christians.

In the 10^th chapter of Genesis it tells of a person named Nimrod.  It is believed that he was the founder of a great, evil Babylonian empire.  Genesis 11:1 – “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.”  It had a one-world government.  They built a 300 foot structure, possibly a pyramid with steps going up the side.  Their plan was to build a tower that reached to the heavens.  Genesis 11:5 – 7 – “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.  The LORD said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’”  So God scattered the people throughout the world and they began speaking different languages.

We now have many American progressives, socialists, communists and Muslims desiring to form a one-world government.  Who do you think was behind Nimrod’s evil one-world government and those planning a one-world government today?  You win if you said Satan.  What was God’s reaction to the evil Babylonian empire?  He didn’t allow it.  However, the situation may be different this time as we read what happens in the end-times from Revelation.

Why does Satan want a one-world government?  We interpret the eighth chapter of Revelation to indicate that Satan gains control of the European Union or the Old Roman Empire.  His messiah will be a charismatic individual who will convince everyone that he has the answer to the world’s problem.  He will make a pact with Israel which he guarantees their security.  He will have political influence over Muslims, Russian, China and others.

How will all of this take place?  Economically the European Union, parts of Africa, some Asian countries, in addition Latin American countries and the United States will be in total economic disarray.   Unemployment will continue to be extremely high to the norm.  Countries social welfare programs and health care will bankrupt their economies.  The youth population throughout the world is starting to protest their governments.  Unions throughout many countries are parading and protesting because of the cutting of wages and socialistic benefits.

Think this is too extreme thinking?  Read Revelation!  Food will become scare.  Jobs will be almost impossible to find.  Riots in the streets over food, no jobs and loss of hope occur throughout the world. It appears we may be seeing just the beginning.

Two powerful leaders appear and take control.  One is said to save the economies and the other will bring peace to all of the people and nations to stop the uprisings.  This is when the one-world government is in full operation.  With it comes a one-world religion.  Satan cannot destroy the church.  Wouldn’t the rapture have to occur prior to this happening?

Can you envision what could possibly happen?   Shall I ask again: “Who is behind it”?  Satan and his evil emissaries will divide those who are Christians and non-believers.  They hate everyone who calls themselves a Christian. John 15: 18 & 19 – “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Expect to see false teachers and lying preachers come forward and deceive a lot of people according to Scripture.

I believe God established America to stabilize the world as we have.  He gave us a republic with a capitalistic economic system and free enterprise.  Satan has to destabilize America in order to carry out his plan to take over the world.  To defeat the capitalistic system is easiest by bankrupting the nation. But his goal is not just America but to other key nations.   Without American power and morality—and a stable world monetary system, Satan can take control.  This could never happen if Satan had not deceived so many people.  To receive further details go to the Book of Revelation.

I am utterly amazed at the way some Christians live their lives.  They must believe that no matter what they do; immorality can be easily forgiven.  Therefore, anything goes and then I can ask God for forgiveness and everything is o.k.  All sin can be forgiven then what’s wrong with telling lies or cheating?  Today’s paper says that one out of forty married individuals in Las Vegas cheat on their spouse.

I Thessalonians 4:1 – 8 – “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.  For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before.  For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.  Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

Living to please God must be every believer’s priority.  God requires each Christian to turn they lives over to Him.  We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.  We are told to become sanctified and holy.  Sanctified means to separate ourselves from the world and give ourselves to God.  We are told to prepare ourselves for heaven in the way we live.  The Bible teaches us to let the Holy Spirit take our sinful, self-centered nature, our old habits and behaviors and let them be transformed to emulate the life of Christ.

We may think living a Christian life can be done by accepting the do’s and don’ts taught in the Scripture.  Christianity is about a relationship with God and our willingness to please Him.  It seems many Christians find this hard to do.  One of the strengths of my temperament is loyalty.  This is probably the reason I find it easier to live to please God than those with other temperaments.

I do not believe God is pleased when we deliberately sin.    In the Old Testament people were punished for disobeying God and Paul says we will be in verse 6.  I believe He continues to punish and in most cases it may be deferred until after death now that we live under grace.  If we live like the pagans in the Old Testament who had come out of prostitution, being adulterers or homosexuals, what will happen when we rule with Christ for 1000 years if we live no differently?

We must ask ourselves: Is the way we are living affect our relationship with Christ?  Will it keep us from being given a crown or a higher position in Heaven?  God has called us to live holy lives.  If we live impure lives what happens?  We are told that God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us resist temptation.      If we refuse to live by God’s rules are we not rejecting God?  We are further told that the Holy Spirit gives us self-control and the ability to have control over sinful desires and the ability to practice restraint.

When I was much younger there were many large families.  In some families they had a wayward child that they called their black sheep.  The word came from black wool that could not be dyed and was considered undesirable.  The black sheep of the family was a son or daughter who caused the family sorrow.  In their living they had disgraced the family by their worthlessness or immoral living.  Most children did not want to embarrass the family and subjected themselves to respectable living and authority.  I think there are too many Christians who could be considered God’s black sheep.  They disregard the family and the family’s values.  The problem is: how they live reflect on the entire family.  Consider what you do or say and whether it will please God or not.  If you fail to live a holy life you are rejecting God according to the above Scripture.

Probably the most asked question is “When is Jesus coming back”?  Three different times I have tried to answer that question in my blogs.  I felt led to once again address this question and have spent this week getting additional information.  Sunday morning I listened to Dr. Charles Stanley’s message on the same subject.   After hearing his sermon I feel inadequate to write this blog.  Yet, I feel I should try once again to answer that most asked question.

I wrote on Harold Camping of Family Stations radio and TV ministry who predicts Christ will come on May 21, 2011.  I wrote on the Mayan and Hopi’s predictions that the world ends on December 21, 2012.  My greatest fear is that when these days come and pass and nothing has changed non-believers will begin mocking Christians and Christianity as the Bible predicts.

Remember those who predicted that when January 1, 2000 occurred all computers would stop working and the government required all banks and financial institutions to replace and update computers and software.  We had three of the greatest years economically from 1997 through 1999.  When 2000 came and no one needed new equipment, we slowly went into a recession.  Well those who expected that on January 2000 doomsday would occur, have you heard from those millionaires since?  Do you still have the food that you were told you had to have on hand in order to survive?  Did you live in fear as one pastor who moved to Colorado?  He told me it would be safer there.

We have continually, over the years, had professing Christians, false teachers, predict when Christ would return.  Every time those dates have come and passed nothing unusual happened.  When are they going to read Scripture that says in Matthew 24:36 – 39 – “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

What do these false teachers not understand?  How can Christians become so deceived into believing that anyone knows when that day will come?  Because, they are deceived by the biggest deceiver of all—Satan.  Know the Bible and you will know what truth is.

The greatest ‘hope’ that any Christian has is that we know He is coming for us.  John 14:2 – 4 – “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

He could come at anytime and when he does it will be in an instant.  No one will expect it. II Peter 3:10a – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief”.  The rapture can take place at anytime.  For those of us who believe in pre-tribulation, we do not have to see the signs preceding the tribulation or the lawless man to know Christ can come at anytime.  However, when all of the things leading up to the building of the Temple haven’t happened, it only assures us He hasn’t come yet.  But none of that has to occur for Jesus to return and rapture the church as most Christians believe.

If He comes to rapture the church are you ready?  Scripture tells us “we ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day Of God and speed its coming”.  This tells us not to be anxious and worry about when He comes, just be prepared.  II Thessalonians 2:15 – “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teaching we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

I John 3:2 – 3  – “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

For those of us who believe the church will be raptured prior to all of the signs that are yet to take place, His return could be at anytime or years from now.  So be alert!  Satan’s fallen spirits and demons are just as much deceivers as he is.  Don’t fall for those egotistical false teachers who will try to convince you that God has told them a specific day when He wouldn’t even tell Christ, His Son or any of the angels.

One summer I worked as an electrician’s helper for Weyerhaeuser Lumber Co.   I then spent four years in the Navy.  I worked a short time for Longview Fibre.  Then part of a summer I set chokers logging for Weyerhaeuser and then time in their saw mill.  Part of a summer I worked on The Dalles Dam 90 feet up on scaffolding.  That didn’t last long because of my fear of heights.  If you were to rate my productivity, an overall rating as an employee, would be no better than a C-minus.

I heard a sermon on Ephesians 6:5 – 9 and it changed how I worked.  “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.  And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”

Instead of the word slaves, inserted was the word employees.  It went like this: Employees obey and respect those who you work for whether they are watching or not.  Work as an employee of Christ wanting to please my God in whatever you do.  What would this mean?

When we are hired we make an agreement to use our abilities to do specific tasks for a certain amount of money.  That means they can expect us to do certain things in accordance with their policies and procedures.  We are told to respect our employers.  Since we made an agreement, they have the right to expect from us to be cooperative and productive.

As Christians we are expected to be different from those who live by the world’s rules.  We are told by Scripture to be conscientious and loyal and we are to be positive and encouraging servants.  We are to do our best by being dependable and considerate of others.  Employers can easily tell the difference between an excellent employee and a so-so employee.  Guess who in most situations get the raises and promotions?

We should never be intimidated by our supervisors or bosses.  As Christians the only one we are to fear is God.  By not showing respect for those in authority and slacking off in doing our job, we must be afraid of displeasing God.

The Apostle Paul says we are not to do our best only when we are being watched but remember God is watching every second through the Holy Spirit that is within us.  We are not to waste time conducting personal business when we should be working.  We should not extend our break periods.  We should always arrive early for work and not leave until our time is up.

It is not unusual to work for someone that rarely gives you due recognition, or gives added rewards or praise.  However, Scripture promises that many of our rewards will be waiting for us in Heaven.  So be patient, we are continually storing up treasures for eternity.

Paul instructs us as supervisors or leaders that God is not impressed with a person’s position but what we do in that position.  Don’t you think God is aware when we abuse our leadership role or cause injustice to be done?  God always knows what is going on.  The day will come when He will settle up all accounts.  God will have the last word!

When I became a Christian and a new person in the Lord it changed by entire life.  God wanted me to hear His message and put it to use.  What a surprise I received when those in authority saw the new me.  I was treated differently and better.  Once I was promoted and became an employer and leader I could tell who was working for a paycheck and who was a team member and who followed the same advice I had been given. They were the ones I gave the extra raises and the promotions.

Do you want to improve your chances for success in the workplace?  Make God your supervisor and then do whatever you can to please Him through your work and your attitude toward authority and others.  God’s promises never fail for those who put into practice what He asks!

Revelation 12:9 – “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”

I want to point out in this verse: “Satan, who leads the whole world astray.”  Satan will deceive many and others will be led astray because of their rebellion against God.  Probably one of the greatest psychologists that ever existed is Satan.  He knows more about human emotions and how we are wired than anyone other than God.  It looks like he is stirring up the world at least the Middle-East for now.

Thirty years ago Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty which has, to some extent, stabilized the Middle-East and has given Israel security in its southern neighbors.  Israel’s largest trading partner in the Middle-East has been Egypt.  Israel receives gas through the Egyptian pipeline a much needed resource.  A new government, particularly the Muslin Brotherhood, an Egyptian outlawed opposition group, could take over the Egyptian government.  Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Throughout the Middle-East you have a number of well educated young people that are unemployed. One out of seven college graduates in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia are unemployed.  There are a number of those employed who are over qualified for their position.  We were created to be free, with a desire to belong or to be accepted and to feel competent.  Up to now social justice has never worked and it hasn’t in Egyptian and other Middle-Eastern countries.  A person who doesn’t feel free to choose, or have little chance to better themselves and are motivated by fear from a dictator can’t be pleased.  The average individual who is not happy with their present circumstance and has little hope wants change and if things are bad enough they demand it as we are now seeing it.

However, change does not always bring the consequences they envisioned. Sometimes it can be worse than before. Should the Muslin Brotherhood take over, their goal is to terminate Israel.  Instead of more freedom there would be less.  Their goal is to have a one-world government under Sharia law and terminate all infidels.

An article in the Washington Post links Bill Ayers, a member of the radical Weatherman underground organization to President Obama.  We have also learned that President Obama’s terrorist friend Ayers went to Egypt last January (2010) to teach Egyptians how to protest, wreak chaos, and force their way into office as the solution to the Mubarak government.  Will this teaching spread across the Middle-East to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, and others?

Who doesn’t want change when things are not going well?  Doesn’t everyone want freedom, to hope, the need to achieve, to feel worthy and accepted?  Do you think Satan doesn’t know that?  Who do you think is behind all of this leading the world astray?  If you didn’t answer Satan you better get out your Bible.   For those who are teaching the world will end on May 21, 2011 or December 21, 2012 it looks like it will be longer than that.  This Egyptian uprising isn’t making Israel feel safer nor are they abundantly rich yet from the newly discovered gas and oil.  I believe that comes much later.

Maybe you will help me.  Occasionally I will read other blogs.  Sometimes there will be 10 to 20 comments or replies made on that one blog.  I have posted 192 and in total received 148 comments, less than one per blog.  On average there will be between 100 and 200 who read the blogs each week.   On June 7, 2010 I wrote: “God must protect Israel”.  More people have read that blog than any other.  There have been two comments and one just recently on a blog that should have drawn many.  Please feel free to agree or disagree or whatever.  Let me hear from you.

A sequel to “God must protect Israel” is “How ‘will’ God protect Israel?”  With what is going on in Egypt and the Middle East I thought an update would be appropriate.

For years I have read and studied chapters 36 through 39 of Ezekiel and have read enough about these Scriptures to know that this war has not yet taken place.  History has also indicated that Iran and Russia have been bitter enemies for centuries.  This is the first time in history that they have become true allies.

Scripture tells us that (Magog) Russia and (Persia) Iran and others will be led to invade Israel.  Ezekiel 38:4 – “I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.”  Ezekiel goes on in 38:9 – “You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.”

I have often wondered what would be the hooks that God would put in their jaws to bring them to invade Israel.  I recently wrote Israel has located a huge amount of gas off the Israeli coast that is capable of supplying many European countries for many years. (Isaiah 45:3 – “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”) This new find could supplant the supply that is now coming out of Russia.  Russia has been using gas to blackmail some nations. Russia’s loss of supplying gas to other nations could cause the Russian army, with Iran and others, to attack Israel as described in chapters 37 – 39 of Ezekiel.

On the front page of the December 30, 2010 Wall Street Journal is an article that Israel has located a large reservoir of gas that could last 100 years.  It has now been confirmed how gigantic this discovery is.  The WSJ article states: “The field contains 16 trillion cubic feet of gas—making it the world’s biggest deepwater gas find in a decade.”  In addition, they have located 1.7 billion barrels of oil.  (According to the WSJ, same story, A U.S. Geological Survey says there is 122 trillion cubic feet of gas.  That is equal to half the proven gas reserve of the U.S.)

This discovery is causing diplomatic furor with other nations.  For example, Lebanese politicians are asking oil companies to explore off their coast.  Israel and Lebanon, still at war, are now fighting over offshore resources.  Money makes people crazy and that is what is now happening in the Middle East.

Should this war as prophesized happen no one will come to Israel’s rescue, as America has always done.  Scripture says that God will destroy the armies from the north.  Everyone will know that it was a “God Thing”.

If you follow current events you may be aware that Moscow has aggressively pursued political, economic and military ties to Iran in defiance of U.S. and European protests.  Russia has authorized the sale of nuclear technology to Iran.  They are training nuclear scientists and are providing them with the latest in armament.

Since May 14, 1948 when Israel was established, Middle-Eastern nations have tried to destroy them.  The Bible says that before the Russian and Iran led war, Israel will live in a time of calm and will accumulate great wealth.  Great wealth hasn’t happened yet but could be in their future.

As we look behind the “iron curtain” Russia has hugely increased their defense budget, including new aircraft, rockets and the size of their army.  The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes it is his duty to prepare the way for the Islamic messiah by destroying the Jews and Christians.  Thus, he has vowed to annihilate the U. S. and Israel and is preparing his military and nuclear weapons to accomplish that.  As we continue in Ezekiel 39:2 & 4 – “I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.”  How close are we getting to the time when Ezekiel’s vision will come to pass?  Couldn’t the oil and gas discovery be the hooks that Ezekiel predicted?

Ezekiel 38:18 – 22 – “This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.  In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.   The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.  I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.   I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.”

Ezekiel raises many questions: Will Russia supernaturally be destroyed?  The Bible says the devastation will be like something we have never seen before.  It is believed that we will see a resurgence of religions worldwide.  We assume this will give the world one last chance for salvation before the War of Armageddon that will follow later.  Is Egypt the beginning of the resurgence of religions worldwide?

Jewish religious leaders had become so involved in their culture, sacrifices, traditions and rules that they failed to love God or others.  So a Religious leader asked Jesus, of the 613 Jewish laws what was the most important.

Luke 10:27 – Christ answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.”

We realize that Jesus was saying it isn’t the laws or obedience that matter it is our relationship with God and others.  If we continue to love God and others with an unselfish love the laws would not matter.

I have read this Scripture many times and have heard a number of sermons.  What does it really mean to love your neighbor?  Ask that question and more than likely you will get a number of different answers.  Some will say it is your brothers and sisters in the Lord. In fact, I would give an answer probably different from any you would give.

A neighbor is someone that needs help and we can help.  A neighbor is how we treat others in a way we would want others to treat us.  The golden rule was a guide given to help each person to know what was right and what was wrong.  It is a test of morality in how we react to others and their needs.  It requires a heart of humility and a generous spirit.  Pride can block our love for God as well as our love for others.

When I was a high school teacher I wanted to make each student receive more knowledge and help them become capable of dealing with the world.  I made more on my summer job than I did teaching for nine months.  It wasn’t just a job or the money.

As a supervisor for Birds’ Eye Frozen Foods I had a choice to put out an excellent product or surpass production quotas.  As important as quotas were it was more important to put out the best product we could.  I didn’t want to put out spinach with weeds in it for the sake of a quota.

As a store manager I believed if you treated the customers fairly, gave them the best service possible, with a smile and took care of their problems they would continue to be a repeat customer.

As an investment advisor we always have a choice.  What we suggest for an investment will it be to my benefit financially or is it best for the client?  Many commission salespeople will put what is best for them ahead of what would be better for the customer.  We have recently seen this in the housing crises.  Assessors were over valuing homes in order to get business.  Real estate agents would sell homes that made them the most commissions to people who couldn’t really afford them.  Financial companies were making loans to people without verifying whether they could ever make the payments.  Insurance companies were insuring that these mortgages were safe because it was very profitable until they had to pay off.  Greed was everywhere including politicians who were encouraging that homes should be sold to anyone who wanted one.  If you didn’t co-operate they would send in auditors to make your life miserable.

Doesn’t loving your neighbor as yourself mean—treat others like you would want to be treated?  Regardless of what our job is who do we look out for?  Doesn’t loving our neighbor mean putting what is best for them rather than what is best for me.  What kind of a world would this be if everyone did what is best for the person they are selling to or providing services.  Is a mechanic following Christ’s principle if he tells you that a new starter is needed when the old one works well? In every store I told our mechanics that if I found them overselling they would be terminated. What about the air conditioner repairman who tells you that you need a new condenser when only a fuse was needed?   The things I have seen over my lifetime would make most anyone a very cynical person.

Doesn’t loving our neighbor mean: when we have a choice, treat others like you would want to be treated and never take advantage of anyone—ever.  Wouldn’t Christ define this as loving your neighbor also?

Non-Christian Jews did not believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah and never accepted Christianity.   In the early church many Jewish converts to Christianity did not like Paul preaching that a Gentile could become a Christian without first becoming a Jew and adhering to Jewish laws, traditions, circumcision and customs.  They also felt threatened that more Gentiles were becoming Christians than Jews.  While Paul was under house arrest in Rome he wrote a letter to Christians in Ephesus explaining God’s purpose for the church.

Ephesians 3:1 – 6 – “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.  In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.  This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

In the Old Testament God stated that faith would be the principle that would be used to judge all people.  The Jews were told that Christ would come to confirm the promises given to the Jews and their descendants but also that the Gentiles could glorify God for His mercy.

In Paul’s letter he writes that we can know God through Christ that gives us a picture and the character of God.  He also shares that Christ came to give us a gospel that was free of the law.  Paul backs up his preaching by giving evidence through the Old Testament.   Genesis 22:18 & Acts 3:25 – “And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.”

Scripture had not prophesized the church as we know it.  It was given by Christ to Paul through a revelation and confirmed to other apostles.   Therefore, the mystery that Paul is telling the Ephesians was God’s plan, that had been hidden, was to build His church a body of believers.  He would baptize Jews and Gentiles into it.  There would be no difference between them and they would be blessed equally.  The church has been described as the “mystical body of Christ”.  It would be headed by Christ and it was God’s way of spreading the good news—the gospel.  The Holy Spirit would give it and its believers God inspired faith, wisdom, knowledge and power to spread God’s “will” and God’s “grace” to mankind. One purpose for the church was to offer salvation to the world.

God would bless the Gentiles as spiritual equals was not a new revelation.  The mystery was that God’s plan of salvations and His blessing would bring the hope of eternal life to every individual on earth through Christ.  The church would be a spiritually united community that would worship God and abide by his commandments to love one another.  The church, as a whole, has many failings.  But in most ways it pursues the purpose God had intended.

Our minds are developed by the world and the way we live.  The world lives separated from God.  Our background, our parents and those who surround us inject into us a mind that thinks as the world teaches.  Who we are, what we think, our beliefs and our behavior come from a worldly mind.

My father died of tuberculosis when I was six.  My mother and I moved to a small rural city into a three room home.  It had one bedroom, a living room and kitchen with no hot water.  I slept on a cot in the living room.  When I was in the seventh grade my mother remarried and we moved to the city where we had an indoor bathroom with hot water and a bathtub.

I went to a grade school from 1^st to the 8^th grade.  When I was in the third grade I became active in sports.  Sports were something that gave me a sense of achieving and being accepted.  I learned the importance of being competitive and the importance of practice and preparation to excel.  I believed that success in life could be earned through setting goals and using the same methods used in sports.

It wasn’t until I left the Navy that I turned my life over to Christ.  II Corinthians 5:17 – 18 – best describes my reaction to salvation.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!   All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:”   A definite change took place when I received the Holy Spirit.  However, my mind changed very little.  I still was just as competitive and goal oriented as ever.

It took a number of years reading and studying the Bible until I realized that I still had a way to go to become spiritually mature.  One thing that may help Christians struggling and falling short of living a holy and righteous life is to put into practice what it says in Philippians 2:5 – “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”  The Bible says that Christ came as a servant and was very humble.  He loved others and spent much time with those who were the neediest.

What have we made the most important things in our lives?  Is our mind still on the things of the world or do we have the same mindset as Christ?  We are to imitate Christ in how we live.  How many believe they have reached that point?  Actually, if we are spiritually mature we would say none of us.  Yet, this is what we are told we must do, is to develop the “mind” of Christ.

We know if Christ were in our place God would be first, family second, others third and then the career would follow.  How many Christians really place God first?  Judge them by their love for Him, their commitment, obedience to Christ’s teaching such as tithing, serving, etc.  How about our families?  Do we spend time with them doing things as a family?  Too many guys put careers first and playing golf or spending time elsewhere?  The family gets whatever time is left over and that is not always quality time.  It is difficult to change from having a worldly mind to having a mindset as Christ.

Too often those who reach their goal find that once it is obtained it is not as gratifying as they had expected.  No matter how much one acquires with a worldly mind it never seems to be enough.   This is a problem that took me a while to realize.  I reached a number of goals and then found they were not as satisfying as I had expected.  Sometimes it is too late for many men before they regret the lack of time spent with their family.   Some may only realize it when their children are all gone.  Many times I have wished I could start all over again.  It just seems it took a long time before I realized what Scripture was teaching.  I spent too much time earning an income and not enough time learning how to develop the “mind” of Christ.  Hope you will give this some consideration!

In spite of ourselves God blessed us with a Christian family who are living actively by serving Him.

Many years ago I read a book.  The author was in a hotel room and outside there was a sign that kept blinking: ICAN.  He finally looked out his window and the sign was a part of AMER—ICAN.  He went on to write a book entitled “I CAN”.

It seems we are going through an era when many believe that I don’t need too, the government will take care of me.  Americans are good people capable of doing about anything they think they can.  We are a people, well educated, competitive with free spirits.  Many believe that all things are possible.

As great as America is there was a time I remember a different America.  I was raised in a rural town.  Our neighbors were God-fearing people.  They were honest and hard working.  They were very charitable and if you needed help they were there to assist.  It was the expected thing to do.  They believed America’s best days were ahead and they were.  We were a nation with morals and ethical principles.  Millions of foreigners waited years to immigrate to our shores.  When they arrived they immediately assimilated into our culture, learned our language and strived to become citizens.

I spent four years in the U.S. Navy.  I lived with men from all over the country.  They were as patriotic as anyone can be.  They counted it an honor to serve their country.  We were engaged in war during my term.  Our ship patrolled off the coast and that was as close to battle as I got.  I don’t know of any of my fellow servicemen that were not willing to fight for our country.

It seems we have been given too much.  We have become a tremendously prosperous country.  It reminds me of the Old Testament when God would bless the Israelites only to later punish them for their idolatry, their disobedience and having turned from living according to His Commandments.

The American dream is still available to those who realize that it won’t be given to them; it has to be earned.  I have read many books on the power of positive thinking.  I studied management principles and went to numerous seminars to improve my skills.  The one book that has helped me the most is studying the Bible.  One thing I learned was preparation.  It was the key to success.  I learned the importance of trusting in God’s promises.  I became aware that the Holy Spirit was given to us that we might have comfort, guidance, a purpose in life and to become free from the ways of society and our worldly, self-centered nature.

One thing I learned was preparation and trusting God was the key to success in everything.  I have used the illustration that professional basketball players often would shoot five hundred baskets a day, every day.  My grandson is a drummer and plays before thousands every week.  He had a God-given dream that someday he would be a drummer.  He had never played the drums before.  His talent is God-given but it didn’t just happen.  He set goals, made a commitment to practice and did for many, many hours.  He was willing to take risks by playing in the school band when he had little skills.  Today, too many have dreams but they are unwilling to pursue them.  It takes too much time and energy and they fear failure.

I am convinced that we can go back to being that country that we were just a few years ago when we believed all things were possible.  With God’s help we can be a people who believe “I CAN” and will do what many believe is impossible.  But to God there is nothing that is impossible.  We must do as Scripture says and develop the “mind of Christ”.  Then when we have a God-given dream we will react with “I CAN”.  If God can make a king out of David, a Sheppard boy—the lowest of all jobs, then He can make us a success if we will only co-operate.