Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
It saddens me when I see individuals or “hate groups” blame God for evil done in this world. God is love & I imagine all the evil saddens Him as well. There is no greater love than the love that God has for us. Such a great love that He gave His only Son to die for our sins. God wants us to overcome evil with love. Share love today.
A question often posed, or a variant thereof goes like this… “If there’s a God, then why does He allow evil?”
My response is, “Is evil real? Or is it just a figment of your imagination?”
If it’s not real, then what is your concern?
But if it is real, should it be punished?
Have you yourself committed evil? Do you think any evil you’ve done is not as bad as someone else’s evil and therefore you’re good by comparison?
Because evil is real and evil should be punished, that means there is a good that is contrast to evil. Therefore, we have free will to choose good or evil.
And since there is a good to contrast evil proving that it should be punished, then it’s because of a violation of the Moral Law.
The Moral Law comes from the objective Moral Law Giver. Man has proven his morality is subjective relative to his situation or perception of someone else’s evil, and probability of getting caught. This is more proof of evil.
So evil is real.
Evil should be punished.
All have committed evil.
Evil is in contrast to good.
Good is defined by the Moral Law.
The Moral Law is given by an Objective Giver.
The last realization is our accountability to the Objective Moral Law Giver.
As determined earlier evil must be punished.
The penalty is Death.
Plato said, “The Deity may be able to forgive sin. But I do not see how.”
Plato understood that an Objective Moral Law Giver must be Justice. And Justice must be impersonal. So, the Moral Law Giver is obligated to punish sin.
Imagine for a moment sitting before you is a glass filled half way with water. While you’re watching, I place one drop of lethal poison in the glass. There is no antidote. Would you drink it? No, if you’re in your right mind you wouldn’t. What if I filled the glass with more water all the way to full? Now would you drink it? No, you wouldn’t, because the lethal dose of poison is still in the glass.
Your life is the glass of water. And the lethal poison is the evil you’ve done in your life. The additional water is the remainder of your life. Even without more evil, you can’t change the evil of the past. You are doomed.
But the Objective Moral Law Giver provided a way for you. He sent His Son who drank your glass of water and left His glass of water without the poison for you to drink. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s done.
All that remains is for you to drink it and contemplate what that means to you.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, what whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
And the proof of that eternal life, the power over death, is the Resurrection of His Son.
In the Garden of Eden, Satan came in the form of a serpent and the result was sin entered the world.
In the Exodus, Moses went before Pharaoh – the ruler of the world empire. When Aaron cast Moses’s staff before Pharaoh as God told Moses to do, it turned into a serpent – the symbol for sin. In return Pharaoh’s men cast their staffs down and their staffs also turned into serpents. But the serpent of God ate the serpents of Pharaoh. God’s symbol for sin took away the sins of the world. Aaron then lifted up the serpent and it turned back into a staff. But the serpents of Pharaoh were no more.
Later while wandering in the desert the Jews were complaining, so God sent fiery serpents to bite them and they were dying from being bitten. They asked Moses to pray to God then God told Moses to make a serpent of bronze and put it on a stick on a hill. Whenever anyone was bitten by a fiery serpent all they had to do was look at the bronze serpent and they would not die.
The only other mention of the bronze serpent is when Jesus sets up the most famous verse in the Bible.
John 3:14-18 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Zechariah 12:2a “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around…
The date has been set. News of the move broke via Twitter.
I would like to congratulate Donald Trump, the President of the US @POTUS on his decision to transfer the US Embassy to our capital on Israel's 70th Independence Day. There is no greater gift than that! The most just and correct move. Thanks friend!
The United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Israel’s 70th Independence Day. The date is May 14, 2018.
This is 70 years to the date President Harry Truman announced the re-birth of Israel.
May 14, 1948: late morning eastern standard time (late afternoon in Palestine): David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, reads a “Declaration of Independence,” which proclaims the existence of a Jewish state called Israel beginning on May 15, 1948, at 12:00 midnight Palestine time (6:00 p.m., May 14, 1948, eastern standard time).
May 14, 1948, 6 p.m. eastern standard time (12:00 midnight in Palestine): The British mandate for Palestine expires, and the state of Israel comes into being.
May 14, 1948, 6:11 p.m. eastern standard time: The United States recognizes Israel on a de facto basis. The White House issues the following statement: “This Government has been informed that a Jewish state has been proclaimed in Palestine, and recognition has been requested by the provisional government thereof. The United States recognizes the provisional government as the de facto authority of the State of Israel.”
“We’re planning to open the new US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May. The Embassy opening will coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary. The Embassy will initially be located in Arnona, on a compound that currently houses the consular operations of Consulate General Jerusalem. At least initially, it will consist of the Ambassador and a small team.” -US State Department
See video link below for geography and additional analysis.
Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, is willing to privately pay for the embassy move. The cost is estimated to be $500 million. Adelson is a supporter of the Republican Party. He has also backed both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in the past.
The Palestinians refer to Israeli Independence as Nakba Day. Nakba is the Arabic word for “catastrophe”. They acknowledge Nakba Day the day after Israel’s declaration on May 15. Nakba day was initiated on Israel’s 50th Independence Day by Yasser Arafat. The day is typically celebrated with conflict and skirmishes against the Israeli Defense Forces.
As a result, Palestinians have responded in anger and rage. Violence broke out in Gaza and the West Bank.
Saeb Erekat, Senior Palestinian Negotiator made the following statements.
“Determination to violate international law, destroy the two-state solution and provoke the feelings of the Palestinian people as well as of all Arabs, Muslims and Christians around the globe. Trump and his team have disqualified the US from being part of the solution between Israelis and Palestinians; rather, the world now sees that they are part of the problem.”
Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas Official was quoted.
“Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem is a declaration of war against the Arab and Muslim nation, and the US administration must reconsider its move.”
Some would argue, the time span covered in this post is a Biblical generation.
Psalm 90:10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Are we entering a prophetic window of time??? The context is the Olivet Discourse and the end of time scenario. Jesus made this comment.
Matthew 24:33-34 So also, when you see all these things, you know that He is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
It is ultimately your personal business…But I highly recommend getting right with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, by this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…
Got a much needed visit with a good friend last night & we were talking about how it can seem the world wants to keep knocking us down. It’s a fact that there are people that won’t want you to succeed. It’s a fact that at times we will feel broken & suffering. There were many that didn’t want to see Jesus succeed & our suffering is nothing like His. He paid the ultimate price & guest what? He succeeded. With all the hate he faced, he still showed nothing but love. He died for our sins so we would know God’s love. We are saved by the blood of Christ. No matter how bad it seems, we have a lot to be thankful for. We can’t control what others do against us, but we can control how we let it affect us. React with love & know God has great plans for you. Your reward is coming.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave his one & only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not parish but have eternal life.
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
Please pray for the body of Jesus Christ in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The church is located about 30 miles south east of San Antonio. This is the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. Twenty six (26) people have been killed. Twenty four (24) others have been wounded by a gunman. The shooter is dead. For details of the tragedy, see the link below.
Luke 2:16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
Isaiah 9:6b …a son will be given to us…
Delivered and fulfilled.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
This prophecy was written 700-800 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah is the author. His name in the original Hebrew is ישעיהו/Yesha’yahu. It means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh has saved”. God is our salvation and He saves. (Strong’s Concordance).
“Yahweh is salvation” is prophesying about the One who will be born and will save. The promise is Jesus or Yeshua in the Hebrew. Yeshua means “to rescue or deliver.”
The prophet Isaiah writes one sentence regarding the birth and promise of the coming of Jesus. One sentence is written about the giving of the Son.
But, Isaiah elaborates regarding the coming promise of His eternal kingdom. Complete peace in the kingdom will be limitless. God will make it happen. He is committed to the cause.
Isaiah 9:6c-7 And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Today, we remember the birth of the Promise and we wait patiently…