Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 369

There is a sight called knowing Jesus dot com. That has 49 verses on the subject. Ephesians and Colossians have two rather lengthy sections describing duties of a husband and wife as well as servants; and children. The idea is often compared with Christ and the church as to the sacrificial love of a husband; as well as what should be a submissive role for wives. I think one thing that is helpful is to understand that sometimes women have a more "type A" personality and this CAN work if she is willing to put it aside when it comes to spiritual matters within the home. When that doesn't occur; of course I would say that it is good to always have an understanding of these roles and to be prepered for things which would cause her to be tempted to sin (assuming; of course that you are already married). I would definitely give the late Billy Graham credit for saying that "the couple that prays together stays together." The enemy has done a pretty good job of destroying many of the foundations of marriage in this country in the last several generations. I would also suggest that in church counselling should be sought after if there is any issue causing concern; that is advice sadly that I took too late in my own situation and had to avail of it for forgiveness for the anger issues I had after she left me for another man. Community of course needs to consist of mature individuals. It is good to be involved with a good church and group activities there as well.

Gotta run. Agape.

Rich P

May God bless you too , thank you for sharing that . A great way for me to start my day.

Learning from some one else's experience, if I can, I will share the joy that comes through my understanding of who God is and what He wants for us . If I can open up the doors of faith through experiencing the Savior, this is what I want to do!

God is love.

He has given His only begotten Son in this flesh body so we can know Him!

Outside of being with Him in person, we have the next best thing ,His word! All the other stuff, anything that is outside of this, is trivial.

Stay focused on His word , reading , instant in prayer, we soon will see the grace that evolves out of our sinful nature. Sin is with us all the time, never let the idea that you must rid yourself of it get you down. You will never rid yourself of this nature, in fact God will use it to draw others unto Him, through your experiences and witness of Him and His kingdom, both in the here, and in the now, even into eternal life! You will find that the Holy Ghost will lead ,guide , and direct you into the paths that He chooses for you. Only According to your wisdom, and understanding !

GBU. In Christ, Fred Scanlan

what are the duties of the husband in marriage

Hi Adam,

Well said.

To believe taking communion is the literal drinking and eating of flesh and blood of Jesus reminds me of something one might see in an Indiana Jones flick, or of that you would expect to hear about in occultism. How terrorizing, fearful and unloving. Obviously it is a metaphor. No disrespect intended to those who believe otherwise.

Peace

GOD IS

Potiphar Believed Joseph. The Bible doesn't Tell Us this. But for a Slave to Sexually Assault a Free Woman, Especially a Woman of this Standing. It would have Resulted in a Death Sentence. Just the Accusation Alone would have been enough to Execute Joseph Immediately. But Joseph's Character is so Godly and He Carries so Much Favor with God. The Bible doesn't let Us in on every Little Detail, but Obviously Potiphar's Wife has a Habit of Seduction. Potiphar has Enough Pull in His Position to Spare Joseph's Life. We get Caught Up sometimes in Our Surroundings, We Forget to Walk by Faith and not by SIGHT. We can't See that God is Standing Right Over Us.

Biscoe House of Mercy YouTube::

Mikey Out. Oooooh Yeah!!!

Amen, Brother Alex:

Isaiah 54:1 Sing, O BARREN, thou that didst not bear, break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not TRAVAIL WITH CHILD: for more are the children of the DESOLATE ( Daniel 12:11, Matthew 24:17) than the children of the married wife (Christ's bride, the virgin) saith the Lord (saith the WORD).

Isaiah 53:11 He (Christ) shall she the TRAVAIL of his BODY ( 1 Corinthians 12:27), and shall be satisfied: BY HIS KNOWLEDGE shall my (the Father's) righteous servant JUSTIFY MANY; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Micah 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a WOMAN IN TRAVAIL: for now thou shall go forth out of the city, and thou shall dwell in the field (like a beast), and thou shall even go to Babylon ( Revelation 18:4); THERE SHALL THOU BE DELIVERED; there shall the Lord redeem thee from the hand of your enemy (death).

God Bless You!

Dear Miracle Joy,

I will pray for your friend.

Dear Heavenly Father, Today we bring before You Miracle Joy's friend and ask that You will, in the name of Jesus, bring swift healing to her stomach and the clearing up of this ulcer. We ask that You cause the treatments to be effective and that this friend will soon be able to eat without pain and sleep without pain. May this condition be completely healed in her body. Amen.

I think this is now my favorite psalm 28! It is so powerful. Hallelujah Thank you Lord in Jesus Holy name Amen.

Fred, Like you and Giannis here, My church also believes that the body and blood of Jesus is really present and that those who partake are thus receiving the nourishment of His body and blood (real flesh and real blood) as Jesus said in John 6) by faith.

This was also the belief, teaching, and practice of the early church from the time of the apostles into the time of the leaders the apostles personally appointed at varlous churches and areas. Ignatius of Antioch was leader over the area of Syria, Clement of Rome, in Rome, and Polycarp of Smyna and parts of Asia Minor are but three that lived and were taught under the apostles, primarily Paul, Peter, and John, having lived between 50 A.D. and until John's death in the 90's and into the 2nd century. They knew the teachings of the apostles concerning this.

The belief that Jesus' body and blood are present and taken in by the one partaking has been a consistent teaching of the Christian church since the time of the apostles. But, with the Anabaptists and then the Reformation, many churches abandoned this belief for the one so current in so many Protestant churches that the bread and wine are only symbolic. I belong to a Protestant denomination that teaches that the bread and wine are indeed the body and blood of Jesus in a way we truly do not know, but true all the same.

Hello Fredscanlan

My church believes in receiving literally the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in Communion, too.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-33 talks about the Holly Communion. In verse 27 he says, "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.". Also in verse 29, " For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." If the bread and wine were just symbols nothing would happen when one receives them when having a sin, exactly because they are symbols (you can not sin against symbols). But exactly because they are not symbols but they are literally the Body and Blood of Jesus when one receives inside them Holly things when they are unclean, then damnation awaits for them.

How does the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The answer is by faith, no transformation of matter takes place(i.e. like the Catholics say), they are the Blood and Body of Christ by faith.

When should the church take communion? Many take Communion every 2-3 months or once a year, etc, etc. Although in the ancient Jewish church it seems that believers were receving the Communion everyday ( Acts 2:46), (although there is a dispute whether the specific verse talks about meals or communion), Paul in Acts 20:7 says, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." Paul uses a definite article "the", not an "a" (it is more clear in greek). In modern English it would be: on Sunday, not on a Sunday. So it is every Sunday. Every Sunday believers must take care of themselves to repent for anything they have done during the past week and ask for forgiveness and then have Holly Communion and start the new week nice and clean. GBU

The Godhead is just like Abraham Isaac and Jacob...Father Son and Granson...Thats y God tells Moses that his name is Abraham Isaac and Jacob....Without this Abrahamic trinity there cd not have been a 12 tribes nor a nation of Israel...Thats y Abraham offered up his only son Isaac...And in so doing God made this Promise that Abraham wd be multiplied as the sands of the seas....

But then came a 2 nd Promise from heaven that Abrahams seed ( his heavenly seed Christ Jesus) wd be multiplied as the stars of heaven...Thats y the sower of the good seed wants to sow his seed in all of our hearts....The field is the world

Now unto Abraham and his seed were the Promises made...Gal.3 :16...But he said not unto seeds plural many but just to 1 seed which is Christ thus its only Christ that can sow that good seed as only Christ is the bridegroom that can sow that incorruptible seed in mans hearts.

And in so doing there will be a Israel of God which are spirits the H.G. Plural as the stars of Heaven...An Israel of God is gonna be born in us who hear his words which are his seeds....And this Israel of God are gonna be as the stars of heaven in multitudes Thats y Jeremiah saw ALL MEN IN TRAVAIL AND BIRTH PAINS..Which is the result of his good seed the contents of that book he wrote with his own blood...Plz note the Kingdom does not come till the woman brings forth the manchild the H.G... Rev 12 :10...We are the good ground where that good seed was planted but the good fruit is the manchild the H.G...that will rule all nations.

Thats y Jesus is saying whosoever receiveth 1 such child in my name receiveth me...Simply b/c he is the father of this precious child the H.G....That cannot speak for a while simply b/c he is just a spiritual infant that is born in us via that good seed the word....Unless you receive the Kingdom of GOD as a lil Child ( the H.G.) That Promise Child...You will in no wise enter there in...She brought a manchild that will rule all nations...Which is the Gift.

The H.G. Has to be born in us thats y Jesus is saying that which is born of the spirit is spirit...Which is that Child of Promise the H.G. That Spirit of truth, but b/c he has to be born in us via the seed of Jesus he is just an infant Spirit that cannot speak for a while...Thats y he has to know us in order to sow his incorruptible seed in our hearts

And thats y Jesus always refers to himself as the Son of Man...Simply b/c Mankind has to bring forth fruit unto God which is the H.G. That Child of Promise...That Israel of God...Gal.6:16...The H.G. is the gift of God but he has to come via the seed of Jesus...Thus he has to know us...As Jesus said the Father will send the H.G. in my name meaning Jesus is his father thats y Isaiah refers to Jesus as everlasting FATHER...Its Jesus that sows that good seed in our hearts... John 16:6...B/C i have spoken these words ( his good SEED ) sorrows have filled your hearts a spirtual pregnancy....After the Child comes her sorrows are turned into joy...The Child is the H.G. as that which is born of the spirit is spirit That Child of Promise...

When Jesus breathe on his disciples they were impregnated Simply b/c his breath is his words and his words are his good seeds...But the Child did not come till Pentacost some 50 days later...There had to be a time of gestation...As jesus compared them to a woman in sorrows a pregnancy....They had the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen...The H.G. That Child of Promise...The multiplication of Christ...Whosoever receiveth one such child in my name receiveth ME...Remember God Almighty was so passionate about this Promise of multiplication that he swore by himself...Thats y the Sower has to go forth and sow his precious seed in our hearts....That we might birth a baby Christ the H.G. That Child of Promise...She brought forth a manchild that is gonna rule all nations...Which is that spirit of truth that Jesus says will reprove this whole world of sin n righteousness.

I remember cutting holes in a bag, putting it over my head, looking out trying to find my way?

Looking through the eyes of this body, is kind of the same thing. Our soul is covered in a costume, waiting to come off when the time comes. And yet we hear Paul say, "this corruption must put on incorruption". Keeping this in mind, we can come to a better understanding of baptism into a born again Christ life.

Coming to the cross, putting your arms around the Savior, we experiance the glory many may never know, The experiance of literally dyeing with Jesus. The beginning of a new birth, unlike the one we experianced when we came into this world.

Our spirit must die with Christ and this can only happen when we literally take hold of Him.

Then and only can we know what Baptism is. When we are literally baptized into His death.

This is important to understand. Acknowledging what is happening is the literal miracle !

Now that we are dead and alive in Him, we still have these holes in the costume we must look through, not only this our flesh (the costume) we are still wearing, but the sin that goes along with it.

Satan knows only the costume, He cannot see the regenerated soul under the costume. This is the signigance of the cross, when Christ nailed our sins one time forever! The power given to forgive sin inherited with the costume! Soon this corruption shall put on incorruption, wait and see as the holes you are looking through will soon see the glory of Heaven itself, given for you and me!

Hi Fred,

I'd like to respond to your following comment: "If you do not recognize the body and blood to be literal, why would you take anything else literally?"

I too believe 100% in the Bible and that it's God's inspired word and take it seriously. Some people say they take something literally but actually mean seriously. I think in this case you mean every word in the Bible is literal, so I'd like to politely challenge that.

When Jesus said He's the bread of life do you believe he's literally made of bread? John 6:35. I would call that a metaphor. He's also called the Word, so if I believed that was literal that would mean He only a word spelled out as characters and nothing else?

When it says we're sheep, do you think we are literally sheep?

Jesus said He's a vine. Does that mean He wasn't a man on earth, but just a vine of a plant? John 15:1

The parables are all symbolic metaphors that have a deeper meaning, so if someone believes it's literal does that mean it no longer has a deeper meaning? Like the parable of the sower.

The abundance of symbolism and metaphors in the Bible in no way takes away from the meaning or seriousness for how it applies to our lives. I personally don't believe I'm literally engaging in cannibalism and eating Jesus when I take communion, but believe its deeply symbolic just like all the other symbolic things in the Bible. The symbolism of parables Jesus talked in was actually explained here: Matthew 13:10-11.

God bless.

GOD has used both: Jeremiah 34:8-22, Malachi 3:5, Deuteronomy 28,

Psalms 106,

Hopefully these are helpful

Reading through the whole Bible 2023?

It works best for me personally when I've started with 3 books like Genesis 1, Psalms 1, John 1, keeping track when stopping, to go back to each.

Hello Kobe Southern,

Interestingly, after studying scripture I've noticed, GOD gave mankind dominion, on Earth. Genesis 1:26,27,28, GOD didn't take that dominion away, people have misused their powers. They/we will all give account: Revelation 1:5-8, Romans 14:12, Daniel 4:3,34, Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 18,

Jesus was here to show us how to bring His Kingdom the Kingdom of GOD on Earth, with Love, John 3:16-21, John 13:34, Romans 12:10, 1John 4:7,12, 1Peter 3:8, John 15:17, James 2:13-17, Luke 13:34,

one day all dominion will go to Christ: 1Corinthians 15:20-28, Romans 16:20,

Galatians 4:1-8, Colossians 3:21,

Matthew 20:25-28, Ephesians 1, (whole chapters) 1Peter 4, Jude 1,

Jesus gave all that believe in him, authority under heaven: from GOD ALMIGHTY: Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 6, Luke 11, Mark 3:15, Acts 4:30,31, Luke 9:2,

We all have power in the natural if even just to comfort someone else, & as we grow in faith, supernatural power in prayer, through GOD & Christ Jesus our Savior.

Hopefully these are helpful

Matthew 6, 1Peter 5:7,

Hopefully these are helpful & encouraging too

While receiving holy communion, my new pastor wanted to make sure that we understood that the body and blood were only "symbols". Of course Paul nor Jesus use this language when distributing the Holy sacrament.

Remembering being taught differently, I didn't give it a second thought, until the Spirit revealed something much different!

At first I never gave it a thought until one day I asked the asst. pastor about the stone and if the angels and the light of their appearance when the stone was removed from the tomb?

He looked puzzled at my question, and I am sure He must have thought I was strange? Then it was the Holy Spirit that made me realize, they were not believing the words of the bible literally. Fables, perhaps as Paul speaks of!

If you do not recognize the body and blood to be literal, why would you take anything else literally? Such as Peter escaping with the angels help from jail. Or when Saul was literally blinded for 3 days. Or when the apostles saw Jesus alive, or when Jesus showed up and told Thomas to put his fingers into His hands? Or the most important the raising of Jesus friend Lazarus?

You are absolutely correct about the deity of God. Literally speaking the Holy Spirit is distinct and equal at the same time! This is very important ,because "He" is with us and in us! He is literally in the believer as you have said! His thoughts are those of both the Father and the Son, yet separate.

Once we understand this in its essence and perfection, their is a perfect sense, or essence of our God and who He literally is!

Profound to Know that God the Father is the one who holds all things together with His word "Literally"!

Thank you for your quick response In , Christ Fred

Hello again Fred

I wanted to speak to your questions about what are the Holy Spirit's attributes.

The Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Godhead as Jesus indicated in Matt. 28:18-19. The Holy Spirit is a He, not an it. And He shares the divine nature with the Father and the Son fully. This means that He has all of the same infinite, perfect, limitless attributes as the Father and the Son as far as His nature. So, anything we can say of the Father and of the Son as to their deity, we can say of the Holy Spirit. The difference is in the relationships within the Godhead. The Spirit is not the Father nor the Son. He was sent by Jesus and the Father, therefore, in relationship, He is subordinate to the Father and the Son, just as the son was subordinate to the Father relationally. He is not subordinate in nature, though. All three Persons possess the divine nature fully and equally so.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit inter-dwell one another. Jesus said that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. So, Paul also says that the Spirit lives within us and also Jesus lives within us. Jesus said that both the Father and the Son will come and live within believers and also that the Holy Spirit will live within us. They are a unified One in three distinct Persons.

Even though they inter-dwell one another, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are everywhere present and specifically present. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. The Holy Spirit dwells within believers. The Father dwells in unapproachable light, and the Son is forever united with humanity in the body and Person of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is all-knowing, like the Father and the Son. He knows all of our thoughts, all of history, both past, present, and future. He knows all that there is to be known. He is all-powerful, like the Father and the Son, and is able to make alive those who are spiritually dead, participated with the Father and the Son in creating the world and sustains it

Hi again, Richard,

I agree that we it is wise to prepare for what may be hardships that may come to us (perhaps very soon). I have taken up canning again for this purpose and hope to do food hydrating next harvest. I am praying for the Holy Spirit to guide me on this matter, as I do not think it is wise to go deeply into "prepping". My goal is to have enough food stored and available to get me through for quite awhile and still have some to share with other. Also, because I take medications for ongoing health problems, I am getting my refills as often as I can so that I will have a supply in case I cannot access health care in hardship times. Also, I have stocked up on first aid supplies. I try to have a good supply of sundries (t.p., paper towels, cleaners, etc) so that I can do what will be needed to clean up and prevent illness.

Another good idea is to stock up on blankets from local thrift shops and store these to have to give to others should we not have power for a while to keep warm. The other things I am acquiring a good supply of is alternative fuel for camp stoves, grills, and BBQ briquettes or wood for outdoor fires for cooking.

I am sure that others may have good ideas also, I would love to hear them. But overarching all of this is our reliance should be on God. The Israelites fled Egypt without a lot of things. God feed them manna and quail in the wilderness and healed their diseases. He kept them safe from enemies and wild animals. He dwelt in their midst in the Tabernacle. He is still the same today. We can be sure that He will do what is right for us at any time. So, we must live by faith. But being prepared for hardship is not a lack of faith, just wise planning. We do not know what God will ask of us as far as witnessing and helping others when such times come.

Yes, Richard, we should live like we love what is good (as we should) and have a deep desire to live godly lives privately and before others. We should care about whether our witness professes the value of Christ's complete sinless, righteousness and how His work of redemption brings us holiness in our lives. I know that some people are very entrenched in a sinful habit when they come to Christ and it may take some time before they can learn to utilize the power of the Holy Spirit to resist and overcome such habits, but anyone who has walked long with the Lord should live an exemplary life like Paul did. He even exhorted the believers in the churches he planted to imitate him as well as Jesus. So, should our life be, one that others can imitate towards Christlikeness.

I wouldn't go so far as you indicate and try to assess who is truly a Christian or not. I know that God is the only one who truly knows. We should always pray for others, especially those who are caught in sinful habits and yet profess to be in Christ. And we should always wish to engage others who profess to know Christ in meaningful spiritual and doctrinal conversations in the hopes of leading them to better understanding and embracing of what is true.

There are those on this site who I believe to be in serious error. Some may think that I am. But I still desire to engage with everyone the Lord leads me to do so. We never can know what the Holy Spirit may do with what we say here. I trust that, just as I was lead out of errors at different times in my life due to the work of the Holy Spirit, so will this occur with others, whether on this site, in our circle of brethren, or in our congregations.

This is where charity, patience, and forbearance come into play. We desire for the best benefit to others from our interactions and stay humble, knowing that we can fall into error, too if we do not keep our guard up in the Spirit. But we should sincerely desire to lead others along the path of truth.

Hello Richard, I was just thinking along the lines of the title of your post these past few days. There is error everywhere in the church today. So much and so varied that we would need to separate ourselves completely from church congregations to avoid people with serious doctrinal error.

I have been in five different denominational fellowships in my life and have found that all of them contain such errors. I have studied the various denominations that have emerged since the Reformation and can say I have not found one that is completely sound in their teachings. And I have studied many well-known preachers and teachers and find the same problem.

I would say that none of us have completely inherent doctrine. But we should definitely strive to align our doctrine up with the revealed truth of the Scriptures taking into account ALL that the Scriptures say on a doctrinal subject before embracing such doctrine.

I know for myself, I have had to make adjustments to my doctrine over the years, whether in regards to the denomination I was brought up in, to the denominations I gravitated to in my 20's, 30's and 40's. And even now, in the denomination I seem to find the best fit concerning soundness on essential doctrines.

I listen to how people in various denominations support and explain the doctrines they adhere to. Many defy logic and are either contrary to the revealed truth of Scripture or to proper interpretation methods. If you study the history of Protestantism, (which I support over Catholicism), a whole plethora of denominations have come out of other denominations and these new denominations have had numerous splits and schisms over the past 500 years. Some over serious doctrinal issues, many more over less serious matters or over whether to follow one preacher over another, or outward practices, etc.

Many denominations begin well but as time went by, doctrine was slowly corrupted and "new" (supposedly) things of the Spirit have been embraced rapidly.

Hi Richard, In my research on the Covid shot, in the development of the vaccine, reproduced fetal cells from a baby back in the 70's were used. This also has been done with other medicines commonly used. The reproduced cells are not the original ones taken from the baby. The vaccine themselves do not contain any fetal cells, from what I read.

But even if they did contain these cells reproduced from this baby, does it make it any more immoral to use such cells that were obtained from a sinful death of this baby than to use an organ or tissue donated from someone who was shot to death, stabbed to death, or any other sinful way of bringing death to the one whose body elements are being donated? I don't think so. None of us caused that baby to be put to death, as none of us caused the sinful deaths of many donors. For me, I do not have a moral dilemma about benefitting from receiving body elements from those who have died not matter how they died as long as I am in no way responsible or condoning sinful taking of life. The death has occurred in the past and any benefit received to those not associated with the death are unrelated to the sin that caused the death.

Others may differ on this. And I would never condone the killing of any person to harvest cells, organs, tissue, etc. as I see that as immoral.

You are never alone be assured of that . Stay strong in Christ , say your prayers and read your Bible , cling to your God , do what is right in His sight and He will deliver you and put you in a safe place . Be patient , wait for Him without doubting Him .

May God bless you and your daughter with everything you both need .

Amen to you .

Had that 1 st covenant been faultless then there wd have been no place sought forth a 2 nd covenant in the blood of the lamb....Remember what John was preaching saying behold the lamb of God that taketh the sins of the world...That cd not be preached under the old covenant.... Hebrews 8:7 kjv...And Jeremiah 31:34...And we are no longer married to the LAW Now we are married to Christ Jesus....You are dead to the law by the body of Christ that you should be marrried to another even to him that was raised from the dead.... Romans 7 :4...Remember Bathsheba had to marry another even David...Bathsheba had to travail a 2 nd time in order to get the Child of PROMISE....King Solomon...And Jesus says there is a greater then Solomon here...Which is the H.G....Which is gonna build his temple in our hearts and minds....Gals.4:19...My lil Children of whom i travail in birth AGAIN till Christ is formed in you...Bathsheba was barren under Uriah but she was fruitful under David....

Which is Symbolic of Christ and the early Church...They had a relationship and a child was born which was Christianity...But the Child was sick and died in its infancy...But Bathsheba ( the Church) will travail a 2 nd time....My lil Children of whom i travail in Birth AGAIN....A 2nd time Till Christ is formed in you which is the manchild the H.G. that spirit of truth that is gona RULE ALL NATIONS.... Micah 5 :3 There fore shall he give them up till the woman is in Birth pains...But not to worry.... John 6 ..I will raise them up AGAIN THE LAST DAY....Again impling a 2 nd time....Ezech's dried bones which was the early Church the house of ISRAEL a great army is gonna come back again in the Spiritual realm...OK Lemme go....4 times in John 6 Jesus says he was gona raise them up Again....Paul describes the early Church as a great army..In Philemon 2:25 and philippians 1:2...But I fear thay answer to Ezekiels dried bones a great army...Soldiers for Jesus...ok lemme go

Humanism and the work ethic.

As has been brought out by my pastor and is clear from my earlier postings; a society can't last too long in the moral morass we have experienced the last few decades. Whether assessing the political left or the attitude of youth these days we see something foreign to its original concept. That is the lack of a work ethic. "If we don't work we don't eat" ( 2 Thess. 3:10). Our enemies surely must have met if not exceeded their goals in rendering our society too lazy to prevent their own self destruction if by overeating; drug addiction; suicide or other vices at their disposal. There are many other verses supporting the Apostle Paul as a tentmaker earning what he could and not being a burden even to his own detriment in some cases. Would we want someone planting churches over whole regions of the world having to concern himself with finding secular employment today? Not in this country; anyway.

Spiritual wisdom dictates that we also prepare for things to come as wise are commended for it ( Prov. 22:3). The fools of course do the opposite and calamity overcomes them. IF we are Babylon then I expect all calamities to come at one time eventually to this country; and even if not it seems much is overdue. If it weren't for the waste in this country as such a huge consumer of energy we wouldn't have such a need for things. As it is; instead of utilizing resources available and in a complete manner such as the Indians did with the buffalo in the past we are too comfortable with instant measures to provide our needs from the government or food in supermarkets rather than learing survival instincts. What I am saying is that humanism as any idealistic mindset blinds us to obvious contradictions and we of course see this with a general lack of outrage in this country as opposed some others to the plans for world government to take over.

As Christians our focus should be preaching the Word while it is yet day. ( John 9:4).