Ron’s Random Ruminations

  “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

 (Exodus 20:3 NKJV)

 According to Bill Keller, host of LivePrayer, Thursday was a “sad day in our nation!”

Thursday was a dark day spiritually for our nation. For the first time since the Senate was formed in 1789, the opening prayer was delivered by a Hindu Chaplain.  This nation which was founded on “one nation UNDER GOD,” prayed to the numerous false and non-existent gods of the Hindu religion.  Let me share with you a warning from God’s Word. This comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 8, Verse 19.  The Bible says, “If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.”  How can we expect God’s protection and blessings when we have forsaken Him and are now worshipping the false gods of the world? When the next terrorist attack on our soil takes place, remember this day!

Thank God there were some Christians present during this prayer that stood against it. According to WorldNetDaily.com:

Three protesters interrupted a Hindu cleric today who became the first from his religion to offer the Senate’s opening prayer…

“Lord Jesus, forgive us, Father, for allowing the prayer of the wicked, which is an abomination in your sight,” said a male protester.

The Senate’s sergeant at arms was instructed to restore order, but Zed was interrupted again.

“You shall have no other gods before you. … “

I’ll tell you what folks, these people had guts! God bless them!

My Take:

• This is what happens when we allow these false and heathen religions into this county
• It’s not surprising since, as a nation, we’ve taken God out of the public square
• Satan is always underfoot working to subvert the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, so no surprise here either
• The Old Testament is rife with examples of the nation of Israel doing the same thing; think Baal, Moloch, et al
• As our leaders continue down this path, the outlook for America is not good
• God will eventually bring His judgment to pass on this nation if we continue to turn our backs to Him and worship other gods
• Pray for revival. First within your own lives than for the nation as a whole. This is our only hope

Be blessed!

According to Pope Benedict XV, the head of 1.1 billion Catholic Church, Protestant churches are not really churches at all.

On Tuesday, the Pope approved and released a document stating that, “other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation.”

Bill Keller, the host of Live Prayer with Bill Keller, the nation’s only “live” call-in faith and values based program airing exclusively on secular TV and the Internet’s leading evangelist at LivePrayer.com, said that he “was shocked and appalled at Pope Benedict’s statement that all non-Roman Catholic churches are illegitimate since that is in complete contradiction to what the Bible teaches.” Keller also went on to say that the Pope’s “theology is also horribly flawed when he states that non-Catholic churches do not have the ‘manes of salvation’ since salvation does not come from an ecclesiastical body but through God’s grace and faith in Jesus Christ alone as clearly stated in Scripture!”

My Take: 

• The Pope’s statement that all non-Roman Catholic churches are not true churches is false and not what the Bible teaches
• The so-called “True Church” was established by Christ and existed nearly 400 years before what we know today as the Roman Catholic Church came into being
• What makes a true Christian church? The Bible teaches that the true church (ekklesia) is made up of a body of Believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
• By approving this document, Pope Benedict XVI has opened up old wounds of division and hatred between Catholics and Protestants
• Satan is always working to defeat the Body of Christ through strife and division
• Martin Luther broke with the Catholic Church when he challenged the authority of the Pope by emphasizing the Bible as the sole source (sola scriptura ) of religious authority and the true church of Jesus Christ is made of all those who confess faith alone in Christ as the only means of their salvation (sola fides); the “priesthood of all believers“
• The Bible is our final authority in all matters (see 2 Timothy 3:16)

Bible - 1  Pope -  0

The other day, I was listening to my son sing one of his favorite songs. It went something like this:

The B-I-B-L-E
Yes that’s the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God 
The B-I-B-L-E.

This simple song contains a very powerful truth. The Bible is the inspiried Word of God.  The Book of Hebrews says it is ” living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penatrates even to dividing sould and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

When comes down to it, God’s Word is what matters most. It is what we should base everything in our lives upon. Our way of living is by standing upon the promises of God containin within His word. We need it. It is a must for joyful and abundant lives.

In Deuteronomy 8 Moses is telling the people not to forget God and reminds them of all the things that God has done, giving them manna from heaven to eat and then tell them that just like the bread that sustained you and gave you life the Lord says teach them that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.Vs. 3(NIV) As Christians, the Word of God should dwell within us richly (Col.3:16 NIV). We are to be doers of it (James 1:22). No matter what changes, God’s Word will never passaway (Matthew 24:35). 

When I am down and in need strength or encouragment, I go to the Bible. Iread the Psalms or some other verse that the Lord leads me too. I read his promies of help, refuge, stronghold and I leave strengthened. My entire outlook on life is better.

When I read the Bible I see the failures of sinful men and understand that I am not alone. And time and time again when failures, disappointments, disobedience happens and I Gods grace time and time again.  God reveals himself to us in the Bible. God reveals Himself to us in the Bible. He shows us how to overcome life’s obstacles and how to live a victorious life.

Do you really believe the Bible today?  Do you believe it enough to base all of life’s decisions upon it? Do you read it as often as you should? Is it the final authority on all you do or do you pick and choose what you want out of it? Do you sit and read it with your families at home? Is it on your minds throughout your waking moments?

The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me, is it for you?

Share your thoughts and thanks for reading.

P.S. Focus on the Family’s Citizenlink.org posted the following article on the Bible:

Most Americans See Bible as Major Source of Truth
from staff reports

SUMMARY: Protestants are more likely to see it as without error.

Protestants are most likely to credit the Bible as the inerrant word of God to be taken literally, according to a Gallup Poll. The rest of the population largely said the Bible might be inspired by God, but not literally so.

Gallup has been asking the question since 1991, and the answers remain remarkably unchanged. About 31 percent said they believe the Good Book is infallible. Forty-seven percent said they see the Bible as the inspired word of God, but not to be taken literally.

Frank Newport, editor in chief at Gallup, said we still live in a country where God’s word is taken seriously.

“Religious people around the world who believe that a religious document is inerrant will engage in behaviors and support types of policies which are significantly different than others might and those have real implications for society,” he told Family News in Focus.

The other steady result is that belief in the Bible correlates with church attendance and Protestant theology. Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said such a connection makes sense.

“People who take the Bible seriously are going to go to church,” he said. “And if they go to church, they’re going to hear sermons, and they’re going to have Sunday school lessons that are going to teach them that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God.”

Add the people who say the whole Bible is the direct word of God with those who see it as divinely inspired, but who do not take all parts literally, and nearly 80 percent of Americans consider the Bible to be a major source of truth.

“This is a very religious country,” Land said, “and it’s getting more so, not less so.”

In his column ,in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Jeff Zaslow wrote about the feeling of entitlement among young adults, and points to experts who argue that Mr. Roger’s mantra “You’re Special,” has worked its way into the culture and may help explain the feeling of entitlement many young people have today - for example, why many college students come into professor’s offices demanding A’s.

My take. Well of course this was bound to happen. Anytime we get away from the Truth that is God’s Word things get off track.

The Word of God tells us that God made us ”in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

This is the only reason we are “special”. Not because of anything we have done (or not done). We should be teaching our children this truth in order to build their so-called self-esteem. We need to tell them: “You are not the center of the universe. You are one of many who are created in God’s image.” Teaching them they are created (that’s the key word here) will lead them into a sense of humbleness in our children. A knowing that there is someone greater than himself or herself.

It’s only as we view life and our world through the lens of God’s Word will our lives get “back on track”. Living by the Truths of God cannot help create lives that are abundant, joyful and prosperous.

 “So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.”

John 8:36 (Amplified Bible)

I believe that freedom is America’s most important gift to the world.   

This is why; next to Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day (henceforth referred to in this blog as the 4^th of July) is my favorite holiday.

As an African-American, I am not ashamed to be proud of my country. I believe America, for all its faults past and present, is still the greatest nation ever to exist on the face of the earth.  Even, Frederick Douglas, the great abolitionist, held out hope for an America in the midst of slavery.

As is so often is the case at this time of year, many speak of the personal liberties afforded to them in this county.  But few understand or mention the liberty that is in Christ. True freedom does not exist apart from God and His Word, the Bible. Jesus Christ came to this earth to set men free; free from the bondages of sin and their captivity to Satan. So as many are focused on earthly such as freedom of speech and property rights, they fail to see the danger of their eternal welfare.

So this 4^th of July, take a moment to consider your spiritual life. Are you someone who is enslaved to some sin you are practicing? Well know this, Christ offers us real freedom; a freedom that He purchased with His own life and freely gives to all who would come to Him by faith.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

— from the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

I believe, in these last days, that God is raising a voice for Himself among African-American Christians.

Many of the old mainline denominations are withering and have lost their power and affect upon our culture.

Many have, altogether, abandoned the TRUTH contained in the Word of God. As a result, God is stirring up the black Christian community to boldly proclaim His TRUTHS.

I offer the following example, out of many that are available, as proof.

In one of his recent columns, George Will writes:

Some African American Christian women working for Oakland’s government organized the Good News Employee Association (GNEA), which they announced with a flier describing their group as “a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day. With respect for the Natural Family, Marriage and Family Values.”

The flier was distributed after other employees’ groups, including those advocating gay rights, had advertised their political views and activities on the city’s e-mail system and bulletin board. When the GNEA asked for equal opportunity to communicate by that system and that board, it was denied. Furthermore, the flier they posted was taken down and destroyed by city officials, who declared it “homophobic” and disruptive.

The city government said the flier was “determined” to promote harassment based on sexual orientation. The city warned that the flier and communications like it could result in disciplinary action “up to and including termination.”

Notice he says that the GNEA put out their flyer “after other employees’ groups, including those advocating gay rights, had advertised their political views and activities on the city’s e-mail system and bulletin board.”  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is called taking a stand for TRUTH, God’s TRUTH to be exact.

In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the prophet writes,

 … When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.“  Isaiah 59:19

A standard is a flag or banner that represents a group of people like a city, state or nation. In the example I just mentioned, God is raising up a new standard or banner. In Hebrew, it is means to fly to the attack, drive at, put to the fight or confuse.

Whenever there is great conflict, God always raises up a standard. He raises  men and women (His banner) to hear His voice from Heaven and bring that Word down for that time and season. As we are moving into great shaking on the earth today, the Lord is going to raise up many who stand in the counsels of God and to proclaim His Word to this world.

Black Christians are just such a people. Once treated (and still are in some instances) as second class citizens and outcasts, God is bestowing His honor and glory upon them, bringing them forth as His anointed mouthpiece.

Don’t believe me? Just wait and see!

One of my “sins” (if it can be called one) is that I am fan of the old Andy Griffith Show television series. Thanks to reruns of the series on TVLand , I can still get my daily fix.

In many episodes, Griffith’s character, Sheriff Taylor, seems to be the only one who really knew what was happening. He knew the truth. He was often derided by the other townsfolk, family and friends because he was going against the grain of what they believe to be the truth. 

Many times on this blog, and in life in general, I feel just like Sheriff Taylor. Proclaiming God’s Truth requires that you go against the grain of popular thought. It necessiates that you stand up to what is considered culturally popular or politically correct. Many of the Old Testament prophets were this way. But, hey, I don’t mind it one bit, because in the end God’s Truth will always prevail!

I “accidently” ran across Bill Keller’s appearance on the O’Reilly Factor tonight. All I can say is, “WOW”! He certainly wasn’t holding anything back in taking a bold stand for God. If only I were half as bold!

In case you missed, you can watch it on Bill’s website at Liverprayer.com. 

So, I’ve been working on getting my prayer life going again on a regular and consistent basis. I have a lot more work to do in this area. This is true also of my time spent studying and mediating on the Word of God.

Pray for me!