PropheZine #90
March 1, 2000
Bob Lally Publisher
Mimi Nila Senior Editor
Rick Woodcock Asst. Editor
Abraham George Asst. Editor
Lori Eldridge Asst. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor

ARTICLES
Gregory Koukl..............A Good Reason for Evil 
Gregory Koukl..............Complaints or Contentment
Jack Van Impe..Perhaps Today -The Decline and Fall of the American Empire 

COMMENTARIES
Dr. Robert A. Morey..........Is Freemasonry Compatible With Biblical Christianity? 

BIBLE STUDY
Nancy Missler..........Why Is the Christian Walk So Hard?

ENCOURAGEMENT
Pastor Rob Reid.......The Table Cloth
Submitted by Justin Elenburg....A NERD
Submitted by Mimi Nila.....The Ant and the Contact Lens
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Hello Fellow Believers!

I pray that this issue finds you and your family in good health.

The end of February was a rough time for us on PZ.  Lots of long days as we combined the Discussion board which was running on a computer in Canada and the main body of PropheZine which was running on a computer in California.  They are now running on a super fast server in Atlanta, Georgia.

I hope we never have to go through this again!  What a mess!  We still have the other server running in New York that houses the audio and video for the site.  2 gigabytes.  We also run a Real Networks server to feed the audio and video properly. http://www.prophezine.dyndns.org/prophezine/realaudio/index2.html
To show you how an idea turns into a blessing to people:  We have nearly 60 people daily that listen to audio messages.

The Van Impe organization sent a report to PropheZine the other day informing us that PropheZine is one of the top 100 Christian Web Sites in the World!  Praise God for this.  Personally, I have never seen PropheZine in competition with another web site.  Our goal has always been and always will be to freely distribute and to freely provide on the web site, Godly information.  Some people think it odd that we accept advertising (http://www.prophezine.com/text/adrates.html) from other Prophecy sites.  I look at it like this.  God will send people to PropheZine whether or not we have the advertising!

We have returned to publishing this Newsletter bi-monthly.  Enjoy and May the Lord bless you richly.

Bob Lally
Publisher


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|   A Good Reason for Evil 
|   By Gregory Koukl

What is evil? Could it have a purpose? Here is a view of evil from an adult   rather than a childish perspective.

The first step in answering the problem of evil is this: We've got to get clear on what this thing "evil" actually is. It does seem to follow that if God created all things, and evil is a thing, then God created evil. This is a valid syllogism. If the premises are true, then the conclusion would be true as well. The problem with that line of reasoning is that the second premise is not true. Evil is not a thing. The person who probably explained it best was St. 

Augustine, and then Thomas Aquinas picked up on his solution. Others since them have argued that evil has no ontological status in itself. 

The word ontology deals with the nature of existence. When I say that evil has no ontological status, I mean that evil, as a thing in itself, does not exist. Let me give you an illustration to make this more clear. We talk about things being cold or warm. But coldness is not a thing that exists in itself; it has no ontological status. Coldness is the absence of heat. When we remove heat energy from a system, we say it gets colder. 

"Cold" isn't a thing. It's a way of describing the reduction of molecular activity resulting in the sensation of heat. So the more heat we pull out of a system, the colder it gets. Cold itself isn't being "created." Cold is a description of a circumstance in which heat is missing. Heat is energy which can be measured. When you remove heat, the temperature goes down. We call that condition "cold," but there is no cold "stuff" that causes that condition. Here's another way of looking at it. Did you ever eat a donut hole? I don't mean those little round sugar-coated lumps you buy at the donut shop. I mean the hole itself. Donut holes are actually what's left when the middle is cut out of a donut. There's a space called a hole, a "nothing," the condition that exists when something is taken away. Same thing with a shadow. Shadows don't exist as things in themselves; they're just the absence of light. 

Evil is like that. Evil isn't like some black, gooey stuff floating around the universe that gloms onto people and causes them to do awful things. Evil is the absence of good, a privation of good, not a thing in itself. 

When God created the universe, he created everything good. He made a universe that was perfectly good. Everything was as it should be. After God was completely done with creating everything, something happened that reduced the good in the world. That loss of good is called evil. 

That's why in Genesis 1 we read "it was good" many times. From the record we know that God didn't create evil. But something did happen in which evil-the loss of good-took place, and as a result a lot of other grotesque things came about. 

So donut holes don't exist; they're just the absence of donut. Shadows don't exist; they're just the absence of light. And evil doesn't exist; it's just the absence of good. 

The next question is, if God created everything good, why would He allow evil to infect His creation? 

Satan would be the first example of an independent a source of evil. Adam and Eve would also be a source of evil with regard to the human race. They didn't get Satan's evil; they initiated their own. Satan influenced them--he made his own hole in goodness--but Adam and Eve made their own holes in goodness. They're responsible for their own evil. 

It isn't that Satan did something bad and passed that stuff on to them, because evil is not a stuff. This is a key point in this discussion. They cannot "dip into" evil because it's not a thing to dip into. When we make a shadow, we don't do it with shadow stuff, but by blocking existing light. 

In the same way, evil doesn't cause our actions. In fact, it's the other way around. Our actions are what cause evil-or the loss of goodness-in us, and that loss of goodness does have an impact on future actions, giving us a predisposition to cause further evil. 

God did not create Adam and Eve with bad stuff in them. What He did was to create them with a capability to rebel against Him or choose to do wrong. This is called moral free will, and it's a good thing, but it can be used for bad. It can be used to rebel against God, which digs out a hole in goodness, so to speak. 

Satan and man both used their free moral agency to originate actions that fell short of the goodness of God. I'm sure God had a good reason for allowing evil. 
It has caused a lot of suffering, but that suffering has, in turn, also brought about a lot of good under God's direction. 

When you forgive someone who's wronged you and you treat him kindly, is that a good thing? Sure it is, but you couldn't forgive him if he hadn't done something bad against you. I'm not saying that we should do evil so that the good of forgiveness could come about. I'm showing that it's not a contradiction to claim that good can come out of evil. 

It's not good to promote evil itself, but one of the things about God is that He's capable of taking a bad thing and making good come out of it. Mercy is one example of that. Without sin there would be no mercy. That's true of a number of good things: bearing up under suffering, dealing with injustice, acts of heroism, forgiveness, long-suffering. These are all virtues that cannot be experienced in a world with no sin and evil. 

Now the real question at this point is, "Was it worth it? Good can come out of evil, but was it worth it in the long run, the measure of good that comes out of the measure of evil in the world?" And my response is that the only One who could ever know that is God. You and I couldn't know that because our perspective is too limited. Only God is in a position to accurately answer that question. 

Apparently God thinks that, on balance, the good is going to outweigh the evil that caused the good, or else He wouldn't have allowed it to happen. Christ paid a tremendous price, an example of the tremendous love God had for us. God would not be able to show His sacrificial love unless there was something to sacrifice for. 

Here's the problem, and this is why we don't think that, on balance, it's really a fair trade. We think that life is about giving us pleasure and making us happy. That's what we think. This view is very prevalent in the United States. Our personal happiness, pleasure, and enjoyment are the most important things in life. 

That's not what the Bible teaches at all, though. There are aspects of enjoyment, but the ultimate reason we were created was not so we can have fun and enjoy life. God's purpose for creating us was to develop us into certain types of people who were fit to spend eternity with Him. He does that by conforming us to His image by helping us grow through the process of living in a fallen world. 

This is part of the message of the book of Hebrews. Even Jesus was conformed-made mature-by the process of suffering. In God's mind, the goal of the process-being conformed to the image of His Son-is a much greater good than the bad of the evil that we have to put up with on this earth. The balance is definitely on the side of good. 

I admit that this is not an easy issue, and part of the reason is that we bring some baggage to the discussion. Part of the baggage is that we have this idea that if God put us here on this earth and created the world for us to live in, then it seems to make sense that the summum bonum-the greatest good-is our immediate sense of personal pleasure and satisfaction. Therefore, if there is some circumstance in which we can't have immediate satisfaction, then God must either have abandoned us, not exist, or be evil for allowing such a thing.  Last weekend I had a conversation with a young man about homosexuality. He challenged me with this point: Why would God create people as homosexuals if He didn't want them to experience the pleasure of homosexual sex? 

Now, of course, I didn't agree with Him that God created people to be homosexuals. It wasn't God's design that they have this desire. But even if I conceded such a thing, why must I admit that-since one was created with a capacity for pleasure-only a mean, cruel God would allow conditions in which they'd have to say no to that pleasure? 

When you think about it for a moment, doesn't it strike you as odd that we've developed a view that in order for us to acknowledge God as good, He must give liberty to all of our passions? And if God doesn't give liberty to all of our passions-if He doesn't allow us what we want, when we want it-if He ever asks for self sacrifice, if He ever allows a condition in which we hurt, in which we suffer, in which we are inconvenienced, if He ever allows a circumstance in which our bodily desires are not given full reign, then certainly He must be a cruel God? Isn't that an odd view? 

Do you know what kind of person thinks that way? A child. A child sees what it wants and goes to get it, and if it's stopped, that child puts up a fuss.  I was with a little two-year-old today who wanted to go into the house while wearing muddy shoes. She was stopped, and she put up a fuss when her shoes were removed. Mom and Dad knew, though, that there were other things more important than their daughter's desires at that moment. Now she didn't understand it. All she knew was what she wanted (understandably, by the way, she's a two-year-old; 
that's the way two-year-olds think). 

Unfortunately, we've bred a society that are, in many ways, like a bunch of adult two-year-olds, grown-ups who believe it's their divine right to feel every pleasure they can possibly feel, to never encounter any difficulty, any pain, any suffering. And if they do, then God must be a cruel God. 

Now I realize that some of you might be thinking, Come on, Koukl, you're really whitewashing this, aren't you. How can so much egregious suffering be justified? 

I don't at all mean to brush away the terrible impact of evil on people's lives. But I'm talking about a frame of mind that we do seem to have, a frame of mind that we are first and our pleasures are first and God owes that to us. And if He denies us our pleasures to any degree, then there must be something wrong with Him. 

Now if God is a good God, and He denies us our pleasures, then I'll tell you one thing, there's a good reason He does so. That's what it means to be a good God. I'm not going to buy the idea-the infantile idea that Americans have-that in order for God to be considered good, He has to give me everything I want, when I want it, or conversely, He must protect me from every injury and every difficulty. No, it's fair to say that God has allowed suffering in the world for very good reasons, even though we're not clear on all of those reasons. 

By the way, what's the alternative? If you conclude there's no God because of the existence of evil, then there's no possibility of ever redeeming that evil for good. 

British philosopher Bertrand Russell said that no one can sit at the bedside of a dying child and still believe in God. My response to Mr. Russell is, "What would you say to a dying child?" What could an atheist say? "Too bad"? "Tough luck"? "Bum deal"? You see, in that circumstance, there's no possibility of redemption for that evil. In fact, it doesn't seem to make sense to even call it evil at all if there is no God. 

But with God, at least there's the possibility that the evil can be used for good. That's the promise of the Scriptures. 

And so, instead of the syllogism, "God created all things, and evil is a thing, therefore God created evil," we start from a different point. "All things God created are good-which is what the text says-and evil isn't good, therefore God didn't create evil." Then we can progress to, "If God created all things, and God didn't create evil, then evil is not a thing." 

You see, those two syllogisms are just as valid as the first one (if God created all things, and evil is a thing, then God created evil), and it seems that the premises are more reliable. The premises seem to be accurate and true. 

The questions we have to ask ourselves are: Do we have reason to think that God is good, and do we have reason to think that evil is not a thing? If we have good reasons to think those two things, then our new set of syllogisms work. 
We can then strongly trust that when God does allow a privation of good (evil) to influence our lives, He does it not for evil designs, but ultimately for good purposes. 

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..........Editor Note: I felt the next article went along with this one...I pray it will bless you in some way....M. Nila
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Complaints or Contentment?
By Greg Koukl

Does God owe us a perfect world? Your answer to that question will determine   your ability to be content in this life. Greg discusses how two different   responses to the untimely death of a teenager reveals two contrasting views   prevalent the Christian world today...and which of them more closely reflects   the biblical perspective.

Some of you might have heard of a tragedy here on the West Coast recently. A teenager snow-boarding in the Angeles Crest Mountains was lost for ten days. 

When they found Jeff Thorton over a week ago he was alive--shaken and frostbitten, some broken bones, but alive--and apparently in good shape. 

It was a great victory, front page news. Search parties had tracked him in the snow over difficult terrain and finally found him. They got him to the hospital and all seemed well. A week later, though, Jeff Thorton was dead. 

Thorton was from a small, religious farm community here in California named Brawley. While the boy was lost, the town prayed, as is often the case when tragedy strikes. 

By the way, have you noticed that nobody ever raises any questions about separation of church and state in cases like these? Classrooms are filled with prayer when personal tragedy strikes with no hint of impropriety. You'll even see appeals to pray on the evening news. "Please pray," news anchors say, or "Our prayers are with you." This happens with every major catastrophe we've faced as a country. It's interesting that nobody balks at this. 

In this particular case, the community was alive with prayer. Sure enough, the prayers were answered when the young boy was found. But then there was a turn-around. A week or so later, as a result of complications of gangrene, frostbite, exposure, shock, and broken bones, the young man died. 

[As an aside, isn't it interesting that when a young person dies like this we use the term "untimely" to describe it? It was an "untimely" death at an "untimely" age. We use the word because we believe the person died before his time. To put it more precisely, he died before his appointed time. Isn't this a tacit admission that their life had purpose, a purpose that was beyond what that individual intended--a grander purpose, a transcendent purpose which was not fulfilled because he was cut down early in life? Responses like this are spontaneous, bearing testimony to something we know deep down inside--there is a God, and He has established a purpose for each individual, a purpose that is not fulfilled when someone is struck down "before his time."] 

This morning I read the headlines in the LA Times : "Stunned Town Mourns Snow-Boarder's Death." Fifteen hundred people attended the memorial service for Jeff that was held at the high school. 

The main thing that struck me about this account was the different ways people responded to this tragedy. Some were thankful to God that they had been given ten extra days with Jeff Thorton. Others were angry at God because He gave the boy back just to take him away again. God was either gracious or cruel, depending on who you asked. 

His mother, choking back the tears, thanked her son's friends for their prayers and thanked the members of the search-and-rescue team that refused to give up the search. Then she told the crowd, "Imagine my joy when my baby was found alive. We shared precious moments, but I didn't know those moments wouldn't last. I want to thank God for giving me back my son, if just for a short time." 
The pastor, Reverend Scott Peterson, agreed: "Through the grace of God, the prayers of his friends, and the hard work of the search-and-rescue team, Jeff was brought back alive to his mother." 

Tuesday night at a private service, members of the football team other students reflected on the death of their friend, Jeff Thorton. One 15-year-old coed had a different take on the tragedy. "It's just not fair. Not fair! That God gave him back to us and then took him away again. A lot of kids don't understand it at all." 

Isn't it interesting, the contrast here? Each response represents two fundamentally different views of God's role in the world. Both had the boy for just a short period of time, returned to them back from the dead, as it were. 
Jeff's mother thanked God for giving her son back to her for ten more days. The 15-year-old coed said God was unfair to give Jeff back for a short time and then take him home again. 

These two contrasting responses show us two different expectations about God. 
Maybe the young lady's response was just a function of grief. I don't know for sure, but I suspect it goes much deeper than that. Could the co-ed's grief have been greater than Jeff's mom's? Something else is going on. 
This 15-year-old student seemed to have the view that I hear echoed even by what many consider to be mature Christians. When hard times hit they say, "What happened? Why did God allow this?" They are not just expressing emotion or grief. They are genuinely stunned that God would allow evil to touch their lives like this. God hasn't kept His part of the bargain. 

Each reaction betrays a particular view of God. One view is that God aids us as we maneuver through the contingencies of a fallen world. When He helps us as we navigate through life we thank Him for His grace. We consider anything God might do on our behalf an added benefit to us--a gracious, unmerited favor. 
Jeff Thorton's mom was like this. Though her son was eventually going to die, the fact that he was able to spend a week with his family-- talking with his mother, sharing his last moments with his friends-- was seen by her as a gift of God, a special work of grace in the midst of tragedy. 

The second view--the co-ed's--is that God owes us something like a perfect world. We have a divine right to happiness, fulfillment, and prosperity. If we don't get them, God has not fulfilled His end of the bargain. If God lets us have something good for a moment and then takes it away, it's "not fair" 
because, on this view, we deserved the good thing to begin with. We deserved the best. We deserve heaven on earth, and we've been cheated. 

A lot of Christians think this way. It's one of the serious flaws of the so-called faith/prosperity movement. They're looking for heaven's rewards and heaven's perfection right here on earth. They're expecting God to protect them, as a divine obligation, from the contingencies of living in a fallen world. 
When God gives them something wonderful, that's par for the course. When everything is going smoothly, that's the way it ought to be. It's owed them. 
People like this are not excessively thankful for things, and they complain when they don't get what they want. 

Two completely different ways of viewing things. I guess you can guess which one I think is biblical. It's the first one. This is why we're not just encouraged but commanded to give thanks in all things. It emphasizes the fact that everything we have, "every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17) This is why, in humility, we give thanks for whatever joys we are given in this fallen world. It explains why we give thanks when we get a son back before his ultimate homecoming-- if only for a couple of days-- instead of blaming God for not letting him stay longer. 

These are transcripts of a commentaries from the radio show "Stand to Reason," with Gregory Koukl. It is made available to you at no charge through the faithful giving of those who support Stand to Reason. Reproduction permitted for non-commercial use only. (c)1998 Gregory Koukl
For more information, contact Stand to Reason at P.O. Box 6568, San Pedro, CA 90734 (800) 2-REASON &#8226; (310) 539-3932 &#8226; info@str.org &#8226; www.str.org

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|
|   Perhaps Today - 
|     The Decline and Fall of the American Empire 
|       By Jack VanImpe
|

"My country tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing...Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light, Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King."

Millions of Americans have heartily echoed this refrain down through our history. In past days, God was willing to grant this request because our foundations and roots were anchored in God and the Bible. For instance, George Washington, in his first inaugural address, on April 30, 1789, directed supplications to God for His continued blessings upon the formation of our new government.  

America's educational system used the McGuffey Reader for nearly one hundred years. The series was loaded with the Bible. In fact, one story in every four was a biblical narration. Today, through the influence of Madeline Murray O'Hare, who reportedly was kidnapped and killed according to news releases in March of this year, the Bible was virtually eliminated from the curriculum of the educational system in America. The result-righteousness has been replaced by debasing trash. Perhaps we had better begin fighting at the grass roots level and clean up our educational system. America, the land I love, the land of which I am a citizen, is on the decline and may soon suffer judgment.
America's Decline
 
The British historian Arnold Toynbee stated that of the 21 civilizations throughout world history, nineteen fell through atheism, alcoholism, materialism, and socialism. America's decline along these same lines may bring sudden destruction if there is not a movement toward God within our nation-soon!

Is decline already visible in America? Definitely! The Intelligence International Limited of England, a reliable source since 1935, just released the following shocking facts. "There is virtually nothing that America can do to avoid its relative decline. A mixture of internal and external events will ensure that it happens. First it is only a matter of time before China displaces the U.S. as the world's largest economy. The prudent thing for U.S. policy makers to do is to plan for the fact that America's days as the world's dominant economic superpower are numbered. 

It follows from this that, unless or until China cuts defense spending as a percentage of its GDP, the U.S. will grow relatively weaker in military terms and China will become relatively stronger. It is not possible that the U.S. will be able to maintain its present position of overwhelming military power. Relative decline is inevitable. Secondly, terrorist organizations will soon be able to sidestep America's high-tech military capability. It is only a matter of time before an attack takes place within the U.S. using chemical or biological weapons-or even a crude nuclear device. America's absolute dominance will end. No nation stays top-dog forever."

America's Denigrators

We have allowed atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and weirdoes to set our standards. Ph.D.s told our college students that there was no creation by an Almighty God. Instead, a lot of "monkey business" took place. These irresponsible, irreligious God-deniers never found the "missing link" of their evolutionary hypothesis and never scientifically proved their allegations. Nevertheless, an entire generation of "brainwashed" graduates listened and accepted their unverified theories. From this beginning, the schools eventually banned the "creation theory," the Bible, and then, God himself. This degenerative process led to immorality, impropriety, and immobility as they experimented and died from drinks and drugs. Today every conceivable act of vice and violence is the practice of the hour. 

Let me document this statement.

America's Defilement

Today Americans spend approximately 31 billion dollars per year for alcoholic beverages. This amounts to 3 1/2 million dollars per hour! The disease has reached epidemic proportions, and child alcoholism is part of the menace. The federal government's National Institute on Alcoholic Abuse and Alcoholism states, "By the time students reach the twelfth grade, 50 percent drink regularly and 25 percent have been drunk." Millions more are drug addicts. Both sins destroy a nation and separate the users from God (I Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21).

Concerning drugs, the term "sorcerer" is the English transliteration from the Greek word, Pharmakeia. It means "pharmacy" or "drug store." The original idea is to use drugs for a "high," or a "lift," or a "kick"-not for medication! God plainly states that those who use drugs promiscuously are eternally lost unless they change their ways (Revelation 21:8, Revelation 22:15).

The defilement extends into the sexual area as well. Sexual experimentation is now occurring at 13 and 14 years of age. The pressure from the peer group and Hollywood to be sexually active is enormous.
 
Subtle "brainwashing" by the media is having its effect. It contributes to sexual intercourse on the part of 35 percent of the girls in the nation who are 15-19 years of age, according to Patricia McCormack in a United Press International release. The media also makes 4,000,000 sinners in our nation, who live together without a marriage license, feel comfortable in their adulterous condition. After all, if the heroes of the silver screen can do it and make it look decent-why not try it! The problem is that God is still against any act of sex that takes place outside the bonds of holy matrimony. If a person does not have a marriage license and plays sex games, he will end up, I repeat, separated from God. God's Holy Commandment in Exodus 20:14 is: Thou shalt not commit adultery. What makes one think he can flaunt God's rules and end up in eternal bliss? God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16). Then our brazen disregard of God's laws will be judged. God's law declares, Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled [in marriage]: but whoremongers and adulterers [the swingers and the one-night flingers], God will judge (Hebrews 13:4).

Can America sink any lower in the mud of depravity? Well, in the past 10 years Americans have witnessed millions of abortions, the destruction of precious little bundles of innocence. 

Also, a recent winner of the Nobel Prize advocated that newborn babies should not be considered alive until they are two days old and have been certified as healthy by medical examiners. He also advocates compulsory death for all at age eighty. Dr. Gallop said: "If a doctor takes money for killing an innocent baby in the womb, he will kill you with a needle, when paid by your children." "This," he said, "is the terrible nightmare we are creating for the 21st Century."

Murderers

It is plain to see that callousness is sweeping the United States. Kill the unborn, kill the aged, kill anyone who stands in the way of another's selfish aspirations. This callousness produces sadistic and violent murderers. In past history, rare instances of torture and mutilation occurred. Today, it occurs frequently.

This same callousness also produces merciless robbers, looters, and plunderers. A few lights go out in a city and the "animals" stalk their victims. Many of these thieves had previously robbed, raped, and plundered when the lights were on and scores more had top-paying jobs. Their "Uncle-Sam-owed-it-to-me" attitude prevailed and crime reigned. Our dependency from cradle to grave on governmental funds will undoubtedly produce a socialistically-controlled nation. This same situation destroyed civilization after civilization, as creeping socialism grasped power.

How different from God's instructions! He states through Paul, If any will not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies [or troublemakers]. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12). Laziness and idleness produce these robbers, rapists, looters, troublemakers, and murderers mentioned earlier in this report who have nothing to do but daydream and carry out their "fairy tale" hallucinations. Today millions think that Uncle Sam owes them a living. Some believe that manual labor is the president of Mexico. How sad.

America's Ministerial Defilement

To further aggravate the situation, we have doctrinally defiled clergymen who mock everything that is right. They think they know more than God. He wrote the Bible and they knock its precepts, standards, and teachings. For instance, a London Associated Press release stated, "The divinity of Jesus is being challenged by a panel of British Protestant theologians who say He should be regarded as a great teacher, not a supernatural miracle worker." In a book, entitled The Myth of God Incarnate, seven theologians argue that Jesus was not God in human form but "a man approved by God" for a special role. The authors state that Jesus did not claim to be divine but was promoted to divinity by early Christians who were still under pagan influences. What blasphemy! This kind of dedication to the destruction of God and His Word is common today in America. Our pulpits are full of hypocrites who spouted fundamental Bible principles at their ministerial ordination services and then slid back into religious anarchy as the years progressed. The Apostle Peter warned against such false prophets: There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them (2 Peter 2:1). America is on the road to judgment. The Bible says, Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34). 

Again, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Psalm 9:17). Soon terrorism and war may engulf America and the world as sin is judged. When it happens, the human race will have brought the devastating destruction upon itself, for they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same (Job 4:8).

America has never been in such a state of degradation and hopelessness. 

Truly America is loaded with iniquity and will soon have to pay for it. 

Judgment may be imminent for our beloved nation. Isaiah describes the judgment of the "latter days" as being administered upon all nations-including America. Micah 5:15 adds: I make a full end of all nations. I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. [God] shall bring forth judgment to the nations (Isaiah 42:1), and the destroyer of the nations is on his way (Jeremiah 4:7). No doubt about it-America is part of the "all nations" being readied for judgment.

However, there is still hope for individuals in this wicked world in light of these facts. Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). So, trust in Christ if you haven't as yet. He died at Calvary to save and deliver all that call upon Him (I Corinthians 15:3-4; II Corinthians 5:17). By receiving Him and the merits of His shed blood, one can be prepared for eternity. Do not delay!

Tomorrow may be too late!  
www.jvim.com


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     Prophezine Commentaries
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Is Freemasonry Compatible With Biblical Christianity? 
by Dr. Robert A. Morey

Introduction:

The question before us this evening is whether the teachings of Freemasonry are compatible with biblical Christianity. We are NOT asking if someone can be a Christian and a Mason at the same time. We acknowledge that there are millions of professing Christians who are Lodge members.

We are asking a very specific question about the universal teachings shared by all those organizations which claim to be part of "the Family Of Freemasonry." 
Are these beliefs compatible with what the Bible teaches?

Now, we fully understand that if you do not believe in the Bible and do not claim to be a Christian, this question is of little importance to you. But if you claim to be a Christian, then this question is the deciding issue of whether you should join the Lodge or remain in it.

2 Cor 6:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2 Cor 6:15 Or what harmony has Christ with Bell, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

2 Cor 6:16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

2 Cor 6:17 "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

2 Cor 6:18 "And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.
Since we only have a limited time together this evening, all we can do is to set forth certain fundamental propositions which will lead us to the answer.

Proposition #1: An organization is "religious" IF:
#1. It teaches its members about God, man, morals, salvation, death, and the afterlife;
#2. It engages in religious practices such as prayer;
#3. Its members participate in religious ceremonies such as funeral services;
#4. It reveres "scared books" such as the Bible, the Qur'an, etc.
 
Proposition #2 From the above definition, it is clear that Freemasonry is a religious organization.
Proposition #3 State Lodges, Masonic encyclopedias, Masonic books, and famous Masonic leaders have all stated that Freemasonry is a religious organization.
Proposition #4 The Masonic definition of "God" is not compatible with biblical Christianity.

      The Bible Masonry
      MonotheismPolytheism
      ExclusiveInclusive

Proposition #5 The Masonic plan of salvation is not compatible with biblical Christianity.

      The Bible Masonry
      Grace aloneWorks
      Faith aloneMoralism
      Christ alonePluralism
      Scripture aloneQur'an, etc.
 
Proposition #6 The Masonic doctrines of "the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man" are not compatible with biblical Christianity. According to the Bible, God is NOT the Father of all mankind and all men are NOT the children of God. Only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior are the children of God. All men are by birth the children of the devil. We can become a child of God only through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
 
Conclusion:

Biblical Christianity is not compatible with Freemasonry. Face it, if you are a dedicated Christian, then Jesus Christ is MORE important than the Lodge. Loyalty to Him is more important.

God set up the CHURCH as the place where men should practice brotherhood and good deeds. Put your time and money in supporting your church.
--
 For more detailed information on this topic, purchase Dr. Morey's book,
The Origins and Teachings of Freemasonry 

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Bible Study

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Why Is the Christian Walk So Hard?
by Nancy Missler

Provocative Question

Why is the Christian walk so hard when Scripture says it's supposed to be easy?

Since I often I get provocative and interesting questions like this one, I thought it might be appropriate to "take a break" in our series on renewing our minds and address the issues this question raises.

The actual e-mail I received reads like this (it's from "None Lost"): "Sometime back I bought the Be Ye Transformed tapes, hoping to hear some good news on how to get transformed into the image of Christ. But when I heard you say, 'I wish it were easier' and 'It's a hard walk,' I got discouraged.

"...Now if I were one who is blessed with self-discipline, I could probably handle the 'moment by moment choices' (the M & M's), but I am cursed with much worse than average self-discipline. Jesus said that 'My yoke is easy and My burden is light.' (Matthew 11:30) It is also written that 'His commandments are not grievous' (1 John 5:3) and 'the way of transgressors (non-Christians) is hard.' (Proverbs 13:15)

"How do you reconcile these Scriptures with your statements that 
'it's a hard walk' and that you wish 'it were easier?'

" Thank you, "None Lost," for your great question!

My Yoke is Easy and My Burden is Light

In regards to the first Scripture that "None Lost" mentions (Matthew 11:30), the word yoke in this case refers to our original coupling or connection with the Lord. It's our choice, by faith, to believe and accept Christ into our hearts as our Savior.

Truly, as this Scripture states, this yoke is easy. How many of us know people who have "walked up the sawdust aisle," accepted Christ as their Savior, and then never do another thing about it. So, yes, our initial choice to invite Christ into our lives is definitely easy, but God doesn't want us to stop there!

A part of our "yoke" with Jesus Christ is that we are now supposed to carry HIS burden within us - His Word (Jeremiah 23:36), His Will and His Commandments to love Him and to love others. The reason the Bible says that this burden is light, is because Jesus, if we allow Him to, carries out, performs and does His Will and His Commandments through us.

In other words, if we are cleansed vessels, Jesus will produce the Love, the Wisdom and the Power that we need through us.

He does it all! He not only gives us the desire to choose His Will rather than our own, but He also performs that Will through us! This is what makes carrying Jesus' burden light.

The Way of Transgressors is Hard

Now, the reason Proverbs 13:15 says that "the way of transgressors is hard" is because God is not in them. He is not in them to carry out, perform or do His Will and His Commandments through them.
These people must struggle on their own power, their own strength and their own ability to love God and others. And ultimately, they find they can't do it - it's completely impossible and it is hard, just as Proverbs says.

However, if we truly are believers in Christ, then no matter what occurs in our lives or how we feel, the Bible tells us that we have God's authority and power to choose to lay down our lives so that He can produce His Life through us. 

  "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, [so] that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body...."

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

"A Hard Walk"

What makes this such a "hard walk" is not God's fault, but our own. 
What's difficult (and I, personally, do wish much easier) is the constant choosing every one of us have to do, moment by moment, to set ourselves aside so that God can carry out His Word and His Will through us.

This constant choosing is our own responsibility and without it, God's Spirit in us will be quenched and His Commandments will not be accomplished.

If every one of us would automatically choose, moment by moment, without any struggle or questioning, to relinquish ourselves by confessing, repenting and giving over to God anything "that is not of faith" (our doubts, our unforgiveness, our justified hurts, our fears, our self-pity, our worry, our grumbling, our criticalness, our resentfulness, etc.), then yes, we would find His burden (His Commands, His Will) light, just as He says.

The problem is, just like the gentleman stated in his e-mail to me, many of us are "cursed with much worse than average self-discipline" 
and find those moment-by-moment choices difficult to make. This is the reason that this Christian walk is so hard.

Self-discipline is simply a series of choices. And, these choices are our own responsibility to make. God will do it through us, but first we must choose to give Him "cleansed" vessels to use.

Watchman Nee wrote a wonderful book called The Normal Christian Life. In it he states, "We cannot expect the Lord to live out His Life in us, if we are not willing to give Him our lives in which to live." In other words, God will freely perform His Will, His 
Commands and His Word through us. But first, "we" must make the appropriate faith choices (non-feeling choices) to unconditionally yield our lives to Him. 

A Precious Example

Here's a wonderful example that graphically illustrates the power of our faith choices. 
A dear friend of mine had to travel on business from Durango, Colorado to the next town, which was at least 40 miles away. This part of Colorado is spectacularly beautiful, but quite desolate as far as population goes. There just isn't anything between these two cities. 
My friend had received The Way of Agape audio tapes a few months previously and had been listening periodically to them. She thought this long drive would be a perfect opportunity to finish the series, so she took along tapes #7 and #8 with her.
She became so engrossed in what she was hearing on tape #7 (all about our constant, moment-by-moment "faith" choices) that she didn't realize she was nearly out of gas. And she was so preoccupied with what God was bearing witness to her, that she drove right past the last gas station in Durango. There would not be another station for 40 miles. 
Sure enough, about 15 or 20 miles outside of Durango, she ran out of gas. The car literally stopped running. She pulled over to the side and became totally distraught as she realized her precarious predicament.

Since this was a business appointment and she was all dressed up (heels and all), there was no way she could walk anywhere. And, even if she could have, there was no place to go for help. The few cars that did pass her were mostly men, with beards and long hair and shot guns in their rear windows, which terrified her.

As she sat there contemplating her situation, God impressed upon her heart what she had been listening to on those tapes-about making faith choices (non-feeling choices) to give any and all situations over to God, no matter how silly or difficult the circumstances might be.

It sunk in that in this scary situation, she did have a choice. She could become paralyzed with fear, which she was beginning to experience; or, she could choose by faith to unconditionally relinquish herself to God and then trust Him to perform His perfect Will through her (just like she was hearing on the tapes). 
She decided to try the latter. Without "feeling" anything, she chose by faith to give God her fear and apprehension and to trust Him to protect her and make a way for her.

After her prayer, she decided to try the ignition one more time. She gently turned it on and the motor sputtered and then began. She put the car into gear, drove over on the far right side of the road and began to creep down the highway. The farther she went, the more elated she became. She had made the appropriate faith choices, God had heard her prayers and He was performing a miracle right before her eyes.

My precious friend drove that "empty" car all the way (about 20 miles) to the next city. When she would come to a hill, she simply made more faith choices to commit herself to God, softly stepped on the gas pedal and always seemed to have just enough "umph" to make it over the hill.
When she finally did arrive at the next city, she stopped at the first gas station feeling absolutely overjoyed. The gas station attendant asked her if she was all right, because she looked so radiant. She was able to witness to him and tell him the whole story. The seeds were planted in his life and now it's up to God, and that man's choice, as to what he will do with those seeds.

My dear friend made it to her appointment a little late, but nevertheless she arrived safely, having learned an incredible lesson about God's faithfulness. She called me and excitedly related her whole story, and thought it a perfect example of the power of our constant choices.

How many of us forget that God is always there, not only to encourage us to make the right choices, but also to then perform His Will and His Life through us.
The next time we are out on a desolate highway and we run out of gas we should try to remember this precious example.
Conclusion
So, dear writer, you are definitely right: Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light, but as you yourself stated in your e-mail, many of us have problems making the appropriate choices to allow God to perform His Will and His Life through us. And, this is why "we" are the ones, not God, who make this Christian walk a difficult walk.

"Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:14

Jesus Is our Example

The secret of the Christian walk is in surrendering. Surrendering simply means making many "non-feeling choices" every day to relinquish ourselves - all our thoughts, emotions and desires - to God.

These are choices just like Jesus made as He faced the Cross. It's constantly saying, "Not my will, but Thine."

No matter what occurs in our lives, no matter how horrible or how devastating the circumstances, God has given us His authority and His power to choose to lay down our lives so that He can produce His Life through us.

Jesus is our example, and we must always keep our eyes upon Him. 

"For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps"; 

..."Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously."

1 Peter 2:21, 23
"The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain and be raised the third day. And He [went on] to say to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me . For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it."
Luke 9:22-24
These are the kinds of faith choices that God desires from every one of us, moment by moment, every single day. These non-feeling choices are what will make our yoke with Jesus easy, and His burden that we carry, light.
* * * 
Parts of this article were excerpted from Chuck and Nan's new and expanded book, Be Ye Transformed (now in its second printing).
www.khouse.org

Koinonia House Inc., P.O. Box D, Coeur d'Alene,
ID 83816 

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ENCOURAGEMENT

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The Table Cloth

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited  about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. 

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc.and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. 

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. 

His heart sunk when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 6 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. 

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. 

One of the items was a beautiful, hand-made, ivory colored, crochet table cloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. 

He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. 

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. 

"Pastor," she asked, "Where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crochet into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. 

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. 

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. 

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? 

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again for all the 35 years in between. 

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. 

They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine. 

True Story -- submitted by Pastor Rob Reid 

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ENCOURAGEMENT
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A NERD

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.  It looked like he was carrying all of his books.  I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?  He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I  saw a bunch of kids running toward him.  They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and  tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.  My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.  They really should get lives."  He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"  There was a big smile on his face.  It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.  As it turned out, he lived near  me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.  I  would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried his books.  He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.  I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends.  He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I  liked him. And my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Damn boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"  He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.  When we were seniors, began to think about college.  Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.  I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.  He had to prepare a speech for graduation.  I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great.  He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.  He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.  He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous.  Today was one of those days.  I could see that he was nervous about his speech.  So, I smacked him on the back and said,  "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"  He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.  "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends.  I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.  I am going to tell you a story."  I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.  He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved.  My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.  I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture  you can change a person's life.  For better or for worse. God puts us all  in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can:
1)    Pass this on to your friends;
or
2)    Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

As you can see, I took choice number 1.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

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ENCOURAGEMENT

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THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS

A true story 

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing.  Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff.  In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock.  Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and  knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there.

Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry.  She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help  her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found.  She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of  them to make it up the face of the cliff.  She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, "The eyes of  the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."  She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom.  At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys!  Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it?  An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist.  When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

We need to remember these words when we are ask to do something that we feel is too heavy for us to do and or carry.  "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy.  But, if you want me to carry it, I will."
"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.


