TOTALITARIANISM IS INEVITABLE SAYS ROD DREHER

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“Conservative Christians and their churches and institutions are seen as an obstacle to progress. If you stand against LGBT rights for example, if you stand against abortion rights, if you stand against critical race theory you are a problem,” said Rod Dreher, Senior Editor of The American Conservatives.  Alienated and stressed over COVID-19 restrictions, American youth are readily taking to the streets to demand social change. A radical doctrine called critical race theory is inflaming their frustrations.

American youth are readily taking to the streets to demand social change.

Dreher said, “All Christians ought to be against racism. We are, but Critical Race Theory is something very different. It draws a line between good and evil between the races and alienates the races and turns us against each other when we ought to be standing together.” And instead of resorting to harsh tactics to control people, Dreher sees this future US government taking a softer, less violent approach. “We are going to see something develop in this country like the Chinese have today, the social credits system where they monitor everything the Chinese citizens do, they get all the data from their computers, from the internet and so forth and they assign them a rating,” he explained. “The more socially positive you are, from a communist point of view, the higher your rating, the more your privileges.”

Attending church would lower your social credit score and a lower rating means fewer privileges like sending your child to college. Dreher feels it doesn’t matter who is elected president because neither Biden nor Trump will be able to reverse the course. He believes we are living through the birth pangs of a cultural revolution.  “This sort of thing is marching through all the institutions, it’s marching through churches, it’s marching through universities, seminaries, corporations, and we Christians have got to be prepared for it by building networks among churches to endure persecution. Hope for the best, but we also have to remember ours is a religion of martyrdom. Those who suffered and even died for the faith, they received a crown of glory,” Dreher explained. “That may well be our calling and we need to accept that as believers.”

Source CBN News.

FUTURE OF AMERICA – Part 1

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American Christians, who desire to live godly, conservative, biblically-oriented lives, need to prepare themselves and their families for suffering. The writing has been on the wall for some time, decades even, yet the church has done little to stop it. Instead, like a row of dominoes, she has fallen over on issue after issue. The church has watched while influential institutions and religious leaders denied the miracles of Jesus, rejected the inerrancy of scripture and its history of the Cosmos particularly Noah’s worldwide flood. The time when God judged the world destroying all mankind save eight people. Lawlessness brought on God’s judgement back then and lawlessness will bring it on again. The world is rejecting God’s laws with legalized abortion, gay marriage, adopting transgenderism and even embracing critical race theory. Additionally, we are witnessing apostasy in the church as it conforms to the new world’s standards. Also, we have witnessed many “celebrity pastors”, priests and pastors in denominational churches commit moral failures through affairs and sexual abuse.

Whatever circumstances befall the church in the coming years, we must keep in mind that we have a Saviour who was the perfect propitiation of God’s wrath. In Him, we are predestinated, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:30). His blood has covered our sins and set us free from the slavery of sin and death. Regardless of where the world goes and what horrors the church may face, we can rest in these truths, knowing that our greatest and deepest needs have been met in Christ. No amount of emotional, mental, and physical suffering can dislodge us from our Savior’s embrace. As sure as the sun comes up tomorrow, the gospel will remain the power of God for salvation – your salvation. To thrive in a world that hates Jesus (and duly us), we must cling to Christ and His gospel. Before any worldly allegiances, we are Christians. We are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Should the world burn down around us, we can joyfully sing because we are eternally secure. There is no greater news than this.

Extract from article in Patheos: Persecution: The New Reality for Biblical Christianity in America by Jack lee

FUTURE OF AMERICA – Part 2

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2020 has proven to be a challenging year for Christians. But I believe God is using Covid to get His church to move back to church as He had planned it as described in the Book of Acts, largely house churches. Good examples of how God has used catastrophe to refine His church are China and even more recently nations such as Iran. Persecution has refined His church to get it to be totally dependent upon Him, even for survival.

Christians must meet in person for corporate worship. On line communication is a dreadful replacement for real community. Come pandemic or martyrdom, we must find a way to meet in person. Isolated we are prone to wonder from the faith, tempted by the world’s allure, and even more prone to depression.

We were never promised safety in Christ. The opposite is true; we are promised persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). A time is approaching when going to church will be dangerous (and I do not mean because of a virus). Now is the time to prepare and reinforce healthy habits. Instill in your children the need and benefit of attending church weekly. Go and be fed the gospel. Even if your church is not perfect (none are), be present and love others.

On the importance of attending church, it is helpful to look at Mosaic Law. While Christians are no longer slaves to the law. The law reflects the character of God. The law is good, valuable, and worthy of our delight. We can learn much about God’s holiness and desires in the law. Consider the absolute seriousness by which God treats the Sabbath, the day of worship, and rest: Exodus 31:12-17.

God cares deeply about the Sabbath. He cares about how He is worshiped. At one point in time, failure to honor the Sabbath as God intended was a crime punishable by death! Friends, corporate, in-person worship is non-negotiable for Christians. Go to church and do not stop.

If Christians are to spiritually flourish in a nation that hates them, they must dedicate time to understanding the significance of worldview, how it is formed, and how it can rightly engage our culture. The following summary of a Biblical world view is the only one that presents an accurate history of the cosmos:- 1. Creation by God of a perfect cosmos 6000 years ago. 2. Entrance of sin and death by man’s rebellion against God. 3. God’s judgement of the World with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. 4. Confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel that established the nations. 5. God establishes his nation Israel that would birth the Redeemer, Jesus, God’s Son, born of a virgin. 6. Birth of the church at Pentecost. 7. 2000 year history of the church which is soon coming to its prophesied end with Jesus return, first to rescue the Saints at which time His wrath will be poured out on an unbelieving world. Then Jesus returns to earth with the Saints to rescue His nation Israel at the battle of Armageddon. 8.We then have the Millennium. Jesus will rule the nations with the glorified Saints with a rod of iron for 1000 years.

Part an extract from the article in Patheos: Persecution: The New Reality for Biblical Christianity in America by Jack lee

WORLD’S LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH

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Over 42.6M abortions conducted in 2020, surpassing world’s leading causes of death. The number of pregnancies terminated worldwide in 2020 is greater than the total number of people that succumbed to all other leading causes of death listed.

This is according to data compiled by the Worldometer, a reference website that monitors statistics on health, the global population, the use of resources and deaths in real-time. 

The website tabulates statistics on abortion made available from the World Health Organization. The last available snapshot of the Worldometer as it appeared on New Year’s Eve, captured by the internet archive tool The Wayback Machine, reveals that more than 42.6 million abortions were performed worldwide in 2020.

By comparison, communicable diseases killed more than 13 million people worldwide in 2020. About 8.2 million people worldwide lost their lives to cancer while nearly 5.1 million people and 2.5 million people succumbed to death as a result of smoking and alcohol, respectively. According to John Hopkins University, more than 1.8 million people worldwide died of coronavirus in 2020. Other leading causes of death in 2020 included road traffic accident fatalities, of which there were nearly 1.4 million. Additionally, suicides are responsible for nearly 1.1 million deaths across the globe. 

These statistics are ample evidence we live in a world that has largely rejected the God of the Bible. The creator God who loves them so much, He sent His Son Jesus to earth to pay the price for their sin of rebellion – Jesus death on a Cross. They are totally oblivious to the fact Jesus will return to earth exactly as prophesied to rescue believers but also to pour out His wrath on a rebellious world.

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
The only good news, more people participated in the 2020 March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. than in 2019

STAND STRONG, STAND TALL, STAND VICTORIOUS

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An urgent message for 2021 from Jonathan Cahn. As my followers know I met Jonathan Cahn in Jerusalem many years ago now. We were both staying at the Leonardo Hotel. I was there for The Gathering, 3000 Christians gathering in Jerusalem to pray for and support Israel. There were no speakers just praise and worship and people spoke as God spoke to them. All realised that prayer is a wonderful privilege and that God hears and answers prayer. We were there to show our support for Israel to hear from God about the way forward.

It was at breakfast that I met Jonathan. I was ordering an omelette and a voice behind me said, I will have one of those too. I looked around and was surprised to see Jonathan Cahn. I recognised him, as I had read his best selling book, The Harbinger and had watched some YouTube videos of him being interviewed on well known Christian TV shows. I said, Jonathan Cahn and he said, Yes that’s right. I said, Are you here for a conference and he said no, I am on vacation with my family. In fact, I have been ill and am recuperating. I went back to my seat, and I immediately asked God what was the reason why I had met Jonathan in that way. I have had enough God ordained meetings to realise that it was unlikely this was a coincidence. The Holy Spirit responded just as quickly that I should go and share with Jonathan about The Gathering that was taking place in the main Convention Centre in Jerusalem opposite the Knesset (Israel’s House of Parliament). Initially, I resisted as Jonathan was with his family and I thought it would be rude to interrupt them. However, I knew I would be disobeying God if I did not so I went over to his table and apologised for interrupting them but I said I believed the Holy Spirit wanted me to give Jonathan a message. I then asked Jonathan if he knew of The Gathering of Christians that was taking place in the Convention Centre. He said, no he did not and was surprised when I told him there were 3000 Christians at the gathering so many they could not all fit into the main Convention Center and they had to use two additional rooms to take the overflow. He was startled that there were no speakers at the conference but the real bombshell for him was that over half the Christians attending The Gathering were Chinese. No way, was Jonathan’s initial response. He had no idea that so many Chinese Christians would want to support Israel in this way. Moreover, Jonathan would have been more surprised if he had attended the meeting to see these Chinese Christians in worship, either on their feet with hands raised or on the floor weeping. Jonathan and I exchanged cards and I went back to finish my breakfast.

Jonathan is God’s messenger for the USA and this message is timely as America moves further away from God with the election of Joe Biden as President, it is now beyond redemption and faces escalating judgement by God.

LIVING ETERNAL NOW

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Living eternal now is only possible through prayer. Do you realise “prayer is life’s greatest joy, highest privilege and most powerful venture.” Nothing can compare to it. This gem was extracted from the “Love to Pray” course by Dr Paul Cedar.

God wants to use you to do great things but it is only possible through prayer.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalms 16:11

David understood the truth, go to the Psalms for abundant wisdom.

“I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” Psalms 16:7-9

We were created to be in fellowship with God and we get a glimpse of that with Adam and Eve walking with God in the Garden of Eden before The Fall. Jesus sacrifice for us made it possible for the Father to send the Holy Spirit (third person of the Trinity) to indwell all believers and thus renew our fellowship with God the Father. We need to acknowledge the fact Jesus made it possible for us to pray to our Heavenly Father and we do so by saying “in Jesus name we pray.”

Hopefully, you will come as David did to realise that prayer is the talking part of a love relationship with God. Sadly, many see it as a spiritual discipline, something I need to do to get right with God.

What does God do for those who relate to Him in love? David said it well when he said, “in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

I hope you do not mind me giving a plug for my book here:

Contents: Chapter 1: Why, Living Eternal Now – Ready for Jesus Return, Chapter 2: Existence of God, Chapter 3: Evidence for Creation & Genesis as History, Chapter 4: Evidence for an Inerrant Bible, Chapter 5: Testimonies of PhD Scientists, Chapter 6: Powerful Testimonies of People (from all walks of life) Living Eternal Now, Chapter 7: Holy Spirit’s Role in Living Eternal Now, Chapter 8: Role of Prayer in Living Eternal Now, Chapter 9: Discerning the Times.

One of the good things about the book is you can choose any chapter/topic of interest and start there. Each chapter is independent from the rest of the book.

Available as an eBook on Amazon. Also available as a trade paperback book by donating AUS$10. Click the Donations icon on the Home Page to do so. You will also need to email the delivery address to ron@bakb.com.au. The donation will cover delivery to anywhere in the world.

AMERICA’S FUTURE IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY

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David Reagan lines up America’s future with Biblical prophecy. He believes that America is in full scale rebellion against God and has past the point of redemption. God’s judgement is underway and His wrath will follow. This video reveals the truth. The facts David Reagan state are irrefutable. One statement made by a Harvard professor is powerful. “You take away religion and you cannot hire enough police.”

https://vimeo.com/495318912

America’s future looks very dim as the forces advocating moral depravity and contempt for God’s Word prepare to take over the White House and Congress.

HUNGARY KEEPS GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

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The Ninth Amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary, the country’s equivalent of a constitution, was passed in Parliament last week by a margin of 134-45. The amendment, which was backed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, will amend Section L paragraph (1) of the Fundamental Law to read:

“Hungary protects the institution of marriage as the association between a man and a woman and the family as the basis for the survival of a nation. The foundation of the family is marriage and the parent-child relationship. The mother is a woman, the father is a man.”

“The main rule is that only married couples can adopt a child, that is, a man and woman who are married,” said Justice Minister Judit Varga, Reuters reported.

Varga, who sent the amendment to Parliament last month, said it will also work to provide “all children with an education based on the values of the Christian culture of Hungary and guarantees the undisturbed development of the child according to their gender at birth,” Hungary Today noted. 

“The Fundamental Law of Hungary is a living framework that expresses the will of the nation, the form in which we want to live,” Varga wrote in the justification section of the bill. “However, the ‘modern’ set of ideas that make all traditional values, including the two sexes, relative is a growing concern.”

“The constant threat to the natural laws of the forms and content of human communities, to the concepts arising from the order of Creation that harmonize with them and ensure the survival of communities, and, in some cases, the attempt to formulate them with a content contrary to the original raises doubts as to whether the interests, rights and well-being of future generations can be protected along the lines of the values of the Fundamental Law,” Varga added.

The passage of the Ninth Amendment comes less than a year after Parliament voted in favor of a measure that defines gender as “biological sex based on primary sex characteristics and chromosomes.” Like the measure-preserving the traditional definition of sex, the Ninth Amendment faced strong pushback from LGBT advocacy groups.

Note the response from Amnesty Hungary

“This is a dark day for Hungary’s LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights,” said David Vig, director of Amnesty Hungary. “These discriminatory, homophobic and transphobic new laws — rushed through under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic — are just the latest attack on LGBTQ people by Hungarian authorities.”

GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS YOUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH

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“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

How good is this verse of Scripture. It is the benediction given by Paul to the church at Thessalonica. Note: God is the One who will sanctify you and cause you to mature into the image of Christ. It does take work on your part, which is detailed in the preceding verses.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Thankfully, God, the Holy Spirit is the source and strength of our progress. One day you’ll be completely whole, perfect, and pleasing to God in every way. This will happen at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, we are works in progress.

He has called you, and He will be faithful to work in you what is pleasing to Him.

THE LOGIC OF CHRISTIANITY

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Another brilliant expose on Christianity by Prof. John Lennox titled The Logic of Christianity. He explains Christ’s birth and life as one of historical truth. Prof. John Lennox is a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University and an internationally renowned speaker and author of numerous books on the interface of science, philosophy, and religion.

A must watch for Christians and non-Christians alike. Both will be enlightened and hopefully as a result will be better people with hope for the future.