MICROROCHIP IN HAND ALLOWS YOU TO PAY FOR GOODS IN UAE

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It might sound like something from a dystopian science fiction fantasy but you could soon be able to pay for goods and services with a microchip that is embedded in your hand, according to Etisalat (UAE telecoms giant) officials.

It does sound like a prophecy from the Bible “And he (Antichrist) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads.” Revelation 13:16

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Etisalat unveiled new injectable microchips, which store all your credit card, ID and business card data inside, for the first time at the Middle East at 2016 GITEX Technology Expo in Dubai.

The technique is called bio-hacking, where an alien device is embedded on the back of the hand between the thumb and forefinger using a special syringe, medical tattoo artist Hazim Naori told 7DAYS.

“We clean the skin with sanitiser and after this we put the marks exactly where we want to pierce it,” he said.

“We insert the needle under the skin with a part of the need that pushes it in, and that’s where it settles and it needs a week or two to heal.”

Naori performed the implant for the first time on October 7 on George Held, from Etisalat’s Innovation team.

Speaking about the implantation, he said: “It’s like a piercing, it doesn’t hurt, but it feels a bit uncomfortable for the first day. The bio-hacking improves and enhances your body and will be not just a wearable device, but a device within yourself. You cannot replace or lose it, if you have an accident it’s still with you.”

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The technique is called bio-hacking

Held warned, though, that before it can be commercially launched, decisions need to be made on what role it will play in society.

“There is no legality issue here. We already have agreements with Emirates ID and Visa and we issue a credit card with it through Etisalat, we have rights to issue those,” Held explained to 7DAYS.

He revealed that final costs for the procedure are not confirmed yet but it is expected to cost Dhs500 ($100) for both the injection and the gadget itself.

Asked if the information stored on the chip could be hacked with the right equipment, Naori said using the card would still require the necessary authentications.

“We have to internationally agree on the system and this is eventually going to happen, let’s be honest,” said Naori.

“Thirty to 40 years ago there were no (bank) cards and now I have a card with all my ID and sim card on it and put it in the machine without showing anyone my passport.

“It’s an electronic smart gate. It’s the same thing, instead of having the card you just have it under your skin and it verifies you.”

This is just another one of the many prophecies about JESUS SECOND COMING that is being fulfilled in our day. Are we ready for Jesus return? What is He asking you to do today? Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” Do you spend time each day in His word so you can hear His voice? There are more prophecies about Jesus second coming than there were about His first coming. The Sadducees and Pharisees missed His first coming. Is the church preparing for His second coming?

 

AMAZING STORY: GOD DETERMINED CASTRO’S REIGN – THE VERY DAY & YEAR

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This is a guest post from Rabbi Jonathan Cahn:

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As the ashes of Fidel Castro are now laid to rest in Santiago, Cuba, I am at liberty to tell the story that’s waited years to be told.

In 1999, for the first time since he took power in 1959, Fidel Castro agreed to open up the island of Cuba for the Gospel, under much control and surveillance, and for only one month. By this he would show the world that there was ‘freedom’ in Cuba—an evangelical celebration that would span the island from the east, where Castro’s revolution began, to Revolutionary Square, Havana, where he began his rule.

Word was sent to me to open the celebration in the city of Goa with the sounding of the shofar. I agreed.

The Magi Prophecy

One week before leaving, a man from Cuba appeared at our service. He was a pastor who had been imprisoned on the island for his faith.

We were told we would go to Cuba as the magi, bearing gifts, and enter the palace of the king. I prayed as to what word I should bring to the people of Cuba. What came to me was the message of Jubilee. The Jubilee concerns those who have lost their land, their family’s possession, their freedom. That was Cuba. So I came to Cuba proclaiming the God’s Jubilee, His power to set free those in bondage and to bring restoration.

But I came also with something for Fidel Castro. I purposed that if God would open the door, I would give to the island’s communist leader a Bible, a letter, and a shofar, the Trumpet of Jubilee, the vessel used in biblical times to proclaim freedom throughout the land.

In the following weeks, I spoke in churches and gatherings throughout the island to give hope and encouragement to the believers of Cuba. In place after place, Cubans came up to me and those with me to tell us that they saw visions of us coming specifically as the magi.

It was then that I realised the full significance of the word given to us before we left. As the magi had come to an unlikely place to witness the newborn life of God, so had we now come to Cuba to witness God’s newborn presence there, a revival was about to break forth. Our gift to them was to strengthen and encourage them in the Lord.

At the same time, as in the account of the magi, there was opposition to that new life. There was a throne and an ageing king on the throne who was fearful that the presence of Jesus in his land would be a threat to his regime. To the people of God, the magi’s visitation was a sign of hope and blessing. But to the king it was a sign of alarm, something to be closely watched, and ultimately a portent of the end of his reign.

The Jubilee

At the island’s eastern end, near the port city of Barracoa, I opened up the evangelical celebration, the first fully public evangelical gathering in the public squares of Cuba since the beginning of the revolution (before such things were effectively banned. I opened it by the sounding of the shofar. The communist officials watching all around me inquired why I was blowing the “Jewish horn.” Someone else was watching—Fidel Castro. The events were being televised throughout the island. It was reported back to us that Castro was inquiring, “Who is this man with the beard causing such a ruckus?” and “What is this Jewish man doing in the churches?”

In many ways we were retracing the footsteps of Castro’s revolution—but with a very different message and of a very different revolution. I was proclaiming the Gospel and the power of God for Jubilee, for freedom and restoration. As I spoke of these things, my translator, a man named Felix, hesitate at times to repeat them, knowing that in virtually every place, there were secret police and informers planted in the gathering. And just as potentially dangerous, all over the island, on church buildings, houses, walls, and taxi cabs there were posters plastered proclaiming the words ‘El Jubileo Vienne!” “the Jubilee is Coming” or “Freedom and Release is Coming,’ above a photograph of me sounding the shofar.

The Boy Named “Faith”

On the way to Havana, I picked up a book about Fidel Castro and religion. Most people don’t’ realise that his name, ‘Fidel,’ means ‘faith.’ But as a young boy, Fidel had begun to lose faith. He told the story of how each year, at Christmas time, he would write a letter—to the magi. And every year, he would get a cardboard trumpet. When he realised the magi didn’t exist, he began to lose his faith. So it all started with a boy named ‘Faith,’ who first began to lose his faith over the magi. From this would ultimately come atheism, a revolution, prison camps, firing squads, and years of suffering for an entire nation—even the banning of the celebration of Christmas. And now here we were, coming to Havana, as magi who happened to be led to bring the gift of a trumpet—of Jubilee.

‘And Every Man Shall Return’

The last stop before Havana was the province of Camiguey. For my translator, Felix, it was the last night of ministry. The next day he had to return to America. I had no idea when I first asked him to join me that he had been born in Cuba, and that his family lost everything in the revolution, their possessions and their ancestral land. They fled to America where he grew up. There he came to the Lord. His dream and prayer was that one day he would return to Cuba and to his family’s land and his lost inheritance, and there build a church in which he would preach the Gospel. It was ironic that as I was preaching the Jubilee to Cuba, the restoration of every man to his ancestral land, the one translating that message had himself lost his ancestral land in the Cuban revolution.

That night, they took us to the place where we would minister, a farm in the middle of nowhere, so much in the middle of nowhere that they had to transport the people to us by cattle car. Before ministering, I looked for Felix. He was wandering around the farm in a daze. I asked him what happened. He had just discovered that the land to which we had been brought to minister—was his ancestral land. It was his family’s farm, the inheritance he had lost in the revolution, the place he had prayed he would one day return to.

So here on his last night, God had brought him home. It was what I had been preaching all along throughout the land, and what he had been translating—the Jubilee, the restoration—”And every man shall return to his property.” And so his journey ended with the fulfilment of that Scripture, and that prayer. And as for the church he had dreamed of building there, it had already been built, and was waiting for him to enter it. That night he preached inside the church of his inheritance. He didn’t realise it until that moment—he had been a sign to Cuba, all along, with every footstep, of restoration.

The Castle and the Star

We arrived in the capital city of Havana. Every day there, I would gaze out my hotel room to see a centuries-old Spanish castle by the sea. I was strongly led that we had to go to the castle and see what was inside. So we did. We walked through its ancient chambers. As we turned a corner, we suddenly beheld a massive painting that stunned us. The painting depicted the magi.

It turned out that the castle we were in was as national symbol of Cuba and was called “The Castle of the Three Kings.” And in the painting, standing next to the magi was a boy holding in his hand an object that looked like a shofar—the very thing I was now bringing to Havana.

The magi followed a star. That was the one thing missing. We joked, wondering if we would somehow see a star in Havana.

We decided to go to Revolutionary Square, to pray on the site on which the evangelical gathering would take place the following day. We entered the Jose Marti Memorial, the towering monument that marks the square. The government official inside began to reveal that the tower had been built so that from the sky it would form a star. It was the star—as the star of the magi, it would mark the end and destination of our journey. It actually marked two destinations: the square in which monument of Revolutionary Square, the day before the gathering

God’s people would gather together the following day, and the Presidential Palace from which Fidel Castro ruled the island. And as in the nativity account, the star would be linked to the presence of Jesus on one hand—and an ageing king and a dying kingdom on the other. And it was then that we realised that we had seen that star every night as we looked out the window of our hotel room in Havana, ablaze with light in the darkness, marking the final destination of our journey.

The following day we stood in the midst of the multitudes gathered for the first evangelical celebration in Revolutionary Square. Fidel Castro also stood there witnessing the gathering that filled the plaza that had once been filled with Cubans welcoming his revolution to Havana. Now it was filled for a different purpose. It was there that arrangements began that would lead me to present the gifts to Cuba’s ruler.

The Prophetic Sign and Countdown

I received an invitation to enter the Presidential Palace. I was greeted there by one of Castro’s assistants, who told me that the “Comandante” was very much aware of me and was watching my journey through Cuba. I was brought inside and presented the gifts, the Bible, a note with a message I had written him, and the shofar, the Trumpet of Jubilee Castro sent word thanking me for the gifts. He also wanted to know how I could be Jewish and believe in Jesus. The Central Communist Committee also sent word inquiring into the shofar.

Giving the Trumpet of Jubilee to Fidel Castro was a biblical reminder of the power of God for freedom, and a prophetic sign that that power was greater than the bondage’s of man. The Cuban revolution had caused millions of Cubans to lose their land, their homes, their ancestral possessions, their inheritances, and their freedom—the very thing the Jubilee undoes. It had all begun as the Batista government collapsed and Castro and his guerrillas swept into the city of Havana at the start of 1959.

But the trumpet was also linked to a mathematical timing to the ending of bondage. The Jubilee ordains a countdown: “You shall count off seven sevens of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sevens of years amounts to a period of 49 years. Then you shall sound the trumpet….”

What happens if one takes the biblical countdown of Jubilee and applies it to Castro’s reign, starting with the year 1959, the moment when Cuba lost its freedom. Count “seven sevens of years, seven times seven years—so that the seven sevens of years amounts to a period of 49 years.” Where does it take you? It takes you to the year 2008. Did anything significant happen in 2008? 2008 was the year that ended the rule of Fidel Castro. His entire reign, from 1959 to 2008, comprised the seven sevens of years, the 49 years of the countdown ordained by God of Jubilee—the release.

What about days? Castro’s reign began specifically on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1959. “Seven times seven” years from that day brings us to January 1, 2008, the end of the 49th year and the beginning of the 50th. If one then counts a Jubilee of days, “seven times seven” days into that year of release, it all culminates on February 19, 2008. Was there anything significant about that day? February 19, 2008 was the exact day that after nearly a half century, the rule of Fidel Castro came to its end. On February 19, the day of release, he released his reins of power. So from its beginning on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1959 to its end on February 19, 2008, Castro’s reign would comprise exactly “seven times seven” years and exactly “seven times seven” days—a Jubilee of years and a Jubilee of days.

When I asked the Lord for what word I was to give to Cuba, when I proclaimed the Jubilee throughout the island, when I gave to Castro the Trumpet of Jubilee, and when the posters were plastered throughout the communist nation proclaiming “El Jubileo Viene!” “The Jubilee is Coming!” it all contained a mystery and a precise prophetic countdown to the end. Castro’s reign would be timed to that countdown to end on the eve of the 50th day of the 50th year, and not a day longer – the mathematics of Jubilee. And as the countdown ordained by God leads to a release after 49 years, so at the end of that countdown, after 49 years, there would come a release, the most enduring iron grip of any ruler over any nation in the modern world came to its end.

The Other King

I have wondered since then, when Fidel Castro looked at the Jubilee Trumpet I gave him, did he ever realise its significance. I pray before he left this life he turned back to the One from the boy named “Faith” once turned away, and found forgiveness for his sins.

In the Biblical account, the ageing king Herod dies, but the new born life of Bethlehem, the life of Messiah, goes on—to overcome kingdoms and change the world. As I watched the thousands of Cubans paying their last respects to their aged leader, as they lined up to enter the Jose Marti Memorial, I wondered if they realized that they were heading to a star. Fidel Castro’s funeral took place under that same star which, as the star of Bethlehem marked for the magi, marked for us both the ending of a dying kingdom, and the birth of God’s presence, the light of hope, a light shining in the darkness.

Castro has passed away, as did King Herod, and as do all the kings and rulers of this world, and as do all those who, as Castro once did, tried to stamp out the Gospel. But the revival that began under Castro’s rule has not been stamped out. For kings and kingdoms, rulers and tyrants, all pass away, but the name of Messiah remains.

Castro has died—but Jesus lives. And as the dictator’s ashes were laid to rest in the city of Santiago, the presence of Jesus was and is as alive throughout the island as much as it ever was. It is even at this moment transforming the lives of Cubans in a way that Castro’s revolution, with all its guns and powers of state, never could. The Jubilee that began in our visit to the island has not stopped, but continues.

The King lives … and the Revolution goes on.

PROPHECY – IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS

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“The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 19:10

The following is taken from Nelson Walters website http://www.thegospelintheendtimes.com. I have been following Nelson for a number of years and believe God is using him to alert the church in the “last days”. Nelson has just agreed to become a Board Member of a new service, I believe God wants us to provide His church: http://www.powerpointsermons.net. It is early days, as yet, but take a look and give us your feedback.

Back to Nelson: All prophecy is about Jesus and the gospel. The church has lost sight of this. Hopefully, we can regain it. I believed that teaching about the end times was irrelevant and God changed my mind. Jesus opened the scriptures to me as he did with the disciples on the Emmaus Road. He did this so I could write to you and so you then could tell others. It’s simple; it’s not rocket science!

Our Deliverer is Coming! Jesus is about to undo all the tyrannical systems that men have developed over six thousand years .  He is the deliverer of the poor, the oppressed, the enslaved and the broken; and he is coming soon!  King Jesus will reign with justice and mercy.  The end-times are not about the brief birth pangs for that is only part of the process – the end-times are about the birth of his eternal kingdom of righteousness! Jesus is returning to the earth at a specified place. The same place He departed from, the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

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“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; …for I, the Lord, love justice.” (Isa. 61:1-2, 8 NKJV)

At the cross, Jesus set us free spiritually.  At his second coming he will set us free physically.  Everything wrong is about to be made right.

At Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophecy (Acts 2:15-21 NRSV) that foretells the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost plus a darkening of the sun and a blood moon (both on the day of Jesus’ death). He is saying: You have seen all these things since Jesus was crucified. The listeners were cut to the heart because they had seen them! The result was three thousand souls saved in one day. Prophecy = saved souls.

This website will show that specific and significant earthshaking events are about to occur according to prophecy in these years prior to the tribulation and the rapture. Christians across the globe can use these scriptures containing fulfilled prophecy to reach millions of the lost, but only if they know the prophecies. If the church is unaware of the prophecies, a major source of revival is lost. What is our responsibility to let them know? You may be asking, “Why don’t I know these prophecies?” Yes, we explain that on this website as well.

Encouragement of the Saints

Fulfilled scripture will have a glorious effect on the saved as they know that prophecies leading up to Christ’s return are happening before their eyes. How many lives might change as believers turn from self-absorption to focus on their Master’s business?  Prophecy = saved souls.

The Great Apostasy

 The Bible is clear there will be a great falling away from the faith.  Paul has written that this great apostasy precedes the revealing of the Antichrist  (2 Thess. 2:3).  Jesus’ own words are “The love of most will grow cold” (Mt. 24:12 NIV).  If the church is prepared for the deception that is coming, how many churchgoers might be spared? What responsibility do we have to prepare them?

At the mid-point of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus told a brief parable about the need to be watchful.

But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.  For this reason you also must be ready. (Matt. 24: 43-44 NASB)

The “heads” of God’s “house” on earth are you and I, the leaders of the church.  I believe this passage teaches that we have personal responsibility to be watchful so that our churches do not suffer loss.  We must do what we can to prevent our adversary from “breaking into” our churches and causing church goers to stumble.  This website goes into considerable detail about this parable and about the Great Apostasy.  Prophecy = saved souls.

Sanctification

After presenting his prophetic teaching in the Olivet discourse, Jesus began to apply it. In the parable of the faithful and the evil slaves he equates not thinking about the master’s return with unrighteousness:

But if that wicked servant says to himself, “My master is delayed,” and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards … (Matt. 24:48-49 ESV)

Peter speaks of the connection between prophecy and godly living as well:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.  Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. (2 Pet. 3:10-12 NIV)

Teaching about our blessed hope energises the church and is the factor that helps us keep our eyes on Jesus. Most of my pastor friends instinctively know that living righteously before the Lord certainly saves souls. Right now some are afraid to follow through. Despite their reluctance: prophecy still = saved souls.

This is God’s equation. This is his heart. This is why a quarter of the Bible is prophecy. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” How did we forget that as a church? Come join me on the journey. At least bookmark this website. You might want to refer back if you see those earthshaking events we will be talking about begin to happen.

Next we will see how to implement God’s equation, prophecy = saved souls.  We will also present all the major themes in this website and how  they relate to God’s heart for the lost.

Have I sparked your interest in connecting with Nelson’s website. I hope so.

PRAY AS JESUS AND PAUL DID – FOR UNITY

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JESUS PRAYED THIS PRAY FOR ALL BELIEVERS BEFORE  HE WENT TO THE CROSS

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” John 17:20-23

PAUL PRAYED THAT WE MAY GLORIFY GOD TOGETHER

“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.         Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the Glory of God” Romans 15:5-7

Listen to Craig Groeshel deliver a great sermon on “Unity” and see what a church can achieve when it embraces Jesus command. Unity is not the same as uniformity. Unity with diversity.

CHRISTIANITY STANDS OR FALLS ON THE HISTORICAL ACCURACY OF GENESIS

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How did Christ and His Apostles view the Old Testament?

According to Jesus, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) and “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). When referring to the Old Testament, He would often assert, “It is written”, making clear that He considered Scripture to be the final authority in all matters of faith and life. Along with the Pharisees He regarded the Old Testament as truly God’s Word. When quoting Genesis 2:24, for example, He affirmed that it was God speaking (Matthew 19:4, 5) even though the passage itself does not specifically state this.6

Looking for Answers pic

In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Commenting on this verse, and the New Testament in general, Frederick C. Grant, Professor of Biblical Theology at Union Theological Seminary wrote, “Everywhere it is taken for granted that what is written in scripture is the work of divine inspiration, and therefore trustworthy, infallible, and inerrant.”7

From this it might be understood that Professor Grant held to a similarly high view of Scripture. Not at all! In fact, he believed much of the Bible to be based on myths. Despite this, and along with many other liberal theologians, he recognised the Apostles’ unswerving commitment to the Old Testament as the Word of God and as unquestionably trustworthy in everything it teaches.

It is not difficult to see why scholars understand this to be true.8,9 In the Apostle Paul’s thinking, the Jews had been “entrusted with the oracles [the very words] of God” (Romans 3:2). When referring to the Old Testament he had no hesitation in affirming, “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers …” (Acts 28:25). Similarly, when quoting from the Psalms, the Apostle Peter stated that, while the words came from the mouth of David, it was the Holy Spirit speaking (Acts 4:24, 25). Moreover, he affirmed that “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20–21).

Both Jesus and His Apostles undoubtedly regarded Genesis as history. Jesus, for example, affirmed the creation of Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:4), the murder of Abel (Luke 11:50, 51), the Noahic Flood (Matthew 24:37–39) and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15). Moreover, for Him, these were not simply interesting stories; rather they provided the basis for understanding important spiritual truths. Similarly, the Apostle Paul built his teaching on events recorded in the Old Testament, such as the doctrine of Original Sin (Romans 5) and the role of men and women in the church (1 Timothy 2:12–14). The writer to the Hebrews referred to the accounts of Abel, Enoch and Noah as real events that happened to real people (Hebrews 11). Significantly, this letter was written to encourage Christians who were facing serious persecution; but what use are mythical characters to those potentially facing death? The idea that anyone would think that such people might be helped by reminding them of stories suitable only for Sunday School children is absurd. The writers of the New Testament undoubtedly accepted the first book of the Bible as historical and Huxley was right: if Genesis is wrong, Christianity was built upon no more than “legendary quicksands”.

Where does your church, your denomination stand on the inerrancy of scripture? Ask your pastor to get one of the excellent PhD speakers from Creation Ministries to come speak at your church on the evidence for the Genesis account of Creation. His response may surprise you.

AMAZING, TRUMP ALREADY DELIVERING BIG TIME ON HIS PROMISES.

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Crumbling under the pressure of President-elect Trump, The Ford Motor’s CEO announced he would not be moving factories to Mexico. (Bloomberg News 11/17/2016). Abruptly, Apple’s CEO announced that his company was considering moving all its IPhone manufacturing to the United States. (Opposing News 11/18/2016)

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“United Auto Workers leaders huddled with Ford Motor Co. executives today after the union was caught off guard by President-elect Donald Trump’s tweet last night, he helped prevent another Ford model going to Mexico … Ford did not inform the Union of its long-term plans for the MKC before the tweets went out Thursday night, Dunn said..”

“After Trump’s tweets, the company acknowledged for the first time it had been considering moving production of the MKC to Mexico, allowing the plant to boost output of the Escape, one of its hottest models. After talks between Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the President-elect, Trump, the automaker decided to keep building the MKC in Louisville after the UAW’s current contract expires in 2019.”

Apple may soon start producing IPhones in the U.S.A., as a result of Donald Trump’s win in the presidential election … Apple asked Foxconn and Pegatron, the two IPhone assemblers to look into making IPhones in the U.S.A.” Foxconn, which puts together more than 200 million IPhones every year in Taiwan complied with the request saying making IPhones in the U.S.A. will more than double the cost.” the source said.

It appears, Donald Trump’s harsh words during the campaign are now having the desired effect. What did Trump say repeatedly about Apple? “We’re going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries,” Trump said in January, adding he would do so by imposing tariffs on all American companies that manufacture their products abroad. “How does it help us when they make it in China?” he said in March.

Perhaps America will develop that unprecedented prosperity foretold in Revelation just before God annihilates it. What God’s Word prophecies for these last days, will play out exactly as foretold. Are we in step, with what God is calling His church to do in these “last days”

CHRISTIANS -“HATEFUL, MEAN, BIGOTED, NARROW-MINDED”

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Someone has said, “If I can define you, I can confine you.” Once the caricature “hateful, mean, bigoted, narrow- minded” attaches to believing Christians, we become identified through that false lens. Thus, for example, when we attempt to support religious freedom bills in legislatures, we are immediately defined as “haters.” Big businesses and the media target legislative members and engender public support for the idea that core religious rights that were long the subject of broad societal consensus, are in fact unjustifiable shields for “bigoted” religious people and institutions that must not be tolerated.

Marginalisation

Once the caricature is drawn, then it becomes easy to move to the next step—marginalisation.

Think of this, for example, why is it that there is no evangelical on the Supreme Court? Evangelicals are one of the largest minorities in the United States. But, our pro-life position and views on marriage are regarded as not acceptable and militate against an appointment to the Supreme Court—and beyond that, to appellate courts and district courts. Our views are simply unacceptable to the political powers that be and we are sidelined from the public square— marginalised.

us-supreme-court-memebersEvangelical Scalia DIED

Discrimination

Once you can make a caricature of a group and marginalise them, you can discriminate against them.

The biggest examples of that, from a legal point of view, are the recent cases before the Supreme Court of Hobby Lobby and the Little Sisters of the Poor. In both cases, the present administration forcefully sought to discriminate against persons who, because of religious belief, did not want to facilitate abortions. Those decisions hung by a slim thread in the Supreme Court. Hobby Lobby won by a 5-4 vote, and the Little Sisters of the Poor case was sent back down to the lower courts, in all likelihood, because a majority of opinion could not be reached on a divided 4-4 Court.

Another example that is impacting Assemblies of God colleges and universities as well as all schools who are members of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) is a recent change in the Department of Education (DOE). Christian institutions are now discriminated against because they hold to biblical teaching on sexual morality.

Next on the horizon is the possibility that accrediting associations will determine that a school which has behavioural standards for students regarding same-sex or gender identity relationships is a school not worthy of accreditation, and/or that companies, school boards, and graduate schools will not admit or employ graduates of schools who “discriminate” on the basis of sexual orientation and identity. Schools will either be forced to accept standards imposed on them or go out of business.

Persecution

Step one: make a caricature of persons committed to scriptural teaching on morality. Step two: marginalise them. Step three: discriminate against them. Finally, the last stage: persecute them.

This is what is pending in the California legislature as I write—the outright persecution of Christian institutions by a state that says, “We will attempt to humiliate and marginalise you if you don’t give in.”

What’s next? Unless present trends are reversed, I can envision a day not too far off in which faith-based para church educational and compassion institutions are forced to close if they retain biblical standards of sexual conduct for employment, or even requirements that employees, faculty, or students profess a Christian commitment.

The local church itself will be the last domino to fall in terms of persecution. Tax-exempt status may be lost. Ministers could lose the ministerial housing allowance. Donors may not be able to deduct charitable contributions. Churches which utilise their facilities for public events and compassion ministry, in addition to their times of worship, will be declared public places of accommodation and forced to provide marriage services to same-sex couples.

If you say, “Oh, that can never happen in America,” then let me remind you that we never thought a day would come when the White House would be lit up with the rainbow flag to celebrate a decision by the Supreme Court to legalise same-sex marriage.

I have never written anything like I am writing to you now. I realise that what I am writing paints a very dark picture. You are now asking yourself, but what can we do? Here are some suggestions.

Pray

There may be some who are cynical about a call to pray. But, we know the Lord hears the prayers of His people. Let’s take to heart 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We must pray for a third Great Awakening to come to America.

Prayers of gratitude for the religious liberty we have enjoyed, and prayers of petition for its future protection should be an ongoing and regular part of our personal and corporate prayer life.

Engage

Use whatever means possible to exert your influence on our culture and political system. Be informed as a voter. Run as a candidate for office if you sense the Spirit asking that of you. Let your elected representatives hear from you on issues such as religious liberty protection.

It’s also vital that we understand that we advocate religious liberty for others, not just ourselves. It is against our religion to impose our religion. When we find persons, organisations, or religious bodies who stand with us on the First Amendment protection of the free exercise of religion, then we welcome their advocacy alongside our own.

Of course, being engaged requires being informed; helping those who worship in our churches every week to understand the nature of the challenges we face, honestly but without overstating, is a critical first step. Had Christians across Missouri truly understood what was at stake in the religious liberty bill that failed in that state legislature earlier this year, the outcome may have been different. We must educate in order to inspire action.

Watch Your Spirit

There’s a fascinating verse in Jude 9 that says, Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil in a dispute about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce upon him a railing judgement. But he said, “The Lord rebuke you!'” In other words, Michael did not behave like the devil in fighting the devil. We must take to heart the admonition of the apostle Paul,

“The servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be gentle toward all people …” Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will “grant them repentance to a know the truth” (2 Tim. 2:24–25).                                                                                                                                                                                         Let’s be gracious as we take our stand on issues that concern us.

Do Good

The world may not agree with our beliefs, but they cannot deny when we do good. As individual believers and as a church together we must continue to serve others. We must be known as people of compassion and mercy. We are for the just treatment of others and we help the poor, the needy, the addicted, the wounded, the lonely and the downtrodden.

Keep Doing the Main Things

Our first and foremost call is to preach and live the gospel. Let’s keep the main things the plain things, and the plain things the main things. We must fulfil both the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20) and the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37–39). That’s our priority! Let’s never substitute evangelism and discipleship with political action. Let’s keep eternal matters and temporal matters in perspective.

Our Battle Is Spiritual

God loved the world and so must we. We cannot give others any reason to identify us as “haters” or “bigots.” The world will not be won by Christians who are shaking their fists at sinners. Something is a truism when it is true. This truism is true: “We must hate the sin and love the sinner.” “For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:12–13).

Rejoice

Nothing happening has caught the Lord by surprise. He told us we would be persecuted because of our loyalty to Him. But we are not to be angry about that or downcast. Instead, Jesus said: ”

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.12 Rejoice and be very glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10–12).

Thank you for letting me share my heart with you on this vital matter of religious liberty. In every dark time, believers have learned to say anew, “Our Lord reigns!”

This an abbreviated letter (grievous warning) was sent out by George O. Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God (USA) and chair of The Assemblies of God Fellowship

LIKE PAUL & HARRY, WE NEED TO ASK, WHAT SHALL I DO, LORD?

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So I said, “What shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to me, “Arise and go….”  Acts 22:10

In his autobiography, Our Incredible Journey, Word of Life co-founder Harry Bollback and his wife, Millie, wrote about their years of missionary service in Brazil, where they lived in very primitive circumstances. “Living under these conditions was truly difficult,” Harry wrote. “But neither of us thought of it as being hard at the time. We had made a decision to serve the Lord, and we were just doing what we thought the Lord would have us do. We were enjoying the good hand of God’s blessings.”

In Acts 22, the apostle Paul recounted his conversion for the Jewish Ruling Counsel. He told them of the light that blinded him on the Damascus Road, and he recounted the two questions he asked God: “Who are You, Lord?” (verse 8) and “What shall I do, Lord?” (verse 10)

When we come to Christ for salvation, we need to ask, “What do You want me to do?” Then, we just need to have a submissive spirit to His guidance, and He’ll use us in ways beyond our expectation.

I’m convinced that when you are serving the Lord, there is never a question of sacrifice. It’s just doing what we are supposed to be doing for His glory. You don’t think of the sacrifice—you think of your mission.
Harry Bollback

ARE WE BLOCKING THE FLOW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

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“Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thess. 5:19  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit..” Ephes. 4:30

This testimony by J Lee Grady will challenge you. He was editor of Charisma Magazine for 11 years before he launched into full time Holy Spirit led ministry.

flow-of-holy-spirit

A few years ago the Lord challenged me about my level of spiritual hunger. He showed me that even though I had stood in many prayer lines and repeatedly sung the words, “Lord, I want more of You,” I wasn’t as passionate for Him as I thought I was.

My church sponsored a conference on the Holy Spirit. At the close of one service, I was lying on the floor near the altar, asking God for another touch of His power. Several other people were kneeling at the communion rail and praying quietly for each other.

Suddenly I began to have a vision. In my mind I could see a large pipeline, at least eight feet in diameter. I was looking at it from the inside, and I could see a shallow stream of golden liquid flowing at the bottom. The oil in the giant pipe was only a few inches deep.

I began a conversation with the Lord.

“What are You showing me?” I asked.

“This is the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life,” He answered.

It was not an encouraging picture; it was pitiful! The capacity of the pipeline was huge—enough to convey tons of oil. Yet only a trickle was evident.

Then I noticed something else: Several large valves were lined up along the sides of the pipeline, and each of them was shut.

I wanted to ask the Lord why there was so little oil in my life. Instead I asked: “What are those valves, and why are they closed?”

His answer stunned me. “Those represent the times when you said no. Why should I increase the level of anointing if you aren’t available to use it?”

The words stung. When had I said no to God? I was overcome with emotion and began to repent. I recalled different excuses I had made and limitations I had placed on how He could use me.

I had told Him that I didn’t want to be in front of crowds because I wasn’t a good speaker. I had told Him that if I couldn’t preach like T.D. Jakes does, then I didn’t want to speak at all. I had told Him that I didn’t want to address certain issues or go certain places. I had placed so many cumbersome conditions on my obedience.

After a while I began to see something else in my spirit. It was a huge crowd of African men, assembled as if they were in a large arena. And I saw myself preaching to them.

Nobody had ever asked me to minister in Africa, but I knew at that moment I needed to surrender my will. All I could think to say was the prayer of Isaiah: “Here am I. Send me.” (Is. 6:8). I told God I would go anywhere and say anything He asked. I laid my insecurities, fears and inhibitions on the altar.

Three years later I stood at a pulpit inside a sports arena in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. As I addressed a crowd of 8,000 pastors who had assembled there for a training conference, I remembered seeing their faces in that vision. And I realised that God had opened a new valve in my life that day when I was on the floor of my church. Because I had said yes, He had increased the flow of His oil so that it could reach thousands.

Many of us have a habit of asking for more of God’s power and anointing. But what do we use it for? He doesn’t send it just to make us feel good.

We love to go to the altar for a touch from God. We love the goose bumps, the shaking, the emotion of the moment. We love to fall on the floor and experience one filling after another. But I am afraid some of us are soaking up the anointing but not giving it away. Our charismatic experience has become inward and selfish. We get up off the floor and live like we want to.

Pentecost is not a party. If we truly want to be empowered, we must offer God an unqualified yes. We must crucify every no. We must become a conduit to reach others, not a reservoir with no outlet.

Search your own heart today and see if there are any closed valves in your pipeline. As you surrender them, the locked channels will open, and His oil will flow out to a world that craves to know He is real.