FRANKLIN GRAHAM’S U.K. “GOD LOVES YOU” TOUR

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Over 8,000 people traveled from around the U.K. to hear Franklin Graham preach in Birmingham on Saturday night. It was the American evangelist’s first time in the Midlands, with his visit coming 40 years since his late father, world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham, preached the Gospel in nearby Villa Park.

“Jesus Christ is not dead. He’s alive and He’s here tonight,” said Graham to cheers and applause inside the Birmingham Resorts World Arena.

Graham is back in the U.K. to continue his God Loves You Tour, with another night coming up in Glasgow on June 22.

His thoughts turning momentarily to his father, who preached many times in the U.K., Graham said, “I miss him and every time I come to this country I think of him because he loved this nation, he loved the people of this country.”

Birmingham was one of the eight cities that Graham had originally planned to visit in 2020, but it was postponed due to legal action against seven venues that canceled their legally binding contracts. The tour was eventually able to go ahead after the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association took successful legal action against the venues.

Last night, Graham preached from Luke 19, which tells the story of the salvation of Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief tax collector who put his faith in Christ and vowed to pay back fourfold anyone he had robbed.

The event was prayerfully supported by 500 churches around the U.K., with worship led by Michael W. Smith and former Hillsong worship leader Taya.

Graham heads to Glasgow, Scotland, next weekend and will be in London in 2025 for another stop on his God Loves You Tour. More details can be found at https://godlovesyoutour.org.uk/

THE TRADITIONAL FAMILY IS THE BASIC UNIT OF SOCIETY

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The family is the basic unit of God’s plan for His world. He designed it to be a strong foundation for society and for each individual. When the family functions according to God’s design, it is a powerful force for good in the world.

As the original and basic cell of society, the family is the natural organic source of all societies. The liberal secularists’ assumption that the individual is the basic unit of society, is an assumption that is impossible to demonstrate.

Marriage being opened up to combinations of people other than one man and one woman marks the death knell of the nation. No society has ever endured far beyond the demeaning of the marriage institution.

Traditional marriages produce children, who extend the nation’s existence, ideals, goals, and wealth for another generation. Traditional families are healthier, more stable, and more productive than other kinds of families, resulting in a net gain for society.

God ultimately owns children, but he entrusts them to parents to discipline and disciple them, for him. That means the government/the state does not own our children.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalm 127:3

Our enemy, Satan, knows that parents are the first and strongest barrier to provide protection for children against predation and grooming. He knows that God gave children parents to protect them from evil and danger, so he tries to separate children from their parents, isolating them and making them vulnerable to his lies. It’s all part of the spiritual battle raging around us.

Satan has the family in his crosshairs as he ramps up his attack. But God has already given us the answer to this spiritual attack, and it’s found in Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:5–9

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

The answer to the attack on the family and the intense LGBTQ, pro-abortion, CRT, etc., indoctrination directed toward children is parents—fathers in particular—teaching their children the Word of the Lord, day in and day out, in all situations.

If you are a father, are you the kind of father who is intentional about bringing your children up in the instruction of the Lord? The kind of father who spends time with his children so he has opportunity to talk about the Lord when he sits, walks, and rises with his children? You have the responsibility before the Lord to be that kind of dad—you cannot leave it solely to your wife or to your church. You stand responsible before God as the head of your family.

CHRISTIANITY IN EUROPE: GOOD NEWS FIRST, REALITY CHECK SECOND

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GOD IS MOVING ACROSS EUROPE – IN FRANCE, HUNGARY & ITALY

FRANCE: Praise, prayer, and the Word of God filled the streets of Paris recently as more than 25,000 people participated in the March for Jesus in France. The massive gathering of believers across Paris on May 25th reportedly broke record participation when attendees gathered together under the banner “Let’s bear witness publicly and in unity” about our faith in Jesus Christ.

A coalition of ministries organized the event which took place in Paris and four other cities including Lille, Nantes, Metz, and Strasbourg. The organizers said that the gathering “allowed Christians of all denominations to raise the name of Jesus above their theological differences.” “We opened ourselves to the entire evangelical Protestant spectrum thanks to the participation of several churches such as MLK, Hillsong, ICC, and also Baptist, charismatic, and more traditional Protestant churches. My role, as coordinator is to keep unity and unite around Jesus,” Gilbert Leonian, the pastor in charge of the Paris march said. He also said, “If we are here, it is not for a religion or to promote our church, but because there is someone who has touched us deeply – Jesus,”

HUNGARY & ITALY: Another wave of massive gatherings has taken place across Europe since the Paris March with more than a thousand people making decisions to follow Jesus Christ – this time in Hungary and Italy. International evangelist Jean-Luc Trachsel says “the power of the Lord” moved at two huge conferences in Hungary and Italy as people were saved, healed, and delivered. “Everywhere in Europe there are hungry and thirsty people,” he wrote on social media.  Trachsel is the founder of Jean-Luc Trachsel Ministries which works to “bring unity among Christians and to proclaim the Gospel to this generation with mercy and compassion.” Recently Trachsel delivered a message in Paris, for the “March For Jesus”. Trachsel shared about a worship event called “This is the Day” in Miskolc, Hungary. That stadium can hold more than 15,000 people, and it was filled with souls hungry for God. Trachsel reports 1,300 people gave their lives to Christ.

Trachsel also shared a message on the power of the Holy Spirit at the Apostolic Conference 2024 hosted by the “Apostolic Church in Italy” in Rome. The three-day conference brought together a network of Italian churches with 11,000 members. A massive Protestant gathering like this is seen as unusual in the seat of Roman Catholicism. Trachsel recounts that “miracles and healings” took place at the conference including someone who was born deaf and left the conference able to hear and another person who had “blind twisted eyes” could see normally after receiving prayer.

REALITY CHECK: He added that the greatest “miracle” was the souls saved. Much of Europe has abandoned the Christian faith, embraced secularism, and returned to its pagan roots. The number of European Christians is expected to drop by about 100 million, falling from 553 million in 2010 to 454 million in 2050. Meanwhile, Europe’s Muslim population is expected to increase by 63% in the same time frame. Trachsel said he is seeing the decline firsthand in Switzerland where only 3 to 5% of the seven million people are born-again Christians. I feel the time is coming in Europe when real Christians will have to be underground,” he said

Trachsel is correct, the church in Europe will be underground as it is in China, Iran, and other Muslim countries. We need to take Jesus warning to heart:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

THE POWER BEHIND CHRISTIANITY

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Jesus told the disciples not to do anything until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. The third person of the Trinity is the reason Christianity grew to be the major religion in the world. Do the traditional/institutional churches really acknowledge that fact?

Despite evolution, most people still believe in a Supreme Being. Also, most people believe Jesus Christ lived on this Earth 2,000 years ago. We have our calendar to testify to that fact (2024). Moreover, we have many descriptions of Jesus in the New Testament such that we, like the first converts have good grounds to conclude that he is something more than a prophet. Other historians like Josephus testify to his life and ministry. However, it is quite another thing to believe that God is three. There is a Third person, a ghostly wind of God, Holy Spirit.

The Bible words for “spirit,” in both Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament), also mean “breath” and “wind.” So it is symbolically apt that when the early Christians were awaiting the promised Spirit in an upstairs room in Jerusalem on Pentecost Sunday, there came the sound of a violent wind. That sound was accompanied by a visual symbol. Over each person’s head, a flame or “tongue” as of fire came to rest, also symbolic of the presence of God—as in the Old Testament fire of Mount Sinai and the pillar of fire that led ancient Israel toward the Promised Land.

On the night he was betrayed and arrested, Jesus told the twelve disciples (John 14-16, John 16:7) that He would go away and it was better that He went away. Why? Jesus said that he would ask the Father for Another One to come. And this One would do even better than what Jesus did. Who is this “Another One” who will come? He is the Holy Spirit. He will come to dwell within us so that we can perform miracles, proclaim the gospel, and live as examples to the world.

How many institutional/traditional churches believe we can do the things the Bible says the Holy Spirit will empower us to do? He will produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) in our lives: love, joy, peace, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, patience, and self-control. He will provide the gifts of the Spirit for ministry:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

The Holy Spirit continues to this day to manifest himself—in the spectacular gifts given in this Scripture but also more commonly in other gifts, such as (effective) teaching, evangelism, leadership, service, and hospitality. Are these signs manifest in your church? If not, can I suggest you look for a church where they are evident.

 The Holy Spirit continues to give people the New Birth. God animates us by his Spirit: anima in Latin means “the breath of life,” hence animal. And then God by the Holy Spirit, in the process of sanctification (sanctus being Latin for “holy”) makes us mature children of God.

CHRISTIANITY’S HUGE GROWTH DESPITE PERSECUTION

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Chris Worthington, a Gen Z filmmaker and founder of Every Nation Will Bow, has unveiled his latest documentary, “Multiplied,” offering a stirring glimpse into what he describes as a “modern-day Jesus Revolution.” Look at the trailer below it will cause you to praise God for what He is doing.

The film, in theaters through Fathom Events on May 20-21, follows the 24-year-old filmmaker as he travels across Brazil, Ghana, and Nigeria, documenting the vibrant, multifaceted expressions of Christianity around the globe. Compare this with the apostate church in the west which is in rapid decline.

This groundbreaking film brings viewers behind the scenes to witness the spiritual fervor of evangelistic events worldwide, led by renowned evangelist Daniel Kolenda.

From a 140,000-strong Gen Z gathering in Brazil to a 400,000-person Gospel event in Nigeria, “Multiplied” captures Kolenda’s mission to reach every corner of the globe, dispelling misconceptions about waning interest in faith while offering an inspiring message of hope. 

“Christianity is exploding, especially in Africa,” Worthington told The Christian Post. “I saw it for myself and got it all on camera. It’s about showing the reality that it’s not just about a few famous evangelists anymore but about an entire generation preaching the Gospel. It’s about you and me; it’s about the normal person. I think that’s how Jesus wanted it from the beginning.”

Kolenda is the successor to Reinhard Bonnke, the legendary preacher known for drawing vast crowds during his ministry’s campaigns. Kolenda, as head of Christ for All Nations (CfaN), continues Bonnke’s legacy, presiding over some of the world’s largest evangelistic events and cultivating a global movement that “Multiplied” seeks to document.

Filming the events didn’t come without challenges. Worthington shared how while Christianity is popular in Brazil — “everybody wants to be on a massive stage and preach to 80,000 people” — his experience in Nigeria was much different.

“In Nigeria, it’s the exact opposite … we went from flying on private jets to actually getting shot at in Nigeria. My life flashed before my eyes. I didn’t realize [there was] persecution over there. It was insane,” he said. 

“One week before we got to Nigeria, we were informed that a terrorist organization had killed a pastor and his entire family, and we were doing a 500,000-person Gospel event right there,” he said. “On the way, we got trapped in a dust storm, so we couldn’t fly and had to go on a really dangerous highway. We met a guy … who pulled out a silver Glock. I’ll never forget it. He knew who we were; he pointed straight at us, right at my head. I saw the evil in his eyes, and at that moment, I thought, ‘I guess this is where it ends.”

Worthington said he and his team were driven by a deeper purpose despite the dangers and challenges faced during filming. 

“The more you get attacked, the more things that try to go wrong, things that are obviously spiritual warfare, the better you’re doing. So just keep pushing through it, because you’re going to change the world that way,” he said.

Worthington, best known for “This Is Living,” had his own spiritual awakening in 2013 at a worship concert in Tampa, Florida, which he told CP sent him on a mission to document faith in its rawest form. “Multiplied,” he said, emerges as the culmination of this vision.

“All of these films that I make, it’s just an endeavor to point people to Jesus Christ. If it’s not doing that, it’s all in vain,” he said.

“It has no meaning if it’s not pointing people to Christ, if it’s not for that, it’ll be burned with the chaff, because the fire comes to everything, to every ministry,” he said. “The fire is going to come, and it’s either going to just be burned or it’s going to withstand the fire. And the ministries that are going to withstand the fire are the ones who have pure motives that are actually doing it to point people not to themselves, but to Jesus Christ. And that’s why any film that I make, I make it to point people to Jesus Christ.”

Amid reports of faith’s declining influence, Worthington said he hopes “Multiplied“ offers an eye-opening perspective that reveals the profound impact of evangelistic work.

“Film is a huge tool for evangelism. The new crusade field is the living room,” Worthington said, citing the success of films and shows like “The Chosen” and “Jesus Revolution” in reaching hearts and minds across America.

“I think that a Christian film Renaissance is happening right now, and I think that’s how God wants to reach America because you are going to reach America with your phone, with your Smart TV.”

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE IN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY?

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Reports of American Christianity’s death are wildly exaggerated, according to a new Gallup poll. The problem however is that most American Christians (94%) no longer hold to a Biblical Worldview.

Despite years of coverage that Americans have lost their faith, three out of four Americans not only believe in God but belong to a specific religion, according to a Gallup poll released on Good Friday.

“By far the largest proportion, 68%, identify with a Christian religion, including 33% who are Protestant, 22% Catholic and 13% who identify with another Christian religion or simply as a ‘Christian,’” Gallup reported on March 29. Another seven percent “identify with a non-Christian religion, including 2% who are Jewish, 1% Muslim and 1% Buddhist, among others.” 22% said they did not identify with any religion.

Faith exercises a pivotal role in most Americans’ lives, with 71% saying that religion is “very important” (45%) or “fairly important” (26%) to them. The share of Americans who placed a high premium on their faith fell below a majority for the first time in U.S. history in 2019.

That does not mean that church membership has rebounded completely: 45% of Americans formally belong to a church, synagogue, or religious congregation. That number fell below a majority during 2020. “Slightly more than one-third of U.S. young adults have no religious affiliation. Further, many young adults who do identify with a religion do not belong to a church,” noted Gallup. “But even older adults who have a religious preference are less likely to belong to a church today than in the past.”

Yet even these numbers may overstate the number of unbelievers, as 69% of Nones (people who do not identify with any particular faith) believe in God, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Still, a separate poll from the left-leaning Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released on March 27, found, “While the percentage of Americans who describe themselves as ‘nothing in particular’ is similar to a decade ago (16% in 2013 to 17% in 2023), the numbers of both atheists and agnostics have doubled since 2013 (from 2% to 4% and from 2% to 5%, respectively).”

The most liberal churches have experienced the steepest losses in membership, numerous reports found. Ryan Burge, research director at Faith Counts, tracked the membership of the major U.S. denominations between 1987 and 2021. “The mainline is just a bloodbath,” wrote Burge last June. “Five traditions are down by at least 30%. The ELCA is down 41%. The United Church of Christ is less than half the size it was in the late 1980s. The United Methodists are already down 31%, but with over 15% of their churches disaffiliating just this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if membership is down 40% or more by this time next year.”

Overall, the data paints a complicated picture. “The trends are clear that we are secularizing in some sense, particularly Gen Z. There is a decline in participation in organized religion and in belief in God, but those are not necessarily the same thing,” Joseph Backholm, senior fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. “The one clear thing is that some belief in a higher power is persistent. People can’t shake the idea that the universe didn’t create itself.”

David Closson, director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at FRC, made these assertions. “What we’ve learned from FRC’s own research, as well as George Barna’s research with the Cultural Research Center, is that the percentage of those who hold a consistent biblical worldview is around 6%,” “Thus, it is probably more accurate to say that Gallup is helpfully illustrating the loss of cultural Christianity. But this is an important observation in itself; the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian is decreasing rapidly, which means that basic Christian beliefs will increasingly be seen not only as outdated or old-school but dangerous and subversive. We are still living on the fumes of a post-Christian culture, and this is reflected in the large percentages of Americans who still identify as Christian even though many of them don’t go to church or profess any specific theological viewpoints.”

All parties conceded that America’s religious atrophy and eroding biblical worldview will likely impact the policies enacted at a national and local level. “Compared with all Americans, the unaffiliated are notably more likely to identify as Democrats (35% vs. 29%) and independents (38% vs. 30%), and substantially less likely to identify as Republican (12% vs. 29%),” PRRI noted.

The declining share of Americans who hold a Biblical worldview “shouldn’t matter” when it comes to public policy, but it “ultimately will,” said Backholm. “The First Amendment requires that we treat small groups of religious individuals the same as big groups, but in reality cultural dominance, or the lack thereof, matters. That’s why we see pro-life activists being punished for public speech and business owners repeatedly sued for behavior that was uncontroversial 20 years ago.”

“Being a minority religion has always come with challenges, even in America,” Backholm told TWS. “The politically dominant religion in America is becoming a hybrid of secularism and progressive Christianity defined by the belief that people should be free to do whatever makes them happy.”

“Those who don’t embrace those creeds will have problems,” he warned.

The seven churches in Revelation reveal the church as it is in the last seven years before Jesus returns to Earth first to rapture the Saints to Heaven and then pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet (Revelation 8) and Bowl (Revelation 16) judgements.

The seventh church, the Church of Laodicea represents the church left behind to face God’s judgement. (Laodicea is a combination of two Greek words (LAO, meaning “God’s people”; and DIKE, meaning “justice or judgment”) Judgement of God’s people).

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:15-20

It is obvious from this Scripture that those churches preaching the prosperity gospel are in for a great shock when they realise that they will face God’s judgement, but notice that they still have the opportunity to repent.

The church of Philadelphia represents the church that is raptured at the trumpet blast at the opening of the seventh seal. At the sixth seal, we see the celestial signs that precede Jesus’ return. We read “the great day of their (God’s) wrath has come“: “Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:15-17 The trumpet and bowl judgements follow once the final, seventh seal is removed and the scroll is opened.

How different is the message to the church (Church of Philadelphia) that is raptured and protected from the wrath of God

Philadelphus the “love for a brother” What remains of the faithful Church will be bound in brotherly love by the persecution of earth-shaking proportions.

“He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens, and no one will shut, and who shuts, and no one opens, says this.”  Revelation 3:7

Jesus who is about to rapture His church reminds them that He is God, He is true, and they can trust Him to save them at the appointed time.

Jesus has nothing but compliments for these survivors of the Great Tribulation, his faithful remnant

“Jesus says, I have set before you an open door, no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial (Rapture) which shall come upon the whole earth (wrath of God).” (Revelation 3:7-13)

“hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (Rev. 3:11 NASB). There is yet time to fall away and lose their rewards.

The concepts of the Key of David, the pillars in the Temple, and being kept from the hour of trial found in the letter to the Church of Philadelphia are references to the Rapture, happening at the end of the Sixth Year of the 70th Week.

SPIRITUAL PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS: AMERICA IS AT WAR

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A great article by S.A. McCarthy. He serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

Every doctrine that Christianity preaches, leftism preaches its own perversion of it. The love advocated by Christianity is rooted in absolute truth, in “Love Himself,” as C.S. Lewis once put it. Leftism advocates “love” unmoored, anchored by nothing more absolute than the weight of fickle feelings and emotions — though, when those emotions are felt, they do reign supreme.

Christianity upholds sacrifice as virtuous — the giving of oneself for the sake of love is the zenith of the virtue of charity. Christ Himself tells His followers, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Leftism also values sacrifice, but never sacrifice of the self, only the sacrificing of others. Abortion is the ultimate example of this warped anti-virtue: sacrificing one’s own child for… financial comfort, a career, no responsibility, or even just consequence-free sex.

Christianity mandates submission to the will of God, accepting His design no matter how painful or difficult. Again, Christ Himself prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). Leftism demands obeisance to the only god it recognizes: the self-centered self. Transgenderism is demonstrative of this: just as Christian martyrs have willingly suffered torture for the sake of their faith, so the confused, self-centered, and self-loathing suffer mutilation and torture for the sake of their own wounded and twisted egos.

Like the dominant Christianity of the Middle Ages, leftism even has its own office of the Inquisition. Those who do not toe the leftist line, who dare to question the new religion’s dogmas, are hounded out of the anti-church. The famed “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is indicative of this. A multi-millionaire and self-declared feminist, Rowling was once a darling of leftist media and political activists. She supported the Labour Party in the U.K. and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Yet as soon as she voiced her concerns over transgenderism, she became a “heretic” to the church of leftism, targeted for disbarment from all the institutions controlled by leftism.

Although leftism is a uniquely 21st century phenomenon, its fundamental principles are nothing new. In fact, God has been dealing with the motivating mindset behind leftism since before the world began. The chief and unifying tenet of the leftist religion — indeed, that of all its precursors and predecessors, also — is naturalism. When first Lucifer said, in the words of the poet John Milton, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,” naturalism was born. Naturalism is the belief, the assertion that the creature can replace the Creator, that the peasant may, if he slays the King, rule in His stead. It is the hubristic declaration that “God is dead, I am god.”

Satan was the first to declare thus, in his immense pride, galled by the humility of God’s plan to become a man, to take on the form of a mere creature — “these disgusting little human vermin,” as Lewis called them in the character of Screwtape, a hateful demon. He has declared it ever since, leading countless souls astray. In the Garden of Eden, that was the temptation offered by the Serpent: “You shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). Throughout Scripture and, certainly, throughout human history, that has been the great temptation, the great sin: to be as gods. When Moses ascended Mount Sinai, after God led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, that temptation reared its head and the Hebrews made for themselves an idol (Exodus 32). Even then, the Hebrews fell to worshipping the demon Baal, until the prophet Elijiah proved the supremacy of God and slayed the Baalite priests (1 Kings 18).

Whether in the twilight years of the Roman Empire, throughout the Middle Ages, into the age of discovery, or even now in the modern day, men are tempted to declare themselves God, to worship their own selves over the crucified and resurrected person of Christ, to adhere to their own principles or preachings as supreme. Leftism is simply the culmination of this evil, this unbridled, unrestrained pride, brought to the fore via political prowess and instituted in American culture via institutions long ago captured by the prophets of leftism: Marxists, communists, perverts, abortionists, eugenicists, atheists, relativists, and countless other little ideologues subservient to the Luciferian sin of naturalism.

The current division in America is not ultimately a matter of Left versus Right, of Democrat versus Republican, of communist versus capitalist, but of good versus evil, of naturalism (in the form of leftism) versus Christianity, of the fallen angel Lucifer and his minions versus the crucified and resurrected Christ and the forces of Heaven. The war being waged over America at present is not a matter of differing political opinions but of diametrically opposed religions.

One side says that unborn babies, the most innocent of all persons, may be executed at will, torn apart and unceremoniously vacuumed out of the wombs of their mothers; that children may, on a whim, decide to ingest hormones foreign and unnatural to their bodies before subjecting themselves to irreversible surgeries so horrific that not even the most warped and depraved authors of the 19th and 20th centuries could have imagined them; that procreation is wholly unrelated to the conjugal act, that two men might sodomize one another and call it “love”; that sex-trafficking and child sexual exploitation are just the price to be paid for virtual images of increasingly perverted sex acts, readily available to young and old at the mere click of a button; that a nation has no sovereignty and must be subjected to millions of unvetted, unrestricted immigrants.

The other side says that innocence is worth preserving, that unborn children and their mothers must be cherished and protected from the evils of the abortion mill; that children must be raised to think and think critically, think well, think deeply; that the family is the basic and fundamental unit of society, that the very fabric of civilization would unravel without the family as its basis; that love necessitates self-sacrifice, not self-gratification; that nations have a God-given right to defend their borders and preserve the safety and security of their own people; that Christ is indeed King.

This present war is not between two ideological factions but between powers and principalities, between leftism and Christianity, between good and evil, and between God and Satan. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

DO YOU WANT TO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS?

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“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.” Revelation 2:26-27

God has responsibilities in store for you in the Millennial Age to Come that you cannot imagine. You could literally end up being a general in the Lord’s army. You could literally end up subduing entire nations.

But make no mistake God is training His army now if you allow the Holy Spirit to direct your steps.. When He asks us to overcome various obstacles today, He is not only preparing us for our next “season” of life. At a more fundamental level He is also preparing us to wage war with Him and reign with Him in His Millennial Kingdom.

How we respond to adversity, hardships, disappointment, persecution, temptation, and unanswered prayers will determine our rank, position, and responsibilities in the kingdom of God. Don’t be surprised by adversity. This life is your job interview for the future.

Let us strive to be faithful and worthy of the honor the Lord will bestow upon us in His coming Millennial Kingdom. Let us seek His grace and keep His deeds until the end. Please pray for me, and I will pray for you.

Let us all start Living Eternal Now – Ready for Jesus’ Return. My book is available on Amazon as an ebook or trade paperback, or you can email me at ron.careshare@gmail.com and I will send you an autographed copy for US$20 including postage to anywhere in the world.

“When he comes on that day to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:10-12

THE TRUTH OF IT

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God’s existence confronts us with the reality that there is an ultimate, secure truth from outside ourselves that has something decisive to say about who each of us is. We cannot escape this truth. We can only submit to it or rebel against it.

  1. We are made by God (Genesis 1:26). Nothing makes itself, particularly a Cosmos as intricately designed as it is to sustain all forms of life.
  2. We are made to bear God’s image (Genesis 1:27). There is a high calling for our lives, which involves putting God’s character on display through a holy life and righteous actions.
  3. We are made with a breath of life from God (Genesis 2:7): “The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.“
  4. We have a spirit: “Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1), “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? (1 Corinth. 2:11). This is an important verse: human self-awareness, intellect, creativity, personality, and temperament – everything that enables human accomplishment come through the unseen presence of the human spirit. “Man is going to his eternal home… and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7), “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” (Proverbs 20:27). When a person accepts Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, they receive the Holy Spirit from our Heavenly Father so that the spirit of man can truly be the lamp of the Lord. A lamp cannot function without oil (Holy Spirit). Our spirit was always meant to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
  5. We are made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). This means that even though we were made in God’s image, we are not gods. We are creatures—finite, lacking certain power and knowledge, and wholly dependent. We are not immortal. “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality,” (1 Timothy 6:15-16)
  6. We were made for dominion (Genesis 1:26)—to bring God’s will to God’s world.
  7. We were made to live up to a design as either a male or a female (Genesis 1:27). This is the calling for our lives.
  8. We are fallen in Adam (Genesis 3, 5:1–3; Romans 5:12). Because of the fall, our identity contains sin and death. Our inner selves are corrupt. Our eternity is an eternal second death. This is the great tragedy of the modern identity worldview. It traps people in themselves. It traps us in our sin.
  9. We can be restored to glory and eternity through the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:49), the true image of God in the “dust” of human flesh (Colossians 1:15). When we accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord our Heavenly Father sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our spirit, so it can once again be the lamp of the Lord.

MAN’S WORD VERSUS GOD’S WORD

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Churches need to teach foundationally, and Christians need to understand our thinking must start with God’s Word, Genesis chapters 1–11, the foundation for everything. Because so many Christian leaders have compromised Genesis 1–11 with evolution and millions of years, most Christians have not been taught the foundational doctrines and therefore a true biblical worldview.

Many Christians just look at what they perceive as the “problems” and try to figure out how to take these to the Bible to understand what to do. But those with a true biblical worldview know that God’s Word beginning in Genesis is the foundation for that worldview. They also know there are ultimately only two foundations for people’s worldviews—God’s Word or man’s word.

For those who build their thinking on man’s word (the foundation of the secular education system), a worldview of moral relativism results. Thus, marriage is how they define it. Because man is seen as just an animal, abortion is no different than killing an animal. People who are aged and infirm are seen as a drain on the health system and therefore euthanasia should be used to stop their suffering and costly care. Gender is plastic and one can (try to) change gender using drugs and surgery if they want.

When a person builds their thinking on God’s Word, their worldview is determined by God our Creator. Thus, God created marriage, so there’s only one marriage—one man and one woman. Humans are made in the image of God, so abortion (at any stage) is murder. God made only two genders of humans: male and female.

Two foundations with two very different worldviews. The clash we see happening in our culture is one between two totally opposite worldviews, and at a foundational level, it’s a battle between God’s Word and man’s word.

Once we understand the real battle is at the foundational level, we understand that to battle all the social issues (abortion, gender, gay “marriage,” racism, etc.), one must recognize them as symptoms of a foundational problem. The problem is that people have built their worldview on the wrong foundation of man’s word.

Now, if all those social issues are the same ultimate problem, they must have the same solution. And they do. The solution has always been the truth of God’s Word and the saving gospel. Many, though, have been indoctrinated to think the Bible is an outdated book of mythology and that science proves it can’t be trusted, particularly in its history in Genesis 1–11. That’s where apologetics answers the attacks on God’s Word and shows we can defend the Christian faith. That’s why Answers in Genesis provides scientific and biblical answers to the questions of our day that are used to attack and undermine God’s Word. So the solution to the social issues is to battle at a foundation level. To do that, we need to raise up generations who know how to think foundationally and are equipped with apologetics.

Go to http://www.answersingenesis.org and http://www.creation.com for resources to equip you with answers to young people’s questions on origins.