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Faith, Life, Politics, Uncategorized

Doomed to Repeat History (Election 2016)

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Old sayings tend to stand the test of time because they offer lessons gleaned from past experience. 

Learn from your mistakes. 

Think past your current situation. 

Weigh the consequences of your decision. 

Money is the root of all evil.

It is easy to take Liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. 

He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.

Everybody blames the culture without taking responsibility.

Unfortunately we have a large voting population of people who don’t take much time to learn and read about the past. They either don’t care about history or they are too self absorbed to see that everything around them is falling apart. The security that we so enjoy and the freedoms that we actually have are eroding away little by little. The seeds of evil intent are planted all around them, but they don’t know that. They don’t believe that. Why would they? Science taught them in elementary school that there is no creator, no devil, no spirits controlling the minds of men. Yes, indeed all people everywhere are kind and gentle with no aspirations to deceive to gain power. 

No, never has there been a man who deceived the people of such a powerful country and tricked its citizens into voting him in for change. No one ever used the patriot’s call of making their country great again to take control of a nation. Well, except….

I’ve often wondered if the generation before me felt that my generation would be the end of our country. At times I feel like the generation after me certainly could be. Sometimes there are glimmers of hope. Yet, the glimmers tend to be spread out among a field of dark minds who only think about “what’s in it for me”. Shells of people, skin deep people, people unable to think through the full spectrum of consequences related to a life decision. Even lacking the ability to understand that every choice we make has the potential to be a life altering decision.

I heard a Christian rap song today by KB called “Church Clap” and it made me think of this election cycle. One of the lyrics says; “we need discernment, check what you be affirmin”. This is exactly what we should be saying to our church friends today before they vote on Tuesday. Let’s not repeat history again.

I’ll leave you with these passages and quotes:

“All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.”
Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 NASB

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana)  

 

Citations:

Wikiquote. George Santayana. Retrieved 02/23/2016,     From https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Santayana

Bible.com. Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 NASB. Retrieved 02/23/2016, From http://bible.com/100/ecc.1.8-11.NASB

 

Copyright Johnathan Sexton

Faith, Life, Politics

How Might David Pray Today?

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This has been a rough election year in Arkansas. I have never seen so many half-truths in campaign ads. This year is especially full of negative ads and untruthful insinuating in the Senate and Governor’s race.

I was reading R. Kent Hughes’ book “Disciplines of a Godly Man” in chapter 11 today. This chapter is about disciplining the tongue. He referenced this chapter in Psalms that I thought really fit for this election year.

Psalms 12:1-8  Help, Lord , for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue— those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord . “I will protect them from those who malign them.” And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. You, Lord , will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.
(Bible.com)

Faith, Politics

Wickedness returns to Iraq, an end times thought

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The latest issues in Iraq are happening for many reasons, I’ll list just a few. First, a weak Iraqi government and fearful spirit in their military personnel. Second, a weak U.S. leader whose foreign policy is to let whatever terror group take over what they can. Then, there is that whole Bible prophecy thing.

The obvious reason, in plain site of the world, is that the Iraqi military has not stood up and held back what is yet another radical Islamist terror group taking over a middle-eastern country. This is a bit different though in that our U.S. government (CIA, etc.) is not secretly backing this takeover like in the other countries that have recently undergone regime changes. No, this takeover is really just another replay of an age-old battle that has been happening over and over for a few centuries in the region. This battle is between different Muslim groups who claim rights over the country, and one of these groups happens to be very strict and is known to be very evil in terms of how they treat women.

Our government leadership in the U.S. has known that this was happening for several months now, and has chosen to drag their feet on a response and worry about poll numbers and how a response may or may not lead to votes in the mid-term elections in November. I know that putting boots on the ground in Iraq again is not an easy decision. That may not be the approach we should take, but we should at least provide the support that is requested from the Iraqi government. Unless for some reason our leadership wants that country split into three regions for some reason (Kurds, Sunni, and Shi’ite).  This may not be a bad idea if your only goal is stability, but the Shi’ite group should not be allowed to continue their horrible treatment of women and overly cruel practices of punishment and religious intolerance.

Now, the real reason behind this is that it is part of a bigger plan. A part of Bible prophecy. I know, we hear this every time something happens in the middle-east. Somehow some religious personality is going to link anything they see to the end times. Well, if the shoe fits!

So, here is a little short breakdown of what to watch for. If you see these signs over the next few months/year, you’ll know what is up. You should know that Bible scholars are not all in agreement on the literal nature of some of these prophecies because you could very easily see where Babylon could actually refer to the current day economic center of the world (maybe New York).

1. Zechariah 5:5-11 talks about wickedness being taken to Shinar (Iraq or Babylonia) and oddly enough the chapter uses a woman to symbolize the wickedness. I don’t know why. I know a woman is used as a symbol in prophecy a few times, but I don’t think they all tie together. It also mentions a cover made of lead over the basket. This may mean nothing, but you could note that bullets contain lead and so do bombs.

2. The Iraq wars in the 1990s and 2000s were bad. However, the Bible prophecy talks of great numbers of casualties that would take place in that region in the end times. This makes one think that there would need to be some weapon of mass destruction used against a major population center in the country (Jeremiah 51:29). Might that come from Iran or terrorists? I’m not sure. Israel will also get involved somehow.

3. According to which scholar you read, insert WW3 here. (not necessarily Armageddon, but an attack on Israel where God intervenes)

4. After this great loss of life and desolation, a leader will stand up and will convince this region and the those around it to sign a 7 year peace arrangement. Somehow Israel and its foes will be talked into having peace together and they will sign a peace initiative of some kind. (Daniel 9:27) This may also include Russia and Iran (Gog and Magog maybe) as they are surely part of the WW3 scenario above.

5. Babylon (current day Hillah, south of Baghdad), will be rebuilt and will become the center of trade for the region.  Some scholars differ and say that this may be any new city built that is set up as the economic and religious center of the world. Also, a new Temple will be built in Jerusalem (which will of course anger many Muslims).

6. About 3.5 years into the new Peace time (7 year covenant) the anti-Christ will desecrate the new Temple, which is obviously a bad idea because that is going to bring the wrath of God. (2 Thes. 2:3-4)

So, when does the rapture and the tribulation period take place? There is a lot of debate on those. Let’s just make sure we are all ready for the rapture when it happens.