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The Past Reveals the Truth!

Today as I observe and experience life in America I am shocked at how so many of my friends and family choose to be ignorant. Yes, I said it!

People who are calling themselves Christian today and turning their eyes away from the evil that is spreading like a plaque through our modern day churches, where the Bible is trampled and pages are ripped out so as not to offend someone, and being led by Pastors ignoring sin as described clearly in scripture are soon going to find themselves standing on the outside wondering what happened. This is not said in judgement but in concern for those who are following leaders who know how to tickle the ears and appeal to the flesh.

When our government passes laws that totally ignore God’s word and make it a crime to obey the basic tenets as given in holy scripture it is time for us as citizens to change that government and replace the evil with the good! This country’s founding fathers put in place the mechanism, if honored, that can peacefully change and manage our governments at all levels.

It is every Christian’s responsibility to stand strong on God’s word and to be active and to make the changes in our God given power to make these legal changes by utilizing these laws that are in place. These laws which also protect our rights to free speech and to worship without interference by the government, also give us the right and responsibility to select who we want to represent us in our government. This is most important for Christians because if we do nothing we are saying to evil, “you decide for me”, “you pick my representatives”!

This amazing country that we live in was most certainly founded on Biblical Judeo Christian values by men who were far from perfect but were given supernatural guidance. The true history of the Pilgrims and the Puritans has been so corrupted by todays education system of indoctrination that even the teachers that are teaching it are dumbfounded when they learn the truth! The history of patriotic pastors and the determination of their church members reveals that it was in fact the church that was the backbone that led to our independence as a nation. King George and his counselors proclaimed initially that the uprising in the colonies was brought on by Presbyterians.

It was the ‘Great Awakening” with George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, and others that brought spiritual unity across denominations and the Colonies together in such a way that the idea of a “united Nation” could actually be realized. It was the hand of God that truly moved through George Whitfield as he traveled from town to town preaching the gospel with power and authority, reportedly over 18,000 sermons throughout nearly all 13 colonies. It was the love of God and the appreciation of God’s word that brought the country back to the founding roots that reminded the colonists/settlers why their parents and grandparents came to America and why they were in America too. Our Christian history in the forming of this nation can not by denied or ignored and anyone who does so is not a friend of yours, of our country or of God!

I have studied the Bible for over 60 years and I love and believe it. I accept God as almighty and Jesus as His only son whereby only by faith in Him can anyone be saved! I have studied our American history for many years. I have heard many challenges to our humble beginnings and respect others ideas and beliefs, I respect that they can be sincerely wrong and misguided just as many in our churches today are. Our concern is that many are being led to a lifetime of deceit, misery and eternal damnation.

As a minister to Pastors let us insert here that we have many wonderful Pastors who are brave Champions for God serving throughout America today and we applaud them. Sadly there are many many more Pastors who are willingly silent as their sheep are being hurt by government and regulatory changes. These Pastors are feeling the same impact on their families and saying nothing and doing less. As a Pastor you can not allow someone to shut you up because they say “something is Political”. As a Pastor you must teach truth and right from wrong. It is not showing “grace” if your silence allows your congregants to go into eternity without a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ! 

If you are not calling sin out at all levels from personal lifestyle to governmental laws redefining marriage and God’s design for man and woman, then it may be time to step back and review your own relationship with God! Yes, this may sound hard but these and other sins are specifically identified in God’s Holy Word!

History shows that when God’s people turned away from His statutes and his commandments then His judgement would always come! It also shows that when His people repented and fell before Him he would forgive their sin. Pastor, I trust that you are in God’s word and faithfully study it. You may be a wonderful biblical scholar. Now I will challenge you to become an expert on our American History too, at least know how we began as a nation and how Pastors were a vital part of this.

Pastor you are not alone. There are many Pastors in your community that feel your pain, confusion and maybe your shame but now is not the time to hunker down in a fetal position. Now is the time to educate yourself. You become the expert. You “Shepherd” the flock God has given you with boldness. Prepare your flock by equipping them with knowledge and the truth of what is happening in our world today. You teach with authority of the scripture without fear of man but fear of God! Surround yourself with other Pastors who will join you. Start or join a Champions Table. Your family and congregation need you to be strong and above all don’t be afraid of your sheep. You are there to fight for them not with them!

There are four action items that I suggest:

#1 Read “The Black Robe Regiment” by Pastor Dan Fisher (a must for Pastors)

#2 Take the “Biblical Citizenship Course” offered by The Patriot Academy and FREE through “TPUSA Faith”

#3 Read “One Nation Under God” by Attorney David Gibbs, Jr, “Ten things every Christian needs to know about the Founding of America”

#4 Read “The American Story” by David and Tim Barton,  by America’s foremost authorities on America’s Founding Fathers

These 4 things will give an accurate historical foundation of this country that is Biblical and supported with actual documentation. It is what every Christian in America should know! (We have provided these links for you for convenience only. We have no tie to any of these authors other than being Christian brothers.)

As a prayer ministry we are constantly praying for our Pastors. We love and provide encouragement to Pastors around the world. If you would like for me and Linda to pray for you and start sending you our personalized e-prayer please register with us. We know how hard pastoring is and you need to know someone is faithfully praying!  

I pray that you will do the 4 things suggested and you will see for yourself why I say “The Past Reveals the Truth”

 

 

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“The Shift” a Sci-Fi Thriller based on the Book of Job!

“The Shift” is an incredibly well written movie set in modern times but based on the story of Job in the Bible. This movie will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. The relationships of the characters are very authentic and most will identify with one or more of the characters at different times in your life.

This movie brings the supernatural to a new level of thinking for most Christians and will definitely grab the attention of the sci-fi fans as well. When Kevin Garner meets The Benefactor he is carried to the multiverse and the struggle between good and evil begins.

The very emotions that you can imagine that Job must have experienced comes to life on the big screen in epic proportions! In the movie Kevin’s personal life is under attack and his faith is questioned. He is carried thru the multiverse thru time and space. He even fights with himself! He meets many people along this journey some good and some not so good! Just like real life.

When watching “The Shift” you will feel all the struggle Kevin feels and will see the many temptations “The Benefactor” brings to try and break Kevin.

This is masterfully done and I believe it will appeal to todays audience whether Christian or not. I am purposefully being a bit vague because I do not want to spoil it in any way for you.

The cast is incredible with: Neal McDonough(Band of Brothers), Sean Astin(Lord of the Rings/Rudy), Kristopher Polaha(Wonder Woman 1984), Rose Reid(Finding You), John Billingsley(Star Trek: Enterprise), Emily Rose(Haven) and from (The Chosen) Liz Tabish, Paras Patel and Jorden Walker Ross.

This movie also has discussion guides prepared for your use as well as a five day reading plan that can be accessed in the website.

We are being blessed with another Angel Studio’s movie that is highly entertaining and very powerful! “The Shift” will touch lives that tradition will not. Now is the time for churches to embrace this as a great opportunity to reach the lost and offer hope to many who may never enter their church!

To learn more and get advanced tickets : Click Here

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CHAPTER 3 BECOMING A VESSEL OF HONOUR

 

By: Pastor Joshua Gwara Omolo, Kenya, Africa


2Timothy 2: 20: – But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of
wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purges
himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use,
and prepared unto every good work
Definition of a vessel
The word vessel is often used in the Bible, and in English terms it translates to be either a
container such as a bowl or a jug, or either a ship or a boat. The Biblical meaning denotes a
person whom God calls and uses as a vessel.
God’s plan to all mankind is to use men for a special purpose and special calling to fulfill the
purposes of God. The primary purpose of God to all men is to worship God in truth and in the
Spirit.There are also numerous advantages and blessings that accompany the when an
individual accepts to be used by God as a vessel, there is a special level of honour and favor that
manifest when a believer choses to obey God’s command to be used by Him and those
blessings comes in handy to remove the shortcomings in the life of the carrier of the grace of
honour.
The power of being a vessel of honour
Some challenges can only persist in your life simply because you are yet to yield to the calling of
God. Becoming a vessel of honour is a choice in life. A person who has chosen to accept God’s
calling has the opportunity to undergo divine transformation process that leads to experience
of honour and favour from God. Greatness in life can only manifest in the life of a man who is
able to accommodate the process of sanctification and transformation that comes from God.
The call of Simon Peter by Jesus is what led him to be transformed from being a fisherman to
being an Apostle (fishers of men), “a chosen vessel.” The word “chosen” implies that he was
special, precious, valued and prized. Even before Peter started serving God he was special in
the eyes of the Lord.. Jesus is on record telling Peter, “follow me and I will make you fishers of
men” (Mark 1:16-20) and that comes with honour. All of us are very special to the Lord. All of us
have great value to God. We possess certain uniqueness in us different from the other people
around us.

The Purpose Driven Life
The purpose as to why God created man is to serve God. Our worship to God is the number one
assignment in life. Our God the father of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is very categorical in
His word when He says in the book of John 4:23 – Yet a time is coming and now has come when
the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of
worshippers the Father seeks. God is looking for true worshipers whose hearts are inclined to
the word of God, this therefore calls for mankind to offer himself as a living sacrifice.
Our worship to God is always hindered due to the fallen nature of mankind. There are many
things in our life that requires purging for God to use us as vessels of honour; for us to become
carriers of the divine power of God it requires total sacrifice where we should purpose to live
selfless life fully dedicated to the master’s need. The need for us to purge ourselves from the
carnal desires is extremely important in order to create sufficient space for the Spirit of God to
sanctify us in readiness for the work of God.
Learn to purge yourself by choosing to live a holy life
Holiness is a choice and not a chance in life. The reward that comes with it is beyond
imagination. Holiness is the pillar on which God’s divine promises to successful life is pegged
on. The Bible says without holiness it is impossible to please God. We can engage in so many
activities in life but without holiness then all that we are doing is exercise in futility. There is
need for our value systems to go through serious purging process for us to be transformed to
be like Christ.
We carry a lot of dry bones within us after the fall of man and the process of sanctification is
inevitable for the purpose of our transformation.
The old nature which was the nature of the sinful man cannot qualify to become a vessel of
honour that can be entrusted by God to carry his glory. True believers must purpose to become
intentional faithful worshippers and deliberately invest serious capital in quality work of
spiritual development in order to acquire the gold status in the kingdom of God (Phil 2:12 –
work out your salvation with fear and trembling).
Kingdom of God operates on reward system
Salvation is purely by grace but the rewards from God are based on the good works. The
faithful followers of Christ must desire to live a life like Christ himself. Purging process is that
step of choosing to say no to ungodly behaviors and to say yes to those things that glorifies
God. Our salvation requires quality investment on character development. We need to be
accountable to one another, the church needs to develop the habit of reading and studying the

Bible. Application of the word in our day to day walk with Christ is the main proof of a new life
in Christ Jesus. Let every believer in Christ Jesus learn to not only hear the word but also
become doers of the word; meditating on the word day and night in order to make the word of
God dwell in us richly is key to spiritual development. Every level in our spiritual walk with God
attracts a given measure of favor commensurate to that level and every believer has an
opportunity to choose the level they want to belong.
It is important to remember that everyone shall be rewarded according to their works. The
quality of your investment and the value of the materials invested. In Genesis 5:24 – Enoch
walked with God and he was no more seen; for God took him away. Enoch simply allowed God
to increase in him till there was nothing left of him that death could claim. We need to learn to
reduce so that God may increase in us on daily basis. Quality work on our personality and
interest’s that conflicts against the intentions of God must be purged for the Spirit of God to
sanctify us in preparation for the next level. We must learn to sacrifice our time, finances and
energy by giving them fully to the Lord’s service then we will increase in the knowledge of God.
Four levels of vessels/workers in the kingdom of God: –

  1. Gold
  2. Silver
  3. Wood and
  4. Clay
    5 Kingdom Principles to becoming a vessel of honour
  5. Arm your soul with the power of love – Mark 12:30-31 – Love the Lord your God with all
    your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…
  6. Guard your soul/heart – Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else, guard your heart, for everything
    you do flows from it
  7. Purge yourself – 2Tim 2:21 – those who cleanse themselves from the latter.., James
    5:16:- confess your faults one to another
  8. Avail yourself for God – Isaiah 6:8 – whom shall I send and who will go for us. (Mathew
    24:38-39 – For as in the days that were before the flood…)
    -Mathew 9:37-38 – The harvest is plenty but the laborers are few…
  9. Build Trust – Luke 16:10 -Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted
    with much.
    Love covers a multitude of sin. – Mark 12:30-31 – Love the Lord your God with all your
    heart….

Love is a person and it is the person of God. Love determines the wellness of the condition of
your soul. When your soul is sick then you suffer acute limitations in living a purpose driven life.
Lack of love creates a high level deficiency of passion to please God in everything you do hence
leading to boredom. When you hear people say that they don’t find a meaning in life the reason
behind is that love of God is not present in that person. Many people who commit suicide fall in
this category where they try to substitute the love of God with other substances which doesn’t
work at all. Love is a force of God, it has power over hate.
Two forces govern this world: the force of hate and the power of love. John 3:16 – for God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not
perish but have an everlasting love. Jesus was full of love and the Bible says he did good in
every place he went. Vessels of honour worthy to be used by God are supposed to be agents
and carriers of the love of God. The easiest way to defeat evil in the present world is to show
love even to your enemy.
We steal and cheat because we do not love. We commit immorality because we do not love.
Sex outside marriage destroys both parties involved. Government leaders embezzle public
resources because they do not love. In fact man sinned and channeled all evil into the world
because he chose to let go of God’s love. God is calling all men back to the first love through
effective repentance. Revelation 2:1-2 – Nevertheless I have this against you, that you left your
first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first work.. God
is raising case against the church in Ephesus about the lost love. Love is a force from God and
hate is a force from Satan (1John 4:7). You live in the light when you carry love. Just as light has
power over darkness so love has power over hate.
In the book of Hebrews 10:32, says “When the people were in the bloom of their first love,
were they enthusiastic! They put everything into their relationship. They yielded themselves to
God” The love for God surpasses everything in life because it is the core foundation of the
reason for our living. We are blessed the way we are today because of the great love God has
for us, and if we are indeed the children of God then we need to exhibit the same of the father
to the world. Ephesians 2:4-5 – But because of His great love for us , God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have
been saved.
Many wars and rumors of war happening in the world today are orchestrated by hate because
love is absent. Many families have become dysfunctional because there is no love. The
shootings in our public schools are happening because of hate. God is calling all men to
embrace His love by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior over our life for us to experience
the true love of God, it is impossible to share the love of God without the salvation of Jesus
Christ. When we receive Christ Jesus then we can become a vessel of honour.

Guard your soul/heart – Proverbs 4:23 – above all else guard your hearts………
Self-preservation is the enemy number one to spiritual prosperity. When we quit thinking about
ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of
consciousness ( By Joseph campell). Self-sacrifice is the heavenly language and the truest
weapon to guard our heart. The Bible says in Mathew 16:25 – “For whoever wants to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it” We must learn to carry our
cross daily and follow Christ.
The heart of a man is the center piece of his/her personality. Every bit of the destruction of a
man begins at the point when the heart is corrupted through perversion. Proverbs 4:23 –
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free
from perversity; keep corrupt talks far from your lips, let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your
gaze directly before you. The most effective way to guard your heart is by ensuring that the
four main gates in your body are properly manned. The two gates in human body are the eyes
and the mouth
Guarding your heart is essential in the context of sin because it helps you protect your inner
most self from the deceptive allure of sinful temptations. It involves making choices that align
with your moral and spiritual values, avoiding harmful influences, and striving for a pure heart.
In the Bible the heart is considered the seat of life or strength. Hence it means mind, soul, spirit,
or one’s full emotional nature and understanding.
Guarding your heart involves energizing your life with the transforming truth of God’s love and
God’s word. Never treat scripture like a collection of facts. Pay attention to all the instructions
given by God in His word. The servant of God Joshua was told by God himself to ensure to
mediate the word of God day and night and to observe to do all that is written in the word and
then God will prosper you together with your children. Listen closely to the word of God.
Engage in a routine spiritual service to clean your heart on regular basis by reading the word of
God which is the Bible and meditate on the word. Our character tends to follow the path of
what we constantly meditate about whether good or bad. When you form a habit of meditating
on the word of God then this will positively build high self-esteem. People who suffer low self-
esteem cannot perform to the expectation of their masters, as the Bible says in the book of
Proverbs 23:7 – As a man thinketh, so is he. This expression means that what someone says or
does is directly proportionate to what he thinks. The mind here becomes the primary breeding
ground for who we become.
The consequences of unguarded heart can manifest in so many ways for instance poor choices,
broken relationships, hurt and disappointments. But remember when we mess up and are not

the best version of ourselves, God is faithful to forgive and restore. The desire to press on and
walk closer to the Lord is all we need.
Purge yourself – 2Tim 2:21 – If a man therefore purges himself…….
Confession of our sins to God and one to another is the primary foundation means to purging
ourselves from sinful desires. You must make concrete and even extreme choices against that
which you have sinfully desired. There needs to come a time when you need to take a break
and move to a solitary place and call yourself to a meeting room where you dialogue with your
spirit, you need to reach a point where you take a vote on issues that matters not only in this
temporal life here on earth but also on matters regarding eternity. Self-assessment based on
the truth of the word of God is extremely important when you start evaluating your
performance in life. It is at this point that you can make independent decision which is devoid
of any human influence as the third party.
Vessels of honour are costly to make and they take time and a lot of sacrifice to produce. The
same principle applies when you reach a point where you must let go and let God have his will
and way in your life. Sometimes it will cost you to separate from some of the friends you value
so much. In some instances it will cost you to reject certain offers for the sake of Christ, but in
all these it’s worth paying the price for the sake of the prize ahead. I want to just remind us that
there is a crown awaiting those that will overcome in heaven, so there is need to keep
reminding ourselves this fact in order to make the wise decision to glorify God in all that we do.
I hope you believe in the say that goes, “in life no pain no gain”
Guarding your heart in essential in the context of sin because it helps you protect your
innermost self from the deceptive allure of sinful temptations. It involves making choices that
align with your moral and spiritual values, avoiding harmful influences and striving for a pure
heart. The reason David sang to the Lord saying, “Create in me a clean heart and renew your
right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Only God can create in you a clean heart, all other human
efforts cannot achieve anything of this kind.
Allow God to constantly search your heart and show you if there is any evil that needs
attention. Always ensure that you carefully weigh your heart at all times to ensure it remains
pure. Prayerfully you can seek for God’s guidance and protection. Learn to set aside time when
you can dedicate yourself to the reading and meditation of the word of God so that he word
may dwell in you richly, this calls for discipline to overcome the temptation of being glued to
the gadgets and television.
It is prudent to learn to evaluate all information before you consume them. Social media is a
wash of much illicit information that comes with the intention to pollute people’s minds.
Pornographic images and literatures is a deadly poison to the heart.

Avoid rourmour mongering and spreading of lies and propaganda among your friends. Your
tongue must be bridled if you are to walk right with God. The tongue is a small part of the body
but it can wreak havoc if left unchecked at all time. All these are steps to becoming a vessel of
honour which God can use for noble purposes in the kingdom
Availability for God’s service – Isaiah 6:8 – Whom shall I send……
We are living in a very fast world where everything seems to be on the first lane, this culture
has permeated in the church where we are almost rubbishing the need for fellowship. Almost
everything is going virtual so much so that today many churches are having majority of their
members attending virtually especially after the covid19 effects.
Virtual fellowship is good but physical fellowship is better. We will never reach a point of
satisfaction by substituting our physical presence in the presence of God with gadgets. Jesus
second coming will not be virtual but physical, it’s the reason God wants you physically
regardless of your busy schedule. Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day
approaching.
God is looking for people whom he can send worldwide. The harvest is plenty but the laborers
are few because not many people are ready to avail themselves to be sent by God. Many
excuses that we keep on advancing cannot hold water at all. Some are waiting to serve when
it’s convenient, others are waiting till they retire then is when they can engage in the ministry.
Elisha was unable to stand mentorship of his master prophet Elijah when he tried to still hold
on to the things of the world and his people. Elijah had to rebuke him sharply that is when
Elisha saw the need to go back and slaughter the oxen then he came back and served Elijah
effectively and finally he got a double portion of his anointing.
You cannot become a vessel of honour till you refuse to remain an average Christian, carrying
average testimony, earning average income and living average life. God’s vision and dream for
you is abundant life (Joh 10:10 – The thief comes not but to steal, to kill and to destroy: I am
come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly). Double portion
anointing which was received by Elisha was as a result of total sacrifice and quality focus on the
things of God. Both your time and money are needed to be available for the Lord/s service.
When you serve God, you grow closer to Him. You learn more about His character and what He
desires for your life. As you draw near him he reveals more of Himself to you and gives you a
greater understanding of His will. Serving God also strengthen your faith and deepens your
trust in Him.

When you become available and serve God, you grow closer to Him and God promises to
establish your plans. You need to commit to Him every day and committing just means giving
your best every day to God. You don’t need to be perfect. Belong to a fellowship where you are
known by the leadership that you are a member. Participate in the programs of your church or
fellowship with the rest of the church members.
One of the best ways to know that you are available to the service of God is when the programs
of your church or fellowship are fairly accommodated in your diary. When you grow to the
point where you can decline certain rising assignment because you have already dedicated that
time to God in your calendar then that will be a sign that indeed you are available and ready for
growth. The only way you can be disciple to grow to maturity in Christ is when you allow your
spiritual mentor to determine a sizable portion of your diary. God through his servants who are
your mentors sometimes can change your personal plans you had already slotted in your diary
and you will not need to struggle so much to accommodate the God given instruction, which is
obedience.
The desire to make more wealth has remained today one of the main obstacle to availability for
God’s service. Many churches are struggling to gather sufficient quorum of congregation
because members are doubling from job employment to other businesses, many working for
over twelve hours a day in order to make the ends meet. Unfortunately the money is never
enough, this trend has turned around God’s plan where now people are serving money instead
of money being the servant to men.
Build Trust – Luke 16:10 -Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with
much.
Trusty deficit is a big challenge today not only among the spouses but also between man and
God. Many businesses have gone under based on lack of trust among the employees. Trust is
the currency that can never experience recession regardless of the season of life. Trust is like
the air we breathe, when it is present nobody notices; when it is absent, everybody notices.
Mistrust begets mistrust; trust begets accomplishment. Many pastor are struggling to accept
the concept of champions table because they are wondering whom they can trust with
sensitive information about them.
Many employees fail to get their promotions at their places of work because of trust deficit.
Majority of spouses have divorced because they suffered trust deficit in their marriage.
Corruption and economic challenges being experienced in many nations across the world can
be directly linked to mistrust among the leaders in government.
God is looking for men who can be entrusted with little so that they can graduate to much.
Always learn to do what you believe is right, even when others disagree, will lead others to

respect your honesty. Interestingly when building trust, you must be willing to upset others in
occasion. Do not be thirsty of affirmation from men if you want to build trust because most of
your decision will not be appealing to the majority around you.
Mathew 3:17 – And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well
pleased!” This was God’s signature of trust He had on Jesus. Trust is the master key that opens
the strong room of great success that money cannot buy. Risking your heart by trusting
someone else to take care of it takes courage, and that’s the reason why when you choose to
trust another person, you step out of your comfort zone.
The Lord is telling us in Jeremiah 17:7-8 – Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, The man
who puts his decision based on the faith in God. The man whose value system is aligned to the
will of the Lord is that man who is ready to forego anything for the sake of relationship with
God. Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only son Isaac because He trusted in the Lord God.
When he fully obeyed God then it was counted righteousness by faith.
God wants to give you life of abundance, influence, greatness, confidence and balance if only
you trust Him. The journey of faith must begin with first and foremost trusting upon the Lord
Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior of your life. When you trust in the Lord he will give you
power to become the son of God. John 1:12 – But to all who received him, to those who
believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. Trust in the Lord is the seed
that begets life eternal in Christ through the washing of the blood of Jesus. You can change your
life today by choosing to become trust worthy in all your relationships. Above all you can be
saved if you choose to trust in the Lord with all your heart, with your entire mind and with all
your spirit
Trust can be built by placing block after the other, and with gradual commitment till it becomes
a powerful tool to make you become a vessel of honour .A vessel that God can use to bring
glory to His name. You should purpose to use every tool given by God which is the application
of the word of God to build trust with God and with the people around you.

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The Iniquity of the Amorites is still Alive Today!

God made a puzzling statement to Abraham while establishing His covenant with the patriarch, linking the time that Israel would sojourn in Egypt to the behavior of one group of people. 

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:13–-16, ESV)

Iniquity is easy enough to understand; it means sin, vice, or immorality. But what did the Amorites do that God found so offensive? Who were these people and where did they come from?

The Amorites first stepped onto the world stage in the middle of the third millennium B.C. The earliest known reference to an Amorite was from the ancient city of Shuruppak, dated to about 2600 B.C. According to the Sumerian King List, Shuruppak, about halfway between modern Baghdad and the Persian Gulf, was the home city of the last Sumerian king before the Flood. That king was either a man named Ubara-Tutu or his son, the hero of the Sumerian flood myth, Ziusudra, the Mesopotamian Noah.

Scholars disagree on the location of the Amorite homeland. There are two main candidates: One is Jebel Bishri, a low mountain range along the west side of the Euphrates River in central Syria. The other is the Diyala River valley, which descends from the Hamrin mountains toward modern Baghdad. This is the traditional border between Iraq and Iran, and between Arab lands to the south and Kurdish territory to the north.

There is evidence for both theories. One of the peaks in the Jebel Bishri range, Jebel Diddi, may be named for an ancient Amorite tribe, the Didanu (or Tidanu, or Tidnum, depending on when and in what language it was written). Or it may be that the tribe was named for the mountain. Either way, the name is important.

Estonian scholar Amar Annus has demonstrated that the name of this ancient Amorite tribe was probably the origin of the name of the old Greek gods, the Titans. That’s significant, because it links the Amorites and their worship of gods connected to the netherworld, such as Molech, Dagan, Baal-Hammon, and the Rephaim, to the sinful angels mentioned by Peter and Jude—the “sons of God” of Genesis 6:1–4, called “Watchers” in Jewish texts of the Second Temple period such as the Book of the Watchers, or what we know now as the first thirty-six chapters of the Book of First Enoch.

Annus also showed that the Watchers were known as apkallu in ancient Mesopotamia long before the Second Temple period. They were considered sages who brought the gifts of civilization to humanity on behalf of Enki, the god of wisdom. That’s similar to the description of the Watchers in Enoch, although the Jewish and early Christian view of “gifts” like weapons, witchcraft, and mating with human women to produce giants was considerably less favorable than in, say, Babylon.

How do Watchers differ from run-of-the-mill angels? Unfortunately for us English speakers, our language lacks the richness of some others. The word “angel,” borrowed from the Greek angelos (“messenger”), hides the fact that there are several classes or categories of angel, such as malakim (“messenger”), cherubim, seraphim, ophanim (the wheels of Ezekiel’s vision), and others. Based on the use of the term in Enoch, it’s clear that Watchers were especially powerful and exercised free will. Their decision to commit what they knew was a sin suggests that they also had knowledge of good and evil.

Not coincidentally, the Bible tells us that these rebellious angels were cast into Tartarus, just like the Titans of the Greeks. Although your Bible probably reads “hell” in 2 Peter 2:4, the original Greek names Tartarus as the prison of these spirits. Tartarus is a separate place from Hades, a sort of maximum-security hell reserved for supernatural threats to the divine order. Yet the Amorites (and their descendants, the Phoenicians), Greeks, and Romans continued to worship the old gods, especially the king of the Titans, Kronos (Saturn to the Romans, Baal-Hammon to the Phoenicians). Their offspring, the demigod heroes such as Perseus and Hercules, were, by definition, Nephilim.

By 2000 B.C., the Tidanu tribe had developed a reputation across the ancient Near East of being mad, bad, and dangerous to know—so dangerous, in fact, that the last Sumerian kings of Mesopotamia ordered a massive public-works project directed at these savage Amorites. The kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur, a mighty city-state in what is now southeastern Iraq, built a wall north of modern Baghdad 175 miles long, from the Euphrates across the Tigris to the Diyala. This wall, which one smart-aleck scholar recently suggested was intended to “make Sumer great again,” was built specifically to keep the Tidanu away. We know this because the Sumerian name of the wall literally translates into English as, “Amorite Wall That Keeps Tidanu Away.”

The problem for Ur was that it didn’t keep Tidanu away. More on that later.

So, the big question for scholars is this: Did the Amorites come from the middle of Syria, or did they come from northeastern Iraq/northwestern Iran? The answer may be “yes” to both.

Some scholars believe that Amorites, specifically the Tidanu/Ditanu, began migrating east from around Jebel Bishri sometime in the middle of the tThird mMillennium B.C., moving through northern Mesopotamia and northwest Iran before descending the Diyala Vvalley and entering Sumer from the north. Evidence suggests that Amorites lived farther east into what is now Iran than previously thought, possibly following their flocks through the mountains or setting up trading posts along routes that connected Sumer to people living east of Mesopotamia. Lapis lazuli, a blue stone prized in the ancient world, is still found mainly in northeast Afghanistan, and it was used in art and jewelry in Egypt as far back as 3700 B.C. Merchants hauling cargo through the mountains needed places to eat, sleep, and care for their donkeys, and it appears that some of those ancient caravan stops on the eastern edge of Mesopotamia may have been staffed by Amorites by the time of Abraham in the early second millennium B.C.

We’re limited in how far back we can trace the Amorites. While it’s clear that the Amorites had their own language, most of what we know about it comes from deciphering Amorite names. Almost all of the early written records from the places they lived are in Sumerian or Akkadian. For example, while the moon-god was called Nanna by Sumerians and Sîn by Akkadians, he was Yarikh to the Amorites. But when Amorites came to power across the Near East after 2000 B.C., government documents were still written in Sumerian or Akkadian, even in diplomatic messages sent to faraway countries like Hatti (the Hittites, who controlled most of modern Turkey) and Egypt. So, piecing together Amorite culture and history from tablets written in Amorite will probably never happen. Tracing their movements is only possible by identifying Amorite names in Akkadian and Sumerian records.

While it can’t be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, evidence suggests that the cult of Kronos, king of the Titans, began where the Amorites were first identified. Stories of the old god did not originate in Greece. Instead, evidence firmly documents the earliest worship of Kronos in northern Mesopotamia (southern Turkey or northern Syria), and older circumstantial evidence points specifically to Jebel Bishri, exactly where the earliest Mesopotamian records place the Amorites.

At the risk of sounding like a television presenter (oh, wait—I am one), I have to ask It’s worth asking at this point: Is it possible that the Titans, called Watchers by the Hebrews, made an infernal bargain with the early Amorites? Was this why the Amorite kings who ruled nearly all the lands of the Bible in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob traced their ancestry back to one Ditana, the legendary founder of the Tidanu/Ditanu tribe? Could this explain the pride of the Amorites who founded Babylon, whose magicians considered themselves masters of occult knowledge received from the spirit realm before the Flood? Is this why Amorite kings as late as the time of the judges in Israel summoned “the council of the Ditanu” from the netherworld through necromancy rituals?

More important: Is the child sacrifice demanded by the old god, Kronos (and his other identities, Saturn and Baal-Hammon), the reason the practice continues even today?

Almost five thousand years after they emerged onto the world stage, the iniquity of the Amorites is still not complete. The bad news is the Watchers/Titans were not the only gods they served.

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Building a Healthy Destiny Social Life

By: Pastor Joshua Gwara Omolo, Kenya, Africa

Definition of social life
Three words are important here; Society, social life and relationship. A society is a group of
people that have common factors of life, and are therefore able to, not only co-exist, but also to
live together. The predominant factor of life they share here being culture. The fact that they
share the same culture empowers them to live in harmony in almost every aspect of life. That is
society. Many pastors are living in loneliness detached from the society and unable to feel the
Social life around them hence the reason All propastors international is addressing this
challenge by encouraging pastors to form champions table where they can defeat loneliness;
this is meant to empower them to master the individual’s manner of integration into the
society. Every man needs to understand and create an inbuilt capacity to correlate with each
member of the society and experience mutual benefit from the relationship
The perfect Relationship
Relationship on the other hand can be defined as, “the way in which two or more people or
groups regard and behave towards each other, and it is the state of being connected. God
never intended that any man should live in silos as it is the norm in many societies today
especially in the cities around the world. The book of psalm 133 clearly demonstrates the divine
benefits that can be achieved when people live together in unity, God pours his unprecedented
blessings in such kind of a fellowship beyond anyone’s’ imagination Allow me to say at this
point that the vast majority of the human population today is faced with the big problem of
broken relationship not only with fellow men but also with God the creator of Heaven and the
Earth.
The society we are living in today has become largely dysfunctional due to multiple systemic
failures which can be attributed to the broken relationship between man and God. When God
created the first man Adam he said it is not good for man to be alone then Eve was created to
complement and social life of Adam in order to solve the challenge of loneliness by providing an
effective companionship and to enable them to reproduce
Every level of relationship in life has a specific mutual benefit which should be realized by both
parties involved. The intention of God the author of the perfect relationship was to empower
mankind to develop an effective social life which is also dependent on God’s divine
supernatural relation with Him God the father. Many failures in the life of mankind today can be directly or indirectly attributed to the broken relationship between man and God; it is for
this reason that Jesus the son of God came and died on the cross in order to restore back the
original relationship between man and God. Jesus died for us to show God’s greatest love for
mankind and to restore our relationship with Him (John 15:13). In Jesus, God has shown us how
much He loves us, even while we are still sinners. In Christ we are assured of His constant love
that will never fail; this is the solid foundation for our relationship with God
Four Steps to Redeem our Relationship with God

  1. Receive the Gift of God who is Jesus
    Our spiritual birth is the perfect point of mending our relationship with God the father (John
    3:3-8). We need to believe in our heart that Jesus son of God died on the cross for our sins and
    on the third day he resurrected from the dead, then confess with our mouth that Jesus is our
    lord then we receive salvation immediately (Romans 10:9-10). Our restored relationship with
    God is the beginning of our ongoing transformation into Christ likeness (2Cor 5:17). The perfect
    relationship with God leads to perfect relationship with men.
    Only God can redefine our dysfunctional relationships in the society today. Embracing other
    items in an attempt to fill the void of the broken relationship cannot suffice at all. Many people
    have chosen to fellowship with gadgets instead of fellow men, but still the void of loneliness
    remains. God is the author of perfect relationship and we must admit that He is the only one
    who can restore this broken relationship.
    Many other things like pets too cannot substitute the place of effective relationship with fellow
    men. There is nothing wrong keeping these animals but God’s original plan was for men to
    relate with fellow men in accordance to the Patten and guidelines given by the scriptures in the
    Bible. The ultimate goal in the whole mix of relationship is to establish eternal relationship with
    God, relationship that knows no barrier so much so that even death cannot conquer it.
    Definition of social life
    Social life is a relational ability with fellow man. Healthy social life is the ability to build a
    healthy relationship with fellow man. You build the kind of relationship that enhances the well-
    being of each party involved. Your relationship with fellow man is built in such a way that each
    party involved draws optimal destiny benefits. It is a relationship that enhances mutual benefit
    for everyone involved. That is a healthy relationship.
    Not all relationships carry mutual benefit. Many relationships we form with fellow men are
    platforms of being used, in the end, only the user benefits. Some are platforms of being abused.
    Abuse is abnormal use. And at times the relationships are platforms on which people use us for very wrong things. You meet a house wife whose husband has turned her into a punching bag.

That is abuse. And that is not a healthy relationship.
Giving as a building block towards a healthy relationship
God has provided a very elaborate and well detailed protocol on how to engage and build a
healthy relationship through the principle of giving. The culture of giving is the master key to
almost every success. One story share by all those deemed to be successful in the world today
and this cuts across the divide is giving.
Offer your body as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing unto God. This is your spiritual act of
worship. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1). Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, God is
placing this non-negotiable terms and condition that His friends must surrender their bodies to
be owned and utilized for worship. Holiness is the act of individuals decision to separate
him/her self from any form of sinful indulgence, it is a choice deliberately made by the man of
faith to honor God with his body. The man of faith must learn to live according to the covenant
of the word. Failure to take this action of living a life full of sanctity is what is referred to
engaging in the patterns of the world. The world has its own culture and ways of doing thing.
Quiet often, the patterns of the worldly life is offensive to God because they are contrary to the
kingdom principles of living right with God.
The word of God says it more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 – In everything I did, I
showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the word of the
Lord Jesus himself said; “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” But the hard reality today is
that the culture of giving is diminishing by the day in every culture.
America became a great Nation based on the platform of giving, but the culture is diminishing
each and every day and no wonder some other the Tigger nations are emerging with such a
great challenge to the economy of the USA. The newly formed BRICS alliance has but one
agenda to sideline the US Dollar in order to bring down the US economy.
The great funding for missionary works that used to flow from America to Africa has reduced
significantly and the many churches activities in the outreach ministries in African has also
reduced marginally, seminary colleges that used to sponsor theology courses are turning into
commercial training institutions in order to remain a float. The Bible is saying that we should
not grow tired in doing good because it will soon flow back to us (Ecclesiastes 11:1 – cast thy
bread in many waters: for thou shall find it after many days)
All these changes are sponsored by the new emerging trend of the culture of materialism
where people would want to be defined by the wealth they own instead of the God they

worship, hence this has broaden the gap between the rich and the poor. Many economies in
African countries today project a grim picture of inequality; a quick profile of a society where
1% of the population owns the 99% of the wealth in the land while the 99% population are left
to survive on 1% of the wealth in the country, what a big shame and what a negative contrast.
Healthy relationship can never exist in such unequal society where majority of people die of
hunger instead of disease. A healthy relationship is a platform for sustainable peace. Peace is a
relational state of being. It is a state in which conflict has no power to access and shake your
relationship. A relationship that is attaining the state of peace manifests in conflicts being less
frequent. But the intensity of the conflict is also less and less. It takes longer to experience the
next conflict.
A healthy relationship has friendship. The Greek word ‘philos’ from which we obtain the word
‘friend’ means associate.
Friendship as a building block towards a perfect relationship
A friend is someone you associate with. When couples are friends, they tend to always
associate with each other. They keep each other’s company. Not only do you associate
physically, you also do so internally. You easily divulge the secrets of your hearts to each other.
The purpose of champion’s table initiative by the All propastors international (APPI) is to enable
pastors to embrace this intimate level of fellowship of sharing the burdens with one another
just the way Jesus did with Peter, James and John. Learning to be compassionate and caring; is
quite a challenge but its rewarding.
This is what we see in John 15:15-16. In the beginning of this Scripture our Lord Jesus
announces to his disciples that he is the true vine and they are the branches. Then he speaks of
the need for the branches to abide in the vine. In vs 13 he says, “Greater love has no-one than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends” Then in this portion of scripture, he says,
I no-longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I
have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you.
You did not chose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit”
Abraham became a friend of God and he was accounted as righteous in the eyes of God. The
tag of friendship comes along with unmatched favor that opens many doors in life. Our Gog the
father of our Lord Jesus Christ is very much alive to this kingdom principle of friendship. And the
scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God (James 2:21=23). There are many gates
that God is will open in your life if only you cultivate and appreciate this kingdom principle. The
friendship pillar requires one to be sensitive of the need of the other party.

Friends will be careful not to venture into areas that can easily offend their counterparts.
Friendship requires serious investment of quality time and support; using every relevant
material that can add value to ensure that it remains sustainable. God is calling for effective
worship done in truth and in the spirit. You don’t need to be perfect to engage friendship with
God; God is the one who will make you perfect through sanctification. God does not call the
qualified but he qualifies the called ones and you can be a part of the called ones only by having
faith in God as earlier mentioned.
Affirmation as a building block towards effective relationship
True friends celebrate one another whenever there is achievement. Acknowledging the
strength in your friend is a key to winning confidence of that friend. Affirmation is one of the
good mannerisms in building friendship in a relationship that can stand the test of time.
Celebrate your fellow pastor by pointing out to him the area of his strength even as you
cultivate friendship in you champion’s table. Spouse need to learn to acknowledge the strength
in their partners and that will remain as a pillar of trust in their holy matrimony. Leaders need
to learn how to commend their followers in the areas where their performance has exceeded
expectation.
Many parents have lost control of their children simply because they have never affirmed the
strength in their sons and daughters. In Mathew 3:17 – And a voice from heaven said, “This is
my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” This was a land mark statement loud enough to
erase any fear of doubt or contradiction about the identity of Jesus and his relationship with
God the father. God himself spoke expressly without using any messenger to send a very strong
message to the world that Jesus is the son of God and that God id well pleased with him. Our
sons and daughters are in need of similar affirmation for them to manifest and project their
strength effective in their generation.
Every man on the planet is born with a special talent and unique gifting. The challenge we have
in the society is that people are trying to compare and compete with each other instead of
complementing one another. Often many people have been broken and their self-esteem
destroyed because this same mistake of unhealthy competition. God’s plan was to ensure that
his strength is revealed in our weakness and this is the reason why we need to learn on how
depend on God at all times. Spouses can only walk the long journey of marriage successfully
when they learn to discover and appreciate the strength in their partners. The culture of blame
game and finger pointing which is common in many marriages is one of the main factors that
have led to collapse in many marriage institutions.

Effective communication as a building block towards healthy relationship
Dialogue is a key factor in enhancing effective relationship because dispute and disagreement is
bound to occur where there are two or more people. Proper communication channels and
communication tools must be put in place to facilitate this process. Effective communication
must ensure that that there is feedback as a confirmation that the message has been received
properly. The language involved must be made simple and understandable by the parties
involved, it must also be structured in a manner that is should contain elements of respect to
the consumer or receiver. Some of the other extraneous factors that can hinder effective
communication may include environmental stress factor like illiteracy, hunger, diseases,
insecurity and uncontrolled external information.
Jesus warned his disciples to be weary of the dangers the disciples were to encounter. In
Mathew 10:16 – Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as
shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. The message here was to prepare the disciples
psychologically so that they can be made ready for tough times ahead; it also contains
measures that the disciples were to apply in order to overcome the difficult situations they
were to encounter. The symbols used in the message (sheep, wolf, dove and snake) are to
create a clear and simple understanding of the hostility that would come their way.
The world around us is today has become more hostile to the people of God and the situation is
not going to get any better. The anti-Christ movements are now come out in the open to
declare that they do not want God. We believers must therefore come alive to this fact that we
need to engage the strategies of communications that were shared by Christ himself. We must
begin by establishing clear channels of communications in our households then escalate it to
the outer most parts of the world.
A good communicator must also learn first to be a good listener. Failure to listen to the
feedback can destroy a relationship. Believers often find themselves in this league where we
only want to speak to God all our thoughts and once we are done then we leave God’s presence
thinking that we are done with our prayers. Effective prayers must include listening to what
God is telling with regards to the petitions made before him. God is the one to determine the
final answer to our petitions hence the need to want to hear from Him. Parents must learn to
listen to their kids. The habit of treating kids like they must only follow what they have been
told to do without being given an opportunity to share their take is an outdated approach is
positive parenting.

  1. Admit that we are sinners
    The first step to restoration of the perfect relationship between men and Go is to admit that
    the life we are living is headed in the wrong direction. We must accept responsibility because of
    the bad choices we keep on making on daily basis. In the book of Luke 15:11-17, the prodigal
    son made a choice to detach himself from the father; we need to acknowledge the sins that
    separates us from God the father (Romans 3:23) and its penalty of death. But for many of us it
    is very difficult to come to this conclusion of admitting our sins, and we tend to hide or blame
    others for our sins as did Adam. We still try to convince ourselves that life is good even on the
    face of this massive failure we can see in our society today. Admitting our mistakes like the
    prodigal son is the first step to restoration of our relationship with God.
  2. Return to God in repentance
    We need to climb down from our ivory towers with a repentant, humble attitude rather than
    hiding and covering (Acts 3:19; Genesis 3:10; Isaiah 59:2). Returning to God through confession
    and asking for forgiveness of our sins removes the sin that blocks our relationship with Him.
    When we confess our sins before God he promises to forgive us (John 1:9), and forgiveness is
    what restores relationship that has been broken. The prodigal son did not just plan to get his
    relationship right with his father but he practically took a step and returned back to the father.
    Many people keep on with procrastination of their step to returning to God by harboring many
    unnecessary excuses. God is saying in the book of 2Corinthians 6:2 – “In acceptable time I have
    heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you,” Behold, now is the accepted time;
    behold now. The prodigal son humbly acknowledged, “I am not worthy to be called your son”
    (Luke 15:19). He was simply acknowledging that he did not deserve anything from the father.
    This is the kind of spirit that we need to wear for us to return back to God
  3. Recognize that God will lovingly welcome us home
    No matter how far we have gone, our loving God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ welcomes
    us home. There are seven things that the father does in the story of the prodigal son – looking,
    running, kissing, giving clothing and ring and sandals, and throwing a feast (Luke 15:20-24).

These acts are a clear illustration of the heavenly father’s love for sinners. The story of the prodigal son gives us a clear picture of our heavenly father who is always ready to forgive all sins no matter how deep they may seem to be. In Isaiah 1:8 – God says, “Come now, let us
reason together,” says the Lord though your sin are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow.
He is a compassionate and loving father who runs towards us to give us a hug. Let us embrace
this unmatched love. Let each one of us consider this outpouring love of God so that we may
receive of His great salvation.

  1. Receive the Gift of God who is Jesus
    Our spiritual birth is the perfect point of mending our relationship with God the father (John
    3:3-8). We need to believe in our heart that Jesus son of God died on the cross for our sins and
    on the third day he resurrected from the dead, then confess with our mouth that Jesus is our
    lord then we receive salvation immediately (Romans 10:9-10). Our restored relationship with
    God is the beginning of our ongoing transformation into Christ likeness (2Cor 5:17). The perfect
    relationship with God leads to perfect relationship with men.
    Only God can redefine our dysfunctional relationships in the society today. Embracing other
    items in an attempt to fill the void of the broken relationship cannot suffice at all. Many people
    have chosen to fellowship with gadgets instead of fellow men, but still the void of loneliness
    remains. God is the author of perfect relationship and we must admit that He is the only one
    who can restore this broken relationship.
    Many other things like pets too cannot substitute the place of effective relationship with fellow
    men. There is nothing wrong keeping these animals but God’s original plan was for men to
    relate with fellow men in accordance to the Patten and guidelines given by the scriptures in the
    Bible. The ultimate goal in the whole mix of relationship is to establish eternal relationship with
    God, relationship that knows no barrier so much so that even death cannot conquer it.
    Definition of social life
    Social life is a relational ability with fellow man. Healthy social life is the ability to build a
    healthy relationship with fellow man. You build the kind of relationship that enhances the well-
    being of each party involved. Your relationship with fellow man is built in such a way that each
    party involved draws optimal destiny benefits. It is a relationship that enhances mutual benefit
    for everyone involved. That is a healthy relationship.
    Not all relationships carry mutual benefit. Many relationships we form with fellow men are
    platforms of being used, in the end, only the user benefits. Some are platforms of being abused.
    Abuse is abnormal use. And at times the relationships are platforms on which people use us for very wrong things. You meet a house wife whose husband has turned her into a punching bag.

That is abuse. And that is not a healthy relationship.
Giving as a building block towards a healthy relationship
God has provided a very elaborate and well detailed protocol on how to engage and build a
healthy relationship through the principle of giving. The culture of giving is the master key to
almost every success. One story share by all those deemed to be successful in the world today
and this cuts across the divide is giving.
Offer your body as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing unto God. This is your spiritual act of
worship. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1). Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, God is
placing this non-negotiable terms and condition that His friends must surrender their bodies to
be owned and utilized for worship. Holiness is the act of individuals decision to separate
him/her self from any form of sinful indulgence, it is a choice deliberately made by the man of
faith to honor God with his body. The man of faith must learn to live according to the covenant
of the word. Failure to take this action of living a life full of sanctity is what is referred to
engaging in the patterns of the world. The world has its own culture and ways of doing thing.
Quiet often, the patterns of the worldly life is offensive to God because they are contrary to the
kingdom principles of living right with God.
The word of God says it more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 – In everything I did, I
showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the word of the
Lord Jesus himself said; “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” But the hard reality today is
that the culture of giving is diminishing by the day in every culture.
America became a great Nation based on the platform of giving, but the culture is diminishing
each and every day and no wonder some other the Tigger nations are emerging with such a
great challenge to the economy of the USA. The newly formed BRICS alliance has but one
agenda to sideline the US Dollar in order to bring down the US economy.
The great funding for missionary works that used to flow from America to Africa has reduced
significantly and the many churches activities in the outreach ministries in African has also
reduced marginally, seminary colleges that used to sponsor theology courses are turning into
commercial training institutions in order to remain a float. The Bible is saying that we should
not grow tired in doing good because it will soon flow back to us (Ecclesiastes 11:1 – cast thy
bread in many waters: for thou shall find it after many days)
All these changes are sponsored by the new emerging trend of the culture of materialism
where people would want to be defined by the wealth they own instead of the God they

worship, hence this has broaden the gap between the rich and the poor. Many economies in
African countries today project a grim picture of inequality; a quick profile of a society where
1% of the population owns the 99% of the wealth in the land while the 99% population are left
to survive on 1% of the wealth in the country, what a big shame and what a negative contrast.
Healthy relationship can never exist in such unequal society where majority of people die of
hunger instead of disease. A healthy relationship is a platform for sustainable peace. Peace is a
relational state of being. It is a state in which conflict has no power to access and shake your
relationship. A relationship that is attaining the state of peace manifests in conflicts being less
frequent. But the intensity of the conflict is also less and less. It takes longer to experience the
next conflict.
A healthy relationship has friendship. The Greek word ‘philos’ from which we obtain the word
‘friend’ means associate.
Friendship as a building block towards a perfect relationship
A friend is someone you associate with. When couples are friends, they tend to always
associate with each other. They keep each other’s company. Not only do you associate
physically, you also do so internally. You easily divulge the secrets of your hearts to each other.
The purpose of champion’s table initiative by the All propastors international (APPI) is to enable
pastors to embrace this intimate level of fellowship of sharing the burdens with one another
just the way Jesus did with Peter, James and John. Learning to be compassionate and caring; is
quite a challenge but its rewarding.
This is what we see in John 15:15-16. In the beginning of this Scripture our Lord Jesus
announces to his disciples that he is the true vine and they are the branches. Then he speaks of
the need for the branches to abide in the vine. In vs 13 he says, “Greater love has no-one than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends” Then in this portion of scripture, he says,
I no-longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I
have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you.
You did not chose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit”
Abraham became a friend of God and he was accounted as righteous in the eyes of God. The
tag of friendship comes along with unmatched favor that opens many doors in life. Our Gog the
father of our Lord Jesus Christ is very much alive to this kingdom principle of friendship. And the
scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God (James 2:21=23). There are many gates
that God is will open in your life if only you cultivate and appreciate this kingdom principle. The
friendship pillar requires one to be sensitive of the need of the other party.

Friends will be careful not to venture into areas that can easily offend their counterparts.
Friendship requires serious investment of quality time and support; using every relevant
material that can add value to ensure that it remains sustainable. God is calling for effective
worship done in truth and in the spirit. You don’t need to be perfect to engage friendship with
God; God is the one who will make you perfect through sanctification. God does not call the
qualified but he qualifies the called ones and you can be a part of the called ones only by having
faith in God as earlier mentioned.
Affirmation as a building block towards effective relationship
True friends celebrate one another whenever there is achievement. Acknowledging the
strength in your friend is a key to winning confidence of that friend. Affirmation is one of the
good mannerisms in building friendship in a relationship that can stand the test of time.
Celebrate your fellow pastor by pointing out to him the area of his strength even as you
cultivate friendship in you champion’s table. Spouse need to learn to acknowledge the strength
in their partners and that will remain as a pillar of trust in their holy matrimony. Leaders need
to learn how to commend their followers in the areas where their performance has exceeded
expectation.
Many parents have lost control of their children simply because they have never affirmed the
strength in their sons and daughters. In Mathew 3:17 – And a voice from heaven said, “This is
my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” This was a land mark statement loud enough to
erase any fear of doubt or contradiction about the identity of Jesus and his relationship with
God the father. God himself spoke expressly without using any messenger to send a very strong
message to the world that Jesus is the son of God and that God id well pleased with him. Our
sons and daughters are in need of similar affirmation for them to manifest and project their
strength effective in their generation.
Every man on the planet is born with a special talent and unique gifting. The challenge we have
in the society is that people are trying to compare and compete with each other instead of
complementing one another. Often many people have been broken and their self-esteem
destroyed because this same mistake of unhealthy competition. God’s plan was to ensure that
his strength is revealed in our weakness and this is the reason why we need to learn on how
depend on God at all times. Spouses can only walk the long journey of marriage successfully
when they learn to discover and appreciate the strength in their partners. The culture of blame
game and finger pointing which is common in many marriages is one of the main factors that
have led to collapse in many marriage institutions.

Effective communication as a building block towards healthy relationship
Dialogue is a key factor in enhancing effective relationship because dispute and disagreement is
bound to occur where there are two or more people. Proper communication channels and
communication tools must be put in place to facilitate this process. Effective communication
must ensure that that there is feedback as a confirmation that the message has been received
properly. The language involved must be made simple and understandable by the parties
involved, it must also be structured in a manner that is should contain elements of respect to
the consumer or receiver. Some of the other extraneous factors that can hinder effective
communication may include environmental stress factor like illiteracy, hunger, diseases,
insecurity and uncontrolled external information.
Jesus warned his disciples to be weary of the dangers the disciples were to encounter. In
Mathew 10:16 – Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as
shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. The message here was to prepare the disciples
psychologically so that they can be made ready for tough times ahead; it also contains
measures that the disciples were to apply in order to overcome the difficult situations they
were to encounter. The symbols used in the message (sheep, wolf, dove and snake) are to
create a clear and simple understanding of the hostility that would come their way.
The world around us is today has become more hostile to the people of God and the situation is
not going to get any better. The anti-Christ movements are now come out in the open to
declare that they do not want God. We believers must therefore come alive to this fact that we
need to engage the strategies of communications that were shared by Christ himself. We must
begin by establishing clear channels of communications in our households then escalate it to
the outer most parts of the world.
A good communicator must also learn first to be a good listener. Failure to listen to the
feedback can destroy a relationship. Believers often find themselves in this league where we
only want to speak to God all our thoughts and once we are done then we leave God’s presence
thinking that we are done with our prayers. Effective prayers must include listening to what
God is telling with regards to the petitions made before him. God is the one to determine the
final answer to our petitions hence the need to want to hear from Him. Parents must learn to
listen to their kids. The habit of treating kids like they must only follow what they have been
told to do without being given an opportunity to share their take is an outdated approach is
positive parenting.

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A Journey into Our Judeo Christian Roots!

In our day where technology seems to take us almost anywhere by the click of a button. We want to invite you to an extraordinary event that will take you back in time to a bigger than life experience. On September 18 and 19th the full length feature movie “Route 60, The Biblical Highway” opens in theaters all across America.

Seeing this beautifully produced movie in Israel by TBN on the big screen is second to only being there in person. Linda and I have been to Israel and “Route 60” takes us on a journey where few are able to visit. With our hosts Mike Pompeo and David Friedman we are able to travel on the screen to places as special guests of Israel. All of these locations are rich in the history of our Judeo Christian heritage.

As I was watching the screening we were honored to see, it actually brought clarity to me about locations that we read about in the Bible. This movie brings to life where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and many of our heroes and prophets walked. We go with them to where Jesus lived and ministered to the masses. Mike Pompeo and David Friedman bring together the connection of Jews and Christians and how we are blessed to have such a common history.

The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and you will feel as if you are right beside them. Stepping into the past has never been easier and we are certain that even if you have visited Israel many times “Route 60, The Biblical Highway” will take you places and share some history you have never seen.

David Friedman as our former Ambassador to Israel and Mike Pompeo as a former Secretary of State were given this special opportunity to travel and see these historic landmarks and thanks to TBN and Mathew and Laurie Crouch we are able to join them.

Let us encourage you get your tickets early as we expect it to sell out everywhere.

Click Here to watch the Trailer!

Special Note: Our APPI Team wrote all of the Study Resources for “Route 60, The Biblical Highway”

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Letter to the American Church “my review”

By: Eric Metexas

After hearing and meeting Eric Metexas at a Pastors conference in Nashville earlier this year, Linda and I knew we had to get his books. “Letter to the American Church” is a powerfully written detailed comparison of what is happening in America as compared to Nazi Germany as Hitler took over. This compelling book takes you on a journey of how the church was or wasn’t involved in the Nazi takeover. Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the central figure working to awaken the Pastors/churches to what was happening.

This book is full of scripture and actually points out God’s expectations of each of us who are Christians. Metexas wrote a biography on Bonhoeffer’s life and this book pulls out some of the turning points of his life and Germany that should have and could have turned out much differently.

Pastors, this should give you some very teachable points to be shared with your congregations. The book actually starts with, “What is the Church”? Some of the chapters are: The Spiral of Silence, Two Errors of Faith, The Church Paralyzed, and Be Ye Not Political to name a few.

Metexas asks many thought provoking questions that every Patriot Christian should be asking themselves. He challenges Pastors to not invite satanic forces to take over the church while taking over the country by simply turning your back and pretending it will go away!

Letter to the American Church should be read by every pastor in America! If you are not a pastor please buy one for yours and challenge that it be read and give you feedback!

I am Passionate about seeing everyone come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and I am also passionate that we must do everything possible to protect the freedom we have in America to share His message and worship openly!

I rate this as a 5 star book!

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LIVE LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY!

Wow! “Live Like a Champion” is a book that will help you stretch and be challenged to all God has created you to be! Dr. Jerry Ingalls, Pastor, National Champion Athlete, US Olympian, Author and so much more, has packed into his latest book the basic steps God has ordained for each of us to follow to become His Champions!

He has masterfully written from a Champion Athletes perspective what it takes for anyone to become a true Champion. The disciplines he lines out are taken directly from God’s Word. The instructions he has laid out covers a 40 day challenge that every Pastor should embrace and utilize to make Champion Disciples.

Dr. Ingalls presents God as our Coach and us as Athletes in training. He even identifies where the Bible uses this comparison in easy to understand examples.

As a National Champion representing the United States he shares stories of success and falling short, but most of all how he learned from each life experience.

Pastors and Leaders, I respectfully invite you(challenge you) to join me as I embrace “Live Like a Champion Today” as our 2023 discipline. I ask you to take the 40 day challenge as outlined in the book. I also challenge you to create a “Champions Table” that will hold you accountable and be your encouragers too. In the book we see God as the Coach but we also see the importance of teammates and unity.

“Live Like a Champion Today” is easy to read and understand but it will take some discipline to finish the challenge strong!

This year we are praying that Pastors all across America will have the courage to join our Table of Champions network and start their own Champions Table. What about you? This powerful book could be your ticket to changing you and your life forever. Embrace the challenge to be a true Champion for your spouse, your children, your church and community and most of all your Lord Jesus Christ!

To learn more visit here!

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Left Behind, Rise of the AntiChrist!

“Left Behind, Rise of the AntiChrist” is based on a true story! (coming our way soon)The Bible states that there will be a sudden and unexpected Vanishing (or Rapturing) away of millions of people some day. It talks about specific deceptions that will take place and the masses will be fooled or frightened into believing anything. The Bible also tells of a Global government that will rule and a powerful leader will captivate nearly everyone. In this movie the antichrist is introduced in a very realistic and terrifying way. It is done in a way to shake everyone up, it needs to seen by everyone!

Left Behind, Rise of the AntiChrist, will bring you to the edge of your seat as you see that what is happening today can clearly be seen as the fulfilling of biblical prophesy. But how will our unbelieving friends and family learn and accept this as truth? This movie takes us on a journey with several individuals who share in this same doubt. Some of them are agnostic or atheistic in their attitudes and are left with many unanswered questions after the vanishings. Our main characters, Buck, Ray, Chloe and Pastor Bruce Barnes each have to deal with the lies and deceptions being thrown at them as well as their personal search for the real truth. Each of them had heard the truth before and rejected it! Many of our friends and relatives are exactly like Ray, Buck and Chloe. They have heard about God and been to church but have still rejected Christ. Each one of our movie characters, including a pastor, has to now face reality!

This movie is action packed with high energy and a powerful thought provoking storyline that no one can ignore! Left Behind is entertaining yet has the most important message in the world. As a pastor and ministry we want to encourage you to make this your opportunity to take family and friends even your entire church to watch this movie. Use it as a special outreach to your community.

Pastors, it is the perfect time to preach on the return of Jesus and how that will look? Take the opportunity to have small group discussions breaking down parts of the movie and see how it lines up with God’s word. Many people will have questions after seeing it. Be prepared to answer and introduce them to Christ. Start looking in the website: www.LeftBehindmovie.com for Resources and Sermon ideas.

If at all possible buy out an entire theater in your town. This not only encourages your church to come and bring a friend but it is a testimony to the theater owners about what Christians are looking for.

You may ask, why are you doing this? Truth is, we don’t want you or anyone Left Behind!

What about you? Watch the Trailer Here!

 

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The Rise of Ancient Aliens: From Lovecraft to Von Däniken

In the early 1970s, Kenneth Grant, personal secretary to Aleister Crowley twenty-five years earlier, broke with the American branch of Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis and formed his own Thelemic organization, the Typhonian O.T.O. The “Sirius/Set current” that Grant identified in the ‘50s referred to the Egyptian deity Set, god of the desert, storms, foreigners, violence, and chaos.

To grasp the significance of Grant’s innovation to Crowley’s religion, a brief history of Set is in order.

Set—sometimes called Seth, Sheth, or Sutekh—is one of the oldest gods in the Egyptian pantheon. There is evidence he was worshiped long before the pharaohs, in the pre-dynastic era called Naqada I, which may date as far back as 3750 BC. To put that into context, the Tower of Babel incident probably occurred toward the end of the Uruk period around 3100 BC. Writing wasn’t invented in Sumer until about 3000 BC, around the time of the first pharaoh, Narmer.

Set was originally one of the good gods. He protected Ra’s solar boat, defending it from the evil chaos serpent Apep (or Apophis), who tried to eat the sun every night as it dropped below the horizon. During the Second Intermediate Period, roughly 1750 BC to 1550 BC, Semitic people called the Hyksos, who were probably Amorites, equated Set with Baʿal, the Canaanite storm-god, and Baʿal-Set was the patron deity of Avaris, the Hyksos capital.

The worship of Baʿal-Set continued even after the Hyksos were driven out of Egypt. Two centuries after Moses led the Israelites to Canaan, three hundred years after the Hyksos expulsion, Ramesses the Great erected a memorial called the Year 400 Stela to honor the 400th year of Set’s arrival in Egypt. In fact, Ramesses’ father was named Seti, which literally means “man of Set.”

Set didn’t acquire his evil reputation until the Third Intermediate Period, during which Egypt was overrun by successive waves of foreign invaders. After being conquered by Nubia, Assyria, and Persia, one after another between 728 BC and 525 BC, the god of foreigners wasn’t welcome around the pyramids anymore. No longer was Set the mighty god who kept Apophis from eating the sun; now, Set was the evil god who murdered his brother, Osiris, and the sworn enemy of Osiris’ son, Horus.

By the time of Persia’s rise, Greek civilization was beginning to flower, and the Greeks identified Set with Typhon, the terrifying, powerful serpentine god of chaos. That’s the link between Set and Typhon. And this is the entity Kenneth Grant believed was the true source of power in Thelemic magick.

That’s why the “Sirius/Set current” led to the Typhonian O.T.O, and that’s the destructive, chaos-monster aspect of Set-Typhon we need to keep in view when analyzing the magickal system Grant created by filtering Crowley through the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft.

Grant’s anxiety, as expressed in Nightside of Eden and in his other works, is that the Earth is being infiltrated by a race of extraterrestrial beings who will cause tremendous changes to take place in our world. This statement is not to be taken quite as literally as it appears, for the “Earth” can be taken to mean our current level of conscious awareness, and extraterrestrial would mean simply “not of this current level of conscious awareness.” But the potential for danger is there, and Grant’s work— like Lovecraft’s—is an attempt to warn us of the impending (potentially dramatic) alterations in our physical, mental and emotional states due to powerful influences from “outside.”

Lovecraft died in 1937, but his work found a new audience in the 1970s. His stories were mined as source material by Hollywood. Then in 1977, a hardback edition of the Necronomicon, which Lovecraft invented as a plot device for his horror fiction, suddenly appeared (published in a limited run of 666 copies!), edited by a mysterious figure known only as “Simon,” purportedly a bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to Simon, two monks from his denomination had stolen a copy of the actual Necronomicon in one of the most daring and dangerous book thefts in history.

A mass market paperback edition followed a few years later. That version has reportedly sold more than a million copies over the last four decades. Kenneth Grant, who believed that Crowley and Lovecraft had been inspired or guided by the same supernatural source, validated the text, going so far as to offer explanations for apparent discrepancies between Crowley and the Necronomicon.

Crowley admitted to not having heard correctly certain words during the transmission of Liber L, and it is probable that he misheard the word Tutulu. It may have been Kutulu, in which case it would be identical phonetically, but not qabalistically, with Cthulhu. The [Simon] Necronomicon (Introduction, p. xix) suggests a relationship between Kutulu and Cutha…

Simon’s Necronomicon was just one of several grimoires (books of magic spells) published in the 1970s that claimed to be the nefarious book. The others were either obvious fakes published for entertainment purposes, or hoaxes that their authors admitted to soon after publication. Simon, on the other hand, appeared to be serious. But people involved with producing the “Simonomicon” have since admitted to making it up, and the central figure behind the book’s publication was Peter Levenda—author of The Dark Lord, the book documenting the highly improbable “coincidences” connecting Aleister Crowley and H. P. Lovecraft.

The text itself was Levenda’s creation, a synthesis of Sumerian and later Babylonian myths and texts peppered with names of entities from H. P. Lovecraft’s notorious and enormously popular Cthulhu stories. Levenda seems to have drawn heavily on the works of Samuel Noah Kramer for the Sumerian, and almost certainly spent a great deal of time at the University of Pennsylvania library researching the thing. Structurally, the text was modeled on the wiccan Book of Shadows and the Goetia, a grimoire of doubtful authenticity itself dating from the late Middle Ages.

“Simon” was also Levenda’s creation. He cultivated an elusive, secretive persona, giving him a fantastic and blatantly implausible line of [BS] to cover the book’s origins. He had no telephone. He always wore business suits, in stark contrast to the flamboyant Renaissance fair, proto-goth costuming that dominated the scene.

In The Dark Lord, Levenda not only analyzed Kenneth Grant’s magickal system and documented synchronicities between Crowley and Lovecraft, he validated the supernatural authenticity of the fake Necronomicon that he created!

But make no mistake—this doesn’t mean the Necronomicon is fake in the supernatural sense.

[W]e can conclude that the hoax Necronomicons—at least the Hay-Wilson-Langford-Turner and Simon versions—falsely claim to be the work of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred; but in so falsely attributing themselves, they signal their genuine inclusion in the grimoire genre. The misattribution is the mark of their genre, and their very falsity is the condition of their genuineness. The hoax Necronomicons are every bit as “authentic” as the Lesser Key of Solomon or the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses.

In other words, while the published editions of the Necronomicon were obviously invented long after the deaths of H. P. Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley, they are still genuine tools for practicing sorcery. And, as Grant and Levenda suggest, they share a common origin in the spirit realm.

Simon’s Necronomicon arrived on the wave of a renewed interest in the occult that washed over the Western world in the 1960s and ‘70s. Interestingly, it was a French journal of science fiction that helped spark the revival, and it did so by publishing the works of H. P. Lovecraft for a new audience.

Planète was launched in the early ‘60s by Louis Pauwles and Jacques Bergier, and their magazine brought a new legion of admirers to the “bent genius.” More significantly for our study here, however, was the book Pauwles and Bergier co-authored in 1960, Les matins des magiciens (Morning of the Magicians), which was translated into English in 1963 as Dawn of Magic.

From Lovecraft, Bergier and Pauwles borrowed the one thought that would be of more importance than any other in their book. As we have seen, Morning of the Magicians speculates that extraterrestrial beings may be responsible for the rise of the human race and the development of its culture, a theme Lovecraft invented (emphasis mine).

The success of Pauwles and Bergier inspired others to run with the concepts they’d developed from the writings of Lovecraft. The most successful of these, without question, is Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods?

You can say one thing at least for von Däniken: He wasn’t shy about challenging accepted history.

I claim that our forefathers received visits from the universe in the remote past, even though I do not yet know who these extraterrestrial intelligences were or from which planet they came. I nevertheless proclaim that these “strangers” annihilated part of mankind existing at the time and produced a new, perhaps the first, homo sapiens.

The book had the good fortune of being published in 1968, the same year Stanley Kubrick’s epic adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey hit theaters. The film, based on the idea that advanced alien technology had guided human evolution, was the top-grossing film of the year, and was named the “greatest sci-fi film of all time” in 2002 by the Online Film Critics Society. By 1971, when Chariots of the Gods? finally appeared in American bookstores, NASA had put men on the moon three times and the public was fully primed for what von Däniken was selling.

It’s hard to overstate the impact Chariots of the Gods has had on the UFO research community and the worldviews of millions of people around the world over the last half century. In 1973, Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling built a documentary around Chariots titled In Search of Ancient Astronauts, which featured astronomer Carl Sagan and Wernher von Braun, architect of the Saturn V rocket. The following year, a feature film with the same title as the book was released to theaters. By the turn of the 21st century, von Däniken had sold more than 60 million copies of his twenty-six books, all promoting the idea that our creators came from the stars.

To this day, von Däniken’s book is the best-selling English language archaeology book of all time. Is it any wonder that more Americans believe that we’ve been visited by ET than in God as He’s revealed Himself in the Bible?

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I Am Who You Say I Am – Book Review

Dr Jerry Brandt has written on a subject that I find most people are very unsure of. Knowing who we are in Christ is critical to living a powerful Holy Spirit led life! It is one thing to accept Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord and yet another to fully walk with Him each day through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Study to show ourselves approved unto God is an instruction given us for a reason. Knowing God’s word is vital to truly understand the language of God. It is more than a history book. It is more than an instruction book. Is our book that reveals the heart of God and teaches us His divine language!

“I Am Who You Say That I Am” is an easy to read scripture based text on understanding what the Bible says about us as God’s children. Dr Brandt has more than 50 years of ministry experience and been in countless countries and he testifies that he only survived and thrived because he learned early on who he was/is in Christ and what it means when Christ actually abides within a person according to the Bible!

You do not have to totally agree with him on some points but let me assure you, this book will bring revelation to many people, bring questions to others and confirmation to a very few.

You must look within yourself and ask who am I in the Lord? Does Jesus abide within me and have I possibly put Him in the corner of my heart because of tradition and lack of total faith.

I recommend everyone read this book and see for yourself. Is it really possible to pray with expectation/anticipation/power?

We are praying for you!

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The Truth About Christmas and Saturnalia

We need to debunk a bit of fake news before we get any deeper into the holiday season. The selection of December 25 as the date to celebrate the birth of Christ had nothing to do with Saturnalia or the winter solstice. Besides, Saturnalia wasn’t always celebrated in December, and it wasn’t even originally named for Saturn. It was adapted from an older version known to the Greeks, celebrated for their version of Saturn, Kronos.

The Kronia is first recorded in Ionia, the central part of western Anatolia (modern Turkey) in the eighth century BC, a little before the time of the prophet Isaiah. From there, the celebration spread to Athens and the island of Rhodes, ultimately making its way westward to Rome, shifting over time from midsummer to the winter solstice. Both festivals were a time of merriment and abandoning social norms, with gambling, gift-giving, suspension of normal business, and the reversal of roles by slaves and their masters.

The festival of Saturnalia, held between December 17 and 23, was undoubtedly the most popular of the year for Romans. It was marked by a reversal of societal norms, which apparently hearkened back to better days:

The first inhabitants of Italy were the Aborigines, whose king, Saturnus, is said to have been a man of such extraordinary justice, that no one was a slave in his reign, or had any private property, but all things were common to all, and undivided, as one estate for the use of every one; in memory of which way of life, it has been ordered that at the Saturnalia slaves should everywhere sit down with their masters at the entertainments, the rank of all being made equal. Italy was accordingly called, from the name of that king, Saturnia; and the hill on which he dwelt Saturnius, on which now stands the Capitol, as if Saturnus had been dislodged from his seat by Jupiter.

It’s widely believed by skeptics, and some well-meaning but misinformed Christians, that the date for celebrating Christmas was chosen by the early church to “Christianize” Saturnalia. The story goes that the festival was so popular that even Christians in the Roman Empire wouldn’t give it up, so church leaders declared December 25 the birth day of Jesus, established a feast, and stole Saturnalia from the pagans.

That happens not to be the case.

The earliest record of the observance of Christmas is from Clement of Alexandria around AD 200. But the first suggestion that Christmas might be linked to pagan worship didn’t come until the twelfth century, about nine hundred years later. In other words, as far as historians can tell, no Christians between the third through twelfth centuries thought they were accidentally worshiping a pagan god at Christmas. While some noted the proximity of December 25 to the winter solstice, which falls on December 21 or 22, early Christian writers did not believe the church chose the date. Rather, they saw it as a sign that God was the true sun, superior to the false gods of the pagans.

The Donatist sect in North Africa celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25 in the early fourth century, before Constantine became emperor of Rome (so we can’t blame him for setting the date). And while it’s true that the emperor Aurelian made veneration of Sol Invictus the law throughout the Roman Empire in AD 274, a collection of ancient writings called Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae puts the feast day during the reign of Licinius (AD 308–324) on November 18. There is little evidence that a feast for Sol Invictus was held on December 25 before the middle of the fourth century AD, and Christians were celebrating the birth of Christ on that date about half a century earlier.

So, given that nobody in the first century recorded the actual date of Jesus’ birth, how did the early church arrive at December 25? It’s a little complex, but it illustrates the motives of the Church Fathers, which did not include sneaking pagan worship into the faith.

Second-century Latin Christians in Rome and North Africa made an effort to calculate the exact date of Jesus’ death. For reasons that escape us, they settled on March 25, AD 29. (The reasons escape us because March 25 was not a Friday that year, nor was it Passover Eve, nor did Passover Eve fall on a Friday in AD 29, or even in the month of March.) The March 25 date was also noted by early church theologians Tertullian and Augustine.

There was a widespread belief among Jews of the day in the “integral age” of great prophets, which means it was thought that the prophets of Israel died on the same day they were conceived. It’s not biblical, but that’s not the point. What matters is the early church believed it, and that’s how it was decided that Jesus was born in late December: Adding nine months to March 25 brings you to—you guessed it—December 25.

It’s that simple. Underline this: Saturn and Saturnalia had nothing to do with Christmas.

The effort to claim the credit, however, is the work of the dark god and his minions. The recent pushback against celebrating Christmas has been so intense that some Christians are careful to avoid mentioning the holiday, except with trusted friends, lest they be accused of accidentally worshiping Saturn, Baal, Sol Invictus, or Nimrod—by other Christians. The Christmas season used to be the one time of year when Christ was openly proclaimed in our society. Sadly, zealous but misinformed believers have unwittingly helped the Fallen reclaim the holiday.

It’s almost certain that Jesus was not born on December 25. It’s also true that the Christmas holiday has attracted a lot of baggage—pagan traditions, hyper-commercialization, and awful renditions of Christmas carols by pop divas. (Mariah Carey recently tried to trademark the title “Queen of Christmas.” Seriously. Thankfully, the U.S. Patent Office said no.)

None of that matters. The important point is this: The early church did not establish December 25 as a feast day to celebrate the birth of Jesus to copy or co-opt a pagan holiday.

That said, Saturn successfully rebranded the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, as Sāturni diēs, Saturn’s Day, in the second century AD when Rome replaced its eight-day cycle with a seven-day week. And there is biblical evidence that some Jews adopted the worship of Saturn during the Babylonian captivity:

“You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. (Amos 5:26–27)

Sikkuth appears to be a reference to a minor Babylonian god named Sakkud, or Sakkut. However, the pronunciation was close enough to the Hebrew word sukkat (“hut”) that the Jewish scholars who translated the Septuagint rendered the first line, “And you took along the tent of Molech.” The consonants of Molech and melek (“king”) are identical, but it’s interesting that the translators were comfortable bringing the “king-god” into the scripture, and that’s exactly how Stephen quoted Amos during his speech to the Sanhedrin.

It’s especially interesting since “Kiyyun” refers to the Babylonian name for Saturn, Kajjamānu, “the Steady One.” Kajjamānu was an unimportant god in the Mesopotamian pantheon, but it’s indicative of the hubris of the king-god: Under his influence, most of the Western world now calls God’s divinely ordained day of rest “Saturn’s Day.”

And because that isn’t enough, even Christians have been convinced that Saturn, not Jesus, is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

From the book The Second Coming of Saturn by Derek P. Gilbert

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