The Reverend Terry Jones, says he will burn a copy of the Quoran on his church
grounds come September 11, 2010. The name of his church is Dove World Outreach Center in Florida. I want to personally address the "Reverend" Terry Jones.
You call yourself a "reverend", do you consider yourself relevant to God's love, which the dove of peace represents. I want to ask, what purpose does it serve to incite more hatred, and violence in a world full of it. Jesus cared not to change the governments of the world for his is a Spiritual one. Though we are instructed to pay taxes, etc, only that we may live in peace. It doesnt serve the name of Yeshua ha Meshiach ie; Jesus the Anointed One, my Saviour and Lord, Master and King.
How can you even consider yourself a "leader" of God's people? You are to serve one purpose in the whole scripture, if you consider you are some kind of leader, then be a servant as Jesus taught. A servant of love, and peace. I ask you what are the fruits of the Spirit? Is hatred toward any group of people, serve justice or anything that Christ taught. If you wish to gain the world's attention, as salt and light of this world, then your heart must be freed from hatred and filled with the love of God. I am sickened with "Christians" who support violence and hatred toward any man, you have forgotten the advocation of our Lord, "Love thine enemy". It doesnt say love those who love you, or like you, or believe the same way you do, it says to "love our enemy", just as you were an enemy of Yahweh, ie; God showed his love that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!
Let your burning hatred of others die, let your nationalism, etc, die, to Christ, and give him the glory for His love, and instead of burning the Koran on September 11I invite you to rather offer a meal and clothing to any poor Muslim or other people's as an offering of love to them, especially the hundereds of children, men and women over in Iraq, that are not "terrorist" who were hurt by our war, even in Afghanistan there are the poor and hungry. Do good to your enemy, Jesus said, and it will be as hot coals upon their head. Most people have misinterpreted this as yet another way to hurt them, Jesus didnt say this, he said, that in doing so, it would sear their conscience of hatred and they would see the reality of love. I and anyone who understands the peace of our Lord, who is the Prince of Peace, to let go of your hatred. The kingdoms of this world will continue to come down, but the Kingdom of Christ which is a spiritual kingdom will last forever. Shall any Muslim or any other group regardless what they do, separate us from the "love of God found in Christ Jesus our Lord? Of course, not, it is time Christians be known for who they are, and what the fruit of the Spirit is. We have too long been blinded by hatred, violence, and more. Muslims will never accept the Jesus you teach for he is the same as their Allah. Even to this day because of this kind of hatred expressed by the Crusades, we are still considered as Christians to the Muslim as Crusaders. Are we crusaders for the kingdom of man's church, or we living epistles written on the hearts of men, of Jesus Christ and His love expressed at Calvary to all men everywhere. Jesus Christ is the "good news" not America, nor any other government or religion. I have been praying for and writing to see American Christians change to allow the very one they claim is their Savior to rule their hearts for a very long time now. This is how we make Him king. The religion of Christianity has done much harm to men as radical Islam factions have. Those who know Christ, will refuse violence and hatred and walk in Him, so that we can reveal "Christ within us". I correct you as Christ corrected the Corinthians in Chapter 13:5 of 2 Corinthians - I ask myself this question each day, and we are to do so for Christianity is not a religion- it is Christ, the one who reconciled us unto God, not that God had ever quit loving His creature man, it was because of our sin, that couldn't see God's love. Now He has washed it all away for all men, by the precious blood of the perfect Lamb- Yeshua ha Meshiach.
I am not "Jewish" either, I am only a part of the body of Christ "the Ekklesia" his called out one's. Are you called out from this world or of this world when you express hatred. We must love our Muslim neighbors, our Jewish neigbors by presenting the Truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. we have for too long presented ourselves not as Christ like one's. For far too long the church of so called Christians has expressed to much hatred for others.
Of course, the love of Christ in us, as us and through us, can only be expressed by Him, so do as I do, pray first for yourself, that you will reveal His fruit, then pray for others who may hate you, disdain you, and even harm you.
Let us pray together.
Our Father who Are in heaven,THY KINGDOM COME, thy WILL BE DONE, as it is in heaven, so let it be on earth. Give us this day our daily bread ( our spiritual food), Forgive us, our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us, allow us not to fall into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the glory and the power FOREVER!
The greatest love ever revealed will be the love we reveal as we allow Christ to love through us. This is the narrow way, love, because the world knew Him not, they will not know us. Step away from your emotional feelings for a moment, pray and let Christ bring you to just rest in Him. I know this is difficult to do, it is very hard to be loving, when we feel we are being attacked by anyone, yet Yeshua showed His love, in a way, that no man has ever, not even I. I want to only grow into the stature and maturity of Him, that may judge no man, and love all men. Let love rule your heart, and we can say, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. I see you call yourself Pentecostal. I pray you will see, to say that the very Spirit of Christ is upon you, that you must first see, He that is in you. If so, what Son of God, would burn a book, that has no meaning for us. Who cares, will you begin to burn all books, like Hitler did? This is senseless and even more without the Spirit of love in it.
Turn to love, on September 11, offer the Muslim's of your community love instead of hatred, offer them a meal and let your life be the Gospel- the good news!
Doctor J.
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Showing posts with label hate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hate. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Mars the god of War Is Now Jesus
In history one can find the beginnings of the mythological god named Mars. This god has not died, he persist even today as the true god of those who though in name claim they are Christian, but in deed and in word, they worship Mars the great god of war.
I quote from an excellent analysis of war from a book entitled, " A Terrible Love of War, by James Hillman. Hillman's analysis is true in so many areas, even though he is a psychologist and former Director of Studies at the Carl Jung Institute in Zurich.
It is clear in biblical truth that he is not a true Christian, but in the reality of what most of those believe and do in deed and word he is "christian", as he explains. Western theology, the way of life and all, most individuals who are in this country lay claim to being christian. Matter of fact, 80% of America claims to be Christian from polls done.
Though in truth I know and anybody who has a true comprehension of Jesus' life, the life of the Apostles, and the martyrs, that until Constantine- the church was founded by the Prince of Peace, but from that point on the god Mars has become our god, superimposed upon Jesus, the Prince of Peace, he is now the War God. These are they that are not biblical Christians, they are what Western idealism has made them, hypocrites! They still since the time of Constantine hold fast the doctrines of a pagan god Mars as their new Jesus.
Western Christianity's god comes front and center when war is in the air. War brings it's god to life. In World War 2, this god was a co-pilot on bombing runs, as one book title declared, and a popular song turned a chaplain into a "helluva gunner". In World War 1, "Clergymen dressed Jesus in Khaki and had him firing machine guns". The bishop of London exhorted his Christian fellows to "kill the good as well as the bad...kill the young men as well as the old...kill those who have shown kindness to our wounded as well as those fiends..."
Let me quote from a prayer in his book which so typifies the prayers of the Babylonian church (Kirke) today. These have become the prayers of the faithful - those Christian Nationalist and Pro- Zionist just before battle.
O Lord Our God,
help us
to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells;
help us
to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriotic dead;
help us
to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded writhing in pain;
help us
to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire;
Ah! war has such a sweet sound to the faithful, herein is their chance to prove their god Mars overall is god of all gods. To put this in place they declare this when by mere defeat of an enemy through bloodshed and violence, that American truth and American Christianity is the only truth and that we shall rule the world whether you like it or not.
To ask the question: here is what James Hillman ask, and I do the same.
"The retreat to love leaves untouched the important question that each of us as Christians must pose: why is Christianity, which entered the world as a religion of love and has distinguished itself from other world religions by the message of love in it's founder and it's apostles and exemplified in its martyrs and saints, also so martial (lovers of war)?
Its notion of love has not coverted the god of war, and in fact the Christian culture has inspired the greatest long lasting war machine of any culture anywhere. Does this not demand from our educated Christian minds a sharper examination of Christian love?
I still marvel how those who prefer the New Covenant of grace and forgiveness for themselves offer none to others. What surprise they will have on Judgement Day by the Supreme Judge, who shall look at them, and say " I knew you not".
Until then Americans will continue with their pagan god Mars re-created into the image of the former Prince of Peace to now be called their great King of War and their "justified wars" so that the great "City of God' the United States and Israel may continue in their hypocrisy of the lie they live in, and live with.
How perverted the Gospel of Jesus has become, what shirking there shall be in shame when the Prince returns.
How Americans love their god of war Mars, and until the real Jesus stands up, and shouts no more, there will be wars and rumor of wars, until He comes.
As for me and my household, we are going to serve the living Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and true love. Who said emphatically in word and deed, "Love thy enemy".
If love is pointing guns at another and blowing his head off, then I will choose the opposite of this definition of love. I will choose true love, that looks down from a cross and says "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do".
The hardest words ever spoke by anyone that could only come from our Father who forgives those who forgives others.
How we have forgotten the truth of Christianity and bought into the babylonian baloney, the church of Constantine and his warriors, proclaiming visions of conquering under this sign, the cross. The cross symbolizes everything in Christianity of a submissive Savior but we in America have turned the cross as Constantine did, into a sword.
God have mercy on us, for we have bought the greatest lie of Satan ever, that we are superior over all others, and we are the soldiers of Jesus with our WMD's and our biowarfare and our super bombers, and our future weapons, we have come to believe conversion means to beat the pagan over the head until he bleeds, as the wounds bleed profusely and splatter blood onto our Bibles, and then we can shout, " I have made a new convert". Ah! When in truth we will be doing just what Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for, making a more of a child of the devil, then they were in the first place.
This lie has continued since the times of Constantine and can be studied by any and all in church history. Why because the church of America, is not the EKKLESIA, called out ones of Christ, but a mix bag of Judeo- altered truths, jewish myths, satanic lies, american ideas of patriotism, manifest destiny and a false gospel of purintee.. BUNK!
Come out of her!
She has perverted the truth of Christ into a mythological god named MARS!
The god of War.
I am sickened by knowing the truth. It makes my stomach turn when I hear others who claim to know Jesus, while loving war and supporting it, and proclaiming it holy.
I Thessalonians 2:13-16
4 For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus:for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews; 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and pleased not God, and are contrary to all men; 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always:but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Paul knew what to expect and it is here!
2 Timothy 4:3-4
1 I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto (fables).
or (myths) some translations say-
the mythological god of Mars - the war god is the myth they have turned to.
So, I hear the Word and act on the Word.
Titus 1:10-14
For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons. 13 This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure:but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
So here ye, here ye, ministers of unrighteousness, I reprove you sharply, so that you may become sound in the faith. Less, you are truly Satan who has appeared even as an angel of light.
Satan does have his ministers as well. War and the love of war are from the dredges of his bottomless pit. It was Satan who authored the first real war, when he rebelled against God, and the first human followed soon afterward with the murder of Abel.
I invite you to know the REAL JESUS - PRINCE OF PEACE, who said "my Kingdom is not of this world".
Dr. J.
I quote from an excellent analysis of war from a book entitled, " A Terrible Love of War, by James Hillman. Hillman's analysis is true in so many areas, even though he is a psychologist and former Director of Studies at the Carl Jung Institute in Zurich.
It is clear in biblical truth that he is not a true Christian, but in the reality of what most of those believe and do in deed and word he is "christian", as he explains. Western theology, the way of life and all, most individuals who are in this country lay claim to being christian. Matter of fact, 80% of America claims to be Christian from polls done.
Though in truth I know and anybody who has a true comprehension of Jesus' life, the life of the Apostles, and the martyrs, that until Constantine- the church was founded by the Prince of Peace, but from that point on the god Mars has become our god, superimposed upon Jesus, the Prince of Peace, he is now the War God. These are they that are not biblical Christians, they are what Western idealism has made them, hypocrites! They still since the time of Constantine hold fast the doctrines of a pagan god Mars as their new Jesus.
Western Christianity's god comes front and center when war is in the air. War brings it's god to life. In World War 2, this god was a co-pilot on bombing runs, as one book title declared, and a popular song turned a chaplain into a "helluva gunner". In World War 1, "Clergymen dressed Jesus in Khaki and had him firing machine guns". The bishop of London exhorted his Christian fellows to "kill the good as well as the bad...kill the young men as well as the old...kill those who have shown kindness to our wounded as well as those fiends..."
Let me quote from a prayer in his book which so typifies the prayers of the Babylonian church (Kirke) today. These have become the prayers of the faithful - those Christian Nationalist and Pro- Zionist just before battle.
O Lord Our God,
help us
to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells;
help us
to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriotic dead;
help us
to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded writhing in pain;
help us
to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire;
Ah! war has such a sweet sound to the faithful, herein is their chance to prove their god Mars overall is god of all gods. To put this in place they declare this when by mere defeat of an enemy through bloodshed and violence, that American truth and American Christianity is the only truth and that we shall rule the world whether you like it or not.
To ask the question: here is what James Hillman ask, and I do the same.
"The retreat to love leaves untouched the important question that each of us as Christians must pose: why is Christianity, which entered the world as a religion of love and has distinguished itself from other world religions by the message of love in it's founder and it's apostles and exemplified in its martyrs and saints, also so martial (lovers of war)?
Its notion of love has not coverted the god of war, and in fact the Christian culture has inspired the greatest long lasting war machine of any culture anywhere. Does this not demand from our educated Christian minds a sharper examination of Christian love?
I still marvel how those who prefer the New Covenant of grace and forgiveness for themselves offer none to others. What surprise they will have on Judgement Day by the Supreme Judge, who shall look at them, and say " I knew you not".
Until then Americans will continue with their pagan god Mars re-created into the image of the former Prince of Peace to now be called their great King of War and their "justified wars" so that the great "City of God' the United States and Israel may continue in their hypocrisy of the lie they live in, and live with.
How perverted the Gospel of Jesus has become, what shirking there shall be in shame when the Prince returns.
How Americans love their god of war Mars, and until the real Jesus stands up, and shouts no more, there will be wars and rumor of wars, until He comes.
As for me and my household, we are going to serve the living Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and true love. Who said emphatically in word and deed, "Love thy enemy".
If love is pointing guns at another and blowing his head off, then I will choose the opposite of this definition of love. I will choose true love, that looks down from a cross and says "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do".
The hardest words ever spoke by anyone that could only come from our Father who forgives those who forgives others.
How we have forgotten the truth of Christianity and bought into the babylonian baloney, the church of Constantine and his warriors, proclaiming visions of conquering under this sign, the cross. The cross symbolizes everything in Christianity of a submissive Savior but we in America have turned the cross as Constantine did, into a sword.
God have mercy on us, for we have bought the greatest lie of Satan ever, that we are superior over all others, and we are the soldiers of Jesus with our WMD's and our biowarfare and our super bombers, and our future weapons, we have come to believe conversion means to beat the pagan over the head until he bleeds, as the wounds bleed profusely and splatter blood onto our Bibles, and then we can shout, " I have made a new convert". Ah! When in truth we will be doing just what Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for, making a more of a child of the devil, then they were in the first place.
This lie has continued since the times of Constantine and can be studied by any and all in church history. Why because the church of America, is not the EKKLESIA, called out ones of Christ, but a mix bag of Judeo- altered truths, jewish myths, satanic lies, american ideas of patriotism, manifest destiny and a false gospel of purintee.. BUNK!
Come out of her!
She has perverted the truth of Christ into a mythological god named MARS!
The god of War.
I am sickened by knowing the truth. It makes my stomach turn when I hear others who claim to know Jesus, while loving war and supporting it, and proclaiming it holy.
I Thessalonians 2:13-16
4 For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus:for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews; 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and pleased not God, and are contrary to all men; 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always:but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Paul knew what to expect and it is here!
2 Timothy 4:3-4
1 I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto (fables).
or (myths) some translations say-
the mythological god of Mars - the war god is the myth they have turned to.
So, I hear the Word and act on the Word.
Titus 1:10-14
For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons. 13 This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure:but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
So here ye, here ye, ministers of unrighteousness, I reprove you sharply, so that you may become sound in the faith. Less, you are truly Satan who has appeared even as an angel of light.
Satan does have his ministers as well. War and the love of war are from the dredges of his bottomless pit. It was Satan who authored the first real war, when he rebelled against God, and the first human followed soon afterward with the murder of Abel.
I invite you to know the REAL JESUS - PRINCE OF PEACE, who said "my Kingdom is not of this world".
Dr. J.
Monday, March 26, 2007
For The Sake of Christ vs For the Sake of Argument
I have been doing some recent reading on a Theological perspective that has the Presbyterians and other denominations in turmoil. This theology is called "The New Perspective". Perhaps at another time, I will discuss this and how it is effecting many organized institutional "churches".
I did want to quote something written by a Reformed Theologian who has wrote a paper about this subject. My reasoning for doing so will be explained after his statement.
*We can become preoccupied with debate –making faith an expression of cerebral competition and intellectual arrogance rather than heart engagement and spiritual dependence. If our ministries only become battlegrounds for sacramental correctness rather than instruments for promoting the Gospel of grace, then we and the Church will have lost much. We all must pray earnestly for the work of the Spirit in our hearts to help us determine whether our efforts are turning the Church toward ever-greater introspection and isolation, or whether we are preparing the Church for Gospel-true priorities and progress. Each must examine his own heart to ask if what he is doing and teaching is creating greater love for Jesus that liberates the soul to serve Him, or is binding God’s people to standards of ecclesiastical correctness rooted in our own doctrinal insecurities and preferences.
We need the Lord’s wisdom to know what needs to be defended, what needs to be denounced, and what needs to be ignored because it only appeals to our appetite for argument.
Dr. Bryan Chapell - President and Professor of Practical Theology- Covenant Theological Seminary. From his writing on "an Explanation of the New Perspective - for friends of Covenant Theological Seminary.
His final statement as written, is important.
Now, I ask myself, why do I so want to attack Dispensationalism as it is especially presented into today's churches by people like the Reverend Hagee and others.
I can tell you, with heartfelt sincerity and Spirit taught truth and a longing deep desire to see Christ as center of whatever we do or say, this is my reason for the debate.
I wholeheartedly believe that at the heart of this false teaching and other teachings is a subtle demon leading people from Christ and His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, Paul's declarations on salvation, and who Israel is and what is the Kingdom of God and where does God reign, in the heart of the believer or in a man instituted government that will restore the shadow of the things that Christ has removed from us. The very things that He has revealed in truth to, his life, death and resurrection, Pentecost and the continued life of Christ in the believer is at risk of being degrinated, and shunned, for a false teaching that has existed throughout man's history, dominance over another man, and their land or their goods dictated by another men.
Historically, it always results in war and blood shed and a totalitarian existence for those conquered.
I don't argue for the sake of argument. I believe that the subject of Dispensationalism, Christian Zionism and Christian Nationalism are the most dangerous prevailing doctrines to the truth of scripture and Christ. These subjects that have become so very popular with the "church", I believe in my heart will lead to totalitarianism, a police state, apartheid government, a false Theocracy and the suffering that will come will be upon the Christian, those who truly hold the truth's of the Sermon on the Mount, and all of the work of Jesus to bring salvation to us, and those living out Christ in them, the hope of glory, will be killed at the very hands of those that now are the tares amongst the wheat in the organized "church".
In all of this, there will come more and more of a propensity to drive law towards more and more capital punishment for minimal crimes.
Just as in Saudi Arabia, you can chop of the hands of someone who steals, I believe the whole concept will lead to a bloodthirst of others, which the "church" will relish seeing and watching, and calling what is evil - good.
These things are already happening, but the uneducated on the real news going on around the world, and the real autrocities going on even at the hands of America and Israel are often times hidden from the populace or they just choose not to look at it to believe the lie.
We have made an unholy alliance that will lead more and more down the road to eliminating everything that we say we are fighting for - freedom. Without this freedom, there will be only the freedom to choose between the interpretation of things by the elite few, the religious leaders like Hagee, Robertson and others who think they can establish a Theocracy or the freedom to have death for opposing their views and the views of the prevailing majority who will be seriously blinded by the "god of this age"- Satan.
The spirit of anti-christ is here, now. I will say in all seriousness, it can be found in the warmongering, bloodthirsty mouths of all those in organized religious leaders spewing out of their mouths the lie of Dispensationalism, which has lead them into a pro-zionist view, that has become in their minds a Christian nationalist view. I pity them for not seeing Jesus anymore.
I pity them for leaving their first love. I pity them for turning to a false gospel of violence from the Prince of Peace. I pity them, that they have quenched the voice of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
.
False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake! from 2 Peter Chapter 2
Nothing can better describe many of these ministries, then they deny the Master who bought them, and they do it to make merchandise of you. They preach for profit, and riches and to make themselves important.
Did you know that Pat Robertson has a jet given to him by the Israeli government, and that he has a jet he leases out to others to fly, and makes a profit off this as well, all money provided by the "faithful".
These may all be facts to some of you, but you have been so blinded to truth, it won't bother you.
You will say, oh well! what's wrong with giving to those who preach the gospel.
First. I will declare they are presenting a false gospel.
Second listen to Paul - the greatest preacher of the true Gospel since.
You yourselves know very well that you should do just what we did. We were not lazy when we were with you. We did not accept anyone’s support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you.
2 Thessalonians Chapter 3
Paul was a tentmaker and anyone with common sense and reading of these scriptures knows until Paul was imprisoned, he drew no financial support by demand, salary or hourly. He did recieve gifts from time to time, but never a "tithe" for his missionary work.
He was self sufficient in Christ, and many times this resulted in the following "prosperity" for him. I have placed this prosperity in bold.
But if anyone dares to boast about something—I am talking like a fool—I will be just as daring. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they Christ’s servants? I sound like a madman—but I am a better servant than they are! I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often. Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews; three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when someone is led into sin, I am filled with distress.
If I must boast, I will boast about things that show how weak I am. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus—blessed be his name forever!—knows that I am not lying.
2 Corinthians Chapter 11
If anybody was preaching health, wealth and prosperity - it sure wasn't Paul. He knew that being a Christian was counting the cost, and the cost was great!
Opulent lifestyles, big caravans, fancy homes, lots of cash, sure wasn't the story the Apostles nor the Lord Jesus Christ could boast about while they ministered. They had no home, no place to rest their heads, because their call was greater than all that. There call was a higher call.
The lie of health, wealth and prosperity teaching has stolen from the Gospel and Christ as well, and right along with Dispensationalism, Escapism Rapture, Christian Zionism, and Nationalism, these are made up of three things of this world.
Lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and the pride of life!
Do not love the world, nor the things in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him
We are to contend for the Faith always and hold to the traditions that have been taught to us by Christ and the Apostles.
We cannot make the same mistake that Israel did, and explain away the Word of God for the traditions of men.
Christians that say they believe in "justified war" can give no answer to Christ teaching on "love your enemy". Then to deny it.
The Dispensationalist can give no answers to Paul's writing that both Gentile and Jew are "one" now in Christ. Then to deny it.
The Health, Wealth and Prosperity teachers can give no answer for the suffering of all saints through the ages. When they do offer answers, they are nonsense, and scripture twisted to benefit them. They deny the truth for greed.
I know that surely, more sermons today are preached toward making the flesh feel good, then there are sermons that make a broken and contrite spirit before a Holy God, that would make us beat our chest and say "have mercy upon me a sinner".
No, our days are the days of Pastor or Reverend- Feel Good.
Please make me feel good about my materialism, my nationalism, my hatred for those that don't fit my image of God (which is an image of my self), hatred for anyone I prefer to hate and help me justify it. Help me Lord to take and get all I can get in this life, "as I only go around once, so I got to grab all the gusto I can". We enter a false temple, to get a false sense of well being, from a false priest too often.
I am sickened by the "me" sermons. What's in it for me? Yea, preacher, preach it, it makes me feel good, it pumps up my human drive to accomplish great things in this world for myself.
It makes me excited, it's like those sales seminars I go to, I love it man, preach it. I can go out of here and conquer the world for my flesh.
The question we should be asking, is what is in it for our heavenly father and the Kingdom of God (his rule in my life) and sacrificial love expressed to others. A love that puts others first over the "me". If worship is nothing more than pumping up the human spirit, I know some better speakers than a lot of preachers in that area. This is where we have gone, the better Dr. Feel Good is at making me feel good, the bigger the numbers become, and the more money there is to build a temple unto myself. Bigger crowds means more money, and more praise for my flesh.
My stomach is sickened when I hear the feel good sermons, not that Our heavenly Father doesnt want us to feel good.
The Kingdom of God is about the Holy Spirit, it is about joy, peace and righteousness in Him, all these things can bring psychological and emotional "feel goods".
The reason most often we don''t have this is that we have not given recognition to our need to let go of all the other things that substitute for this.
Material wealth, perfect health, being the top dog, etc. Our idea to be the best over others, etc.
The guy with the biggest toys when he dies, wins! That's the exclamation of the new "me" crowd and the preachers who drive them with their humanistic sermons.
I would go even as far to say, it is because of these false teachings and the false gospels, that more church going Christians, suffer depression and anxiety, than those that aren't proclaiming to be Christian or those who have "come out of her", the institutional organizational Babylon.
Why is this? because of a false gospel they are living in the flesh as carnal Christians, the flesh wars with the Spirit, and as long as you sow to the flesh - it's what you get - more of it. There is a clear dictomomy between the flesh and the spirit once you have been given the new birth in Christ by the Holy Spirit. You will be in a stuggle, yes, but it is a struggle that can only be won in the Spirit and by the Spirit. You must fall into the arms of Jesus and rely upon his resurrected power to overcome the flesh and this means having a paradigm shift of thinking as well, and this comes through the study of God's Word, without commentary at hand, without interpretation from some super spiritual teachers, or school. It comes as we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit as our one and only true teacher of the Word. Soak your self in the Word, fill you heart with it , breathe it, eat it, and love it, and change will happen.
David put it this way, let me hide your Word in my heart that I might not sin against YOU!
Then, go back and read all the traditions of men, and you will have a huge paradigm shift of thinking, because now you will see things through the eyes of Christ and not the organization you belong to, not to any denominations doctrine, you will see God for the first time - in your heart and your need for Him in every aspect of your life, above all things. You will see and realize how wonderful it is when He grants the grace not only for us to believe but to live the Christian life.
Then stand fast to the traditions taught you by the Word of Christ, no matter what.
He is the ulitmate authority for all things doctrinal or "sacramental" or other.
No man can give you what the Father will - TRUTH!
In all the false teachings that are going around, these teachings, disturb me the most, and I will shout it out from the house tops if I have too. False teaching is false teaching and their is no compromise with darkness. We are to abstain from even the appearance of evil.
Greed, war, hate, pride, all these things, all come from evil. Satan is disguising himself as an angel of light, in his ministers.
So, if you read my editorials, comments or news, you will find, often that I appear negative.
I am not negative, I believe in the most positive thing that ever happened to mankind, the love of God expressed in Christ toward us.
I do pray and hope that my writing will make believers more like the Bereans when they heard the Gospel preached.
The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11)
If I accomplish this one thing, if I give you a readiness to recieve God's word, and to make a sincere search and study for yourself, of scripture, politics, history and all these that are associated in many ways, I will have accomplished my calling from God, it is to stir the gift within you, the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings holiness into your life.
My calling is the ministry of reconcialation, and that calling is to express to as many men, women and children, God reconciling men unto himself through Christ and how that reconciliation should affect us in every area of our lives in being reconciled to all people, of all races, economics, culture and life. The Gospel is the only thing, when taught in truth that brings peace and love, to a world that is torn by hate, war, greed and pride.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Do you really want peace in your heart, that is everlasting, that provides greater joy than all the things material that we could ever buy or own, greater than all the position you could hold, greater than the day your first child was born, come to Yeshua Messiach - Jesus the Messiah. Come to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords who offers a Kingdom that is everlasting and takes in all men, that have recieved him with joy.
So, my arguments are presented "for the sake of Christ".
With that said, I will continue to Contend for the faith always. I will always, God help me, stand up and speak out against error and false teaching. Christ first always!
Dr. J.
I did want to quote something written by a Reformed Theologian who has wrote a paper about this subject. My reasoning for doing so will be explained after his statement.
*We can become preoccupied with debate –making faith an expression of cerebral competition and intellectual arrogance rather than heart engagement and spiritual dependence. If our ministries only become battlegrounds for sacramental correctness rather than instruments for promoting the Gospel of grace, then we and the Church will have lost much. We all must pray earnestly for the work of the Spirit in our hearts to help us determine whether our efforts are turning the Church toward ever-greater introspection and isolation, or whether we are preparing the Church for Gospel-true priorities and progress. Each must examine his own heart to ask if what he is doing and teaching is creating greater love for Jesus that liberates the soul to serve Him, or is binding God’s people to standards of ecclesiastical correctness rooted in our own doctrinal insecurities and preferences.
We need the Lord’s wisdom to know what needs to be defended, what needs to be denounced, and what needs to be ignored because it only appeals to our appetite for argument.
Dr. Bryan Chapell - President and Professor of Practical Theology- Covenant Theological Seminary. From his writing on "an Explanation of the New Perspective - for friends of Covenant Theological Seminary.
His final statement as written, is important.
Now, I ask myself, why do I so want to attack Dispensationalism as it is especially presented into today's churches by people like the Reverend Hagee and others.
I can tell you, with heartfelt sincerity and Spirit taught truth and a longing deep desire to see Christ as center of whatever we do or say, this is my reason for the debate.
I wholeheartedly believe that at the heart of this false teaching and other teachings is a subtle demon leading people from Christ and His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, Paul's declarations on salvation, and who Israel is and what is the Kingdom of God and where does God reign, in the heart of the believer or in a man instituted government that will restore the shadow of the things that Christ has removed from us. The very things that He has revealed in truth to, his life, death and resurrection, Pentecost and the continued life of Christ in the believer is at risk of being degrinated, and shunned, for a false teaching that has existed throughout man's history, dominance over another man, and their land or their goods dictated by another men.
Historically, it always results in war and blood shed and a totalitarian existence for those conquered.
I don't argue for the sake of argument. I believe that the subject of Dispensationalism, Christian Zionism and Christian Nationalism are the most dangerous prevailing doctrines to the truth of scripture and Christ. These subjects that have become so very popular with the "church", I believe in my heart will lead to totalitarianism, a police state, apartheid government, a false Theocracy and the suffering that will come will be upon the Christian, those who truly hold the truth's of the Sermon on the Mount, and all of the work of Jesus to bring salvation to us, and those living out Christ in them, the hope of glory, will be killed at the very hands of those that now are the tares amongst the wheat in the organized "church".
In all of this, there will come more and more of a propensity to drive law towards more and more capital punishment for minimal crimes.
Just as in Saudi Arabia, you can chop of the hands of someone who steals, I believe the whole concept will lead to a bloodthirst of others, which the "church" will relish seeing and watching, and calling what is evil - good.
These things are already happening, but the uneducated on the real news going on around the world, and the real autrocities going on even at the hands of America and Israel are often times hidden from the populace or they just choose not to look at it to believe the lie.
We have made an unholy alliance that will lead more and more down the road to eliminating everything that we say we are fighting for - freedom. Without this freedom, there will be only the freedom to choose between the interpretation of things by the elite few, the religious leaders like Hagee, Robertson and others who think they can establish a Theocracy or the freedom to have death for opposing their views and the views of the prevailing majority who will be seriously blinded by the "god of this age"- Satan.
The spirit of anti-christ is here, now. I will say in all seriousness, it can be found in the warmongering, bloodthirsty mouths of all those in organized religious leaders spewing out of their mouths the lie of Dispensationalism, which has lead them into a pro-zionist view, that has become in their minds a Christian nationalist view. I pity them for not seeing Jesus anymore.
I pity them for leaving their first love. I pity them for turning to a false gospel of violence from the Prince of Peace. I pity them, that they have quenched the voice of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
.
False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake! from 2 Peter Chapter 2
Nothing can better describe many of these ministries, then they deny the Master who bought them, and they do it to make merchandise of you. They preach for profit, and riches and to make themselves important.
Did you know that Pat Robertson has a jet given to him by the Israeli government, and that he has a jet he leases out to others to fly, and makes a profit off this as well, all money provided by the "faithful".
These may all be facts to some of you, but you have been so blinded to truth, it won't bother you.
You will say, oh well! what's wrong with giving to those who preach the gospel.
First. I will declare they are presenting a false gospel.
Second listen to Paul - the greatest preacher of the true Gospel since.
You yourselves know very well that you should do just what we did. We were not lazy when we were with you. We did not accept anyone’s support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you.
2 Thessalonians Chapter 3
Paul was a tentmaker and anyone with common sense and reading of these scriptures knows until Paul was imprisoned, he drew no financial support by demand, salary or hourly. He did recieve gifts from time to time, but never a "tithe" for his missionary work.
He was self sufficient in Christ, and many times this resulted in the following "prosperity" for him. I have placed this prosperity in bold.
But if anyone dares to boast about something—I am talking like a fool—I will be just as daring. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they Christ’s servants? I sound like a madman—but I am a better servant than they are! I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often. Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews; three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when someone is led into sin, I am filled with distress.
If I must boast, I will boast about things that show how weak I am. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus—blessed be his name forever!—knows that I am not lying.
2 Corinthians Chapter 11
If anybody was preaching health, wealth and prosperity - it sure wasn't Paul. He knew that being a Christian was counting the cost, and the cost was great!
Opulent lifestyles, big caravans, fancy homes, lots of cash, sure wasn't the story the Apostles nor the Lord Jesus Christ could boast about while they ministered. They had no home, no place to rest their heads, because their call was greater than all that. There call was a higher call.
The lie of health, wealth and prosperity teaching has stolen from the Gospel and Christ as well, and right along with Dispensationalism, Escapism Rapture, Christian Zionism, and Nationalism, these are made up of three things of this world.
Lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and the pride of life!
Do not love the world, nor the things in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him
We are to contend for the Faith always and hold to the traditions that have been taught to us by Christ and the Apostles.
We cannot make the same mistake that Israel did, and explain away the Word of God for the traditions of men.
Christians that say they believe in "justified war" can give no answer to Christ teaching on "love your enemy". Then to deny it.
The Dispensationalist can give no answers to Paul's writing that both Gentile and Jew are "one" now in Christ. Then to deny it.
The Health, Wealth and Prosperity teachers can give no answer for the suffering of all saints through the ages. When they do offer answers, they are nonsense, and scripture twisted to benefit them. They deny the truth for greed.
I know that surely, more sermons today are preached toward making the flesh feel good, then there are sermons that make a broken and contrite spirit before a Holy God, that would make us beat our chest and say "have mercy upon me a sinner".
No, our days are the days of Pastor or Reverend- Feel Good.
Please make me feel good about my materialism, my nationalism, my hatred for those that don't fit my image of God (which is an image of my self), hatred for anyone I prefer to hate and help me justify it. Help me Lord to take and get all I can get in this life, "as I only go around once, so I got to grab all the gusto I can". We enter a false temple, to get a false sense of well being, from a false priest too often.
I am sickened by the "me" sermons. What's in it for me? Yea, preacher, preach it, it makes me feel good, it pumps up my human drive to accomplish great things in this world for myself.
It makes me excited, it's like those sales seminars I go to, I love it man, preach it. I can go out of here and conquer the world for my flesh.
The question we should be asking, is what is in it for our heavenly father and the Kingdom of God (his rule in my life) and sacrificial love expressed to others. A love that puts others first over the "me". If worship is nothing more than pumping up the human spirit, I know some better speakers than a lot of preachers in that area. This is where we have gone, the better Dr. Feel Good is at making me feel good, the bigger the numbers become, and the more money there is to build a temple unto myself. Bigger crowds means more money, and more praise for my flesh.
My stomach is sickened when I hear the feel good sermons, not that Our heavenly Father doesnt want us to feel good.
The Kingdom of God is about the Holy Spirit, it is about joy, peace and righteousness in Him, all these things can bring psychological and emotional "feel goods".
The reason most often we don''t have this is that we have not given recognition to our need to let go of all the other things that substitute for this.
Material wealth, perfect health, being the top dog, etc. Our idea to be the best over others, etc.
The guy with the biggest toys when he dies, wins! That's the exclamation of the new "me" crowd and the preachers who drive them with their humanistic sermons.
I would go even as far to say, it is because of these false teachings and the false gospels, that more church going Christians, suffer depression and anxiety, than those that aren't proclaiming to be Christian or those who have "come out of her", the institutional organizational Babylon.
Why is this? because of a false gospel they are living in the flesh as carnal Christians, the flesh wars with the Spirit, and as long as you sow to the flesh - it's what you get - more of it. There is a clear dictomomy between the flesh and the spirit once you have been given the new birth in Christ by the Holy Spirit. You will be in a stuggle, yes, but it is a struggle that can only be won in the Spirit and by the Spirit. You must fall into the arms of Jesus and rely upon his resurrected power to overcome the flesh and this means having a paradigm shift of thinking as well, and this comes through the study of God's Word, without commentary at hand, without interpretation from some super spiritual teachers, or school. It comes as we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit as our one and only true teacher of the Word. Soak your self in the Word, fill you heart with it , breathe it, eat it, and love it, and change will happen.
David put it this way, let me hide your Word in my heart that I might not sin against YOU!
Then, go back and read all the traditions of men, and you will have a huge paradigm shift of thinking, because now you will see things through the eyes of Christ and not the organization you belong to, not to any denominations doctrine, you will see God for the first time - in your heart and your need for Him in every aspect of your life, above all things. You will see and realize how wonderful it is when He grants the grace not only for us to believe but to live the Christian life.
Then stand fast to the traditions taught you by the Word of Christ, no matter what.
He is the ulitmate authority for all things doctrinal or "sacramental" or other.
No man can give you what the Father will - TRUTH!
In all the false teachings that are going around, these teachings, disturb me the most, and I will shout it out from the house tops if I have too. False teaching is false teaching and their is no compromise with darkness. We are to abstain from even the appearance of evil.
Greed, war, hate, pride, all these things, all come from evil. Satan is disguising himself as an angel of light, in his ministers.
So, if you read my editorials, comments or news, you will find, often that I appear negative.
I am not negative, I believe in the most positive thing that ever happened to mankind, the love of God expressed in Christ toward us.
I do pray and hope that my writing will make believers more like the Bereans when they heard the Gospel preached.
The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11)
If I accomplish this one thing, if I give you a readiness to recieve God's word, and to make a sincere search and study for yourself, of scripture, politics, history and all these that are associated in many ways, I will have accomplished my calling from God, it is to stir the gift within you, the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings holiness into your life.
My calling is the ministry of reconcialation, and that calling is to express to as many men, women and children, God reconciling men unto himself through Christ and how that reconciliation should affect us in every area of our lives in being reconciled to all people, of all races, economics, culture and life. The Gospel is the only thing, when taught in truth that brings peace and love, to a world that is torn by hate, war, greed and pride.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Do you really want peace in your heart, that is everlasting, that provides greater joy than all the things material that we could ever buy or own, greater than all the position you could hold, greater than the day your first child was born, come to Yeshua Messiach - Jesus the Messiah. Come to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords who offers a Kingdom that is everlasting and takes in all men, that have recieved him with joy.
So, my arguments are presented "for the sake of Christ".
With that said, I will continue to Contend for the faith always. I will always, God help me, stand up and speak out against error and false teaching. Christ first always!
Dr. J.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
War and Taxes - A Call to the Christian Conscience
"What would you do if someone came to your door, with a cup in hand asking for your contribution to help buy guns to kill a group of people they didn't like"?
You would either ask the questions as to who and why, as many do today, accepting the governments explanation for spending 30-40% of your income tax for the wars it is involved in, or you would say go away, I'm not giving you anything to kill anybody.
Going with the latter answer, it seems the most logical when offered no explanation for this contribution other than to buy guns and kill a group of people they didn't like.
Here is the problem of tax paying for those like myself, who do not believe in war and believe Jesus brings a Gospel of peace.
Peace and goodwill to all men was the declaration of the angels at Christ's birth.
How the church has turned from the heart of the Gospel to where most fundamentalist today stand is a subject I am writing on in a book I intend to title "Why The American Church is Failing",
The question of paying taxes is a question we must face as a non-resistant believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. This question I believe has been answered with suggestions of how to resist by either no payment or partial payments to the IRS and great clarity of the penalties, etc. by the Mennonites www.mcc.org and the War Resistance League. www.warresistors.org
Here are some facts you may not be aware of:
Cost of the War in Iraq
$410,451,578,221
as of 8:46 on March 22, 2007
$410,451,578,221
as of 8:46 on March 22, 2007
MORE DEATHS
• More than 34,000 Iraqi civilian deaths in 2006 — twice as many as in 2005 — and 37,000 injured 1
• More than 12,000 Iraqi security forces killed since 2003 1
• More than 3,900 U.S. military and "coalition" forces dead with more than 38,400 U.S. military and coalition forces wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 2
• Twice as many Afghani deaths in 2006 — 4,400 (including 1,000 civilians) — compared to 2005 3
• More than 12,000 Iraqi security forces killed since 2003 1
• More than 3,900 U.S. military and "coalition" forces dead with more than 38,400 U.S. military and coalition forces wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 2
• Twice as many Afghani deaths in 2006 — 4,400 (including 1,000 civilians) — compared to 2005 3
LESS SECURITY
"Rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position."4
"It's a very candid assessment . . . stating the obvious," according to
one intelligence official.
one intelligence official.
1 UN report, 1/16/2007;
2 icasualties.org;
3 Human Rights Watch report (AP, 1/30/07);
4 A key finding of the National Intelligence Estimate, a 2006 report from 16 U.S. government spy agencies ("Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight," Washington Post, 9/24/06)
FEWER FRIENDS
2 icasualties.org;
3 Human Rights Watch report (AP, 1/30/07);
4 A key finding of the National Intelligence Estimate, a 2006 report from 16 U.S. government spy agencies ("Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight," Washington Post, 9/24/06)
FEWER FRIENDS
A poll of 26,000 people in 25 countries show the global view of the U.S. role in world affairs is deteriorating.
• 73% disapprove of U.S. role in Iraq
• 68% believe that the U.S. military presence in the middle East provokes more conflict than it prevents
• 49% believe the United States plays a mainly negative role in the world
• 73% disapprove of U.S. role in Iraq
• 68% believe that the U.S. military presence in the middle East provokes more conflict than it prevents
• 49% believe the United States plays a mainly negative role in the world
source: BBC World Service poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org
Now these facts alone are not enough to make many individuals war resistors, for the truth be told, fundamental churches have bought into the teachings of Dispensationalism and the result is war mongering, and more and more they have twisted scriptures, I believe to their own destruction. When I speak of destruction, they have left their first love, Jesus, for the love of the world, self and nationalistic pride.
I am someone who understands the IRS and their power. I have since 1983 been in a struggle against their tactics of intimidation and not because I had resisted paying taxes, in most cases, it was due to employers failing to report all I have paid, or to the IRS claims somehow enough was not paid. In some cases upon filing I found out that I still owed more taxes when during the time I was working and my employer was taking out taxes, I assumed they were taking out the right amount, then would find at the end of the year, I owed and I didn't have what was owed to pay.
I have always filed and never intentionally lied on my income tax return and simply tried to pay my tax as due. Misunderstanding the scripture in context when it says, pay taxes to whom taxes are due. We forget that this continues with saying, owe no debt to anyone but the debt of love.
I have since 1985 paid near every month additional payments to the IRS just to pay them what they claim I owe. In the last 6 years that has meant paying them, $250.00 a month until I finally got them to reduce it to $50.00 per month. I was at that time going through a period of unemployment, health problems and more, which left me broke. I am still only partially employed, doing direct marketing for 20 hours per week that pays only commissions when an appointment is set for the service representative to do a demo of our product. The demo must be carried through, sale or no sale, which means most often people have second thoughts and cancel their appointments I set. To this point I have earned only $584.00 - subtract taxes, in the past 5 weeks since going back to work part-time. I am still broke. I obtain little help from outside sources, but God is my sustainer and my provider and I remain thankful to him, for all that he has done for me and is doing for me. I have been unable to find full-time work, for 6 months now, and have sent out, over 100 resumes, to find that the corporate world is just not in the market for 53 year old men regardless of their education, experience and skills. I continue to look but still no replies, or answers to applications or resumes.
The IRS during all these years, would dig up new claims of owing them taxes even going back to the tax year 1993 in the year, 2005. This is over 12 years ago, assuredly there has to be some sort of law against going back that far. They know I couldn't prove them wrong if I wanted to, as those tax records are long gone. Those records are lost to the many moves I have made, the cleaning out of my home after my wife's untimely death in a freak car accident in 2001 and just in general of not holding onto these records because I didn't think it was important to keep them beyond 7 years.
I was mislead to think they could only go back 7 years. I guess I was wrong, I have had no one tell me different.
My wife and I had filed an Offer to Compromise in July 2001, they didn't respond after the longest time period, (per their statement they had 30 days to decide), I heard nothing for 9 months, we did hear from our Taxpayer's Advocate, two months after the filing that the IRS claimed they didn't get our electric utility bills, which we know they did and the Taxpayer's Advocate, said she recalled them being in the package she helped mail.
We went through the whole process again of accumulating these records to send them. Yet, still time went by. My wife of 27 years was killed in an accident on November 21, 2001, then not until April 2002, did I hear from them after I filed my taxes for 2002, and they had rejected our plea, When I called them they told me, now that my wife was dead, I would have to file "two" Offers of Compromise one under my dead wife's name and then one under my name. Needless to say, I was exasperated. I gave an attorney $4,000 of my wife's life insurance money I had inherited to file these, being assured by him he could help reduce my tax and get them to make an offer in settlement.
Instead the lawyer took me for a ride, did nothing and kept the money, then created a fake bill for his time- which might have been a total of 2 hours that we ever talked. The State only offered a grievance form to be filled out as the only means of action to be taken against him. This "shyster" knew what he was doing, he made it impossible for me to come back and get my money back, as he wrote the contract, to say in small lettering, "he guaranteed no results and no money back guarantee".
Lawyers like him commit a crime against people everyday and walk away, without penalty or repayment to their client. This is life in America, land of the rich and the oppressed.
Land where the lawyers make laws that oppress the poor and enrich the rich.
I lost my chance to file an Offer to Compromise and I lost $4,000 which could have been paid on the taxes which would have been better than the "thieving" lawyer stealing my money. So, there I was back to square one paying money to the IRS for years back that they claim I owe and I truthfully do not know that I do owe any taxes for most of the years claimed.
I have had during all this time, two personal audit meetings with them. One in 1986 and one sometime around 1994. Neither one of these would be what I call at that time a chance to prove them wrong with records but rather a time for them to tell me what I was going to pay and when.
My battle has gone from a Congressional tax case initiated by a Senator of Texas, Phil Gramm, who assisted me in getting the Tax Payers Advocate and an opportunity to settle for less with an Offer to Compromise, to the IRS denying of my Offers to Compromise, to them requiring two new Offers of Compromise, to no offer filed because a lawyer stole my money, to paying them monthly from 2002 - 2005 - $250.00 per month to paying $50.00 per month until I finally couldn't pay them anything due to my bad health and unemployment.
I now suppose I will get the typical letters of demand - "pay or else" threats again. To be quite honest, I am not only tired of the harassment, I am tired of contributing any money period to a nation that has gone mad and spends over 31% of our income taxes for WAR!
I am tired of the threats and the harassment, I have nothing for them to take, and welcome them to take the only thing I own, a 1996 Pickup truck which has over 168,000 miles on it and is my only means of transportation. Take away my means of transportation they take away my ever having a chance to pay their taxes. Garnish my small earnings I have right now, I quit work and they get nothing.
I would say I should be declared "uncollectible". Since the rejection in 2002, I have paid what they claimed was $28,000 down to about 9,000 dollars. The remaining $9,000 is as debatable as that which they have already collected from me. You have to remember this is the Internal Revenue Service. Though I have dealt with some individuals by telephone who have been very understanding, the collections process is not. The poor men, pays by intimidation which they the IRS know works well. The rich men is very seldom harassed because he can afford large tax attorney firms that can hold collections up in court for years. They almost always can obtain an Offer to Compromise and pay little of the actual tax due. I once read a report by a former IRS collector who said this was their practice and the managers of the IRS collection department made this very clear to their collectors, to collect from those that they could intimidate, "the poor".
I am a peace lover, I am strong believer in non-resistance as Christ taught and the Apostles lived out with the practices of the earliest believers who died for their faith in the Roman Coliseums and even on a cross hung upside down as Peter did. The Great Persecution or The Great Tribulation.
Why didn't any of them resist those who persecuted them? Why didn't the early Christians including Paul take up a sword and form a group of people to fight their oppressors. Not one of them ever lifted their hand to strike out at their persecutors, all except Peter on the night at Gethsemane and then Christ told him to put down his sword and the Jesus healed the servants ear.
We must ask ourselves, if we are truly Christians, one specific question. Doesn't contribution monetarily toward a government that is bent on the deaths of many people, constitute, that we should refuse to pay either that portion of tax that goes to war or even all our taxes? This is a question I have asked myself a lot in the last 3 years especially since through time with the Lord in prayer and much biblical study, I concluded that I believe as the Mennonites do in Non-Resistance and only in the Kingdom of God.
The Holy Spirit has confirmed this in my heart.
I know there are many arguments otherwise but there is no argument that stands against what Jesus did, and what the book of 1st John tells us, that if "we abide in Him, we will walk even as He (Jesus) walked".
Yes, Jesus showed anger and there is no where we are told that anger is wrong, as long as it doesn't lead to sin.
I am angry now, but my anger will not lead to murder or hatred of my brother.
I am angry against a organized governmental system that in no way gives us a choice to contribute or not to contribute to evils that we as Christian believers should have choice in.
I choose to love my enemy as Christ taught and to do good to them. Good is not the death and destruction this nation has become largely responsible for worldwide anymore. One cannot even apply Justified War to Iraq. The attack of 911, had nothing to do with Iraq and Afghanistan, yet now, thousands have died because in our hearts along with a lying President, we became evil and cried, Vengeance!
When the Lord, says, "Vengeance is mine", and He wasn't even talking about vengeance for the sake of countries and governments but for the persecution of those of His church. The attack on the WTC was an attack against our financial systems and economics, it wasn't an attack directed at Christianity and even if it were, God, says, "Vengeance is Mine"! We are now suffering the chastening of the Lord individually for not listening to the Spirit of God, with 3,400 men and women being sent home in body bags. Truly, if this was a battle God told us to fight the victory as an the Old Testament days would have been hands down with little or no loss of American lives. I state this because those who ascribe to justified war love to use OT scripture as their justification, as if we are a Theocracy as Israel was. This is not the Lords' Battle.
Good is not killing others for the sake of my ideas of government or other worldly concepts. Good is preaching the ministry of reconciliation to Muslim and Jew alike. Teaching the truth of salvation, when taught in truth always results in peace between all people. "Love conquers all".
I am now in the place trying to determine how best to continue paying for taxes I am not sure I owe anyway and my conscience that hates war and loves peace. It is a difficult problem for anyone facing this. In truth the biggest reason people don't want to answer their conscience in regards to this, is because refusal or even partial payment, may result in the loss of any and all material goods they have, including if they own a car or their home. The other side is they may fear going to jail. Something even I fear, as I see jail as the worst thing we can do to anyone. To take a person and lock them up for their conscience on serving or not serving war, is absolutely the greatest injustice one man can do to another. Then again, no one ever said, that man's justice is good, even David asked God to give Him His justice rather than that of men's, knowing full well that God's is tempered with love and compassion and correctiveness in mind, and the concept of sinful men's idea of justice is only in punishing individuals for their sins against society or law, while yet they are sinners themselves. God offers forgiveness, men do not. God is holy and any justice he gives us is from Him that is perfect, whereby imperfect men, subject other imperfect men to punishment for the very same sins they are guilty of. They live a lie, saying it isn't true but Jesus proved just the opposite. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Even the murderer is no more greater a sinner then he who hates his brother. Jesus made this clear, and hatred of any group, of people, culture, race, or peoples of a religion that we don't agree with is in the eyes of God, murder!
The American fundamentalist continue to feed this fire of hatred with their rhetoric against Muslim, Palestinians, homosexuals and more. We may not agree with various practices, or religions, or other, but we are not called to be judges as Christians but to minister reconciliation to these people in the form of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Beyond that we have no higher duty then to love them, pray for them and preach the Good News to them.
We cannot legislate righteousness, man is sinful, only a new creation in Christ can establish righteousness in a man, woman or child's life. Law's designed to regulate man's behavior, have proven failed throughout history. I am not calling for no law, for society itself would crumble without law because it is made up of the lawless as well as the Christian, but to remember that the law is for the lawless and a school master to Christ, and that as such it is our purpose only as Christians to seek the redemption of all violators by showing them the way to Christ.
It is not our job to punish this belongs only to the, One Lawgiver and Judge, God.
I oppose the death penalty for these reasons and I truly believe we can find better ways to correct criminals then propagating criminality through penitentiaries and putting them in a society that only promotes criminality, not only among the imprisoned but with those that imprison them. Recent events in Texas youth prisons have proven my point and the history of criminal justice has proven my point. Very few people come out corrected and very few people stay corrected from imprisonment. The few that have it is only due to the presence of Christian outreach and their conversion to Christ. Many of these in the prisons suffer, psychological and spiritual problems that could be resolved, many had no chance in life in their upbringing, and they could be made whole with a different societal approach to their correction. How can imperfect men, ever correct imperfect men, without Christ as center of that correction coming from a Spirit led and abiding Christian. This is not the case in the real world. Thus it is a spiral that continues until Jesus comes, or we as believers take more action to being a part to bringing the Kingdom of God to pass in people's lives. I thank God for people like my uncle who was a Prison Chaplain, I have seen God use his ministry to bring life to many individuals. He is not perfect but he has Christ and scripture and it is the Word that changes an individual whether them, you or me.
It is our calling to correct the body of Christ always with the thought in mind that we too may fall into sin, and to offer compassion and forgiveness. not judgment, condemnation in which punishment doesn't involve these things -correction ( being steered in a new direction) and healing ( both psychological and spiritual). Punishment only appeases men's flesh and sinful pride, especially for those doing the punishment.
We are to extend this love of God to ALL men, regardless of their religious belief or sin. We are to remember, that God so loved the "world" that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It must always begin the same way God's love does, He loves all men, and offers them redemption.
He took care of the redemption it is our call and duty to offer this to others by the way we live our lives and the words we share with others. This love for them that is without prejudice or bias.
We are to love them not kill them, or punish them, we are but to love them. This is the hardest way, this is the narrow gate, because everything in our flesh says the opposite.
I have digressed from somewhat where I began this editorial, but all the same, it is for us to see, that war doesn't meet the call of our heavenly Father, and that we really need to ask ourselves; are we contributing to this evil by paying our taxes. In honesty, the answer has to be a loud, Yes.
Now what you do about it is up to you, and how much you may be willing to sacrifice of the "me" for the "all".
The greatest prophets and saints have always sacrificed as they stood in direct opposition to the world, their people, their culture and their society, and it's ways.
We are in the world, but scripture makes it very clear, we are not to love the things of this world and hatred is one of the big things of this world and war is it's means of exercising that hatred.
Dispensationalism, and the "Left Behind" series of fictional, non scriptural theology and exegesis has brought many to believe the big lie. This lie feeds the flesh. It is fed with justified hatred and it is very hard to escape it once one let's it become a part of themselves. Sow to the flesh, you reap the flesh.
I am really beginning to see that "war tax resistance" may be the only hope we have left of changing this country from the war mongering, blood thirsty nation we have become.
God have mercy on us for the death and destruction we have so willingly supported. We need forgiveness not only for our willingness to listen to preachers with itching ears, but our continual contribution to the war effort in our silence, and our willingness to pay for it.
I remind readers it was over a simple tax on tea, that fired up the American Revolution, it is perhaps time for a new revolution in this country that has totally failed at the ballot box to change the face of America. Taxes are the only support these politicians have - my money and your money.
Without money, they cannot continue to disregard the voice of the people.
The "moral majority tries to make us believe that it is an attack on Christianity, whether or not the Ten Commandments are in a court officials building or not. This has little to do with being a Christian especially when the very same people that fought against the removal of the Ten Commandments from a judge's court in Alabama will not resist and take action against war, especially when one of those commandments say, Thou Shalt Not Kill. I don't read FIFTY justifications written alongside of this commandment for doing other than what it says.
It was only with the passing of time, that Christians came to the idea of " justified war", and this not from scripture but from men, like Augustine.
I can truly say, Christian, "You Nullify the Commandments of God for Sake of the Traditions of Men!"
It is time for us to say, no more war, and no more support for your wars. My battle is not against flesh and blood. I am in a spiritual battle, in that battle we are called to render unto God what is God's.
The opposite of the coin. Our very lives and all that we are and have belongs to God, not to the Federal government or the State, It all belongs to Him. what will you do with it, render all that you are to Caesar or to God. There is in the scripture, unlike "justified war", taught by men, there is clearly taught in scripture and the New Testament "justified civil disobedience". "Is it better to obey God or men"?, the Apostle asked.
We know what they did, they obeyed God, and continued to proclaim His name though told it was against the law and to not do it.
This is one of the reasons, the early Christians turned the world upside down! They feared no man and only feared God. They lost all that they had to follow Jesus, who said," foxes have dens, and birds have nest, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head"
Lest we forget, we are no less called to this calling, that Jesus spoke, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men".
Peace is the only answer to war, and we as Christians, are the answer for peace in this world, if we hold fast to the traditions taught by the Word and the Apostles instead of the "traditions of men"
Neither Muslim or those that practice unlawful or immoral things, will ever be able to resist love and peace.
When we harken to His word, we truly will become "Fishers of Men" and like the Disciples, our nets will be full and our boats will be weighed down with the catch. But hear me, WE HAVE TO FIRST CAST OUR NETS!
Cast your net, stand against war and hatred, and turn to love both in word and deed.
Dr. J.
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