Hypocrisy

When I woke up this morning, I was thinking about hypocrisy.

Bible verses on hypocrisy:

1 John 4:20

New International Version

20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

1 Peter 2:16

New International Version

16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.

Galatians 6:3

New International Version

3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

Jeremiah 23:11

New International Version

11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;

    even in my temple I find their wickedness,”

declares the Lord.

Luke 6:46

New International Version

The Wise and Foolish Builders

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

Luke 12:2

New International Version

2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.

Mark 7:6

New International Version

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,

    but their hearts are far from me.

Matthew 6:1

New International Version

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Romans 10:3

New International Version

3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Titus 1:16

New International Version

16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Matthew 23:27-28

New International Version

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Luke 20:46-47

New International Version

46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

James 1:22-23

New International Version

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror

Matthew 6:16-18

New International Version

Fasting

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 7:21-23

New International Version

True and False Disciples

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I am writing about this because there are some in congress who want to change the way the United States of America operates. They want our laws and the way the country is run based on their interpretation of the Bible. God is perfect, man is not. If those who create our laws are not willing to obey them themselves, then they are hypocrites. 

LOVE

I woke up early this morning and I remembered that I was dreaming about LOVE. I was specifically dreaming about the medic, Desmond Doss, who is credited with saving more than 70 solders lives, even enemy soldiers', during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II in the Pacific. He did it without carrying any kind of protection for himself. He refused to carry a weapon or take a person's life. When he enlisted into the Army, he told them this and was almost rejected for service. They thought that he wouldn't make a good solder, but they took him anyway. He went through literal hell from his commanders and fellow soldiers, but he never quit/gave up. Click the link and go down to the 'Synopsis' of the movie. The movie, 'Hacksaw Ridge', based on true events. It is well worth seeing if you haven't already. (maybe without children). His whole character was amazing, hard to believe, and is one example of LOVE (AGAPE LOVE). The kind of LOVE that Father God and his son, Yeshua (Jesus) has.

I've been thinking a lot about my life lately. I cannot remember if I have ever loved that deeply. The Bible talks about God's chosen. Jesus said that his disciples were the ones his Father God gave him, specifically chosen. I wonder now, are God's chosen the only ones who have that kind of LOVE? I am not saying that we can't love unless we've been chosen by God. I kind of think our love may not be Agape Love, but some flavor under that.

I remember that on the day of Judgement there are many books that will be opened. But there is one book that stands apart from all the others. It is called the Book of Life, God's chosen. If we could see those who God has chosen, I think we might be quite surprised by those He has picked.

Here is a thought about how to obtain LOVE. Repent, empty self; my will dies. Ask Yeshua (Jesus) in and his will takes over.

-----------------------------------------------------------

All of a sudden, I am being reminded of a number of old posts:

Monday, August 3, 2020 ---- Love

Sunday, June 24, 2018 ----- Love Thy Enemy

------------------------------------------------------------

5/5/2024

Talking about coincidences. This morning at church, our pastor had a sermon on LOVE. His favorite scripture verses on the subject are 1 Corinthians 13; mine too.

1 Corinthians 13

New International Version

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Judgment Day

Judgment Day

If today were Judgment Day, Yeshua (Jesus) has finished putting a spotlight on your life, and he tells you to go away, he never knew you, how would you feel? How would I feel?

If today were it, Judgment Day, I don’t believe that I would do well. So many things I have done and not done. I think that what I would regret most is missing the opportunities to talk with someone. I will get kind of a inclination to talk with someone. I mull it over in my mind why not to and why I should. If I finally decide to do it, go talk with them, more often than not, it is too late. The person is gone. Whenever we feel the need to meet someone, just do it. Don’t think, just do it. These opportunities go away quickly.

In the book "Celestine Prophecy" it calls these opportunities coincidences. They are important to us and have great meaning. If not at that very moment, then for a later time.

I've repented a number of times but seem to fall back into my same old person. I think, how can God put up with me?  His Son, Yeshua (Jesus) went through unimaginable things so that I could be forgiven. Why can’t I honor him? Why can’t I honor Father God for His plan to save us? Such Love those two have for us…...

We can ask forgiveness today and after seeing that we fail, we can ask forgiveness and try again. One day the disciple Peter asked Yeshua (Jesus), "How many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus tells him, "Not seven times, but seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-35)

God is patient with us, but His patience is finite. Some day we will be judged. No one but Father God knows when that will be.

Forgiveness is circular or reciprocal. If we forgive then we are forgiven.

Matthew 6:14-15

New International Version

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Think about what Yeshua (Jesus) went through, for us all, so that we could have forgiveness.

Here are the crucifixion stories in the Bible:

Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 

He endured things beyond our comprehension. He did it for all of us.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If being fearful of God makes you do good works, then be afraid. If doing good works is for rewards at Judgment Day, then that is for your benefit. Doing good works because you LOVE is the ultimate reason. LOVE like Father God and Yeshua (Jesus) LOVE. I think this may be what "The Way" means in the Bible.

John 14:6

New International Version

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John 14:15-16

New International Version

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

--------------------------------------------------

4/24/2024

I was looking through some of my old posts and came across 'The faith that justified Abraham'. This is a long read but I feel like it goes very well with this post and the 'Good Works' post.

One Last Chance for Peace in The World

I saw this article in 'The Washington Post'
"More than 11,000 scientists from around the world declare a 'Climate Emergancy'"

I believe that this is God giving us one more chance for peace; maybe just this last time. If all the countries of the world declared peace with each other and work together to try and solve this emergency then maybe God will forgive us and not destroy us.

Revelation 7 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Sealed of Israel

7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴ And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

⁵ of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were ^[a]sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
⁶ of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
⁷ of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
⁸ of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ And I said to him, ^[b]“Sir, you know.”

So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to ^[c]living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

How Do We Absolutly Know That God Exists?

How do we, you and I know that God really exists? It can only happen when we personally witness something extradentary, something that is imposable to explain away, a miracle. It is kind of like 'doubting Thomas' in the Bible. When Jesus came back from the dead after being in the grave three days, Thomas couldn't/wouldn't believe that Jesus was alive until he personally saw him and was able to touch His wounds (John 20:24-31). There are people today who have personally witnessed a miracle. They can tell you without a doubt that there is a God.

There are a number of examples in the Bible where a whole group of people all witnessed a miracle, something that could not be explained away, it was evident to them that God exists and that He does as He pleases. 

(Exodus chapter 14) When the Israelites were released from bondage out of Egypt (A miracle in itself), God led them to the edge of the Red sea. There was no direction that they could escape from the approaching Egyptians. I can imagine that the Egyptians thought that this was going to be an easy capture or kill. The stupid Israelites had gotten themselves into an inescapable place, no where for them to go. But God divided the sea and dried up the sea bed to allow the Israelites to pass to the other side. When all million or more Israelites were safe on the other side and when the Egyptians entered on the sea floor, God caused the sea floor to become muddy again in order to hold them back. Then He made the waters to collapse on top of them killing all the Egyptians.

There are other examples but I want to get to one more that has to do with Jonah and the Ninevites. What I am about to say has to do with 'The Sign of Jonah' and the post that I did on this. The Ninevites were a very wicked people. When Jonah finally went to Nineveh and told them the words that God wanted him to say, something happened to them; all of them. They suddenly knew God and they knew their condition. This caused everyone to repent, from the smallest all the way up to the king {Jonah 3}. 

God says that He will cause every human being on earth to know Him; see my last post 'God Hates The Deeds and The Doctrines of the Nicolaitans -- Revelation 2:6 and 15 '. We don't know when He will do this. But, just as with the Ninevites, it all comes down to what we will do with that knowledge. Will we repent as the Ninevites did or will we sluff it off and continue in our wicked ways? We each will have to decide. As it says very clearly, we will have no excuse saying we didn't know that God exists. .

Money -> The Great Prostitute

Revelation 17:1-6 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

The Judgment of the Great Prostitute Babylon

17 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who live on the earth became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” ³ And he carried me away into the wilderness in the Spirit,^[a] and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand full of detestable things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality. ⁵ And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.

___________________________________________________________

Lately, I've thought a lot about how money changes people for the worst. Just look around and think about this for a moment. Think about yourself. Has money changed you? Isn't money like a prostitute?

Think about some of our world leaders like Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump. Money seems to be on their mind almost all the time. They think that the more money they can get, the more power they will have. I single out these two only because what they do affects the whole world.

The temptation to sin that money brings is rampant, even in our Christian leaders. Money brings us into bondage, makes us slaves but through the power of Jesus Christ, we can be delivered out of that bondage.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been thinking about and studying in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. These chapters talk about Babylon and a powerful harlot / prostitute. I found out a few things in my studies.

In the Bible Encyclopedia, I found out that Babylon in Semitic means "the gate of god (little g)". The Hebrew name is 'Babhel' and comes from the root word 'balal' which means "to confound". 

I believe that Babylon here in Revelation is a symbol of Satan and his kingdom, and the harlot is a symbol for money that Satan uses to entice us with.

Are Christians being deceived?

I have heard from a number of Christians that god chose Trump. They support and defend Trump no mater what his character proves to be because "god chose him." I've wondered a lot about this. How do they know God, the creator of all things, the God of gods, the God of love, chose him? Did maybe the god of this world ( Satan) choose him instead?

Have Christians forgotten their first love? Jesus said that if you love Him then obey His commandments, love God (the One True God who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, not the god of this world) and love your neighbor; do to him what you wished he would do to you.

Joel 2:13 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

¹³     Rend your hearts^[a] and not your garments,
and return to Yahweh your God,
    because he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger^[b] and great in loyal love,
    and relenting from harm.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you look at others, do you see people of color? I always remember a woman in our Sunday School class who told us a story about her granddaughter. Her granddaughter who is white has a best friend who is black. They are together all the time and have just the best time. I don't remember exactly how this grandmother came to this conclusion but she said that those two little girls don't see color. This conclusion was quite evident to her because of a conversation she had with her granddaughter.

I am 70 years old now and I still remember blacks having to ride at the back of the buss, they couldn't drink from public fountains where whites drank from, and they couldn't use public restrooms. I remember that seeing this bothered me but I accepted it because I was very young then. I am NOT saying that because whites treated blacks so badly that now it is time for blacks to do the same to whites. What I am saying is that these times should be remembered so that we do not repeat them. America is better than that.

I am sad to say this but my parents used the "N" word whenever they got mad at a black person. I don't remember them saying it directly to their face but still it was wrong. I never understood it but there seemed like there was something in their DNA that made them feel the way they felt towards blacks. It didn't matter how much my brother, my sister, and I would talk to them about this. They just could not see the wrong. What I am saying here not only pertains to blacks and whites. It has to do with how we treat any person who is not like us.

I can't say that I don't see color on first appearance. I think I still judge people by their looks when I first see them. I try not to. If I can find a way to converse with them then my judgement of them quickly changes and then I no longer see color so to speak. Wouldn't it be great if we all could be like those two little girls where we no longer see color?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trump certainly does not exude a Christ like character. Trump from time to time slips up to show his hatred of the blacks. You can tell he does not like Obama and has tried to dismantle, kill everything with Obama's name associated with it no matter if it's bad or good. In an immigration meeting, Trump referred to predominantly black countries, Africa and Haiti, as "shithole" countries. Since becoming president, many Nazis like white supremacy groups have come out of the woodwork and Trump says nothing about them to put them down.

Hitler was very successful in swaying the Germans to trust him and the Nazis by using propaganda and we know what happened when they came to power (upwards of 20 million people were killed without trial by a jury of their peers, just gathered up and killed by guns, gas, starvation, whatever method, NO TRIAL). He wrote a book called "Mein Kampf" that tells how to do it, use propaganda. The following is from Wikipedia's Propaganda in Nazis Germany.

"Mein Kampf contains the blueprint of later Nazi propaganda efforts. Assessing his audience, Hitler writes in chapter VI:

"Propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of the people. (...) All propaganda must be presented in a popular form and must fix its intellectual level so as not to be above the heads of the least intellectual of those to whom it is directed. (...) The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in finding the appropriate psychological form that will arrest the attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses. The broad masses of the people are not made up of diplomats or professors of public jurisprudence nor simply of persons who are able to form reasoned judgment in given cases, but a vacillating crowd of human children who are constantly wavering between one idea and another. (...) The great majority of a nation is so feminine in its character and outlook that its thought and conduct are ruled by sentiment rather than by sober reasoning. This sentiment, however, is not complex, but simple and consistent. It is not highly differentiated, but has only the negative and positive notions of love and hatred, right and wrong, truth and falsehood."^[5]

As to the methods to be employed, he explains:

"Propaganda must not investigate the truth objectively and, in so far as it is favourable to the other side, present it according to the theoretical rules of justice; yet it must present only that aspect of the truth which is favourable to its own side. (...) The receptive powers of the masses are very restricted, and their understanding is feeble. On the other hand, they quickly forget. Such being the case, all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped formulas. These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward. (...) Every change that is made in the subject of a propagandist message must always emphasize the same conclusion. The leading slogan must of course be illustrated in many ways and from several angles, but in the end one must always return to the assertion of the same formula."

President Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again." has no single meaning. They are just words that have different meanings to different people. I've wondered about this statement. I ask, "When in the past was America great and what did that look like? If he wants to make America great AGAIN, then that is saying that some time in the past it was great. If I had to guess, what Trump means is "Make America White Again."

The Reality Of Things.

Here is something that not many of us think about. In wars and conflicts, who is it that stands to gain the most from them? It is those at the top, the ones who are in power, those who give the commands. Today, it is also the many companies who build all that is used in wars who stand to gain much wealth. Who is it that does the dirty work; the fighting, the killing, and the dying? They are the ones at the bottom. It has always been this way. We fight each other to keep ourselves in bondage and those at the top powerful and wealthy.

Long ago, the nations had their slaves. Slaves had many tasks and when nations warred with each other, they would always send in slaves first. The slaves would do some damage fighting, using the meager weapons they were given. When the slaves were used up then the better fighters were sent in. Unless things go very bad for a nation, you will rarely see someone at the top help fight against the opposite side.

You can look at any war. Take our American Civil war. This war was over the right to own slaves, essentially. Those who owned many slaves did not fight in that war. It was those who owned no slaves at all or maybe just owned one or two who fought and died. What was strange to me was that those who did fight on the South for the right to own slaves became so caught up in it and angry over not having the right to own slaves, yet they would probably never be in a position to own any.

My wife and I went to see the movie "The Free State of Jones" a while back. This movie is based on the history of Jones County, Mississippi during the Civil War. In the movie, there were a number of black slaves who had run away and found themselves a secret hiding place deep in the swamps. At first, only black slaves knew about it with the help of an abolitionist, Aunt Sally . As more and more whites fighting in the Confederate army understood what was really going on and how their own families were being treated at home while they were away, they deserted. One by one a number of them ended up with the black slaves in this secret hiding place. The food that came into the camp was not much. At first, only a couple of the Whites were willing to share that food with the Blacks even though it was through the work of black slaves that food came in at all. As more Whites showed up, tensions rose. You could see the hatred from the Whites against the Blacks start to come out and how the Whites felt they were better than the black slaves. It was great however to see that hatred and the feeling of superiority fade away. They finally understood that they needed each other and that in reality, they were both slaves.

Last night, we watched the movie “Jimmy's Hall” (IMDB: Jimmy's Hall) (Wikipedia: Jimmy's Hall). This movie is based on real life events of Jimmy Gralton, an Irishman born in Effernagh, Ireland on April 17, 1886 to a poor farmer. (Irish Post: “The true story behind Ken Loach's movie Jimmy's Hall”)

This Irishman decides to build a hall, with the help of other locals, on his father's property. His dream was to have a safe place for the common people, like himself, to gather together, to talk, to listen, to learn, to dance, to have meals together; a place to have some enjoyment in their life's struggles. They had their own teachers to teach all kinds of things from the usual reading, writing, and arithmetic to art, poetry, dance, plays, and sports, such as boxing. They did it all themselves without the help of the government or others. This was during the time of the depression when there was little or no education for the commoners.

However, certain prominent members of the Catholic church saw them as threatening and wanted to put an end to the hall and Jimmy. Shots were fired at a group of men, women, and children who were in the hall one evening and the hall was eventually burned to the ground, and they tried to deport Jimmy (I'm not sure if they succeeded).

I am reading a book right now “GEORGE MULLER The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans” by Janet & Geoff Benge.

George Muller (1805-1898) felt a calling from God to take care of orphans. George starts his early life as a common thief in Prussia. He haphazardly meets up with Beta, someone he sees as a “religious do-good-er”. George goes to a Bible meeting with Beta which changes his life. These types of Bible meetings were against the law at this time in Prussia and people were known to get arrested at them. The law stated that only a registered Lutheran pastor present could give a sermon. “This was supposed to ensure that only university-trained pastors got to preach, which kept the Bible from being distorted and uneducated peasants from getting strange ideas.” At least, this was what George heard so many times was the reason for keeping the Bible away from the peasants, the commoners.

George was well educated, paid for by his father. When George decided to change schools and become a missionary, the purse-strings of his father were severed. George even told his father that he did not want his money and his father disowned him. His dependence shifted from his earthly father to his heavenly Father.

Without telling you the whole story about George, let me just tell you about the one thing that impressed me most about George Muller. In all his work with orphans and setting up orphanages, he relied on God to provide all their needs. When George announced to the public about the first orphanage in Bristol that he was about to start, he said, “God has told me to start an orphanage. There would be no collections, no asking for money, and no payment required from the children who were taken in.” “Instead, George would rely on God to supply all the needs of the orphans.”

You may think, well it was people who supplied their needs, not God. God works in the hearts of others to give where there is a need. That giving becomes a blessing for the giver as well as for the receiver; there is great joy for both.

You may be wandering why I am bringing all this up. It's because this has been on my mind a lot lately. There are an awful lot of poor people in the world today. I don't see how there can ever be enough good paying jobs for everyone. The only things we ever seem to do about the poor is forget about them, give them things that only help temporarily, or make slaves of them and put more burdens on them.

Why not do something different for a change and learn from these three true stories and probably many other stories, if we will just look for them. Unless something changes from those in control then why not help each other as they tried to do in Jimmy's Hall? Have you ever thought about what it would be like if there was no such thing as money? Those who got together in Jimmy's Hall didn't think about money. They came together to learn from each-other, to talk, to listen, to share meals, to find some joy and meaning in this life.

What we can learn from George Muller is there is nothing too difficult when God is involved. Trust that He will supply all our needs. If whatever you are doing is of God's will then you will learn that He will come through to help; you will learn that you can rely on Him.

Here are some of my most troubling thoughts:

When Hitler and the Nazis came to power in Germany their answer was to create forced labor camps where all the able bodied undesirables went. These were not only the Jews. It included the poor, the homeless (gypsies), the homosexuals, the Blacks, and many others who were deemed not of the purest Aryan race. Many in those forced labor camps died of starvation and many more were eventually moved to the death camps.

We have a new president elect, Donald J. Trump. So far, I am seeing Trump take the same path that Hitler took. Hitler and the Nazis first got rid of those who apposed them. In Hitler's time, there were two other political parties of significant strength, the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party. Their voice in the decision making process was eliminated because a fire that burned down the parliament building was blamed on one and the condition of Germany was blamed on the other.

Look at how our Democratic Party is viewed right now, and the unrest within the Republican Party, our only two political parties. Hitler got the military commanders on his side. Look how many Trump is getting on his team even in positions were it has always been filled by a civilian. There is something about Trump and Putin that bothers me. If Trump and Putin were ever able to bring our two countries together, United States and Russia, we would become the most powerful force in the world. This is all just my feelings and speculation on my part.

If president Donald Trump ever reads this, I ask you, don't do what Hitler did. You have a clean slate right now and you can, with God's help, do something no other has been able to do before. Allow the poor to get out of slavery and protect that process.

I am not saying these things to try and get people mad at those at the top who are in control. Where there is money and power involved I believe that Satan clouds people's minds so all they can see is the power and wealth they will receive. They don't see all the death, the misery, the evil that happens as a result of their control. It not only happens to the greatest among us but it happens all the way down to the least among us. Whenever there is hardships among people, there is someone who will take an unfair advantage of the situation.

If only those who receive orders leading to something that they know is evil could choose to be like Jesus and disobey and forgive. I say forgive because that person may very well die for disobeying and those who kill are either obeying orders or as Jesus said as He was being crucified, “they know not what they do.” The thing is that blood won't be on that persons' hands and the dirty work moves up the chain.

Look at how Satan tempted our Lord Jesus when He began that which He was sent to do. Matthew 4:1-11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You’;

and

‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “[b]On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [c]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and [d]serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Satan has always wanted to be like God Most High and he will offer anything to anyone who will bow down and worship him.

If you knew that Jesus Christ is returning soon, would you be different? Well, in my studies several years ago I came across scriptures in Revelations (22:16-21) that seemed to me that Jesus Himself talked to me. At the time I felt there was more to it than just telling the churches that Jesus is coming soon. I think this blog is that something more.

Revelation 22:16-21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things [a]for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and [b]from the holy city, which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with [c]all. Amen.

If it is true that Jesus Christ is returning soon then God's judgment will also be soon. Everyone both great and small and alive and dead will be judged by their deeds. The Bible describes this judgment as being like someone being stripped naked exposing their shame. God knows the truth about everyone, He even knows our thoughts and the condition of our hearts.