July 22, 2009
Date: July 22, 2009
Published by Practical Spiritual Warfare web site, a division of Mission Miami Valley and authored by Dr. D. Vincent (Bud) Ford. This e-zine is dedicated to providing valuable, practical information for dealing with the chaotic and confusing times in which we live.
Practical Spiritual Warfare Web Site Dr. D. Vincent (Bud) Ford End Times Preparation Web Site
Contents
1. Tips for Kingdom Living
2. Strategic Advice for the Remnant
3. Scripture Guidance
4. Thoughts to meditate on
5. Articles Pointing to the End Times
6. Site Build It (Don’t take my word for it - Check out the links below – you owe it to yourself)
7. Announcements
1. Tips for Kingdom Living – Cheating
What does God think of cheating? Is it always wrong?
Proverbs 11:1 tells us The Lord hates cheating, but He delights in honesty. Cheating violates our holy God. Cheating and godliness cannot live together in peace – one must give in to the other.
Is some cheating worse then other cheating?
Covering cheating with a pious sugarcoating is a double sin; first it is the sin of cheating and second it is the sin of pious deceit. God hates both!
Mark 12:40 - They shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment is greater.
Little cheating is cut out of the same piece of cloth as big cheating – cheating is cheating.
Luke 16:10 - Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
God’s Promise to us from Romans 13:9-10 says: For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting – and any other commandment – are all summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements.
2. Strategic Advice for the Remnant – Is the Antichrist Alive Today?
A common question is whether the Antichrist is alive today. For two reasons I believe there is a very good chance that he is.
First, Matthew 24:32-34 tells us that the generation that sees the reestablishment of Israel in their homeland will see all the end times prophecies. Israel was re-established as a nation May 14, 1948.
Second, I believe the signs of the end times clearly indicate we are on the very threshold of entering into the tribulation period. The most important of these signs is the re-gathering of the Jews to their homeland (Isaiah 11:10-12) and also the Jewish re-occupation of the city of Jerusalem in the six day war June 1967 (Luke 21:24).
If the Antichrist is alive today, does he know who he is? If he is alive, I don’t believe he has any idea of the role Satan will have him play. He will not become known as the antichrist until Satan enters in him and empowers him to deceive the Europe and the Jews. He will not be fully revealed until he enters the temple in Jerusalem (which will most likely not be built until after the rapture) and declares that the world must worship (or pay first tribute to) his system of rule and government.
Bud Ford
3. Scripture Guidance
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Deuteronomy 31:8
The New International Version
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When I read that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, it was as if day suddenly broke on a dark night.
Thomas Bilney
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Only as man brings his life into harmony with God does that life have balance and meaning. Then man finds that he is not simply a mass of dancing dirt, coming from nowhere and going nowhere.
Henry Schmidt
4. Thoughts for Meditation
LIVING BY FAITH – BE OF ONE HEART AND MOUTH WITH OTHERS
Romans 15:6 NIV
…so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A funny thing happens when we begin to walk in the Spirit... we begin to agree with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are doing the same thing. That man in your church with whom you used to argue all the time suddenly becomes one of your best friends. That woman who used to irritate you because she was so "spiritual" suddenly seems to be one of the sweetest people you've ever met. New relationships form – good relationships, solid relationships. Your church becomes one that outsiders envy and admire. As a body, you are walking in the Spirit – and with your actions and with one voice you are glorifying God.
Does this mean that we will all agree about everything? No, of course not. People are individuals. We all have different spiritual gifts that give us each different focuses. We all have different backgrounds that give us differing perspectives. And we are bound to have differing opinions with others about many things. However, if we are all walking in the Spirit, our differences enrich our relationships rather than hinder them. And conflicting viewpoints become a source of growth to those who differ, rather than points of contention.
What brings all this about? The Spirit of God. If each of us is listening to the same Spirit, we will work together. We will play together. And we will be united as one body in Christ. Division comes when one of us begins to listen to the world. Division comes when we step outside the Spirit of God and allow our selfish selves to rule.
Take this step in learning to live by faith, and work toward being in total harmony with the Spirit of God in your life... and pray that others will do the same... so that you may have that spirit of oneness that Jesus wants us to have... and so that we all, with one voice, will glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dogwood Ministries
5. Articles Pointing to the End Times Watch
[Note: The number following End Times Watch is the sequence number for the End Times article and is inserted to assist the reader in locating the article as well as assisting the search engines.]
End times watch 61 - Keep an eye on Russia's imploding banks - By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – www.blogs.telegraph.co.uk
End times watch. Russia is sinking into a swamp of bad loans.
The scale of credit rot in the Russian banking system exposed by Fitch Ratings this week is truly staggering. The report is yet another cold douche to those betting that the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) can pull us out of our mess.
Lenders will need to raise $60bn (£37bn) in fresh capital if the “pessimistic scenario” unfolds. Bad loans could reach 40pc, although analysts are flying blind since bank disclosure “does not always capture all asset quality problems.” Uhhm.
The report follows an equally disturbing (if very different) note on the banks in China, where a “margin squeeze” has set off a explosion of unstable loan growth. Some might see as this as `good’, ie stimulatory, but since the liquidity is sloshing around a crushed economy that still lives off deflated US and EU export markets, it is largely leaking into asset speculation. Click to Read Rest of Article
End times watch 62 - Mustard Seeds and Mega-Churches - Ron Graham twotug@embarqmail.com
End times watch 62. What do mustard seeds and mega-churches have to do with each other? Look at Christ’s parable.
“Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” Luke 13:18-21
It’s important to see that Jesus, speaking of what the Kingdom of God is like, follows up the large tree and birds of the air parable above with a lesson on leaven. First of all mustard seeds don’t morph into huge trees, they only grow as small bushes. In this parable Jesus is exaggerating the growth of the mustard seed to instill in the reader a reality of massive proportions. End times watch.
Many see this parable as an explanation of the ever expanding influence of the Church around the world. Some actually preach that the Church will be the all encompassing world influence before the end. But in these same verses Jesus tells us the birds of the air are nested in its branches. In Jesus’ parables, the birds of the air consistently refer to an evil presence, and this evil presence has made their homes in the branches of this huge tree. Certainly we see Jesus referring to something much more sinister in this parable. After all, He commanded us to spread the Gospel around the world, and in that respect His Gospel has been and is being expanded worldwide. What do all the birds of the air and the leaven have to do with the Kingdom of God? Is there something evil lurking in the Church? Click to Read Rest of Article
End times watch 63 - The choice is yours – Greg Laurie – www.worldnetdaily.com and www.harvest.org
End times watch. The story of Nicodemus brings us to a reassuring, yet often overlooked passage: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17).
Jesus came to this world not to come down on people, but to reach out to people.
While religion tells us what we must to do reach up to heaven, God reached down from heaven by sending his Son, Jesus. We are not reaching out to God, trying to earn his approval. Rather, it is God reaching out to us. That is the message of the Gospel. It is the message that, through Christ – who lived a perfect life, who died on the cross in our place, and who shed his blood for us – we have the gift of eternal life. End times watch.
But what does it mean to believe? So many people say they believe. But what do they believe? The Bible says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder" (James 2:19). End times watch. To believe does not simply mean intellectually accepting something to be true. To believe means to adhere to, commit to, have faith in, rely upon, trust in. It comes back to the issue of being born again. To be a believer means not only embracing Christ and Christ alone for salvation, but also turning from your sin and starting life again. Repentance is a part of belief, like two sides of a coin.
6. Site Build It (SBI)
Don’t take my word for it, check this out yourself Free. This is a way to either SUPPLEMENT YOUR INCOME OR REPLACE IT While Following Your Passion at the same time!
I needed a web site but had no idea how to build it.
It was all greek, mysterious and intimidating to me.
I paid to have a web site built – cost me a lot of money. But the good thing (I thought) was I could maintain it and add to it myself through a control panel.
This was supposed to save me money – but guess what – I could never get it to work properly. Way to difficult and complicated to understand.
The site looked good but no traffic came and it was a waste of time and money! After four years I had to get rid of the site and find another way.
I found the solution! It is Site Build it.
This is absolutely fantastic and I can not say enough good about it!
Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself FREE. This is a way to either supplement your income OR REPLACE IT!
It does not cost as much as I paid for MY old site – that is a very good thing. The step-by-step teaching and the unique and phenomenal large amount of tools is unsurpassed.
This is a TRULY USER FRIENDLY, and just as much "do it yourself" as you want, web site builder.
Take a look at some of the information – you’ll be glad you did.
- Quick Tour Slide Show:
- Site Build It Home page:
- Find Your Business:
- I Love SBI:
- What’s your passion?:
- Web Hosting:
The networking available with the internet is mind boggling, and the use of the internet seems to be limited only by our imagination.
It is rapidly becoming the source of commerce. Don’t get left behind in communication, commerce, networking, information and you name it.
I have found a way to benefit greatly with the Site Build It approach and I want to share it with you.
Check out the above links by clicking on the picture. You owe it to your self to see this wonderful user-friendly tool.
7. Announcements
(1) Thank you for all your continued wonderful comments about this e-zine, The REMNANT
(2) I have been announcing that at some point in the future The REMNANT e-zine would be transferred to www.EndTimesPreparation.com. That has changed. Instead, the material from www.EndTimesPraperation.com will be transferred to this site www.PracticalSpiritualWarfare.com and you will continue to receive The REMNANT e-zine without change.
Beginning August 1, 2009 those searching for the End Times Preparation site will be directed to the Practical Spiritual Warfare site.
The theme of www.PracticalSpiritualWarfare.com centers around practical, everyday ways to deal with the battle of living in this current season and preparing for the end times the world is getting ready to enter.