Associations and Affiliations

John the Baptist had some scathing words for the Pharisees and Sadducees as they approached him while he was baptizing people in the Jordan. Among other things, he chastised them for their misplaced reliance on their affiliation to Abraham (Matthew 3:9). These groups had come to put too much weight on this and had neglected the more important matters.

Paul admonished the Corinthians for nearly the same thing -- their gloating about their associations. They were saying, '"I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas,..."' (1 Corinthians 1:12) and ignoring the real issue at hand.

When aligning ourselves with a person, a minister, an organization or even with a church, we can often feel safe because of numbers, past reputation or espoused doctrine. We can believe that by virtue of our alliance with them, we are justified in our current state and position.

But note the admonitions by John and Paul regarding those that were resting on the laurels of others: John the Baptist told the Jews that they needed to repent (Matthew 3:8); Paul goes on to direct those at Corinth, “that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the LORD’” (1 Corinthians 1:31). In other words, we cannot become complacent with our current condition, and we must continue to change it by looking to the Example who is "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

There have been many, even in our recent history, that have failed to remain on guard, thinking they were in the right place or that they could ride the coattails of another. "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13).

Active In Peace

Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq…The only thing that most people know about these places is war. Stop for a moment and think of how many wars that you know of at the present. As we look around the world there are approximately 50 wars going on at any given time...which is 50 too many.

If a region is not at war or involved in any conflict... is it then at peace?

Before 9/11 the US couldn’t even claim peace then. It was being besieged from within by gang fights, riots, racism, school shootings, church shootings and etc. Drive-bys have been so common place in some areas that they have not made the front page in the local newspaper. Even with the ABSENCE OF WAR there was no peace even before the terrorist attacks.

Peace has a very active component; it doesn’t just happen, we must "make" peace. Matthew 5:9 states, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." We have a greater responsibility than just sitting back and being quiet - especially when problems exist that involve us directly. If we are to be children of God then we must be peacemakers

All through history, nations and their governments have been striving for world peace! Their striving has led only to war because “The way of peace they know not” (Isaiah 59:8; Romans 3:17). The lack of peace is evident everywhere.

We must Think Globally and Act Locally!

Some things that we can do are:

Pray – we are exhorted in 1 Timothy 2:1 to pray for all men and for leaders and "for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." We should also pray that God’s Holy Spirit leads us.

Follow Christ’s example – "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps….Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:21, 23).

Study - We must ask ourselves what it takes to have quiet, tranquillity, and contentment and all the attributes that we look forward to in the world of tomorrow. What does it take to have this between me and another… AND THEN SEEK IT, PURSUE IT AND KEEP IT (Ps 34:14).

We need to make peace dynamic, real, and working by implementing it ourselves.

The peacemaker talked about in Matthew 5:9 isn’t likely to be a third person, but rather someone involved in a conflict. We are more likely to be involved in a dispute rather than be asked to arbitrate. This is the time to let our light shine.

We have been setting a real life example of peace and must continue to do so. YOU could be making the greatest contribution toward world peace in our time!

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Romans 14:19) As we look forward to the coming of Jesus Christ and His 1000 year reign on Earth - "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." (Romans 12:18).

Pascal’s Wager

Blaise Pascal is purported to be one of the great thinkers of the 17th Century. In an effort to convince non-believers that they should become followers of the Bible, he came up with the following logic. His argument was that we should accept the truth of Christianity, because if we are wrong, we have lost nothing, but if we are right, we have gained everything.

Have we accepted this gambit as our approach to Christianity?  Are we "hedging our bet" that we are doing the right thing or that we are in the right place?  We do not need to "go with the best odds" to know whether God exists or the fact that His Way is true.

Once called by God, we have all the facts and assurances that we need in the Bible if we are willing to put forth the work and time. The Word of God is not laid out like a good technical manual, but rather meanings have been purposefully obscured to most (Matthew 13:10-13), and pieces to each puzzle have been scattered "a little here and a little there" (Isaiah 28:10,13). But nonetheless, the Book of Books does indeed have all the information that we need to prove that God exists and that this is the path in which we should walk.

If we are willing to put forth the effort, as we are admonished (Ecclesiastes 9:10), we can know with 100% certainty what is and will continue to be a mystery to many.

Signs of the Times: US: Worse Shape than Greece

According to Pimco's Bill Gross:

"When adding in all of the money owed to cover future liabilities in entitlement programs the US is actually in worse financial shape than Greece and other debt-laden European countries, Pimco`s Bill Gross told CNBC Monday.

Much of the public focus is on the nation`s public debt, which is USD 14.3 trillion. But that doesn`t include money guaranteed for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which comes to close to USD 50 trillion, according to government figures.

The government also is on the hook for other debts such as the programs related to the bailout of the financial system following the crisis of 2008 and 2009, government figures show.

Taken together, Gross puts the total at 'nearly USD 100 trillion,' that while perhaps a bit on the high side, places the country in a highly unenviable fiscal position that he said won`t find a solution overnight.

This is considerably more than the GDP (PPP) of the entire world combined to put it in a little perspective.

'To think that we can reduce that within the space of a year or two is not a realistic assumption,' Gross said in a live interview. 'That`s much more than Greece, that`s much more than almost any other developed country. We`ve got a problem and we have to get after it quickly.'"

Signs of the Times: Economy Going Downhill

We continue to be told that things are getting better on many fronts but Wall Street Baffled by Slowing Economy, Low Yields.  There is "almost near panic going on with money managers and people who are responsible for money." They are at a loss to "find real yield and real returns on these assets."

The housing sector continues to be bad news upon bad news as results fall well short of expectations:

• US house price fall 'beats Great Depression slide'
• Horror for US Economy as Data Falls off Cliff - CNBC
• U.S. Home Values to Drop by $1.7 Trillion This Year, $9 Trillion since 2006

The government having not learned from the first quantitative easing, set sail with QE II.  That having not worked QE III is not being bandied about.

Prepare for More Money Printing: Analyst - CNBC: "Investors should prepare themselves for a third round of quantitative easing, Simon Maughn, co-head of European equities at MF Global, told CNBC Wednesday.

“The bond market is going in one direction which is up-falling yields which is telling you quite clearly the direction of economic travel is downwards. Downgrades. QE3 (a third round of quantitative easing) is coming,” said Maughn. “The bond markets are all smarter than us, and that’s exactly what the bond markets are telling me.”"

“What’s interesting in the bond markets over the last couple of sessions is, you’ve seen human traders trying to step in and call this turn in the market the same way that equities have done … and they have just been mowed down by the quant funds which are all about leverage, all about momentum and are betting on bond prices going up,” added Maughn.

"Once again, the United States will step up as the marginal buyer of bonds, said Maughn."

"One more big injection of cash into the bond market should take you through at least the summer season into the beginning of the fourth quarter.”

“That cash injection will have the normal inflationary knock-on impact, driving back up commodities, supporting industrial stocks, dragging the financials up with them… I think it’s all about the monetary injection trade,” Maughn told CNBC.

Now it's citizen's are losing any confidence they may have had.

Economy: When Will Economy Recover? 2014, If Ever, Survey Says: 

"Americans are growing increasingly doubtful about direction of the US economy, according to the latest survey from business-advisory firm AlixPartners.

"In fact, an increasing number, some 61 percent, say they don't expect to return to their respective pre-recession lifestyles until the spring of 2014, if ever.

"What's worse, a full 10 percent said they expect they will never return to pre-recession spending.

"That's a more pessimistic view than last year, when those surveyed expected that they could be back to pre-recession spending levels by the middle of 2013.

'Americans continue to push their expectations for return to a pre-recession 'normal' further and further into the future—close enough for comfort, but far enough away to seem realistic,' said Fred Crawford, CEO of AlixPartners. 'But as that happens, more and more it seems normal is actually where we are right now.'"

The Best of Times

As we watch events around the world, we can’t help but think that we are entering into the last days. A full blown war is imminent in the Middle East as many flex their muscles. Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and magnitude. Generations are being wiped out in Africa by AIDS. Approximately 800 million people around the world are persistently hungry. False prophets, wars, pestilence and famine are already here.

Yet, this is the best time! As the world spins more and more quickly out of control, I can’t think of a better time to be doing what’s right. That is to say, that which is right in God's eyes. By the same token, there really has never been an easier time, specifically in our Western civilization, to be about the task of being a Christian.

In our present day climate there can be a propensity to become complacent due to the freedoms and luxuries we experience in the free world. Yet, given the illustrations above, our disposition should be diametrically opposed. We should be asking ourselves a few probing questions: Are we letting down? Are we becoming weary of doing well? Are we saying to ourselves that God is delaying His coming for one reason or another? Are we taking on any of the attributes of a Laodicean?

We have the tools readily available to combat any such tendency or merely to stay on top of those inclinations. We all know what they are...prayer, Bible study, meditation and fasting to mention a few. Let's encourage one another to use them as time grows short.

Let's be a light to the world as we practice being a Christian for NOW and for harder times ahead.

Signs of the Times: EU vs USA

This week there was some incredible news which left many doubters and the unaware with their collective jaws on the floor.  It was the reported news that Growth across EU creeps up to 0.8 per cent.  

The strong eurozone performance was powered by Germany which saw growth of 1.5 per cent in the quarter, well above market forecasts.

The EU27 grew by 2.5 per cent. On the annual figures, Estonia came out on top, with growth of 8 per cent. Lithuania achieved growth of 6.8 per cent and Finland 5.2 per cent. The Greek economy contracted 4.8 per cent and the Portuguese economy 0.7 per cent over the year. 

The only country where GDP fell back in the first quarter was Portugal, which suffered negative growth of 0.7 per cent....Greece managed growth of 0.8 per cent.

NOW it is being suggested that Germany is on the brink of 'golden decade' as country's exports surge to record high.

Germany – the world’s second largest exporter behind China – also imported a record €79.4 billion (£70 billion) of goods from overseas as the economy powered ahead.

The Berlin government expects economic growth of 2.6 per cent this year after a stunning 3.6 per cent expansion in 2010.

Overall, Europe to get out of crisis stronger then when it entered into it.

Contrast this with what is going on in the US at the moment:

In the home market (the largest investment for the average citizen)

• National Home Prices Double Dip
• U.S. ‘Underwater’ Homeowners Increase to 28 Percent
• Housing crash is getting worse

As the strength of the dollar goes down, it is inevitable that the cost of living will go up.  We will no longer be able to enjoy the lifestyle we once did.

• Dollar tumbles to 3-yr low
• Rival Currencies Take Aim at Dollar's Dominance
• Wholesale prices rise due to costlier gas and food

Are we now starting to see the vestiges of what is going to happen.  This IS NOT a surprise, nor should it be...yet it is for too many.

To avoid being blindsided and to find out what we can do about it, read:

The Fall and Rise of Britain and AmericaEurope in Prophecy - The Unfolding of End-Time Events