Missional church is definitely a trendy title that is anywhere you look these days. the concept that we are obligated to categorize bodies of Christ, missional, has forever been strange to me. come on, shouldnt all places of worship be missional in their very core? it should be expected from a church, at its very essence, desire to meet their culture and neighborhood with the gospel as a missionary would in a foreign country? Isnt what the church buildings is instructed to do in the sending out by Jesus in Matthew 28:19? Our own place of origin requires this style of church. Missional church in Austin is slowly transitioning to what Jesus instructed in Scripture.
The Son of God gives the charge in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 justifies this idea as, right before Jesus Christ rises to Heaven, He points the disciples on a journey that would begin right in their personal community. He begins with their area of Jerusalem, and then enlarges the call to the far parts of the world.
As disciples of Jesus, we are not motivated to social clubs, but to be missional believers who are anxiously going out and meeting people right where they are with the gospel. We have observed this throughout history: God moved Abraham on a mission to move from his country and his people and go to the place that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God sends Moses on a mission to rescue an enslaved people and lead them to relationship with God (Exodus 3:8-10), God sends Jesus on a exploration to globe to pull all things to Himself through the crucifixion (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending believers on a journey to engage areas, cities, tribes, and even nations with the good news (Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we dont respond to this encouragement and continue to perceive the churches like a closed off country club ” encouraging that people clean up their act, pay their fees, and walk to our place of worship God will continue His story without us.
One of the often-quoted verses about creation is Romans 1:20. This verse is presented below in three translations. KJV - For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. NASB - For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. AMPLIFIED - For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity have been made intelligible and clearly discernable in and through the things that have been made–His handiworks. So [men] are without excuse–altogether without any defense or justification; This verse is used to show how a loving God can hold innocent, uninformed people accountable. What does this verse have to do with the creation debate?
Henry Morris, in his book Biblical Creationism, states of verse 20, “The basic laws controlling all the processes through which they interact (that is, the laws of energy and entropy” demonstrate the necessary fact of their primeval supernatural creation by God’s “eternal power.”" Later in the same paragraph, he explains the relation of space and time to demonstrate the analogy to the triune Godhead. All this is clearly perceived in the creation. Thus, young earth creationists agree that the laws of science are clearly perceived in the creation.1 Then why do they reject these laws?
Yes, the truths of creation are crystal clear to old earth creationists, but clear as mud to young earth creationists. Why do I say this? When old earth creationists examine the universe and our world, the evidence is clearly billions of years old. However, when young earth creationists examine it, they have to twist and contort the data to make it fit their model of a 6,000 year old earth. They reject the principles of Romans 1:20.
Consider radiometric dating. The scientific principles behind radiometric dating are clearly understood. Radiometric dating is accepted by all scientists as presenting reliable dates for the age of the earth. For a scientist who accepts radiometric dating, Romans 1:20 works perfectly…it is clear that a simple reading of the evidence supports billions of years. God’s creation gives an easy to read testimony to its age.
However, young earth creationists have a huge problem with radiometric dating, so much so that they created a committee to study the problem and come up with a solution. The RATE Group, or Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth, was set up in 1998 to study how the data can be interpreted to give support to their claim that the earth is only 6,000 years old.2 Why do they need a committee (that so far has lasted for six years) to interpret the data, when God said that these things are “clearly understood?”
For the RATE Group, and young earth creationists, Romans 1:20 does not work. The verse says that the testimony to his eternal power is clearly discernable through the creation, yet the RATE Group was set up to do a multi-year study of how radiometric dates can be in error. For young earth creationism, the age of the earth is not “clearly discernable” in the creation…they have to study ways to twist the scientific facts to fit their theory of a young earth. That’s not what Romans 1:20 says!
The same thing is true of many of the issues in science. Many areas of scientific facts (facts, not theories), such as the principles of Geology, which we can see operating in today’s world, should be “clearly discernable” in the creation. Again, it is clear that these geologic processes give overwhelming evidence for an old earth. However, look at the efforts expended by young earth creationists to try and offer an alternative explanation to these processes. They take these “clear” processes and twist them until they support their view of a young earth. This violates Romans 1:20…no twisting or manipulating of the data is required to support an old earth. God said these things are clearly understood. In other words “What you see is what you get.” Yes, the earth is old! Conclusion When scientists look at the world and our universe, it is obvious to them that it is billions of years old. Using Romans 1:20, the obvious, clearly perceived facts from the creation must be the truth. The fact that young earth creationists have to form a committee for six years to argue against a scientific principle, is evidence in and of itself that the earth is old.
When Christians complain and argue that the earth is young, the world, and in particular, scientists, view us as uneducated radical extremists who twist the facts of science to their own conclusions. Scientists are not evil, anti-Christians trying to bury God…they are merely reporting what they see. According to Romans 1:20…they are right! In essence, young earth creationists have rejected the truth of Romans 1:20.
—
1 Biblical Creationism: What Each Book of the Bible Teaches About Creation and the Flood, Henry Morris. Master Books Edition, First Printing, March 2000. Page 163 2 http ://www.nwcreation.net/agedatinglinks.html#rategroup
There is an overlooked spiritual law in the Bible that works for and against) everyone on earth, whether they know it or not, whether they are Christians or not.
It works to either bring everyone their desires or push them further away.
It works alike for everybody.
The purpose of this message is to identify this law and uncover its 3-step application… to ensure that it works for us and not against us.
Why is this important for you?
Because once you grasp the simple secrets I’m about to share here, you can virtually guarantee that your desires will manifest… within the first 90 days of 2006.
Without fail.
Background
It is a well-known truth that what you focus on (and share) expands or increases. The more you focus on the things you want, the more of those things you manifest in your life.
Now the reverse is also true. The more you focus on what you don’t want, the more of those things you manifest in your life.
The problem is that 95% of people on this planet live within a matrix of fear, where they are programmed to be afraid of everything.
And there’s a huge danger in that… because, to put it simply, we always attract what we focus on.
In the Old Testament book of Job 3:25 we read:
“For the thing that I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.”
This is Job’s confession just after he was struck by massive disaster. He says he was already “greatly afraid” of this very thing.
You know what?
That fear and dread activated a powerful spiritual law and opened the door for disaster to happen in his life and family!
That is reason enough to pray in this manner from time to time:
“Every spirit of fear, loose your hold upon my life in the name of Jesus.”
“I reject the spirit of fear; I claim the spirit of power and of a sound mind in the name of Jesus.”
The law we are looking at is called the Law of Attraction. It works on every thing that God created. It can work for good. It can work for evil. The law itself is neutral.
If you focus on things that you fear and worry about, you end up attracting more and more of those things into your life.
But things need not be this way.
Your 90 Day Desire
If you’ve read my ebook, “Prayer DNA Secrets,” you’ll already be familiar with the story of Joannie. She was the one who really insisted that I create my website so this kind of message could get out to more people.
That was after she had first-hand encounter with the concept of using simple prayer “points” to attract whatever you desire.
So I got her permission to use her as a case study here to explain something I call “core beliefs” and…
how they can shape your personality,
create your future and determine your ultimate destiny.
Joannie’s Case
Joannie was one of my early students. She was blessed with a great job, wonderful loving family, and good health.
But a time came that she lost that cushy job, her family fell apart, and the issue of money really became a problem.
In a few short weeks, she became an emotional and financial wreck.
For now, we are just going to focus on what happened in her financial life. (I covered how she was able to recover from marital disaster elsewhere on my website.)
Why?
Because money is such a big issue for so many people. Over 90% of the emails I receive contain woeful tales about money.
Here are some interesting facts you
may not know about money.
Research has shown that:
Money is the leading cause of disagreement in marriages
People have more fantasies about money than sex
92% of people will rather be rich than find the love of their lives
The biggest stress inducer in people’s lives is money
People worry more about money than their marriages or health
And here’s a shocking fact:
5% of lottery ticket buyers buy
51% of all lottery tickets sold
It’s unfortunate that even Christians are getting involved in this too).
Now, back to Joannie…
She grew up in a family where money (actually, the lack of it) was a huge issue.
Her parents would always tell her (or imply) that:
There’s never enough money
They always have to be on the lookout for some impending danger that’s going to take away all the money (maybe you’ve heard the expression, “saving for a rainy day.”)
What do you suppose her reality became about money?
1 There’s never enough
2 She’s eventually going to lose what she has
Now, here’s the sad part…
Even after she became an adult and she earned enough in her profession (an amount that most people will consider very substantial) she still didn’t have enough.
No matter how much she earned, she was always just getting by.
And of course she was afraid to lose what she had (which she did on several occasions).
So as you can see, she inherited her parent’s money issues.
We all inherit our parents’ money
issues unless we know how
to change them
Core Beliefs
For Joannie, her core belief was, “there’s never enough money and she’s going to lose what she has… and she brought this belief system (unconsciously) from her childhood into her adult life… and into her Christian life, without even seeing what she was doing to herself.
Unknown even to her, she was always operating out of “there isn’t enough and I’m eventually going to lose what I have” mindset… and that became her reality.
Just as in Job’s case, the Law of
Attraction was at work and she
didn’t even know it.
It was her truth:
No matter how well qualified… and how long and hard she worked, she always ended up with the same results.
No matter how much money she earned (and it was a lot) she either just got by or she managed to lose it.
And all this time, she was praying… and worrying about how she was going to make more money.
What’s important to understand here is that her motivation for making money was based on her fear of not having enough and losing what she had.
And like Job in the Bible, that fear triggered the negative side of this important spiritual law… and dumped financial crisis into her life.
What turned things around for her
Sometime after her marital problem was disposed of by the Holy Spirit, we soon turned our attention to clear up the financial mess in her life.
What I shared with her is what I’m about to show you now.
First I showed her the root of the problem (what I’ve just explained)… and pointed out what she’d been missing all along.
Simple Principle…
Far-reaching Results
I shared the principle with her that extremely wealthy people have been living by for years and, interestingly enough, sometimes without even knowing that they were doing it.
She realized all she had to do was follow those principles and she could produce the same results.
She learnt how to pray and attract the money she desired.
She discovered it wasn’t
too hard to do.
As she told me later, it was a shock for her to find out that it’s not what you do that brings money. She now believes (like I do) that almost any legitimate system or strategy can be used to generate money, or even create massive wealth, once you understand how to…
Focus your thoughts and prayers on what you
desire, instead of worrying about
what you don’t want
The 3 Steps
Here are the 3 simple steps you need to take to manifest your desires…
Step #1 - Your Belief
What’s your core belief about money?
It’s never enough?
You have no qualifications to make enough money?
It is evil… or will take you to hell ?
You will have to change this belief and begin to agree with Scripture that money answers all things, i.e. it is there to meet your needs.
Concerning your desires, I am talking of your “core” desires here, i.e. something you really want with the whole fiber of your being. It can’t be something that somebody else wants for you.
You have to connect with what you truly
desire… and once you do that, it is literally
impossible to fail.
Your desire should be based on the belief that,
“My God shall supply all my needs
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,”
… as clearly stated in Philippians 4:19.
This is the foundation… and it must be laid solidly for things to happen.
Step #2 - Your Focus
Your belief determines your focus. Now, focus your prayers on what you want in the first 90 days of like this:
I desire breakthrough concerning _________ (mention it) within 90 days in the name of Jesus.
Notice the way this prayer “point” is structured.
When you pray this type of prayer, you shouldn’t just read them. You pray it for at least 5 minutes… every time you pray from now on!
And pray out loud and with fervency in your spirit.
Why?
So that you create the right “climate” in and around you… to receive the answers.
Think of these prayer points as
launching a rocket. Let’s call this
your rocket of desire.
The launching power is the Scripture backing it up, your faith that the promises of God will manifest in your life, and your expectation and excitement that you are really going to get what you want, no matter what happens.
Praying it aloud will help keep your thoughts and your prayers focused in the present on what you want instead of what you don’t want or the things you fear.
Step #3 - Correct your Thoughts in the Moment
This is the one crucial step that will determine whether you succeed or not… so stay with me here.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
You will have negative or opposing thoughts from time to time.
When this happens it is crucial to refocus and change the thought in the moment it occurs… not 5 minutes later, not one hour later, not the next day, but right in the moment.
How?
By using the Scripture above you can pray like this:
I cast down every negative thoughts in the name of Jesus
I dismiss and disband from my heart every thought, image or picture of failure in these matters in the name of Jesus
I cancel all ungodly suggestions against the speedy manifestation of my miracles in the name of Jesus.
Oh, how I love this!
This is what we call “lightning round prayers” because they happen spontaneously… all of a sudden you start praying them in your car, kitchen, office, everywhere you notice any ungodly thought rearing their ugly head.
Why is this so important to you?
The moment you allow a competing desire such as fear or worry to take over your thoughts, at a minimum that’s going to delay or throw your desires off-course and, more than likely, it is just going to cancel it out.
Don’t Lose Your Blessings
Let me repeat… this step is very crucial to your success. Because, if after you launch your rocket of desire something tells you:
“Are you really sure you can do this, or do you think this is going to work out…”
… if you don’t silence that thought immediately, then you’ve taken your rocket that was moving with great speed toward your goal and cut back the power.
The end result is:
Your rocket is going from soaring toward your goal to crashing into the ground.
That’s how the voice of your worry and fears push away the things that you desire. This voice of fear is energized by invisible vampires in the spirit realm… in order to cut the power that you sent your rocket of desire.
You can get your desires within the first 90 days!
That’s right.
You can launch your rocket of desire so it flies faster and higher and has more impact.
If you are in the habit of complaining, stop it.
If you have been thinking that external circumstances control your life, change that thought by renewing your mind with the blessed word of God.
Just step out, focus your prayers on that rocket of desire, and then take action towards achieving your desire when the Holy Spirit prompts you.
If you do this, I can assure you that you’ll receive what you desire… in the first 90 days of 2006!
Wishing you God’s Best in ‘06
Elisha Goodman
PS: I just concluded a 21-day Prayer Marathon with thousands of my online members… using these 3 simple steps I just described. Hundreds of praise reports (posted on the website) started coming in 3 days later… and have not ceased!
Elisha Goodman is an online prayer coach and author of five books, including his free book: Passion Prayer of Jesus the Christ. His f.ree online prayer coaching ministry (http://www.firesprings.com) has helped thousand all over the world to grow spiritually as well as in the areas of health, wealth and relationships. Thousands participated in his recent 21-day Prayer Marathon that witnessed the manifestation of new cars, houses, money, new relationships, and emotional and physical healing. For more on his coaching sessions here: http://www.firesprings.com/dnabook.htm
What is Canaan, and why is it so important to discuss?
There are main line religions that denigh that Canaan is an eternal possession of Israel. The Vatican, which claims to be spiritual home to one billion of the world’s Christians, rejects the biblical stipulation granting everlasting possession of ancient Canaan, inclusive of Jerusalem, to the Jewish people. When this is taught they lie, weather knowing or unknowingly. This teaching is not scriptual and is actually against what the scriptures state.
The Bible teaches us everything that we know today of God and His word. The Land of Canaan was given to Israel for an eternal possession and it will be for eternity, for God cannot lie. This land has been fought over for over 4000 years, each new religion and nations wants to claim it for their own.
Many men have died fighting to possess it. The fight has already started, fulfilling prophecy; Will Jerusalem Be Divided?
The National Union response to the apparent decision:
“There is no limit to the cynicism and hypocrisy of the left wing, led by the Kadima Party.
On the one hand, they embrace Jerusalem, talking
about its historic importance and promise to keep it whole - and on the other hand, they allow Arabs of the eastern part to take part in Palestinian Authority elections. We will fight these defeatist trendsand make sure that Jerusalem will not be torn away from the Nation of
Israel.
“MK Sha’ul Yahalom (National Religious Party) said, “The government is giving ammunition to those who want to divide Jerusalem.” The extent and boundaries of Canaan are fully set forth in different parts of Scripture (Gen-10:19; Gen-17:8; Num-13:29; Num-34:8).
Canaan is an ancient term for a region roughly corresponding to present-day Israel/ Palestine including the West Bank, western Jordan, southern and coastal Syria and lebanon continuing up until the border of modern Turkey.
In Genesis 17:7-8, We see the proof that Canaan is an eternal possession of Israel. This verse is what many want to ignore. “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Spoken by Jehovah(God) Lets take a closer look at this verse.
“I will establish my covenant.”
1. I-God.
2. Will-without a doubt.
3. Establish-To set and fix firmly or unalterably; to settle permanently,
4. My-God,
5. Covenant-A mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons, to do or to forbear some act or thing; a contract; stipulation, compact.
6. Everlasting-Lasting or enduring for ever; eternal; existing or continuing without end; immortal.
7. All the land of Canaan, All-Wholly; completely; entirely.
8. Possession-To give possession, to put in another’s power or occupancy.
This covenant was between the Children of Israel and Jehovah(God) as a binding contract for an eternal possession of the Land of Canaan for eternity. For the Land belonged to God and He has the right to do with what ever He created. The covenants and Laws that God had set down for Israel are permanent and must be carried out even unto the end. The possessors of the present land of Canaan will be over thrown and their gods, idols, temples and laws will be utterly burned and removed forever from that land and it will again be the possession of Israel.
This present day situation in Canaan is fulfillment of the prophetic word in; Luke 21:20. Jesus said of Jerusalem; “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” To fulfill this prophecy, Canaan must be in the illegal possession of strangers.
(Ref; Luke-21:7, Luke-19:43; Daniel-9:27; Matthew-24:15; Mark-13:14 )(M.H.)Many frightful sights shall be in the sun, moon, and stars, prodigies in the heavens, and here in this lower world, the sea and the waves roaring, with terrible storms and tempests, such as had not been known, and above the ordinary working of natural causes. The effect of this shall be universal confusion and consternation upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity. Luke-21:25.
This is a part of the final fight over the Land of Canaan and Jerusalem. Be not deceived, The Land of Israel, as promised by God, will be made whole once again and no one will ever try to take this land again. Why is there such a fight over Jerusalem? For it is the Seat of authority over all Nations, he who possesses Jerusalem controls Religion in the World. This is The Seat and throne of David, Solomon and The Future Capitol City and Throne of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ.
Deu 12:1-4; These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. Deu 27:9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. In Deu 27:9, We see the official possession of the Children of Israel as the property and Children of God. The statutes(Decree, Law, Edict) and judgments(Decisions, Evaluation of conduct.) of God were set down to rule over the people and for obedience, the Children of Israel, were protected from extinction.
To end we must read the 2nd chapter of Zephaniah 2:1- 15; Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you.
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.
The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.
And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.
This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.(Ref; Rev. 18:10-19, Isa. 10:12-14, Isa. 22:2, Isa.47:7; Rev. 18:7-10)
Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/
I know you want to kill me, and I wish to do all I can to help you succeed.
Well… that would be insane, but what about this?
I know you want to kill my children, destroy my country, and erase all historical evidence of our existence, and I want to do everything I can to help you achieve your goals.
Would that be the epitome of insanity? If the leaders of your country were doing these things would you cry out “Treason”? That is exactly what is happening in Israel today, and Israeli’s are left stunned wondering what can be done to stop the insane leaders who have wrestled complete control over the government, military, and economy of Israel.
Ok… so I am going too far you say… another conspiracy nut.
American President George Bush says “I will bring peace to the Middle East”. Wait a minute… isn’t he supposed to be a Christian? Isn’t Jesus the only one who will ultimately bring peace to the Middle East? Isn’t the anti-Christ the one who will make a false peace agreement? Hmmm… think I am stretching a bit? It gets better.
The prophet Zechariah warned (Christians should be familiar with this, even Christian presidents) that those who burden themselves with Jerusalem will be dashed to pieces. Now a “Christian” president who presumably knows these scriptures, and proclaims a faith in the Jewish Messiah, and yet knowingly leads his nation into the abyss of certain condemnation at the hand of the God he swears he serves desperately needs his head examined. He must be insane!
Today in the British Parliament, the podium from which the Prime Minister speaks not only has a Bible resting upon it; it has a Koran resting on top of the Bible. Europe is fast becoming not only a post Christian group of nations, but a pro-Islamic group of nations as well. President Bush embraces Islam as a “peaceful” religion, and the State Department continues to appease and praise the Islamists openly. Did I miss something? Aren’t we supposed to be engaged in a worldwide war against terrorism? Has anyone else noticed that nearly every conflict in the world today, and nearly every terrorist act is perpetrated by Islam? The most notable exception might be the Irish Republican Army, but they are sympathetic to the Palestinians and have often cooperated on strategic training and planning. So if we are waging a war on terror, and we are at the same time doing all we can to appease the terrorist, couldn’t it be argued that we are suffering from mass dementia on a global scale?
I contend that to fight against God, Creator of All things, Master of everything, is tantamount to insanity. The world today, and the “leaders” governing us are at war with God. It is that simple, the flesh of man vs. the Holy Spirit of God. This is insanity at its apex. The world is going to suffer tremendously for this embracement of the devil, and the torment of this insanity will burn forever.
Thankfully, none of us have to be turned over to a reprobate mind, we can embrace God instead, love His truth, and surrender to His will. If you have detected in your life a hardening of the heart towards the things of God, I appeal to you to stoop where you are, and fall on your knees in repentance. God does not want that any man (or woman or child) should perish but that all would come to repentance.
Lets see… eternal love, goodness, kindness, joy, and fulfillment, or… eternal torment, separation from all that is good, burning, suffering, terrible fear, thirst… which one will I chose, which one will I choose?
Tom Cooper
The Israel Report
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One explanation used by young-earth proponents to explain that
all coal seams formed during the Flood is the concept of the
floating forest, which can be found on the Answers in Genesis
website, written by Carl Wieland. There are actually four
articles on the web that we will consider when discussing the
floating forest. The other three are: “Too Much Coal for a Young
Earth,” by Gerhard Schnknecht and Siegfried Scherer “Coal Beds
and Noah’s Flood,” by Andrew Snelling “Patterns of Ocean
Circulation Over the Continents During Noah’s Flood,” by John
Baumgardner and Daniel Barnette Please see the footnotes for the
web addresses to these articles. First let’s look at the
possibility of floating forests existence. From the evidence
presented, I can see no reason why they can’t exist. It is
certainly plausible that there may have been water-borne forests
in the past. That’s not to say there are not logical problems
with this theory. One is the claim that all plants with a radial
root pattern are water-borne plants. One only needs to look at
the Sequoia tree of California to dispense with this statement.
The tallest of trees in the world (up to 300 feet) has a radial
root pattern. In fact, its roots only go into the ground
vertically a distance of 6 feet! However, let’s be nice for the
time being and agree that the floating forest idea is possible.
This floating forest idea is used to explain that the 230+ coal
beds in the Ruhr district of Germany, scattered throughout 4,000
meters of strata, came to exist during the 375 days of Noah’s
flood. The geological explanation put forward by old-earth
creationists is that these beds formed over millions of years,
as the sea levels fluctuated, causing the land to be covered,
then uncovered with water repetitively. However, the young-earth
explanation is with the floating forests, which in the
cataclysmic event of the Flood, were rapidly buried, and covered
with sediment. (See “Too Much Coal…) Unfortunately, this
theory does not wash. Think about the model. The Flood starts,
and the floating forest over Germany is sank by the turbulent
waters. Give it a day, in which the material that covers the
flooded trees is deposited, and then another floating forest has
been brought into place by the currents, and it sinks in the
same spot the next day! This is repeated 230 times, up to a
thickness of 4,000 meters! So imagine this picture…you have
230 floating forests, all lined up in a row, awaiting their
chance to sink in the exact same spot, and then be rapidly
covered over with sediment before the next forest sinks. This
process all happens in about 375 days! Even assuming it
happened, where did the sediment come from? This is explained on
the Answers in Genesis website by John Baumgardner and Daniel
Barnette in their article referenced above. They show that based
on their calculations, the waters of the flood covering a sphere
(earth) would move with a velocity (current) of 70 meters per
second, which they claim is more than enough to cause erosion to
create these beds. I cannot confirm their calculations, but it
introduces two obvious errors that don’t require a rocket
scientist to figure out. What are the errors? First, if you have
the water turbulence they calculated, then all the floating
forests would have immediately sank! You no longer have the neat
and orderly progression of 230 forests into the area of Germany
to create the coal fields. In fact, by their model, if you look
at the coal fields of the world, they should all be only one
coal seam thick, and not multiple seams like we actually see.
And while their theory would account for thin seams, it does
nothing to explain a 100-foot thick coal seam, which would
require many forests together! The second error…remember we
have 70 meter per second currents. At that speed, none of the
fine rock materiel would be able to settle on the ocean
floor…it would stay in suspension in the water. Yet when you
look at the rock layers between the coal seams, they are fine
grained (sandstones and limestones). So then, the only way this
could happen is if God sank a forest with the turbulent water,
then calmed the water and made it still for a day, so the
sediment would sink to the bottom, then re-start the current to
bring in the next forest to sink, sink it, stop the current,
etc., etc. Sure, God could have done it, but there’s no logical
reason to. Furthermore, with rapid burial as they suggest, you
would see perfectly fossilized trees in the rock beds above the
coal, because the rapid burial would preserve the original state
of the trees. Of course, the current would have stripped away
the leaves and small branches, but there would still be many of
these petrified trees left. OK, one final thought on the
floating forest. They would have to follow the ocean currents.
They probably would not have survived more than a few years, as
the current took each one into the Arctic or Antarctic to
freeze. And, if they existed, then some must have floated into
the polar regions and been frozen. Has any explorations of the
earth’s polar caps discovered a floating forest frozen in the
ice? Not that I know of. Some may try to explain this away by
saying the forests were anchored to shore, and thus did not
circulate with the currents. This however introduces two more
problems. First, the waves would occasionally break them free,
and they would float off…hence we would find some frozen ones
in the polar regions. Second, I seriously doubt that you could
get a tree to stand one-hundred feet vertically in the air,
while being pounded by the surf! You don’t need a computer model
to prove it…its just not possible. The article “Coal Beds and
Noah’s Flood” by Andrew Snelling attempts to show that it is
possible for all the world’s coal to have been produced from the
plants which existed at the time of Noah’s flood? Even if he is
correct, it doesn’t matter, because there is no model by which
it can be laid down to create 230+ separate coal beds in one
4,000 meter thick strata of rock! Therefore, the calculations in
this article are meaningless, as are the coal volume
calculations of the “Too Much Coal” mentioned above. Conclusion
There is no possible way that the coal beds of the Ruhr district
in Germany were created by the Flood of Noah. The logical
conclusion of the theory of young-earth creationists says there
should only be single layers of thin coal throughout the world.
However, there are many areas of the world with multiple seams
divided by other rock layers. Concerning thickness, even being
generous, a floating forest would yield no thicker seams than 5
meters, yet there are many coal seams exceeding this thickness.
Even assuming Wieland’s discussion of the tree composition
(roots, appendages, etc) is correct, it doesn’t amount to a hill
of beans. If you can’t deposit them in the strata the way they
are seen today, his conclusions are meaningless.
The only logical conclusion is that coal seams were laid down
over millions of years, just like the geologists have told us
all along.
FOOTNOTES: “Floating Forest”
(answersingenesis.org/home/area/Magazines/docs/cen_v18n1_forests.
asp) “Too Much Coal for a Young Earth,”
(answersingenesis.org/docs/1233.asp) “Coal Beds and Noah’s
Flood,” (answersingenesis.org/docs/1137.asp) “Patterns of Ocean
Circulation Over the Continents During Noah’s Flood,”
(icr.org/index.php?module=research&action=index&page=researchp_jb
_patternsofcirculation)
Gone Home…god Honors Faith And His Servants
This is a short version from story number five (out of 50) from my recently published book, My Walk with the Lord.
Psalm 116.15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
I had a dear uncle, the Rev. Owen Rozier, who came down with cancer. Although his body was weak, his faith in the Lord was strong. Just like the verse in Amazing Grace “Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come”, Uncle Owen had his share of tribulations while preaching the word for over thirty years. He and my father, the late Rev. A.J. Rozier, were close in age and close as brothers. Daddy went home to be with the Lord in 1966, and here it was in 1987.
On July 17, 1987, about 7 PM, the Lord spoke to me and said, “I’m going to take Uncle Owen home tonight. Go on over to his house.” As I was driving over there, the song “I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone” came on the radio. It played twice. As tears filled my eyes, the Lord gave confirmation of what He had told me.
When I arrived at Uncle owen’s, I noticed several other cars were there. Other people started arriving. No one had called them to come. The Lord drew them so Uncle Owen could preach his last sermon. We all gathered around his bed; I read Psalm 23. Uncle Owen called on someone to pray, and then feebly preached his last sermon..the few words he spoke was precious.
As one of his daughters sang a beautiful song, one she hadn’t sung in 20 years, Uncle Owen took his last breath and went home to be with Jesus.
What was amazing about this, is several days earlier, Uncle Owen told me that he desired to preach one more service. As I prayed for him that day, I asked God to honor his request. On his deathbed, Uncle Owen preached a sweet service. God honors the faith of his servants!
Rev 14.13: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”
Irvin L. Rozier, Captain (Retired) US Army, now serving as a soldier in God’s army
About the Author
author, preacher, retired US Army
All day I have been thinking about what it means to be a follower of Christ. Does it mean that I dress up and goto a building with other dressed up folks? Does it mean that I pray some prayer and then hope one day to end up on the “right” side of the equation? I know for sure those are not the answers, but I keep searching and wrestling with what it means for me to be a follower of Christ.
In my search, I pray that God will continue to show me what it all means. Right now I get mixed messages from all kinds of sources in my life. Family, friends, and circumstances try to tell me what it means for me to be a follower of Christ.
Andrew and Simon Peter, who were rejected from being a follower of a rabbi during their day, dropped everything to follow a new Rabbi, the Christ. At first, they were left to do the family trade because they did not make the cut. I wonder if they wrestled with the same question I am.
What did it mean for Simon Peter(Kefa) to follow God as he threw his nets into the water everyday? As he walked home, smelling of fish, did his eyes glance up to the heavens and wonder what it was all for?
I feel this longing to make my life matter more than getting married, having kids, a nice home, avoid the “big” sins, and eventually die with no hell.
I want to my life to echo for God’s glory. Or atleast that is what I’m told to do.
As I search, I’ve decided that my attempts are only sucessful if rooted in God’s Word. John calls that Jesus. Deuteronomy calls the Word of God what we live on.
My interest in Jewish History is picking up, I’ve bought 3 books and look forward to seeing what God has for me in those. One thing I picked up was a Jewish New Testament Commentary. It’s a first for me. I do not really know how to use it, but as I read through the New Testament I’ll see what it has to say.
Matthew Strickland
http://www.matthewstrickland.com
