HEAVENLY WISDOM

   If my faith is in Christ, my faith will also be in the words of the Bible, for the Bible is the Word of the Lord; therefore, with my faith firmly planted in Christ, as well as in the Word of the Lord, then I will believe in the stories of the Bible even though I may not understand everything about every story, nor understand why these stories are written.
   For this reason, it is important for me to Trust in the LORD with all my heart; and lean not unto my own understanding.  (Proverbs 3: 5)
   At the same time, with my faith firmly planted in Christ as well as firmly planted in the Word of the Lord, I will also believe in the prophecies of the Bible even though I may not understand everything about every prophecy, nor understand why these prophecies are written.  So again, I must Trust in the LORD with all my heart; and lean not unto my own understanding.
   For children, their first day at school can produce a time of fear, stress, and anxiety.  No longer are the children in the comfort zone of their homes, but now they find themselves in a new arena and in a room full of strangers, and they do not know what to do.  For this reason, they have a teacher to guide them in the beginning of their education. 
   For new believers in Christ, reading the Bible, at first, can produce a time of fear, stress, and anxiety, for they have entered a new arena, and they find themselves in a room full of strangers, who are the people in the Bible, whom they have never met before.  For this reason, they need a teacher to guide them in the beginning of their education in the knowledge of God. 
   To simplify, to begin to understand the Bible, a person must become a student of the Word of God.  As a student of the Word, not only do we trust in our teachers to help us, but we also learn to trust in God to help us by beginning our Bible study with prayer:  for God wants to help us in our understanding of Him.
   In time, God is no longer a stranger to us, the Bible is no longer a strange book, and the people of the Bible are no longer strangers.  For we learn that God is our friend as we also learn that the believers in the Bible are also His friends, and that we, with them, are friends with God because we are one family through Christ our Lord. 
   If you are a new believer in Christ, welcome to the family of God!
   And if your journey in the Bible is just beginning, this prayer is for you:
      That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  (Ephesians 1: 17)
  

AMERICA'S FALL

   Today, the United States is a nation of many gods, with many goddesses, and with many idols and images of idols.
   Knowing this, do we dare say, "God bless America"? 
   Do people honestly believe that God will bless this nation when this nation has turned its face away from Him as well as turned its face against Christ while this nation has become a land of pagans?      
   Just how blind can people be!
   Today, the United States resembles ancient Rome, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, and ancient Babylon.
   Even today, the United States is a harbor for human trafficking of women and children for pornography, prostitution, and pedophilia, as well as a harbor for the trafficking of mind-altering drugs.
   Even today, there are ministers and priests of churches who are homosexuals and pedophiles, and we dare say, "God bless America"?
   Today, life in the United States has become like life in Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the lifestyles of people before the flood of Noah.  And we dare say, "God bless America"?
   Do people honestly believe that God will bless this nation or any nation that has turned its face against Him and against His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who died for sin? 
   When people treat the Word of the Lord as no more than the work of a comic book writer, do we truly believe that God will bless this nation?
   Just how blind can people be! 
   When people bow to idols and images of idols, when people bow to people as if they are gods upon the earth, just how blind can people be!
   When people believe that river water is sufficient for the remission of sins, just how blind can people be?
    The freedom of this nation or any nation will not stand when God is ignored, and unless America returns to God, America's fall will come quickly, and the fall of her will be heard all over the world.
       My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:  because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:  seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  As they were increased, so they sinned against me:  therefore will I change their glory into shame.  (Hosea 4: 6-7)

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

   This world system we live in is an accumulation of many systems, operating independently, even though they are branches of the same system---or, different schools of thought.
   These various schools of thought include religion, politics, philosophy, science, as well as the entertainment system of television and radio, movies, music, and sports.
   All of these systems are creations of people, and all of their histories are written and recorded by people.
   Therefore being created by men, this world system, with all of its schools of thought, is an accumulation of the knowledge of men. 
   Consequently, as people live within and under this world system, their minds are filled with the knowledge of this world; and because their minds are filled with the knowledge of this world, they think in the knowledge of this world, or within its various schools of thought; and because they think within these schools of thought, their behaviors and beliefs are formed from the way their minds have been conditioned, or trained, to think.
   As such, not one of these schools of thought within this world system contains the knowledge of God, for God has been purposely left out, or omitted, because God is not one of the schools of thought.  And because this world system is empty and void of the knowledge of God, how are people supposed to gain, or learn, the knowledge of God?
      So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (Romans 10: 17)
      How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!  (Romans 10: 14-15)
   For you see, dear people, this world system we live within and under is designed and created by men to prevent the minds of people from receiving the knowledge of God; therefore, people must hear from a messenger of God with the message from God:  and that message, or Good News, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
   Over the past two thousand years, the messengers of God have been going to nations all over the world to take the Good News of Christ, which is the knowledge of God.  They have been establishing churches in nations as well as translating the Bible to various languages so that people all over the world can read the Word of the Lord in their own languages:  for God wants people to know Him and to know His only begotten Son.
   If you have heard about the truth of Christ, then you have heard from a messenger of God.  And if you have heard about the truth of the Bible, you have also heard from a messenger of God.
      So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (Romans 10: 17)
   Now that you have heard from a messenger of God, what are you going to do with this knowledge?

A HANDICAP MIND

   Many people play golf, and many practice every day.  Many, however, never improve because they are practicing the wrong way.  Because they do not know the correct way, they accumulate bad habits that follow them throughout all the days of their golf experience, and each game is a repeat performance from practicing the wrong way---never improving, and never understanding why.
   Many people are religious, and many practice their religion every day.  Because of their practice, however, their game never improves because their participation is in the same practice program, with the same dogmas and doctrines, and with the same rites and rituals, so that their game is the same game all the days of their lives---never doing anything different, and without knowing why.
   When people receive information from unreliable sources, they live their lives the wrong way.
   For example, when people go to see the pope of Rome, they go to see the pope.  They do NOT go to hear the pope preach about Christ because their belief is in the pope and not in Christ, for it is the pope they trust and not Almighty God.
   We live in a world of deception and illusion, primarily from the greatest system of mind control ever invented, the indoctrination of religion---implanted in the minds of millions of people from the imaginations of ministers and priests on every nation; for virtually every person on earth believes in some form, or brand, of religion.  And in these religions is an abundance of gods and goddesses, dogmas and doctrines, rites and rituals, and images of idols, which produce a handicap mind.
   Jesus said,
      I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
      I am the door:  by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.
      I am the good shepherd:  the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
      I am the living bread which came down from heaven:  if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever:  and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
      I am the light of the light of the world:  ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
      I am the resurrection, and the life:  he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
     I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
     I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and last.
     I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
     Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
The Master is here and he is calling:  hear him and you will par the course.
    
    
     

CHRIST: THE WORD OF GOD

   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.  (John 1: 1-3)


   The Bible is the Word of the Lord, and the Word is Jesus Christ the Lord.  These two are one and they are inseparable. 
   Therefore, as people read the Bible, they are reading the Lord. 
   If people will accept the Lord, they will also accept the Bible:  for these two are one and they are inseparable.
   But if people reject the Bible, they will also reject Christ, who is the Word; and if people reject Christ, they will also reject the Bible:  for there can not be one without the other.
   When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that was the day when God became a human body:
       And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.  (John 1: 14)
      and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9: 6)
      Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  (Matthew 1: 23)
   When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that was the day when the Creator of the universe came to earth and walked among men, women, and children, for Jesus said:
      Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:  but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.  Believe me that I am in the Father:  or else believe me for the very works' sake.  (John 14: 10-11)
      If a man love me, he will keep my words:  and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.  (John 14: 23)
   God is holy, Christ is holy, and the words of the Bible are holy words.
   Obviously, to know God is to know Christ, for these two are one.  And to know Christ is to know the Word, for Christ is the Word, and the Word is the Bible:  for these two are one.
   God, Christ, and Bible:  these three are one and they are inseparable. 
   So then,
      Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, not sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; he leaf shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  (Psalm 1: 1-3)
      And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  (John 21: 25)
    

DEPRAVED MINDS

   People can know the truth, but this does not necessarily mean that people will accept the truth, nor does it necessarily mean that people will like the truth.
   The truth can be difficult to face, and it can be even more difficult to swallow.  For this reason, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  (James 4: 16)
   Now that homosexuality has been accepted as normal behavior by societies, by religions, by many churches, and by politics, there will come a day when pedophilia will be accepted as normal behavior; for this is the natural order of regression by depraved minds.
   And because this behavior is being accepted by religions and by many churches, people of the congregations are turning their faces away from God and are now content to see their pulpits being filled with men of sin, who are telling them how to rid themselves of sin as well as telling them the ways to get to heaven:  as if people will continue doing in heaven as they have been doing on earth:  as if heaven will be the habitat of devils, just as the earth is the habitat of devils. 


   For this cause God gave them up to vile affections:  for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:  and likewise the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
   And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.  (Romans 1: 26-32)
  
   Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.  (Genesis 19: 24-25)


   Now that the whole earth is becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, and now that even the clergy of religions and many churches are men and women of depraved minds, how much longer will it be until the Lord God of heaven rains brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven upon cities all over the earth?
   The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
   But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the work that are therein shall be burned up.  (2 Peter 3: 9-10)

WHILE JERUSALEM SLEPT

   While Jerusalem slept, Jesus was being prepared as a lamb for the slaughter during the early morning hours of darkness.
    Now that the Easter Bunny has thrilled us in 2014, people in America are looking for the next big event to happen across the land, which will be the return of Santa Claus.
   So this would be a good time to make your plans for a green tree and the lighting of candles,
         for he will be here, quick as a wink!
  
   Do you see how easily the death and resurrection of Christ has been overshadowed by a bunny rabbit with colored eggs and candy for children?
   Do you see how easily the birth of Christ has been overshadowed by a mythical creature from the North Pole with candy and toys for children?
   In the United States as well as in many nations, how many parents prepare their children for the return of the Bunny Rabbit and for the return of Santa Claus every year of their lives?
   Likewise, how many parents are preparing their children for the return of Christ the Lord?
   So while America sleeps, and while people in many nations take their naps, God is preparing the Lamb for His return to earth. 


      Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up onto heaven? for this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.  (Acts 2: 11)
 
  Children believe in the stories of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus because they believe in the words of their parents.  But would the children also believe in the words of their parents if they told them about Jesus? 
   Perhaps so.  But because the parents do not believe in Jesus, neither do they teach their children.
   Unbelieving parents believe it is all fun and games to tell their children about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus:  while they believe that teaching about Jesus is only a myth!
   Christmas and Easter were established for Christ and for Christ alone:  but the world has changed the meaning and purpose of Christmas and Easter; for now the meaning of these two times of the year are experienced by children as times to receive toys and candy.
   For what would children do today without Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? 
   And what would parents tell their children about Christmas and Easter if Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were suddenly captured and led to the slaughter on the streets where they live?
  
  
 

MESSAGES FROM HEAVEN

      And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:  And let them be for lights to give light upon the earth:  and it was so. 
      And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night:    he made the stars also. 
      And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
      And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness:  and God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1: 14-18)

    God created the lights of the heavens to give light upon the earth, the showcase of God's wonderful, colorful world of creation!
    God created the earth as the centerpiece of the universe as the earth became the home, the dwelling place, for the crowning jewel of God's creation, which is man.  And thus God turned on the lights of the heavens to shine upon the earth, and to provide light for man.
    Since that day, the lights of the heavens have been used by God for signs---for messages from heaven---of events that would come to pass upon the earth, using the sun, the moon, the stars and planets, as well as asteroids and comets, as signs for messages to man upon the earth.
   God created man with legs to walk, hands to work, and with a brain that is far superior to the brain of an animal, fish, bird, or creeping creatures such as ants.  And with man's superior brain, man turned away from God and began to worship creation, rather than the Creator, making gods out of the sun, the moon, the stars and planets, and also the worship of things of the earth, which includes the earth itself as "mother earth". 
   Moreover, man, with his superior brain, began to worship people as gods, including living people as well as dead people!
   Nevertheless, God said the lights of the heavens are for signs as well as for seasons, and for days, and years.  Thus, instead of watching the heavens for signs from God, man began to worship the lights of the heavens as gods, even to believe that the sun is the life-giver of man, and that the moon is the goddess of the heavens, the mother of all living.
   How, then, shall people hear messages from heaven when man has disrupted God's system of communication with people upon the earth?
   Today, God continues to give signs with the alignments of stars and planets, asteroids and comets, yet people look at events in the heavens as light shows in the cosmos.
  
  

IDOL WORSHIP

   Religion is all about idolatry, the worship of idols and images of idols inside temples and shrines and even cathedrals.
   These idols are manufactured from the imaginations of men, and the images of idols are also manufactured from the imaginations of men---manufactured from things of the earth.
   Not only do people of religions worship idols and images of idols, they also worship men and women in priestly garments as holy people, or even as gods of religions.
   Idols and images of idols are inventions that people can see with their eyes and touch with their hands, and their spiritual leaders are people they can see with their eyes and touch with their hands; therefore, as people see their leaders speaking words of forgiveness of sins, they believe it; and as they watch their leaders washing the sins of people by water baptism, they believe it.  Moreover, as they watch their leaders washing their own hands with water for the cleansing of their own sins, the people believe that their ministers and priests have the power to cleanse themselves of their own sins.
   Furthermore, as the people continue to listen to the words of their spiritual leaders, telling them the ways to get to heaven, or to paradise, the people believe in their words and follow their prescriptions.
   Worldwide, people of religions have idols and images of idols in every nation under the sun.  None of these idols are living, and neither have they ever lived.  Yet people still bow to them and worship them as if they are real---as if these objects of manufacturing have supernatural powers.
   At the same time, people of religions bow to certain men and women---the order of priests and priestesses---as if they are holy people.  And they teach their children to do likewise.
   Perhaps this is a good time to stop and consider a question: 
   If religion is everything that people need, and with religions all over the world, why is violence and evil consuming the world in every nation under the sun?  Violence and evil continue to flourish while people remain steadfast in idol worship within religions all over the world!
   Secondly, have you noticed how much attention Pope Francis has received ever since a puff of white smoke went up from the Vatican chimney?  Pope Francis is getting the attention of the world while the pope directs the eyes of the world to see the Catholic Church.  Pope Francis has not said a word about faith in Christ for salvation, has he?  Pope Francis, therefore, is all about the reformation of the Catholic Church and not for the reformation of the hearts of people in Christ Jesus the Lord. Consequently, Pope Francis is the chief of idol worship, for people bow to him instead of bowing to Almighty God, Creator of the universe.
   By now, people should be able to see and understand that Satan is the father of religions on the face of the earth, and that Satan is the instigator of idol worship.  Satan, therefore, hides himself in religions and watches while people worship idols---while violence and evil continue to multiply.
   Religion, therefore, is the habitat of evil because religion is the habitat of the devil!
   As Christians, however, we have been delivered from the power of religion because of the power of Jesus Christ.  We have also been delivered from the worship of idols because of the power of Jesus Christ.  As such, our faith is firmly planted in Christ as well as planted in the Word of the Lord, for it is written:
      Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
      Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
      But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
      And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
      Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
      That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
      And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
      (Philippians 2: 5-10)
  

FALSE IMAGES

   If a man's faith is in Christ, his faith will also be in the Bible:  for these two are one.
   But if a man's faith is not in Christ, neither will his faith be in the Bible:  for that man's disagreement is with both.
   If a man's faith is not in Christ, nor in the Bible, that man will not believe in the stories of the Bible because he does not have the faith to believe in either.
   Consequently, that man will not believe that God is living, nor that God created all things.
   To believe that God created Adam and Eve, that belief is simply beyond this man's realm of possibility, for his faith is not there.
   Beyond Adam and Eve, neither will that man believe in the stories about Noah's flood, the tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, nor in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  By the time the stories of the Bible reach the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, this man does not have the faith to believe this either.  Nor will he believe in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.  And to speak of Christ returning to earth again, this, as before, is beyond this man's realm of possibility:  for he is looking for things to believe with his eyes and not with his heart.
   This man can, however, have an image of Jesus in his mind, as he can also have an image of Christ on a cross, in a tomb, as well as image of Christ ascending to heaven.  But with all of these images, this does not necessarily mean that that man believes in these events in his heart.
   What, then, shall this man do in order to have faith in Christ for salvation as well as faith to believe in the Bible?
         So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (Romans 10: 17)
         For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God.  (Ephesians 2: 8)
         For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  (Romans 10: 13)
         That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (Romans 10: 9)
         This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.  (Psalm 34: 6)
   Please remember that unbelievers of Christ need images of idols in order to believe---images such as sculptors, portraits, photographs, relics, good luck charms, beads, rosary---because unbelievers believe in things they can see with their eyes, or touch with their hands. 
   On the other hand, consider Pontius Pilate.  He met Jesus face to face and he could have touched Jesus with his hands.  But instead of trusting in the Lord for his salvation, he turned his heart away from Christ and said, I am innocent of the blood of this just person:  see ye to it.  (Matthew 27: 24)
   If people today could see Jesus with their eyes and touch Him with their hands, would they trust in Him for salvation, or would they, like Pontius Pilate, turn their hearts away from Him and watch the Lord be crucified?
   If people today could see God creating Adam and Eve, then would they believe that Adam and Eve were the first humans on earth?
   If the Bible had pictures, would people believe in the Bible?  Or would they believe because of the images and not because of the words of God?
   When you talk to people on a telephone, you do not see them with your eyes, but you believe a person is talking to you because you can hear their voices!
   So it is with the Bible:  God speaks to us through His written word and we can hear His voice even though we do not see Him with our eyes!
   Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  and I will give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  (John 10: 27-28)
   Did you hear that?
    
  
  

FAMILY TREES

   If you should embark on a journey to study your family tree, you will likely find that many of your ancestors lived in times of political and religious empires, for this is a common thread that has run through human history ever since the days of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel.
   As such, it is possible that many your ancestors lived their lives in captivity, as prisoners of state dictatorships, or state religions, as it is also likely that they never experienced days of freedom, nor did they experience the freedom to worship as they pleased. 
   All empires of the earth have been dominated and controlled by dictators.  As such, they have operated their kingdoms as terrorists:  for terrorism is nothing new under the sun.
   For example, Alexander the Great crucified thousands and thousands of innocent people as he led his Greek army to conquer the world.  Other dictators of empires also employed crucifixion, so it is again likely that some of your ancestors could have suffered this form of agonizing death:  while others died because of starvation, malnutrition, dehydration, intense cold and hot weather, and from diseases or plagues without cures as well as without medication.  Perhaps many, too, watched their children die in front of their eyes, or even in their arms.  Even at death, it is not likely that they were given proper funerals, and they were probably buried in unmarked graves.  And the only time they ever received a new suit of clothes, or a pair of shoes, was after someone else had died.
   Therefore being slaves to governments and slaves to religions, they were never free to be, nor were they free to leave.  Perhaps they never owned a parcel of ground, never owned a home, and never had the opportunity for an education, which means that many of them never learned to read or write.
   It is one matter to consider the history of human life as people without names and faces, but when this matter reaches in to our own family lines, or to our own blood kin, the focus of our attention quickly sharpens, and we can easily feel a sense of pain as we consider the tragedies our ancestors faced in their lifetimes, especially when we consider the actions of evil people against our own flesh and blood.
   Human history is not a pretty picture, is it?  So as we look back across the ages and pages of human history, what do we see?  We see mankind at his worst and not at his best.  We see an age of terror that has endured across the earth for nearly six thousand years.  We see the earth drenched in the blood of millions of people, many of whom are your own ancestors, your own kin, and this is not pleasant to know. 
   But underneath this web of terror and senseless bloodshed, we see the birth of a baby in Bethlehem, whose name is Jesus, the Son of God, for the first time we see the love of God arrive on planet earth, personally delivered by God's only begotten Son.
   The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest event in human history, for life on earth began to change for the better as the love of God became available for people who would believe in Him in nations all over the world.  But even this change has been wrought with pain, suffering, and with the shedding of blood.  For many of the people who stood up for Christ also perished, and many of them were also our ancestors.
   Have you ever thought about the possibility that some of your ancestors heard the preaching of the apostles and disciples of Christ while on their journeys to many nations?
   If you knew that your ancestors were martyrs for Christ, how do you suppose they would see you if they could see you now?
   If they were willing to give their lives for Christ while dying, would you be willing to give your life to Christ while living?
   This love of Christ came to us at a great sacrifice, and without the love of God, we would be living in a world without love, the evidence of which is contained in the presentations we watch of our world on television, at the movies, and hear on the radio.
      For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; (Ephesians 3: 14-17)

A SELF-MADE IMAGE

   As people adapt their minds to religion, with all of its dogmas and doctrines, rites and rituals, they also adapt their personalities:  so that they, and their religion, become one entity.  And because religion is a world of hypocrisy, the people become walking and talking hypocrites, for they are presenting their religion through their lives---not knowing God, but knowing the god of their religion, while not knowing the difference.
   Moreover, because they believe their religion is everything, then they also believe that they are everything that others should strive to be as they present themselves before others, so that others will give them praises for being so good at being good in their performance of good deeds.
   Thus, as people adapt their minds and personalities to religion, they create an image of themselves in their own minds, and it is this image that they present as they present themselves in the presence of others, that says:  Look at me.  Look at what I have become.  Look how good I am, and look at all the good I can do.  For there is none other like me, polished and spit-shined.
   Their religion has enabled them to create a self-made image of themselves in their own minds, so then, not only do their worship the god of their religion, they can also worship the image of themselves!
   Religion, therefore, has the power to transform the minds and personalities of people to be the images of religious mind control, by deception and manipulation.  Not only do they believe in the image of the god of their religion, but they also believe in the image of themselves in their own minds.  Not only this, but because they believe their salvation has come from the image of a god, they also believe in the image of themselves as sinless, which means:  why do they need Christ for salvation if their religion has provided their salvation, added to their own good works to keep their image polished and spit-shined?
   The Bible, however, says this: 
        And be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.  (Romans 12: 2)
   By this renewal of the mind, Christians conform their minds and their personalities to God; whereas people of religion remain conformed to religion as well as to the god, or gods, or goddesses of their religion.
   The Bible is the knowledge of God, and if people will seek this knowledge, God will give unto them more knowledge through the Holy Spirit of God, and He will show you things to come (John 16: 13), so that things to come will not be a mystery, nor will they be unexpected events:  for God wants us to know the truth. 
   People of religion, unfortunately, do not know this knowledge of God, which is why they remain hypocrites, or pretenders of truth:  for they have the minds of their ministers and priests, who have transformed themselves as apostles and disciples of Christ.
      For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.  (2 Corinthians 11: 13-15)
   Satan is in this world to deceive this world from knowing God, and Satan's ministers are also in this world to deceive people from knowing Christ, and to deceive people to remain in religion; for religion does not want its people to know the future of events coming upon the earth;  instead, religion wants is people to remain in the knowledge of darkness:  while the people do not know the difference between the Light of Christ and the darkness of Satan.
   Therefore, in order for people of religion to gain the knowledge of God, the Holy Spirit of God must convince and convict them of the truth that is in Christ Jesus the Lord. 
      For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due season.  (I Timothy 2: 5-6)
      


  

A BIG, FAT ZERO

       In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.  (Genesis 1: 1)
   In the beginning, God did NOT create religion; instead, God issued His first commandment to discourage people from meddling in religion:
      Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:  for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and four generations of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands that love me, and keep my commandments.  (Exodus 20: 3-6)
   The 11th chapter of the book of Genesis tells us the story of man's first religion, created by Nimrod at the tower of Babel in ancient Mesopotamia; and men, upon departing Mesopotamia, have created religions all over the earth, even to this day.
   By this biblical fact, we should be able to see and believe that all religions of the earth have a starting point, or a date of birth, and an earthly founder, or inventor:  that men have invented religions out of his imaginations, and men have also invented all of the dogmas and doctrines, rites and rituals, of all religions on the face of the earth.
   By this biblical fact, we should also be able to see and understand that Babylon is the mother of all religions upon the face of the earth, for the DNA of all religions can be traced to Nimrod and the tower of Babel:  for there is no other way for the genealogy of religion to flow except from Babylon.
   Therefore, we should be able to see and know that the sum total---or net value---of any and all religions is no more than a big, fat zero.  For religion has no value in the lives of people as they live upon the earth, and religion has no value for people after death.  For all religions are nothing more than fantasy and make-believe in the minds of people because of the power of deception and manipulation, which means that religion is the greatest method of mind control that man has been able to create on the face of the earth. 
   But beyond the secular religions we see upon the earth, the DNA of Babylon also includes the occult religions of Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism, Luciferism, Voodoo, Sorcery, and necromancy, the worship of the souls of dead people.
   All secret societies also have their roots in Babylonianism, for the people of secret societies are workers of evil because their minds and their hearts dwell upon evil, which is why they abide in places of darkness to conceive their evil plans as well as to worship the devil.  These are children of darkness because they do not want people to know about their activities, nor of their secretive meeting places. 
   By now, and with the help of Almighty God, people should be able to see and understand that the men and women of religions, occult religions, and secret societies adorn their bodies in fancy suits and priestly garments, for all of them are liars and deceivers, which means that all of them have the same characteristics of their daddy, Satan, for all of them are against God, against Christ, and against the Holy Bible. 
      Then Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  (John 8: 32)
   God wants us to know the truth, and if we will continue to study the Word of the Lord, which is the Holy Bible, we will also know the truth and the truth shall make us free.
   By this exploration of truth, then we should be able to see and understand that Babylon is the mother of all religions on the earth, the mother of all occult beliefs and practices, and the mother of all secret societies.  And by this truth we should be able to see and understand why men of religion killed Jesus as well as understand why men of religion have been working for two thousand years to keep the knowledge of God, the knowledge of Christ, and the knowledge of the Bible from reaching the minds of people.
   Therefore, if you are to be a disciple of Christ,
      Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  (2 Timothy 2: 15)
   By this study of God's Word, we should be able to admit that all religions, occult beliefs and practices, and secret societies can be bundled and dropped in a sewer, for their value---or net worth--is no more than a big, fat zero.
       

IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE

   Religion preys on ignorant minds.
   Ignorant minds can be educated people in this world's systems of education, but ignorant minds can also be uneducated people.
   In order for a religious empire to arise and rule over people, it must control the knowledge of its people, and, as much as possible, prevent people from becoming educated.  By keeping people uneducated, the religion can also keep people living in poverty.  By keeping people uneducated as well as living in poverty, the religion keeps people living in a state of dependence on the religion and its leadership.  Without education and without wealth, the people become prisoners of religion.
   In order to control the knowledge of its people, a religion can create its own network of colleges and universities, high schools, elementary schools, kindergartens, and seminaries.  And when the educational process begins with toddlers, the religion can maintain control of people all the days of their lives.  Thus the people are being educated in the way the religion wants them to learn, and from keeping them isolated from outside interference, they become walking-talking textbooks of their own religious beliefs and practices, and their behaviors become robotic because they are living in a world of mind control.
   As such, the people do not think for themselves, or make their own decisions, because they rely on their religious leaders do their thinking for them as well as to make their decisions for them:  for they are now as obedient as puppy dogs.  They have been spoon-fed religion since they were toddlers, they have been spoon-fed education to adulthood, and now they are prisoners of the religion.  Now they must ask for permission concerning marriage partners and other objectives, just as they asked for permission to go to the bathroom when they were toddlers.
   Knowledge is powerful; knowledge is strong.  And the people in control of the world today control knowledge.
   The Bible is the knowledge of God; but in order for people in government and people in religion to control the world, they must keep the Bible locked in chains to prevent people from gaining the knowledge of God.
   Religion is an educational system that does not include the knowledge of God.
   Religion is a military system, for it is at war against God, against Christ, and against the Bible.
   Religion is a childish thing, for it keeps people living and believing as children all the days of their lives, for they are prisoners of kindergarten knowledge.
   As believers in Christ, however, it is good for us to be reminded of the words Jesus spoke to His disciples before His crucifixion and resurrection in Jerusalem, when He said,
      I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:  for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:  and he will show you things to come.  He shall glorify me:  for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.  All things that the Father hath are mine:  therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.  A little while, and ye shall not see me:  and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.  (John 16: 12-16)
   By these words of Christ, we are enabled to believe in the words of the Bible because of the revelation of truth from God by the Holy Spirit, which is a supernatural event from God to us; for God created us to be His children, and therefore it is not the desire of God's heart that people should be the children of religion and the servants of strange gods, or gods of man's imaginations.
   The Holy Bible contains the knowledge of God and this is the educational system that God desires for the people who will believe in Him; and the knowledge of God is not contained, nor is it controlled, by the religious institutions of man.
      Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me.
      In my Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.
      And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  (John 14: 1-3)

RELIGIONISM

   
   We are living under a worldwide web of deception by a global network of people seeking control of people in every nation. 
   By illusion and manipulation, men have tricked people to believe in those things that we see with our eyes and hear with our ears as if the world we live in is no more than a movie in front of our eyes:  a world transformed by the power of Satan, operating through the minds of evil men, and thereby causing people to focus on the many systems of this world instead of focusing our attention on Almighty God; for God has a better plan for people, but people, blinded by Satan through this world's systems, do not see God, or His plan for us:  and therefore people hunger and thirst for the things of this world, and not for the things of God.
   Karl Marx said, "Religion is the opiate of people."
   Karl Marx is correct, for religion is a spiritual drug, injected in the minds of people by ministers, priests, and family members from man's various religious institutions located all over the world.
   Therefore as a drug, religion is just as powerful and addictive as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or alcohol.
   Religion is contagious and easily transmitted from person to person, from family to family, from parents to children, through a simple system we call words and conditional reinforcement.
   Religion is addictive as people are in constant need of its fixations from its many pharmaceutical stations located all over the world---shrines, temples, synagogues, and even cathedrals.
   Religion creates hallucinations as people adore and worship things of the earth and things of the heavens, believing that these elements of nature have supernatural powers, that certain people of the earth are as gods with supernatural power, and that the souls of dead people become as gods with supernatural power:  as well as hallucinate about a place called heaven, or paradise, with imaginary ways to get there.
   It is therefore necessary that we must be reminded that men of religion killed Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, and men of religion have been working for two thousand years to keep the news of the Lord's resurrection from death hidden from their minds as well as to keep the Bible locked in chains. 
      But if our gospel of Christ be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  (2 Corinthians 4: 3-4)
   The crucifix of Christ is an outward symbol to remind people of religion's victory over Christ; for as people look at the crucifix, they are being told that Jesus is still dead, that His body is still in a tomb, and that religion supplies the fix people need to survive in this world and to prepare them for life after death.
   Religionism is a creation from the imaginations of men, under the influence of Satan's invisible power operating in the minds of sinful men.  These men know that religion is contagious, they know that religion is addictive, and they know it produces hallucinations, which is why they administer it in small doses, beginning with children.  To catch it, all people need to do is open their minds and say, "Ahhhh", which contaminates their minds with evil, and which turns the minds of people against God.  For men of religion know that Christ is alive, but, as ministers of Satan, they do not want people to know that Jesus is alive.
   Religionism is a disease of human minds, or a mental disorder, and just as powerful as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or alcohol, and the only cure, the only hope for deliverance, is Christ the Lord. 
      That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2: 10-11)

BABYLON IS FALLEN

   The America I know today is not the same as the America I remember as early as forty years ago.
   Changes have come across this land quickly, and more changes are on the way.
   These future changes will come at us quickly, and they will not be good for us: for there will be dreadful days ahead, and they will be terrible.
   Neither is the whole world the same as I remember as early as forty years ago.
   Changes have come upon the world quickly, and more changes are on the way.
   These future changes will come upon the world quickly, and they will not be good for people: for there will be dreadful days ahead, and they will be terrible.
   The future of the United States is now as sand in the hour glass, and the future of the whole world is also as sand in the hour glass:  as the days of freedom in the United States are numbered, the days of freedom for any and all nations are also numbered.
   Even now, the two fastest growing religions in the United States are Witchcraft and Islam as the United States is quickly becoming a pagan land:  as the whole world is also becoming global paganism:  for we are watching the rise of Babylon upon America, and we are also watching the rise of Babylon all over the world.
   Even now and for many years, the Vatican has been planning to move the papal throne from Rome to Jerusalem, at which time the religions of Islam, Catholicism, and Judaism will merge and become one religion.  At that time, too, all religions of the earth will merge with this one religion.  Yet this religion is not new, for it is as old as Babylon of ancient days, which is Witchcraft, headed by the high priest of Satan.
   As Babylon rises to rule over the earth for a season, Babylon will also experience a great fall.
      And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
      Rejoice over her, thou heavens, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
      And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.  (Revelation 18: 1-2; 20; 24)

SOMETHING BORROWED

   It is UNNATURAL for people to believe in God, to believe in Christ, and to believe in the Holy Bible; therefore, in order for people to believe in these three, something SUPERNATURAL must happen.
   To believe in religion, however, is NATURAL for people because religion is of man and not of God; therefore, to believe in religion, nothing SUPERNATURAL needs to happen.
   Religion is like a baseball field:  built it, and people will come to satisfy their natural curiosity in a natural habitat built by natural man.
   In truth, people are born without religion; so then, religion is like a pair of shoes that is given to people when they are children, or even when they are babies, and usually from the parents:  which means that children inherit hand-me-down religion, just as children inherit hand-me-down shoes and clothes.  This, then, is how people make family religions, which can extend across hundreds of years because religion is a natural fit for natural minds.
   Religion is not tailor made; instead, one size fits all.  And children in families are taught to wear it well because the family name is on the garment, which needs to go to the next generation.
   Many people, however, are not born in families that have a family religion; but, when they grow up and see how popular religion is, they want one.  So they go shopping:  church to church, religion to religion, philosophy to philosophy:  until, at last, they find the store that has the garment of their liking.  They like the feel, and they like the look they see in the mirror.  They sign the register, pay the fees, buy the books, and off they go.  Now all they need is an audience to see them in their religion, in their latest fashion garment:  which, to  them, is NATURAL and not SUPERNATURAL.
   Obviously, religion is something borrowed:  as people of religion die, they leave their garment behind, for it will not fit in the SUPERNATURAL world beyond the grave.
   The Holy Spirit of God is the witness to the events in the Holy Bible, and the words of the Bible are SUPERNATURAL:
      This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.  (Matthew 17: 5)

TURNING POINT

   Knowing, then, that the temples of our minds are designed and designated to be the seat of the Holy Spirit of God in us through Christ Jesus, let us therefore cast away all knowledge of religion and let it not have dominion over our minds; for the purpose of religion, invented and designed by men, is to control and dominate the minds of people, and not for the purpose of true worship of God, but a place for the worship of the gods of men, as well as a place for substitute salvation:  for everything that is in religion is ungodly and unholy, whose ministers and messengers are also ungodly and unholy men. 
   In times past, we were all ignorant of the Gospel of Christ, but now, being saved from our sins through Him, we are no longer ignorant; therefore we should flee from religion and leave it behind us.  For God has given us a sound mind in which we can understand the things we understand, with the knowledge of knowing that we can seek God in our prayers to understand the things that we do not understand:  for man's religion is an institution of war against God as it is also an institution of war against us.  For as people come to know Christ and turn away from religion, religion loses a slave and a soldier for Satan. 
   When the Pharoah of Egypt finally agreed with Moses to let the children of Israel go, Pharoah quickly changed his mind and mounted his chariot to recapture the children of Israel to bring them back to his slave camp in order to resume his dominion over them. 
   In like manner, when we unite with Christ and flee religion, the devil will mount his chariot to recapture us, through discouragement and deceit, to bring us back to the slave camp of religion to resume his dominion over us by his ministers and messengers in priestly garments.  For the devil does not want us to be free, but to be prisoners under the dome or religion, living in a cell, as in solitary confinement, being force-fed by religious wardens as if we are in hospitals on artificial life support as brain-dead patients.
   What helps us, then, in our journey with Christ, is to stop living as though we are religious people, and cease from trying to be, or act, religious, for we are not.  Christ saved us from the slave ship of religion, and now we are free to walk by ourselves for the first time---not being led by a mother's hand, but walking hand in hand with the Lord.
   Moreover, we should read and study the Bible, the Word of the Lord, which enables us to learn the words of God, to learn from the mind of God, so that, in time, we begin to think in the thoughts of God instead of thinking in the thoughts of religion:  from which begins a new educational process of flushing out old and useless knowledge and saturating our minds with the knowledge of God, for we are now the children of God, and thereby free to walk and talk with Almighty God. 
   Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he:  before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.  (Isaiah 43: 10-11)
   Knowing Christ, therefore, is the turning point:  the point where we turn around from the systems of this world and walk in newness of life with Him.  For as Christ was resurrected from death, we are also resurrected from spiritual death by placing our faith in Him, which enables us to grab hold of the hands of Him whose hands were nailed to a cross for our sins.