Fret Not, God Has a Different Plan

The internet is buzzing, in some circles, about the evil plans about to be put into place by our very own government. Plans that will basically shut down the easy flow of information on the internet, plans to go after anyone who speaks out against the current administration and its cronies. Plans for pure evil, that will make Nazi Germany look like a picnic and the Holocaust merely a small misunderstanding.

It is very easy to begin to get upset and fearful as one reads this. Even among followers of Jesus Christ they all too often focus on the rumors and spread the fear. Instead maybe they need to be looking at what God says:

Psalm 37 has much to say about the destruction of the wicked. In fact, 11 times we are told that the wicked will be destroyed, with 11 being the Biblical number of judgment. At the same time, we are told three times that the righteous will inherit the earth.





Psa 37:1  A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. First we are told not to fret about evildoers. That means we are not (to glow or grow warm; figuratively (usually) to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy: - be angry, burn, be displeased, X earnestly, fret self, grieve, be (wax) hot, be incensed, kindle, X very, be wroth.)

And here is why we are not to get angry, grieve or fret:
 
Psa 37:2  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
 
In fact we are told three times not to fret about the wicked. What I also find interesting is that this is the only place in the Psalms where we are told not to fret (the Psalms being primarily by King David), then in Proverbs 24:19, we see almost the identical words of from King David in Psa 37:1 by his son King Solomon: 
Pro_24:19  Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
So we are not to be getting angry, fretting, be zealous or jealous of the wicked. So when you start reading about what the Federal Government is planning to do in the very near future against us, the citizens of this country, you need to remember not to fret. God tells us that the wicked will be destroyed, while the righteous will be preserved:


Psa 37:7, 9-10, 12-15, 35-36, 38  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.  

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
 
More promises or warnings to the wicked:
Job_8:22  They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.
 
Job_11:20  But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost. Could this be where we get the term "give up the ghost"?
 
Job_18:5  Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. 

Job_21:30  That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. "Day of destruction" and "Day of Wrath" are both terms used to describe the end of the Tribulation where the Wrath of God is poured out on the wicked. It is possible that this is describing the ultimate Evil at that time being the Antichrist and the False Prophet, as well as Satan and all the fallen angels?
 
Psa_10:2  The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
Psa_11:6  Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
 

 
Psa_106:18  And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
Psa_112:10  The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Psa_119:119  Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
Psa_147:6  The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
Pro_2:22  But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
 
Pro_3:25  Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. What's the promise here? In the next verse we see: For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. So again protection is promised while the wicked are being destroyed.

Pro_10:30  The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
Pro_12:7  The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
Pro_16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Pro_24:20  For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
Pro_29:16  When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
 
Jer_23:19  Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 
Jer_25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. This is describing when the Wrath of God is poured out

Jer_30:23  Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. 

Psa_91:8  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Here the righteous, those sheltering under the Almighty, are promised that they (we) shall see the wicked get their reward. In the previous verse we see: "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee." So it is obvious that along with the promise to destroy the wicked, that the righteous will be safe in the midst of massive death.

Promises for the Righteous

Psa_112:7  He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
Pro_14:19  The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
Pro_20:22  Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

Pro_22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Pro_24:19  Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;

Pro_27:12  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Joh_17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

 

Misuse of Malachi 3

Who is God Talking to In Malachi 3?

You only have to listen to one or two messages from any prosperity teacher to hear them quote Malachi 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say, Where have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse: for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in My house, and prove me now, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessings that there won't be enough room to receive it."

Recently I was listening to a pastor of a huge megachurch in the DFW area and I heard him use this verse, I also heard him say that "anyone that does not tithe has demons."

Something about that just didn't sit right. Where was the scripture for that? None was offered.

So last night I decided to see if he was one of those prosperity teachers mentioned on those watchdog sites that monitor and report on preachers with questionable teachings. Sure enough, he was there. But as I was reading something was said about the passage in Malachi ...so often used to teach people that they must pay tithe and if they don't then they are cursed. I read that this passage is actually addressing the priests, not the people.

Say what?

So, later when I got into bed, I grabbed my Bible and looked up Malachi 3. However, instead of going immediate to verse 8, I started at the beginning to see who the Lord was addressing.

There is was in verse 3: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

Sons of Levi are the priests...the preachers of that day.

Notice that God is saying He will refine and purify the priests and purge them so they may then present to the Lord an offering in righteousness. So evidently what they were offering was unrighteous, or their attitude was unrighteous.

Mal 3:4  Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

So once the Lord sits in judgment against the priests and purifies them so their offering is once again righteous, then the offering of the nation and the city (the government and the citizens)

Why God Judges the Priests and Preachers

Mal 3:5  And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

Then He goes on to explain why He is going to judge the priests (preachers). He says He will be a swift witness (quickly testify) against the sorcerers (those that use witchcraft or practice magic), and against the adulterers (apostatize, woman that breaks wedlock), and against the false swearers (liars and oath breakers).

Practice Witchcraft

You don't have to look very far into the whole prosperity movement to find those that spin a web and control people through threats of curses and promises of blessings based on a lie...that God will withhold blessings on those who don't give.

Are Spiritual Adulterers

God also identifies these preachers as adulterers. While they might not cheat on their human spouses, God says they have broken the wedlock of the Bride of Christ to the Bridegroom. They apostatize by abandoning their faith to focus on their own love of money.

Are Oath Breakers

Then they are identified as "false swearers". Since many of these have taken an oath and a pledge when they were ordained in their particular denomination, giving them the recognized authority to speak the Word of the Lord, when they turn from the Truth, they break their oath and become nothing more than liars.

Oppressers

"... that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right,..."

God says they oppress (defraud) the hireling (someone who works for wages; a servant) in his wages (salary, maintenance, compensation). 

There are too many stories about people so under the power of these prosperity preachers that they actually go into debt to give. So while the givers are getting poorer and more in debt, the preachers are living high on the hog, flaunting their big houses, expensive cars, jewels, planes and so much more. Of course, Jesus being their example owned nothing.

They Defraud the Defenseless

They also oppress (defraud) the widow (bereaved or discarded as a divorced person). While many of the churches appear to have programs for helping the poor, stories abound of pressuring those getting help to promise to "tithe" if they want to continue to get help.

However, there's also a spiritual widow. Someone who has been abandoned or hurt in another religion or denomination who comes to these preachers for help, only to get further oppression. They also do the same thing to the "fatherless" or the orphans, and again this has more of a spiritual significance in that God is our Father and for those that have no Father (the sinners) who come seeking freedom and a true Father, they end up oppressed and lied to as well.

Lead Astray Sinners

They also turn aside (lead astray, pervert) the stranger (foreigner, sojourner). So when the unsaved come to these churches often they are turned away by the constant focusing on money. In fact, the whole prosperity gospel movement has brought contempt and derision on the Gospel as a whole.

What's God Want

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Mal 3:7  Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

God is telling them that they have abandoned His laws and not kept them, so they must return. So, rather arrogantly they ask how do we return?

Mal 3:8  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

In tithes and offerings. 

This is the favorite verse used by prosperity teachers. However, if you look in the Bible, the tithe is always directly mentioned as being agricultural and food-related.  Since the Levites did not receive land as their portion of the Promised Land, but were instead supposed to serve in the temple. So the rest of the people who farmed were supposed to bring of the produce, the flocks, etc in order to provide food for the priests.

Of course, not everyone farmed and we do have examples of people giving money (as in the widow's mite), however, primarily the tithe was meant to sustain the priests so they could perform their duties without having to work the land or engage in commerce.

The priests were then supposed to tithe on the tithe by taking it into the treasure house. But evidently they were not doing this.  It's possible they were even turning around and reselling the agricultural tithe to make money.

This excerpt from www.tithing-russkelly.com explains it better than I can:

The Tithe as an Old Covenant Ordinance for Israel

The fourth definition of “tithe” is the precise and narrow Scriptural definition as given in the Mosaic Law in the Old Covenant. The biblical tithe was an ordinance of the Mosaic Law for the use and benefit of national Israel under the Old Covenant. The full tithe was given to the tribe of Levi, first, in exchange for his loss of land inheritance in Israel and, second, because of his servant service to his brothers in the Levitical house of Aaron who alone served as priests. A tenth of the first tithe was, in turn, given by the Levites to the priests who ministered at the altar.

The basic tithe was not to be used for building houses of worship. Since pagan dust defiled, the original tithe consisted solely of the increase of land produce from God’s sanctified land of Israel and from the increase of animals herded on the land of Israel. Although the tithe could be exchanged for its monetary value, the tithe itself never consisted of money! A second (and third) tithe was also given to provide food for festival occasions, and to provide welfare food for widows, fatherless, orphans and needy strangers in Israel.

Mal 3:9  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

A tenth of the first tithe was, in turn, given by the Levites to the priests who ministered at the altar.

So in Malachi 3, God is addressing the Levites  who were NOT tithing on their tithe to support those serving in the temple.

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
 
Mal 3:11  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

Notice again the tithe in verse 10 speaks of a food, supporting the fact that the tithe was to be in the form of edibles. Even verse 11, the promise is that by being obedient in tithing on those things you raised on your land, that God would rebuke the devourer. By tithing then the "fruit of the ground" would not be destroyed, and the vine would produce abundantly.

This is just a short look at how scriptures are twisted to support a system that is keeping Believers in bondage to legalism.

I wonder if I should bring in a dozen eggs and put them in the offering box? Of course, at the rate my chickens are laying, that would be a tithe of about 20%. Wonder how that would go over at church?

Am I saying don't tithe? No. I'm saying you need to know why you're tithing and to whom you are tithing.

Surrounded by Fear

Someone on Facebook (one of my "Christian" friends) just shared a short video showing people being scared out of their wits by a prank. Picture being in an elevator where the it suddenly stops and the lights begin to flicker and then go off. After a few seconds the lights come on only to reveal another person in the elevator. This is a child with long wild hair, an intense expression, dressed in a shin-length white shapeless gown, loosely clutching a bald-headed doll. Suddenly the child screams, and the immediate reaction by the other passenger(s) is immediate terror, accompanied by their own screams of terror.

Funny...haha? No.

Those people were absolutely terrified, and I didn't find it funny. You see, fear is a spirit ("God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind") and looks for opportunities to attach to people. This is why there is an over abundance of horror films and other mediums that open doorways for a spirit of fear to attach to people.

Once overheard a woman at work describing how her young son had suddenly begun having nightmares. Then she went on to say that they had started after he spent the night at a friend's house where part of the evening's fun was to watch the movie "Chuckie". I knew immediately why the child had developed nightmares; a spirit of fear had attached itself to the child when he was scared while watching that entertainment.

Now, I've never actually watched "Chuckie" but I've seen enough glimpses of it to know that it is a terrible and perfect vehicle for delivering fear to the watcher.

Once I became aware of spiritual warfare, the Lord began opening my eyes to the many ways used by the Enemy to gain entrance to our souls (minds and emotions) and bodies. One of the most common ways is through our eyes and ears. Consider:


Fear is one of the most common spirits that plagues humans because it can enter to easily, and all too often it's because we are doing something that opens the door. Once the spirit of fear enters, then it acts as a doorkeeper for other spirits.

We have got to protect ourselves from those things that would open us up and make us vulnerable to a spirit of fear, and we must absolutely protect our children. They are the most vulnerable to such spiritual attacks.

Is Islam the 4th Beast and the Pale Horse?

Is Islam, of which ISIS is the most recent manifestation of this "religion", the fourth beast and fourth horse?

Dan 7:7  After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

Dan 7:19  Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

Rev 6:8  And I looked, and behold a pale (green) horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Immediately after the appearance of the fourth horse, you see the opening of the fifth seal and the revelation of the souls of those "slain for the Word of God" under the alter:

Rev 6:9 - 11  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Who Is the God of Islam

You can't live in the world today and not be aware that the god of Muslims is Allah. What you might not know is that this god is mentioned in the Bible...by name:

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

"Ascend"

‛âlâh
aw-law'

A primitive root; to ascend, intransitively (be high) or active (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literally and figuratively: - arise (up). (cause to) ascend up, at once, break [the day] (up), bring (up), (cause to) burn, carry up, cast up, + shew, climb (up), (cause to, make to) come (up), cut off, dawn, depart, exalt, excel, fall, fetch up, get up, (make to) go (away, up), grow (over), increase, lay, leap, levy, lift (self) up, light, [make] up, X mention, mount up, offer, make to pay, + perfect, prefer, put (on), raise, recover, restore, (make to) rise (up), scale, set (up), shoot forth (up), (begin to) spring (up), stir up, take away (up), work.

"Alah" or "Allah"

Characteristics of Allah vs Jehovah God

The Quran	The Bible
Allah is unknowable	God is knowable
Allah is nonpersonal	God is personal
Allah is not a spirit	God is a Spirit
Allah is not a Father, nor Jesus the Son of God	God is the Father, Jesus Christ is his only begotten Son and the only means by which a man can be saved
Allah can do anything with no limitations	God cannot go against His immutable nature e.g. God cannot lie.
Allah is capricious	God is trustworthy
Allah has no feelings towards man	God loves man deeply
Allah doesn't personally enter human history.	God, the Son, became a man to bring about man's salvation.
Allah provides no saviour or intecessor. You're on your own. No concept of grace.	God provided a Saviour through his manifold grace and kindness and love. Jesus came to save.

Beast(s)

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Complaining Keeps You in Your Problem

The Word says much about the words of our mouth, but today I want to focus on complaining...or "murmuring" as the Bible calls it.

The Israelites really got on God's last nerve with their constant murmuring and complaining. It didn't matter what He did, how miraculously He provided for them, they found something to complain about. Finally, He'd had enough when they complained about the Promised Land. At that point He condemned them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until all those over 20 years old, with the exception of two who did NOT complain, were dead.

And if you think that because we live in a time of grace that there's no more consequences of murmuring and complaining, you might want to rethink that idea.

1Co 10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

When we murmur and complain, we are opening ourselves up to being vulnerable to the Destroyer...the Devil and his demons. We bring it on ourselves.
So What Are You Supposed to Say About Your Problems?

NOTHING! Or at least nothing that might be interpreted by the hearer as being a complaint.

First of all, no one wants to hear you complaining, because they've got their own problems!

Second, your own words can condemn you to staying in those awful circumstances.

Third, complaining ruins your testimony among the brethren.
When you are tempted to start complaining learn to ask yourself:

Is what I'm about to say, edifying?

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Eph 4:29

Do you know that the meaning of "corrupt" is "rotten" and "worthless"?

Is what I'm about to say, praising?

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Php 4:8

Where Do You Belong? Patriot, Citizen or Pilgrim?

If you were asked, "Where do you belong?" What would you answer?

Would you say, "I'm an American." Or claim citizenship in some other country? 

How about, "I'm a Texan. Born and raised!"

Now, I'm as patriotic as the next person. I love my nation (not the Government), but what this nation has been and could be again, if... I choke up at the National Anthem. It saddens me...nah, infuriates me when I see the blatant attempts to destroy this nation.

You might think that I should be patriotic and should love my nation. But you would be wrong. 

What?!!!

Yeah. You see, if I'm Believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, then I should no longer consider myself a citizen of any earthly nation. Several years ago, I was thinking about the future of the United States, and praying for the nation. Suddenly the Lord spoke clear in my spirit, "I know you love your country, but do you love it more than Me?"

Whoa! What? Of course not!

No specific words were spoken, but inside there was a suddenly a knowing that this nation was going to fall. Judgment was/is coming, and if I allowed myself to get caught up in defending her or pleading with God for the preservation of the Nation, then I would be praying against God.

So what is one to do when you see people tearing down monuments, trying to destroying the history of this once-proud (and there is the problem...proud) nation, and threatening the duly-elected, put-in-place-by-God, one-last-chance-for-the-nation-to-repent president? 

You pray for souls. You crank up the heat on your testifying, witnessing, and going after lost souls. This is NOT the time to sit back and "woe is me" as you watch what happens. You get into the Word, until you know beyond a shadow of a doubt what God would have you to do. 

• Will He tell you to prepare to help others (since preparing to survive is basically a selfish thing)? 
• Will he tell you to be one of those that picks up a weapon to defend the weak and defenseless? 
• Will He begin to reveal to you a place of refuge where you are to head when He tells you to "Go!"? 
• Will He tell you to speak with authority and command the demons controlling the enemy that will come against you? 
• Will He tell you to stay even in the face of living in a sure target of a nuclear attack?

You may not be ready if you don't first adjust your thinking about where your ultimate loyalty lies. Are you a citizen of Heaven or are you going to be emotionally crippled as you watch the destruction that is even now beginning to flood this nation?

You decide. Where do you belong?

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Heb 11:13-16

Just a thought. Years ago, I read a book by a favorite Western author. In this book the  main character entered a town and when asked his name, just said, "Passin' through." From that point on he was called "Passin'". Maybe that needs to be our attitude as Believers; we're just passin' through.