LaVrai – The Truth

“…a cross-border mechanism to monitor the world’s 30 biggest financial institutions” Well, now that this totally unpredicted, unexpected economic disaster has come crashing down on the world, leaders are now pressing for reform — to unify the world’s banking system, of all things. I am sure this is totally innocent and all for our benefit and the general greater good… Can someone say “Beast Economic System?” And, of course, our friend Monsieur Sarkozy is at the forefront.

Excerpt:

The idea is ambitious: World leaders joined by aides to the new U.S. president-elect would gather before the year’s end in New York and attempt to forge a new vision for the global economy.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has teamed up with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to press for such a summit, and the French leader travels to Camp David this weekend to lobby President Bush to sign on.

Brown, buoyed by the praise he won for engineering a British bank bailout that inspired U.S. and European rescues, is proposing “radical changes” to the global capitalist system, including a cross-border mechanism to monitor the world’s 30 biggest financial institutions. Sarkozy has floated the idea of reforming rating agencies and even exploring the future of currency systems.

Details remain vague and the obstacles are many.

…In Brown’s view, what’s needed is nothing less than a new version of the 1944 Bretton Woods conference that brought together Allied leaders and established a post-World War II global monetary and financial order, laying foundations for the International Monetary Fund and a currency exchange regime that lasted for three decades.

“This is a defining moment for the world economy,” Brown wrote in Friday’s Washington Post. “The old postwar international financial institutions are out of date. They have to be rebuilt for a wholly new era.”

You can read the rest of this news that’s not really news to Christians here…

If you are, for some reason, still not convinced that we are that generation whom the LORD Jesus Christ said would witness HIS return… just stay tuned. Not one jot of Christ Jesus’ words will fail to be fulfilled.

Men and women will fail. Our loved ones and dearest friends will disappoint us — as human beings it is guaranteed. “Let GOD be true but every man a liar (Romans 3:4).”

When storms arise and the winds kick up, fear not, for “even the winds and the sea obey HIM (Matthew 8:27).”

If we are faithful to our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ even unto death, HE will keep us from “the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth (Revelations 3:10).”

There is no need to doubt our LORD GOD ALMIGHTY or guess about HIS love for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).”

Remember, what the LORD our GOD says is true, for “GOD is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? (Numbers 23:19).”

It may seem a little lonely sometimes and we may be tempted to fear, but let us remember the immovable TRUTH spoken by our King Jesus the Christ: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth… and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).”

The LORD our GOD “has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Titus 1:7).” Let us be like David, who was constantly hounded by enemies who sought to kill him: “Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident (Psalm 27:3).”

Let us pray for one another and encourage each other to remain faithful to our SAVIOR, LORD and KING Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Let us pray also for those who do not yet beleive but who WILL believe. Pray that the LORD our GOD is merciful and will add a few more names to HIS Book of Life. Pray that HE turns the hearts and minds of the lost and rebellious towards HIM. Pray that HE make these men who reign over us obdient to HIS will and HIS Way. In the name of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 91 (New King James Version)

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

Photo: Eric Thayer/Getty Images

Did you catch that headline? — A woman who has been serving as a priest for about 20 years insists she’s both a Christian and a Muslim and that the two are compatible! Christianity is about the divine Man Jesus Christ (the express image of our LORD GOD ALMIGHTY), SON of the LIVING GOD. Islam denies that Jesus is the Christ and the SON of GOD. Muslims have a so-called holy book that promotes the murder of Jews and appears decidely anti-Semetic — yet Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born a Jew. Where does the compatibility begin?

Please read the article to see exactly how much sense this DOESN’T make. As Jesus Christ said, one can’t serve two masters; you’ll end up loving one and hating the other (Matthew 6:24).

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…

Excerpt:

Redding, who until recently was director of faith formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, has been a priest for more than 20 years. Now she’s ready to tell people that, for the last 15 months, she’s also been a Muslim – drawn to the faith after an introduction to Islamic prayers left her profoundly moved.

… Redding, who will begin teaching the New Testament as a visiting assistant professor at Seattle University this fall, has a different analogy: “I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent and a woman. I’m 100 percent both.”

Redding doesn’t feel she has to resolve all the contradictions. People within one religion can’t even agree on all the details, she said. “So why would I spend time to try to reconcile all of Christian belief with all of Islam?

“At the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That’s all I need.”

She says she felt an inexplicable call to become Muslim, and to surrender to God – the meaning of the word “Islam.”

“It wasn’t about intellect,” she said. “All I know is the calling of my heart to Islam was very much something about my identity and who I am supposed to be.

“I could not not be a Muslim.”

… Redding’s bishop, the Rt. Rev. Vincent Warner, says he accepts Redding as an Episcopal priest and a Muslim, and that he finds the interfaith possibilities exciting. Her announcement, first made through a story in her diocese’s newspaper, hasn’t caused much controversy yet, he said.

… As much as she loves her church, she has always challenged it. She calls Christianity the “world religion of privilege.” She has never believed in original sin. And for years she struggled with the nature of Jesus’ divinity.

…Then in the spring, at a St. Mark’s interfaith class, another Muslim leader taught a chanted prayer and led a meditation on opening one’s heart. The chanting appealed to the singer in Redding; the meditation spoke to her heart. She began saying the prayer daily.

… Before she took the shahada, she read a lot about Islam. Afterward, she learned from local Muslim leaders, including those in Islam’s largest denomination – Sunni – and those in the Sufi mystical tradition of Islam. She began praying with the Al-Islam Center, a Sunni group that is predominantly African-American.

… Redding’s views, even before she embraced Islam, were more interpretive than literal.

She believes the Trinity is an idea about God and cannot be taken literally.

She does not believe Jesus and God are the same, but rather that God is more than Jesus.

She believes Jesus is the son of God insofar as all humans are the children of God, and that Jesus is divine, just as all humans are divine – because God dwells in all humans.

What makes Jesus unique, she believes, is that out of all humans, he most embodied being filled with God and identifying completely with God’s will.

She does believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, and acknowledges those beliefs conflict with the teachings of the Quran. “That’s something I’ll find a challenge the rest of my life,” she said.

She considers Jesus her savior. At times of despair, because she knows Jesus suffered and overcame suffering, “he has connected me with God,” she said.

That’s not to say she couldn’t develop as deep a relationship with Mohammed. “I’m still getting to know him,” she said.

I pray that GOD the FATHER strips the scales away from this woman’s eyes, in the name of Jesus. She’s so confused, she doesn’t even know it and everyone around her seems just as confused (especially her bishop who is “excited” about her spiritual state). It appears she has been seeking someone other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth all of these years. Only GOD knows why she rejects HIS SON, but in HIS mercy, she too can be saved.

If you want to read about the rest of this lady’s sad spiritual state, visit the Seattle Times.

Israelis face off against water cannons as they clash with riot police preventing them from approaching an Arab home on Oct. 10, 2008, in Acre, Israel. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

No, I am not an anti-Semite… if I were, I would have a lot to explain to my great-grandmother’s side of the family.  Oh yeah, and to the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth, whom I love and serve.

I am just struck how some religious Jews (who practice Judaism) still want to pretend they are right before GOD. How is attacking your neighbor and burning down his house admissible… and on a holy day, too! This is how the riots that are going on in an Israeli town started, according to media reports:

“Trouble started in Acre after dark Wednesday at the start of the Yom Kippur, the holiest day for Jews, when an Arab drove into a Jewish district, disturbing the start of 24 hours during which many Jews fast and abstain from driving.

As word spread from mosque loudspeakers of Jewish youths stoning the car, Arab crowds responded angrily, causing widespread damage to cars and shops in a main city street.

Relations between Jews and the mostly Muslim Arabs have been sometimes tense in Israel and dog the nature of a peace settlement which still eludes the two communities, 60 years after Israel was established in what was then Palestine.

That is how I know Israel, and any nation called by the LORD’s name, is not right before HIM — we suffer violence. You mean to tell me, on the holiest day for those of Judaism, Jewish men have no problem turning violent because a “stranger” in the land violates their day of observance? Wow. That’s like me sullying my salvation by deciding to beat down a stranger who decides to come into my church and start dancing while we’re partaking of the LORD’s supper.  How would I look to my LORD? Israel, O Israel — when are you going to get it, Jacob! Bent out of shape about the Torah, and you still can’t even observe every letter. It appears this young generation really does not know the LORD. Where are the elders who know and remember to remind them of how one must walk before the LORD our GOD?

Rioters in northern Israel torched two houses and badly damaged several others in the third night of tensions between Jewish and Arab residents of Acre, officials said Saturday.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Arab residents were evacuated before their homes were set alight and that nobody was injured. He said police remained on very high alert.

Sami Hawary, an Israeli-Arab resident of Acre who heads a group which works for cooperation between Arabs and Jews, said that during the early hours of Saturday angry Jewish residents set fire to two houses and damaged eight others.

“There were scores of angry Jewish residents, mainly younger people who set fire to the homes, the tension is very high here, things are on a knife-edge,” Hawary told Reuters.

Read the rest of the sad story here…

This is my own personal testimony.

I once said, rather flippantly and from a judgmental standpoint, that being a Christian is easy. Of course, at the time I wasn’t even walking as I should with our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ. At the time, I was buying a bottle of wine about once a week and ordered beer with my meals whenever I ate out. I was still struggling with harnessing my tongue and refraining from speaking foul words. I even had the strange idea that most religions were the same, i.e., most folks were looking for the same “thing” and would eventually find GOD in their pursuit.

My mother, who was with me at the time, agreed when I said being a Christian is easy. But, now, as our most merciful and gracious GOD has drawn me closer to HIMSELF, my statement meant something entirely different to my mother, who has been walking faithfully with our LORD for about 30 years. My mother had a rough, abusive childhood — she and her 7 siblings’ mother died when she was in grade school, and her uncle offered her father to take them into his home. Long story short, his wife saw a slave force instead of children coming into their home. My mother grew up in a culture where sex education consisted of finding out the hard way. So she had a rough young adulthood. She lived in an area where people were petty and literally wicked. She experienced betrayal on many levels and went through her own spiritual battles to emerge from the fire as one whom the LORD delights in (thank you, Jesus).

So when my mother sounded off in agreement to my presumptuous, ignorant statement, she was justified. The LORD had brought her a long, long ways and always remained faithful. I, on the other hand, was speaking from a dull-of-hearing, scaled-over-eyes sort of place. The Devil had me believing that living a compromised life was OK with GOD — that though broad was the way, it would still lead to the Kingdom. Satan, you’re a liar.

But I thank our LORD Jesus Christ now that truly I see and truly I know. Do I still think it’s easy being a Christian? GOD ALMIGHTY takes care of my every need. You know how some of us plan what we’re going to wear or cook the next day? — Well, the LORD our GOD plans ahead for us like that with EVERYTHING our entire lives, not just for one or two days or a week, but GOD has already prepared all we need for all the days of our lives. HE truly does love HIS children and dotes on us.

With the LORD our GOD I have peace and joy — and not like the world’s so-called peace and joy. But the true one that enraptures my very soul. I don’t have a care or ever fret — except for the ridiculous obstacles and worries I build up in my own mind. Truly I can say the LORD blesses me everyday, and I love HIM for it. HE has taught me how to love even and to care about my fellowman. I thank you LORD.

But that’s only half the story.

The other half consists of getting strange looks when I pull out my Holy Bible on the subway — which I don’t recommend you do on a Friday or Saturday night unless you can stand the attention of drunken revelers. I have even overheard whispered comments about my attire (I wear a head covering, except for when I’m at work — that would be something else entirely). Since I am obviously not a Jewess or a Muslim, wearing a headcovering in a NYC office wouldn’t go over well.

Most of the folks I used to call my friends have essentially fallen away — servants of sin and children of righteousness don’t always mix. So I don’t have any close friends, besides Jesus — and thank GOD, HE is more than enough. I do have a church family, though, which, too, is a blessing.

I don’t suffer temptation very often and when I do, Jesus always rescues, always saves. Jesus Christ of Nazareth has truly freed me — and I know it. I don’t miss anything I had or anyone I knew before HIM. Not one thing, not one person. HE has truly separated me from the world, and I know where my place is in this life and the life to come.

It’s not like I haven’t gone through the fire myself — but it’s because of these trying times, too, that I know I can never look back (remember Lot’s wife). I expect there to be many more trials, many more temptations and I know the Devil himself will still try to make a play for me, as he does with all of GOD’s children if the LORD allows it. And I know persecution will come.

I once said, and in this I know I am justified, that only the LORD GOD HIMSELF could move me from HIS side. That’s how much I know HE is TRUE.

You see, our LORD Jesus Christ didn’t say the narrow road HE paved for me is smooth and lined with flowers; HE just said it leads to the Kingdom.

So, is being a Christian easy?

Psalm 27

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith
A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me. 11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!