Survival 4 Christians

Persistence, Perseverance and The Perilous Times Ahead

2018-12-11T10:03:00.004-08:00

By Ray Gano

Persistence and perseverance seem to be my middle name.

That is a good thing too.

I am really wondering if something big is getting ready to be unfolded?

I just look at the harrowing times that me and Tracye have been through.

Did we quit?

HECK NO!

Were there times where I wanted to just let it all burn to the ground?

I have to be honest and say yes, but it was my persistence and perseverance that did not allow me to do that.

Why?

Because there is something coming.

I have shown you these verses before, but I am going to share them again with you.

Micah 5:5-6 5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

Many Christians today believe that when Antichrist is revealed to the world and suddenly there will be some form of universal global governance almost overnight and controlled by this guy who will be worshiped as God himself.

I don’t believe that…. AND … when you really dig into scripture and put down Late Great Planet

Earth, you will find that out for yourself as well.

“Well Ray, I don’t have to worry about that because I am going to be raptured.”

Yeah? How do you know that?

We have 5+ different rapture theories that are running the gamut, how do you know that your certain flavor of rapture is going to happen?

Be honest with yourself, stop lying to yourself and get real… you don’t. You don’t know if your certain flavor of rapture is going to happen or not.

What we do know is that the proverbial poo is going to hit the fan here soon and YOU need to decide what YOU are going to do about it.

This is where persistence and perseverance come into play.

Persistence and Perseverance

In the last few years me and Tracye have had massive setbacks.

We go totally screwed out of $60K on property down in Panama. Yeah, lost it all and came back with 6 suitcases, 5 dogs and $5K in our pockets.

That was all we had.

But we were persistent and persevered and re-established ourselves back in the US in the great state of Texas in the wonderful city of Houston.

We have rebuilt, got a roof over our heads, a car to get us around, food on the table and doing God’s work.

Just recently my website was attacked and 15+ years of work is gone… literally gone.

Who ever attacked us had a serious bias against what I have been doing and writing about. As you may know, they destroyed our databases and also made sure we were not able to recover, destroyed our site back ups as well.

So, 15 years or hard work… POOF… gone.

Now, do I have all my PZ Insider Reports and such?

Yes I do.

Will it be time consuming to repost all these articles and such?

Yep… but it needs to be done so that the masses can read and hear the truth of what is going on.

So What Is Going On? What Is On My Radar?

Folks, I strongly believe that we are going to witness a global civil war of epic proportions.

This isn’t going to be a war between countries, well maybe it will.

This is going to be a literal war against good and evil, right and wrong, Jehovah’s side and Lucifer’s side.

Forgetting this get out of trouble rapture card that people like to pull, just looking at the facts we have some heavy stuff coming down the pipe and we need to get our heads on straight and figure out what we are going to do about it.

The reason I say that is I look at how hard the enemy has been hitting us.

We lost $60K in Panama and had to walk away from it.

That in and of itself hammered us into the ground.

But we were persistent, and we persevered.

We have had some other things happen to us when we got back to the US, but we were persistent, and we persevered.

Most recently our website was destroyed, the very thing that helps us put food on the table, keep the lights on and a roof over our head…. POOF GONE!(it is why I am posting here for a few)

But we are being persistent, and we will persevere.

All these things that have happened to us in just a few short years have caused Tracye and I to have some pretty thick skin, but also, we have adapted and overcome pretty quickly.

Any of these events would have probably caused many others to just pack it in and say forget it.

We didn’t we were persistent, and we persevered over some pretty big life changing events.

So here is my question to you.

Have YOU faced some pretty harrowing, life changing events these past couple of years?

Has God been toughening you up, preparing YOU for something bigger, harder? Somethingthat causes you to put on those big boy / girl pants and embrace the pain?

This is where I want to hear from you. I want to hear what major trials and tribulations you have been going through.

I truly believe that something big is going to transpire in the next 5-7 years and God is prepared a number of us to have absolute resolve in ourselves and the hardened brothers and sisters standing by our sides.

That is what He is doing… hardening us up for something bigger coming down the road.

Is God working in YOUR life, hardening you up for something?

Is God preparing our minds, bodies, spirits to have absolute resolve, persistence and perseverance?

WRITE ME… Tell me what fires God has put you through these past couple of years.

Don’t go way back, just these past couple of years. Your story and my story… well I think there are similarities and I want to read them.

I have a working theory, but I need to hear from you.

EMAIL ME – ray.gano@raygano.com

Tell me what horrific trial have you been through and YOU persevered.

This is important folks.

2018 is the last generation and anything that happens now is a crap shoot.

This is where I believe we are headed too. To be part of this, we are going to be hardened soldiers for the Lord.

I believe that if YOU have been going through the purifying fires, God is preparing you for the above.

So, get back with me and tell me your story. It is critical that I hear from you.

EMAIL ME – ray.gano@raygano.com

Righteous Anger - The Victorious Warrior or The Compromising Whelp

2014-11-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

In my past articles I have taken on some topics that over the years, the feminized emasculated church has turned from.
Because we do not take the time to really read the bible, but instead listen and watch all the famous preachers, teachers and such. Today they tell us what is in the bible instead of us finding out on our own.
Well over the years we have had a more feminine influence than we have had of biblical masculinity. Thanks to this softer, more “caring” and “loving” ideas (which is total bunk by the way) we now have a more emotionally, experience driven church than one that relies solely on God’s Word.
It is God’s Word plus experience, feeling, leaning on our own understanding, and the list goes on.
Like it or not, these are all feminine traits. Women base a lot of their “truth” on feelings and emotions. This is a fact.
Men base their “truth” on logic and plain “yes” or “no”, mission oriented results.
Like it or not, this is how God sees things as well. God is very binary, yes – no, black – white. There is no gray area and in fact God’s Word warns about this.

James 1:8 (KJV) A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Speaking of the Laodicean church today Christ said –

Revelation 3:16 (KJV) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

In fact we are warned but trusting our emotions (heart). God says that the heart (our emotions) are deceitful above ALL THINGS.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Yet we are where we are today because we have feminized the church and gone against God’s Word and its teachings.
Because we (most men) have lost the testicular fortitude to do what is right and stand our ground, we now have the touchy feely sugar coated church today.
No one is willing to call a spade a spade.
In the past articles I showed where Christ himself got angry, wielded weapons, took on soldiers and bowled them down, got in people’s face and yes called them names the described their true selves.
In today’s world Christ would be called intolerant, hateful, mean spirited, and all the other names that the emasculated feminized church likes to toss around out there today.
Christ was a man’s man, not this Brad Pitt effeminate looking sissy boy that so many put out there today representing Christ.
If men stood their ground, remained being grounded in God’s Word and retained the boldness, I believe that our nation would be a different place than what we have today.
So what do we have today?

Starbucks Produces Sicko Sodomite Cross Dressing Commercial

As reported by Christian News Network…

“Starbucks has released its first homosexual-themed commercial this week, featuring two crossdressers.

In the one-minute commercial, Starbucks Corporation featured the top two contestants from RuPaul’s “Drag Race” season six: Adore Delano and Bianca Del Rio.

Starbucks has been a long-time supporter of homosexuality.”

Source - http://christiannews.net/2014/11/02/starbucks-releases-first-homosexual-themed-commercial-featuring-crossdressers/

I do not know about you, but this is sick, I mean really sick.
But where is the righteous anger over this?
I can hear all the feminized pastors out there saying, “oh we just need to love them into heaven.”
What a stupid thing to say.
Folks, these people are morally and spiritually depraved via their own free will. These people are reprobates, they are now enemies of God. They know of God, His saving grace and His Son Jesus Christ. In fact, they go to gigantic extents to spit in God’s Face to the point of making “sex toys” in the image of Christ, Moses, and the Cross.
So this idea that these reprobates do not know about God is sugar coated thinking and an unwillingness to do what is right and call these people reprobates. We then need have nothing todo with them what so ever.
I look at other things going on out there. Both sides of the political idea has no back bone and both settle for milk toast than be men and leaders as they were voted in to be.
Where is the righteous anger in the church today? Have we been hammered down (Stockholm’s syndrome) so much that to think anything negative is all of a sudden hate speech?
I guess to talk about this, we need to define what righteous anger is.
First – Righteous Anger reacts against actual sin. We are called to define the sin/ true evil biblically. Males who stick their appendages into other males backsides are called Sodomites. This act is in violation of God’s Word. But thanks to the effeminate emasculated church today, we are welcoming these people into churches today and even preach from the pulpit instead of recognizing reprobates and enemies of God. These people do not want to change, they force their sin upon us and force us to accept and change. Righteous Anger says NO MORE and puts the foot down and boldly speaks up.
Second – Righteous Anger focuses on God, His Kingdom, Rights, and Concerns. NOT on our little kingdoms, rights, and concerns. Yep, this is a biggie to many. See we like to blur that line and make “our” rights, concerns and such the same as God’s. Our anger needs to be God centered and not self-centered. We need to have Godly motives based on His Word. But because we lack knowledge of His Word or rely on some watered down bastardization of His Word, then it is natural that we are ignorant of truly what is Godly motives and not. The key is to accurately viewing things as offensive is not enough. We must view things primarily as offending God and not ourselves.
This is why I say that I am not going to spend another penny in Starbucks ever again. If enough people truly had the fortitude to stop going to Starbucks and give up their caffeine addiction then how much money would Starbucks loose? Let me remind you that the sodomite community that they are pandering to is only what.. 2% - 3% of the population? The only reason they are where they are is the old adage… the squeaky wheel gets the grease. They have allowed their evil anger to drive them and they have won. Where we have allowed our Righteous Anger to be subdued and therefore we have lost.
Third - Righteous Anger is accompanied by other Godly qualities and we express it in Godly Ways. This is the tough one, because we can allow the flesh gain control in the blink of an eye. See, Righteous Anger retains self-control. We must keep our head and wits about us without cursing, screaming, raging, or flying off the handle. We must remember that we are always God’s Ambassador.
In some of my studies I talk about duels, when we are exercising our Righteous Anger we are at that time in a duel. Not only are we battling ourselves remaining focused and sharp, but we are also battling the other person and the moment that we do lose our cool and stoop to the level of the heathen, then we have lost.
I am all in favor of being stern, identifying people by their true character(calling a spade a spade), even defending myself if the person wants to get physical. But I will not cower, and I will stand in the duel. People know truth and justice when they see it. They also know evil and perversion when they see that as well.
People to this day still fill movie theaters where it is good vs evil and the masses are always glad with good prevails over evil.
To do this at times, Righteous Anger must be involved and we must be willing to stand our ground.
This is why it is critical that we be in God’s Word and truly know right from wrong, good from evil and those gray areas that the enemy likes to throw into the mix. When we know God’s Word and educate ourselves we are able to fight those who wish to oppress us with their evil and expose the darkness to the light.
But as long as there are emasculated, effeminate, spineless, willing to bend at sin men who refuse to stand for what is right and show a little righteous anger. We will never gain the high ground that we have lost over these years all because we did not have the testicular fortitude needed to do the right thing in the first place, not advocate the chain of command that God put in place.
But we are where we are because man basically wussed out and did not want to do the hard work anymore. Today men want to sit in the lazyboy and watch sports all day wasting all that time on their sports addiction instead of studding God’s Word?
So many men have lost their way because the lack the knowledge of God’s Word. They have accepted these watered down churches and watered down bibles. Instead of being real leaders, it is easy to just go with the flow and accept these sugar coated bastardiaztion of what Church and the Bible should be.
No wonder we have no Righteous Anger, we have no power of God what so ever and no I am not talking about this so called Charismatic voodoo garbage people equate to God’s Power.
I am talking about the fortitude and courage that allows us as Christians to stand for the truth. And until we get back to the real Word of God (The Authorized King James Bible) we will continue to be worthless whelps accepting the sugar coating instead of doing the right thing and being those true Godly Leaders that the world so desperately needs.
IF I have made you mad, good, maybe it will wake something up in you where maybe you will start standing for truth, justice and everything right again, instead of just going with the flow and accepting it.
The word for that is compromise.
Compromise is for the emotional person not willing to draw the line in the sand.
Compromise is for the person that does not want to get involved.
Compromise is for those people who like having their heads buried in the sand as the world pass them by.
Compromise is for the lazy and unwilling, thinking that they have paid their dues in life and now life owes them.
Compromise is for those who do not want to rock the boat.
Compromise is for those who do not have the courage to do what it takes, especially when times get tough.
Compromise is for those who would rather let the world win than stand for God, even when it isn’t the popular thing to do.
I can go on, but you get the message.
We no longer have Righteous Anger because so many people have compromised themselves with God.
What would have happened if Jesus Christ compromised instead of dying on the cross for our sins, where would we be today?
We need to cowboy up and suck it up. The world is a filthy horrible place today. Instead of sitting on the sidelines compromising, we need to get back in the game again.
It means getting angry at what angers God.
It means having courage to shine the light on the evil that is so prevalent today.
It means drawing that line in the sand and not going to Starbucks anymore no matter how much you like that coffee and need that caffeine fix.
It means being willing to righteously angry and to fight the compromise that has become the terminal cancer in the churches today.
William Burke is attributed to saying “ For evil to prevail, all a good man has to do is nothing.”
Well, that “nothing” has been going on now for a very long time. We have lost our country to these stinking reprobate enemies of God. Now we can either continue to compromise or we can start doing something about it.
As long as we are here, we are accountable. We will have to stand before him for our complacency. Those of us who boldly stood, we will be rewarded well with crowns and mansions. Those who did not have the fortitude and courage to stand for God, scripture says they will get sticks for their eternal reward. If you think God is going to give the compromiser the same rewards as those of us who had the courage to stand when it was tough, think again.
It is time for the righteous anger to rise up and we need to stand for what is right again in light of God’s Word and not based on our own fleshly feelings, thoughts, and emotions.
We need to drop the whole touchy feely thing and get back on the hard narrow road.
What will be interesting is to see how many will accept the hard challenge and how many will continue their compromising ways.
When we get to Heaven we will see who the true warriors were and who were the whelps that came up lacking.
Makes me wonder, how many people will be in heaven wishing they had the fortitude to show righteous anger and stand for the truth? How many will have made it in by the skin of their teeth knowing they wasted so much time here on earth compromising on God, His Son, The Gospel and His Word?
What sort of person will you be when you get to heaven?
Will you be the victorious warrior or the compromising whelp?

Happy Commit Spiritual Adultery Against Christ Day

2014-10-31T11:59:00.001-07:00

Well it is that day of the year again when "Christians" dump Christ and choose to wallow in the muck and mire of the enemy. I call it spiritual adultery, in other words, basically sleeping with a whore once a year. People will make all kinds of excuses about how fun it is or what a great way to reach people, ... Yada, yada, yada.
Sleeping with a whore is sleeping with a whore no matter how fancy or dirty she may be. One is committing adultery no matter what.
Wives, how would you feel if you found out your husband was entertaining a woman of the night once a year?
Men, what if you found out your wife was entertaining a male prostitute once a year?
Get what I am saying here?
So why do we commit spiritual adultery with Satan on one of his highest holidays?
You enjoying sleeping with the Whore Satan?
I know that I am ticking off a lot of people right now saying what I am saying, but like it or not, that is what you are doing.
Because Jesus Christ is "not visible" before our eyes, we have no problem getting in bed with that prostitute and we justify in so many ways.
I know for a fact that I am going to get a bunch of email from people telling me that I am wrong, being judgmental, I am a pharisee, why can't I let the kids have fun, Kirk Cameron says it's ok, etc, etc, etc.
Listen, you want to whore around with Satan... Go for it, it does not effect me one way or the other. Who it does matter to is the one who paid the price for your very soul. He was tortured, whipped, scurged, bled, mocked, hung on the cross and died a horrible death all for you... And how do you repay that love? You go get in bed with Satan once a year dressed up as what ever and unite yourself with the enemy all in the name of fun and the flesh.
You are then going to sleep off the spiritual hangover all day Saturday and then go to Church on Sunday and talk to all the other spiritual adulterers about all the "fun" you had.
Again, how would your husband or wife feel if you did the same thing and cheated on them?
Pretty bad right?
I bet if you cheated on your wife or husband you would also feel pretty guilty too, right?
SO why don't "Christians" feel the same guilt when they cheat on Christ with Satan?
Scripture says...

1 Corinthians 10:21 (KJV) Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

Galatians 5:17 for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

1John 2:4-5(KJV) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Here is a statement by Harry Ironside, a great fundamental pastor.

"Error is like leaven, of which we read, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Chris died." --H.A. Ironside

True Christian or Just Another C.I.N.O.?

Time to do a check up from the neck up and REALLY ask yourself, Who Do You Serve?
What distinguishes a true Christian from a C.I.N.O.?
In most cases the answer is one word - guilt.
Those who are truly Christians are convicted when they sin and feel guilt whenever they do sin ( and we all sin).
Those who aren't true Christians don't feel guilt, either because they have quenched the Holy Spirit or because they were never saved in the first place.
If fact, one of the sure ways to find out if you are really saved is how you react to sin.
If you just shrug it off and say "everyone sins" then you have problems.
If you hate every sin you have committed and feel guilt every time, it is safe to say that you are saved.
SO if you are going to choose to whore around with Satan tonight, ask yourself the morning after, how do you feel?
Guilty or just "shrug it off" because everyone is doing it?
Then ask yourself who do you really love - Christ or Satan?
If you liked whoring around, felt no guilt and justified it, odds are you aren't one of His.
See, it is a common lie told by many CINOs - "It's who you know that gets you into heaven."
Actually, this is wrong. It is who knows YOU.
Here is what I mean. I know George W Bush, he was the president, lives in Texas, and I was able to drive up to his front gates when we lived there.
If I drive there today and pull up to his gate, Secret Service agents will stop me, look me in the eye and ask me what I am doing there.
My responce "Well I am here to see George W" and flash him the perly whites.
He asks my name, checks his list, asks if I have an appointment and does not see my name on the list.
WHY?
Although I know of George W Bush, he does not know me. So am I gaining access to this former president?
Nope, nada, no way.
Same goes with Christ. Just because YOU know Him does not mean HE knows you. Well, He does in His God manner, He knows everything. But what you are not, is one of His children.
Scripture says...

Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

So, if you choose to go out whoring with Satan tonight and you claim the title Christian. Look yourself in the mirror and get real with yourself and ask "Who do you REALLY serve?"
I hope these words sting and cut to the bone. It is the truth and it does not matter if you like it or not, it still is the truth.
If you do not like what I am saying and I am just being mean and hateful, news flash - the truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.
No sugar coating and no halloween candy from me. No siree....
So the choice is yours.
Stay true to your first love, or go whore around with the enemy.
What will matter is how you will react to your choice / action the morning after.
That will tell who you REALLY care for, love and serve.
Be ready for an eye opener one way or the other.

By Ray Gano

Survival Defense When Guns Are Not Allowed

2014-09-03T08:38:00.002-07:00

In the time before a major crisis occurs, private ownership or use of firearms, bows and arrows, and crossbows may be illegal and banned. As the situation gets worse, the government will impose martial law and confiscate weapons no matter how well you may think they are hidden.
Here are a few weapons that may be overlooked and that can be used to protect your family and loved ones.

Edged Weapons

Edged weapons are the oldest implements used by man. Then, as now, you can make knives and other edged weapons from flint, obsidian, bronze, arsenic copper-bronze, tin-bronze, iron. Today, there are three kinds of steel that you may be interested in:

Damascus steel – originated in India about the 5th century BC. The steel was heated to red hot, hammered, folded, and then quickly cooled in water. This process was repeated at least 500 times. This produced a better weapons grade steel.
Carbon steel – will rust if exposed to air and moisture. The rust if heavy will flake off causing the steel to weaken and break.
Stainless steel is an alloy with a minimum of 10% chromium by mass. Stainless steel does not rust or stain by water as ordinary steel does. When heated the chromium becomes chromium oxide that acts to form an air and water tight film that seals off the metal. This steel comes in many grades and finishes.

The following edged tools and weapons can be used as a substitute for firearms for protection. All of them can be dipped in poison so that even a single glancing blow can be a lethal one.

Farm Tools: Any of the metal farming or gardening tools can be used as weapons to protect yourself or the family. The spade, rake, pitchfork, pick, sickle, hand hoe, and garden claw all make excellent choices for either offensive or defensive weapons.
Bayonets: Either spike or flat knife designs can be used as is or cut back to make push knives. You can also add a set of brass or other metal knuckles by welding it to the shortened bayonet.
Daggers and Boot Knives: These double edged knives have a blade longer than 6 inches and are used to stick or slash. Most have a skull crusher at the back of the hilt.
Small Knives: Usually the blades are shorter than 6 inches long and can be a folding or a non-folding version. These knives are good defensive or offensive weapons because they can be “palmed” and used without them being seen.
Swords: There are two different edge designs for swords. The first is the single edge the other is the double edge. There are several lengths of swords. The first is the short sword which is 16 to 18 inches long, regular size sword which is 20 to 24 inches long, and the two handed sword that measures over four feet long. The short and the regular size swords can be used for protection and carried inconspicuously, but the long two handed sword is too large to be practical for anything other than staving off an attack on your home.
Spears: Have a 4 to 6 foot shaft with a metal spear point at the top. These weapons are designed to be thrown or thrusted into a human target.
Throwing Stars: Are metal shaped stars that have sharpened points that were designed to be thrown at a target and stick into it. In the hands of a trained individual they can kill or do great bodily harm.
Axes or hatchets: Are used for chopping. Some axes have double or single edges. As a weapon it can be thrown and deliver a bloody crushing wound or blunt trauma if the back blunt end hits first.

Blunt Force Weapons
Blunt force weapons use weight instead of sharp edges to kill or do great bodily harm. Damage to the body is caused by crushing instead of cutting.

Canes: originally used to steady and help a person in walking. A cane can be used as a nightstick type weapon and can deliver knockout or death blows to the head, break arms or legs, or cause deep blunt trauma wounds to the central body core. Historically the cane sword was a way to carry a sword concealed and at the ready if needed. This weapon is easy to carry in plain sight.
Clubs: Usually made of heavy wood or metal scrap. These are crushing weapons that break bones or deliver deep trauma to inner organs.
Bats: Wood or aluminum bats used to play baseball also make a good weapon. A bat can easily break bones or kill if they hit the right part of the body.
Staffs or walking sticks: For thousands of years staffs were a defensive and sometimes offensive weapon for the poor or peasants. An individual who was good with a staff could disarm a person with a sword or a gun.
Maces: Maces were a medieval blunt force weapon made of steel or other strong metals. It was designed to crush skulls and brake limbs with blunt force. Today it is still a good defensive weapon in times of major crisis.
Chains: Chains made of steel or other heavy metals can be used as weapons in a defensive roll. They can be made to look like every day clothing accessories such as belts. They can deliver deadly crushing blows or break limbs.
Slings (2 Cord Type): Is a very old weapon that goes back thousands of years. It is easy to hid or conceal. With a little bit of practice it is possible to hit or kill your target out to 200 feet or better with rocks or scrapes of metal. Slings can be either defensive or offensive weapons.
Slingshots for stone, metal projectiles, or arrows: Slingshots are no longer a toy. They can be used to hunt small game by launching a ball bearing, rocks, and even arrows with deadly accuracy. This weapon can also be used defensively to protect your family in the absence of firearms.
Hand to Hand Fighting techniques: There are many forms from boxing to martial arts. Choose the fighting technique that best meets your needs and start studying today. Do not wait until the last moment to start the training.

In a time when all private firearm ownership is banned or illegal, the above are a few alternatives for weapons that might be put into service to protect your family and loved ones. Almost anything can be used as a weapon regardless of the situation.
As with prisons and jails, you only need a creative mind and the will to have a weapon in order to get around any law or force used to try and take away your ability to defend yourself.

Original article - http://www.survivopedia.com/svp-survlgnsnotalwd/

My NEW Book Coming Out Soon

2014-08-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Back in July 2011 my book “Survive The Coming Storm – The Value of a Preparedness Lifestyle” was published.

This book is one of the few “Survival books” written from a biblical and well as practical every day perspective. I did not write that book for all the “Rambo’s” in the world. I wrote it for all the everyday “soccer parents” out there that realized that things are getting grim and that they know they are behind the 8-ball.

You can purchase this book in paperback and in Kindle at http://amzn.com/B006JA4A06

In the book I put myself and my family in the role of “Guinea Pig” and we lived and used the things that I wrote about in STCS.

We are not rich by any means, and in fact we have learned to live a pretty frugal life over the years. God has blessed us with what we have needed and also blessed us from time to time with things we have wanted. There is a difference too. But we were able to prioritize and finally get multiple years of food, medical supplies as well as arms to protect ourselves and our home.

Fast forward to today and we are facing yet another possible storm, that storm is called Ebola.

Reports are showing that the spread of Ebola is starting to become exponential. In fact, the head of the World Health Organization stated that this outbreak "is moving faster than our efforts to control it".

I am not trying to be a fear monger, what I am trying to do is fulfill my job of being a watchman. In the days of high walls and castles, it was the job of the watchman to stand upon the wall and call down into the city what is going on and what he sees approaching the city. He had a vantage point that those in the city did not have. He was able to look out upon the horizon a great distance. He could see far and report on advancements of armies and even storms. If it was within eyesight, the watchman could see it and report on it.

God states in scripture the importance of the watchman as well as his responsiblity.

Ezekiel 33:2-6 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:

3 if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

4 then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

That is my job and I try to do my job as good as possible. I try not to be “sensational” like others out there, but also try not to “sugar coat” things so that it is more palatable.

My latest book is going to be titled "Survive The Coming Storm - EBOLA CRISIS"

It is my hope to have it finshed by Aug 8th and push it out to Amazon Kindle. I am going to also try to push it out on iBook and Nook. We will see.

Please pray that this book does well and helps people if the situation arises.

The Lord is Our Shepherd – Psalms 23

2014-06-11T08:24:00.001-07:00

I love the 23rd chapter of Psalms. It speaks to me on so many levels. It helps settle the turbulence that is in my heart when I read the horrible goings on in the world. It also helps me to remember that HE, God the Father is still in charge and that HE will see us through.
The Lord is my shepherd … it is interesting that so often we place man on a pedestal. I have to admit that it happens to me, people put me up as some great holy guy know it all and then they realize that I am just a sheep, just like them. Just like you.
The Lord is our shepherd and because of that we will not have want. He is there for us and even though we have other “sheep” we learn from and align with, at the end of the day they, us, you are all still sheep in need of the one true shepherd.
That is not to discredit those of us who are called to lead and be in the service of The Lord. But sometimes it goes to folks head and it gets the best of them.
I look at all these famous bestselling pastors out there. Caught in adultery, homosexual trappings, drugs and debauchery. They think they are above it all and forget that they are just sheep like everyone else.
Knowing that The Lord is my shepherd is comforting. At times the weight of the world sits so heavy on my shoulders. That is when this chapter helps me realize what I really am and who is really in charge.
God is in Charge, He is my shepherd. Because He is in charge, His grace is sufficient for me. I shall not want.
Back when we first moved out to the ranch in New Braunfels we were given some sheep to take care of. Boy did we learn a lot from watching the sheep. They are really stupid and stubborn creatures. I now know why Christ refers to us as sheep so often. Because we are stupid and stubborn as well.
That is why I find verse two so humorous. He MAKETH me to lie down in green pastures.
When we had our sheep they were constantly trying to get out onto the ranch. We had great green grass, good feed, fresh water all the good things that sheep love. But the grass was always greener on the other side of the fence. One time two of them escaped and it took me several hours to wrangle them back. I had to lasso them and literally drag them back into the safety of the yard. Both of them kicked and fought me every step of the way. I was really tempted to just leave them out there, but I knew that they would end up as coyote food once it became night.
Like our sheep, God makes us lie down in green pastures. Why? Because he loves us and he is protecting us from the predators that are out there. But we constantly want to escape so we can partake in the “greener grass” that we believe is out there.
He leadeth me beside the still waters. Like the green pastures, God knows what is best for us. If we just get to that point where we will submit to His will and not our own, we will find out that the waters HE LEADS US TO is the freshest and quenches our thirst like none that we can ever find on our own.
But the key is to submit to HIM and allow the Lord to lead us. It is something hard for a sheep to do.
But if we do, “He restoreth my soul.”
This is something that all of us need today. The world is so hard and it seems like it is pressing in harder and harder on us daily with all the trials and tribulations that we as Christians endure. I am reminded again of His Grace. It is sufficient for us and is there for us even in our darkest times. He sees us through and restores our soul.
When we finally submit and start walking with Him, allowing Him to lead, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
God leads us in the way of being one of His children. He instructs us through His Word and directs us through that still small voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us through our conscience. After a while we start to see His providence at work in our lives because we came to the point of trusting him and stopped being stubborn.
This is our duty. In past writing I taught of the Servant – Warrior. To walk that path of duty is the truly pleasant way. When we submit to the shepherd and He becomes our King we discover that the path of righteousness is a path of true peace.
The key is submission, like the sheep finally submitting to the shepherd. We cannot walk these paths unless God both lead us onto them and lead us in them.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
This is the peace that walking the path of righteousness gives. Even though we are facing all sorts of trials, life changing events, maybe even death, God promises to be with us.
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
When we see these mentioned the first thing that comes to mind is hooking the sheep with the shepherds crook. That is the big curve in his staff and that is how he captures sheep who do not want to listen and try to run off. The rod or a goad is a stick with a sharp point that prods us in the direction that the shepherd wants us to go.
When we buck against the goad, we feel the prick.
Scripture says…

Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

When we finally learn to submit to His rod and His staff, we realize that there are boundaries. See boundaries for sheep is a very good thing. The boundaries are there to protect us and keep us safe. They help us to live a life of peace and tranquility in Him. His rod and His staff they comfort us. They remind us of the boundaries the shepherd has put in place because He loves us and wants the best for us.
Like the sheep we used to have, we wanted them to be protected and live a life of safety inside the boundaries of our yard. The coyotes and other things were out on the ranch that could lead to their destruction and kill them.
When we do submit and we learn the boundaries He has placed before us and we learn to live within those limits, rules, laws and we come to realize that life is good.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Even in the midst of trouble, trials, hardship and affliction, we realize that His Grace is there. He gives us a peace that only God’s Grace can provide, so much so that our cups runneth over. The key is to remember that we are the sheep and He is the shepherd. In submitting to the will of the shepherd is the only way that we will have that peace that pours over us. Much like warm fragrant oil being poured over our head. The warmth of the oil envelops us and the sweet fragrance fills our nose with soothing smells that calms us.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
When we are in that place of peace, it truly is a place of goodness and mercy that the shepherd provides and will continue to provide all the days of our life.
This is what it means to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The Lord is our shepherd, and our King. He alone is the one who sees us through the storms when we allow him to be our shepherd. But when we buck against the staff and run wild in rebellion, the shepherd will come after us and drag us back to Him, even with us kicking and screaming like the stubborn sheep we are.
Do you know what a shepherd does if he has a sheep that continues to buck against him and run away?
He breaks their legs so that the sheep cannot walk and then must be carried by the shepherd. This in turn causes the sheep to bond to the shepherd and that sheep will never stray very far from the shepherd. The sheep remembers the pain and will continue to have that “ghost pain” for the rest of his life reminding him of the consequences of running away and rebelling against the shepherd.
But if the sheep does not learn and bond with the shepherd, the shepherd will eventually kill the sheep. The shepherd realizes that the sheep will lead other sheep astray and endanger the entire flock. Sheep are natural followers and from time to time there rise up sheep that are rebellious. So for the sake of the flock, the rebellious sheep is taken away and put to death. It does not happen very often, but it does happen.
I highly encourage you to memorize the 23^rd Psalm. It will be there in your heart when that dark time falls upon you, and yes, dark times are coming.
The more that we are able to equip ourselves with His Word in our heart the more we will be able to weather the storms that are beginning to bear down on us in these last days of the last days.
Trust in the one true Shepherd and submit to Him. He is the way, the truth and the life.

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

By Ray Gano

The Final Generation??? By Ray Gano

2014-06-09T20:14:00.003-07:00

Do we or do we not serve a God of logic and reason?
Well the answer is obvious, we serve a God of logic and reasoning. To confirm that all we need to do is look at His creation.
If we serve a God of logic and reason, then why do so many of us believe in things that almost equate to being a fairytale and worse, given no critical thought at all?

Matthew 24:34(KJV) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Many folks point to this verse when speaking of the last day / end times. Some say that the countdown clock started in May 1948, others say it was June 1967 when Israel finally took back the city of Jerusalem and won control of the Temple mount.

Both points are promoted, but I stand upon the birth of the nation that took place in 1948.

The issue that I want to focus on is this, IF we are the final generation, then why do we bow down to the god of time?
"WHAT?? The god of time?"
Yes, often when asked a question that is hard to answer, many people say "it is just a matter of time."
Many people ask, "when will the rapture take place? " Common answer is "Well, God tells us not to set dates, but it is just a matter of time."
As a side note, let me state right here that I am one who stands upon the imminent return of our Lord, so please don't send me emails giving me grief about timing and such.
There are many out there proclaiming that there is an upcoming middle east war and even claiming it to be a fulfillment of some of the prophecies found in scripture. You see it in discussion forums, emails and even some popular bible prophecy teachers newsletters and websites.
" We will see prophecy come to pass this summer 2013, you mark my words. And if things don't turn out, well it is just a matter of time till they do."
Foolish Statements
With the election of the new Pope, we hear foolish statements like "The antichrist will be an Italian of roman catholic decent."
Or this "Russia is going to invade Israel and then we are going to get raptured out of here."
Or this, " a European antichrist with his forces are going to kill all the Christians by beheading them, Revelation 20:4 tells us so."
Or this, " The coming war is the fulfillment of Psalm 83"
Or this.. " Islam is going to be wiped out this summer in the Israel war."
Do you get the idea at what I am trying to point out here?
People are making foolish statements that have little if any biblical backing what so ever.
Often they are thrown out there without any logic or reasoning given what so ever. The sad thing is that I have heard some of these statements come from the very teachers whose books we read, TV shows we watch, ect.
What's more is that you yourself have heard these sort of things out there too.
What is the common theme in all of this?
If things don't work out, all of these are backed up by the god of time.
" It will happen - it is just a matter of time."
This is why I ask, are we the final generation or not?
People quote this verse all the time and then state something else that completely contradicts the final generation found in Matthew 24:34.

Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

It is like the old Hollywood Indian saying you see in the movies.. "white man speaks with forked tongue."
Folks, if we are the final generation then that means we are running seriously out of time.
What is the flip side of that?
We are NOT the final generation and all those bible prophecy that have come to pass, well, all those were just chance, a winning roll of the dice.
It is like we have become accustomed to having our cake and eating it too.
Either these things that are being taught are going to take place here soon,…
because we are the final generation,…
OR they are not and we are not the final generation.
In fact, let me pick on some of these statements to clarify.
"The antichrist will be Italian of roman catholic decent."
This is one that has been tossed around out there for a while now, and I hate to say it, but time has just about run out on this one.
How has it run out?
Everyone can clearly see that Europe is being taken over by Muslims, this is a fact.
Based on birthrate studies, in order for a culture to maintain itself for more than 25 years the required fertility rate must be 2.11 children per family. Historically a culture has never reversed a fertility rate of 1.9 children per family. AND IF the fertility rate hits 1.3, it is impossible for that culture to reverse because it would take that culture 80 to 100 years to correct itself. In fact there is no economic model to sustain a culture during that time.
Let's look at the birthrate of Europe.

France 1.8
England 1.6
Greece 1.3
Germany 1.3
Italy 1.2
Spain 1.1

Across the European Union that consists of 31 countries, the cultural fertility rate is 1.38. Historical research tell us that these numbers are impossible to reverse.
In just a matter of years, Europe as we know it will cease to exist.
But Europe is growing and birthrates are high. What is taking place? Immigration.. Islamic immigration.
Who are having all the children? Muslims.
Based on the numbers and information above, I do not see some Italian guy coming to power being backed by the catholic church when 1/3 of all European children will be born to Muslim families by 2025.
It is a fact that Islam will not bow to a Italian man backed by the Catholic Church. But the Catholic Church will bow to Islam and this has been historically proven time and again.
But what is the answer given by those who support this idea?
"Just give it time, you will see. Some Italian guy from Rome will rise up, you mark my words."
Well they are dutifully marked and it is looking like they are coming up wanting.
Folks, the sands of time are running out. We do not have the luxury of time any more if we are the final generation.
Do you know that most census offices worldwide utilize as the timeframe of 25 years for a generation as an average?
But we are speaking biblically here. How long is a biblical generation?

Scripture says…

Psalms 90:10 (KJV) The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

In other words, the number of years people live on the average is 70, possibly 80 if they are strong and of good constitution.
To back this up, Matthew in his reciting of Christ's generations follow the Psalms 90:10 definition of a generation, 70 years.

Matthew 1:17 (KJV) So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

Matthew is using the Psalm 90 definitions of generation in order to tell a specific chronological time story of our Lord Jesus Christ. So if Matthew is using it pertaining to and qualifying our Lord, we should use it also.
So with all that said, and just doing simple math, 1948 70 years comes to 2018. That is approximately 5 years. Well taking into account that 2013 is 1/4 over, we have a little over 5.5 years left.
Now I do not want to get emails saying I am date setting, I am not. What I am showing is logic and reasoning. Either we are the last generation or we are not.
Continuing on and looking at the birthrate of Muslims in Europe, what are the odds of an Italian man backed by the Catholic Church coming to power, uniting Europe as a force to rule the world in just 5.5 years?
Will Islam just sit back and let this happen?
If you say "Yes," you are kidding yourself and rejecting logic and reasoning.
The problem is that these people who promote this idea have lost the ability to mix fairness with objectivity and are suffering from an acute case of "Don't confuse me with the facts my mind is made up!"
In other words they worship at the feet of the god of time and feel like they have all the time in the world for their ideas to jell together.
On the other hand, how many Muslims are looking for the Mahdi to come and establish the global one world caliphate?
Who do we as Christians look to in scripture to create a global one world government in these last days?
Think on this for a moment.
Here is another one the defies logic and reasoning…

" A European antichrist with his forces are going to kill all the Christians by beheading them, Revelation 20:4 tells us so."

Revelation 20:4 (KJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Like the Italian AC, this is another one that is surrounded by illogical ideas when being promoted.
In fact I produced a 10 minute video taking this topic on.
You can watch this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVwv7r-Nqw
Many people point to the Catholic Church being the ones who will help the Antichrist dispatch all the Christians worldwide. A majority of the popular authors promote the idea.
I have been reading a book titled " On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill In War and Society" written by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman.
This book was written to explain a startling fact: throughout most of military history, up until the end of World War II, the vast majority of soldiers (between 75% and 95%) have refused to kill their fellow man.
Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall, who studied this phenomenon during World War II, found that no more than 20% of soldiers would "take any part with their weapons".
The interesting fact is that these results can be found throughout time and across cultures, from Alexander the Great who lost only 700 men in years of fighting, to tribesmen in New Guinea who remove the feathers from their arrows before going off to war, to the soldiers at Rosebud Creek in 1876 who fired 252 rounds for each American Indian they hit.
Grossman conducted very in-depth research.
So what was happening to these soldiers?
These fighting men were resorting to a number of options, and I mean anything that prevented them from having to kill their fellow man.
So what did these soldiers do?
Some fell back to support positions running supplies, ammo, messages. Some tended to the wounded carrying them off the battlefield. Some even faked injury themselves and even others ran away.
In fact many just fired into the air just above the enemies heads.
In Civil War times, conscience-stricken soldiers also had the option of pretending to fire - that is, loading up their muskets, mimicking the movements of a firing soldier next to them, and pretending to recoil.

Do you know at Gettysburg there were over, 27,574 muskets were found on the battlefield? Over 90% of these guns were loaded. On the average a good soldier can load and fire a musket about 4 times in a minute. So logically speaking the chances of these muskets representing mostly soldiers killed JUST before they were getting ready to fire is pretty slim.
Do you know that over 12,000 muskets were found with multiply-loads down the barrel? In fact, at Gettysburg they found over 6,000 of them loaded with 3-10 rounds apiece? That means that the soldier "Faked" firing the weapon and then went through the procedure to reload the weapon. They consciously objected to killing their fellow man. So they just went through the paces to look like they were fighting the battle.
Clearly this shows that among soldiers a deeply ingrained resistance to killing is prevalent when faced with killing other human beings. But this isn't just with soldiers, it is with man in general, he does not want to kill his fellow man.
Now what is interesting is that Grossman uses most of his book to discussing the ways in which this resistance can be overcome.
How can this take place? Simple, training and brainwashing is conducted upon the soldier.
Revelation 20:4 tells us the Christian martyrs will die, that is a fact.
But here is what I have to ask, were are the huge number of forces that are being trained to dispatch Christians? In fact we also need to include Jews as well because we know that Jews will also be persecuted against during the tribulation.
How Many Will Die?
According to the website adherents.com, there are 2.1 billion Christians worldwide. This number also includes Mormons, JWs, ect.
So how many of these will go in the rapture?
Scripture gives us clues.
In Matthew 7, which I consider one of the bibles most troubling chapters in all of scripture, we see Christ who is speaking to Christians / believers.
Scripture says…

Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Christ himself tells us that there are many believers who are on the broad way that leads to destruction. He also tells us that those who are on the narrow way, the Lord tells us that "few there be that find it."
Now I am not talking about losing one's salvation. I am one who stands on if a person is saved, they cannot lose their salvation.
What is being presented in this chapter are those who claim the title, but are not true Christians. These Christians In Name Only, or what I refer to as C.I.N.Os.
What do I mean by that?
Simple example, Oprah Winfrey publicly claims to be a Christian, but we clearly see that her fruits do not show it. We cannot judge ones heart, but based on her fruits, I would speculate that she is one of those on the broad way.
So how many is "few there be that finds it?"
To be honest I don’t know, but to look at the logic of this situation let's be fair and keep things simple and say 1 billion Christians are raptured.
Of those who are left, again keeping it simple to explain logic let's say that 1 billion "Christians" are left behind.
We also have to remember that there are approximately 14 million Jews in the world as well.
We know based upon scripture that 2 thirds of the Jews living will be persecuted.

Zechariah 13:8 (KJV) And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

That is approximately 4.6 million Jews left in the world with 9.3 million being persecuted.
My question is, who is being trained and brainwashed to kill 1 billion, nine point three million Christians and Jews worldwide?
Do we see the Catholic Church stepping up to the plate to fulfill this large order?
What about other false religions out there? Maybe Mormons? What about New Agers? What about the dreaded Freemasons?
Here is another point to consider. Studies show that it takes approximately 2-3 people to execute one person.
Now we know for a fact that there will be Christians and Jews who do survive the tribulation, scripture tells us of the nations who will populate the millennial kingdom. This is a fact. So not all 1 billion, nine point three million Christians and Jews worldwide will die. But a good number of people will.
So again, I have to ask who is being trained to dispatch these millions of people?
FACT - We know that man has an aversion to killing other human beings, Christian morals or not, that is clearly shown in the multiple military studies conducted.
FACT - We also know from scripture that "beheading" will be the method of choice so we cannot blame nuclear, biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction.
It will be the simple "off with their head" solution.
"Well Ray, the "restrainer" will be taken out so all hell will break lose."
Good point, but it does not negate these studies. Grossman in his book talks about Alexander the Great who lost only 700 men in all his years and campaigns of fighting and concurring the known world. He also experienced the same unwillingness to kill. Alexander lived at the time prior to the restrainer.
Folks, the unwillingness to kill our fellow man is ingrained into us. God's law is written upon all of our hearts.

Romans 1:18-19 (KJV) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

We know that the restrainer was not present during Alexander's time. There are other "pre-restrainer" cases in history that back this up as well. We also know that the law of God is known to all men because it is written upon our hearts.
The only way to overcome this unwillingness to kill our fellow human being, is to be subjected to training and brainwashing. In fact the longer that the person is exposed, the less remorse and mental trauma one will encounter.
Knowing that millions will die at the hands of the Antichrist and that a generation is 70 years. Where are the masses of people being trained today to kill their fellow man?
Last Generation?

Remember that based upon Psalms 90:10 a generation is 70 years. Again looking at Israel becoming a nation in 1948 and using simple math we get the year 2018 being the approximate end of the generation. Seeing that we are about on quarter through 2013, that gives us approximate a little over 5.5 year to train millions to behead and kill all those during the tribulation.
"Well Ray, I have heard that there are guillotines all over the US in secret FEMA camps just waiting to be used."
Again, an unwillingness to think critically or objectively.
If this was the case, who is the company that produced all these guillotines?
Where are they located?
Based on the statement above, they had to be shipped all over the US.
Where are the truckers to drove these guillotines all over the US?
What about the people who loaded and unloaded the guillotines from these vehicles?
What about the people who worked in the no-name factory who built these guillotines?
What about eye witnesses of some form or fashion, or innocent bystanders who happened to be in the right place at the right time?
The truth about a secret is that no matter what, it will not remain a secret very long specially if it is a government secret.
In regards to this story, there are too many variables that would easily expose the production of these guillotines taking place in this nation.
In fact ramping up a company, training the workers and in these financially stressful days, finding the money, stockholders, and financial backing to achieve this as well as dispatching all those Christians, I think 7.5 years is not enough time.
Again there are too many variables that could go wrong in keeping this a secret.
Now playing the devil's advocate, and taking the US alone, how many true blue Americans would put up with a large number of guillotines being produced in secret? Someone would expose this, there would be pictures posted on facebook, videos on you tube. More proof of the company would come out followed by investigations and then congressional hearings.
Folks, a tool of death like the guillotine, would not go unnoticed and would be reported to the public the moment that the company came into existence .
Just look at the 9/11 conspiracy, the Obama birth certificate conspiracy or what about the old idea that men did not land on the moon and it was all shot on a movie sound stage?
All these are well known, the conspiracy of guillotines all over the US is a myth and does not have any provable facts based on logic and reasoning to support it.
BUT, let's just entertain this idea for a moment and say it is true, you would still need 2-3 people trained and brainwashed to kill their fellow human being day in and day out, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week non-stop because we are dealing with millions. Look how long it took Hitler to kill six million Jews. We are talking at least a billion people here.
Here is another point. Our own military is trained to kill and have put into practice these ideologies to help overcome the resistance to kill and still they are ineffective. Look at how many of our gulf war and Afghanistan war vets come home with post traumatic stress syndrome because they have been trained and have killed, and yet they are still suffering the consequences of taking another's life.
The American fighting man and woman are some of the best trained soldiers in the world, but what is missing is the brainwashing making killing a part of their lives.
Scripture says…

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

This is often seen as a blessing to Christian parents, but when viewed from another angle, it is seen as a curse.
Who has been training up their children to kill at such a young age?
You know and I know… Islam.
How many Muslims are there worldwide?
According to adherents.com, it is estimated that there are 1.5 billion Muslims. This study was also conducted around 2001. It is believed that nearly one-fourth of the world’s population today is Muslim. Without firm numbers it is believed that there are more than 1.5 billion, to quite possibly 2 billion with Islam being the fastest growing religion in the world today.
So taking into account that Christians will be taken out in the rapture, that Islam is the fastest growing religion and that many will die at the hands of the antichrist, there is only one group of people that fit the ability to meet Revelation 20:4 and that is Islam.
Points to consider about Islam …
Muslims are taught to hate Christians and Jews
Muslims are taught to kill the infidel
Beheading is the standard form of execution
Muslims are taught from a young age to die for the cause of Islam
Muslims are taught to kill for the cause of Islam
But here is the stickler, all the countries mentioned in scripture that are associated to Christ's physical return are all Muslim countries and are clearly named. There is no refuting that.
For example , the chapters in Isaiah 13 - 29 all deal with Christ's literal second coming and the destruction of Israel's enemies.
Isaiah 13 Burden of Babylon,
Isaiah 14:24 Burden of Assyria,
Isaiah 14:28 Burden against Philistia (Gaza),
Isaiah 15:1 Burden of Moab,
Isaiah 17 Burden of Damascus & Samaria,
Isaiah 18 Burden of Ethiopia
Isaiah 19 Burden of Egypt
Isaiah 21:13 Burden against Arabia
Isaiah 22 Burden against Jerusalem (occupied by enemy),
Isaiah 23 Burden against Tyre.
All of these are Muslim counties.
In fact every time the sword of the Lord is mentioned, it is always in association to a Muslim country.

Ezekiel 30:4- 5 (KJV) And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

We must accept the fact that Islam and the descendant of Ishmael, Esau and Lot are the last day players. Over and over again they are mentioned by name in scripture. Not the EU, USA, New York or Rome.
We as students of bible prophecy have forgotten that this whole situation started in Genesis with the children of Abraham and a battle over the promised land.
The problem, there are many who refuse to look at the logic and reasoning. Like many of the statements believed above, they do not want to be bothered with the facts because their mind is made up to what they want to believe even when it is clearly in black and white and contained in God's Word.
Conclusion
I personally believe that we are the final generation.
If we are the final generation as many in the bible prophecy arena are teaching, we must contend with logic and reasoning and not fairytales.
Just because something has been taught for the last 50-100 years, does not make it so.
We are called to look down at scripture and then peer out to the horizon to see how the world fits within scripture, not how scripture fits within the ideas that are being taught in the world.
We as students of bible prophecy need to put away all the books of men and look at what scripture is truly teaching.
We have forgotten to go to God's Word and apply Acts 17:11 to make sure that what is being taught holds true to scripture. But more than that, it must adhere to logic and reasoning because our God is not a God of confusion nor does He lie.
Therefore if it is not God who is in error, we have to ask "who is?"
The obvious answer is man.
We need to once again learn how to think critically, with an objective mind. We have got to stop allowing people to "spoon feed" us what they believe we need to know and this includes me as well.
It is the Holy Spirit which teaches us and it is He who will illuminate the truth if we apply God's logic and reasoning.
We also need to come to the realization that if we are the final generation that scripture talks about, then there are some issues at hand that we need to contend with and not push it off to the god of time.
We need to admit that there are things that we have once believed that do not fit scripture as well as the timeframe given the days we are living in.
We must come to the understanding that If scripture fits, we must submit.
There are going to be those out there who will argue the timeframe of a generation, when did that generation begin, when will it end, ect. Personally that does not matter, time is still time and it is ticking down. An extra 20 or so years will not really matter if we are the final generation.
Taking into account of the Muslim demographics presented, that situation is not changing and only some fairytale idea of all the Muslims being taken off the earth in some miraculous event is absurd. Yes, there are folks out there who believe that all of Islam will be destroyed.
The fact that an event like that is not even mentioned in scripture either except at Christ's literal second coming when He destroys the enemies of Israel should tell you something about the idea.
Therefore we need to decide if we are the final generation or not. If we are that final generation, we have a limited amount of time in this generation for things to come together logically because we serve The Omniscience God of logic and reason. (all knowing all seeing)
More importantly, we need to start holding our teachers feet to the fire and challenge them with God's Word as well as logic and reasoning. We need to start asking the hard questions and demand solid biblical as well as logical answers. Not these fairytale ideas that were dreamt up some 50-100 or more years ago when Israel was not a nation.
We need to reexamine what we have been taught with a sound mind allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us and not the latest popular teacher with the bestselling book.
Folks, I hold myself up to the same scrutiny as well. If I am wrong, I am willing to admit that I am wrong if shown from scripture to be incorrect. I have admitted error before and I have no problem recanting something said in error.
But one has to ask, how many others are out there with all their books, DVDS, CDs, studies, TV shows on the line? How many are out there are willing to admit that they are wrong when presented with sound logic and reasoning in light of all their books, DVDs, CDs, ect?
Odd are that they will stick to the "Don't confuse me with the facts my mind is made up! Besides, it is clearly stated in my book, CD or study guide, so how can I be wrong?"
If that is the answer you get, then we need to question pride being the culprit.
Scripture says…

Proverbs 16:18 (KJV) Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

If we are the final generation, we have a lot of work still needing to be done. Millions upon millions do not have any knowledge of the Lord our God, nor the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We no longer have the luxury of time and must be about the Lord's Work.
BUT… if we are NOT the final generation, then we have all the time in the world and can worship at the feet of the god of time.
What you need to do is ask yourself "what generation are we?
The final generation or the one serving the god of time?

By Ray Gano

Keys To Spiritual Survival – The Armor of God

2013-11-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

In the past few articles we have learned about applying the Third Party Rule (Proverbs 3:5-6) in our lives. We have discussed “Living in God’s Grace” and “Living in God’s Sovereignty.”

In this article I want to talk about how to start bringing these things together so that you can be effective and be able to stand against the wiles of the enemy.

As I have been saying, we are living in the last days of the last days. Now more than ever we need to cleave to God, His Word; His Ways and live a life holy and acceptable unto Him.

But so many people who are good bible believing Christians have forgotten how to do these things or have been attending churches that refuse to teach the true tenants of the faith.

This is why I feel it is important that we wear the armor of God daily, and make a concerted effort to truly wear these tools of war and understand why it is important to wear these daily.
So what does it mean to wear the armor of God?

Men Beating Each Other Silly with Swords

Here is a little story that some of you may have heard before.
Back in my college days I used to be involved with group that is called the SCA, also known as the Society for Creative Anachronism.

Those involved would role play as if they were living in the King Arthur days. They would wear armor of all sorts and go bash each other over the head with rattan swords.

What is interesting is that today it is actually seen as an official form of martial art.Well, I was one of those guys who enjoyed beating each other senseless. Now to be honest I was getting beaten on more than I was beating on others.

At one of these events I happened upon one of the well-known "knights" and struck up a conversation. One thing led to another and he let me hang out with him for the weekend, kind of being his "squire."

In these circles this was seen as pretty cool, especially if your knight was well known. Mine, he was well
known.

This guy was really into the SCA, he owned a complete set of full plate armor. In fact he built it himself and was actually world renown for his ancient armor work. Rumor had it that he has even worked on some of the armor that is in the tower of London. Yep, he was that good.

Well, I got a chance to try on his armor. It was about 50-60 lbs of steel wrapped all over my body from head to toe. Wow… it was pretty cool.
Now this is what was interesting; here I am standing in his armor and he comes over and barely pushes me with his index finger.

I just about fell over backwards because I was not used to wearing so much weight let alone know how to fight in it. He laughed and kept me from falling over backwards.

In that short moment he taught me a very valuable lesson that still sticks with me today.
What I learned was that it was different for him because when he was out on the "battle field" he was running and jumping and hitting people with his sword, bashing people with his shield, going full bore. He was also often the winner of the tournaments and have been made "king" of the local SCA group several times. This is a very high position in the SCA and it also meant that you were a true warrior.

Me, it was all I could do to just to keep standing up.

So why could he run around in this armor and I barely was able to stand?

Several things.

1 - He literally wore his armor every day in one form or another, so it became a part of him.

2 - Because he and his armor were one, this "trained" his body. This in turn conditioned him and he was always ready for the fight.

I tell this story because the armor of God needs to be seen the same way. It is not something that you just "throw on" and then think you are going to go out and do battle.

You need to consciously train and live in the armor daily.

Why? So when that evil day does come, you have done all that you can to train...and having done all, then stand and fight.

If we are not wearing the armor daily, how does our “spiritual muscles” strengthen? If we are not used to wearing it and the armor becomes like a second skin, how long will we last in battle when that evil day comes?

By not actively wearing the armor daily we will fail.

Failing Due To The Lack of Training

Archilochus who was an early Greek poet as well as a warrior stated the following…

We do not rise to the level of our expectations.

We fall to the level of our training.

How often do we watch these action adventure movies and get caught up in them?

We watch the good guy chase down the bad guy, the fight ensues and the good guy stomps the bad guy into the ground. He then picks him up, cuffs him and hauls him away.

If you were put in the position where you had to fight for your life, how long could you fight?
2-3 minutes?

How about 3-5 seconds?

A battle for one’s life often lasts a minute, most likely less because the person who is attacking is usually better trained and has the endurance to last the entire fight.

The common man, well they can barely last 10 maybe 20 seconds tops before he gives out and is exhausted.

Yes we watch these movies and say we can do that.

Sure we may play fight in our mind and run different situations through our head.

But unless you physically train, you will always fall to the level of your training.
The same goes for spiritual battles.

Unless you train consciously utilizing the armor of God daily, you will also fail and fall to the level you have trained at.

Ephesians 6:13 (KJV) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The armor will not protect us as much as it should have because even though we are wearing it, our effectiveness in it is greatly minimized.

We have to actively train in God’s armor, pushing those spiritual muscles daily.

The Pieces of God’s Armor

Ephesians 6:14-18 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

I want to help explain what each piece of the armor does both in the real world and the spiritual world.
Starting with the head and working our way down…
The Helmet of Salvation
The helmet was the most noticeable piece of armor. In many cases was ornate, etched and often decorated with a plume with brightly dyed feathers or colored horsehair. The helmet was one of the most critical pieces of armor, it protected the brain. It was designed to protect the wearer from blows with a sword, a war hammer or battle ax. A good helmet would not allow these weapons to pierce it but if designed properly, it would deflect these blows giving the soldier maximum protection.
Why do we wear the the Helmet of Salvation?
Simple, to protect our brain. There is an old computer saying, “G I G O” Garbage In – Garbage Out.

Romans 12:2 And be 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.

We are to meditate on the Word of God, renewing our minds daily.
In Deuteronomy chapter 6 we read what is often referred to as the Shema.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

So our helmet of salvation helps protect our brains, the very places we think and contemplate. Without the helmet, we are vulnerable to the deadly blows of the enemy that will in turn, effect the brain’s thinking and reasoning power.
Have you ever noticed that when you are in the word of God daily that you find it easier to not “sin”?
Sure we all sin, but when we are in His Word and renewing our minds, we are more conscious of what it is we are doing and often choose not to disobey Him. That is the helmet of salvation at work. It is protecting your brain so that you can then in turn make proper and right decisions for God, and not fall for sin.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
The Breastplate was really often work of art. Each breastplate was custom made for the soldier that wore it. Often a casting was made of the man’s torso. This casting then allowed the armorer to make a breastplate that would be a perfect fit to the one who would wear it.
Breastplates often had the coat of arms or royal crest with which the knight gave his allegiance too. At times there were additional decorations telling about the warrior and polished to a brilliant mirror finish that was blinding in the sunshine.
Despite the beauty and craftsmanship, the breastplate was very functional piece of armor protecting the heart, lungs and other vital organs from penetration through its metal shell.
It was also the main piece which the back, shoulders and arm pieces of armor often hung and were attached too. It was the main support for the pieces that did battle. It literally assisted in holding up the weight of the other pieces.
In the spiritual it is righteousness that helps us stand. In fact the word righteousness simply means, “Right standing before God.”
Now what is interesting is that in legal terms it means “being found innocent.”
In Isaiah 59, the chapter in Isaiah that prophecies the Messiah, we read the following…

Isaiah 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate.

Many Christians do not live like they have been made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ. The majority Christians today walk around in constant guilt and condemnation, feeling like failures and not ‘worthy’ to serve God, or worse to receive His wonderful blessings from Him.
The devil is constantly bombarding us with fiery darts and missiles of lies and accusations always reminding us of past sins we have committed.
Without the breastplate of righteousness, these missiles will impact us and penetrate our heart.

Psalms 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

Proverbs 10:30 The righteous shall never be removed:

The Belt of Truth – Having your loins girt about with truth
The belt is not the most noticeable piece of the armor, however, it is actually the central piece that holds all the rest securely in place and provides for every need during battle.
The belt was broad and made of sturdy leather. From it hung an overlapping skirt of leather straps which on the inside surface were armored with small rectangular pieces of metal held in place by decorative rivets which showed on the outside. It was these straps / apron that protected the loin.
The belt also had specialized hooks and holders on which to secure the scabbard that contained the sword at the proper angle, the quiver which held lances, and an apparatus on which to rest the large battle shield. Also, on the belt were clips with which to hold the breastplate in its proper place. It also held pouches the soldier’s supplies like bread, oil and water, an extra knife, coin purse, etc.
Srcipture says…

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

2 Corinthians 6:7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

Just as the belt is central to the armor of God, the written Word of God, the absolute truth of the Bible is central to all that pertains to spiritual warfare.
If one has a weak belt, then the armor will not hold together in the time of need, that critical part of the battle. If your belt is weak and breaks, you lose all your armor and become vulnerable on the battle field. This is why the belt was thick, and well-oiled and well cared for. It was also the one piece of armor that was worn both on and off the battlefield. It is what equipped him for day to day life as well as life on the battle field.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:

Today it is critical that we adhere to the absolute truth of God’s Word. It is what holds all of what we are as Christians together. If we are wavering in the truth, we do not believe in absolute truth, or we lack the truth in our hearts, then when that day comes our belt of truth will fail us and we will lose the armor with which we wear.
This is why truth and standing on the truth with all your heart is so vital.
Think about this for a moment.
The Truth is Incorruptible.
The Truth is Indestructible.
The Truth tells us who we are, what we have and what we can do.

John 17:17 Jesus says, “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.”

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The Shoes of the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace
The Shoes of the warrior were no normal footwear. Every military gives great care to supply the soldiers with the best and most appropriate footwear they are able for the assignment the soldier is given.
The warriors shoes / boots usually consisted of an elaborately cut and laced leather. the soles had layers of metal and leather with ‘hob nail’ spikes or cleats often extending one-half inch, to in some cases ‘inches,’ from the sole so that the soldier could plant his foot into the ground thus preventing him from being moved.
Some shoes had toe spikes and or built-in spurs with which to do damage to the enemy. The uppers of the sandals were often armored by small overlapping pieces of metal riveted to the leather straps.
In addition, attached to the uppers of the sandal were removable metal or leather greaves that extended up over the kneecap protecting the knees, shins and ankles.
Before you go somewhere today, you have to equip yourself for the occasion. You take into consideration the place you are going, the climate as well as the terrain.
If we do not have good shoes or the right shoes, we will tire out and most likely not get to where we were planning on going.
This is why armies for generations to present realize that shoes were critical. Armies move by foot and if those feet are not well protected, well cared for, and properly fitted, the army is not going to get very far.
The battle was lost before the army could even get to the battle field.
As Christian warriors do you know our mission that all of us have been called to?

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This is one of the reasons why I Iove the KJV bible. In the modern versions the word YOU is used here in place of YE.
When YOU is used, people have a way out or an excuse to say that Christ was just talking to the disciples here. The responsibility of sharing the gospel is shirked because of the modern versions.
Where by using the word YE as is used in the KJV, it is a direct command. A command by Jesus Christ himself not only to the disciples, but also directed directly at us as well.
YE is addressing anyone who is reading or hearing this command. YE also makes it a command because Christ is addressing us personally.
So when we are called to GO YE to all nations, that means put on your shoes and go. We are called to take the gospel of peace of The Lord Jesus Christ to all the world.
If we ware ill equipped and have not put on the proper shoes, how far do you think we will be able to get?

The Shield of Faith
I love the following verse…

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

There are three types of common shields used by warriors.
First, a small disc held in the offhand often 6” inches in diameter to 16” inches in diameter. This type of shield was called a “Buckler” and often used in close quarter combat, duels, etc.
The next was an actual shield and was approximately 24”-36” inches diameter round, this was not only used in defense, but at times in offense. Going in first with the shield, the opposing force would hit the shield. The shield would flip up where the edge was then facing the oponent. The warrior would use the extended edge of the shield to then “trap” the opponent and allow the warrior to freely attack the person by using the sword that was now hidden under the shield that trapped the opponent.

The final shield was a large rectangular shield approximately 60”x30” in size. This rectangular shield called a “thureos” (thoo-reh-os) in Greek literally meant “a door,” because it looked like the soldier was carrying a full sized door that was leather covered.
The warrior could stand safely behind this large shield thus protecting him from the arrows and such being hurled at him.
A good shield was made of six layers of thick animal hide specially tanned and woven together making them as tough and durable as metal yet relatively light weight. The leather shields could be soaked in water before battle so that in the event the enemy would rain fiery projectiles on them, the fire would be extinguished on impact.
So why is it called The Shield of Faith?
Along with being large and relatively light, it also had the ability to hook together with other shields and create a wall with which the army was protected. This tactic was often referred to as the “Roman Turtle.”

The Thureos or “Door Sheild” in the “Turtle Formation”

In this position, the army was protected from all sides as well as above. The negative is that the army could not see where they were going. So they depended greatly on the captain who was behind them and riding a horse to direct their steps and tell them to go here, go there, turn left, turn right.
See if they broke the shield wall, arrows, spears, fiery darts were able to penetrate and would injure or kill those who standing inside the turtle formation.
The soldier had to trust and obey the captain and walked in blind faith listening only to the commands the captain gave and nothing else.
The very survivability of the entire group of soldiers depended on all the soldiers trusting and obeying the orders of the captain at the time the orders are given.
Failure to do so would compromise the entire unit’s safety. Injury and death was the result of not acting immediately on the orders of the captain.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

When our captain who is Christ Jesus speaks, we are to obey.
How does God speak to us? It is through His Word, the Word of God; the Bible.
Our faith grows by hearing God’s Word spoken into our hearts. This is why it is so critical that we have good preachers and teachers who preach from God’s Word. Expository teaching, taking the bible verse by verse is the best way to learn God’s Word.
This is why so many Christians are weak in their faith, they lack solid pastors who are teaching their congregations chapter and verse. Expanding on God’s Word and going into the “meat” of the Word and not staying only with the “milk.”
Babies require milk, but warriors require meat. It is the meat of the Word that strengthens our faith in His Word, Law, Commands, and proper living.
We follow Christ in blind faith allowing Him to direct our paths and lean not on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6 – The Third Party Rule)

The Sword of the Spirit - The Word of God
The sword is the primary weapon of the warrior and was greatly feared. A true sword master could take on 5+ men at once and dispatch all of them in a short amount of time. In the hand of someone who is educated the lightweight and well balanced double edged sword was quick and deadly.
The razor sharpened edges of the broad blade was made to cut and slice. The tapered point was designed to easily penetrate and disembowel the enemy. It was well known that if true warrior ever would unsheathed his sword -- he would use it.
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 -17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The more we have God’s Word in our hearts the more of a “master of the sword” we become. The better we know our personal bible, the more of a master of the sword we become.
In fact, remember in Sunday school having “Sword Drills”?
The students would have the bible flat on the table and hands in the air, the teacher would call out a verse and the first one to the verse got to read it.
If you were really good, the teacher would take the better students and let them hold the bible between their two flat hands and the thumbs on the pages. Then the verse was called out and the first one to get to the verse won the round.
This is being a Master of the Sword / The Word. Not only do you know your scripture, you know where to find it and how to get to it quickly. You are able to flip to a verse and in many cases just open up your bible and be just a few pages off.
You as a sword master know how to apply scripture, where to apply scripture and teach others how to find, use and apply scripture. You are a master of The Sword of God, His Word.
One thing, the sword of the spirit is a double edged weapon and it will cut both ways. So you can use it for good as well and use it to hurt people. We see this take place a lot in today’s world. The sword being improperly used to hurt, manipulate and force people through coercion. This is using the sword for error, not for good.

We Are Warriors For The Lord
It is our duty and assignment is to stand in the gap shoulder to shoulder with the other soldiers of the Lord as He places us.
We are to resist every attack of the devil. Holding the ground, refusing to be moved, healing the oppressed and destroying every work of the devil.
We are warriors for the Lord.
Scripture says…

Psalms 144:1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.

But alone we are just single fighters. It is when we are together that we are able to charge the gates of hell.
This is why it is so important to be in fellowship with other Christian warriors who love the Lord. When we do this it helps us keep our spiritual batteries charged to the fullest level. We are able to pray for each other, learn from each other, encourage each other.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Iron sharpens iron and when we become accountable not only to God, but to other warriors, we then become better warriors for the Lord we serve.

Many of you know that we are living in the last days of the last days. We are sitting upon the razor's edge. Now more than ever we need to keep the batteries charged at full, the powder dry and ready for the fight.

We do not know when we will be called upon to fight, but when we do, we want to be completely ready, and not caught at our lowest level of training.
If you do not train and wear the armor of God daily you will lose the battle and become a casualty of the battlefield.
The enemy, when he comes, he will most likely ambush us. So when the fight comes to us, and it will, there will be no time to "put on" the armor. By that time it will be to late. If we do not have the armor on at the time of the ambush, we will become just another casualty of war.
So I challenge you brothers and sisters in the Lord always be ready for the fight.
The fight will come to you for our enemy prowls in the shadows like a ravaging lion waiting to pounce on us when we are not looking.
What do we need to ensure? And having done all – To Stand.

Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

By Ray Gano

Living as a Changed Man or Living as a Filthy Pig?

2013-07-17T09:10:00.001-07:00

Once Saved, Always Saved, But Are You Truly Saved?
I have been feeling the need to write a series of articles in these last days of the last days dealing with salvation, due to all the deception taking place in the world today.
To start things off, let me pose to you the situation that we are currently facing.
According to American Religious Identification Survey, 76.5% of America identifies with some form of Christianity in America. This study included Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness in among the title “Christian.” (1)
Now here is another study, one which I find very interesting by George Barna.
Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years

The Definition

“For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.”

The Conclusion
“The same questions were asked of respondents in national surveys by Barna in 1995, 2000 and 2005. The results indicate that the percentage of adults with a biblical worldview, as defined above, has remained unchanged for more than a decade. The numbers show that 7% had such a worldview in 1995, compared to 10% in 2000, 11% in 2005, and 9% now.” (2)

The numbers are going down with those who maintain a biblical worldview.
So my question is, how can you claim to be a Christian, when only 7% - 9% of America maintains a true biblical world view?
But here is a more interesting question, which percentage factor do you fall into; the 90% who do NOT hold to a biblical worldview or the 7%-9% who do?
Now to narrow this down even further, if you are part of the 7% -9% that maintains a biblical worldview, are you truly saved and how do you know / prove it?

The Strait Gate or The Wide Gate
I want to present to you some if not THE scariest verses to a Christian that there is in the bible. Folks, these verses should terrify you if you claim the title Christian.

Matthew 7:13 - 23 (KJV) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I have been doing a lot of study on Matthew 7. I have been reading commentaries, listening to sermons, ect. My conclusion is that Matthew 7 of God’s Word is one of the most profound chapters for Christians living in these last days of the last days.
The Profound facts are…
1. In Matthew 7 Christ was talking to and addressing professing believers and not the unbelievers as has been taught for the past 50 or so years.
2. That many who are claimed “Christian” and think they are believers, are in fact non-believers sold a lie and are destined to hell.
3. There are many wolves in sheep’s clothing deceiving and selling many the lie thus leading many to hell.
4. Nothing good at all comes from a false teacher… NOTHING.
5. Finally, it is not our acts / works / fruit that save us, it is our acts / works / fruit that prove we have been saved.

Are You Truly Saved And Walking The Way?
I am a person that stands on the fact that once a person is truly saved, they cannot loose their salvation. In other words I stand on the doctrine of Eternal Security.
Eternal Security is the idea that once a person is truly saved, he can never lose his salvation.
The primary verses I stand upon are the following…

1 John 5:13 (KJV) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

John 6:37 (KJV) All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:39-40 (KJV) And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 10:27-28 (KJV) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

But here is the point that I am getting to with a question to consider. How does a person know he was ever saved in the first place?
I want to point back to Matthew 7:13-14

Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

If you read these two verses you see that there are actually two gates and two ways.
You see, we have been teaching about the gate since the day of Pentecost, but it seems that in the last 50 or so years, we have forgotten to teach about The Way, which is also spoken of by Christ.
If you remember, my first profound point that I made about Matthew 7 is that Christ is addressing the professing believer / Christian and NOT the unbeliever or heathen. We know that this is fact due to the context Christ was speaking.
Who else in the world’s religions truly call Jesus Christ “Lord Lord”? No one but a professing Christian. Not even the Mormons, who DO NOT admit to Jesus as THE LORD, but “a lord” and the same goes with many of the other cults out there that claim connections to Christianity.
It is only the professing believer, as we read in context that Christ was addressing and talking about and who addresses Him as LORD.
So when we read in verse 13 about the Wide Gate and the Broadway, it is professing “Christians” who have entered that Wide Gate and are walking that Broadway.
But there is more. We learn in reading Matthew 7 about false teachers and how we are called to judge them by their fruit, but in reading, we see that we are judged by our fruit also.

Matthew 7:20 (KJV) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

See, that is the $500,000.00 question that has been forgotten these past 50 or so years.
How Do We Know People Are Christians?
We know by the fact that they are walking upon the narrow way as Christ clearly teaches. It is by our fruit that we are producing. If we are walking upon the narrow way, we will produce fruit according to that path.
Another point, is that if you are truly born again the World will hate your fruit, but if you are a “Christiain In Name Only (C.I.N.O) then the world will love the fruit you are producing.
Examples of the Religious World Fruit…
- Fighting against Global Warming
- Fighting for equal rights for homosexuals (Sodomites) and Gay Marriage.
- Fighting for pluralism in the religious world.
- The end justifies the means.
- All roads lead to Heaven.
Where we learn in scripture that the world loves it’s own and the love of the father is not in that person.

1 John 2:15-17 (KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

But that is if we are walking The Narrow Way, our fruit is as follows…
- Obeying God’s Word and a thirst to learn the deeper things of God.
- Living a Holy and acceptable Life pleasing unto God
- Our love for the brethren, delight in church and fellowship
- Our desire not to sin and a life of continued repentance
- Judging all through the lens of God’s Word and not of the World.
To the world, those things above seem foolish and to the person walking the Broadway, these things seem impossible. You see we can not achieve those things listed unless we have the Holy Sprit working in our lives and the power of the Lord giving us His strength to do so on a daily basis.
The sad thing is that many believe we are on the Narrow Way, but we often forget the most terrifying part that Christ speaks of about this… FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT.
How Do We Know That We Are Walking Upon The Narrow Way?

James 2:14 -19 (KJV) What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

NOTE - here that I am not talking about Salvation, also known as The Gate.
I am addressing The Way.
See there is a true salvation and a false salvation. Christ calls it the Wide Gate & Broad way the false salvation vs. the Strait Gate & Narrow Way which is the true salvation.
“For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat.”
If you have chosen the false Christ – the wide gate – and you are walking upon the broad ways, you are leading a life destined to destruction believing you are one of God’s children, when in fact you have been lied to and believing a deception.
How do we know we are on The Narrow Way? We know because our life reflects a life growing more and more in Christ. We live a life where we have presented our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, not only in our public life, but our private life as well. We have not conformed to this world: but we were transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God.
Let’s read what Romans 12:1-2 states…

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be 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.

If you are walking on the narrow path you will naturally show an outward practical holiness as a mark of one saved by grace.
Let me be very clear here; I am also not talking being saved by works here either. One cannot be saved by works, and in fact if someone tells you can get to heaven from works, run away from them as fast as you can. It is only through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which we are saved.
For Christ said…

John 14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

It is Jesus and Jesus alone who is the Strait Gate. The problem is that many have chosen the Wide Gate thinking it is The Narrow Gate. That is because we preach about “The Gate”, but no longer “The Way.”
Living as a Changed Man or Living as a Filthy Pig?
Charles Spurgeon stated the following…

“The man who is born for heaven "hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity." All men have their joys, by which their souls are lifted up; the worldling lifts up his soul in carnal delights, which are mere empty vanities; but the saint loves more substantial things; like Jehoshaphat, he is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He who is content with husks, will be reckoned with the swine. Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and portion in this life; make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy.”

Imagine that there is a pig and I am standing about 100 ft away from a pig. To one side of me is a beautiful 7 course dinner and to the other side of me is a large bucket of slop.
The pig is released, which side is he going to run to?
To the slop side of course!
Why?
Because he is a pig and that is all that pigs know.
Now imagine if you will that we were able to change that pig into a man, all the while he is eating the slop. What will happen?
The odds are that he will lift up his head and look around at his environment and then spit out the slop he was feeding upon when he was a pig.
Why?
Because he is no longer a pig that is able to feed upon slop, but a man needing a form of food to give him nutrition so that he might live.
This man is now a new creature and is no longer a pig.
Now from time to time he may even have pig thoughts about the wonderful slop he once ate when he was a pig. He may even go to the slop bucket from time to time, smell it, look at it. But the moment he feeds upon it what will happen? He will spit it out because he is no longer a pig but a man. Even if he as a man he forces himself to eat the slop, which men are able to do, it will eventually cause him to vomit it all up and make him sick possibly unto death because his body no longer accepts slop because he is a new creature.Now if one thinks he is a man and can still stomach the slop day in and day out, what makes him think he was changed into a new creature in the first place? If he is feeding upon the slop of the world and does not get sick to his stomach, maybe he was never changed into new creature in the first place and to this day remains a pig.
Scripture says…

2Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 5:5(KJV) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Hebrews 12:6(KJV) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

When we are truly converted, we can no longer stomach the slop of the world, the fleshly sin that we once indulged in.
When we entertain the sin, and all of us do from time to time, it makes us sick with guilt and shame because it is the Holy Spirit working in our lives chastening us from the inside out because God loves us as His children. Scripture says that God chastens His own.
…That my friend is part of walking The Narrow Way.
The man can not be changed back into a pig no matter what. He is now a new creature and that change can never be reversed. He will be that way forever, a new creature.
Now what you need to fear is if you are living a double life and living in sin; AND… God isn’t chastising you.
You may ask, how do you know God is chastening you? Oh believe me you will know. Your life will be absolutely miserable, that is until you repent and get back on the narrow path.
But more importantly, you as one of His children KNOWS that you are called to repent and a refusal to do so is rebellion unto the Lord. Your own heart, soul and mind call you to repent, but you may choose to still run.
Friend; God will let you run, but for only a short distance, then he will chastise you, bringing you to your knees and bringing you back as His own.
If you do not have God working and changing and chastening you in your life and you are claiming to be a Christian, you need to rethink your salvation and ask if you are truly saved in the first place.
There is no such thing as a Carnal Christian living long periods in the world. In fact there is no such thing as a “carnal Christian” in the first place. Either you are saved (a new creature) or you are not ( a filthy pig)
If you are, you are not saved. God does not let you run very long if you are one of His and if you are one of His, you know this for a fact because you yourself have experienced exactly what I am stating and you know it is true.
If your ways are not His ways and you do not feel God’s Hand chastening your life, odds are that you are not born again and are just one of those who checked of a box, raised a hand and that is about all. You are one who has walked throw the Wide Gate and is upon the Broadway bound for hell.
You have no fruit showing that your life has been changed by Christ. Instead your life reflects that of the world and a love for the world. It is the worldly music you listen to, the sex driven TV shows you watch the things of the world you indulge in. They are not the ways of the Lord, but the ways of the world. In fact you are like the many, indulging in the world, your sin, the flesh and walking upon the broad way which leads to hell and your fruit show it.
How Do I Know That I Am Truly Saved And Walking Upon The Narrow Way?
First John lists ways we can know that we are one of God’s elect…
(1) If we keep His commandments

1 John 2:3 (KJV) And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

(2) If we keep His Word

1 John 2:4 (KJV) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him

(3) if we walk in love

1 John 2:5 (KJV) But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

(4) If we love the brethren

1 John 3:14 (KJV) We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death

(5) If we love in deed, not only in word

1 John 3:19 (KJV) And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

(6) If we have the Holy Spirit within us

1 John 3:24 (KJV) And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

(7) If we love one another

1 John 4:13 (KJV) Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

(8) If we don’t continue in sin

1 John 5:18 (KJV) We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Walking through the gate, is the first part, but we must make sure WHICH gate it is that we have truly walked through and this is why Matthew 7 is one of the most terrifying chapters in all of scripture.
Christ said the following…

Matthew 13:3-9 (KJV) And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

If you are truly saved, you are as the good ground that brought forth good fruit, but if you are not, the seed that was sown was cast upon stony place, where the sun scorched or among the thorns. All of that seed did not produce good fruit and in all cases withered away and died.

What Did Christ Tell Us?

Matthew 7:20 (KJV) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

If you have gotten this far with me and are asking yourself “ Are You Saved?” You need to examine yourself.
Do you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind? Do you obey His commandments? When someone looks at you, do they see the world or do they see someone who reflects a life of Christ?
OR… do you make excuses and tell half truths about yourself.
Folks, a half truth is a full lie and you are not fooling anyone, but more than that, God knows and you are not fooling Him either.
Folks, if you are not saved, it is true that you can fake a lot of this. But as we have seen by many of the false teachers out there, it is only for a season and sooner or later they fall and their true secret lives are reveled. What do you do when you are alone and no one is watching? What are your private pet sins that you indulge in and truly enjoy? What “Christian” masks do you wear, fooling those around you and even yourself?

Romans 8:5-8 (KJV) For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (KJV) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

1Peter 1:15-16 (KJV) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1John 2:3-6 (KJV) And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

I pray to continue this series as the Lord leads me. I am deeply concerned about the church today. Many have chosen the Broadway because that is what they have been taught. The sad thing is that it is a lie that leads to hell.
But more importantly, you need to sit yourself down right here and right now and really examine yourself.
Scripture says…

2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

After that, ask yourself…
Who Do You Serve?
Jesus stated the following…

John 14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If you do not have Christ in your life, you will spend eternity in hell. This is a fact. It does not matter if you believe this or not, it is the truth spoken by Jesus himself. If your name is not written in the Lambs Book of Life you will go to hell for what you have not done and that is accepting Christ as your personal savior. To be placed in the Lamb Book of Life, you need to turn your life completely over to Him. Having “head” knowledge or “just believing in Christ” is not the same as having “heart” knowledge with Christ living in your heart. Even the “devils” believe in God.

James 2:19 (KJV) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

We work hard at Prophezine to show that Bible Prophecy is coming to pass. Because of this fact, we know that the Bible is true. Since the Bible is the true and is the inerrant word of God, there is a heaven and there is a hell.
If you claim the title of “Christian” then take account of yourself this day. Many claim the title, but we read in God’s Word that the title does not get you into heaven.

Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Who you serve will determine where you will spend eternity. If you are not serving Christ and a true child of God, then you are serving Satan and a child of the enemy.
If you are not 110% sure, then take account of yourself, your very life depends upon it.

1 John 1:9 (KJV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

By Ray Gano

Prophezine is NOT Funded…
Prophezine is not funded by the government like NPR.
Prophezine is not funded by the government like PBS.
Prophezine is not a 501c3 and taking its blessing from Caesar.
Prophezine relies on individuals like you to help us share the gospel and the blessed hope of His soon return.
Please also pray that we get more PZ Insiders.
If you are not a PZ Insider, please come on board with us
Monthly ($10.00) - http://tinyurl.com/Become-A-PZ-Insider
Monthly ($15.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Insider-15
Monthly ($20.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Insider-20
Monthly ($25.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Insider-25-Monthly
Every 6 Months ($50.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-6-Month-Subscription
Yearly ($100.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Yearly-Subscription

If you are already a PZ Insider, but would like to help with our efforts here, please use the followng link - http://tinyurl.com/Donate-to-Prophezine

Thanks to all those who stand in the gap with Tracye and I. You make a difference not only in our lives, but the lives that Prophezine touches.
In His Service,
Ray & Tracye Gano
Prophezine

How Do I Know I am Really Saved?

2013-07-02T11:58:00.002-07:00

God commands us to repent and to believe. He does not ask, does not invite, or any of these other warm fuzzy ideas that are so popular today.
Even though so many say it, He is not standing at a door knocking.
What He wants is for us to repent and come to Him.
I know that what I am saying is causing people’s hackles to raise, but it is the truth.
He commands...

Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

What is Repentance?
It is a change of mind. We were going one way and now we have turned a full 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
Repentance is not knowing you are a sinner. Repentance is where God opens your eyes to the fact that the littlest of sin breaks you, and breaks your heart. Repentance is the realization that one single sin separates us from a Holy and Just God. Repentance through the Holy Spirit’s conviction makes your sin real, you are disgusted.
It is repentance that causes you to make a choice.
It is through conviction and repentance that God presses upon our hearts that we are sinners. He causes us to wake up and realize that we are lost and we are going to hell.
We are all sinners and there is nothing that we can do to change that.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

The question that we need to be asking ourselves is "are we truly saved?"
In today's sugar coated churches what is being preached today is not the gospel.
Salvation is not sitting in church on Sunday mornings.
Salvation is not checking some boxes on a 3x5 card.
Salvation is not raising your hand when the pastor asks.
Salvation is not saying some mantra prayer.
Now can all these lead to salvation?
Yes they can. But what these things really lead to is repentance which then leads to salvation.
Here is the scary thing, if you have only checked a card, raised a hand, repeated some mantra, odds are you are not saved.
Sure you go to church, live a good life, and say all the right things.
But until you have come the point where you realize that you are a sinner who is completely lost, you will continue to be lost.
It is only when you come to the realization that you are a sinner in need of a savior. That point where you realize you are truly lost. It is only at that time that you can then ask God to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
There is nothing that you can do, no good works, nothing. There is not one good work that will get you into heaven.
There is only one thing.
The only thing that you are able to do is seek God's forgiveness and believing upon Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
See, before you can be saved you need to realize that you are lost and until you come that realization, you will continue to be lost.
Here is God's promise to us.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What many people today miss is that to come to that realization, one needs to understand that they are sinners. But not only sinners, they need to understand that it is their sin that is holding them back from a loving father.
It is the Holy Spirit that illuminates our sins to us. It is at that moment that we have the free will to either accept that we are sinners and have remorse over that and repent...
Or we ignore the Holy Spirits convicting voice and harden our hearts till the next time.
That is if there is a next time.
If one continues in their sin, we harden our hearts. It gets harder and harder to hear the Holy Spirits convicting voice.
But here is a fact. Sooner or later the Holy Spirit will stop convicting us and then He will turn us over to a reprobate mind.

Romans 1:28 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;

Easy-Beliefism is Rampant
In scripture it states...

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In today's world the word "believe" has changed greatly.
To believe as spoken of in John 3:16 is to fully trust in God. A belief and trust that your very life depends upon it.
Scripture tells us that even the devils believe. In fact do you know that the devils are more pious than us? Yes it is true. They KNOW God and BELIEVE. So much so that they even tremble with respect.

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

See, even the devils believe, but are they saved?
How many of us tremble with respect?
The seventh chapter of Matthew is the most terrifying chapter in scripture, at least in my opinion.
What many people do not realize is that in chapter seven of Matthew, Christ is talking to us, the believer, the Christian. It is a chapter that warns us to not buy into the easy-beliefism that is taught today.

Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Many will say to Him “Lord Lord.”
We Christians are the only ones who call Christ Lord.
“We have done this in your name and have done that in your name.”
In the following verse the Galatians are talking to Paul about what they have done.

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

THEM - “ Hey Paul, well I am circumcised”
PAUL – Yea, so what.”
THEM – “ Well Paul, I am UNcircumcised’
PAUL – “Yea so what, that does not get you into heaven”
Get what Paul is saying?
US – “hey we go to church -- we have been baptized – we have raised our hand – we have checked a 3x5 card.”
CHRIST – “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
It is only by grace thru faith. The very act of believing in Him, your life for Him, your all, your faith, your trust, your very being.
You want to understand what it means to really believe?
Here is the definition…

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be 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.

That is the definition of belief that John 3:16 talks about.
It is the faith and understanding that you alone can do nothing to get to heaven, it is only through Jesus Christ who paid the price that you will one day be able to be with our heavenly father.
Belief is not the sugar coated “believing” that is preached today.
It is waking up at 3:00 AM in the morning, in a cold sweat realizing that we are all filthy sinners and that all of us fall short of the Glory of God.
It is a belief where you cry out to God and ask, no almost beg because you are so convicted to forgive you of the sins you have committed in light of all that Christ did for you by dying on that cross.
You beg for forgiveness and that He become your savior.
It is at that time that we truly believe, it is at that time we submit our all and say “my life for you God.”
It is at that time that you really understand.
See, we all walk around saying that we are Christians and know Christ.
But in reality that is not the important thing.
What is important is that Christ knows us.
For example, we may all say we know the president. But if we showed up on the front lawn heading into the white house the secret service would tackle us to the ground and take us away.
All this time we are screaming “I know the president! – I know the president!”
It does not matter.
Now, if the president came out of the white house and pointed to you and called you by name, then the secret service would let you be, because he, the president, knows you.
It is the same way being a Christian.
This is why it does not matter what we do, it will not get us into heaven.
What matters is who we know, or better yet, who knows us.
It is at the moment of our salvation that God does a literal miracle in our lives. He recreates us into a new being.
So if we are not truly saved, we are not that new creature.
Just Another Carnal Christian – You Will Know Them By Their Fruits
If you are a new creation, then God will be working in your life changing you from the inside out. Sometime this change is fast, sometimes slow, but we are always changing. What is taking place is that our old fleshly selves are being changed more into the likeness of Christ.
When we are saved / born again we are instantly created a new. This is how Christ knows us.
See if we are not saved, Christ will not know us.
So how do we know we are saved?
Scripture tells us the following…

Matthew 7:16-20 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

If we are saved, we produce good fruit. If we are not saved, then we do not produce good fruit. This is why I say that good things do not come out of bad people. Scripture backs that up. It is by our fruit that we know we are His or not.
Now do we who are saved still sin?
Yea sure we still sin, in fact we sin the moment we wake up till we sleep and even when we sleep we may be having not so good dreams.
So the big question is this, “How do we know we are saved?”
PZ Insider Pastor Mark Thomas told me the following…

What distinguishes a true Christian from a C.I.N.O.? (Christian In Name Only)

In most cases the answer is one word - guilt.

Those who are truly Christians are convicted when they sin and feel guilt whenever they do sin (and we all sin).

Those who aren't true Christians don't feel guilt, either because they have quenched the Holy Spirit or because they were never saved in the first place.

In fact, one of the sure ways to find out if you are really saved is how you react to sin.

If you just shrug it off and say "everyone sins". Then you have problems.

If you hate every sin you have committed and feel guilt every time, you are saved.

So How Do You React When You Sin?
Me, I hate it. Just sitting here writing this causes conviction over things I have done. I hate that all I seem to do is sin. If it isn’t one thing, it is another. An angry or impure thought, a slip of the tongue, an unchristian gesture, a sinful gaze.
I understand when Paul calls himself the chief of all sinners. I am in line right behind him.
I try and try and try, but no matter what I fall from grace. It is a battle that we fight and will continue to fight till the day we are with Him.
But it is His grace that is sufficient for me. It is His loving forgiveness knowing that I will mess up. It is His understanding that I am trying and it is my hope that when the day comes I hear Him say “Enter my kingdom my good and faithful servant.”
I hate that I sin and here I am in the ministry, shouldn’t I be more “holy” or something?
Living a right life in the last days is a minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month journey.
Those of us who are called His children, we need to continue to fight the good fight. Keep pushing forward. Never stop walking up hill, never stop rowing against the current. To stop is to understand that we start slipping backwards towards the world and further from Him.
Do you want to see an example of good fruit? Here is something that a friend send me from a pastor in Zimbabwe…

"I am a disciple of the Messiah.

I will not let up, look back or slow down.

My past is redeemed, my future is secure. I am done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised or rewarded.

My face is set; my goal is sure. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few.

My God is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, delayed or deluded.

I will not flinch in the face of adversity, not negotiate at the table of the enemy or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of the Messiah.

I must go until He comes, speak of all I know of Him and work until He stops me. And when He comes for His own, by the grace of God, He will have no problem recognizing me, because my colors are clear."

- Unknown Zimbabwean Pastor

How many of us are that sold out for Christ?
How many of us display this sort of fruit?
How many of us burn with this sort of zeal?
Are we one of His?
Will He know us?
Are You One of His?
If Christ came back today, would He know you?
Have you truly believed in Him?
Have you come to a point in your life where the realization of your sin disgusts you and you know that there is nothing that you can do to get to heaven?
Have you come to a point of conviction and turned to Christ asking for real forgiveness?
Would you truly lay down your life, paying the ultimate price, before you renounced Christ?
If you answered NO to any of these, you need to do a check-up from the neck up.
There is a chance that you are not born again and a new creature in Christ.
I know that I would you rather live in a cardboard box and give up everything instead of going back to that old sinful life I once lived.
I look back at what I was and there are times a pit grows in my stomach and I can’t believe the things that I did before I truly committed my life to Him.
If you are not sure that you are one of His, you need to ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in your life. You need to ask forgiveness and repent, believing and trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Before you can be saved, you need to realize that you are first lost.
That lost means that you are going to hell and forever be apart from our loving Father. Hell is the absolute separation from God. But on top of that we will burn for all eternity, never having peace, never having joy. It will be utter misery, pain, suffering and the ultimate in being alone.
That is what will be your destination if you are not saved.
Are you saved?
Christ COMMANDS us to repent so that we can be saved.

Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

But Christ also gives us this promise.

1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I know that you want more.
You thought you prayed a prayer, maybe you raised your hand in church, checked a 3x5 card.
You thought that you were born again.
You bought into easy beliefs which is NOT scriptural no matter what you think or what you may have been told.
If you call yourself Christian and want more, stop right now and give your all to Him. Ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you of all your sins. Submit to Him and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.
If you honestly believed in Him, you are now a new creation, God will start changing you daily. Walk away from the things of the world and start living your life for Him.
If I can help answer any questions you may have, please feel free to contact me, my wife and I are here to serve.

By Ray Gano

Prophezine is NOT Funded…
Prophezine is not funded by the government like NPR.
Prophezine is not funded by the government like PBS.
Prophezine is not a 501c3 and taking its blessing from Caesar.
Prophezine relies on individuals like you to help us share the gospel and the blessed hope of His soon return.
Please also pray that we get more PZ Insiders.
If you are not a PZ Insider, please come on board with us
Monthly ($10.00) - http://tinyurl.com/Become-A-PZ-Insider
Monthly ($15.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Insider-15
Monthly ($20.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Insider-20
Monthly ($25.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Insider-25-Monthly
Every 6 Months ($50.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-6-Month-Subscription
Yearly ($100.00) - http://tinyurl.com/PZ-Yearly-Subscription

Thanks to all those who stand in the gap with Tracye and I. You make a difference not only in our lives, but the lives that Prophezine touches.
In His Service,
Ray & Tracye Gano
Prophezine

The Pitfalls of Compartmentalizing

2013-06-19T08:55:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I come from a security / investigative background. When I research I conduct it like one would conduct an investigation.
I am one who constantly digs for the truth.
Recently in my investigations of doctrinal ideas, the Christian walk, etc, I have discovered that somewhere along the line we stopped looking at things as a whole, and started to compartmentalize.
Some of you may be asking, what is so wrong with this?
In today’s hectic fast paced world, compartmentalizing one’s life helps one deal with so much that is thrown at them. Many of us have learned to live this way for the sake of self-preservation in this crazy world.
The problem is that living a compartmental life is a pitfall.
What is Compartmentalization?
We all know what a compartment is.
It is commonly defined as a space in which that space is then subdivided.
Looking at it another way is to think of your home as a floor plan.
Look at your bedroom. It is a compartment, where you sleep, the kitchen, another compartment, is where you cook and eat, the bathroom is another compartment where you bath and go to the bathroom.
Due to our fast paced world, we humans have a tendency to compartmentalize things in our life so that we can control them better, deal with the stress and other issues that come with what the world doles out.
In doing this we provide a way that seems “reasonable” to us so that we can then interact with the world.
When we are at our job, we act one way. When we are with friends, we act another way. With family we act another way, etc, etc.
In many cases we have learned to adapt to our environment and then assert certain values, attitudes, beliefs, and language depending upon which compartment we may be in at that time.
And that is the pitfall.
Be Ye Holy
Scripture says…
1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
See maintaining one compartment of our life as “holy” does not render our whole life as holy.
If one compartment of our life is “unholy” then the whole of our life is unholy before God.
Wow Ray, that is hard.
Yes it is. It is something that I believe that all of us deal with, myself included.
The more we compartmentalize the more we lie to ourselves thinking we are doing a great job.
That is the pitfall of compartmentalizing one’s life.
Compartmentalizing creates hypocrisy because in one compartment we live a holy life, yet in another compartment we may live like hell.
When we compartmentalize we are able to rationalize and justify our actions. That is because we are not living at that moment in the “holy” compartment.
Instead we are living in the “who cares, live like hell” compartment.
Here is a great example of a compartmental life that I think you can relate with.
It is Sunday morning before church. If you have kids you know exactly where I am going. The morning is hectic, the kids are raising cain, you can’t find your tie, your wife is trying to get dressed, made up, hair done. Kids are fighting over the prize in the cereal box and all this time you need to head out the door.
You get out the door and kids are fighting in the car. You scream at them to shut up, daughter starts crying because you yelled. Wife yells at you because you lost it and by this time you are approaching the church parking lot.

As soon as you pull in, you shift into your “going to church” compartment. You calm down, life is good, push back the frustration, etc etc.
If does not matter that WWIII was taking place in your home 30 minutes earlier. You are now in another compartment and life is good.
This is just an example of the hypocrisy of trying to live a compartmentalized life. One moment you are a complete jerk, another you are that “man of God” that everyone loves.
Add to this the “get drunk on Friday night” compartment, “join the guys from work and go to Hooters” compartment, “swearing like a sailor” compartment, and the list goes on.
Do you see how easy it is to fall into hypocrisy?
Here is the kicker.
I think it is safe to say that when we are completely honest with ourselves, all of us can admit that we live a compartmentalized life in one form or another.
NOW….If we are living like this, compartmentalizing sin and our Christian walk, what does it make us?
Hypocrites.
But that is not all and this is why compartmentalizing our lives is a pitfall.
Because we have compartmentalized so much, we have made God’s compartment smaller and smaller.
In fact we get His compartment so small that after a while we start asking God “why He isn’t in our lives anymore?”
We start questioning Him, and doubting him, etc.
What we forget is that God never left us. We have made His compartment so small that we no longer have any fellowship with Him.
Out of this lack of fellowship with God rises no longer needing God in our lives. We start standing on our own, and “doing it my way.”
Pride moves in, the heart become more and more hardened and we continue to compartmentalize God right out of the picture.
By this time we get to this point we are fully backslidden and wallowing in the muck and mire of the world.
Getting Back to God
You have been living a compartmental life now for a while. Life is not good. There is that special place in your heart that has a void.
Then it happens.
It is about 3:00 AM in the morning when the world is quiet and we wake to a still small voice.
It is the Holy Spirit talking to us.
We can do one of two things. Ignore it, which is another form of compartmentalizing.
Or we can pay attention to His still, small, convicting voice and start digging through all those compartments trying to come into fellowship with Him once again.
You are wide awake and it becomes a moment in your life where you start asking yourself…
“Why did you do this, why did you leave God?”
You then talk to God…
“God, why did I compartmentalize you out of my life? Please forgive me and please let’s have fellowship once again.”
If We Confess Our Sins
It is at that moment that we realize that we have compartmentalized Him out of our lives. It is also at that time when we realize that we need to confess our sins to Him and re-establish that fellowship.
I love 1 John 1, in verses 6- 9 it deals with the pitfalls of compartmentalizing as well as gives us the solution.
Please note my comments in the brackets.
1John 1:6-9 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: -- (This is us compartmentalizing, justifying, rationalizing, etc )
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. -- (This is how we are to live )
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. -- (This is the result of us compartmentalizing, justifying, rationalizing, etc )
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -- (This is the solution to compartmentalizing)
Once we have been forgiven of our sin and cleansed from all unrighteousness, the compartmentalization that we have been putting ourselves through seem to disappear.
That is till we start compartmentalizing again.
How To Not Go Down The Compartmentalizing Path
1 John 1:6-9 gives us a good idea, but there is more that we need to do. Otherwise what happens is that we start living a roller coaster life of sinning like hell, then repenting, then sinning, and then repenting.
Living a miserable life like that is not what the Lord had in store for us.
To stop living this sort of depressing un-victorious life we need to do one thing.
That is to fully submit to God.
We need to submit to Him, His ways and His Word. But we do not like this, we like to rebel.
When we compartmentalize, we start thinking on our own, start standing on our own, start doing things on our own. There is no submission.
We compartmentalize so that we can deal with sin that we want to live in, and the guilt and stress of living in it.
Yes there are things that we do not want to do. We do things like yelling at the spouse and kids, looking at things you should not be looking at, doing things you should not be doing is all the outcome of compartmentalizing.
The answer is to fully submit to Him and live our lives like an open book before Him and others. It is God, not us, that starts to guide us and direct us. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
What is wonderful is that He takes care of those things that we had to compartmentalize.
Just so you know, we compartmentalized so that we are able to deal with the world as well as the stress and guilt that comes along with that.
Now I am not talking about living a life where you are tempting God. For example not showing up to work and thinking God will magically have all the bills paid and food on the table. We need to live in accordance to His Word.
Depending on Him fully is not living a life looking through rose colored glasses or having your head in the sand.
When we submit to Him fully, we open those doors of fellowship and we come just as we are. The stress and guilt are gone.
How Do We Fellowship?
We need to spend time talking to God. I know that during my day I talk to God often. It is kind of like when I am talking to Tracye. I just talk to Him and let Him know what is going on or I ask for His favor.
For example these past few weeks have been time consuming and I have not been able to write an article. This morning I asked God to help with this and give me an article that would help people. You are reading that answer to prayer right now.
Prayer works.
We need more time in His Word. If you really want to hear the voice of God, read His Word. When you read the bible, you are literally letting the voice of God into your mind.
I am reminded of Romans 21:2
Romans 12:2 And be 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.
How we are transformed into a person who submits to Him is by the renewing of our mind. We do that by reading His Word so that His Word is in our mind.
The Holy Spirit authored the Scriptures to be read and understood. He delights in making himself known to us through his Word.
Scripture says…
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Right there is a great promise. That the Holy Spirit will teach us but more than that, He will help us to remember those things that we have read in His Word when the time comes where it is needed.
Have you ever been talking to someone about the Lord and you are able to quote a verse out of the blue and not know where it came from?
That is because at some point you read that in His Word and it became a part of you. The Holy Spirit brought it back to you at that time and place.
Now, if you have not been reading much of your bible, you don’t have much to lean on for the Holy Spirit to help you remember.
This is why reading your bible is vitally important.
We need more time with other bible believing Christians.
Scripture says…
Hebrews 10:25a Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…
We need fellowship with others because if we do not have this, we stagnate. Like a pond that is sitting with no fresh water coming in, it will soon stagnate and become poisonous.
Our Christian walk will do the same if we do not fellowship with others. When we stagnate, we compartmentalize. Then we start that process of justifying, rationalizing, etc etc all over again and God is compartmentalized right out of our lives again.
We need to stop compartmentalizing things in our lives. We need to learn to submit to Him fully. He has our best interest in mind.
We see what happens when we take control, we fail miserably.
Compartmentalizing is a pitfall that sometimes take a long time to come back from.
Submit to Him today and discover His still small voice again.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

By RayGano

About the Author:

Ray & Tracye Gano are the Executive Directors of the web ministries Prophezine and Survival 4 Christians.They serve people world wide with a weekly newsletters, daily news updates, community based website, Internet radio shows and You Tube broadcasts. Ray recently released his book "Survive The Coming Storm - The Value of a Preparedness Lifestyle" which has been moving up on the book charts.

Please visit Prophezine by going to http://www.prophezine.com

Or visit Ray's Blog Survival4 Christians = http://survival4christians.blogspot.com

It Just Keeps Getting Worse

2013-06-16T08:52:00.001-07:00

This past week people need to mark on their calendar as a week to remember. Why?
Our loss of privacy was basically flushed down the toilet all in the name of safety and security.
What is alarming is the rate that it has taken place.
This morning I woke up and read the following on Drudge Report…

U.S. Is Secretly Collecting Records of Verizon Calls

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is secretly carrying out a domestic surveillance program under which it is collecting business communications records involving Americans under a hotly debated section of the Patriot Act, according to a highly classified court order disclosed on Wednesday night.

The order, signed by Judge Roger Vinson of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in April, directs a Verizon Communications subsidiary, Verizon Business Network Services, to turn over “on an ongoing daily basis” to the National Security Agency all call logs “between the United States and abroad” or “wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls.”

Source - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/us/us-secretly-collecting-logs-of-business-calls.html

That is not all, come to find out that this collecting of phone calls and such is targeting Americans and not Foreigners.

NSA's Verizon Spying Order Specifically Targeted Americans, Not Foreigners

The National Security Agency has long justified its spying powers by arguing that its charter allows surveillance on those outside of the United States, while avoiding intrusions into the private communications of American citizens. But the latest revelation of the extent of the NSA’s surveillance shows that it has focused specifically on Americans, to the degree that its data collection has in at least one major spying incident explicitly excluded those outside the United States.

In a top secret order obtained by the Guardian newspaper and published Wednesday evening, the FBI on the NSA’s behalf demanded that Verizon turn over all metadata for phone records originating in the United States for the three months beginning in late April and ending on the 19th of July. That metadata includes all so-called “non-content” data for millions of American customers’ phone calls, such as the subscriber data, recipients, locations, times and durations of every call made during that period.

Aside from the sheer scope of that surveillance order, reminiscent of the warrantless wiretapping scandal under the Bush administration, the other shocking aspect of the order its target: The order specifically states that only data regarding calls originating in America are to be handed over, not those between foreigners.

Source - http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/06/05/nsas-verizon-spying-order-specifically-targeted-americans-not-foreigners/

This is not all that has taken place this past week. There was a critical case that the Supreme Court heard and ruled on that effected the 4^th amendment, the unwelcome search and seizure.

Supreme Court OKs Taking DNA From Arrestees

Deciding its biggest genetic privacy case of the term, a fractured Supreme Court said today that the states may take DNA samples from anybody arrested for serious crimes.

Privacy groups and law enforcement officials were closely watching the case because at least 27 states and the federal government have regulations requiring suspects to give a DNA sample upon some type of arrest, regardless of conviction. In all the states with such laws, the DNA records are cataloged in state and federal crime-fighting databases.

In a 5-4 decision, (.pdf) the justices reversed a 2012 ruling from Maryland’s top court, which had said that it was a breach of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure to take, without warrants, DNA samples from suspects who have been arrested for crimes ranging from attempted burglary to murder. In the end, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that swabbing the inside of a suspect’s cheek to acquire a DNA sample was “an advanced technique superior” to fingerprinting, mugshots and even tattoo matching.

“A DNA profile is useful to the police because it gives them a form of identification to search the records already in their valid possession. In this respect the use of DNA for identification is no different than matching an arrestee’s face to a wanted poster of a previously unidentified suspect; or matching tattoos to known gang symbols to reveal a criminal affiliation; or matching the arrestee’s fingerprints to those recovered from a crime scene. DNA is another metric of identification used to connect the arrestee with his or her public persona, as reflected in records of his or her actions that are available to the police.”

Folks, this means that all an officer has to do is take your ID, which is the first stage of being under arrest / detained, once in that mode, the officer can ask for a DNA sample.
I know that there are some law enforcement officers out there that will disagree. Thing is that the slippery slope has been stepped upon and now there is no going back.
Imagine being stopped on the street by Homeland Security, asked for your ID (papers) and then they whip out a little device and ask to “prove” your identity with a DNA sample. If you do not have one on record, the device will record it and add it to the database.
These two events have changed our privacy rights in a major way.
The powers that be will now know everything you say electronically. Yes, this was for phone records, but it is just another jump to include all electronic devises and forms of communication. What we forget is that the powers that be have been listening in for years now, they just came out of the closet about it.
Finally, it was reviewed the IRS was being used against the American people in a nefarious way and a serious abuse of power. What we are finding out is that the IRS was specifically targeting conservative patriotic Christian Americans as well as conservative Jewish groups.
If you did not vote for the current administration or your group was speaking out against the current administration, your group was targeted for audit, fines, even revoking non-profit status.
What people may not understand is that when a group’s non-profit status is revoked, ALL TAXES since the conception of the non-profit group are then due, and with interest as well.
So you want to wipe out a non-profit group? Yank their non-profit status and let them be responsible for all the back taxes. Can’t pay? Those in charge go to jail.
So we can clearly see that Conservative Christians and Jews need to be concerned.
What? Me, Worry?
Now I know that some of you reading this think that I have my tin foil hat on a little too tight..
Some of you may be saying” Oh it isn’t that bad. They will not target us.”
Yea? Think again.
I got the following from my friend Bill Wilson…

Because You Need To Know

It is Wednesday afternoon as I write this. I wanted to keep it fresh in my mind. My wife, son, his girlfriend and I were pulling up to our house after having a nice lunch together. I noticed a dark BMW pulling up behind us, waiting for us to walk across the street and I motioned him on. A Middle Eastern looking man dressed in a casual shirt and jeans came into my driveway and asked if I was William Wilson. He identified himself as Amir with the FBI and wanted to know if he could ask me a few questions. He said that someone under the "See something, say something" program reported me as a suspicious person perhaps involved with terrorism. He asked if I was driving a red Camry in April taking pictures of an oil refinery in Delaware.

He opened my "file" while explaining that this is not his case, but someone else's. Then he corrected himself saying that it was not really a "case." He said that he was undercover and because he lived in Montgomery County, he offered to do the interview with me instead of having the other agent drive out from Baltimore. I could see the file. It had my picture, and other information that I couldn't quite make out. He explained that someone had reported me taking pictures of a Delaware oil refinery from a red Camry in April. He asked me several ways if I had a Camry, was in Delaware in April, and other questions about it. I do not have a Camry, nor was I ever in Delaware taking pictures of an oil refinery.

He questioned me: Is there anyone who you have "pissed off" lately? Is there anyone who would have a reason to turn me in to the FBI. What might I have done to cause this? Do I hate anybody or [implied] any group of people? Am I against the government? I told him I am a patriot. I told him that I have written a column for over 11 years and I am critical of Islamic terrorism, and some things like the FBI shooting the boy in Orlando. He asked if I ever get threatened. I told him from time to time I do, but if it gets serious I tell them I am uncomfortable and will turn them into authorities if it continues. He assured me that he believed there was nothing to this complaint and his report would reflect such.

He suggested that I take precautions such as making sure my address was not on my website. He also knew what cars I owned and drove. I will say that it was a very non-threatening type of interview although it is creepy and I wonder what is next. You need to know because I believe there is safety in numbers and the more who know, the safer we are. Notwithstanding, I am calling on the Lord and praying Ephesians 6:17-19, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." Please pray for our protection.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!

Bill Wilson

www.dailyjot.com

Around March of 2012 Tracye and I were sitting in the back yard watching the sun go down. We were talking about the things that are taking place and the concerns we had,
I asked Tracye “What is it that you’re most concerned about?”
She said “Them showing up at our front gate and taking us away.”
Folks, a lump formed in the pit of my stomach that I will never forget. Husbands, how would you feel if your loving wife said that to you in all seriousness and earnest?
It would break your heart.
July 3^rd 2013 Tracye and I were returning from running errands. It was about 4:00 in the afternoon and we were coming up on a crest of a hill, once over the hill we can see our house off in the distance.
When I drove over the crest I just happen to look to my left at which time I slammed on the brakes.
Tracye startled said, ”What’s wrong?”
I said “Do I see what I think I am seeing?”
Tracye looked and said “What is that?”
I said “Tracye, I think that is a drone.”
She kind of gasped and looked again. She then agreed with me.
We sat there for about 10 seconds watching it fly by.

If you would do a reverse flight path, it flew right over our property.
When we lived in Texas, we lived within the vicinity of three drone airports. The closest was located in San Marcos Texas, about 10 miles away.
Folks, I have “heard” of people being pulled and questioned like what happened to Bill.
But Bill is the first person that I actually know that this sort of thing has happened too.
I have been warning about these sort of things taking place for a while now.
I have also tried to show historical correlation between what took place during the onset of Nazi Germany and what is taking place in our own nation today.
Daily I am blown away at what is taking place in the country I served, and yet I do not recognize her at all or what she has become.

By Ray Gano

Who Are The Elect?

2013-04-30T12:21:00.002-07:00

Recently I have been doing some word studies trying to ascertain the proper definition of words so that I can have a full understanding with what I am writing, preaching and teaching about.
Scripture says...

James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

What James is saying that we should not look to be teachers and preachers, because those of us who are, we will come under greater scrutiny from the Lord when we stand before Him.
With every article I write, I always try to keep this in mind. I will give an account for my words one day when I stand before the Lord.
It is my greatest desire that when I do stand before Him, He will say "Enter my kingdon my good and faithful servant."
Ideas of Men VS. God’s Word
In doing this study, I have come to realize that there are a lot of things that we have been taught that do not stand up to the Word of God.
How do I know?
When we use God's Word to define The Bible itself, I am finding out that we have been taught "man's opinion" and not what God's Word clearly teaches.
So why question things that have been nicely laid out for us by all these great teachers and wonderful books they have written?
Because 2 + 2 is not adding up to 4 when we really allow God's Word to define itself in light of men's books.
Here is the portion of scripture that alerted me.

Matthew 24:31 (KJV) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

See when I read it then read the commentary, the commentary was stating that the "elect" was Israel.
Hmmmm, something just did not ring true.
Call it a gut instinct or something, but what I was "being told" the verse meant Israel, but I knew that this did not line up with what God's Word was saying.
We can clearly see from this verse that it is talking about the rapture, right?
In fact, let's use scripture to define scripture....

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

We see the same things taking place in Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4.
Matthew used the word "elect" in Chapter 24.
We also see in 1 Thessalonians 1 Paul identifying the elect...

1 Thessalonians 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

So we can see that both Matthew and Paul refer to the elect as the ones being gathered up in the rapture.
This is using scripture to define scripture. In other words, this is proper hermeneutics, proper study.
Now, let's look at these two portions of scripture Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4. What do we see here that is common?

1 - We have angels present

2 - We have the trumpet sound

3 - We have the gathering together

Both of these verses are clearly talking about the same event, correct?
We can see that it is talking about the rapture.
It also answers “Who” is the rapture for?
The rapture is for the believer, His elect.
So, here is the quandary I have.
Why do a lot of teachers and authors state that in Matthew 24 the elect spoken here is NOT believers, but Israel?
I honestly believe that it is because an idea was put out there a long time ago and that idea molded into a doctrine and that doctrine has become cemented in theology today.
See a man named Scofield who lived about 200 years ago decided to put it in his study notes. Then a gentleman named Moody came along and produced what is called "The Scofield Study Bible."
If you have a Scofield bible, Scofield states that in Matthew 24 that Israel is the elect.
What?
Now I am going to let a lot of you know that I have not been a fan of Scofield for some time now. This is why my "Sword" of choice is the Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible - KJV.
I have also read papers and a biography about Scofield, and let's just say that he was not a cool guy.
I guess you could call him the Rick Warren / Joel Osteen of his day, with a lot of personal baggage.
A very eye opening book to read is titled "The Incredible Scofield and His Book" By Joseph M. Canfield
Book Here >>> http://tinyurl.com/The-Incredible-Scofield
Canfield's book goes into a lot of historical documentation about Scofield and how he lived his life.
There are a lot of things that bothered me about Scofield, for example...
Scofield abandoned his wife and children and refused to support them.
Scripture says...

I Timothy 5:8 says “ But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”

When his first wife Leontine originally filed for divorce in July 1881, she listed the following reasons:

“ (he had)…absented himself from his said wife and children, and had not been with them but abandoned them with the intention of not returning to them again…has been guilty of gross neglect of duty and has failed to support this plaintiff or her said children, or to contribute thereto, and has made no provision for them for food, clothing or a home, or in any manner performed his duty in the support of said family although he was able to do so.” (1)

Cyrus Scofield had several other incidents of a downright dishonest nature after he supposedly became saved. The fact that in 1892 he began calling himself Doctor Scofield without producing any Doctorate degree from any Seminary or University is the least of his devious activities. Even the details he gave in his story of conversion are proven to be fabricated, including the time, place and other particularities, thereby placing doubt on the whole story.(2)

He was a self-promoter in every sense of the word, even lying about being able to comfort and calm the entire city of Belfast, Ireland with a sermon he delivered there the Sunday after the Titanic sunk. (3)

CYRUS I. SCHOFIELD IN THE ROLE OF A CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER

“ Cyrus I. Schofield, formerly of Kansas, late lawyer, politician and shyster generally, has come to the surface again, and promises once more to gather around himself that halo of notoriety that has made him so prominent in the past. The last personal knowledge that Kansans have had of this peer among scalawags, was when about four years ago, after a series of forgeries and confidence games he left the state and a destitute family and took refuge in Canada. For a time he kept undercover, nothing being heard of him until within the past two years when he turned up in St. Louis, where he had a wealthy widowed sister living who has generally come to the front and squared up Cyrus’ little follies and foibles by paying good round sums of money. Within the past year, however, Cyrus committed a series of St. Louis forgeries that could not be settled so easily, and the erratic young gentleman was compelled to linger in the St. Louis jail for a period of six months.

Among the many malicious acts that characterized his career, was one peculiarly atrocious, that has come under our personal notice. Shortly after he left Kansas, leaving his wife and two children dependent upon the bounty of his wife’s mother, he wrote his wife that he could invest some $1,300 of her mother’s money, all she had, in a manner that would return big interest. After some correspondence he forwarded them a mortgage, signed and executed by one Chas. Best, purporting to convey valuable property in St. Louis. Upon this, the money was sent to him. Afterwards the mortgages were found to be base forgeries, no such person as Charles Best being in existence, and the property conveyed in the mortgage fictitious…” (4)

This article is not about tearing down Cyrus Scofield. Many people have come to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ though the Scofield bible.
There is an old saying, if God can use an ass to speak to men, he can use ______________.
… Insert Cyrus Scofield.
What I am trying to paint for you is that Scofield was the "popular" preacher of the world during that time. Again, like Rick Warren and are Joel Olsteen are today, Cyrus Scofield was back then.
It has been Scofield's notes that millions have leaned upon and because they are included in the Scofield study bible, no one questions it.
Here is something else that I found troubling when I was doing my research.
There are no records that can be found where Scofield even claimed that he was a repented man, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ for all his sins and that Jesus Christ was his personal Lord and savior.
You would think that there were some records of a personal testimony somewhere. Some record of Scofield telling his testimony to someone. When I heard of this, I searched pretty deep and I have not found any record.
So why have we as the church allowed this person who appears to be a lukewarm Christian and most likely a "Christian In Name Only" (C.I.N.O) at best to influence generations of pastors and lay people?
When the Scofield bible was published, Moody the publisher, sent copies to just about every pastor there was in the US and England.
What this did was cement Scofield's ideas into the minds of men.
Yes, the Scofield bible was widely accepted, but there were the critics out there too.
But over the years those criticisms we forgotten and Scofield became a 'solid name" thus his commentaries were completely accepted without question.
The logic went like this.... If Moody published The Scofield Bible, and because Moody put his stamp of approval on it, it has to be correct and be doctrinally sound.
Look at how many of us go to these commentaries in our bibles and give it a "PASS" and not think about it at all.
We tell ourselves, "Well "so & so" wrote this great book. Obviously it has to be right because he has sold so many copies over the years and he is such a popular person."
Isn’t that how it usually goes?
What has taken place over the past two hundred years is that we as Christians have gotten lazy and instead of seeking out the truth via God's Word, we have had all these great authors and teachers pre-chew our scripture for us and then regurgitate it up for us so that we can better digest it.
Let me paint it for you this way...
Don't you realize that all this pre-chewed scripture has lost a lot of God's vitamins and nutrients? (God's meaning and definition) What has gotten mixed in is the saliva of man and because of that, we have latched on to man's ideas vs. what God's Word really says.
In today's fast paced world we have become dependent upon this pre-chewed food, and we have forgotten that we have the ability to dig into God's Word ourselves.
We have forgotten to be good Bereans like Paul tells us to be in Acts 17:11.

Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Letting God's Word Define The Elect
So how can the elect be Israel where God's Word itself clearly says the elect is something different?
Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Right there scripture states that Israel is not the elect.
Out of 16 times that the word elect is used in the bible, and as many of you know, I only use the KJV, we find the following...

- 10 references refer to all believers in general

- 2 refer to believers who are specifically Gentile

- 1 refers to believers who are Jews

- 2 refer to Jesus Christ himself

- 1 refers to Jacob the person as being God's elect

Here are the scriptures so that you can see this for yourself - be a good Berean...

Matthew 24:22 - 24 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mark 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Mar 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

Romans 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

Romans 11:5-7 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Colossians 3:11-12 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

1Thessalonians 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

2 Peter 1:10-11 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

2 John 1:1-2 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

2 For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Here is what Webster's 1828 English Dictionary states...

Elect

ELECT', v.t. [L. electus, from eligo; e or ex and lego; Gr. to choose.]

1. Properly, to pick out; to select from among two or more, that which is preferred. Hence,

2. To select or take for an office or employment; to choose from among a number; to select or manifest preference by vote or designation; as, to elect a representative by ballot or viva voce; to elect a president or governor.

3. In theology, to designate, choose or select as an object of mercy or favor.

4. To choose; to prefer; to determine in favor of.

The Golden Rule of Interpretation
Dr. David L. Cooper, was the founder of the Biblical Research Society and he stated the following... "When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise."
In other words...

A. Seek the plain, literal meaning of the Scriptures

B. Seek the figurative meaning only when the facts demand such an interpretation

C. Study every statement of the Scriptures in context ("A TEXT APART FROM ITS CONTEXT IS A PRETEXT")

If you have been a reader of mine for a year or so, you know that this is something that I tend to harp on. We need to stick to God's Word and let His Word define itself.
If you are interested, you can learn more about the Rules of Interpretation at -- http://www.biblicalresearch.info/page7.html
See without having a true common sense rule to understanding God's Word, our flesh can be allowed to run down bunny trails proving that the Grass was created to be purple and that the sky was created to be green.
This is why having a good grounding in hermeneutics and realizing that God's Word defines itself, not man defining it, is so important.

Conclusion
We need to start being good Bereans and start seeking the scriptures out to see if what man is saying is true according to the Scriptures, NOT according to the popular books and commentaries.
We need to remember that the best interpretation of scripture is God's Word itself. Who better to define His Word than God the Creator and Author of The Word?
In this study, we clearly see that when Scripture is talking about the "Elect," God's Word defines it as Believers in God / Jesus Christ.
It is the Elect that one day will be gathered up from all the corners of the earth when we see the angels in the clouds with the Lord, and
We hear that trumpet, The Trump of God sound.
So if you have put your faith in all these popular books, and these shiny teethed teachers with "aerodynamic" hair, then you might want to start doing a checkup from the neck up and start digging into God's Word.
We need to start building our houses upon the Rock of Jesus Christ and His Word and stop latching onto all these fancy men who sure sound good and weave a nice tale.
The only way to do this is putting their books down, and start picking up our only true source, God's Word.. The Bible.
A word to the wise, drop all these modern versions also and stick with the one bible that has been through the fires of testing, the King James Bible. It has been with us for over 400 years and God himself promises to preserve His Word. I believe that preserved Word for the English speaking people is the KJV.
I hope that this article / study has given you something to think about and to strive to be a better Berean when it comes to reading, studying and digesting God's Word.

By Ray Gano

ENDNOTES
1 - Quoted from the papers in case No. 2161, supplied by the Atchison County Court – reproduced by Joseph Canfield, The Incredible Scofield And His Book, p. 89
2 - Canfield, op. cit., pp. 65-68
3 - Canfield, op. cit., p.239-240
4 - Canfield, op. cit., pp. 79-80 – as taken from the files of the Kansas State Historical Society

Under The Shadow of The Almighty

2013-04-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

A lot has taken place over the past week or so. We have had terrorist events in Boston, almost half of the city of West Texas has been destroyed due to an explosion. We have had other explosions in other areas of the US.
David Kupelian wrote an article recently titled “Americans 'snapping' by the millions.”
He opens his article with these words…

Terrorism. Chaos. Fear of the future. In the age of Obama, America is undergoing a “fundamental transformation” – that much everyone knows.

But what few seem to realize about this transformation is that the sheer stress of living in today’s America is driving tens of millions to the point of illness, depression and self-destruction. Consider the following trends:

Suicide has surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of injury death for Americans. Even more disturbing, in the world’s greatest military, more U.S. soldiers died last year by suicide than in combat;
Fully one-third of the nation’s employees suffer chronic debilitating stress, and more than half of all “millennials” (18 to 33 year olds) experience a level of stress that keeps them awake at night, including large numbers diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorder.
Shocking new research from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one in five of all high-school-aged children in the United States has been diagnosed with ADHD, and likewise a large new study of New York City residents shows, sadly, that one in five preteens – children aged six to 12 – have been medically diagnosed with either ADHD, anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder;
New research concludes that stress renders people susceptible to serious illness, and a growing number of studies now confirm that chronic stress plays a major role in the progression of cancer, the nation’s second-biggest killer. The biggest killer of all, heart disease, which causes one in four deaths in the U.S., is also known to have a huge stress component;
Incredibly, 11 percent of all Americans aged 12 and older are currently taking SSRI antidepressants – those highly controversial, mood-altering psychiatric drugs with the FDA’s “suicidality” warning label and alarming correlation with school shooters. Women are especially prone to depression, with a stunning 23 percent of all American women in their 40s and 50s – almost one in four – now taking antidepressants, according to a major study by the CDC;
Add to that the tens of millions of users of all other types of psychiatric drugs, including (just to pick one) the 6.4 million American children between 4 and 17 diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin or similar psycho-stimulants. Throw in the 28 percent of American adults with a drinking problem, that’s more than 60 million, plus the 22 million using illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants, and pretty soon a picture emerges of a nation of drug-takers, with hundreds of millions dependent on one toxic substance or another – legal or illegal – to “help” them deal with the stresses and problems of life.

We are a nation that has lost its spirit, its drive, its happiness. We have replaced that with being angry, which in turn breeds anxiety, fear, confusion, hopelessness and depression.
Tracye and I have felt what we call a “foreboding” just hanging over us. In fact we were just talking today about how little sleep Tracye was getting. I didn’t get a great restful night’s sleep either. Sure I could sleep, but we would wake up still tired and not very often did either of us feel fully refreshed.
The stress is so heavy that it seems like you can cut the air with a butter knife.
It seems like our nation is being destroyed and there is nothing that we can do about it. Look at all the stress elements.

Economy going to hell
Crime is rampant, murder is up, rape is up, theft is up, etc, etc.
People are being fired at a drop of a hat and companies are laying off. And when hired again you can’t work over 29 hours and your wage is half of what it was.
4 Million on food stamps and food prices are going through the roof.
Drug, alcohol, sex along with every vice known is drastically up in use.
Children are in utter rebellion and parents no longer care what happens to them.

And the list goes on and on.
See, I am one who believes that this is on purpose.
The past four administrations has been pushing the US towards global socialism. Many of the goals they have set a very long time ago, have come to pass.
Yes, there have are in fact goals to bring down our nation. Don’t believe me, read it for yourself. It was even entered into the Congressional Record…

Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963

Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 .

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.

At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen:

[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]

PZ NOTE – All the bolded lines have taken place / been enacted.

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.

Source Microfilm: California State University at San Jose Clark Library, Government Floor Phone (408)924-2770 Microfilm Call Number: J 11.R5

Congressional Record, Vol. 109 88th Congress, 1st Session Appendix Pages A1-A2842 Jan. 9-May 7, 1963 Reel 12

Kupelian stated in his article the following…

“Such a radical change cannot be accomplished while Americans are calm, happy, content and grateful for their blessings. Citizens must be unhappy and stressed out. Indeed, widespread popular discontent has always been the required fuel for leftist transformation.”

What is taking place is not by chance, it has been planned for a long time and we see this communist / socialist plans now replacing our American way of life…right before our eyes.
Where Is The Hope?
Our hope is not in the things we do, what laws we make or people we elect.
There is only one true hope, which is Jesus Christ our Lord.
But the sad thing is that people will not turn to Him. One of the reasons is that they have no idea who God, Jesus or what His Word has to offer.
We as Christians have the means at or fingertips to help us through these hard times, but how many of us really take solace is God’s Word?
One of the greatest and most powerful chapters in God’s Word is Psalms 91.
In this one chapter alone there are great promises from God that give us peace and I know when I read it I feel a peace within me.
This chapter has gotten me though some dark times in my life and I know that Tracye has also leaned upon this chapter in some of her dark times as well.
Psalms 91

Psalms 91:1-16 He that dwelleth 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 will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath 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 honour him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

It is believed that David wrote this for Solomon, knowing that he would be King one day. He wanted Solomon to KNOW God and that God would be with him through thick and thin.
It is also rumored that Kings and Noblemen would read this and have it read to their troops prior to battle.
Lean On Him
No matter what takes place in this wicked world we live in, God is there for us. He will see us through.
Find that “secret place,” which I believe is being in His Will. Once you are there, do all you can to stay there and don’t venture away.
I know that it is hard but what we need to do is cleave to the Lord and His Word like never before.
What we are experiencing is the beginnings of the storm that so many have been talking about.
The only way to battle this is grounding yourself in Him and His Word.
We read in Romans 12 the following…

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be 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.

It is only through the renewing of your mind, which equates to the study, reading and meditation of scripture that will help you stay within God’s Will.
The more you read His Word, the more you start thinking and understanding the ways of the Lord.
Folks, there may come a time where we may not have access to the Bible. I highly recommend that you start memorizing verses.
Psalms 91 is a great chapter to memorize, it will get you through so many trials and hardships.
We are living during a time of great upheaval. The enemy truly has the high ground and we who truly love Him are the minority.
In all of this, there is opportunity, the opportunity to be a light in the darkness for others who have lost their way. A chance to be salt to the world who do not know of Christ and God’s gift of eternal life.
It is through hardship that the church is purified and out of that, many souls do come to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are living at a time where we need to really choose who we will serve. I am not saying who we are giving lip service to, but heart service.
The time for sitting on the sidelines is over. God is wanting people of action and those who really love Him.

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

God is calling people to step out of the boat and get out on the water with Him.
You call yourself a Christian? We are coming to a point where we need to prove it.
As I have said, the enemy has the high ground. His soldiers are winning the battles.
Faith Without Works is Dead

In James we read the following…

James 2:14-26 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Conclusion
It is God’s Word that gives us power. Until we have God’s Word in our heart, we lack that power.
Renew our minds with His Word. Get back to really reading the scriptures and meditate on them daily.
With God’s Word working through us, we will have the courage that is needed to exercise the faith that is expected.
And then having done all, we then stand for Him.

Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

By Ray Gano

The Final Generation???

2013-03-31T23:15:00.001-07:00