Last issue brought us through chapter 3, verse 16, of the book of Genesis. We've talked about what God said to the serpent and what God told the woman. Verse 17 begins with what God tells Adam. Adam's excuse for taking of the fruit was that the woman God gave him, gave the fruit to him. Here, in verse 17, God makes it clear, it's because Adam harkened to his wife that he is receiving the following consequences.

Here is another one of those times we need to be careful to catch everything that is said and not said. In verse 12, Adam tells God, the woman You gave me, gave me the fruit. In 13, the woman said the serpent "beguiled" her. So, in 14, God told the serpent "... Because thou hast done this, ...." When God comes to the woman in verse 16, He gives no, "because." However, here in verse 17, when God turns to Adam, He starts out by saying "... Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,...." We want to take some time to look at the fact God gave a "because" to the serpent and Adam, but not to the woman.

Remember, when God was talking to the serpent, some of what God laid down would physically affect the animal which Satan had used to "beguile" the woman. We talked about the aspect that much of what God did in cursing the serpent had to do with hindering Satan from establishing himself as a god. God's dealing with Satan was a separate issue from the humans. Never forget that Satan was created by God. Satan is not some being, that is in any way equal to God, and unlike God, he has not always existed. Satan, just like humans, had a beginning. Satan's actions in heaven, and here on this earth, are the things which will dictate Satan's end. So, as Satan had used the serpent as the way to present himself to humans, God said, "because thou hast done this, ..."

Again, as God talked to Eve, God does not say "because." God simply lays out consequences to her actions. God does say, "I will"; but that, is God saying, I made this planet and everything that happens is in My hands. It's to Adam, God gives the "because." The because, is the fact Adam hearkened to the voice of his wife. Adam had been given the leadership role. It was his responsibility to guide his family. Remember, Eve was not created from scratch. She was bone of Adam's bone and flesh of Adam's flesh. (Gen. 2:23) Adam was the only human to be created from scratch - until Jesus. (John 1:14) You are a blood relative to everyone you see!

Adam was the first. It was Adam who was given the words to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The eating of the fruit should have stopped with Adam! When Eve gave him the fruit, Adam should have reminded her of the Words of God. Instead, he simply took and ate of the fruit himself! In many ways, Adam's job was simple. It was to teach others, just as parents are to teach a child. Adam failed to do this; but he didn't just fail to instruct others, he failed to do what was right himself! This is how Adam brought death to us all. (Romans 5:12) It was for his action the ground was cursed. That first man, of whom we are all descendants, would bring a curse to himself which would translate to every person born of his flesh, including Eve. Now, before we take too many blows at Adam, remember the Bible tells us we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

God tells Adam in verse 17, that in sorrow man would eat of the ground all the days of his life. Here, the word sorrow in the original language is the same word used in verse 16, when God told Eve He would greatly increase her sorrow and conception. So, again, we are talking about a lot of stress! It would not be a walk in the park for man to have the bare necessity of food anymore.

The curse of the ground would not just affect the dust, it would affect the entire planet and its ability to function in the way intended. If there is one thing man has discovered, it's the fragility of the planet. Disturb one thing, and there is no end to what else you will change or destroy. Before this curse, the planet would have taken care of itself. However, we need to remember all this was created as an environment for man to be in. The fact the planet was more than capable of producing enough food and natural resources to supply a multitude of people, means the areas of the planet where man had not yet been, would need ways of controlling this ample supply until man got there. This means, even without the curse of the ground there would have been animals whose job was primarily to keep the balance; and these animals would have either gone extinct or decreased to very small numbers, once man entered an area. God told man to subdue the planet and have dominion over the animals. It's clear, man had not only the precedence but also the responsibility from the very beginning. Once the ground was cursed, many of the planet's plants and animals would become very fragile. Man entering an area would no longer mean supplies would be used for him, instead of being consumed by balance-keeping animals. Many natural resources would have a very short life. They would not, by nature replenish themselves, and many resources have, no doubt, been long gone before man ever entered an area.

No matter how much man has tried to overcome the curse of the ground, the facts remain. Some will say they do not have to work the ground, they simply do some other job which makes money, and they buy the things they need. However, the invention of monetary systems has been one of the worst things man has ever done. It has allowed some to have great access to goods and supplies, while leaving others with nothing. It is not just those who work hard which have, and the have nots are people who are unwilling to work. In many societies, we have turned the physical labor idea on its head. Those who work the most physical jobs are usually the lowest paid. Even for those who have money, there is usually much worry associated with trying to manage it. Having a lot of money is many times, not the leisurely life people dream of. We can try and cover over this curse, but we will not escape it on any level.

God placed this curse on the ground to remind us this world would no longer be a permanent home the way God originally designed it to be. However, in the process of trying to ignore God and overcome this curse, we have made things worse. In truth, much of human society is built on the dispersion and obtaining of goods and services; and the most idealistic people will tell you, someday man will overcome poverty and disease. However, man and his systems are the cause of most of the poverty and disease which exist! The disproportion of simple access to opportunity is many times one of the largest problems, and the larger the society, the larger this problem seems to become. Many different ideas of human government have been tried, to control the problems of society systems, but most have had limited or down right disastrous effects. This has many times led to conflict and all out war. The more man tries to overcome this curse, the more catastrophic the effects and the larger the "sorrow"!

Verse 18 says, "thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee." The word thorns here, in the English, is not a verb, but in the original language it was more of an action word which indicates a pricking. So the words here are not just telling us there would be weeds, they're telling us there would be plants which would also be hostile to us. As man harvests the food he would now have to grow, there would be the discomfort of getting pricked. In many ways, this is related to the post flood issues of animals. After the flood, God gave man permission to eat animals, but the animals then had a fear of man, and would also kill humans. Plants were always intended to be eaten by man, but after the curse, there would even be a certain amount of hostility in the plants. This is a demonstration of a rule, that by nature exists, and man needed to understand. The rule that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword, is universal. In Matt. 26:52, Jesus told us it was true, but it is clearly seen in the things God created. Cain understood this rule without it being written down. In Genesis 4:14, Cain understood, every person who found him could slay him. It was only by the judgment of God that this would cease to be true. The eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth law was nothing new, it was universal justice right from the start. However, as Jesus walked this earth, He told us this kind of thinking was earthly, and we as believers in God needed to think higher than this. (Matt. 5:38-48) Jesus told us anyone could be good to his friends and hate his enemies, but it was going to take more than brute natural actions to be the people God wanted us to be. (2 Peter 2:9-16)

You see, man had not just disobeyed God in taking of the fruit. Man had received the knowledge of good and evil. Man had choices to make, and he now knew right from wrong in his own mind. Humans were now responsible for making the right choices. This meant, at the very least, man needed to make just choices. The eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth rule was justice, but there was more to learn and an even higher road to take than justice only. This is what Jesus was trying to tell us, and Paul continued to try in his epistles to the churches. Even the written law of Moses was only an attempt to bring us to that first and logical step of justice, but service to, and knowledge of God should lead us to higher living. In Micah 6:1-8, God asks Israel, "...wherein have I wearied thee?" God says "testify against me." All God has asked is "... to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" God has not pushed us, but He has asked us to try. That is why God said He asked them to "do justly" and to "love mercy." In our struggle to live justly, we may have trouble focusing on mercy. However, if we can find a love for mercy, it will automatically become a greater and greater part of our character! The universal laws of justice may say an eye for an eye, but we can't forget the live by the sword die by the sword part of the Word, because it cuts both ways. If we live giving mercy, we will find mercy - if not of men, then of God! God has made a way of salvation where there was no way. All God asks in return is that we strive to show the same mercy and grace to our fellow man as we have been shown by God. (Matt. 10:42, I Cor. 13:1) Is it really that hard?

Looking again at Genesis 3:18, God tells Adam he will eat the herb of the field. This statement should be put in contrast to chapter 1, verse 29, where God tells man what He gave them for food. God tells man to eat the herb bearing seed and the fruit of the tree yielding fruit. This is a description of mostly what we call fruit today. Even the things which fit this description that we would put in the vegetable category, are really fruit, like the tomato, for example. So, God was telling man whether it grew on a tree or on a lower plant, fruit was his food. In chapter 3, verse 18, God informs Adam humans would eat the herb of the field. In other words, man would start to use the food given to the animals for his own substance. This was a warning that man would need to reach out and eat not just what he was meant to eat, but any edible plant in order to survive. It's not that your broccoli isn't good for you, but it's no wonder many people, especially kids, don't like such things. When people say they have to eat their rabbit food, they aren't just kidding.

In verse 19, God tells Adam it would be by the sweat of his face that man would eat bread. Almost everywhere the word "bread" appears in the King James, Old Testament, it comes from the same Hebrew word. Almost everywhere the word "bread" is used in the King James, New Testament, it comes from the same Greek word. The New Testament word truly refers to a bread like we know it today. In the Old Testament, the word is more general, meaning food, but food as in grain or grain products like bread. So, the words here in verse 19, are telling Adam something he may not yet understand, but future generations definitely would. Thorns and thistles would affect the growing and harvesting of food. Eating the herb of the field was eating things not part of man's optimum diet, but all this would still be a reference to going out and getting food that was fresh. When God tells Adam he will now eat "bread," He was talking about things stored and preserved. It would not just be a matter of growing food for yourself so that you could go out and pick stuff when you were hungry. They would work by the sweat of their brow, just so they could have some kind of food available, fresh or not. There would not be the opportunity to grow fresh food year round in many places of the world. Humans have dealt with this for a millennium now. We accept it as a fact of life. However, this would have been very new to Adam and Eve. The thought that not only did you need to grow your own food, but you needed to grow more than just what was needed at the time so you could store for the down time, must have been a very strange thought. This is yet another item which people do not think of in a luxury society like America. Many people, who come to the US from many places in the world, find it just astonishing that you can buy fruits and vegetables of all kinds year round from almost any grocery store. People who are born and raised in such a society take very little thought as to how this phenomena is possible. The fruits and vegetables may grow on trees, so to speak, but they do not grow legs and walk here. It's only by the sweat of the face and the vast consumption of precious resources that this kind of luxury is possible. Those who simply go to the store may not sweat over the growing and obtaining of this food, but the pain at the check out line just keeps getting worse, and it's becoming ever doubtful that this lifestyle can be maintained!

Verse 19 also makes it clear, the curse of the ground would not just affect plants and animals, it would affect man's physical form. The food man would get from the ground would not give man the nutrients he needed to live forever. Man would work the ground for his food, right up to the day the ground literally reclaimed him. The curse of the ground was a curse of a great many things. If you pay attention to the story of creation, you find the earth was ordered to "bring forth." Then, it makes it clear God used the dust to form even the human body. So, everything is connected to the ground. This doesn't make the planet a god, and this is part of the reason God cursed the ground. However, many societies have worshiped the earth nonetheless. They worship it for its "life giving" power. However, this is foolish; because plants, animals, and even humans die everyday, thus demonstrating the lack of life "giving" power the earth has!

This lack of life giving power would lead to more fragile human bodies, even during the course of life. Humans face many sicknesses and diseases of the body. People wonder why God would allow this! The simple answer is the same thing we have talked about in God cursing the serpent and the ground itself. God knew we would struggle with the desire to go our own way, but still want to fill the void we create by not having a relationship with God! God knew we would have a tendency to worship other things. At first, man may have held on to the knowledge of God, just as Cain talked with God even after killing his brother; but as time marched on and generations passed, there would be people born into families who would not teach them God even existed. God wanted this wonderful place He had created to lead man back to Him, not away from Him! No matter what a man may be taught to worship, or not to worship at all, everything in creation would lead man to understand, "there must be something more!" There must be someone who made all this and has the sustaining power the creation does not have." God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9) We can't make it on our own, and we have all fallen short of the glory of God. This doesn't mean we have all done horrible and unspeakable things, but there needs to be a time when we turn from a focus on the things of this world and hear the voice of God!

One day, Jesus passed by a blind man; Jesus' disciples asked if the man was blind because he had sinned or because his parents had sinned. Jesus told them it was not his parents' sin or his sin "but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." Then Jesus proceeded to heal the man. This is really true of every hardship we go through. Whether we receive any healing in this life or not, we are all subject to the end of Genesis 3:19. We were made from the dust, we will return to the dust! This is the ultimate work of God to be revealed! We are not trapped on this planet, with the hardship man has created for himself. We are not going to live here forever, suffering from the consequences of our mistakes and the mistakes of others. We have all fallen short of the glory of God, but God is merciful. We don't need to fret or strain. God has not wearied us. He has only asked that we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. If that is the desire of our heart, then Jesus has already done the ultimate work to free us from the suffering of this world. Every healing Jesus did, every bit of suffering He relieved, was only a taste of what He ultimately came to provide, and a small demonstration of the fact He has the power to provide life eternal even though these bodies must return to the ground!

The fact we will someday return to the dust of the ground, may be considered a negative curse by many in this world; but as believers in Jesus Christ, we should have a entirely different viewpoint. This world is not our home, we are all just travelers here. (Heb. 11;1-16) So let's start acting like we know this fact. Let's do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with our God, and make it our mission to be a part of the demonstration God has already set in motion, that there is a higher way! I don't know about you, but when it comes to this world I feel just like the song says, "I couldn't care less if I could buy it all with a solitary dime, lately I've got leaving on my mind." Thanks be to God that Jesus will return and free us from this sin filled world one day very soon, and what a very dusty day it will be!

I'll see you next time!

This past summer, science, was king! We've seen the launch and return of the first space shuttle flight since the tragic loss of Columbia in 2003. It was not without its problems, but a success nonetheless. We've also witnessed the launch of yet another unmanned space vehicle to the planet Mars, which scientist hope will send back great amounts of data, beginning in March of next year. One is not sure, whether this is looking forward or looking back, since the primary mission of the Mars program seems to be simply a multi billion dollar attempt to prove evolution! Those of us who know our Bible, know, the more they learn about Mars and other planets, the more the only logical conclusion will emerge, God made it all. The creation Paul was talking about in Romans 1:20, was not limited to earth!

In spite of these great technological achievements in space, the most astonishing acts of man are still taking place right here on the ground. On August 23, a study was released to let us all know, babies inside their mother's womb "likely do not feel pain until the final months of pregnancy." The hoopla over this idea, of course, comes from the abortion advocates. They believe it's great news to have a "scientific study" on their side which promotes any idea they believe will help them make abortion on demand more readily available.

You see, in recent times, some states have passed new laws which make it mandatory to inform a woman, considering an abortion, that her child might experience pain during the "procedure." This new study, if widely publicized by the media , will no doubt affect the passage of such laws in other states. Planned Parenthood would be very glad to see this, as well as the repeal or gutting of existing laws. As one Planned Parenthood spokesperson put it, "Families faced with the difficult decision of an abortion should not be burdened with the thought that the fetus might experience pain." Yes, what a horrible tragedy - that when you have such a tough choice to make, which is already weighing heavy on your mind, you would have to stop, for even a moment, and think about the fact, the child inside of you may actually have an independent brain and nervous system which can experience pain while it's being torn apart and "prepared" for removal!

People always seem to be on the wrong side of this issue. If the "research" only shows, babies in the womb "likely do not feel pain until the final months of pregnancy," then there's definitely reason to warn, that having an abortion may be physically painful for the child. If there's any evidence a child can feel pain before birth, and there is much, then it only supports the fact, women should be informed that what they are about to do is more than simple removal of unwanted tissue! Of course, the "researchers" who released this study, though they try to tell us they had no particular bias, display a totally one sided viewpoint on the issue nonetheless. They say that "offering fetal pain relief during abortions in the fifth or sixth months of pregnancy is misguided and might result in unacceptable health risks to women." I guess it only makes sense that they would care only about health risks to the women, since they seem to take no thought about the fact they are killing the child!

Even caring only for themselves, how many women know the medical reasons for giving unborn children anesthesia during surgical procedures is, many times, to reduce the release of stress hormones given off by the child? The only reason doctors worry about these stress hormones is because of the potentially harmful effects to the mother which are currently unknown. A lead "researcher" involved in this study, an anesthesiologist by trade, stated that the risk to the mother, by giving anesthetics to the child, is "medically acceptable when the goal is to save the fetus, but there's not enough evidence to show any benefit from fetus-directed anesthesia during an abortion." There isn't "enough evidence" that "fetus-directed" anesthesia has benefit for the mother! In other words, the risk to a mother is fine to take if the child is wanted; but if the child is unwanted, then the child simply doesn't matter anymore!

It never ceases to amaze me the way humans can strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. This study is nothing more than a political tool which will be used by the leaders of the ongoing holocaust being carried out on children in this country and around the world. The truth is, even if this study was right, it should be irrelevant to the argument of abortion. The fact there is any evidence an unborn baby can feel anything, at any point in the womb, should be ample evidence for anyone that abortion is one of the most appalling acts man can carry out! For all the sickness in this world, it doesn't get much sicker than for humans to sit around and debate about the level of pain a child in the womb feels as it is being cut apart. The fact we can even have such a discussion about the most helpless of human beings should make it impossible to hold down our lunch! The real root of the problem is the fact the abortion argument itself no longer brings us to tears. The fact that millions of babies can be slaughtered every year for the convenience of it all, and that "fact" doesn't rock the foundation of our society, but instead is a point of political debate is unbelievable! The fact so many humans do not feel pain when talking about killing innocent children, is the subject a study should be done on!

We seem to cross lines with no thought these days. For many there seems to be no limit to what they will do or fight for, if they think it has even a slight potential to develop a cure for their body, help them have a child of their own or do something for them! For every in vitro child which is born, there are many children sacrificed. This is because the lab conceives many children, (they are mostly only referred to as embryos) knowing it can take several tries for a pregnancy to take. These conceived children are looked at under a microscope to see which ones are the best, and the ones found unworthy of even a chance, are simply "discarded." Any number of the children given a chance can fail, and the high failure rate is considered just a part of the game. If a pregnancy does result, most of the "unused" children are "discarded" as well!

In an age of stem cell research, it's not just mothers who are willing to kill for the sake of what they want! The ongoing debate over opening the doors further on the taking of children's lives, for the sake of harvesting their cells, is continuing in the US congress. Some believe it is a logical argument to say they only want to use what is left over from things like in vitro fertilization instead of letting those "embryos" go to "waste." The fact many children are "discarded" in the process of in vitro is not an argument for using them in stem cell research, it is the argument against the process of in vitro. Again, these are just political tricks used to try and justify any action they want to take for what they see as their welfare. When talking about stem cell research, recently, one man put it about as cold as it gets! While talking on national television, he announced that "We (the US) cannot afford to fall behind other nations of the world because of the moral issues we may have." These are truly selfish people. There is no doubt in my mind that no matter which side wins or losses in congress this fall, those in favor of death to help extend the life of others will continue to push for more and more, no matter what they are given.

Whatever "studies" or "scientific discoveries" man comes up with to try and justify his immoral actions, we must never be fooled into believing God doesn't see and care. Jesus told us in Matt. 10:27-30, "What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." If this world is truly concerned about diseases and sickness, they should be concerned about the utter disregard for life which is growing like a cancer! It seems these days, if you are not strong enough or big enough to stand up for your right to life, then your life will be used or ended at the will of those who want to extend or "improve" their own!

The Bible told us this day would come. I believe, Romans 1:28-32, Paul, through the Holy Spirit, paints a very accurate picture of the world we live in today, when he wrote, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

The blood truly runs cold!

Several years back, there were Christian organizations which promoted boycotts of American businesses for being in the business of selling smut. One of the businesses the boycotts targeted was a major retail outlet in which a great number of people shopped at. There were many people, claiming to be Christians, who would not think of boycotting their favorite store simply because the company promoted an anti-family, anti-morality practice. However, today we see not just individual Christians, but whole denominations willing to take a stand directly against the Word of God!

There seems to be a big problem with organizations which call themselves Christian. They don't seem to realize the Bible is the key to life, not the political circumstances of the day. Through the past several months there have been churches, and whole denominations, who have chosen to take an official stance as organizations, against the nation of Israel. They are encouraging their congregations to, and they as organizations are, boycotting companies who do business with Israel! Their justification for this action is the clear anti-biblical belief that Israel is the one who has no right to defend itself, even when faced with terrorist attacks against its most innocent civilians. Believing Israel has no right to reach out and take preemptive action against terrorists is bad enough, but the discrimination goes further. One of the biggest complaints today, deals with the idea that people believe Israel has no right to defend her own borders by building a security fence! I've heard many complain that the security fence will cause inconvenience for farmers and others who work around the area of the fence. Here, in America, the government will destroy homes and force people off property just because they want to build a new road! I think, even in light of great sacrifice on the livelihoods of a few, Israel is not only well justified, but morally obligated to build this kind of protection to save the lives of innocent civilians!

The bottom line is this, by coming out against any and every action taken by Israel to stop the enemy from taking the lives of its citizens, you are not just questioning the morality of a government's actions. The church organizations and individuals who follow these boycotts, are, by implication or outright statement, challenging the right of Israel to exist at all!

This is one of the most egregious examples that has ever existed, as to how far off base Christianity as a religion can be! Even if you felt as though Israel's tactics and methods are too harsh, you have to ignore scripture completely to be against the Jewish state in such a broad and undiscerning way. Just as in the United States, there may be policies of the government in which you disagree with, but that is a far issue from attempting to harm the individual Jewish people who have been gathered from the four winds of the earth by God, back to their homeland and promise. The Old Testament tells us the story of Israel, and the fact God would allow them to be scattered throughout the world. It also makes equally clear the fact God would someday gather them again. (Isa. 11:10-16, ,54, Jer. 23:5-8, Ez.11:16-20, Joel 3) In so many places, the scripture makes it clear, the modern existence of Israel is the will of God Himself; it would take much of this newsletter just to list all the references! This brings us to a simple conclusion, you can't be anti-Israel without being anti-God.

One of the very first promises of God to Abraham and the chosen seed, which would come from him and his wife Sarah, was that God would bless those people who blessed God's chosen people, and curse those people who curse God's chosen people. (Gen. 12:1-3) What Israel should and shouldn't do is not up to us, it is in the hands of God. It is not right for us as individuals, and especially not as churches or organizations of churches, to put ourselves in-between God and the leadership of the nation of Israel! God has forbid us from being the ones who would step in and make such decisions. God is well able to give instruction to Israel when her actions are out of bounds! God has done it in the past, and He is more than able to do it again.

Making a decision to challenge the right of Israel to exist, either directly or indirectly, puts you on the very wrong side of the spiritual fence. If you know anything about God's Word, you should understand Israel's right to exist does not come from the mouth of man. It was not the strength of man which put Israel on the map over 3000 years ago, when a group of former slaves from Egypt crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, and their descendants marched on the land of Canaan, defeating some of the strongest people on the earth. (Exodus, Joshua) It was not by the power of man that a young boy named David went into a valley one day and with only a stone and a sling brought down a giant who challenged the right of Israel to exist. (I Sam. 17) It was not a human king who turned back the great armies of the Assyrian Empire from the gates of Jerusalem, when all other nations in their known world were crumbling before the Assyrian army. (II Kings 18:1-19:37) The opportunity for Esther to use her courage was no accident. She found favor with a Babylonian king against a man who would have killed all the Hebrews in the empire. (Esther) It was not because of man that the law and people of God, survived a Greek ruler who set up an abomination in the temple of God, and made worship of God against the law. It wasn't by the will of the flesh that a young Jewish virgin named Mary gave birth to a Son who would do great miracles and teach great things. (Matt. 1) It wasn't by the strength of the Jewish council, or Rome, that Jesus was nailed to a cross and shed His blood for the salvation of all mankind! (John 19:1-16)

It's not by the hand of man that the Jewish people still exist even after being chased, beaten, and killed by the most powerful empire to ever exist. Planes, tanks, and guns are not the reason the Jews still exist, after a man named Hitler decided they needed to be the first to go, in a world where man would build a utopia filled with super people. If you have not gotten the picture yet, then let me be quite clear, it is not by the will of man that a little nation, who is the only democracy in an entire region filled with dictators and tyrants who hate it, exists today! Further, it's not by the hand of man that Israel will continue to exist and prosper! How do I know this? Because the Bible tells us that Israel's modern existence is preparation for the day Christ returns to gather all those who truly do believe, and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives to establish Himself as King of Kings! (Acts 1:1-12, I Thess. 4:14-18) Jesus will once again take that triumphal trek into the glorious city of Jerusalem. The difference, this time around, will be that Jesus will not be riding an inexperienced young donkey, He will be riding a great white horse. When He speaks, all those who would try to stop Him, will fall. (Rev. 19:11-21) The People of God will not reject Him, but they will embrace Jesus as their Messiah! Then Jerusalem, Israel and the world will belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ! (Isa. 2, Micah 4:1-7)

We know all this will happen with or without the support of those who claim to believe in the very book where all the above information is given. (James 2:19) Sadly, the Bible also tells us, when the final hours of time have ticked away and this planet is no more, there will be a great Judgment of everyone who has ever lived. Jesus said in Matthew 7, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Those who have taken a stand against Israel, have taken a stand against the people of God. This is not a political issue, it is a Biblical one! If you are in an organization which has taken this stand, I would encourage you, to come out from among them and be ye separate. (II Cor. 6:14-18) I say this, not because I want you to do the same thing to them as they are trying to do to Israel, but I say this, because if you are a true believer in Christ, you should not be joined to those who are against the plan of God. Jesus also said in Matthew 12:30 "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

Do not be fooled, there will always be those who will try and use the Bible as an excuse to do the wrong thing. To those, the Bible warns, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 5:20-24

Let's show the world, that we stand with the people of God. We bless them, not curse them. I don't know how many more organizations there may be out there thinking about challenging Israel's right to exist, but I know this, as for me and this ministry we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15) Thus, let there be no mistake about it - WE STAND WITH ISRAEL!