"NOT PEACE, BUT A SWORD" - Jesus
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to
send peace, but a sword..." - Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:34, KJV)
And the words of God Himself, in Joel 3, verses 9-17, KJV:
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the
mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into
spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather
yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to
come down, O LORD.
Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of
Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round
about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down;
for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the
LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall
withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from
Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the
children of Israel.
Dear friends, the Word of God, the Holy Bible, is full of fulfilled prophecies. Hundreds of them were fulfilled by the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus. Now there remain only the prophecies relative to the end times and His second coming in glory that are to be fulfilled - and those predict horrific times, the like of which the world has never seen nor will see again :
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." - Jesus, in Matthew 24:21-2, KJV
Do not regard President Bush as either a messiah or an antichrist, but recognize him for the instrument of the Lord he so obviously is, used in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Do not be surprized that the Lord would use military force from around the globe to accomplish His purpose; He is almighty and omnipotent, and His ways are not our ways. Remember He used the heathen king Cyrus to facilitate the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the days of the Old Testament:
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the
LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished,
the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in
writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath
the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to
build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there
among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and
let him go up. - 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23
He does not need our approval or our understanding of His actions, praise Him, but He HAS given us 2000 years advance notice of the events to come through His Word. Whose fault is it if we have chosen to ignore His clear warnings?
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory." - Jesus, in Matthew 24:29,30, KJV
Does it not behoove us, then, to make wise use of these evil days and, standing firm upon the Rock of our salvation, (i) PRAY; (ii) comfort others with the comfort with which He has comforted us and (iii) urge the unbelievers around us to
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while
he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, saith the LORD. - Isaiah 55:6-8, KJV
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls
is wise. - Proverbs 11:30, KJV
"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in
truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the
other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD." - Joshua, in Joshua 24:14
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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A WORD FROM THE WISE:
I kidnapped this e-mail from Bob Simenson, a long-time cyberfriend and saint of God who sends out what he calls "an occasional dispatch" called Morning Manna from his website, http://cyberservant.net. May his words be a blessing and a call to arms (and knees!) for you all!
From: Robert Simenson
To: bobson@chibardun.net
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 10:25 AM
Subject: War Protest
And now it's time for my (i.e., Bob Simenson's) two cents worth.....
The die is cast. The battle rages. The future is insecure. Let us stop protesting and start supporting our leaders, and expecially the military that is not a machine, it is made up of our young people, creatures made in the image of God and precious in His sight and ours. And pray, pray, pray....but how and for what? That the Almighty's sovereign will might be done in this horrific situation.
Bob
E-mail bobson@chibardun.net
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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GUEST EDITORIAL
from the pen of Mid L. Stutsman
WAR
March 20, 2003
In light of the current war on Iraq, I have written a poem expressing my
feelings. While I am not for the violence and aggression of war, nor for
the killing of any human being, I am, as an American citizen, supporting
our troops and those innocent civilians affected by the outcome, with my
prayers. As I see it, only God can intervene and bring a speedy end to
this unfortunate conflict. I do know that freedom is obtained with a
price, and there is a high cost in human lives in times of war, but who
are we to deny the rights of those oppressed, to the measure of freedom
granted to us in America? I also know that there is an appropriate way to
dissent. To say you oppose the war and then to cause anarchy, wanton
destruction, and harm of life, by violent and disruptive protests, is to
promote a double standard and to show disrespect to the rights of freedom
you enjoy. There are more intelligent and constructive ways to present
your position. Here then are my thoughts on:
WAR
Stars flee the face of terror camouflaged
under wings of steel, mounting through the
clouds of hope denied, painted with Heaven's
colors. Bleeding, bold and brave.
Metallic thunder. Fragments falling, breaking
the shackles holding life hostage, in bondage to
evil's demands. Silence cowers 'neath the
flashes. Watching. Waiting for the dawn of
liberation. Tensions growing, wondering.
Will the outcome end repression?
Will home seem closer than before?
Night wears the darkness like a shroud,
and mourns the loss of innocents, while
victory plucks survivors from the rubble of
despair, and stares at loved ones draped
in the threads of...freedom.
-
Mid L. Stutsman
E-mail Mid: midspoint@hotmail.com
Visit Mid's home page : Mid's Point (http://midspoint.aviqa.com)
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
OHzone UPdates...
What it means to be FOR Him
Words... or actions?
On His Power to Rescue
Prayer and Praise Page
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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Great Links!
- Please visit the Department of Defense web page below and sign in thanking the men and women of the U.S. military services for defending our freedom. The compiled list of names will be sent out to our soldiers at the end of the month. So far, there are only about 5.9 million names. What a shame...... National Military Appreciation Month. The entire exercise takes 10 seconds...literally. Please pass it on to your email friends. http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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NEWS BRIEFS:
* Catherine Ambrose asks, "DID YOU EVER click on the "SHAME" button on my "Letters to My Sisters" website? http://www.hotkey.net.au/~charis It is appalling to think that Christian Scripture Teachers can take this stance. I became very unpopular when I tried to take a stand against it.
* Rudy Brinkman's one-man band
YetAnotherOneManBand won some very impressive recognition from IUMA before Rudy relocated his music to http://www.soundclick.com/yaomb/. YAOMB was
#26 at IUMA in the "Inspirational Top40" (http://www.iuma.com/Genre/M-IN/top40.html)
#21 in the "Christian" section (http://www.iuma.com/Genre/CR/top40.html) and
#506 over-all in IUMA's 40,000+ bands/musicians! Thank You, Jesus, for this wonderful encouragement of a wonderful saint of God. :-))) I only wish I'd gotten this issue circulated before Rudy switched to SoundClick. Ohhh welll... maybe next time, huh?
LATE NEWS FLASH: One of my favourites of Rudy's songs, "Kids with Guns", has reached #8 at Soundclick, in the Rock / General section and #26 in the overall daily charts (March 24/03) : Kids with Guns. Thanks for keeping me posted, Rudy. I'm happy for you!
Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
Keep on reigning; You're my Lord!
Sharpen my mind by Your Spirit's sword.
Compliments of NicksHumor.net
That's about it for now, folks. God bless you and keep you, one and all!
PAYMENT DUE!!
The OHzone E-Clips is no longer free... it is now 'Helpware.'
Each week you must help one person on the web who has less knowledge
than you. Pick a newsgroup posting or an email each week and help
that person even if you have to visit their site to find the best
answer or do a little research and get back to them. Trust me, this
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(((HUGS))) and blessings to you all,
(Mrs.) Doris E. Howie <><
Editor, OHzone E-CLIPS
