SCRIPTURE REASONING -- Happy New Year!

                  SCRIPTURE REASONING

    We should study scripture carefully, reading from verse one of a Book through
the last verse of the Book. If you don't read it all the way through, you may make
a gigantic mistake in your understanding of the subject. That opens the door to
a major interpretation of God's Word. Let's take a look at an example of scripture
that was presented to me as the reason this person was persuading Christians
to follow his teaching.

    First, let us look at The Parable of the Talents, Matt. 25:14-30, and then go to
Matt. 19:16-22. If you don't read both scriptures, you will fail to understand the 
true meaning and teaching of these passages. You need to read Matt 21:12-13 to
get the final meaning of all three.

    In reading Matt. 25:14-30, Jesus is using money to get the listeners' attention,
and, in today's world, nothing else has such a profound effect. Beginning with verse
14, we proceed. "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country,
who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave
five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own
ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five
talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he
who had received two gained two more also.

    But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's
money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts
with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents,
saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look I have gained five more talents
besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy
of your lord.'

    He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me
two talents,  look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said
to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few 
things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

    Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to
be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have 
not scattered seed. And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground.
Look, there you have what is yours.'

    But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that
I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you
ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have
received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him
who has ten talents.'

    For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but
from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the
unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.' This parable is used by Christians to illustrate that our free market system
is a solid basis for success. We'll look at the other two passages of scripture, and
then sort out the teaching of Jesus. There is more here than meets the eye.

    Matt. 19:16-22: Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what 
good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you
call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into
life keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "You 
shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not
bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your
neighbor as yourself."

    The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What
do I still lack? Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have
and give to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had
great possessions.

    First we read about making profits and a lord (rich man). Now we read about
another rich man. In the first, we saw that profit was the goal. In the second, profit
was not the goal. Now we go to Matt. 21:12-13. "Then Jesus went into the temple
of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned
the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He
said to them, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have
made it a den of thieves."

    Let's go back to the first Parable. The rich man places three servants in the
possession of some of his money. Two either barter or invest the money while
the third simply preserves the initial amount. The rich man rewards the two who
brought financial profits to him. The third man received no reward and was
banished. This collection of scripture has always been used to teach Christians
about profit in money and laziness as a main reason for lack of profit. You need
to understand you missed something in these scripture verses if the above
conclusion is your understanding and belief.

    Look carefully at Matt. 25:24 through 27. Consider the character and VERY
UNCHRISTIAN principals of the rich man. The servant says he reaps where he 
has not sown and gathers where he has not scattered seed. The rich man admits
that is true, and says the servant should at least have gone to the bankers so
his money earned interest. The rich man calls the servant wicked and lazy.

    The servant did not steal any money, so the term wicked seems odd. If you
examine what Jesus is actually talking about, you will see it is not money, but
spiritual gifts. Each of us has at least one spiritual gift. You don't believe we
are talking about spiritual gifts because that cancels out money and profit. Take
another look at the rich man's character. He makes money by deception, stealing
and bankers' interest. Jesus would NEVER support that rich man nor the way
he lived his life. The lesson here is that if you don't use your spiritual gifts for
profit to God, you are wicked and lazy. If you don't know about the spiritual gifts 
I'm talking about, go to I Cor. 12:1-14. Jesus would NEVER direct anyone to
steal, deceive or make obscene interest profits. The nice part about this Parable
is that it permits ignorant Christians to make money while sinning.

    If you're still with me, we see Jesus telling a rich young man what is necessary
to be "perfect". He is saying complete belief is not gaining or having possessions
beyond bare necessity, and requires following Jesus and the Disciples in teaching
God's Word. The question here is, which is most important to you, having a lot of
money or spreading the Gospel? 

    Now for the coup d'e tat. We go to the third section of scripture in this sermon.,
Matt. 21:12 and 13. Jesus saw the money changers (businessmen) in the temple
making a nifty profit selling doves, and perhaps other sacrifice items, to worshipers
who came to observe church observances. They were using the temple as a store,
or "big box" location to do commercial business. This is a rare instance when Jesus
actually got mad and violent. 

    Jesus saw much that was religiously or otherwise bad, but it was the mixing of
money and religion that upset him more than anything else. That should be a lesson
for us. The money we can honestly accrue is not for people who are "good" at
making lots of money. We are supposed to use the money wisely, and that includes
helping the poor, widows and children. Not everyone is born rich and privileged.
Being lazy is not a major factor for many, many poor people. Redistribution of
wealth is not socialism. 

    One politician ignores the story of the Good Samaritan. Another wants to put
children of poor families to work as school janitors. Yet another wants to abolish
government agencies vital to all citizens, and another wants to change the
Constitution to make courts--one third of the division of power-- subject to the
whim of Congress. The previous Administration redistributed the wealth by
giving the rich a tax cut that now equals $3,400,000 per person. Now, that's
redistributing the wealth.

    When a politician invokes his/her beliefs in faith while talking politics, he/she
has crossed God's line. Jesus explained it for us very well, not in isolated
scriptures the politicians use, but in the chapters and verse in this sermon.
You and I will be judged by how we "use" scripture and our decisions. There
is no excuse.

Rev. Walbear

CHRISTMAS 2011

   
                                                                  CHRISTMAS 2011

    I would guess that just about everybody in America is familiar with the

traditional biblical Christmas story as told in the New Testament. There are

nativity scenes to remind us, and the old time Christmas carols to help explain

the birth of Christ. It is not the holiday season until New Years, but many would

have us believe Christmas is just a holiday. It is the observance of Christ's

birthday, whether the date is accurate or not. Many "Christians" accept the

switch to holiday. They are not what they claim.

    I learned a great deal the first Christmas after my ordination. I was asked

by the senior pastor to give the Christmas message. I was thrilled and

excited. When I went to make notes for the sermon, I was both mystified and

surprised when the Holy Spirit led me not to Luke or the New Testament, but

to the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. I was led to tell the story of Christ, 

the Redeemer, through the Book of Ruth. After all, Christ was our Redeemer, 

sent to us for the purpose of salvation and redeeming.

    It turned out the Holy Spirit knew a great deal about that ensuing Christmas

program in church. When the senior pastor introduced me to present the Christmas

message, he preceded my introduction with the traditional Christmas story

about Joseph and Mary traveling for the census, having to stay in a stable, the

bright star, wise men, etc. If I had that message, I would have been upstaged

and very embarrassed. That, apparently, was the plan of the senior pastor. He

didn't want any competition in the pulpit. He was surprised and disappointed

to learn more about redemption.

    None of my Christmas messages since have been traditional, and this one

follows that path. We are joyous and appreciative to recount the journey and

experiences leading to Christ's birth, and we should be. But, have we given

much thought to God's plan for that event?

    I'm going to "nick" a chunk out of prosperity teaching by taking a close look

at Christ's pre-birth history. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, which many

"Christians" don't believe. Mankind was not prepared for that, and Joseph did

his best to keep Mary from becoming a topic of gossip. No crown and royalty

here. Society could call him  a bastard without a legal father. Think of the

anguish for the couple, knowing few would believe the truth.

    They had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census.  That was quite

a journey, and Mary, near delivery, had to make the trip riding a donkey. It was

cold at that time of year in Israel, and it's probable there was some snow on the

ground. It was a difficult journey for our yet unborn King. But God did not want

our Redeemer to have an advantage over fellow humans. He would start life

at the bottom of the barrel. No fancy stuff like our mega church leaders and

apostate politicians. The well-to-do people at that time did not share anything

with the poor or needy, just like most of today's fakers.

    When they got to Bethlehem, they needed a place to stay for Mary and to 

enable her to deliver Jesus. All the housing was full because many people had

to make the trip for the census. Nobody gave up their room or cared about a

poor peasant woman. After all, there were lots of poor peasants, and the world

didn't need any more poor children.

    Joseph finally found a place for them--a stable that housed God's more pure

creatures--animals. Can you imagine any of our so-called leaders taking a

pregnant wife to a stable? Yes, animals are more pure of heart than most

humans. There are a few rogues, but most are honest and loyal. I fell the

other day doing chores, and I no more than hit the ground before my dog was

there, licking my face and seeing if she could help me up. The Holy Spirit

knew our Redeemer was safe with innocent animals.

    God could have provided other shelter, but He wanted His Son to understand

what and how the "lowly" people had to live. You don't really know or understand

without the real deal. As one of my wife's relatives said many years ago, "You

have to walk a mile in another's moccasins to know how they feel". There were

others who knew about the impending birth and the star. It is interesting to note

that there were both good and evil people who knew the importance of the star

and the birth.

    The good guys included the kings from the orient. They had to know perhaps

months in advance to be able to travel all the way to Bethlehem to worship the

Christ. This was also a very difficult trip. Look on a map to see the great

distance and the hardships of desert and mountain. They also had to know

scripture--the Old Testament. They must have studied it diligently to understand

the Lord's plan. Surely a lot more than all those running around misquoting

the bible or claiming God tells them things.

    More good guys were the shepherds in the nearby fields who recognized

the meaning of the star. An angel appeared to them to explain what had

happened. They were believers.These were considered lowly people who 

certainly had blue collar jobs. But, they too, knew some scripture, and went to 

worship our Redeemer. Notice there were only a few humans with stature as kings

who came to Bethlehem. There were many common shepherds. Things haven't

changed much.

    The evil in this picture is personified by Herod, who was in charge of that area

before and after Christ was born. The evil ones study scripture, too, although the

Holy Spirit does not give them the whole truth. Herod and all his advisers knew

Christ had been born, but they didn't know where. The Holy Spirit knew Herod

would try to kill Christ, and it was God's intention that our Redeemer should

experience mankind's life from the lowest level to the top. The wise men were

warned not to return to Herod, and left by another route. Herod and the elite

(they are among us) never considered the King of the Jews would be born in

a stable. Not being able to find Him, Herod ordered all the young male children

to be killed.

    Joseph, Mary and Christ were led by the Holy Spirit to leave Bethlehem and

go to Egypt for safety. If you study scripture, you will see that God holds Egypt

above other Arab nations. Although Egypt was cruel to the Israelites, they also

provided assistance as directed by God. Christ's journey now took Him to a

strange land. He would begin another learning experience, even as a child.

    If you read the New Testament, you will discover Christ's development and

path from the days in Egypt. I pray you pick up the intricate plan God put

together for the arrival of our Redeemer. There were no politicians or

wealthy people except the few kings from the orient. Nobody attending Christ

had a personal agenda. Nobody made pledges or signed agreements they

wouldn't keep. 

    Christ did not come to earth to TAKE anything. He got very angry by the

corrupt businessmen who used the temple as a commercial bank and store.

He had to constantly battle the temple leaders, and later the apostate leaders 

in the early church. He did not condemn material wealth or money, but He had

much to say about those subjects. I have had scripture quoted to me as an

example of today's politicians and leaders following the bible. They are wrong.

    For those of you who desire to read the Christmas story, I direct you to

Luke 1:26-38, and Luke 2:1-20. But, as you read these passages, keep in

mind the difficulties that were presented. Those who honestly serve the Lord

can expect some difficulties, because we all need training. Think of all His

servants that never experienced prosperity on earth, but received their rewards

in heaven. Go all the way back to Stephen, consider the Apostles and others

who suffered in God's service. Is anyone today equal to God's tasks, or are

material and financial success more important? You may talk Christ, but there

may be dollar signs in your eyes. Greed abounds.

    God gave us an open mind to enable us to learn. We can never learn all

about everything, but we should never stop trying. When someone tells us

something, we should examine what we're told. Unfortunately, we're not

taught that in school any more. We accept outlandish statements and

easily accept unreasonable claims, especially if they're emotional. There

is only one way to have everlasting life, and that is through salvation by

accepting Christ as our Redeemer. A blessed Christmas.

    Rev. Walbear

    www.thesearchforgod.org

    faithtracks.blogspot.com

Prophecy 7

                                                         
                                                                   PROPHECY 7

    Today we're going to explore why some people are rejected by God. We're
going to be ENTIRELY biblical about this. We're also going to define terms
dealing with this rejection. Surprisingly, this has little to do with sins such
as drunkenness, adultery, and many other common sins.

    You may be familiar with the term "hardened hearts", which appears early
on in scripture. But what does it really mean? Look at Ex. 8:32. "But Pharaoh
hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go." This
was after the Egyptians were beset by swarms of flies, and Moses asked the
Lord to remove the flies. The Pharaoh broke his promise and refused to let
the Israelites go.

    I'm going to quote more scripture, but you should look up some of these
yourself. God would not have mentioned hardened hearts so many times in
the Old and New Testaments if the subject wasn't actually critical. The most
important lesson here is that hardened hearts is the ONE LAST REASON
the United States is today, right now, being judged just as Egypt was judged.

    While I take a break to get some ice cold ginger ale, look up some of the
scripture dealing with hardened hearts: Job 9:4; Mark 6:52; John 12:40;
Hebrews 3:13. Also see Ex. 4:21. Ps. 95:8, Hebrews 3:8. There's more:
Prov. 21:29, Prov. 28:14, Romans 9:1. God had a great deal to say and warn
us about this condition.

    Before I get to the term reprobate, we need to understand how hardened
hearts apply to committed and professing Christians. There is no doubt how
the term applies to the unsaved. They are lost already. Consider this very
seriously: a committed, saved Christian cannot have a hardened heart. The
Holy Spirit will prevent it.

    The "perhaps" saved professing Christian will be rejected by God even
if the individual thinks he has made the commitment to Christ. The Holy
Spirit has His own spiritual security scanner, and He is not fooled. If the
commitment is not 100%, the Holy Spirit will know, and that pretending
believer will be REJECTED.

    There will be many rejections, because people who fool themselves as
being good people and bible readers don't understand what happens to
them when they develop hardened hearts. Hardened hearts don't happen
overnight; they develop as a person makes decisions that are unscriptural
even though they don't realize they are following their carnal desires.

    In fact, many people with hardened hearts freely quote scripture to
support their carnal desires and opinions. They make a one verse quote,
but don't understand the group of verses that explain God's Word. In
so doing, they pat themselves on the back because the world now knows
God's explanation of the matter.

    Unfortunately, this situation exists in the church, where many denominations
have established their own rules and even rewritten scripture to promulgate
their (cursed) programs. Yes, cursed, because Revelation warns in 22:18,19
that anyone who deletes or adds to His Word are lost. Unfortunately, this
condition exists in our politics. For many years now, it has become a "must"
that every candidate claim to be a saved Christian and just chock full of faith.
If they really were, money (campaign funds) would take a back seat to a
discussion of issues.

    Hardened hearts frequently come about because the person isn't telling
the truth, and keeps repeating the untruth over and over until they actually
believe they are telling the truth. At this point they become REPROBATE.
More about this term a bit later. It means they now believe what they are
saying, and they have been rejected by God. Once rejected, they are
forever rejected, If you are a professing (not committed) Christian, you
are now rejected. You didn't care enough to become Christ-like.

    I have a personal experience to show how it works. At one time we
employed a young lady now and then for a day when we had to be absent
from our home and business. There was a road on both ends of our farm,
and she lived in a house along that road adjacent to our land. It was a very
short walk from end to end with a small creek in the middle. A big oak tree
had fallen across the little stream, providing a neat bridge, although the
stream only had a few inches of water.

    One day when she finished work early, she decided to walk home across
the field. when she walked across the tree bridge, she almost lost her
balance, and her glasses fell in the creek. She told her mother most of what
happened, but said we forced her to walk home, something we never did.
Her mother took us to court, but lost the case. The girl had lied. That was
when we discovered her entire family sort of lived on a collection of lies
which they truly did believe.

    Most people who develop hardened hearts have personal agendas,
and develop information and stories to support that agenda. It is really
a personal public relations campaign. They usually do not research the
subject, or only research for answers they desire. They often make bigoted
statements and push their points by rudeness. They frequently jump right
in to agree when someone makes a statement favoring their delusion.

    This is a very serious issue in churches, where ultra conservatives continue
to believe that being a good person is the path to heaven. Christ told us and
showed us that NONE of us are good enough to enter heaven. Your good
deeds (or intended good deeds), may be evidence of your commitment to
Christ, or may be the limit of your professed commitment.

    When you have continued along this path for a period of time, you become
reprobate. From that time on, the Holy Spirit will not work for you,and you will
become one of the FALLING AWAY people. Reprobate has been a Christian
term for centuries.

    Some of the meanings of reprobate include "rejected as not of standard
purity or fineness; condemned." Take a serious look at this first definition of
reprobate. Note condemned, which means something not acceptable AND IN
NEED OF DESTRUCTION AND REPLACEMENT. This term is easily understood
when applied to property, especially housing. Even though the outside of the
structure appears to be acceptable, often the inside is not because of faulty
electrical wiring, plumbing, unsafe foundation and structure, trash, and other
safety shortcomings.

    Your Christian walk may have many problems, not much different than the
condemned house. While the housing problem is physical, your problem may
be entirely spiritual. One of the most serious problems I see is the lack of
compassion by professing Christians. If something doesn't touch their personal
lives, they come to rapid conclusions based on skimpy facts and the opinion
of a loudmouth.

    Some Christians claim only one political party has all the committed and
professing Christians. Everyone else is not a real patriot. I invite them to visit
cemeteries to see the graves of soldiers who fought for everybody, both for all
Christians and people of other or no faiths. I keep hearing that social security
is an entitlement program. I worked almost 60 years before retiring, and had
to--by law--pay an amount out of every paycheck into the social security
retirement fund. That money was MINE, and has earned interest ever since
it was deposited. I repeat--that money is MINE. It does not come out of anybody
Else's pocket. When it is used to pay other government debts, it is being plainly
stolen.

    I have read story after story about our debt problem, especially quite a number
by financial institutions. they all offer advice--at a cost--to protect your assets,
which usually begin at the$500,000 level. Not one of these corporations, nor
any member of Congress or the President mentioned anything about the teachings
of scripture. Oh, they talk about faith and how God has spoken to them. Mostly,
they talk about how to keep corporations and the wealthy on the path to more
wealth.

    It's difficult to separate religion from politics, because history has shown us
that the two always come together. Unfortunately money and power also go
to the winners. The winners are not necessarily on God's side, but they usually
bask in a shower of "blessings". Hitler didn't persecute Christians, he persecuted
Jews. He convinced the German people he was right.

    God stands for TRUTH. The people who push their own bigoted agendas fight
this vigorously, because committed Christians are the "light of the world", truth.
The success of the reprobate Christians and pretenders is being permitted by
God because it is a separating element of judgment and part of the falling away
in the earlier stages of the end times. This falling away has speeded up so much
in the past few years, that we are reminded to keep oil in our lamps or we will
miss the rapture.

Rev. Walbear

FLOOD WARNINGS

                                                      FLOOD WARNINGS

    It's interesting that people set their priorities not on scripture and science, the two positives to guide us. Read this little bit of history to enable you to (maybe) come to a conclusion.

    In the late 50s, the Danville Area School Board voted to build a new high school on a field known as the Cinder Tip in Danville, PA. This area is flat, and while dry, it borders on Mahoning Creek. This creek floods now and then, usually without causing much trouble. When the Susquehanna River, into which the Mahoning empties just a short distance away, backs up, the combination of the Mahoning rapid flood flow and the Susquehanna's back-up spell big trouble.

    Although there had been no serious flooding in that particular era, a
serious look at a map indicated the Cinder Tip was in a flood plain. In fact,
that area was known as the CinderTip because its elevation had been raised
by cinders as landfill.

    The field was available at an affordable price, and the school district
needed a new and larger high school. This was a period with major school
district consolidations, and the Danville Area had brought several rural
districts into its jointure. There were 10 districts, including
Danville, although a few of these rural municipalities had no school, and were already joined
with a partner.

    When the time came for the Jointure Board to vote on the new school site,
there was only one director who opposed the location. Walter H. Loncosky,
the long-time Derry Township director, told the board the land wasn't good
for a major structure because of the fill, and the building would be subject to
serious future flooding. The board vote was 49-1. Other board members told
him 49 couldn't be wrong with only one opposed.

    Loncosky, a Christian and avid student of scripture, believed the bible told
them not to be swayed by their personal desires for a quick contract for the
school. He also pointed out the scientific facts on the maps, clearly
pointed out the new structure would be in an area likely to be damaged by floods.

     Everybody else wanted the new school, and claimed there was little likelihood
of a flooding problem. There was considerable growth in the area, and both
developers and contractors were eager to build. Some projects were proposed
for sites that were marginal flood plain areas. After major floods occur, it is
necessary to remap areas to determine changes in the landscape and water
courses. The Planning Commission held a public hearing to take comments
as they desired to make building sites friendlier to developers.

    A planning expert from Harrisburg was present at the hearing to take
comments from citizens and officials, as well as to explain changes the planners
wanted to make. There were few serious objections to the proposed changes,
except for the testimony from the Montour County Conservation District
director. That, friends, was me, the son of Walter H Loncosky, who warned
the school district prior to the construction on Cinder Tip.

    Having worked many years as a conservationist locally, the USDA, the
Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, and being a state certified
conservationist as well as an inspector of erosion and sediment, I had a lot
to say. I warned them they were courting disaster by giving in to big money
in the hands of developers and contractors. I pointed to flood damages in
previous years, such as 1935. I also listed the rapid increase of paving for
roads, parking lots and other uses. Every time a development goes in, there
is less land to absorb water. More and more trees are being removed. They
also are a main absorber of water and hold soil in place.

    The planner said serious floods only happened in 100 year intervals, and
it was unlikely we would see one anytime soon. He said they were taking
precautions that would be adequate. The planning commission would meet
in the near future to accept an updated plan.

    Now, fast forward to June, 1972. Agnes visited the area and brought record
flooding. There was little joy in noting the preliminary plans for the
county were in that planning expert's desk as it floated down the Susquehanna River.
Harrisburg was flooded, and our entire area was devastated. The school on
Cinder Tip was flooded, and so was the entire Fourth Ward of Danville. My
wife and I toured much of the flood area, taking notes and pictures of
the damage for newspapers.

    The entire planning commission resigned. Many prominent people were on
that commission, and I know I was not appreciated in their circles. The truth
always hurts. After the water receded, the Army sent a sprayer in a
deuce-and-a-half to spray for mosquitoes. I guided them around the county and viewed even more
damages than I had seen previously. We got a new planning commission with a
better attitude.

    People never seem to learn. The bible tells us over and over that we live in
roughly a cycle of four successions. We establish a building period; that brings
prosperity; next comes a period of good living when we believe we accomplished
all this prosperity without God's help, and we "fall away" from our Christian
fundamentals. Finally, we ignore God's warnings and are judged to fail.

    They fixed up the new high school and later used it as the junior high,
building yet another, bigger school for high school students. This one they
built on a hill, but still didn't escape water problems. The engineer who
installed a settlement pond to control runoff water installed the overflow
pipe upside down. When there was a heavy rainstorm, the water overflowed
the pond and caused damage to a residential area just below the school site.
Their resident inspector had a sideline job and didn't tend his resident inspector
duties very seriously.

    The school district and local officials realized they needed to shore up
protection for the now junior high, and levees and flood gates were installed.
Nothing is fail safe. When Lee paid his visit, the flood gates didn't hold, and
even sand bagging didn't stop the water. The junior high was flooded again.
This is the second 100-year flood to hit the area in 39 years. Worse yet, these
most recent floods have set new records.

    Several levees came within inches of being topped. Our planners are
constrained by money problems. Officials and many taxpayers do not want
to spend the money for floodwalls. The cost of recovering from floods is so
high--and in many cases heartbreaking--that steps must be accepted and
taken by officials to prevent as much as possible of this devastation.

    Local taxpayers only need to look at the cost of cleaning up after these
floods, and the repairs and restoration of land, roads and property. No matter
how much it hurts, precautions such as a floodwall must take place. There
is no room for leaders without guts at any level.

Rev. Walbear.

THE SNARE

    Did you learn a lot about snares while studying Revelation? I fear you were
so interested in the end times, you passed by the snares warnings without giving
them too much thought. The snares, of course, are the faults Christ found existing
in the church. Snares are the devices Satan uses to catch us and prevent us
from becoming committed Christians. There are more than 20 places in scripture
that tell us to be aware of snares.

    I'm postponing briefly more information about the New Apostolic Reformation,
because we need to understand how Satan's snares work. There are two major
methods of snare science. The first is repetition, and the second is patient
ignorance. See Ecclesiastes 9:12, "For man also does not know his time: Like
fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men
are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them."

    See also, Luke 21:34,35. When you read these two verses, I can hear you
saying to yourself, "I'm not drunken, nor do I carouse. I'm a serious person who tries
to follow God's Word." Don't forget the second part of that admonition, that warns
about cares of this life. Scripture tells us, "But take heed to yourselves, lest your
hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and
that Day come on you unexpectedly, For it will come as a snare on all those who
dwell on the face of the whole earth."

    For most of us, it's quite easy to avoid common pitfalls of sin such as overuse
of alcohol, too much food, stealing, etc. The tough part is overcoming the cares
of the world and not researching the information diligently presented to us in an
effort to persuade us to take certain action. This is true both in church and politics.

    Let's look at the use of repetition. This is a major factor in advertising and money.
Advertisers think up more and more ways to get their product name in your mind
by sight and sound. Jingles, songs, video, endorsements and samples attempt to
keep you continuously aware of their product. You may even hum some of the
jingles. It works. After a period of time you accept the message whether you use it
or not. The same could be said about church. You may even learn liturgy and
repeat it without thinking about the meaning. I've used "falling away" to try to get
you to understand the sequence of end times. A political example is "entitlements."
Politicians have bundled social security with several other programs that are entirely
different. Social security is not a gift. It is money a worker and employer pay into a
fund by law, that is placed in an account earning interest. It is money the worker
received for work, and the employer's contribution was computed as part of the
total wage. It is a retirement program for many people who can never earn enough
during working years to have a pension or IRA. Social security is paid for by the
person receiving it, not the taxpayers. It is not taxpayer money. In religion, in the
church, the snare is the promise of peace and understanding through Chrislam.

    Now let's look at patient ignorance. This is simply a matter of refusing to recognize
a problem or situation for an extended period of time. You refuse to discuss the
subject. Lawyers use this to delay cases that could cost their clients large sums of
money. Two points for their un-Christian action: expenses may prevent the claimant
from continuing the case, or the claimant and/or witnesses may die. This is carnal
action. Another example was a hot button subject just a few years ago: bringing the
troops home and getting out of the "wars". You don't hear much about this any more.
The politicians who talked about this didn't know how difficult it could and would be,
and when they did some research, they dropped the subject. We probably would have
little or no national debt if we weren't involved in this quicksand venture. Once you
venture into quicksand, it's almost impossible to get out. If politicians are so concerned
about national debt and cutting funding, why don't they talk about the trillions spent
on these unwinable conflicts? Congress never created any funding specific to this
continuing expense. The church world has so many of these patient ignorance
subjects it would take up too much space to list them. Scripture describes them and
tells us how to deal with this. How can a denomination rewrite or revise God's Word
while the congregations accept the blasphemy?

    Christians must be wary of these methods both in church and politics. This gets
sticky when the two are intertwined as they are now. We do not have thinking and
reasoning Christians today. We have people who are so concerned with making a
living and raising families they don't research the information that is drilled into them.
Political and scripture research are subjects not on their grocery list.

Both politicians and preachers are salesmen today. They are selling their agenda
to you, and raising large sums of money is the conduit. We are flooded with polls.
These snake oil salesmen want to know what you like and how you think(?). They
are especially interested in subjects that spark immediate emotions. Unfortunately,
most people are more emotional than thinkers.

    I recall the days before mega churches, and especially the short radio programs,
where fund raising was not a major issue. Later, the sales pitch was brought in, and
virtually every religious program asked you to contribute. I remember when James
Bakker of PTL had a large pile of money on the stage and picked up a scoop shovel
of money and asked viewers to send more. I also recall a Texas preacher with a
teleministry sending ushers out in the congregation for a collection, and they returned
with actual bushel baskets of money, most of it in bills. One of the major hooks in
these fund raising efforts was miracle healing. Some of the miracle healing was real,
but others were fake. Lots of Christians were taken in then, and still are, but the
preachers and politicians are using different subjects. When you examine the subjects,
you find some worthwhile, while others are as fake and misleading as in the past
example. All are designed to collect money. It is your responsibility to do the research.

    Now that you have been warned about the snares, you need to examine this new
threat in the church called New Apostolic Reformation. This is what may be called
the Evangelical Plan to bring America into a theocracy. The only theocracy that worked
was when God, personally, directed man through priests and prophets before man
desired a human king. The NAR plan will bring religious control not so far removed
from the Muslim sharia law. It features the loss of personal freedom and forced values
on people. Some of these values are outrageous and have little in common with
Christianity. In many cases, they require your response and obedience to be very
un-Christian because they cannot achieve control otherwise.

    I promised to also bring an examination of our President into these two conflicting
plans, and now is the time. He has not shown leadership, and caves in when he can
find a reason to benefit. An example was the extension of tax cuts--$129,000 a year--
to the wealthy that changed the income tax laws. Enacted under Bush, this law was
up for renewal or expiration. Obama proposed its expiration, but faced a firestorm from
Republicans. The wealthy loved that tax break which has given them $1,290,000 over
ten years. That's a lot better than social security recipients with not one cent increase
for the cost of living (where is the evidence cost of living hasn't gone up?). Allowing
that tax break to expire is NOT raising taxes. Obama caved in when he realized he
and his wife could use that extra $129,000 a year. The Republicans saw a nice
carrot could sway Obama,and they're still using it.

    How does Obama fit into the two plans? I've not read his writings, but I have read
the book reviews. Two things stand out. He attended a supposed Christian church
for many years before he became President. The preacher at the church was a wild
man, preaching racism and hatred. He clearly hated America. How could Obama sit in
all those rantings unless he had some sympathy for the teaching? I couldn't, could you?
Then, when asked about the problems between Muslims and Christians, he is reported
to have said that when the chips fell (my verb), he would have to be a Muslim. Since
becoming President, he has appointed an overly un-representative number of Muslims
to fairly high-ranking federal jobs. His wife was quoted as saying she was finally proud
to be an American after he won the presidential primary. All this is food for thought and
research. I present this information to balance the political/church subject, and for you
to do some research so you understand where all party candidates come from. This is
the work God has for you. To be obedient, YOU must do the research, and it must be
fair--not the words from the mouths of candidates or the President. If you don't do the
research before you vote, you will be around to gain membership in the falling away
organization.

    I recently heard a staunch Tea Party supporter claim the Democrats were being racist
because Rep. Maxine Waters, a black Democrat, told the Tea Party to go to hell. She
was not being racist; she was decrying the proposed cuts in spending that are a direct
hit on the income of the poor, black, white and all colors. Think of the tax breaks given
the rich. Of those making $250,000 a year, 46% pay no taxes. Of those making over a
million a year, the government gives $129,000 to each person, and this money is our
tax dollars, not theirs. These greedy millionaires have collected $1,290,000 each since
Bush and a Republican congress passed the legislation 10 years ago. People on
social security formerly received one or two percent raises each year. They have not
received one cent in a raise for two years, because the government says the cost of
living has not gone up. Now the Republicans want to cut social service programs to
offset the wealthy increases.

    A woman made a comment in the newspaper recently, saying the minimum wage
workers such as those at Burger King and McDonalds do not pay taxes and are leeches
on society's workers. This is another case of ignorance and following the false
statements by politicians. Any one who has worked for a paycheck, including Burger
King and McDonalds, knows taxes are deducted from the pay before the worker receives
the check. This woman said these people should have to pay at least one percent so
real workers didn't have to pay for these people. Now, this is an easy lie to check, because
any check stub from a worker making minimum wage will show the tax deductions. But,
the woman was only interested in repeating the political lie.

    From the above paragraph, you see how easy it is to become the bearer of lies and
misinformation to influence voters. Most people do not check the facts in these spats
of political propaganda, and will base their beliefs on everything but the truth. Although
I have tattled on both political parties, it may seem I picked on Republicans. That is
because candidates from that party have made so many outlandish claims and
statements.

    Most of the Republican candidates have bought into two very unChristian programs.
One is the debt reduction pledge most signed. This pledge was not presented by any
publicly elected official or anyone with even marginally acceptable qualifications or
credentials. The pledge requires Republicans to vote no on any proposal that may be
considered to raise taxes unless there is an accompanying proposal to pay for the
proposed tax. This pledge nearly undid the debt raising, and wasted weeks of time
while Republicans staged a phony fight and the Tea Party's few elected representatives
held over 300 million hostage.

    The other program is the New Apostolic Reformation organization. This is a sort of
shadow organization. To find out about it, you have to search some websites. Information
about them has been kept pretty much under cover. These people all loudly claim they
are Christians. This organization is anything but Christian and does not follow scripture.
Oh, they do quote verses here and there, but the whole truth is explained in the name
of their organization. NEW means something that didn't exist previously. Does that touch
your reasoning? Think Rev. 22:18,19. NOTHING new may be added, and NOTHING
may be taken away from this prophecy. Do you have trouble understanding plain
English. God does not accept ANYTHING new to scripture. If you accept this "new"
organization or vote for any of the member candidates, I won't be seeing you on the
rapture trip.

    For all you non-believers, liberals, and especially conservatives, who did not pick
up the importance of the previous paragraph, look at the middle word of the title,
APOSTOLIC. Many modern day churches have members they claim are modern
day apostles, so this is not new. The powers these new NAR members claim go
far beyond the ordinary. It depends on whom they are trying to influence. Some
candidates appear to belong because they believe the claim, while others belong
because it is a powerful group.

    Now, for the real kicker. The NAR has taken a page from part of our Lutheran
organizations, and they are REFORMING the bible and the church. Exactly what are
they doing? They are CHANGING scripture to agree with their agenda. Again, they
are violating Rev. 22:18,19. What is their agenda? They want to create a theocratic
nation, similar to the Muslim Caliphate. It would work like the Sharia Law works in
Muslim nations. Goodbye freedom. Look at some of the proposed laws by these
misled new Republican/Tea Party congressmen and recently elected state governors
and legislators. With these people in full control, God and Christ will be brushed
aside.

    Yes, I said brushed aside. Because a theocracy will be so powerful it will replace
Christ on the throne and will be elemental in the tribulation period. I know many of
you will find this writing difficult to believe, but so were the situations leading up to
the World Wars, the Berlin Wall (both up and down), the Communist take-over of
mainland China, the Twin Towers, etc. It's the difficult things to believe that result
in calamities. You will be responsible for your support of any and all candidates.
If none suit you, you'll have to pray about it. You can't say you weren't warned.

Rev. Walbear