A New Perversion

What does this look like to you? To me, it looks like a picture of someone's lost crucifix that landed on an ant hill. I would never look at this and think this is a representation of an AIDS patient. Well, that is exactly what your tax payer funded Smithsonian wants you to be reminded of. Martin Sullivan, the director of the museum had this to say, "I regret that some reports about the exhibit have created an impression that the video is intentionally sacrilegious," the statement read. "In fact, the artists's intention was to depict the suffering of an AIDS victim. It was not the museum's intention to offend. We are removing the video today. The museum's statement at the exhibition's entrance, 'This exhibition contains mature themes,' will remain in place." REALLY?????

The Smithsonian has hired an "artist" to produce a video celebrating Gays & Lesbians. The video depicts a crucifix with ants all over, Ellen Degeneres grabbing her breasts, naked brothers kissing, and men in chains. Does it seem odd to anyone that this is happening during the Christmas season?

I'm sick and disgusted by this. There is no other way to interpret something like this. This is an attack on Christianity. Now I'm not one who is really all too thrilled with a crucifix. Truth be told, Jesus is no longer on the cross and any depiction of Him still hanging there is missing the point of the Gospel. That aside, I definitely understand a crucifux to be a symbol of Christianity.
I don't know what else to say other than I hope those involved with this "art" really finds out who Jesus truly is. I'm sure that if they really knew then they wouldn't even consider being a part of something so blasphemous and disgusting. Here is what the Bible has to say about this kind of thing.

2 Timothy 3
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Verse 3 "Without natural affection..." is speaking directly about homosexuality.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are truly living in the last days. Time is running out for people like Ellen. Soon it will be too late and she will have condemned herself to an eternity of torment in Hell. I pray that she finds Jesus before it's too late. I pray that those who took part in this, including the museum director who was fine with it until Christians like Boehner found out about it are won over and get saved. This is just too disgusting. It is a mockery of my Lord and one day all will bow before Him.

kev

The Prophetic Rollercoaster

There are times when you just shake your head and pray you don't live anywhere near people like this. Let me introduce you to Mr. Muhamed. He is a 19 year old Somali born citizen of the United States. His goal in life is to blow up a van full of explosives at a tree lighting ceremony in Oregon. Hmmm, who attends tree lighting ceremonies? Men, women, CHILDREN, all types of people who want to celebrate the Holidays (sorry, I should say Christmas). This kid wanted to blow up a bunch of people wanting to celebrate Christmas. He said he basically picked Portland becaus you wouldn't expect anything to happen there. That really makes me rethink any plans to attend a public events where I live.

There are several questions about this that immediately come to mind. Why would a naturalized citizen want to do this? Where are his parents? If a 19 year old can get this far imagine what an experienced, well organized, well planned, and well funded small group of individuals can do? That may be the scariest question of all. The terror threat has not diminished at all. It is only a matter of time before one of their plans is realized.

One thing I've come to understand as someone who watches these "prophetic indicators" is that it is really easy to get caught up on the roller coaster of events. Over the last several days we've seen this terror attempt, the Korean situation deteriorating, China and Russia quitting the dollar, Dept of Homeland Security indicating its intent to expand pat downs and body scanners to maritime ports and bus stations, not to mention the continued violence so pervasive in our society. We've also seen a steady decline in our relationship with Israel. All things that were once considered immoral and sinful are now considered ok and if you disagree with society on this then you are a hate monger and bigot. Oh, Heaven forbid you may be called a conservative Christian.

When you see these spikes in activity your natural inclination is to think "pack your bags, we're outta here!" Don't get me wrong, I would love for that to be true. The truth is this, we don't know when the rapture of the church will happen and it very well may be today. Believe me, I'm totally fine with this. I don't belong here, my home is somewhere else. But we shouldn't confuse the timing of the rapture with the 2nd coming of Jesus because that's an event where He physically sets foot on the Mt. of Olives. We know based on Matthew 24 that the events described above are things that have to take place before Christ comes back physically to earth. So dont' get all caught up in the stuff going on around us. To take it in the proper perspective is to understand that all these "end time" indicators point to Christ's physical return to Israel which is at least 7 years away. For the Christian we need to see these things going on around us and know that the rapture will take place before that 7 year period BEGINS! We need to witness to the lost without ceasing. We can't stress enough that Jesus is the ONLY way to Heaven. He says, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No man comes to the FATHER except by ME."

kev

Korea, World Markets, etc., etc.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24: 3-8

Don't anybody panic. This Korea thing isn't going to be the end of the world. Jesus said so. Now, it may end up very violent with lots of death and destruction. A renewed conflict will have a very negative impact on markets around the world but again, it won't be the end of the world. Jesus said so. The Korean Conflict isn't technically over anyway. 'Ole Kim Jong Il is crazy and always has been. They have just named his son as his successor so maybe this is just a little saber rattling but with teeth. Hopefully this blows over and this is the end of hostilities. But, it doesn't matter because ultimately God is in control and Jesus's words are not only final but are soothing.

We Christians are going to be ok. Jesus said so. If we have truly committed ourselves to Him and are truly relying on Him as our provider and our Lord then why should we give any thought to what this world is turning into? What we should worry about instead are the lost. There are too many people who don't know Jesus and sadly, many who don't want to know Him. Jesus, in His Word, talks of two possible roads for mankind. One is the wide road which leads to destruction and the other is the narrow road which leads to salvation. The wide road is "wide" because it has to accommodate all the people that are going to travel on it towards hell. The narrow road is for those of us who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. Not people who claim to be Christian but those of us who truly are. It's narrow because there aren't that many of us. Sad! As we see these things happening we should know that "...the sign of your coming..." isn't here yet. Jesus says the world has to endure these things first. Of course this passage is talking about His physical return to earth. What every Christian needs to remember is that if we can see these "birth pains" then we know that our redemption (rapture) is that much closer.

Look Up Christian!

Jesus is coming for us soon. Take every opportunity to spread the Gospel, don't delay. Don't wait and be afraid of what people will think. Our train is soon leaving the station.

kev

Looking for Holes

This week Jack Kelley wrote an article about the 3rd Seal Judgment of Reveleation. This is the Black Horse Judgment.

5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,[b] and six pounds[c] of barley for a day’s wages,[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”Rev 6:5-6

Of course this passage of Scripture is talking about a day when a person will have to spend a day's wage in order to buy 2lbs of wheat or 6lbs of barley. What does this mean? How can we apply this to our lives? These are questions that most Christians ask when studying the Scirptures. This one seems to be pretty straight forward. The question is do we have a practical application for "two pounds of wheat for a days wage?" I would say, "absolutely YES." We call the phenomena described in these verses inflation. This is where you have lost so much value of your currency that it's practically worthless and takes a whole lot of it to buy basics and essentials (i.e. food).

What Kelley is suggesting is that you can see signs of this Judgment beginning to take shape. Kelley is quite clear though that he does not believe we are in the Tribulation and affirms the idea that the Seal Judgments will be sequential. I absolutely agree with this.

I'm not the type of person to just adopt every writer's opinion because there are alot of goofy people out there. :-) This is especially true as it relates to eschatology. I respect Kelley a great deal but wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't look for holes in his theory. When you look at the current economic landscape around the world you can't help but shutter. Europe is in absolute chaos as the EUs member states have dug themselves an economic hole that many won't be able to get out of without a HUGE bailout. Greece seems like it's in a perpetual riot, Ireland is in deep trouble as well as Spain. Germany has major issues with immigration and they're all suffering from the same security threats as the US, terrorism. The US has put itself in a very dangerous situation as we've spent more money in the last 2-3 years than at any point in our history. Why is it that our lawmakers and our President can't understand that you can't spend yourself into prosperity?

Through its spending the US has damaged the dollar in a way that I don't see how it can recover. The world is mad at how the dollar has fallen. There is a group who represents the 400 largest banks in the world and it is now calling for a world currency because the dollar is a little above "junk" status. The truth is this, the dollar isn't as valuable as it was which by definition means inflation.

Kelley says that it's this inflationary environment combined with crop prices that represent the elements of the black horse. Food is becoming more and more expensive. The dollar is dropping. Could there be a more clear example that the Black Horse is taking shape? After a lot of consideration I have to say, "no, it couldn't be more clear."

What I love most about what Kelley said in his latest article is that as the black horse gets more and more into focus that means tha the Rapture is that much closer!

Maranatha!!

kevin

4th Amendment and TSA

Wow!!! This has certainly turned into a hot topic pretty quickly. I think it had a lot to do with the guy who talked about his "junk" and the picture posted on Drudge which showed the nun getting a nice little pat down....

Where to start on this one? There are probably a few more "nun jokes" in the world as a result of the picture but I won't get into any of that. It does however bring a major issue to the forefront of our National Consciousness. See, most people don't worry about things that happen to other people, generally, until it happens to them. Take the nun and the "junk guy" for example. The whole enhanced pat down never got the exposure it merited until these two stories went national (thank you Matt Drudge). Now all of a sudden there are unions wanting exemptions, lawsuits being filed, and Senators introducing bills. What I want to know is where has the scrutiny been? I mean this garbage has been going on for a while...

I personally believe this falls under the 4th Amendment and my right to be protected against unreasonable searches. What probable cause do the agents of the TSA have against me to warrant the use of these methods of search against my person? What evidence do they have? The truth of the matter is this: they don't have a way to do what needs to be done. Patting down nuns, children, old women, etc., should not be tolerated.

But here is the issue. If we were to look at the people who commit acts of terrorism on aircraft then you have to look at a specific group, age, and the afiliations. We look at the shared characteristics of these people and call that profiling. Of course we have written laws against profiling and have therefore handcuffed ourselves without making us more secure. Maybe we should consider more secure means of identification. The use of biometrics is gaining steam among other things. The truth of the matter is this, until we have removed our handcuffs and look at this issue seriously then we'll never truly be safe. Yes, some will be inconvenienced and offended if they are scrutinized at a higher level than others because they fall into certain "profiles." My response to that is "sorry, it's not male caucasian Christians blowing up airplanes."

kev

Been Away for a Bit

There are good and bad points about having a blog. The good is that it can be a great place to vent. The bad is that if you happen to get anyone who reads your blog and if you don't keeep it up (me) then you've let those readers down. Well, I'm gonna try to post at least once a week and see how things go. If there is alot going on then rest assured I will have something to say as I am a pretty opinionated person and it's just my way.

I do want to reaffirm that I will be posting and using a whole lot of Biblical perspective behind my posts. God is in everything so why not talk about Him particularly since this will be a cureent events type blog.

See, already have 1 blog for the day.

Be posting again in a minute.

kev