Christian, This is critical! Attack in Ziglag: Lessons from David’s reaction.

We will be looking mainly to the 30th chapter of I Samuel. As an introduction, David and his men, to avoid Saul’s persecution, went to Achish the king of the Philistines who accepted them and gave them the city of Ziklag. In the 29th chapter of I Samuel we find the Philistines gathering together all their armies in Jesreel to fight against Israel. It was this fight that cost the life to Saul and Jonathan. In order to avoid any plot by David and his men, the Philistines denied to them to be a part of their army and sent them back to Ziklag. I Samuel 30:1-6 tells us what they found there:

I Samuel 30:1-6
"Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."

I was in a church some weeks ago and God showed me this passage. It is a period where I think a lot about the subject of losing and recovering and I believe God wants us to hear the message of I Samuel 30. Many of us can relate to the situation described in I Samuel. We don’t inhabit Ziklag nor we live in the days of Saul and David. But we may have something in common with David and his men: the enemy may have invaded our territory, at the time that we were out or "sleeping" and he may have stolen things very valuable to us. Whatever this may be at the end may be translated to disappointment, loss of hope and orientation, loss of vision and enthusiasm. Brothers believe me: if the devil does not steal your hope and enthusiasm HE IS DEFEATED. He does not aim to simply steal something. His end purpose is to steal your hope, your enthusiasm, your HEART. The aim of the devil is your heart and your hope. For he knows that only hopeful hearts are alive hearts. Our problem is not that we haven’t seen God. We have seen Him. The problem is that we have also seen the devil. We expected that our Ziklag (whatever this may be) would never be stolen. We hoped that God would somehow protect it from any destruction. But things may have turned differently. Stuff may have happened in our lives that we never expected and we suddenly discovered that bad things may also happen to good people. "Cities" of good people may be invaded by the enemy of our souls. To face these arrows, many of us have chosen to anesthetize our hearts so that it does not feel pain any longer and we carry on to what we call "the road of faith". It may be a road full of service and works, WITHOUT however the enthusiasm and the warmness our relationship with God used to have. Many feel OK with this situation and we deny to admit that there are things that have been lost and need to be recovered. Many feel OK to just survive, without hope and dreams, and call this "faith", instead of pursuing again for the lively relationship they once had with the Lord. I have discovered that God may leave us in this stage till we DECIDE WE WANT to change. Till we no longer compromise with the defeat nor we accept and hide the loss but we make the decision to pursue and recover all that was stolen. And let me remind you that what is stolen is mainly THE HOPE, THE ENTHUSIASM, THE HEART. Once we made this decision, God immediately becomes also very near to us. The message today is not that there will be no stealing. I don’t intend to give you the 10 steps that will ensure the devil will never touch you. I don’t have them! As long as there is a thief there will be stealing! BUT we can overcome it. The message today is ATTACK to recover all that the enemy has stolen from us: enthusiasm, faith, hope, joy and others. We can cry for as long as we want. We can say that life is tough. And it is! However, as David and his men did, so we have to make a decision: either we will cry for the losses, hiding probably our frustration by anesthesia, apathy and religious activity or we will deny to compromise, we will ENCOURAGE OURSELVES IN THE LORD and we will stand up to recover everything. It is really a very critical decision, a decision of spiritual life or death. Either we will live as spiritually wounded, or as spiritual heroes. What I want to emphatically say today is that if you are wounded, your wound will not be healed by accepting the defeat and the loss and forgetting the alive fellowship you used to have with God with the false idea that "it is impossible to go that far again". The wounds will be healed only if you stop crying and instead stand up to recover everything, to return at least where you used to be! GOD HASN’T CHANGED MY BROTHER. He is exactly the same God as when you first met Him. We may be wounded but we will not find healing in resignation but in "encouraging ourselves in the Lord" and standing up to recover everything. Not with religious works that many use to cover the emptiness of their true relationship with God. Do you want to find the level of your relationship with God? Don’t look at your activities! They will show distorted results! Instead imagine yourself without any activity. Could you live with God without any activity or is your faith "activity maintained"? Is your relationship with God at least as alive as it used to be when you first believed? Again deny to use works and logic to hide the truth! You need the truth! Paul tells us to examine ourselves whether we are in the faith! You don’t need to cry for any loss you might have. What you need to do instead, is to STAND UP and encourage yourself in the Lord. STAND UP and you will recover everything. That’s what David chose to do:

I Samuel 30:6-8, 18
"Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.…. So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away"

The people were crying. David also did the same. Nobody reacts to the pain with gladness. The pain is pain and it brings cry. However, after the first shock there were two reactions. All the others continued crying and they moved with anger against David. (Similarly, many being angry for their pain, pick up stones against the state, ministries, people, God and generally everybody they consider as responsible for what was stolen) but David encouraged himself in the Lord and asked Him what to do. The Lord then gave him the assurance that if he pursued after the Amalekites he would recover everything. See here the following:

Though there was a stealing, there was a way to recover everything. God didn’t obstruct the stealing. Also God didn’t tell David what to do before he stopped crying and turned to Him to ask Him.

Many of us spent our days, months and even years with the question "Why God?". Many, feel bitterness why God didn’t protect us since we know He could. I don’t know why He didn’t protect you or me but I know that when this goes further than a genuine expression of the heart as Job did, then it leads nowhere. My personal answer to life’s frustrations is that ALL things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28)! ALL, what we think as evil and what we may think as good. Your life is NOT in the hands of the devil BUT IN THE HANDS OF GOD. Even if the devil has wounded you there is a way to recover! The question my brother is not why God didn’t protect you. The critical question is whether you will stand UP, encourage yourself in the Lord, not accept compromise with the loss, not accept anything less in your relationship with God than what at least you used to have. If you do this, if you stand up, THEN I KNOW 100% WHAT WILL HAPPEN: YOU WILL RECOVER. YOU WILL RECOVER EVERYTHING. That’s what happened also with David and his men. GOD HASN’T CHANGED. Remember the sweet times you had with Him, before the Ziklag was invaded. HE IS THE SAME. You can have the same relationship with Him, NOW. It is not a matter of eventual recovery. The recovery can be instant. If you only make the decision to not compromise and that you cannot live any longer with anything less in hope, faith and enthusiasm that what you used to have. The situation is turned upside down exactly at that moment. David and his men turned the situation upside down at the moment they decided not to accept an invaded Ziklag, with the enemy having their hopes, dreams and enthusiasm stolen, but they wanted a Ziklag as it used to be, a heart with the hope faith and enthusiasm that it once had. At that moment the enemy had lost the battle. For at that moment they stopped crying and they started fighting. And fighting, they recovered EVERYTHING!

Anastasios Kioulachoglou

               Please check out Anastasios's book 

               "The Warnings of the New Testament". 

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Christian - Rest in the Lord!

It is easy to get distracted in our world. Busyness is a modern illness from which many of us suffer. Rest is its opposite and of the things the Lord came to offer. In Matthew 11:28-30 He said:

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I’m gently and lowly in heart, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light"

Jesus Christ is the only one that can give rest to our souls. If your soul is in turmoil, if your soul is tired, exhausted and heavy laden, then you are reading the right passage. JESUS came to give you rest! You will not get rest when your kids grow. Or when you get married. Or when your bank account becomes positive. YOU WILL GET REST ONLY IF YOU MEET JESUS. ONLY IF YOU PUT YOUR BURDENS IN HIS HANDS AND TAKE UPON YOU HIS EASY AND LIGHT YOKE, ONLY THEN YOU WILL FIND REST. As the Word says in Philippians:

Philippians 4:6-7
"BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING, LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN TO GOD; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus"

Be anxious for nothing!! YES for nothing!!! Your kids, your job, your health, your wounds, your finances, your other concerns are all here. There is NOTHING excluded from this statement. There is nothing that should make us anxious. And the verse goes one step further to tell us what to do instead of being anxious: "but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." PEACE!!! To get peace you don’t have to finish the so and so project or to receive the so and so blessing but to be anxious for nothing and cast everything to the Lord through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving! It is HIS job to CARE for you, while you rest in Him. And in resting in Him you have power! See what it says in Isaiah 30:15-18

Isaiah 30:15
"For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: IN RETURNING AND REST YOU SHALL BE SAVED; IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE SHALL BE YOUR STRENGTH."

Our strength is in RESTING in the Lord. In quietness and confidence! I call this the RRQC club: Return, Rest, be Quite and Confident to God. Taking quietness, for example we can see its importance in Jesus’ life: He would get up very early in the morning and go to the wilderness alone to pray (Mark 1:35)! He needed quite times with the Father. We need them too! We don’t need to fill our schedule with a hundred of activities to keep us going. We will not find strength in activities but only in quietness and confidence to God. It is at the times that our heart is quite and confident that the Lord can be heard by it.

Returning to Isaiah verse 16 gives us the answer of the people to the plea of God for return, rest, quietness and confidence, and the respective reply of the Lord:

Isaiah 30:16
"And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses" – Therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses" – Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain and as a banner on a hill"

Those people had their plans on how to do it. You may have your own. You too may say "No, for….". You may try hard and care all the day. Do you know the price? Weakness, fear, anxiety, defeat. The more you trust in your "horsepower", the more weaker and dry you will get. The only way for strength and life and rest is to rest in the Lord. To be quite and confident in Him. To be anxious for nothing and cast all your cares upon Him. This is the ONLY way!

Jeremiah 6:16-17

Moving further on our subject, let’s go now to Jeremiah 6:16-17. In a similar tone with Isaiah, Jeremiah 6:16-17 tells us:

Jeremiah 6:16-17
"Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where the good way is and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it." Also I set watchmen over you saying, "Listen to the sound of the trumpet!" But they said, "We will not listen"

"The old paths. Return to the OLD PATHS. Walk in the old straight paths and you will find rest, our God says. Return, Rest, Be quite and Confident in God. Get today into the RRQC club. Jesus is the leader and He will give you REST and peace. To register costs nothing except your cares! You have to cast them all upon God and peace will be given to you. What do you prefer: Busyness and distraction, or rest and peace? Dryness and weakness or fruitfulness and strength? Death or life? Really it is that critical. The matter of the rest in the Lord is indeed a spiritual fight! A battle between fruitfulness and unfruitfulness. As Psalms 37:7 again tell us:

Psalms 37:7
"REST IN THE LORD AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM"

Let’s wait patiently in the Lord and rest in Him! Let’s NEVER leave any foreign seed to spring in our garden and make our tree barren.

Anastasios Kioulachoglou

               Please check out Anastasios's book 

               "The Warnings of the New Testament". 

               Purchase at Kindle and Amazon or 

               download for FREE at: http://www.jba.gr/

               Articles/pdf/the-warnings-of-the-New-

               Testament.pdf

Christian, Be zealeous and not lukewarm

Today was a very important day for me. For years I was suffering from shortsightedness. "It is only the right eye … 1.75. You can get lenses if you want to", the ophthalmologist told me some years ago. I could work, drive, do anything that I was doing but not everything was so clear as it used to be. But with the years you forget how it used to be anyway. You live in a dimmer than normal world, with less clearness in what you see and you get used to the idea that this normal. But I know it wasn’t. And I know, though shortsighted … I could still live like this. Nothing too urgent. "It will be done when I have time". Of course I never had time because I never made the time or because instead of time I was making excuses. So the shortsightedness was always there. But this Saturday I thought, "why not?"…. a friend of mine had told me that in Germany at optic shops they look at your eyes for free and they give you the necessary lenses or glasses. I had tried once in the past but no employee in the shop could speak English and since I didn’t speak any German nothing happened. But now, with my "ein bischen" (a little) German, I could make it. So I went there. They sent me to the first floor where an employee would measure my shortsightedness and would tell me what to do. I was waiting outside sitting on the sofa… she had another appointment. As I was waiting I thought "what am I doing here Saturday noon-time? Let’s dismiss this idea with the lenses and go out to the market. It is Saturday!" But I felt this time I needed to stay. So my turn arrived. The employee measured my shortsightedness, 2.25 now, and we booked an appointment for today, 16:40, to get the lenses. I was there on time and then we started… She would place the lens in my eye and then I would have to do it alone. Before she did it though, I asked her to give me a minute to have a look at the world outside without the lens so that to see then whether there was any difference. So I looked outside for some seconds and then she started. Initially my eye resisted to see her finger directed to it ("a finger in my eye!!!??") but at the end she succeeded. Then I turned and looked outside. My goodness! All that a little bit dim world was now very CLEAR. Everything seemed to be more alive. The labels I couldn’t read, now I could!! "Hey this is good! I like it!" I told her. "Ok. Now it is time to do it yourself", she told me. And after I tried for some minutes I did it, paid and left. First thing I saw was the Frankfurt’s skyscrapers in the city center. I had seen them hundreds of times but first time they were so CLEAR! The lights in them, the buildings around, the people everything was VERY CLEAR. How could I miss this for the last few years? I know how… Because instead of having what GOD had planned for my eyes, which was to see clearly, I preferred the compromise – for that is what is actually – of "survival". This goes like this: "Since I survive, since I live, since I see a little bit, I’m OK". The compromise of survival does not care whether you LIVE really, in the abundance and the life God has planned for you. Instead it says: "go.. just go.. survive… try to make it somehow… you make things perfect later".

And this is how we think many times with our spiritual sight too. The spiritual sight as the physical sight may also suffer from shortsightedness. It does not happen instantaneously. It is a long process. I didn’t get up one day and my sight was short. It took years. So also with the spiritual shortsightedness. It does not happen instantaneously. It develops. One compromise here, one compromise there and … you have it. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" says the Word (I Corinthians 5:6). Suddenly one day you are before a challenge that some years ago you could very easily pass and now you are afraid. It seems your faith is not enough to get you over it! Or you compare yourself with what fellowship you used to have with the Lord and where you stand now and you find that something has been lost. You are not as alive as you used to be! You can see the short things, the blessings, your work, home, etc but the longer things those who pertain to the kingdom, you somehow see them only dim. They seem dim to YOU and this is because you suffer from spiritual shortsightedness. The first thing to do is to recognize it. I had shortsightedness long before I discover it. I discover it accidentally in the army when I once had to shoot in an exercise towards an aim 400 meters ahead and could hardly see it at all. But the shortsightedness didn’t start at that time. It was there since long time ago. I knew something was wrong with my eyes …. I couldn’t see as I used to when I was 20. So something was wrong. But at the time I had to shoot and could hardly see the target then I understood. So also with the spiritual shortsightedness. It may be there. You know that something is not right. You can’t determine it but something is really not as good as it used to be in your relationship with God. It is not the ALIVE fellowship you used to have. And one day or a period the Lord starts revealing to you that something is going wrong with the eyes of your heart. The heart can’t see as far as it could see. One day you go to where many young believers are, in a worship night for example and wonder how they jump and sing and are so zealous and at the same time you wonder why you are not like them now, though you were in the past. You are COOLER now. You can’t see as far as they see and as far as you used to see. You suffer from spiritual shortsightedness and you need to recognize it first! And then, as with the physical shortsightedness, you have two ways to go. One is the compromise of survival. According to this… "I don’t need to do anything. I don’t need to change. It is less than what it used to be but never mind. I will make it. I will survive. I’m still doing things for God. I go to the church and I pray, though it is very dry and much less than in the past". You compromise and you just go. You don’t care whether the life you live is less than what God had for you, less than what you yourself have experienced with God. You just go. You do … as all others… AS THE WORLD! You have compromised. You [I hope nobody falls in this "you" but I also hope that we all examine ourselves!] are a LAODICEAN! And to you the Lord speaks:

Revelation 3:14-19
"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and the True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold not hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, BLIND, and naked – I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; AND ANOINT YOUR EYES WITH EYE SALVE, THAT YOU MAY SEE. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Therefore BE ZEALOUS AND REPENT"

See the Lord does not say "you are fine. You can stay like this. You are lukewarm but never mind. Just go on". He says "BE ZEALOUS AND REPENT!" To be lukewarm is a SIN for which we need to repent! It is not an acceptable state by the Lord! The only acceptable state is to be ZEALOUS! That’s how He wants you. He wants you to boil for Him! The compromise of survival is a sin! If you are in the Laodicean church, and I know many of us are, the right way is NOT to go on. It is to RETURN. And …. I have good news for you. Jesus has the eye salve, the lenses your eyes need. Jesus has the garments, your body needs. Jesus has the gold that is refined by fire to make you, your heart, rich. JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. He has all that you need to make you alive again. But you need to return. To kneel down and repent. "Survival" is a lie. It is actually death. Only by repenting and return you will see again and you will LIVE again with the abundant life, the life of the HEART, that Jesus came to bring to you (John 10:10).

Revelation 3:20-22
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Anastasios Kioulachoglou

God So Loved The World... (John 3:16) and Once Saved Always Saved

The TRUTH about JOHN CALVIN - Is He In Hell Today?

Come out of her my people. 

Isaiah 58 - Are you seeking God as God would have it?

Isaiah 58

I have read Isaiah 58 many times in the years that I’m a Christian and it is certainly one of my favorite passages. However, it never spoke to me so loudly as it did this morning. And it is really a loud chapter. It even says it in the first verse:

Isaiah 58:1
"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins."

Cry aloud!! This is not a message to stay somewhere hidden. This is a message that must be said ALOUD! It is a message that must be heard like a TRUMPET! For I believe that, like the people of Israel, so also many of us have the same issues they had and which are described in the first 3 verses of the chapter:

Isaiah 58:1-3
"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. `Why have we fasted,' they say, `and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?"

Israel was seeking God! Israel took delight to know the ways of the Lord! They took delight in approaching God! You know, these folks wanted to be close to God! They wanted to know God more and more! They fasted! They "afflicted their souls"! And yet… it was like God was deaf in all this! It was like He was blind, frozen, paying no attention to what they did and to their supposingly great interest. If they were today, they would attend church, they would take seminars, they would do "ministry" activities. And yet, God wouldn’t hear nor see! Haven’t we seen this today, probably in our own lives? We may miss somehow God. We try to approach Him … through fasting, through searching for more knowledge, through studying etc… "We take delight to KNOW His ways". Yet, knowing the ways of God does not mean that we know God, nor it means that we walk in these ways! Fasting or taking delight in approaching God does not mean that our hearts are necessarily touched. And it is there that change must happen. It is there where repentance must enter. It is there where transformation must occur. Renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2), means renewal of the heart. As the Lord tells us in I Samuel 16:7 :

I Samuel 16:7
"man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

It is the heart where the Lord looks at. It is not a ritual that we have to follow to approach God: get up at that time, do this and that, go to church every Sunday, do this and that ministry work. This is not going to bring us nearer to God, when there is no change of the heart. If we are going to church, do this and that and have many activities, and yet in our personal lives, in our hearts, we live something else, then whatever we may do will not help. We may very well cry as the Israelites "why you don’t see?". And the reason He does not see lies in the heart. Here is what He said to the people of Israel:

Isaiah 58:3-5
"In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers." Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?"

These folks were fasting but in that very day they exploited their laborers! They were fasting and yet they were harboring strife and debate… and in fact they were fasting for this…. "please Lord make the so and so change his mind and see that I’M RIGHT in my argument". They were afflicting their souls, their head went down like a bulrush, they had sackcloth and ashes under them and yet they had the same hard heart! Do you know what the Lord said: THIS IS NOT A FAST!!! Real fast has to do with change of the heart! Stay as many days as you want without food…. if the heart is not changed it does not matter. This does not mean that the fast does not matter in general. What it means is that a fast with unchanged heart does not matter. And then the Lord moves ahead to tell His people what was the true fast:

Isaiah 58:6-7
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?"

See, this is not an apathy state. What the Lord describes here is ACTION! However, not action in religious practices but action in justice, in doing His will! This is not the picture of somebody that has made settlements with the world and lives OK for himself and cares nothing for the others. And yet there are many church attending brothers that do this. They do their religious duties or ministries and then they think they are justified to live however they like. There are many that live double lives… one life with those outside (church, work etc.) and another life at their home. You can live however you like but you are not justified to do this nor it is going to benefit you. There are many that say "I give my tithes, I do my "ministry works" so I don’t know why God has a problem with me". The reason is that despite the accomplishment of the duties the heart hasn’t changed. It does need change of the heart, it does need a humble heart, to share your bread with the poor, and to take him to your house! It does need change of the heart to not do what is the easiest thing in the world to do: to be indifferent. It does need change of the heart to loose the bonds of wickedness and undo the heavy burdens. It does need change of the heart for our voices to be heard above. It does not need change of our religious practices. It needs change of the heart. And though nothing is possible without the help of God, it is WE that we are at the end responsible about it. It is WE that we have to make the decision which way we will walk. It is WE that we will make a decision and will say "I WANT TO CHANGE". Then God will help us. God will not move into our area when our hearts don’t actually want Him. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" will read in a minute. God will come in only to the extent we truly want Him in our hearts. The Word of God says in James 4:

James 4:1-10
"Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Have you ever thought that this is not spoken to people of the world but to Christians, to brothers and sisters in the faith (James 1:2-3)?!!! They had fights, lust, war, envies, murder, and may be the other awful fruits of the flesh described in Galatians 5:19-21! No wonder that they could not approach God. You cannot expect to have a heart unchanged and at the same time God to come near to you, simply because you may take delight in knowing Him or even in approaching Him. It is not enough to intent to approach Him, to be glad in the thought of it. It is not enough to have good intentions! YOU NEED TO DO IT! YOU NEED TO CHANGE! YOU NEED TO STOP GOING FROM ONE DAY TO THE OTHER, BUT TO STEP OUT AND MAKE A DECISION! True approach of God comes only when the heart changes towards this direction. James does not say "go to church more often… start some more activities… fast for a couple of days and read 4 chapters of the Word every day". He does not say this! Not because these things are wrong or evil or bad. No way. He does not give such instructions for such instructions alone cannot bring you nearer to God, when the heart is not changed! In contrast here is what he, through the Spirit of the Lord, tells us:

James 4:7-10
"Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Submit to God!!! Resist the devil! Cleanse your hands, and this is not physical cleaning but relates to what these hands have done… it relates to actions! PURIFY YOUR HEARTS!! It does not say…. "please stay as you are and God will change you!". It says: YOU, purify your hearts. It is WE that we do it. Do you want to have a wonderful relationship with the Lord? The key is simple: change of the heart!

Returning to Israel and to Isaiah, after the Lord told them what to do, He tells them what will follow if they followed what He said, if they changed their hearts:

Isaiah 58:8-14
"Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, `Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Do you want to say "God.." and hear Him say "Here I’m"? Do you want to call Him and hear Him answer? The way is simple… do what Isaiah 58 and James in a another way told us :

loose the bonds of wickedness,

undo the heavy burdens,

let the oppressed go free,

break every yoke ,

share your bread with the hungry,

bring to your house the poor who are cast out,

when you see the naked, cover him,

not hide yourself from your own flesh,

take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

extend your soul to the hungry,

satisfy the afflicted soul

If the relationship with God is not alive, if the relationship with God is poor, if the relationship with God is not what it used to be, there is one and a single remedy: THE HEART NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. And this is an assignment for YOU. YOU have to make the decision to do it. God wants it more than anything else. But you have to make the decision to change. God cannot get in to something you haven’t decided to do! God will help you but you need first to make the decision to really go for it. God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge to the truth, but it is the man that makes the decision. God will seem deaf, remote, and blind to your calls when these calls are not accompanied by a change of the heart. Purify the heart, change the heart, make the decision to change and steak to it, and you will call Him and He will be there as He was and even nearer that you have ever seen Him. So close as you couldn’t even dream! This is not an assumption. It is the surety and the last verse of this chapter affirms it, for "THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HAS SPOKEN". This is His promise to you, this is what His mouth says and this is what will happen! It works the same on the contrary though: you can do all the religious activities you want, fast every day, read and memorize all the Bible, go to many seminars etc. BUT NOTHING WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T CHANGE THE HEART, for the Lord does not care for the outside, for what the eyes see, but for the inside, FOR THE HEART! He wants to be loved there, with ALL OUR HEART (Matthew 22:37)! Let the days that come be days of transformation for all of us.

Anastasios Kioulachoglou

               Please check out Anastasios's book 

               "The Warnings of the New Testament". 

               Purchase at Kindle and Amazon or 

               download for FREE at: http://www.jba.gr/

               Articles/pdf/the-warnings-of-the-New-

               Testament.pdf

We are getting close to great trouble.

Friends and family, I am very concerned about the coming months. Obama mocks what is coming. 

Calvinism and the truth. What the Reformers Forgot.

I asked Jesus to forgive me when I was 7 years old. We moved to the south and I found myself in a Calvinist church.  This led to great spiritual hurt as we were taught in Calvinism you cannot know you are saved. You are born for heaven or born for hell. God selects who goes to heaven. So I did what all of them do, I chose to believe I was a Calvinist and because the "other" denominations hated us we must be right! I went after Calvinism with a fervent heart. I taught it. I still had fears countless nights.

I am fifty years later. Along the journey, God rescued me. The following should shake a Calvinist, but they are blind. So many of them are lost. I encourage you that if you are not in Calvinism, stay out. It can take your soul. This should stop Calvinism in its tracks, but blind, lead the blind.

Warren McGrew

Warning!!! Do not trust man. Stay in the New Testament until you know it so well you can judge the teachers.

Warning!!! John MacArthur has a cult. Do not let him get to your children. He told thousands of children and adults they can take the Mark of the Beast and repent later. Jesus says exactly the opposite.

Calvinism. Satire and Truth

Having been a Calvinist for many years, there is much truth here.

Jacob Prasch shows the history of Calvinism. It is horrible. 

Christian, will you stand up?

Starting from II Samuel 23:8 the Word of God gives us the names of the mighty men of David. Two of them were Eleazar and Shammah, and about them we read in the Scripture:

II Samuel 23:9-12 
And after him [Josheb-Basshebeth, see verse 8] was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. Then the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. And the LORD brought about a great victory.

“He arose” is said for Eleazar and “he took his stand” is written for Shammah. While God’s people were fleeing in the view of their enemies, these two men, each one on a different occasion, stood up and as the Word says: “THE LORD BROUGHT A GREAT VICTORY”. Once one of His people made the decision to stand up against the enemy, the Lord brought a great victory! It was not a question whether He would bring the victory or not. He would certainly bring it! But He needed one, at least one, of His people to stand up against the enemy. Once this happened, and somebody took a stand, the Lord brought the victory!

God looks around for people who will resist the enemy. For warriors that will take a stand for Him and will trust Him, regardless of the situation. Our enemy is not a Philistine but the devil and here is what the Word of God tells to us, His people:

James 4:7 
“Therefore submit to God. RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU”

I Peter 5:8-9 
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

And again in Ephesians 6:10-18
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to WITHSTAND IN THE EVIL DAY, and having done all, to STAND. STAND THEREFORE, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”

We too have an enemy, the devil, and we too will make him to flee if we submit to God and RESIST him. As I John 4:4 says:

I John 4:4 
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

The victory of Israel was not brought because of the power of Eleazar and Shammah. These were people like anybody else. But they made a difference by taking a stand, trusting their God when everybody else fled. Because they did this God brought a great victory. Making the devil to flee is not a matter of our power and abilities. It is not WE, by ourselves, that are greater than the devil but He that is in us!It is He that gives us the victory! But we have to submit to Him and resist the enemy! And here is what God promises to those who do it:

Romans 16:19-20
“For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

Anastasios Kioulachoglou

               Please check out Anastasios's book 

               "The Warnings of the New Testament". 

               Purchase at Kindle and Amazon or 

               download for FREE at: http://www.jba.gr/

               Articles/pdf/the-warnings-of-the-New-

               Testament.pdf

MacArthur. Spreading wickedness.

How about heretic John MacArthur's evil? He is so evil that he takes the position of God All Mighty!!! MacArthur tells us WE can commit occasional acts of adultery!! No wonder he told God "I can override your word that those who take the mark of the beast, can repent later". God said "MacArthur will never eat from the tree of life".

The * is from MacArthur's words. 

* "A true Christian possessing saving faith can commit occasional acts of adultery." If that does
    not sound like "a license to sin", I've never heard one!
    (Hence, MacArthur claims there are some Christian adulterers.) God forbid!

* "A true Christian possessing saving faith can commit occasional acts of drunkenness." If that
   does not sound like "a license to sin", I've never heard one!
   (Hence, MacArthur claims there are some Christian drunks.) God forbid!

* "A true Christian possessing saving faith can murder himself (be a suicide) and afterwards
   go to heaven, even though he died as an unrepentant murderer." If that does not sound like "a
   license to sin", I've never heard one! God forbid!

* "A true Christian can commit the list of sins cited in 1 Cor. 6:9, &10 just short of going all the way
    back to live like he used to and still have a saving faith." God forbid!

Here is that list, in case you are unacquainted with 1 Cor. 6:9, & 10.

* OR DO YOU KNOW THAT THE UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD! DO NOT BE DECEIVED: NEITHER FORNICATORS, NOR IDOLATERS, NOR ADULTERERS, NOR EFFEMINATE, NOR HOMOSEXUALS, NOR THIEVES, NOR THE COVETOUS, NOR DRUNKARDS, NOR REVILERS, NOR SWINDLERS, WILL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. (1 Cor. 6:,10

* MacArthur says "no sin regardless how heinous, including child molestation, rape, murder, homosexuality, etc., will ever prevent a person previously saved from entering heaven." Hence,  If that does not sound like "a license to sin", I've never heard one! God forbid!

* MacArthur says "Sin works for our good! If that does not sound like "a license to sin", I've never heard one! God forbid!

* MacArthur says, "a person who is lacking saving faith is one whose basic character is summed up in the uninterrupted and unrepentant practice of them [sins] ...(The MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1798, comment on Gal. 5:21). Hence, anything better than an uninterrupted and unrepentant practice of sin could describe a person with saving faith bound for heaven because of eternal security, even though he might be living in many of the sins cited in 1 Cor. 6:9,10. God forbid! Jesus told us to stop sinning!!!!

http://wmcgrew.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-flowchart-depicting-some-of-john.html

http://wmcgrew.blogspot.com/2015/11/some-of-john-macarthurs-anti-christ-and.html

-------------------------

If the root is rotten, the result is a mixed, confused, false gospel. MacArthur is not from God. He told the world that you can take the mark of the beast and repent later. That has just added to his spiritual death. Jesus makes this crystal clear, as we see

Did you know that MacArthur has likely told your children that they can take the mark of the beast and repent later? Jesus says just the opposite.  MacArthur is attempting  to destroy the children. He is responsible for evil. 
----------------------
Revelation 22
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

18 I TESTIFY TO EVERYONE WHO HEARS THE WORDS OF THE PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK:

IF ANYONE ADDS TO THEM,

GOD WILL ADD TO HIM THE PLAGUES WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK; [MacArthur added to the book when he said "you can repent later" after you take the Mark of the Beast]

19 AND IF ANYONE TAKES AWAY FROM THE WORDS OF THE BOOK OF THIS PROPHECY,

GOD WILL TAKE AWAY HIS PART FROM THE TREE OF LIFE AND FROM FROM THE HOLY CITY,

 WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK.  [MacArthur took away the words of this book, when he ignored what Jesus said, if you take the mark of the beast, you will go to hell]

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.