Morality is the Secret of America's Founding Fathers

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/


Morality is the Secret
By Walter Hawk
Many of America’s Founding Fathers were inspired by Christian principles. Is there anything we can learn from them?
he founding of the United States of America was an amazing revolution for the establishment of personal freedom based on a written constitution, which in turn was largely based on the principles taught in the Bible. Let’s take a look at the dedication of those founders and learn some lessons that we can apply in our Christian lives.
If you looked at what is written at the close of the American Declaration of Independence, you would see this sentence: “And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
Freedom of religion was as important to our forefathers then as it is to us today.
Now let’s change this statement and make it read this way: “For the support of God’s work, for which I am called, with a firm reliance on the protection of His divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other and to God our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” You should also ask yourself, “Do I have the dedication, commitment and resolve necessary to pledge to God my life, my fortune and my sacred honor?”
During the writing of the Declaration of Independence, a total of 86 alterations were made to the proposed draft. After three days the vote was taken by the colonies. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted and was signed in Philadelphia on August 2.
The full title of the Declaration of Independence is “The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,” and it starts with this:
“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect theirs and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which thy are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
The Bill of Rights
From this declaration came the United States Constitution, which contains the Bill of Rights. Let us take a look at the first two Amendments, as these are the two that we hear a lot about. As you hear these words, think about where the Founding Fathers got the inspiration for these “laws.” (You may also want to read Deuteronomy chapters 4 through 31.)
Amendment 1: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Freedom of religion was as important to our forefathers then as it is to us today. They did not want the government to tell them who, what or how to worship. Therefore, we have the First Amendment, which was intended to allow worship without establishing any particular religion as the only one acceptable.
Amendment 2: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
We should examine the commitment to this country by these men, and compare it to our commitment to God.
You must understand the reason for the Second Amendment is to make sure that the people of this country never find themselves in a situation where they are unarmed against a government prone to tyranny. Patrick Henry is remembered for these words: “An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”
Christian leaders
Was Patrick Henry a Christian? In 1776, he wrote, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians: Not on religious, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.” But what of other American leaders?
“I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also.”(Thomas Jefferson, from the front of his Bible)
“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”(John Quincy Adams, sixth U.S. President)
And it has not been just single leaders espousing this view. In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”
Changes
However, 1947 saw a radical change of direction for the Supreme Court. It required ignoring every previous precedent set by the Supreme Court in the past 160 years. For the last 60+ years, there have been multiple court challenges opposing the influence of religion, and especially anything Bible-based. The opposition is usually characterized as upholding “separation of church and state,” an ambiguous and misleading phrase. In the ways intended by the founding fathers, the United States has always practiced separation of church and state. Some of the legal changes that have taken place have been beneficial, but it is tragic that acknowledgment of God, the Bible, etc. have been completely pushed out of the classroom in the name of “separation of church and state.”
It has been said that our founding fathers created the constitution as a living and adaptable document, which would allow the changes that came about in 1947. But total prohibition of all things religious would seem to contradict what we know of those early patriots. What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the Crown? Most of us know little of the signers. Who were they? What happened to them?
Ben Franklin, at 70, was the only truly old man there. Eighteen were under forty and forty were in their twenties. Of the fifty-six, twenty-four were judges and lawyers, eleven were merchants, nine were landowners and farmers, and the remaining twelve were doctors, ministers and politicians. With only a few exceptions, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th century. It was Ben Franklin who noted, “Indeed we must all hang together; otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately.”
Setting an example
We should examine the commitment to this country by these men, and compare it to our commitment to God. The penalty for treason was death by hanging. These men wanted equality with the mother country, beginning with the principle of taxation with representation. As Christians, we too want to be a part of something better, ever committed to following the path of our savior Jesus Christ at any cost.
Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, and each case dealt with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his thirteen children. Two had wives that were brutally treated. All were, at one time or another, the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned, yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word.
When you were baptized, what kind of a commitment did you make to God? Because of what we know from the Bible prophecy about end-time persecution, all these things could happen to each one of us—and maybe will in the not too distant future. When you were baptized, you really pledged to the service of God your life, finances and your sacred honor.
The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence proved by their every deed that they made no idle boast when they composed the most magnificent curtain line in history. “And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance of the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Why would these men do that willingly? Why did you willingly become baptized and make a commitment to God for His work?
America’s responsibility
In this Satan-blinded world, we as God’s people are responsible to be examples of God’s law in action.
Some look to the United States, seeking answers to painful and bitter questions. Americans have rarely been so confused about right and wrong, about what is acceptable and what is to be forcefully condemned. We are learning the hard way that a self-governing nation must consist of self-governing individuals. Violence, crime, drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, and out-of-wedlock births all undermine the blessings of liberty and prosperity. Galatians 6:7 tells us we reap what we sow.
If America makes the economic, political, and moral changes necessary to move forward in the years ahead, then the rest of the world has a much better chance of getting it right. America got a great start because of God’s blessings. Therefore, we carry a special responsibility to honor and obey God and to be a light to the rest of the world. God will hold us as a nation and individuals accountable for our failure.
Freedom is the presence of justice tempered with mercy (Micah 6:8). Freedom is following God’s laws, which insure the success of these things. That’s why James called God’s law the “law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12). Freedom is a priceless treasure that the state is supposed to safeguard, because human beings have an intrinsic right to be free that comes not from the state but from God. To the Founding Fathers, this was a “self-evident” truth.
The Founders believed that man’s place in the universe was no accident; that man himself and the world in which he lives were created and sustained by a just and loving God. George Washington wrote, “It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being and it is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being.” James Madison put it this way: “The belief in a God All Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from many sources.”
Statements from the Founding Fathers
Our forefathers and leaders made various statements which when put together, give a message. These are great thoughts from great Americans and they have a lot of meaning for us today.
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” (Abraham Lincoln)
“The choices you make in moral and religious questions determine the way America will go. The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration. I am rather tired hearing about our rights and privileges as American citizens. The time has come; it now is, when we ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship. America’s future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God’s government. It is just as plain and clear as that.” (Peter Marshall)
“History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.”(General Douglas MacArthur)
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self government; ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” (James Madison)
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; the order of these rights, first life, then freedom, and then the equal opportunity to pursue ones own happiness, was written with great care and precision. The founders understood the need to balance man’s right to be free with man’s responsibility to be honest, just and fair. Switch the order of these fundamental human rights putting the pursuit of happiness before liberty, or liberty before life and you end up with moral chaos and social anarchy. Deny the God-given nature of these rights and you open the door to tyranny.
“Can the liberties of a nation be sure when we remove their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people, that these liberties are the gift of God?”(Thomas Jefferson)
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”(John Adams)
Modern liberalism rejects absolute moral standards and has abandoned the proper ordering of man’s fundamental rights. As a result, modern liberalism has undermined a long-held American principle: that the law should protect the weakest among us, not just the strong, the healthy, and the rich. Liberalism wrongly insists on parents’ freedom to choose an abortion while simultaneously denying parents’ freedom to choose the schools their children may attend. Its moral confusion over the sanctity of human life and the vital importance of the traditional family has consequently reshaped American law and society.
In this Satan-blinded world, we as God’s people are responsible to be examples of God’s law in action. We are to let God’s light shine through us to a dark world, showing the world that Satan will not win. Are we willing to accept the responsibility God has put on us—to demonstrate to America as well as to the world, that God’s way to live brings happiness, freedom, and productive life?
Each one of us needs to affirm, “For the support of God’s work, for which I am called, with a firm reliance on the protection of His divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other and to God our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

Further reading
Ask to receive the following free booklets for more information: The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy, Who is God? and The Ten Commandments.

Free Literature

BP Oil Spill Evidence of Need for Competent, Caring Leadership

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

BP Oil Spill Evidence of Need for Competent, Caring Leadership
A commentary by Larry J. Walker
The BP oil spill, which threatens to become the world's worst such disaster, continues to spread its sticky mess to an ever-expanding area of the Gulf of Mexico, leaving a wake of pollution and disaster at a cost projected to soar to multiple billions of dollars.
Crisis of incompetent leadership
It now appears that attempts to deal with the problem are in just as big of a mess, as government and industry leaders in affected areas charge the oil company and federal officials with organizational incompetence, red tape, chaos and disorder.
Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, recently lamented to a Senate subcommittee, "I still don't know who's in charge. Is it BP? Is it the Coast Guard?... I have spent more time fighting the officials of BP and the Coast Guard than fighting the oil." What is needed, he said, is someone "with the guts and the will to make decisions."
Similar problems and complaints were voiced regarding the handling of relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina. Some compare federal response to the BP crisis to its handling of Katrina: too little, too late—implying disengagement and incompetence.
Crisis of caring and concern
Yet another area of controversy has been the image created by comments made by BP executives. The reference to the citizens of affected areas as "little people" and BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward's remark, "I'd like my life back," have come across as cavalier, self-serving and uncaring—thus adding insult to injury.
Crisis of compounding problems
Experts continue to ratchet up estimates of the volume of oil gushing from the leak and the astronomical monetary cost of damages resulting from this ongoing crisis that is now projected to continue at least until fall. We can expect to be reading news reports about ongoing developments for weeks or months to come.
Newspapers and other news media are dominated by the bad news of mankind's ongoing problems of war, crime and pollution. The BP oil spill is one of many items of bad news that we are bombarded with daily and only one of the many challenging problems facing the United States and other nations around the world.
Many of these problems are frightening and overwhelming—how much more so the staggering combined weight of all of mankind's problems? Where are we headed? Are there any solutions? Who knows and cares enough to be able to tackle them? Or are we hopelessly rushing uncontrollably toward universal chaos and disaster on a scale that threatens the very survival of the human race?
Good news for the future
Is there any good news, anything to look forward to on the horizon? Or are we all doomed to perish in a dramatic collapse of civilization as we know it? Is there anything you can do to assure a positive future for you and your loved ones?
Some 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ addressed the threat of human survival. In the famous Olivet Prophecy, He warned that mankind's problems would escalate to the point of the potential destruction of all mankind: "In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed." The good news is that Jesus went on to promise, "It will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones" (Matthew 24:22, New Living Translation).

Who are "God's chosen ones," and how can you become one of them? Where can you find out more about the encouraging details of God's plan to save mankind? For more information, be sure to download or request our free booklets The Gospel of the Kingdom and What Is Your Destiny?

They Are Gone

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/


They Are Gone
A commentary by Hannah Baker
They are gone, burnt to the ground.
Only last October I walked the teeming streets of Bangkok, Thailand, with my father, stepping over garbage and around street vendors and holding my breath as we turned certain corners where especially offensive smells lurked. Ironically, we then dined in some of the most beautiful buildings and upscale spots in Bangkok or all of Asia.
However, when my father visited Bangkok in early June 2010 on business, he saw the smoking ruins of those buildings, some of which had been the nicest of their kind. The protesters called the red shirts had torched them.
Fears of the many
What sparked the protesters' indignation? Why, exactly, did this mob wreak havoc in the once-peaceful city streets? There is a one-word answer: fear.
The Thai protesters fear that their government is taking advantage of them. The Thai people fear more violence between the protesters and the police.
Fear lurks nearly everywhere. Filipinos in the southern Philippine islands fear the militant Muslim groups. Many people in developing nations such as India, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya, fear the ever-present hunger and thirst that threaten to ravage the masses of poor.
European leaders fear that their hard-won European Union will splinter. Americans fear a prolonged recession and the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf.
Fears of the one
What are our individual fears? Whether logical or not, we all have them.
Will there be jobs available when I am out of college? Will the oil spill reach my state or the town I live in? What if I am caught in the next violent outbreak at my school or college? Is it possible that I could be abducted if I traveled to Spain or France as an exchange student? Could it actually rain tomorrow and spoil my water-skiing?
Does fear really do any good, though? Some say that it's impossible to live without it. It's an unavoidable aspect of life, isn't it?
Fears of none
As several million unarmed former slaves were being run down by Egyptian forces, God told the fearful children of Israel through Moses, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again" (Exodus 14:13, English Standard Version throughout).
Forty years later, while training Joshua how to effectively lead the troublesome Israelites, an elderly Moses instructed, "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).
So, God would have us not be afraid. He wants us to entrust all of our problems and worries, large or small, to Him and fear—respect—Him. "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear [respect, stand in awe of] him, in those who hope in his steadfast love" (Psalm 147:11).
Let your fears be gone
Fear is like a rebel blockade. Fear only hurts us. It doesn't remedy any problems we face. In fact, fear blocks our minds from reasoning clearly and well, making it harder to come up with feasible solutions.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to live without being afraid? Well, it's worth trying! You can start by checking out this great story, "Fear and Faith." VT

About the Author Hannah Baker lives in the mountains of North Carolina and is working on her bachelor's degree in English. She attends the United Church of God in Hickory, North Carolina.

Comments or QuestionsIf you have any comments about this article or vertical-thinking questions we can help you answer please send them to info@verticalthought.org.

America:From Punishment to Destiny

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

America:From Punishment to Destiny
"How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7, NIV).
Though the United States and Britain do not appear in the Bible's prophecies of the end time under their present names, God hasn't ignored these nations. He identifies them in prophecy according to their ancestry. Most people simply haven't known where to look for them.
Throughout the long history of the lost 10 tribes of Israel, God has always known who and where they were. Just as He promised to their ancient forefathers, He has given the modern descendants of Joseph—primarily Britain and the United States—the family birthright and many of the earth's choicest blessings. These nations have received a singular opportunity to provide leadership in the world at large. But what does the Bible say about their future? The answer is sobering.
Many Bible prophecies portray a repentant Israel at the return of Christ. Its descendants will turn to God and begin obeying His laws—but only after they have gone through crises worse in many ways than the catastrophes that befell the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
The descendants of Israel who repent and turn to God—described in prophecies as only a "remnant" of their previous population (Isaiah 11:11, 16; Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 6:8)—will suffer enormously during the biblically prophesied time of "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21).
Only when they are humbled to the point of repenting of their sins will they be able to fulfill their God-ordained destiny of serving as a blessing to the nations. This wonderful future, however, will be preceded by the severest of trials. As Moses delivered the ancient Israelites from Egyptian slavery, Jesus Christ is coming to deliver modern Britain and America and the other Israelite-descended nations from an end-of-the-age subjugation by a modern religious and political system called "Babylon the great" (Revelation 17), centered in Europe.
This latter-day deliverance entails the fulfillment of some of the most astounding prophecies of the Bible: "'Therefore behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that it shall no more be said, "The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt," but, "The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them." For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers'" (Jeremiah 16:14-15).
But why will these calamities come on the United States and Britain?
God's expectations of Israel
In fulfillment of His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God established Israel as a nation for the purpose of bringing blessings to other nations (Deuteronomy 9:5; Genesis 12:3). From their earliest days God expected the Israelites to be an example to the other nations around them of the divine blessings that would be poured out on all who worship and obey Him (Deuteronomy 4:6; 14:2).
If the Israelites would fulfill their part of their covenant agreement with God, God said He would make Israel the premier nation of the world (Deuteronomy 26:19; 28:1, 12-13). But if the Israelites disobeyed they would suffer the consequences (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). God told them other nations would take them captive (verses 25, 32-33, 36). Even their punishment was to be a lesson to other nations: "You shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you" (verse 37).
The Israelites were supposed to be a model to other nations of the blessings of obedience and the penalties of disobedience to God's instruction. Regardless of the choices they have made, both anciently and today, this is still the role God has given them. And He holds them responsible for the way they respond to that role.
Nearly 3,500 years ago God told Israel: "Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
"When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you...And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you" (Deuteronomy 4:23-27).
Israel's descendants fail in their responsibilities
With the restoration of Joseph's birthright promises to his descendants, Britain and the United States, the people of these nations have enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. Once again, like their forefathers, they have had the opportunity to be a "holy" people, an example of righteousness to other nations.
Britain had the opportunity to spread ethical, godly civilization to much of the world. At the height of their empire, the British people took the Bible into far-flung corners of the earth. Yet today religion is routinely ridiculed in Britain's national news and entertainment media, and Christianity is foundering. Many church buildings have been shuttered and locked because people no longer attend. A large majority of the British people shows little or no interest in the teachings of the Bible.
Similarly, the United States was founded through leaders who for the most part held great respect for the Bible. Although officially favoring no single religion, the country soon became recognized as the leading Christian nation in the world. But in recent times a large portion of the nation has likewise ignored the teachings of the Bible. Paradoxically, the United States is one of the most prosperous nations of the world and one of the most immoral. It has one of the worst rates of crime and violence of all nations.
As in ancient Israel (Jeremiah 5:7-9), immorality runs rampant in the United States and the nations that once formed the British Empire. The number of broken homes and fatherless households has continued to skyrocket even as national prosperity has increased. Illegitimacy, the abortions of millions of innocent babies and epidemics of sexually transmitted diseases are the hallmarks of a sleazy, if-it-feels-good-do-it morality.
Millions seek escape in alcohol and illegal drugs. Crude and violent entertainment dominates the airwaves. Filth passes for culture. Millions of people live in fear of becoming victims of crime or random violence. Many cities are cesspools of crime, gang violence, poverty, illiteracy and illegitimacy. Greed and materialism have become the national religion in countries that have long prided themselves on being "Christian" nations. As a result of these and other sins, many now view the United States and Britain, once respected throughout much of the world, with ill-disguised contempt.
Among the most serious sins of the ancient house of Israel were idolatry and Sabbath breaking, by which Israel abandoned any regular pattern of hearing and learning more about God's Word.
Notice what God said through the prophet Ezekiel after Israel fell into captivity: "Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths...They despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols" (Ezekiel 20:12-13, 16).
As a result they began to believe that one religious belief or practice was no better than another—that they could change the rules of life as they pleased. Because of these beliefs and their sins, God allowed them to go into captivity.
The same is true today. Although many people observe religious holidays, these holidays generally have nothing to do with the worship of the true God but are rooted in ancient idolatry. In many ways the sins of people today are identical to those of ancient Israel. (To better understand the true origins of many of today's most popular holidays, be sure to request your free copy of the booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?)
The words of the prophet Hosea are a chillingly accurate description of the United States and Britain: "Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel, for the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: 'There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn...
"'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me...They set their heart on their iniquity...So I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their deeds'" (Hosea 4:1-3, 6-9). Just as God punished ancient Israel for its sins, He plans to punish its modern descendants for their persistent disobedience.
God remains the same
God does not change (Malachi 3:6). He responds consistently and impartially to human behavior. He blesses for obedience and punishes for disobedience. The modern descendants of Israel should not ignore His timeless warnings.
At the beginning of Israel's history as a nation, God inspired Moses to write: "Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known" (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).
Likewise He explained His purpose and plan for Israel as a nation: "Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people...He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken" (Deuteronomy 26:18-19). These are exactly the blessings and opportunities He has given to Britain and America, the modern descendants of Joseph.
So what lies ahead for these nations? What punishment will they have to suffer for choosing the ways of sin while turning their backs on the opportunities that God has given them?
The time of Jacob's trouble
The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the house of Judah in his day, the sixth century B.C., when Judah faced God's chastening at the hands of the Babylonian Empire. But Jeremiah also prophesied to the house of Israel—which God had punished and sent into captivity more than a century before he was born. Jeremiah wrote of a time of national trouble that is yet ahead for the modern descendants of the lost 10 tribes of Israel.
Notice their condition when Christ returns: "'For behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah...And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it'" (Jeremiah 30:3).
Then Jeremiah describes why God will have to intervene and save modern Israelites. "'Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day,' says the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them'" (verses 7-8). Notice that the "yoke" and "bonds" that enslave the descendants of Jacob are placed on them by "foreigners"—enemy nations.
It is out of this foreign domination and enslavement that Christ will deliver them at His second coming. This will be the time when King David and Christ's 12 apostles—along with all the rest of God's saints—will be resurrected to begin ruling with Christ over a restored Israel in the Kingdom of God (Ezekiel 37:24; Matthew 19:28).
Jeremiah, still speaking of the end time, continues: "'But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,' says the LORD, 'nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,' says the LORD, 'to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you'" (Jeremiah 30:9-11).
The Bible gives most of the prophecies relating to this time of trouble in the context of how God plans to deliver the Israelites after He again punishes them. When Christ returns to begin the "restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:21), the modern descendants of Jacob will again be in a state of captivity. This means that Jacob's "time of trouble" in the last days, as Jeremiah predicted, will indeed be severe.
Unparalleled trouble—and deliverance
Daniel says: "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered..." (Daniel 12:1).
Why will God allow this time of trouble? Through the prophet Zephaniah God speaks of His anger at the hardness of heart of the nations in the last days. He says: "I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger" (Zephaniah 3:8, NIV). He will spare no nation, no people.
Though all nations are to suffer His wrath, God explains explicitly why He will punish the Israelites at that time. During their time of national catastrophe those who refuse to listen to God's warning and repent will perish. Only those who hear and heed God's warning before and during this time of global vengeance will find mercy.
Notice Zephaniah's words: "In that day...I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
"The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more" (verses 11-15).
The modern descendants of Israel will have to endure this terrible period of punishment and captivity for not repenting of their sins and taking seriously the role God has given them. Even the Jewish people in Jerusalem and the modern state of Israel will not escape this captivity and punishment that is to occur shortly before Christ returns:
"Behold, the day of the LORD is coming...For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem...Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle" (Zechariah 14:1-3). The next few verses then describe the return of Christ, establishing that this captivity occurs at the time of the end.
Ezekiel's warnings for us
Like Jeremiah, the priest Ezekiel prophesied long after the ancient kingdom of Israel had been crushed and its people taken away in the Assyrian captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar's conquering Babylonian armies had forcibly removed from the land of Judah this young Jewish exile, Ezekiel, and thousands of his countrymen some 130 years after the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Ezekiel's mission and message could not have been for the ancient kingdom of Israel. That kingdom had long since vanished. God had already banished its people into a foreign land in the far reaches of the Assyrian Empire hundreds of miles from Ezekiel's place of exile in Babylon. If God were using Ezekiel to warn the ancient kingdom of Israel, He was more than a century too late!
No doubt Ezekiel directed some of his message toward the nation of Judah, which at that time was going into captivity. But parts of His message were unmistakably directed to the "whole house of Israel"—all 12 tribes—and are applicable to the time of the end (Ezekiel 39:25; 45:6).
What was God's message for the "whole house of Israel" through the prophet Ezekiel? "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. The end is now upon you and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will surely repay you for your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD...
"When terror comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none...I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 7:2-4, 25, 27, NIV).
The book of Ezekiel contains many similar warnings that apply to the modern descendants of all Israelites—both from the house of Israel and the house of Judah. God condemns the rampant immorality, corruption, greed, violence and oppression of the defenseless by the modern descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel. He abhors the fact that they have defiled themselves with false gods, despised His holy things and profaned His Sabbaths (Ezekiel 22:7-13).
Because of this moral degeneracy God also says: "I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD" (verses 15-16).
God promises that He will punish or spare each individual human being according to his attitude and conduct. He explains: "When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it...I will judge every one of youaccording to his own ways" (Ezekiel 33:18-20).
National downfall and captivity
This devastating punishment will involve, as we see in these prophecies, the national downfall and captivity of the modern Israelites. Now let's examine some other crises the United States and other British-descended peoples will face during that time.
Notice the national curses God included in His covenant with ancient Israel: "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God...that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be ..." (Deuteronomy 28:15-16).
These timeless curses for disobedience include crippling diseases and epidemics (verses 21-22, 27, 35, 59-62); mental illnesses (verse 28); upset weather patterns leading to devastating droughts (verses 23-24) and insect infestations that destroy crops (verses 38-40, 42) and bring starvation (verses 53-57); and, finally, invasion and captivity (verses 32-33, 36, 41, 47-52, 64-68).
Leviticus 26:14-39 describes similar consequences, while also noting that God will "break the pride of your power" such that "you will flee when no one pursues you" (verses 17, 19).
We seem already to be witnessing the fulfillment of this prophecy in our time. Perhaps even more remarkable than the British Empire's rise to greatness was its rapid dismantling. From an empire on which the sun never set, Britain has lost possession after possession. Most of the nations that once formed the British Empire are now independent, no longer subject to British rule.
The United States, which emerged from World War II as the world's preeminent military power, soon was fighting to a bloody stalemate in Korea and a humiliating defeat in Vietnam. Even in recent wars, such as those in Iraq, Kuwait, Bosnia and Serbia, in which America achieved its initial military aims, U.S. forces remained bogged down with costly peacekeeping obligations and no easy escape. Only in such overwhelmingly one-sided conflicts as in Grenada and Panama has the United States emerged as the clear-cut victor since its stalemate in the Korean War.
Even though the United States remains the world's most powerful military power by a large margin, its advantage is greatly undermined by lack of political will and the commitment to decisively win its wars.
In another sign of their decline, Britain and the United States have lost many of the strategic sea gates they gained and maintained at great cost. In recent years they have surrendered such crucial strategic possessions as the Panama Canal and Hong Kong. No doubt this trend will continue.
"A time of great distress"
Other prophecies indicate that the turmoil prophesied to engulf the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the democracies of Northwest Europe will be only a prelude to a time of tumult and chaos unlike anything the world has seen.
Describing the terrible time just before His return, Jesus said: "It will be a time of great distress, such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive; but for the sake of God's chosen it will be cut short" (Matthew 24:21-22, Revised English Bible).
Only in recent decades has humanity faced the terrifying prospect of human annihilation. We have enough nuclear weapons stockpiled to kill every man, woman and child many times over. Some nations—including terrorist states—have the means to lay waste entire countries with chemical or biological weapons. Many Bible prophecies serve as eerie reminders of the kind of carnage such weapons can cause.
How devastating will this time be? The book of Revelation describes a combination of supernatural and man-made catastrophes that will ravage the earth at the time of the end. In one great disaster alone fully one third of earth's population—billions of people—will die (Revelation 9:15, 18). Conditions will be so grim that "men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them" (verse 6).
God does not enjoy punishing people. Through Ezekiel He says: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'" (Ezekiel 33:11).
Regrettably, this is the only way many people will ever be brought to repentance.
Israel restored to greatness
In spite of these great calamities, prophecy tells us that, after Jesus Christ's return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God, the survivors of the tribes of Israel will experience even greater honor than they've previously known. God promises an unprecedented regathering of Israel.
"It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left...He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth"(Isaiah 11:11-12).
Those who return will be a transformed and humbled people. Speaking of when Israel would go into captivity, God said: "And there you will serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
"When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them" (Deuteronomy 4:28-31).
Notice that the time setting for this passage is "the latter days" (verse 30). God knows that when people turn from obedience to Him they usually must learn their lesson the hard way. Yet He is always willing to bless those who turn from their wicked ways.
Through the prophet Ezekiel, God says of this time: "... When the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds...So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds.
"... I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God" (Ezekiel 36:17-28).
God never fulfilled this prophecy in ancient Israel or Judah, since He made His Spirit available only to a select few before He began the New Testament Church in A.D. 31, as recorded in Acts 2. These events are yet to take place. God promises that, when these people humble themselves and repent, He will make His Spirit available to them. No longer will they be rebellious and disobedient to their Maker. Led by that Spirit, they will willingly follow God, obeying His laws.
An Israel reunited
As end-time prophecies about Israel unfold, these people will come to understand God and His expectations of them in a way they have never known. The descendants of the lost 10 tribes of the northern kingdom will discover they are not gentiles, as so many mistakenly believe. As humbled people, they will turn from their evil ways and seek the true knowledge of God. The house of Israel and the house of Judah will unite again as one nation under Christ.
The prophecies of Ezekiel point to the dramatic reunion of those of "lost Israel" with their brothers from Judah. "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.' Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand...
"Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land...They shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again"'" (Ezekiel 37:16-17, 21-22).
This unified nation will be comprised of both the Jewish people—the descendants of the ancient kingdom of Judah—and the descendants of the other 10 tribes.
After the end-time period of "Jacob's trouble," which will be God's just and necessary correction of modern Israel, a repentant remnant will survive. Those of the so-called lost tribes of the northern kingdom, including the British and American people, will have repented of breaking the laws of the covenant, including God's Sabbath and Holy Days. The Jews of the southern kingdom will have acknowledged Jesus as the true Messiah.
Finally, modern descendants of both kingdoms, for the first time in almost 3,000 years, will reunite as one nation.
God makes another astounding promise: "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore" (verses 24-26).
At Jesus' return, God will resurrect King David, whom He called "a man after My own heart" (Acts 13:22), to reign over the reunited kingdom. Along with many other faithful servants of God, he will be resurrected to eternal life (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:52). Also, as Jesus promised, the 12 apostles will rule over the individual tribes (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30).
Now let's consider the international role the restored, reunited Israel of the future will fulfill in God's plan. Let's see how the descendants of Jacob will be a godly example for all nations in the future Kingdom of God.
Israel's future glory
Of the formation of this reunited nation God says: "... I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking.
"Behold, the days are coming that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:3-6). This supreme ruler is Jesus Christ.
Under Jesus the resurrected saints—those former human beings who were part of the body of believers comprising His true Church—will faithfully serve as teachers of the citizens of restored Israel (compare Isaiah 30:19-21 with Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:4, 6).
When the Israelites turn to God in repentance and obedience, God will again shower physical blessings on them. Their land will become abundantly productive.
Describing this future prosperity Amos wrote: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,' says the LORD your God" (Amos 9:13-15).
This time will also herald unprecedented peace. "He [Jesus the Messiah] shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken" (Micah 4:3-4).
The prophets also reveal this will be a time of healing. Those who are lame will walk. Those with disease will be healed (Isaiah 35:5-6).
As other nations see Israel's prosperity and relationship with God, they will inquire how they, too, can be blessed. They will soon learn that Israel's prosperity comes because of its obedience to God. Then the gentile nations will seek to learn about the God of Israel. "... 'In those days 10 men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you"'" (Zechariah 8:23).
The nations will begin to learn God's ways with the help of a restored and obedient Israel. Jerusalem will become the world's center for religious education. As the prophet Micah explained:
"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:1-2).
Finally, Israel will at last really be the world's model nation, exemplifying the blessings and way of life other nations will strive to emulate. God will teach the truth of His Sabbath—the sacred time to draw close to God on a weekly basis—to all people (Isaiah 66:23).
God's Holy Days—which outline His plan of salvation—will also be an important part of the worship of God in this future age. God even tells us that representatives of surrounding nations will come each year to Jerusalem to worship Him during the great fall feast.
"And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain" (Zechariah 14:16-17).
The glory of the restored Israel will shine far greater than Israel's golden age under Solomon or that of any other nation or kingdom the world has ever seen. It will all come about because Christ will be the Head of the nation. Through its Creator Israel will gain "fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth" (Zephaniah 3:20). Israel will finally become the example God intended her to be.
God has not forgotten—nor will He ever forget—His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The pages of history and prophecies yet to be fulfilled show God remaining true to every detail of His word.
Your part in God's plan
Now we come to the most important question you will ponder: What will happen to you as these prophecies unfold?
We have covered much of the history of Israel in this book. We have seen how these people were divided into two nations, turned away from God and went into captivity. We have examined prophecies and historical evidence that point to Britain, the United States and the other British-descended peoples as the modern descendants of Joseph, the father of the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. We have reviewed prophecies that reveal what will happen to these peoples before and after Jesus' return. Every nation on earth will be affected by their fall and restoration.
You have a choice. You can dismiss this knowledge if you want. No one can force you to accept it. The story is so incredible that many people simply refuse to believe it. They choose to reason their way around it. But the stakes are high. Either God is true to His promises, or He isn't. If He is, every promise and prediction He has made will come to pass—good and bad alike.
In deciding which course you will take, remember what God told the ancient Israelites after He explained the terms of the relationship they would have with Him: "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life..." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
God also tells us He "now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world ..." (Acts 17:30-31). His warning applies equally to Israelites and non-Israelites alike. Yet, He promises protection from the coming storm to a group of those who do turn to Him in true repentance (Revelation 3:10; 12:13-17).
Jesus similarly tells us: "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36, NIV).
God does not leave us in the dark. He reveals to us what lies ahead for the United States, Britain and the British-descended peoples and for the rest of the world. As the Scriptures say: "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).
The authors and publishers of this book, in service to the Creator of all races and peoples, have shown what the future holds for many nations and people unless they repent (Jeremiah 18:7-8). Like the prophet Ezekiel, who was given the task of being a "watchman for the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 3:17-19; 33:1-7), we likewise urge you to accept and follow God's instructions so you may also be blessed and protected by Him.
Your future depends upon your decision. May you have the wisdom and character to choose wisely!

Changes in Christian Scholars' Perspective on God's Law

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

Changes in Christian Scholars' Perspective on God's Law
Regard for God's law in mainstream Christianity has been remarkably inconsistent since the Protestant Reformation. On the one hand, the Ten Commandments have been considered the greatest moral law mankind has ever known. On the other hand, they have usually been regarded as too inconsequential or arbitrary to be obligatory for Christians.
These contradictory views of God's commandments became evident in the 16th century with the theological differences between Martin Luther and John Calvin, the principal founders of Protestant theology.
Calvin believed Christians should keep the Ten Commandments, even though he bowed to tradition by substituting the first day of the week for the seventh day in the Fourth Commandment. Calvin's view, though popular in past centuries, steadily lost ground during the 20th century.
Today most Christian denominations reflect, at least in practice, Luther's view toward the commandments of God. Luther incorrectly assumed that the apostle Paul had rejected the authority of the Old Testament just as Luther had rejected the authority of the Catholic hierarchy of his day. But Luther's perception of Paul's teachings was inaccurate.
Luther saw that Paul taught salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). But Luther took this teaching one step too far, and therein lies the source of his colossal error that later shaped the views of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
He taught that salvation is by faith alone. By this he meant that laws in the Old Testament, including the Ten Commandments, are not binding on Christians. He taught that a simple belief in Christ is sufficient for salvation—that faith alone is all that is necessary. As a result, Luther pitted the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments against each other. James D.G. Dunn, Lightfoot professor of divinity at the University of Durham, England, explains that Luther's first incorrect assumption was that Paul's personal experience in Judaism was identical to his own experience in the Catholicism of his day. Luther incorrectly assumed Paul was troubled by his personal relationship to God's law.
Dunn then explains: "The trouble with all this is that when Paul speaks explicitly of his own experience before he became a Christian there is nothing of all of this . . . In Philippians 3:6 he states quite simply that prior to his conversion he regarded himself as 'blameless as regards righteousness within the law.' In other words, there is no indication or hint of a period of guilt-ridden anxiety [in Paul], like that suffered by Luther."
"The second assumption Luther made," continues Dunn, "was that the Judaism of Paul's time was just like the mediaeval Catholicism of Luther's day, at least so far as the teaching about God's justice and justification were concerned. The second assumption was natural, given the first. If Paul had made the same discovery of faith as Luther, then he must also have been reacting against the same misunderstanding as Luther" (The Justice of God, 1994, pp. 13-14).
As a result of these inaccurate assumptions, Luther concluded that Christ's death abolished the laws of God in the Old Testament. He mistakenly deduced that Paul taught the same thing.
But that was not what Paul believed or taught. During the past 30 years Paul's obedience to the teachings of the Old Testament Scriptures have been categorically confirmed by many Christian and Jewish scholars.
Here are some comments from scholars on this subject from Removing Anti-Judaism from the Pulpit (edited by Howard Kee, emeritus professor of biblical studies at Boston University, and Irvin Borowsky, chairman of the American Interfaith Institute, 1996).
John T. Pawlikowski, a professor at the Catholic Theological Union of Social Ethics, Chicago, says: "The claimed total opposition to Torah [Old Testament teachings] which theologians, especially in the Protestant churches, frequently made the basis for their theological contrast between Christianity and Judaism (freedom/ grace vs. Law) now appears to rest on something less than solid ground" (p. 32). Also: "It is now becoming increasingly apparent to biblical scholars that the lack of a deep immersion into the spirit and content of the Hebrew Scriptures leaves the contemporary Christian with a truncated version of Jesus' message. In effect, what remains is an emasculated version of biblical spirituality" (p. 31, emphasis added throughout).
Robert J. Daly, professor of theology and a Jesuit priest, tells us, "Expressed bluntly from the Christian perspective, to be anti-Jewish is to be anti-Christian" (p. 52).
Frederick Holmgren, research professor of Old Testament at a Chicago seminary, explains the significance of the discoveries of these scholars: "Despite Jesus' conflict with some interpreters of his day, both Jewish and Christian scholars see him as one who honored and followed the Law." Holmgren also explains that "Jesus embraced the Torah of Moses; he came not to end it but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17)—to carry its teachings forward. Further, to those who came to him seeking eternal life, he held it up as the essential teaching to be observed (Luke 10:25-28)" (p. 72).
These and other Christian scholars are changing their views of the status of God's laws in New Testament. One cannot help but hope that many others will be encouraged by their example to change their prejudices against obeying the Ten Commandments. However, it is most unlikely this understanding will be widely believed and accepted because "the sinful mind is hostile to God" and "does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so" (Romans 8:7, NIV).

'The LORD Our God Is One'

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

'The LORD Our God Is One'
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" This simple declaration by Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4 has caused considerable consternation to many who try to understand who and what God is.
Reading here that God is one, most Jews for centuries have ruled out the possibility that Jesus of Nazareth could be the Son of God, on the same divine plane as God the Father.
Early Catholic theologians, reading the same verse, struggled to formulate in the doctrine of the Trinity a God consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who were all distinct persons yet at the same time a single triune God.
How, then, should we understand this verse?
One of the primary principles for understanding the Bible is that we must consider all the scriptures on a subject. Only then will we come to a complete and accurate understanding of the matter.
Other biblical passages clearly tell us that two distinct individuals, the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, are both God (Hebrews 1:8; John 1:1, 14). Therefore we should consider whether this verse is commenting on the numerical oneness of God, or something else entirely.
The Hebrew word translated "one" in Deuteronomy 6:4 is echad. Its meanings include the number one, but also such associated meanings as "one and the same," "as one man, together [unified]," "each, every," "one after another" and "first [in sequence or importance]" (Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1951, p. 25). It can also be rendered "alone," as the NRSV translates it here (William Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1972, p. 9). The exact meaning is best determined by context.
In this case, several interpretations could be both grammatically correct and consistent with other biblical statements.
In Deuteronomy 6:4 Moses may have simply been telling the Israelites that the true God, their God, was to be first—the highest priority—in their hearts and minds. The young nation had risen from slavery in a culture in which the Egyptians deified many gods, and they were poised to enter a land whose inhabitants were steeped in worship of many supposed gods and goddesses of fertility, rain, war, journeys, etc. Through Moses, God sternly warned the Israelites of the dangers of abandoning Him to follow other gods.
This interpretation—that God is to be the Israelites' first priority—is strongly supported by the context. In the very next verse Moses continues, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
This passage is at the heart of a several-chapters-long discussion of the benefits and blessings of wholeheartedly following God and avoiding the idolatrous practices of the people whom they would drive out of the Promised Land. Jesus Himself quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5 as the "first and great commandment" in the law (Mark 12:28-30; Matthew 22:36-38).
The translation "alone" fits this context as well. That is, the true God was to be Israel's God alone; the Israelites were to have no other.
Another view of this passage is based on the root word from which echad is derived, achad. This word means "to unify" or "go one way or other" (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible). In other words, echad can also mean in unity or a group united as one.
In several verses echad clearly has the meaning of more than one person united as a group. In Genesis 11:6 God says of those building the tower of Babel, "Indeed the people are one [echad] . . ." In Genesis 2:24 He says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one [echad] flesh."
When we read of a large group of people being one or a man and wife becoming one flesh in marital union, we understand that multiple individuals are involved. We do not assume that separate individuals, though united in spirit and purpose, have physically merged to become a single being.
God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are clearly of one mind and purpose. Jesus said of His mission, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" and ". . . I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 4:34; 5:30).
Describing Their relationship, Jesus said, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). Christ prayed that His followers, both then and in the future, would be unified in mind and purpose just as He and the Father were. "I do not pray for these [disciples] alone," He said, "but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us . . ." (John 17:20-21).
No matter which translation we accept—whether "The LORD our God, the LORD is first," "The LORD is our God, the LORD alone," or "The LORD our God, the LORD is one!"—none limits God to a singular Being. And, in light of the scriptures we've seen and others, it is clear that God is a plurality of Beings—a plurality in unity. In other words, God the Father and Jesus the Son form a family perfect in its unity.

Was Jesus Christ the Messiah?

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

Was Jesus Christ the Messiah?
What was Jesus Christ's purpose? Why did He come to earth? Why will He come again? The answers to these questions become evident when we examine the concept of the Messiah.
Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning "Anointed One." Anointing was used, among other things, to signify that kings had been chosen by God (1 Samuel 15:1; 16:12-13; 1 Kings 1:34). Christ means "Anointed One" in Greek, the language in which the New Testament has been preserved for us— the same as the Hebrew word Messiah. The two terms mean the same thing (John 1:41; 4:25).
A prophesied king and kingdom
The Hebrews understood that their Scriptures contained many prophecies of a divinely appointed ruler who would restore the glory and grandeur of the kingdom of Israel. For example, Isaiah 9:6-7 says: ". . . The government will be upon His shoulder . . . Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever . . ."
Jeremiah 23:5 adds: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth."
After the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were taken into captivity by Assyria and Babylon, respectively, the Israelite people looked to these promises for a deliverer. In Christ's day, the descendants of the Jews who had returned to their homeland from Babylon several centuries earlier were dominated by the Roman Empire. In their oppression they prayed and hoped for the promised Messiah, a conquering king who would deliver them from their Roman overlords and restore Israel to greatness.
From many prophecies they deduced, correctly, that the Messiah was soon to appear. Hopes ran high. When John the Baptist came on the scene, some thought he might be the Messiah. Scripture tells us that "the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ [Messiah] or not" (Luke 3:15).
John said he was not the Messiah, but he did point people to Jesus of Nazareth. One of John's followers, a fisherman named Andrew, immediately believed in Jesus. "He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is translated, the Christ)'" (John 1:40-41). Both Andrew and Simon (Peter) became disciples.
Jesus confirms He is the Messiah
Jesus acknowledged that He was the long-awaited Messiah in a conversation with a Samaritan woman. "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He'" (John 4:25-26, emphasis added throughout).
Jesus also acknowledged that He was the Messiah at His trial. ". . . The high priest asked Him, saying to Him, 'Are You the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Blessed?' Jesus said, 'I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven'" (Mark 14:61-62).
Jesus knew that He was born to be a king. When Pontius Pilate questioned Him before His crucifixion, he asked Jesus if He were indeed a king. Jesus responded: "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world . . ." (John 18:36-37).
The disciples' misunderstanding
That Jesus' kingdom was not for that time was misunderstood by most of His followers. They had assumed that Jesus Christ would lead a popular uprising that would throw off the Romans and establish a new political entity. Among themselves, some of the disciples even argued at times as to who among them would hold the primary positions in the new government (Matthew 20:20-21; Luke 9:46; 22:24).
Their understanding was limited. They didn't realize that Christ must first come to suffer and die for the sins of mankind and only later would come as the conquering king they expected.
When Jesus was tried and executed, they were dismayed. Their hopes and dreams of power were dashed. Peter and some of the other disciples returned to their old occupations as fishermen (John 21:1-3).
Even after Jesus appeared to them again, they still didn't understand. They still hoped Christ would establish the Kingdom of God then. Notice Acts 1:6- 8: "Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'"
Jesus explained that the timing of that kingdom should not be their primary concern; indeed they would not know when it would be established. Their focus, Christ said, should be on the work He had assigned them. The Kingdom of God would be established in due time.
Finally they understood. Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the promised Messiah, but first He had to suffer and die for their sins. Later He would come as a conquering king to establish the Kingdom of God.
The dozens of prophecies recorded by the prophets about a Messiah— prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ— are among the strongest proofs that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. The four Gospels recall the Old Testament prophecies and show how Jesus Christ fulfilled them .
The Gospels also speak of His resurrection and ultimate return to earth as conquering King. That is the message of the Gospels—that Jesus Christ was the Messiah who is prophesied throughout the Old Testament.
To learn more about Jesus' role, request the free booklet Who Is God?

A Touchy Subject - Hand-holding, Hugging, Kissing and More...

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

A Touchy Subject - Hand-holding, Hugging, Kissing and More...
The time to make decisions about physical contact is before you get in a touchy situation. Making a decision on the fly with no forethought is a recipe for going too far.
by David Treybig

What to say when you're uncomfortable with someone's advances...
• "I'm not interested in doing that. I don't think that is a good idea."
• "I don't believe in doing this before marriage. Why do you?"
• "Whoa . . . Easy on the touchy-feely."
• "Stop that!"
• "I gotta go. Excuse me." Then leave the room for any reason you can think of.
• Back off (put physical distance between you) and say, "That is too much."
• "I'm flattered that you feel that way, but I think if you and I both take a step back, we will see that this is not a good idea and is against God's law."
• "I'm not ready for that yet, but I may be one day. Let's take it easy on that stuff until then, OK?"
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Find Out More...
What's Going On Under the Skin: What Touch Can Trigger
Biologically, it is called the sense of touch. For those dating, it can be exhilarating—actual, real-live, skin-to-skin contact with someone of the opposite sex. And while it isn't sexual union, it can definitely be sexy. Just ask any red-blooded male or female who has had a close encounter with Miss Good Looking or Mr. Hunk.
Hand-holding, hugging, kissing or any other similar contact can be oh so delightful.
But is all this contact good, upright and moral? Is it in our best interest to engage in these practices prior to marriage? How does one decide? For those who have adopted the standards of behavior endorsed by today's entertainment industry, these are stupid questions. In fact, they are non-questions—meaning they just aren't asked. When people believe it is OK to have sex before marriage, a little (or a lot of) touching doesn't really mean anything.
Consider the blockbuster movie Titanic. Two young people fall in love and, before they are married, they decide to have sex. Even though current stats show that the majority of high school students don't have sex, many movies like this present this scene as the norm for young people before they say "I do." The way it unfolds is true to life. It all starts with physical contact—touching, hugging and kissing. And then comes full sexual intercourse. But this isn't what the Bible teaches.
In Genesis 2:24, God explains how and when a sexual union between a man and a woman should take place: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (emphasis added throughout).
"One flesh" means to have sexual intercourse (1 Corinthians 6:16) and, according to God's instructions, this is to take place after a man and woman have been joined together in marriage. Having sex prior to marriage is immoral and, according to God's Word, we are supposed to "flee sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18). Flee means to run away from or avoid. So we're supposed to run away from premarital sex and things that could entice us to be immoral.
An important point to note in God's instruction is that abstinence doesn't have to be forever. It just must wait until two people are married. Then, God says, sex is good (Hebrews 13:4). Because abstinence has been described in such negative terms, some educators are now choosing to use the word postponement to describe the process of delaying sex until marriage.
How to decide
Many of you reading this have already decided that you are going to wait to have sex until you are married. That's great! You've made a good decision. But what about this touchy stuff? Are you going to hug, kiss, hold hands or more? The Bible doesn't specifically address these areas. It does clearly say that we aren't to have sex prior to marriage (1 Corinthians 6:18) or to even lust after another person (Matthew 5:28), and that love is not to be awakened until the appropriate time (Song of Solomon 2:7, New Revised Standard Version). Human history shows that these "touchy" activities often lead to lustful desire and sex. Unfortunately, many young people have engaged in these forms of physical contact and then lost their virginity because their emotions overwhelmed their sense of judgment. They just couldn't stop because it felt so good.
So how can you decide what you will do? Some have asked, "Just how far can a Christian go without sinning?" The time to make decisions about physical contact is before you get in a touchy situation. Making a decision on the fly with no forethought is a recipe for going too far.
To help you establish godly standards, consider the following advice given by a panel of young American Christians between the ages of 20 and 30. Some are married and some aren't. While the names are changed to preserve each person's identity, the comments are genuine.
Should you hold hands?
Hand-holding according to 20-year-old Sarah K. is "OK if you plan to marry him or her, when you both feel like the other is the right one for you." Continuing, she said, "I wouldn't hold hands with someone who I felt to be 'just a date' or someone I was mildly interested in, or even just plain had a crush on. I think holding hands is a sign that 'this is the one for me' to all the world, and that is just not something I want to do with just anyone."
Bill, 28 and married to Sue, said that he didn't have a rule about holding hands before he was married but realized that "those first thrilling physical touches when one is young can often open the door to premature intimacy and big life mistakes." Continuing, he remarked, "If I could do it all over again, I would refrain from hand-holding until becoming engaged (and then make sure the engagement was brief enough so as to minimize any potential problems). Individual tolerances to holding hands or other touching may vary, so there's no hard-and-fast rule. But I would have done better erring on the side of strict conservatism in this area."
Kate, 28, who is married to Luke, wrote: "We didn't hold hands till almost a year after we started dating. (We started dating a year or more after we had known each other as friends with the understanding that we were potentially interested in marriage and wanted to spend time together to find out.) Luke asked me if he could hold my hand initially. Looking back, it was a good thing, even though I questioned it at one point because it became a distraction for me for a short time—either wanting him to hold my hand, or having a difficult time reigning in my thoughts when he did. However, he explained to me that he felt like it was important that there be a physical means of communicating with each other and expressing the closeness that we felt. I think that he was right.
"One thing that both of us learned was that before marriage, if you are pursuing marriage with a person, anything has the potential to be physically exciting and distracting. In the midst of the excitement, you have to take your thoughts captive and make decisions about enjoying emotional closeness and small amounts of physical contact based on whether the relationship is deep and solid enough to benefit from these added dimensions, or whether it will only serve to cover up a lack of real communication. For Luke and me, hand-holding was a positive thing that physically manifested some of the feelings and ideas that we had already verbalized."
What about hugs?
Once you become good friends with someone, it seems as though hugs become part of the way many people say good-bye before long intervals apart or hello when they reunite. While the majority of this panel felt these kind of short hugs were appropriate, they did offer a few cautions about regular and lengthy hugging with the opposite sex.
Sarah K. said, "I think the thing is, the longer two people of the opposite sex hug, the more tendency there would be to kiss. So if that sort of thing is affecting your mind, where it's like you've been hugging this person and all of a sudden you just have to kiss them, then uh-oh! You'd better rethink your actions, because the godly way is to go in the direction of 'flee from immorality,' not see how close you can come to it!"
Bill agreed with Sarah K., saying, "Hugs between two people who know they are attracted to one another should be brief ... Hugs involve even more physical contact and can be misused if one is not careful and/or has a weakness in this area."
Cheryl, 23 and married, said her "main concern was finding the person that I could continue a relationship with until the end (marriage). If he didn't meet my qualifications enough to that end, I would remain friends but never make any more physical contact than a hug here or there."
Before Kate and Luke married, they said, "We got into the habit of giving each other a brief hug coming and going sometime during the first year of dating. It was good to acknowledge the way we cared for each other with something warmer than a 'Hi.'
"It felt a bit stiff to us both as we grew to care for each other more, but anytime you are holding back feelings for the right time, things can feel awkward. "We liked to sit close to each other, but it was not until a few months before we were engaged that we sat together with his arm around me. At first, we only did this in my [Kate's] parents' home when they were near. A little later we also sat like this when we were alone as well—often in the context of a conversation that was on a deep emotional level, and especially after we were engaged and began talking through more personal things ... We didn't 'bear hug' until a month before we were engaged, and we were careful with that."
And kissing?
Kissing, according to our panel, is definitely more intimate than hand-holding or hugs and should be avoided prior to engagement. After you are engaged, a brief kiss seems appropriate.
As Sarah K. put it, "I know it is hard to resist kissing someone, especially if they mean a lot to you, or are very attractive. But you have to remember, if God hasn't picked this person for you, your lips are on another person's mate. If you were married already and someone kissed your wife/husband, you'd be pretty mad! So think 'fourth dimensionally,' as Doc Brown would say, and know that this other person is not your mate."
"One can argue that the former two items (holding hands and hugging) can be shared in a more casual and 'harmless' way," said Bill. "However, mouth-to-mouth kissing is actually one of the beginning stages of sexual intimacy and is an easy way to fast-forward to more explicit sexual contact. Young, single people should avoid mouth-to-mouth kissing at all costs except maybe just prior to marriage (even then they must be careful to avoid lustful behavior)."
Explaining how they first kissed, Kate said, "I had told Luke what a kiss meant to me as we started to grow closer. He honored that understanding and never took advantage of any vulnerable moment. I respected him deeply for that and still do, even as I sometimes wanted him to kiss me. To me, a kiss meant, 'I love you. I want to be your husband.'"
Continuing, she recalled, "I had asked my mother when I was young if it was all right to kiss before you were married. She said that it was as long as you both understood what that kiss meant. As I thought about that, I began to feel that I didn't want the memory of any man's kiss except my husband's, and that for me (very cautious and slow to give myself), a kiss was a seal of love and possession. Hand-holding is like that to an extent—it implies exclusivity and mutual ownership to a degree.
"To me, a kiss on the lips between a man and a woman implies this ownership in a sexual way that is beautiful and powerful. Luke asked if he could kiss me a month before we were engaged. Because I knew his character and because he was aware of what that meant to me, I knew that he wanted to marry me ... We did have to limit our kisses, because it is fun and intoxicating—meant to lead to more. We limited our kisses to coming and going so that they did not take over our time together, or prevent our growth in communication. This was a good decision. It did get harder and harder to finish our good-byes!!"
More?
Physical contact that is more intimate than the above is often described as petting. According to our panel, this category of conduct clearly exceeded the safe boundaries Christians should maintain.
As for petting before marriage, Kate wrote: "With exceptions only of his hands on my hair or face and vice versa, we didn't go here. I think that the temptations would not have been fair to either of us. As well, we had resolved that we did not want to feel guilt for anything that we did with or to each other in this area, so we kept away."
Concluding advice
Summarizing her thoughts, Sarah K. said, "The decision to stay totally pure before marriage is ... hard because of all the feelings humans have, but try to look at it in a big sense...
"Do you want to be guilty of defiling someone else's special person? Do you want to feel guilty that you are defiled? Do you want your mate to have been close to sex with lots of others before you? The Golden Rule is 'do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.' So put it into practice, and not only will you be happier for it, but God will bless you!"
Sometimes being godly is the most challenging when you meet the person you plan to marry. According to Cheryl: "When I did find the person that I felt I could marry someday, it was then that I had to be very careful. Small things can turn into big things very quickly. Comfort zones are quickly reached and expanded when you are with someone you love and trust. My best advice is not to date exclusively until you find that person. Group dates with trusted friends can be a very fun way to get to know and spend time with someone you are interested in but with less pressure or temptation."
Continuing, she said: "And when you are on a date with someone alone, it really helps to be careful not to put yourself in a situation where you are alone and unseen for a long period of time. If you [stick to] lighter environments, you don't have to come up with reasons to be uncomfortable if your physical limits don't match up with his."
Offering concluding advice to singles, Bill wrote: "Do not allow yourself to be alone, or at least alone in situations where sexual contact is possible and the privacy necessary to engage in it exists (i.e., parked cars, in a house or secluded room alone, in the woods or a wooded park, etc.). The temptation may just be too great ... Think of physical contact the same way you might think about virginity. Once the line is crossed, there's no going back. You cannot reverse the current 'touch status' you have with someone else (i.e., we've held hands, we've kissed, we've slept together, etc.)."
Kate put it this way: "Know yourselves and set limits wisely with this knowledge. Involve your parents if you can by asking them their opinion and/or letting them know your limits. Follow the limits that your parents set or advise. God gave them to you for a protection and commands you to honor them. If you disagree with their ideas, discuss this with them in a respectful way.
"Don't let physical contact take over or lead in communication—it can feel good and when this happens, you may not know what it meant to either of you in the end ... Use common sense. Don't let feelings control your actions. Acknowledge feelings without serving them, or you will make miserable mistakes. Don't be engaged too long—it gets harder [to refrain from premarital intimacy] after you are more committed—but take enough time to talk about things that were too personal before ... Physical contact is powerful. God made it so. Respectfully use it as a tool in His service." VT

David Treybig is the managing editor for Vertical Thought

When Do I Get a Break?

From http://www.el-paso.ucg.org/

When Do I Get a Break?
Are you working more and relaxing less? Doing more but never getting everything done? Running here and there but only running yourself down? Maybe it's time you took a break!
by Les McCullough
In today's world of rush here, hurry there, a haggard lament often arises with a weary sigh: "When do I get a break? I never have any time for myself. I'm up before dawn getting ready for work, commute an hour or more, work at least eight hours, commute home arriving after dark—and I'm beat."
Family responsibilities add to the load. Many a mom tells the same story:
"I was up at 3 a.m. to comfort a child with an upset stomach, then got out of bed at 5 a.m. to make lunches for everyone, put a load of clothes in the washer, fix breakfast, get the children dressed and off to school, and get ready for work. I leave from work to pick up the children after school and go home. Then I take the clothes out of the washer, put them in the dryer and prepare dinner. After dinner, I do the dishes and get the children ready for bed.
"That doesn't include doing the ironing and cleaning the house. I don't have time to be exhausted, but I am. Just after midnight one of the children is having a nightmare and needs comforting. Finally I get back to bed and start the whole thing over again at 5 a.m."
Working more, relaxing less
It seems there's never time to sit back and relax—and if we do, we feel guilty. What's the answer? Life is much more than the 40 hours a week on the job. How in this complicated 21st century (filled with time-saving devices!) can a person find time to take a deep breath and just sit down? Is it possible?
The calendar has Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and others. It seems there is a day for everything—but where is your day? Many people don't even have time for a vacation!
Sound familiar? One of the major complaints people have is about finding time for themselves or their family. Historically, after World War II, Americans had the shortest working week in the world. Now, according to Boston College professor Juliet Schor, they have the longest. Her comment is that the average American worker now puts in 200 hours per year more than in 1973.
Astonishing, isn't it? People are so desperate for some free time that, states the Center for a New American Dream, half of the work force would trade a day off for a day less pay.
All these things are complicated by the fact that as soon as a tiny break presents itself, a compulsion to fill it takes over. We immediately rush to surf the net, talk on the cell phone, play a computer game, take one of the kids to soccer and another one to tennis or something. We find it nearly impossible to sit still.
That is a part of the problem. Most people aren't comfortable unless something is going on. Society has convinced us that we should never just sit without something happening.
Sitting quietly and contemplating a beautiful sunset is almost a lost art, as is staring deeply into a crackling fire. It's sometimes joked that those who practice yoga sit and contemplate their navel. I'm not recommending that, but we do need to learn how to rest or enjoy free time without something being scheduled to fill every minute of every day.
What's the answer?
Do you need a break enough to take advantage of such a time? Do you want to hear about it? How badly do you want that break? Is it enough to trade a day of pay for a day off? Are you sure?
Oddly enough, there is a time expressly made for just that. It's a time for a person to take a break—designed for all men and women, regardless of how busy their week may be.
You may be thinking, "I'm always behind and can't get everything done as it is." If that's the case, making some time for yourself isn't going to make that much difference. You'll still be behind, but you will have had a break—and maybe now you can get more done in the remaining time than you would have otherwise.
Every one of us has 24 hours in our day. We all have seven days in the week, totaling 168 hours. You might say, "And I still don't have any free time!"
Yet 24 of those 168 hours are intended specifically to give you the break for which you long. They are designed to be a special time for the whole family. Parents think of their working week, but children need a break as well. Many of them won't slow down long enough to take time for an appropriate meal. If they do, it's usually to gulp it down and rush off to something else.
Starting at the beginning
Could you handle a time to relax? What would it be worth to you?
Let's start at the beginning. A supreme Creator exists who made all things, including you and me. He fully understood the mind of man and knew men and women would crowd the week with their own activities. He also knew the tendency of humanity to ignore personal health and welfare in favor of keeping busy.
So He created a day and set it apart as a rest day. He actually commanded that man take a break each week. You can read it for yourself in His instruction book for us, the Bible.
After six days of creating a wonderful world for man to dwell in (as well as creating man himself), we find that God rested from all His work. "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made" (Genesis 2:1-3).
Did He bless it and sanctify it for His own use? The answer is a resounding no. God doesn't need to rest. This is simply telling us He ceased the work of the physical creation. Why, then, did He set apart the seventh day? He was setting us an example that we need a break from physical activity.
Jesus Christ spelled this out in Mark 2:27-28: "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.'" He plainly says that the seventh day, also called the Sabbath, was made for man as a time to take a break from our everyday routine as well as a time to worship God.
There is your break. There is a 24-hour period every seven days in which you can renew your energies, both mentally and physically. Stress and overwork is a major health problem today. Hypertension results from never making the time to relax. These 24 hours were made to relieve that problem, among many others. It gives us a specific "break time" every week.
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, one of those commandments dealt directly with the Sabbath: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work . . ." (Exodus 20:8-10).
This is not an idle comment. The day God made for man—the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week—is intended to be acknowledged by man by using the time differently from the normal workday. Most of humanity has ignored this particular commandment down through the ages.
God concerned for His creation
God the Father is a patient and loving individual. He is concerned about the welfare of His creation. He has given humanity time to accept His commands, but eventually He does run out of patience.
Reread Exodus 20:9-10. His instruction is very specific: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work . . ."
The question is why? Why is it so important to take a day off from all work, regular and otherwise? If this is a day made for man, why not just do as you please? It is made for man, but it is a special time that has been set aside—hallowed—by God not only to rest but to be reminded of the Creator of all things.
Here is what He told the ancient nation of Israel: "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you'" (Exodus 31:13-14).
Then in verse 17 He adds: "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed."
A blessing waiting for you
This statement was made to the nation God had chosen to be His special people, but it applies to all humanity. Jesus isn't just the God of the Israelites. He is the Savior of all humanity. That is clearly shown by His comment that "the Sabbath was made for man." We see it is more than only a day of rest. It also identifies the one keeping it with the Creator God who made it.
In society today, people wear all manner of identifying signs or symbols. Each nation has its own flag. Some wear a jacket, shirt or hat displaying the name of their favorite team, player or political party.
This verse says that keeping the Sabbath is an identifying sign, too. The Sabbath day identifies those who wish to truly honor the Creator. It also says to all who see, "I belong to and worship the God who made all things. My loyalty is to Him above all else." It also gives a much-needed break every week.
Someone might say, "I'm just not interested in religion." He or she still needs a break, so why not use the day that was created for that purpose? It is important. The Sabbath is a break for you, and it's also a time to learn about the Father of mankind.
The truth is there are great blessings in learning to "take a break." It helps to fight stress and gives the body a chance to recuperate from the toils of the week. The pressure is off.
It gives you an opportunity to sit back and relax, and even to have the chance to watch a beautiful sunset without feeling guilty. It is an opportunity to read to the children or to simply sit and talk with them, tightening the bond of love and respect between a parent and child and their God.
You need a break. You need a time when the pressures of work are set aside. Whether you're a man, woman or child, you need a chance to take a deep breath and just relax. Now the question is, do you really want a break? Are you willing to accept the time God made for you to have a break? It is important to you. It is important to identify yourself with the Creator of the universe.
Will you do it? Will you finally learn to "take a break"? It's in your hands. Do it! GN

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Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest Is the Sabbath relevant at all for us today? Does it make sense in today's world?
Why We Need a Weekly Rest Day Why the seven-day week and the continual cycle of day and night? Is there a message for modern men and women in the way our planet was designed to operate?
God's Test Commandment God described one of His commandments as a "test" command. Which command is that? What was he testing? How has mankind fared with that test —and what about you?
From Sabbath to Sunday In the New Testament we see Jesus Christ (Luke 4:16), His closest followers (Luke 23:56) and the apostle Paul (Acts 13:42-44; 17:1-4) continuing to honor and uphold the Sabbath. We find no record of the Sabbath being abolished or changed in the New Testament.
The Rest of the Story: The Story of Rest Why did God command the Sabbath to be observed? And why is it almost universally misunderstood? Read on to get a biblical view of this subject.
The Sabbath in the Scriptures Most people have given little thought to what God says about the Sabbath in His Word. Here are some highlights.
The Fourth Commandment: Key to a Relationship With Our Creator The Fourth Commandment, to remember the Sabbath, concludes the section of the Ten Commandments that specifically helps define a proper relationship with God—how we are to love, worship and relate to Him. It explains why and when we need to take special time to draw closer to our Creator.