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Forward: Factual Foresight of Fictitious Hindsight?

article by Aaron Dean

The world is full of information produced en masse by anyone anywhere and available to all.

Source: Photos.com

The world is full of information produced en masse by anyone anywhere and available to all. Being creatures of emotion, we often react before we know the truth. In 1985 the New York Mets signed a pitcher named Sid Fitch who could throw a 186 mile-per-hour fastball. In 1998 Alabama changed the value of pi to a more biblical 3.0.  In 1986, the Eiffel tower was going to be dismantled and reconstructed in Euro Disney. In 2008 flying penguins were discovered. Of course all this information was released on April 1, and they were April fools jokes played on the public.
All these “facts” have something in common. They were believed by a great many people. It seems there is no end to gullibility. If it is published, or enough people repeat it, it must be true.
Years ago in Ambassador College a student gave a speech on how gullible Americans were. His speech was about J. Edgar Hoover. In the newspaper he had read how Hoover was a vacuum cleaner, and the FBI had a janitor named Edgar. So they created J. Edgar Hoover to clean up Washington and foisted him off on the public. The speech was given with passion in true sincerity.
Of course there really was a J. Edgar Hoover, and the story was a column by Art Buchwald, the comedic writer. The student was rather embarrassed since the “gullible” person was himself, displayed before a live audience.
Have we ever been embarrassed by making decisions or taking courses of action built on emotional responses to “created” facts? 1 Thessalonians:5:21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. says to “prove all things, hold fast to that which is true.” Many people were led away in the first century. “I wrote unto the church, but Diotrephes, who loved to have the preeminence among them, receives us not” (3 John 9). The man must have had some pretty convincing words to take over a church and turn away an apostle appointed by Jesus.
How many people have gone down the road to division by people who have smitten them with “facts” designed to create an emotional response? Often it is given “on good authority” while refusing to state who the “authority” was. These anonymous facts, perhaps spread with all sincerity by those who believe them, are usually supplied by someone who has a selfish cause to be in charge or to have things done their way. Most often there is the cry of  “unfair!”
Years ago a long-time evangelist was called on to cast out a demon. Before casting it out, he asked, “Why did you rebel against God’s perfect government?” The answer was, “Because God was unfair!”
Is God ever “unfair”? Often God creates situations where things appear, or may even be, “unfair.” This is the only way to find out if we truly have faith in Him to work it out, or will we take matters into our own hands. King Saul made this mistake when Samuel was “late” for the offering, so Saul did it himself (1 Samuel:13:10And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.). Patience is a proof of faith.
Sadly far too many have fallen prey to this trick of Satan. The only way to survive is to not be caught up in emotion. To prove all things and have the patience to see if what you have been told is indeed fact or fiction. Foresight takes faith and time to see if it is fictitious. Hindsight is 20/20, but there is a price. Thankfully there is repentance if you already chose unwisely.  

The Humiliation of America and what it means for you

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The Humiliation of America and what it means for you

by Michael Snyder

 America is in trouble. For all of its vaunted power, it has experienced grave challenges in dealing with a 30-year-old computer consultant who, following his own conscience, deliberately leaked critical classified information. He gave classified records about how the United States government conducts widespread monitoring of its own citizens to a British newspaper. This action, of course, rocked the Obama Administration, and with it the world.



Media and political commentaries examining this situation have erupted around the globe, particularly as America authorities failed initially to take Edward Snowden into custody. Writing in a widely read piece titled "Why the U.S. is being humiliated by the hunt for Snowden ," Simon Tisdall, foreign editor of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom, called the ongoing situation a "pants down day" for the United States. He made these ominous comments:



"Important people are making themselves ridiculous…High on the list is John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State. Huffing and puffing, Kerry warned China and Russia of 'consequences,' as seems probable, they have conspired to deliberately thwart U.S. justice by twisting the long arm of the law.



"Like too many American politicians, Kerry seems to believe 'the law' is what the White House counsel and U.S. Justice Department deem it to be on any given day, and that this made-in-America 'law' applies inexorably to every country and every corner of the world." Tisdall went on to point out how American law is today not recognized as universally authoritative.



Now those are harsh words. And we don't repeat them to make a political point, but rather to underscore what God says about national behavior.



If one reads the Bible, he or she will quickly discover that God has quite a bit to say about how people and national governments are to conduct themselves. He always, without exception, uses the biblical Ten Commandments as core guiding principles. They apply to all nations and peoples.



Perhaps surprising, many secular authorities recognize this prior influence of biblical law and statutes, particularly when it comes to the legal history of the United States.



Despite this spiritual bedrock foundation, many of the American laws based on the Ten Commandments and other biblical principles have been steadily eroded. This fact has been chronicled here on ucg.org and in both the pages of the Good News magazine and on the weekly half hour Beyond Today program .



Based on recent events, it would appear that this spiritual erosion has not gone unnoticed by Almighty God. The ancient record of the Bible is plain. There are distinct blessings for obedience, and there, tragically, are distinct curses for breaking those spiritual laws. Make no mistake: these spiritual laws apply to every national government on the planet, not just ancient Israel. They are, and remain, in force.



With escalating humiliation of America through the Snowden situation, one cannot help but be reminded of an ancient national prophecy that is activated by the breaking of God's law: "I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze" (Leviticus 26:19And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:



See All...).



Yes, America and other nations of the earth will attract God's attention for divine law-breaking. Perhaps surprisingly to some, it is not God's preferred purpose to destroy nations for disobedience. As the prophet Ezekiel declared: "' 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 ?'" (Ezekiel 33:11Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?



See All..., emphasis added). God does make clear the way back from the brink of destruction.



The good news is that God allows, even strongly encourages, individual choice, and protects those who obey him. If you want to know more–and you should in this day and age—download our free Bible study guide, The Ten Commandments . Meanwhile, protect yourself spiritually: continue to watch BT Daily and receive critical Bible knowledge for these troubled days ahead at www.ucg.org .







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A deeper threat is coming from China

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Discern the Times


 As interesting as the NSA spying issue is, a deeper threat is coming from China.



[Darris McNeely] Jesus told His audience on one occasion to discern this time. I think what He was saying was to be able to cut through the distractions and to understand the real threats that are taking place. I recently did a BT Daily where I talked about the NSA's spying , alleged spying on American citizens by tapping into all of these billions of telephone calls that are made each day and the controversy that's erupted over that, which is interesting given that we are all on the grid.



Our lives are open. We willingly even divulge personal information on Facebook, Twitter, and every time we use a cell phone and go on the internet today and shop around. Nonetheless this is an issue that has erupted, and I was reading an article that drew a distinction between that and certain threats that come from China in China's ongoing efforts to hack into western companies and even our own security systems and military systems in the United States.



An article in today's Financial Times says, "Keep the Focus on the China Cyber Threat." And the statement that it makes here is that the great danger of the furor over the NSA, the National Security Agency's spying is that it will distract attention from the immense threat from China that US companies face. China trying to hack into companies' databases and even military installations is a major threat. There are other threats that loom before the United States as well. And that's the point. This can be a distraction. Yes, it is important that American's have their liberties guaranteed and protected, but the reality is that we have bigger threats.



And when Jesus said in Luke 12:56Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?



See All..., He said that to the hypocrites and to his audience he called them hypocrites and He said, "You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth. How is it though you do not discern this time?" It's important to make the distinction and understand what sometimes might be a distraction from larger threat that pose a more imminent danger. Understanding the times, weighing it all out, that's a critical point I think Jesus makes in this one warning.



That's BT Daily . Join us next time.

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