Mitt Romney: The Cougars & The White Horse‏

Hello Friends!

With Republican Candidate Mitt Romney on the 2012 Presidential ballot, many EC readers have inquired of our insights and understand of this man's religious affiliations within the Mormon Church. As I mentioned last week, although Christian voters are not electing a religious leader when casting their choice for a Presidential candidate, we must each discern which candidate closest adheres to a Biblical worldview — we must vote the Bible and our conscience. However, it is also the right and privilege of the American voter to understand the spiritual beliefs of our elected officials — regardless of political affiliation.

Unlike Mr. Obama and his obvious Socialist worldview (in which we have exposed in prior editions of EC), Mr. Romney's worldview is a bit more complicated to discern. Therefore, it is with this article that we seek to provide many of the pertinent details based on the historical data that is available pertaining to Mr. Romney's and his associated beliefs within the framework of Mormon theology and its many complicated spiritual underpinnings...  

Mitt Romney: The Cougars & The White Horse

When Mitt Romney received his patriarchal blessing as a Michigan teenager, he was told that the Lord expected great things from him.  All young Mormon men — the “worthy males” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it is officially known — receive such a blessing as they embark on their requisite journeys as religious missionaries.  But at 19 years of age, the youngest son of the most prominent Mormon in American politics — a seventh-generation direct descendant of one of the faith’s founding 12 apostles — Mitt Romney had been singled out as a destined leader.
 
In 1970, the Cougar Club — the all male, all white social club at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City (black men were excluded from full membership in the Mormon church until 1978) — was humming with talk that its club president, Mitt Romney, would become the first Mormon president of the United States. “If not Mitt, then who?” was the ubiquitous slogan within the elite organization. The pious world of BYU was expected to spawn the man who would lead the Mormons into the White House and fulfill the prophecies of the church’s founder, Joseph Smith Jr., which Romney has avidly sought to realize.

Romney avoids mentioning it, but Joseph Smith ran for president in 1844 as an independent commander in chief of an “army of God” advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government in favor of a Mormon-ruled theocracy. Challenging Democrat James Polk and Whig Henry Clay, Smith prophesied that if the U.S. Congress did not accede to his demands that “they shall be broken up as a government and God shall damn them.”  Smith viewed capturing the presidency as part of the mission of the Mormon church. 

In the Mormon book of Doctrine and Covenants - 85:7 (http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/85?lang=eng), Smith had predicted the emergence of  “the one Mighty and Strong” — a leader who would “set in order the house of God” — and became the first of many prominent Mormon men to claim the mantle:

And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in ^aorder the house of God, and to arrange by ^blot the ^cinheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God;

Out of Smith’s national political ambitions grew what would become known in Mormon circles as the “White Horse Prophecy” — a belief ingrained in Mormon culture and passed down through generations by church leaders that the day would come when the U.S. Constitution would “hang like a thread as fine as a silk fiber” and the Mormon priesthood would rise up and save it.

This popular prophecy of Smith's is explained in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism:

"LDS attachment to the Constitution has been further encouraged by an important oral tradition deriving from a statement attributed to Joseph Smith, according to which the Constitution would "hang by a thread" and be rescued, if at all, only with the help of the Saints. Church President John Taylor seemed to go further when he prophesied, "When the people shall have torn to shreds the Constitution of the United States the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men" (JD 21:8). To defend the principles of the Constitution under circumstances where the "iniquity," or moral decay, of the people has torn it to shreds might well require wisdom at least equal to that of the men raised up to found it. In particular, it would require great insight into the relationship between freedom and virtue in a political embodiment of moral agency." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, 1992)

In 2008 Dana Milbank reported on Mormon Talk Show host Glenn Beck's reference to the prophecy:

In one of his first appearances on Fox News, Glenn Beck sent a coded message to the nation's six million Mormons — or at least those Mormons who believe in what the Latter-day Saints call "the White Horse Prophecy."

"We are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance," Beck told Bill O'Reilly on November 14, 2008, just after President Obama's election. "I feel the Constitution is hanging in the balance right now, hanging by a thread unless the good Americans wake up." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-milbank/post_996_b_749750.html)

Romney is the product of this culture. At BYU, he was idolized by fellow students and referred to, only half jokingly, as the “One Mighty and Strong.”  He was the “alpha male” in the rarefied Cougar pack, according to Michael D. Moody, a BYU classmate and fellow member of the group.  Composed almost exclusively of returned Mormon missionaries, the club members were known for their preppy blue blazers and enthusiastic athletic boosterism. Romney, who had been the assistant to the president of the French Mission where he was personally in charge of more than 200 missionaries, easily assumed a leadership position in the club.

Both political and religious, the Cougar Club raised funds for the school and its members emulated the campus-wide honor and dress codes, passionately disavowing the counterculture symbolism of long hair, bell-bottom jeans and antiwar slogans that were sweeping college campuses throughout America.  They held monthly “Fireside testimonies” — Sacrament meetings at which each member testified to his belief that he lived in Heaven before as a god being born on Earth, that he became mortal in order to usher in the latter days, and that he recognized Joseph Smith as the prophet, the Book of Mormon as the word of God, and the Mormon church as the one true faith. Mitt Romney’s position as Presidential head of the Cougar club was widely seen as a calculated steppingstone for a career in national politics.

In an open letter to Mitt Romney, Michael D. Moody, a former BYU classmate of the 2012 presidential contender, discusses the hypocrisies of Mormonism and delivers an insider's look at politics and the Church. Moody reveals the challenge in determining where Mormon hyperbole ends and hypocrisy begins:
 

“The instructions in my [patriarchal] blessing, which I believed came directly from Jesus, motivated me to seek a career in government and politics,” he wrote in his 2008 book. Moody recently said that he ran for governor of Nevada in 1982 because he felt he had been divinely directed to “expand our kingdom” and help Romney “lead the world into the Millennium. Once a firm believer but now a church critic, Moody was indoctrinated with the White Horse Prophecy.  Like Romney, Moody is a seventh-generation Mormon, steeped in the same intellectual and theological milieu.

“We were taught that America is the Promised Land,” he said in an interview.”The Mormons are the Chosen People.  And the time is now for a Mormon leader to usher in the second coming of Christ and install the political Kingdom of God in Washington, D.C.”

In this scenario, Romney’s candidacy is part of the eternal plan and the candidate himself is fulfilling the destiny begun in what the church calls the “pre-existence.”

Several prominent Mormons, including conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck, have alluded to this apocalyptic prophecy.  The controversial myth is not an official church doctrine, but it has also arisen in the national dialogue with the presidential candidacies of Mormons George Romney, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah - and now Mitt Romney.

Romney’s religion is not a sideline, but a crucial element in understanding the man, the mission and the candidacy.  He is the quintessential Mormon who embodies all of the basic elements of the homegrown American religion that is among the fastest growing religions in the world.  Like his father before him, Romney has charted a course from missionary to businessman, from church bishop to politician — and to presidential candidate.  The influence that Mormonism has had on Mitt throughout his entire life has dominated him every step of the way.

The seeds of Romney’s unique brand of conservatism, often regarded with intense suspicion by most non-Mormon conservatives, were sown in the secretive, acquisitive, patriarchal, authoritarian religious empire run by “quorums” of men under an umbrella consortium called the General Authorities.  A creed unlike any other in the United States, from its inception Mormonism encouraged material prosperity and abundance as a measure of holy worth, and its strict system of tithing 10 percent of individual wealth has made the church one of the world’s richest institutions.

Romney, like his father before him who voluntarily tithed an unparalleled 19 percent of his personal fortune, is among the church’s wealthiest members. And like his father, grandfather and great-grandfathers before him, Mitt Romney was groomed for a prominent position in the church, which he manifested first as a missionary, then as a bishop, and then as a stake president, becoming the highest-ranking Mormon leader in Boston — the equivalent of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Called a “militant millennial movement” by renowned Mormon historian David L. Bigler, Mormonism’s founding theology was based upon a literal takeover of the U.S. government. In light of the theology and divine prophecies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, unamended by the LDS hierarchy, it would seem that the office of the American presidency is the ultimate ecclesiastical position to which a Mormon leader might aspire.  So it is not the LDS cosmology that is relevant to Romney’s candidacy, but whether devout 21st century Mormons like Romney believe that the American presidency is also a theological position.

Since his first campaign in 2008, Romney has attempted to keep debate about his religion out of the political discourse. Past all of the flip-flops on virtually every policy, he has an underlying religious conception of the presidency and the American government.  At the recent GOP presidential debate in Florida, Romney professed that the Declaration of Independence is a theological document, not specific to the rebellious 13 colonies, but establishing a covenant “between God and man.” This to me would suggest that Mitt Romney views the American presidency as a theological office – Period.

As a contemporary war rages between those who know the "New Mormon History" and those who live in a “programmed” state of denial, only the dynamic leadership of a highly qualified, educated, and savvy man like Mitt Romney can free Mormon members from the Great American Cult.

As Christians, we must understand what is taking place and discern the biblical, moral and spiritual consequences of the dangerous worldviews that are opposed to our Christian faith. Consider this excellent bipartisan voter's guide resource compiled by the Liberty Counsel: http://www.lc.org/media/9980/images/voter_guide_2012_lc_pres_clr_pic_100412.pdf

We are not guaranteed tomorrow - tomorrow may be too late!  If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Liberals vs. Conservatives: Who Has the Answers?‏

Hello Friends!

The current worldwide economic malaise continues with no end in sight. In an attempt to stimulate their respective economies, central banks in both Japan and the United States plan to purchase distressed debt in the coming months. Europe continues to struggle under massive sovereign debt. And even one of the most vibrant economies of the world, China, is experiencing an economic slowdown. It appears that the worldwide economic conundrum will continue, at least for the foreseeable future. Is there any hope? Are there answers or solutions to this world-wide crisis?

Liberals vs. Conservatives: Who Has the Answers?

In the United States, 2012 is a presidential election year – something that happens every four years. The economy is a major election issue, and more specifically – jobs. Domestic unemployment is unusually high. Many people are out of work and looking for employment. Others would like to find employment but, after a protracted unsuccessful effort, have given up.

The United States has a two party political tradition, which means there are typically two options for president – a conservative or a liberal. Conservatives say the solution to our languishing economic condition is lower taxes and less regulation. Liberals say the solution is higher taxes to fund more government control. Who is right? Or better yet, what is the truth?

Both conservatives and liberals make assumptions about the nature of reality – God, and man. Some of the assumptions are the same and some are very different. For example, with regard to the nature of reality, both conservatives and liberals commonly believe in either naturalism or deism. Naturalism is an atheistic philosophy; deism is a theistic philosophy. Naturalism assumes the only reality is tangible reality. Since in their view there is no God, there is no spiritual reality and therefore all phenomena must be explained by only natural causes. Deism assumes there is a God, but deists do not believe God is engaged in His creation and therefore, as in naturalism, all phenomena must be explained by natural causes. For all practical purposes, deism and naturalism are philosophically identical. Though liberals and conservatives may have differing views of God, both assume answers to all life’s issues are found exclusively in the natural or tangible world.

Regarding the nature of man, both conservatives and liberals believe in human potency. Human potency affirms that humans have the power to do as they wish. That is, humans can freely choose to do good or evil. It is assumed there is no bias in human nature to prefer one over the other – good versus evil.

Conservatives believe that humans will typically choose good over evil and therefore do not need extensive regulatory oversight.

Liberals agree with the assumption of human potency, but they do not believe humans will typically choose good over evil. They believe that given the opportunity, humans will choose to be greedy and self-serving. Liberals believe that to protect people from sin, government must regulate human beings. In other words, liberals believe their responsibility is to manage the sin in the world – particularly the sin of governmental leaders.

The challenge of the liberal vs. conservative debate is that neither position is built on Biblically sound assumptions. Biblically, the Holy Scriptures teach that God is the sovereign creator of the entire universe, which means He is actively engaged in and cares for His creation. A Biblically correct view of reality must reflect both the existence of God and His sovereign control over all creation. This means naturalism and deism are not correct philosophies since naturalism and deism reject any idea of a Sovereign Creator who is engaged with His creation.

Regarding the nature of man, the atheistic and deistic assumption of human potency is inconsistent with Christianity, which holds to human impotency or human depravity. This means that, in and of himself, man is not able to make good choices:

…for all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God – Romans 3:23

The only way man can choose good over evil is through Divine intervention. Divine intervention comes in two forms known as Common Grace and the Grace of Jesus Christ. Common Grace is the ability God grants each person to obey some of God’s principles, albeit on a limited basis. Common Grace is why even the most pagan people of our world can survive in God’s universe. However, Common Grace is not sufficient for eternal salvation from the penalty of the human sin nature known as Original Sin. The grace of Jesus Christ is the divinely granted empowerment through the Holy Spirit that is both efficacious for salvation and enables Christians to obey the will and ways of God. It is this grace – Jesus Christ’s Grace – that enables a person to reach his or her full potential by finding and fulfilling his or her God-ordained life purpose and calling.

The liberal view of man’s nature is closer to truth than the conservative view. However, the liberals’ solution is flawed. They assume government regulators can be good enough to manage sin in the world. The problem is that all regulators are sinners too! If the regulators are only empowered by Common Grace, then their ability to perform well will be extremely limited in scope and ineffective - at best.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? – Jeremiah 17:9

Both the conservatives and liberals approach economic problems with flawed thinking based on partial truth. Without Jesus Christ, the conservative approach will lead to abuse and greed. Without Jesus Christ, the liberal approach is simply sin management, which is inefficient and largely ineffective. So, is there any real hope? Yes!

The only real solution to our economic malaise is Jesus Christ!

A Biblical view of Jesus Christ leads to a profound understanding of the nature of reality – God and man. The sovereign God of the universe – who most fully reveals Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ – created all of reality. By nature, man is depraved and needs more divine intervention than Common Grace is able to provide. Sinful man needs divine intervention to transform man’s heart and enable him to obey God’s will according to God's ways. Left to himself, man chooses to do his will according to his ways. But the supernaturally transformed man has the ability to choose God’s will and ways, which lead to success in God’s universe - see Psalms 1.

The real solution for the current economic malaise – or any of life's malaise – is to assist people in experiencing the transforming power of God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit! This means the real role of a pastor is to be a true shepard and to disciple people into the will and ways of God.

Neither conservatives nor liberals have a profound response to the deep economic malaise because neither group seems to understand the root issue – sin. The root issues of life are always spiritual in nature. The only way to solve spiritual problems is with spiritual solutions. Jesus Christ being formed in us as believers – Christians – is the ONLY profound spiritual solution to all problems in life.

May Jesus Christ be so profoundly formed in us that we no longer live to do our will according to our ways. But rather, are transformed to do God’s will according to God’s ways:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God – Romans 12:1 – 2

When we live this way, we will be able to prosper in God’s creation - in His will and in His ways - regardless of the political climate... as the Christian waits for His call to return to Him in Heaven...

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late!  If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Upcoming 2012 Elections: Where do you stand?‏

Hello Friends!

We have heard a variety of opinions from Christians on the upcoming elections. Some are saying they will not vote because they cannot go against their conscience and vote for a Muslim or a Mormon. Others are saying they would rather have a Muslim, who professes to be a Christian, than a Mormon in the White House.

As Christians, we must understand what is taking place and discern the biblical, moral and spiritual consequences of the dangerous worldviews that are opposed to our Christian faith and the consequences of not holding these "enemies of the faith" to account for their actions.  The form of representative government that we currently have in place is being radically changed right before our eyes...

Where do you stand on this important issue?

The Upcoming 2012 Elections: Where do you stand?

It is important to realize we are not voting for a pastor or spiritual leader, but a president. Therefore, we should not base our vote on their personal theology but on the way they will govern our country. When we contrast Governor Mitt Romney's philosophy of government with Obama's, we have to ask which philosophy upholds biblical values more consistently. Clearly, their policy positions are diametrically opposed to one another.

We also have to examine the contrasting positions taken by the candidates' two parties concerning the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage. Just 16 years after president Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law, (defining marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman), a Democratic president is working earnestly for its repeal. President Obama has ordered his Attorney General not to defend DOMA in the Federal courts. On the other hand, the Republican Party declares:

"We affirm our support for a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman."  

On the issue of abortion, the opposing views could hardly be more polarized. The Republican platform declares:

"we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed."

The Democratic platform states:

"The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. We oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right." 

As Christians we must go into the voting booth fully aware of these vitally important differences. Our God and Creator instituted the covenant of marriage to be between one man and one woman as a picture of the covenant relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Christians must remember that God is the Giver of life which begins - even before conception - in the mind of God:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations - Jeremiah 1:5.

Every human life is sacred and created in the image of God! Christians who are planning to vote for a president who refuses to take a stand against the slaughter of unborn babies by abortion and for the sanctity of marriage should listen to this message.

In Closing:

The most important action Christians can take in response to this insanity is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ while there is still time – time is very short! We can also work towards, and pray, for changes in Washington, D.C. as the Lord may lead. But ultimately the Lord will hold us responsible for what we do with what we know... Jesus Christ is the only hope for a lost, sin-filled world. That said, I believe this will be the most important election our country has ever faced. We need more men and women who, like our founders, understand that our rights are from God and not from man-made government. We should encourage every Christian we know to get registered and vote this November.

Unless Christian conservative Americans "wake up" and become eager readers and hungry learners who are skilled at understanding the differing worldviews that are ruling the world and vying for the hearts and minds of our youth, the worldview revolution currently taking place in America will be won by the Godless leadership that plaques our nation.  In these last days, we as Christian leaders must understand the times, discern and know what God would have us do, study to show ourselves approved before God and occupy until His return. Our eternal souls depend on it!

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. - James 1:5

May God help us pursue righteousness and justice and vote for those who do the same!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late!  If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Cross, The Resurrection & The Holy Spirit‏

Hello Friends!

The following article is meant as an encouragement and a reminder to us as Christians of what an awesome God we serve – Praise the Lord!

The Cross, The Resurrection & The Holy Spirit

What sets Christianity apart from every other belief system or religion? For more than 2,000 years, the facts about Jesus Christ of Nazareth have been proclaimed on every continent and to people from every walk of life. When someone considers the Christian message, what exactly are they accepting or rejecting?

The Cross:

The instrument of torture upon which Jesus died – Is the most well-known symbol of Christianity. What could possibly explain a two millennia-long fixation on something so horrible? One clue is found in Jesus' final words in which He uttered as He died:

 

It is finished - John 19:30

That victorious declaration, spoken in the midst of what looked like humiliating defeat, tells us Jesus saw these events as an accomplishment. But how could a tragic end to Jesus' amazing teaching and miracle-working ministry be an accomplishment?

Jesus taught that He came to:

…seek and save the lost - Luke 19:10

And:

…to give His life as a ransom for many - Mark 10:45

On the Cross, a divine transaction took place. It was His life for our lives – a ransom paid to buy us back from our lost and sinful condition. That's why the day Jesus died is called "Good Friday," not "Tragic Friday." Jesus' death on the Cross completed the work God gave Him to do, because His mission was not just to teach us but to die for us. All that is left for us to do is to personally accept that wonderful, free gift for ourselves.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life - John 3:16

As grand as the accomplishment on the Cross was, the story doesn't end there... 

The Resurrection:

On the third day, the stone that covered the tomb was rolled away and Jesus came back from the dead. He was alive, never to die again! The power over sin and death had been defeated! The angel in Luke said to the startled disciples looking for Him at the tomb:

He is not here; He is risen! - Luke 24:6

The Resurrection declared Jesus as Victor over death – humanity's most unsolvable problem. By rising from the dead, Jesus showed that even death was no match to His power! Without the Resurrection, Jesus' life was unique but was just like every other human being. Faith in Him under those circumstances would be foolish – a criticism understood by both Christianity's adherents and detractors. In fact, it was the Apostle Paul just a few decades after this event who wrote:

If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile - 1 Corinthians 15:17

Yet if, in fact, the Resurrection did occur, Jesus' life and mission become the most powerful events this world has ever seen! Therefore, faith in Him makes sense. And if we fail to trust in Him – In light of what He did for us – disbelief seems foolish. The Resurrection assures us that power beyond human comprehension is available to the followers of Jesus Christ. Everything changes when we visit the foot of the Cross and stare in wonder at the open doorway to the tomb – He is risen!

The Holy Spirit:

And there's more! The power of the resurrected Jesus comes to us through the Holy Spirit. After His resurrection, Jesus told His followers that the same Holy Spirit who showed up at His baptism in the form of a dove would be in them: 

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you - Acts 1:8

God's desire is for every Christian to have access to His personal presence and power – through Jesus Christ. At Pentecost, 50 days after His resurrection, that's exactly what happened!

What does this powerful Person do in our lives today? Jesus was clear – the Holy Spirit comes on us so we can be His witnesses by being like Him. The character and power that Jesus had, we can have. His Spirit produces fruit in us, and the Apostle Paul describes exactly what that looks like:

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - Galatians 5:22-23

In other words – the Christian life!

These characteristics demonstrate that God is at work in Jesus' followers through His Holy Spirit. And when His power produces these qualities – fruits – in our lives, the natural result is that unbelievers will sit up and take notice. If the fruit of the Spirit is the Christian life, the fruit of the Christian life is… more Christians. Hallelujah!

The Cross, the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons of the God-Head set Christianity apart from every other religion and cult group. Take any one of these Persons away and you don't have the whole story – or the whole Truth. Embrace them all and your life will never be the same. He will make you new from the moment you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life: 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, what we do with Jesus determines what Jesus will do with us – for all eternity...

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late!  If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!   

Closing prayer thoughts:

Thank you Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank you also Lord for the fact that You will keep Your promise to all who believe in You, repent of their sins and receive You as Lord and Savior of their lives. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our ONLY eternal assurance of an eternal life with You in Heaven!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)