ANCIENT LAWS, PRINCIPLES AND ADVISES THAT NEVER FAIL. Lazarus Lekgoanyana

ANCIENT LAWS, PRINCIPLES AND ADVICE THAT NEVER FAILS.  Lazarus Lekgoanyana

   How I wish we can write down these and paste them by our bed sides to memorize, and cross check our lives regularly!

-To be rich, - Give.

-To succeed, - Serve.

-To laugh, - Make someone laugh.

-To prosper, - Be honest.

-To excel, - Be faithful.

-To go far, - Get up early.

-To change someone, - Change

                                            yourself.

-To be great, - Be disciplined,

-To be strong, - Pray often.

-To do a lot, - Speak little.

-To be fruitful, - Praise God.

-To live well, - Forgive.

-To talk well, - Bind anger.

-To sleep well, - Work hard.

-To be loved, - Love.

-_To be a good husband,-Listen to her no.

-To be a woman, - Submit yourself.

-To be respected, - Be polite.

-To bind Satan, - Sanctify yourself.

-To grow in faith, - Meditate on the word of God always.

   None of these has ever failed!

   Give it a trial, and see for yourself.

   Forward this to any group or anyone you care for. And don't be selfish.

   #JSalum #ASONE

ANGELS, SERAPHIM, CHERUBIMS AND LIVING BEINGS by Josimar Salum

ANGELS, SERAPHIM, CHERUBIMS AND LIVING BEINGS by Josimar Salum

   Although for most believers it makes no difference whether angels are described with wings or whether in the Bible they sing or do not sing, for me it would be very consistent with what I have heard my whole life saying that angels sing and that they have wings. But more importantly, I need to examine the Scriptures carefully to really get to know what it says on the subject, regardless of what I believe or not.

   In the Bible, the text used to state that angels sing is Luke 2:13!

   “And immediately there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” Luke 2:13-14 KJV

   The Greek word for praise is “ainountoun” from “ainéo” which means “to praise”.

   However, there is a verse in Revelation that states that seven angels sang: “And I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels bearing the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is accomplished. And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are your works, Lord, God Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of saints!” Revelation 15:1, 3 KJV

   The word for ‘sang’ in Greek is ‘adousin’ from ‘adô’ which means to sing.

   At Isaiah 6:2, 6 we read: “The seraphim were above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. But one of the seraphim flew to me carrying a live coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs;” Isaiah 6:2, 6 KJV

   In Ezekiel we read: “And there appeared on the cherubim the likeness of a man's hand under their wings. And his whole body, and his back, and his hands, and his wings, and the wheels, the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around.” Ezekiel 10:8, 12 KJV

   We learn that seraphim and cherubim are angels. However, I don't remember reading in the Bible that they are named as angels. I don't remember that there are verses in the Bible that classify them like this, but there are descriptions of other celestial beings.

   “And when the Lamb had opened one of the seals, I looked and heard one of the four animals saying, as in the voice of thunder: Come and see!” Revelation 6:1 KJV

   Are seraphim and cherubim angels in the Bible or just seraphim and cherubim? Would they be celestial beings like the living creatures?

   “And the cherubim were lifted up on high; these are the same animals that I saw by the river Chebar.” Ezekiel 10:15

   “The Lord reigns; let the nations tremble. He is enthroned between the cherubim; let the earth be moved.” Psalms 99:1 KJV

   “And he set these cherubim in the middle of the inner house; and the cherubim spread out their wings, so that the wing of one touched the wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall, and their wings in the middle of the house touched one another.” 1Kings 6:27 KJV

   But notice this verse especially:

   “You were a cherub anointed to protect, and I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God, in the midst of the fiery stones you walked.” Ezekiel 28:14 KJV

   Who was this cherub? I am not in a hurry to answer this question based on tradition, but I challenge myself to check the (whole) Bible to see what it is really teaching in light of these verses:

   “You are of your father the devil and you want to fulfill the desires of your father; he was a murderer FROM THE BEGINNING and did not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him; When he utters a lie, he speaks from what is his own, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

   “Whoever practices sin belongs to the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God manifested himself: to destroy the works of the devil.” 1John 3:8 KJV

   If the devil sinned from the beginning, would he have been an angel?

   “Another sign was also seen in the sky, and behold a dragon, great, red, with seven heads, ten horns, and on its heads seven diadems. There was battle in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought; And the great dragon was cast out, that ancient serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, the seducer of the whole world, yes, he was cast down to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:3, 7, 9 NIV

   When we hear or read something that contradicts our tradition and beliefs, we tend to reject and classify whoever wrote or said it as heretical. But heretical according to whom? When someone says something we should ask what they mean and ask for confirmation rather than summarily judging. If I reject what they tell me and what I read according to my doctrine, I am affirming that what I believe is 100% true, then I no longer need the Bible, I am the Bible.

   But as for what the Bible teaches about angels, you can start with this text and from there follow all its pages.

   “When evening came, the two angels came to Sodom, at the entrance to which Lot sat; When he saw them, he got up and, going to meet them, prostrated himself, face to the ground. and they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came into your house late in the evening? Bring them out to us so we can abuse them.” Genesis 19:1, 5 KJV

   And finally carefully observing this warning:

   “Let no one become an arbiter against you, pretexting humility and the worship of angels, relying on visions, boasting, without any reason, in his carnal mind, and not retaining the head, from which the whole body, supplied and well-connected through its joints and ligaments grows the growth that proceeds from God.” Colossians 2:18-19 KJV

   #ASONE

THE TWO-STATE DELUSION

The Two-State Delusion

   The Biden administration is leading a push to recognize a Palestinian state that will be a danger to the security of Israel

   BY ELLIOTT ABRAMS

   FEBRUARY 01, 2024

   Below it is an large Excerpt of the article:

   There are some words missing in all the calls for a Palestinian state—words like democracy, human rights, and liberty. EU Foreign Minister Borrell said in 2022 that “our message to the incoming Israeli government, which we hope will confirm the country’s full commitment to the shared values of democracy and rule of law, and with which we hope to engage in serious conversation on the conflict and the need to re-open the political horizon for the Palestinian population.” This is not new: In his speech in Israel in 2013, President Obama called for “Two states for two peoples. … [T]he only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine.”

   It seems the state on the west side of the Jordan River, Israel, must be democratic but not the new state on the east bank, Palestine. Why the distinction? Because no one thinks the Palestinian state will be a democratic state—or seems much to care. Palestine might be free, but no one seems to care whether Palestinians will be.

Why not? Natan Sharansky (an Israeli politician) explained in 2000 that “Israel and the West are too quick to rely on strong leaders for stability. Democracies often prefer to deal with dictators who have full control.” That was the view Israel took in the Oslo Accords, handing the Palestinians over to Yasser Arafat. His dictatorial control was thought to be an advantage to Israel, for he would supposedly crush Hamas. The Gaza war demonstrates how tragically wrong that outlook proved to be, because the corrupt and ineffective Fatah autocracy proved to be no match for the corrupt and effective Hamas terrorists who turned Gaza into an armed camp.

   Today, just about no one but Sharansky is calling for Palestinian democracy. The Arab states are not, of course, because not one of them is a democracy. The Europeans and Americans are not, I imagine, because they do not believe the Palestinians can do it—can create a working democracy. So the U.S. and the EU are willing to create a Palestinian state in the hope that it would be a better autocracy than it is at present—better at policing the terrorist groups, better at fighting corruption, and less repressive.

   How likely is that? Fighting corruption, for example, requires a free press to investigate it and independent courts to try cases. But no one (except Sharansky!) is calling for any of that as a precondition for declaring a Palestinian state. So it is highly likely that a new Palestinian Authority will soon be as corrupt as the current one.

But there’s a much deeper problem: No one is explaining how that state will live in “peace and security” with Israel if its people would prefer war with Israel. What if, to use Blinken’s language, “what the Palestinian people want” is mostly to destroy Israel?

And they may: Opinion polls suggest that very many Palestinians and not just those in Hamas consider the State of Israel illegitimate, want it eliminated, and favor “armed struggle.” That is, their Palestinian nationalism is not positive—mainly about building a democratic, prosperous, peaceful state of their own—but negative, mainly about destroying the Jewish state. According to a recent poll, if the last parliamentary election were repeated now, Hamas would win an outright majority.

But then what is the nature of the Palestinian state that Western governments are demanding? A terrorist state? A state with a coalition government that is half terrorist, based on admittance of Hamas into the PLO? A state that is an autocracy where “armed struggle” against Israel is widely popular and is prevented only by severe repression by local authorities—who are bound to become increasingly unpopular as they resist the popular will for a fight? Or, conversely, a state like Lebanon, where the authorities are too weak to restrain Hezbollah and in fact have become complicit in the group’s activities? And creating that state is supposed to be the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

   Despite all this, Israelis are supposed to be reassured that a Palestinian state will be no threat to them because it will have no army and will be “demilitarized.” Israelis are not so dumb—nor should we be.

   Perhaps there will be no standing army. But when the Palestinians decide to “upgrade” their police by purchasing armored personnel carriers or night vision goggles, or “defensive” weapons like drones or submachine guns, who will stop them? If your answer is “surely, Israel,” you may be right—but Israel will no longer be able to do that the way it now does, by patrolling the West Bank. Instead its only recourse would be invading or attacking the new sovereign state. Would those Israeli measures to enforce the demilitarization be applauded and defended by the British and the Germans and the U.N. secretary general? Will they be defended in Washington? Or will they be called acts of war across sacred international boundaries? Wait until the International Court of Justice gets the case.

   What other “demilitarization” measures will be imposed by the “international community” on Palestine? A ban on treaties with other nations? A ban on permitting an Iranian embassy, which will on the day it opens be a nest of spies and an arms depot? What about a Syrian embassy, or a Lebanese embassy with a Hezbollah presence? Who will inspect diplomatic pouches carrying arms and ammunition for terrorists? Will dual use items be banned in all Palestinian commercial agreements with Russia and China and North Korea?

It’s true that limitations on Palestinian sovereignty can be built into any “two-state solution” and Palestinian officials can sign them in blood. But the blood will fade; the limitations will be viewed by Palestinians the way most Germans viewed the limitations imposed by the Versailles Treaty. Those who seek to live with them will be called traitors, and those who demand abrogating or violating them will be “nationalists” and heroes. And the Israelis will find many deaf ears in the “international community” about the growing dangers, until they try to do their own enforcement. Then they will hear loud voices in every U.N. body and dozens of world capitals, denouncing their aggression against the new Palestine.

   Now add Iran to that mix. The great threats to Israel today (unless and until Iran develops a nuclear weapon) all come from Iranian proxy groups: Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the rest. The day a Palestinian state is declared is the day Iran hypes up its efforts—which are already considerable—to turn the West Bank into what Gaza became in the last decade: a maze of arsenals, training centers, tunnels, launching sites, and bases for terrorist attacks. Only this time the geography will be different, because the hills of Judea and Samaria overlook Ben-Gurion Airport, Jerusalem, and the coastal plain where most of Israel’s economy, its largest port, and its largest city are located.

   Iranian-supplied weapons will be sneaked into “Palestine” from Syria, over the Jordanian border. Even if one postulates that the Jordanians may try to stop this, they have been unable to stop the current weapons flows and Iran will be trying much harder. Israelis now refer to the Iranian “ring of fire” that surrounds them, in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza, and to a lesser extent the West Bank. Adding a Palestinian state will be a great Iranian achievement and will add a vital piece to that ring of fire. Amazingly enough, that seems to be the new “Biden Doctrine”—as Thomas Friedman describes it in The New York Times. The Biden Doctrine calls for recognizing a Palestinian state (“NOW,” as Friedman puts it) “that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” But in the real world those institutions and capabilities will never be developed, so the pressure will mount from day one to lower the bar and start planning Independence Day parties. First the Arabs, then the Europeans, and finally the United States will recognize whatever exists in the West Bank and Gaza; that’s the Biden Doctrine when it comes to fruition.

   The other relevant part of that new Doctrine, according to Friedman, is “a strong and resolute stand on Iran, including robust military retaliation against Iran’s proxies and agents in the region.” In other words, the same mug’s game the United States has been playing for 40 years: Iran pays no price for its murderous activities because we punish only the proxies while Iran itself is sacrosanct. Biden policy toward Iran has from his first day in office been to weaken sanctions, to watch as Iran moves toward a nuclear weapon, and to keep repeating that “we want no conflict with Iran” while it attacks American soldiers. Leaks from the administration that it will soon hit Iranian targets in Iraq and Syria, giving Iran time to vacate those sites, suggest that the United States will continue to play slightly new versions of the old game.

   Creating a Palestinian state will not end the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” because it will not end the Palestinian and now Iranian dream of eliminating the State of Israel. On the contrary, it can be a launching pad for new attacks on Israel and will certainly be viewed that way by the Jewish state’s most dedicated enemies. A peaceful Palestinian state that represents no threat to Israel is a mirage. It is an illusion indulged by people in the West who want to seem progressive and compassionate, and those in the Arab world who fear resisting the powerful anti-Israel currents that circulate there and are now fortified by Iran. The future security of Israel depends in good part on resisting the two-state formula for endless conflict.

   (*) Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition.

   Note: It is very sinister that even those who write precise and excellent texts like this do not include any reference to Qatar as the state responsible for the terror and shameful accomplice to what happened on October 7th, before and after, by providing support in all ways to the Hamas terrorists. - Josimar Salum

   https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/two-state-delusion

   #IsraelLives

THE THREE CULPRITS THAT NEUTRALIZES MEN

THE THREE CULPRITS THAT NEUTRALIZES MEN

   Feminism

   During the 1970s, certain feminist strategists initiated the so-called “Girlhood Project” with the intent of effectively blurring, and even erasing, the distinction between males and females. According to author and social critic Barbara Defoe Whitehead, feminists called for “a new sexual standard based on traditional boyhood. In their plays and pur- suits, little girls were to be made more like boys. Among cultural elites, a traditionally feminine daughter became a mild social embarrassment, while a feisty tomboy daughter became a source of pride.”13 Now, men are afraid to raise boys.14 The “copy the boys” approach was applied to all of life: to sexuality, to speech, and even to body type, with the tomboy ideal of a wiry, athletic body. Along with this, naturally active and competitive boys were penalized for their boyish behavior, while girls were lauded for ruggedness and athletic prowess.

   The effect today is a culture that celebrates a woman who has a body that is sculpted, by exercise and diet, to look like that of a man, and who talks like a man and acts like a man. 

   Amid this cultural inversion, a rugged, assertive, and disciplined man is deemed a threat. If a guy lifts his head to take charge in a mixed-gender situation, he is labeled as a chauvinist or a sexist pig. So a generation of men has been neutered and neutralized as to their natural ruggedness and will- ingness to undergo the disciplines that will turn them into real men. And Christian men are particularly susceptible to being cowed by the culture, because discipline for godliness demands a particular tough- ness and rugged individuality in a castrating, God-denying culture.

   Entertainment

   The second culprit in the neutralizing of men is the addiction to entertainment. A face lit by a luminous screen is a study in passivity. Fleeting images, intermingled with the thousand commercials and banner ads of an average week’s viewing, instill passiveness. There is no time for engagement or reflection, much less action. The viewer becomes a passive, munching, sipping drone (a male bee that has no sting and gathers no honey). There are guys, voyeurs, who have substituted viewing for doing and imagine that they have scored a touchdown or taken a hill by virtue of having watched it—passive living legends in their own inert minds.

   Sexual voyeurism is a pathetic delusion because in it a man’s God-given testosterone (which is meant to infuse manliness) becomes a medium of enslavement and impotence. Sexual voyeurism steals a man’s virility and initiative. Godly discipline becomes a receding mirage for the voyeur. And this also applies to the millions in the thrall of the gaming world (addicted to games like Fortnite - internet games), which keeps men playing games into their thirties in their Star Wars pajamas—warriors in their imaginations. 

   Those enslaved by the world of entertainment will never attain manliness, a life disciplined for godliness—a life overseen, instructed, and energized by the Man of all men, the Lord Jesus Christ.

   Legalism

   Underlying much of the conscious rejection of spiritual discipline is the fear of legalism. For many, spiritual discipline means putting oneself back under the law with a series of Draconian rules that no one can live up to—and which spawn frustration and spiritual death.

   But nothing could be further from the truth if you understand what discipline and legalism are. The difference is one of motiva­ tion: legalism is self-centered; discipline is God-centered. 

   The legalistic heart says, “I will do this thing to gain merit with God.” The disciplined heart says, “I will do this thing because I love God and want to please him.” There is an infinite difference between the motivation of legalism and discipline! Paul knew this implicitly and fought the legalists bareknuckled all the way across Asia Minor, never giving an inch. Now he shouts to us, “Train [discipline] yourself for godliness”! If we confuse legalism and discipline, we do so to our soul’s peril.

   From the Book Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes

    If you want to receive a free PDF copy of this book, write to me to josimar.salum@gmail.com ou through whatsapp at +1-774-696-3714

   #JSalum

IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S PREACHING THE GOSPEL, BUT IT DOESN'T

IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S PREACHING THE GOSPEL, BUT IT DOESN'T

Josimar Salum

   I watched a famous preacher who said that our goal is to be like Jesus. I was thrilled until a minute later I was disappointed. He then said with the support of a large crowd that filled the theater ‘that it is very difficult to be like Jesus.’

   But how difficult is it if it is the work of the Holy Spirit? How difficult is it if for God everything is possible?

   Yes, it is very easy to be like Jesus. This work is His.

   “But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2Corinthians 3:18

   IT IS BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD THAT WE ARE TRANSFORMED FROM GLORY TO GLORY INTO THE SAME IMAGE.

   “And in the same way also the Spirit helps our weaknesses; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.

   And he who examines the hearts knows what the intention of the Spirit is; and it is he who according to God intercedes for the saints.

   And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called by His decree.

   For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

   And those whom he predestined, these he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8:26-30

   “See how great love the Father has given us: that we should be called children of God.

   Therefore, the world does not know us, because it does not know it.

   Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet manifest what we will be.

   But we know that when he appears, we will be like him; because we will see it as it is.

   And whoever has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he also is pure.” 1John 3:1-3

   And continuing to watch it the next thing I heard is that we are all bad, gossipers, etc. We are Christians, but we are bad. My God! Why does this legalistic religion still is taught by best speakers in the country?

   What does the Word say? One should not appear to be preaching the Gospel, he must preach it.

   “Whoever abides in Him does not sin; whoever lives in sin has not seen him nor known him.

   Whoever practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning since the beginning.

   For this purpose the Son of God manifested himself: to undo the works of the devil.

   Whoever is born of God does not live in the practice of sin; because his seed remains in him; and he cannot live in sin, because he is born of God.” 1John 3:6, 8-9

   “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

   Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who have sexual relations with men, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor alcoholics, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

   Some of you were like that.

   However, you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1Corinthians 6:9-11

   We were like that. We lived like that. We are no longer. If we are indeed saved and therefore we are children of God.

   “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God.

   For you did not receive the spirit of slavery, to be in fear again, but you received the spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry: Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

   And, if we are children, we are, therefore, heirs too, heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.”

Romans 8:14-17

   “In this love is perfect toward us, so that on the Day of Judgment we may have confidence; because, as HE is, so are we in this world.” 1John 4:17

   “And he quickened you, when you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, according to the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; among whom we also all formerly walked in the desires of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and we were by nature children of wrath, like others also.

   But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together with him, and made us sit on the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus;

   For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:1-6, 10

   “But God proves his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

   Therefore, much more now, being justified by his blood, we will be saved from wrath through him.

   For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Romans 5:8-10

   “He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us; that in him we might be made the righteousness of God.” 2Corinthians 5:21

   If you are still a gossiper, evil, adulterer, or anything else, “Examine yourselves whether ye continue in the faith; prove yourself.

   Or do you not know, as for yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? If not, you are already disapproved.” 2Corinthians 13:5

   Lord Jesus, I humble myself and ask that You give understanding to Your sons and daughters, so that they may believe in Your Word, and live a life by Your Spirit.

   #ASONE