Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Don’t Waste Your Time
https://www.pcog.org/articles/2658/don-t-waste-your-time
Like so many other valuable resources in society, time has been abused and wasted. How valuable is your time? Are you using it effectively?
Like so many other valuable resources in society, time has been abused and wasted. How valuable is your time? Are you using it effectively?
Over the past 6,000 years, approximately 300 generations have come and gone. Some people live in poverty while others bask in the glow of the glamorous life. Some achieve wild success, while others wallow in failure. Some are thoroughly educated while others can barely read. Everyone is different.
Yet no matter who we are or where we live, we all have access to an equal daily amount of time. That element remains constant in every life.
Every day, we are each given the same amount and we all use the same amount. If we run out of time, we cannot go to a time bank to withdraw an extra supply. If we have a little extra time, we cannot set it aside and save it for the future.
We are limited by the number of days we walk this Earth. In Psalm 89:47, David wrote, “Rememberhow short my time is.” He continued in the next chapter, “Our days all droop under thy displeasure, our life is over like a sigh. Our life is seventy years at most, or eighty at the best, a span of toil and trouble, soon over, and we flit away ” (Psalm 90:9-10; Moffatt). When compared to eternity, how brief our physical existence is! The Apostle James referred to our life as a vapor which vanishes away (James 4:14).
Life’s fleeting number of days makes time one of man’s most valuable resources. So what are you doing with your allotted portion of time? Do you carelessly spend it as if on a million-dollar shopping spree? Or do you wisely invest your time so that you might get the most out of it? How effectively do you use the time God has given you? Did you know that how you use your time has more to do with where you end up in life than heredity and environment?
In the parable of the talents, located in Matthew 25, Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to a man giving certain talents to his servants before he left for a far country. All of the servants had adifferent number of talents. But notice verse 19: “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.” They each had access to the same quantity of time. They were rewarded by Christ, not according to their talents, but according to what they did with those talents in their allotted time!
Benjamin Franklin once asked, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made out of.” Our lives are only made up of a certain amount of time. If we waste it, we are wasting our lives.
Repent
In Matthew 6, Christ gave us an outline upon which we are to base our prayers. Toward the end of that outline, He said, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (verse 12). If we are humble and forgive others, then God will forgive us after repentance. In Psalm 103:12, David wrote, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Upon repentance, God is concerned about the future, not the past. To the repentant sinner, Jesus said, “go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).
Repentance means change—to begin walking in a new direction, a different way of life. Put another way, if our lives are made up of a certain amount of time , then godly repentance means we are to change the way we have been using our time. After conversion, God expects us to use our time in a different manner—according to His will—in preparation for the Kingdom of God.
Whatever you have done in the past, no matter how much time we have wasted, do not let it affect the time you have today and in the future. Misspent time, no matter how wasteful it was, has already been spent. Don’t let it affect your future supply. How many times have we let down, given in to old habits, and then said, “Oh well, I already blew it. It won’t much matter if I continue in these bad habits for a few more days.” And then days become weeks, weeks become months, and months become years. Before you know it, you have wasted your life.
If you want those years of wasteful time behind you, then begin to change how you use your time today. That is the first important step to learning how to manage your time better. Don’t let past mistakes or wasteful living affect what you should be doing today. Change your ways and then consider what you have today, right now—an unused, fresh supply of 24 hours! Think about what you can do with that much time!
Germany Makes Gains in the Scramble Over Latin America’s Resources
https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/13997.19.0.0/economy/germany-makes-gains-in-the-scramble-over-latin-americas-resources
Under the direction of Herbert W. Armstrong, the Plain Truth gave a strong warning in April 1966:
Can you see why we warn readers that the Latin American Common Market and the Central American Common Market are dangerously close to becoming partners with the European Common Market? Can you see these giant combines are dangerously close to turning their backs on America and Britain, once and for all?
At present, the United States remains Latin America’s number one trade partner. But the political changes underway in the region are opening the door for even greater shifts to occur. To understand more about this ongoing trend and how Mr. Armstrong anticipated it, read “Europe’s Inroads Into Latin America” from our free booklet He Was Right.
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
Teach Your Child Self-Control
https://www.pcog.org/articles/2659/teach-your-child-self-control
It sets a firm foundation for everything you teach your child.
It sets a firm foundation for everything you teach your child.
Teach Self-Control
A great challenge in child rearing is to teach your child self-control, also known as self-discipline. Self-control is the firm foundation you must put in place to ensure your child’s future success. If your child does not have self-control, your child-rearing efforts simply will not bear fruit.
This is the missing dimension in knowledge lacking in most modern child-training manuals.
Most current manuals focus on protecting and developing a child’s creativity, intelligence or talents. Yet, self-control is more important than these attributes in fostering academic and career achievement.
Self-discipline is also necessary for your child to develop a sterling spiritual life, become a stable and contributing member of God’s Church, build a successful marriage, and avoid financial difficulties. Poor self-discipline can lead to alcohol or drug abuse, sexual immorality, and life-destroying criminal behavior.
Does your child have good self-control? If he or she is guilty of interrupting you constantly, being wild, not following instructions, not controlling his or her feet, hands or mouth, not sitting still and being quiet during Sabbath services, then your child lacks self-control. Psychologists would probably diagnose your child as having adhd and prescribe Ritalin. Yet the only effective solution to these impulsive behaviors is the exercise of self-control.
Modern psychologists believe children can learn self-control on their own. Don’t fall prey to that false philosophy! Self-control is learned through proper child training, parental supervision and practice. Solomon wisely taught that a child left to himself or herself will never develop self-control (Proverbs 29:15).
A child with self-discipline has an invaluable tool for meeting life’s challenges. Many relational and personal problems can be avoided or well restrained through self-control.
Here are four steps to inculcate this extremely important, indispensable skill.
The Common Sense Solution to America’s Gun Problems
https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/13983.2.0.0/the-common-sense-solution-to-americas-gun-problems
God’s Solution
Americans are killing Americans because more and more Americans are becoming bad people.
French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
The federal government can restrict gun ownership, but it cannot cure the sickness that motivates people to murder. Until that is stopped, whatever the cause—radical Islam, violent video games, mental illness, broken homes, etc.—America will not see an end to the violence.
When the ancient nation of Israel was rebelling against God, like America is today, the Prophet Isaiah wrote that “the whole head is sick” (Isaiah 1:5). One result of this sickness, as the Prophet Ezekiel later wrote, is that our cities will be filled with “violence” (Ezekiel 7:23).
But God does not send this warning without a solution! Bible prophecy says that soon we will live in a world that is totally gun free! However, this won’t come until Jesus Christ intervenes to abolish man’s system of laws and establish God’s law throughout the entire world.
The solution to gun violence on the domestic front is the same as the solution to war in foreign theaters.
“The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all the material and cultural developments of the past 2,000 years,” Gen. Douglas MacArthur said. “It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.”
The Prophet Micah illustrates this wonderful world under God’s rule in the fourth chapter of his biblical book: “And many nations shall come, and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke nations afar off: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against a nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (verses 2-3).
Sunday, 26 June 2016
Remember This Day
https://www.pcog.org/articles/2662/remember-this-day
This day—June 23, 2016—is a pivotal day in world history.
This day—June 23, 2016—is a pivotal day in world history.
Herbert W. Armstrong used scripture to show that Britain would leave the EU before I was born, and God’s people have been watching for this exact event ever since. But I’m not going to give you any scriptures here—that isn’t the point. I want you to go read Mr. Armstrong’s own words—words that accurately predicted this day would happen. Go find a map, spread it out on your floor, draw the line, and create an experience with The United States and Britain in Prophecy that will have areal impact on your life—not in a week or a month, but now while Brexit is still fresh in your mind.
The thing is, this singular moment in history shows that the entire narrative in The United States and Britain in Prophecy is true. Mr. Armstrong said, “This very eye-opening, astounding identity is the strongest proof of the inspiration and authority of the Holy Bible! It is, at the same time, the strongest proof of the very active existence of the living God!”
Not only can it establish faith in your Bible, it also shows the truth about history: that our nations became great not because of our own actions or because of some accident of history, but because God blessed us, carrying out promises He made to Abraham thousands of years ago. That knowledge changes your view of the world around you.
And knowing that these prophecies are sure—that what was prophesied just a few decades ago has already happened—tells us that the next steps in these prophecies are certain to happen—and that is incredibly sobering. It shows why we need to get to know God now.
You see, The United States and Britain in Prophecy was, in large part, a warning. The decline of the Israelite nations that Mr. Armstrong warned about is already in full swing—yet the worst lies just ahead. That book stands as a warning for me, for you, for everyone who was ever in God’s Church, and for the five million people who requested it over the years. The darkest, most intense correction in history is the next step in these prophecies.
Mr. Armstrong wrote: “Most people, we know only too well, will take this serious warning lightly—put it out of mind—turn to other immediate interests of no importance by comparison! That is why a loving, just, all-wise, all-powerful God is going to take away from them these unimportant counter-interests, and apply such intensified correction that they shall, finally, come to their senses, and turn to Him and His way which will bring them eternal happiness and abundant blessings!
“But you need not have to suffer this intensified correction, greater than any trouble ever suffered by humans.
“By God’s direction and authority, I have laid the truth before you! To neglect it will be tragic beyond imagination! To heed it will bring blessings, happiness and glory beyond description!
“The decision is now yours!”
It isn’t enough to know there is a warning—we have to understand it. More than any people in history, God has made His revelation available to us. Grab on to The United States and Britain in Prophecy and learn why those around you are so fired up about the actions of this tiny grey island that once ruled the world. It’s an amazing book that reveals your heritage and shows you the eternal future—and this day is proof positive that its words will come to pass.
What Really Caused the Orlando Terrorist Attack
https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/13990.18.0.0/world/terrorism/what-really-caused-the-orlando-terrorist-attack
The Bible reveals the root cause of extreme violence in the U.S. and throughout the modern-day nations descended from ancient Israel. The Prophet Hosea wrote that “blood touches blood”: There is hardly a reprieve between mass shootings these days. His warning is for this end time.
The terrorist, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was born in America, but identified with foreign terrorist groups. He called 9-1-1 during the attack, pledging loyalty to the Islamic State and praising the men behind the Boston Marathon bombing. Mateen’s radical tendencies were well known; the FBI investigated him for 10 months beginning in May 2013 for pro-terrorism statements.
Mateen’s father is a supporter of the Taliban—killers of many American soldiers. Why is this man allowed to raise a demented child in America? Isaiah prophesied, “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers” (Isaiah 1:7). This prophecy is for the United States today (as we prove in our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.) Is Mateen’s father a “stranger”? His allegiance lies with terrorists, not the country where he now lives and prospers. He passed on his radical Islamic ideology to his son.
Islamic State radio station Al-Bayan called Mateen “one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America.” These terrorists see themselves as soldiers, and they sacrifice their lives for an evil purpose. They understand that we are at war! America is under attack, yet Americans don’t seem terribly concerned.
War in Heaven
Here is a scripture that most people would overlook, but it has everything to do with what happened in Orlando:
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).
The book of Revelation puts all prophecy in time sequence. As I prove in my bookletAmerica Under Attack, 30 years ago, Satan and the demons tried to overthrow God, and God cast them out of heaven! They are now confined to Earth.
What are these evil spirits doing? Satan broadcasts to mankind in attitudes, moods, feelings and emotions (Ephesians 2:2). Think of his broadcasts as airwaves, like those that transmit radio and television signals. You see evidence of this all the time: Notice how emotionally enflamed some people can become, seemingly for no reason! Satan and the demons have a major influence on human beings.
“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12). Satan and multiple millions of his minions now lurk in the dark places of this Earth, working to destroy as many lives as possible before Jesus Christ returns to kick Satan off Earth’s throne. Satan’s dominance over mankind is coming to an end very soon, and he knows it. This fact makes him extremely angry.
Satan is the original mass murderer (John 8:44). He swayed Cain to murder his brother Abel, tainting the first human family with appalling bloodshed. He has caused man to slay his fellow man for the past 6,000 years.
Man cannot solve the problem of mass murder. Wars and violence will intensify until we realize our utter incapability to bring peace to our families, nations and planet. Christ must return to save mankind from himself! (Matthew 24:21-22).
Who Is to Blame?
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child” (Revelation 12:13). When Satan was cast down, he immediately attacked and destroyed God’s Church, pictured in this verse by a woman. He stopped God’s people from prophesying (Daniel 8:11-12). Then, Satan began his assault on the nations of Israel: America, Britain and the Jewish nation in the Middle East.
This is the unseen reason that America seems paralyzed in the face of radical Islamic terrorism!
For most of its history, America has experienced mostly peace. So much of the world has been in a constant state of war. Especially in recent generations, America’s wars have been fought by professional soldiers overseas. Peace has made us naive. Our people don’t realize the danger of handing power over to hostile rivals who don’t value peace nearly as much as we do.
God warned that He would break America’s will to fight (Leviticus 26:19). Read this entire chapter for context: It is about blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. America has won its last war, and SIN is to blame. The fault lies with no leader or political party, but with the sinful people.
“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isaiah 1:4). God blames the people because of their sins. Most Americans don’t even really know what sin is!
Make no mistake: America’s problem with radical Islamic terrorism is a WAR in whichonly one side is fighting. Because of sin, there is no way America will win.
“Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say 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?” (Ezekiel 33:10-11). SIN KILLS! When we suffer, GOD suffers. But the suffering won’t stop until people heed the warning.
“Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God” (13:8). Ministers and leaders today are not speaking truth from the Bible! God will severely correct this lying society. Satan and his demons may be causing violent attacks like the one in Orlando, but GOD HIMSELF is orchestrating all this as punishment for our sins.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6). Will you turn to God? It is our responsibility to know the Bible. If we forget God’s law, He will forget our children!
How many mothers of those Orlando victims are shedding tears today?
Remember Revelation 12:12: Satan is stuck on Earth! This is a defining, MAJOR truth of the Bible. He is wrecking America, and we need to know what to do and how to protect ourselves.
“And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand”(Daniel 8:24-25). Satan has prevailed in God’s Church and in the nations of Israel, but good always triumphs over evil in the end. Our Savior will soon return to establish peace on Earth. Never again will we experience attacks like the one in Orlando.
Request my free booklet America Under Attack for more information.
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