Stay on the wheel!

“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

“The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

“In our background scripture, God woke Jeremiah out of his sleep and told him to go down to the Potter’s house and when he got there he had something for him to see (and I’m paraphrasing here). Jeremiah didn’t question what God
told him to do, unlike us. When God tells us to pray for our enemy, that is what He means for us to do because that may be where our deliverance lies.  But we question God…God, why do I have to pray for my enemy, they don’t like me anyway…God why, why, why? We need to understand that our blessings are tied to obedience. There are some things God won’t release to us until we walk in obedience of His word.

There are three things we need to understand from this text:

(1) The purpose of the Potter – The Potter (God) decides the clay’s (our) purpose before it goes onto the wheel and He also decides what “qualities or character” this piece of clay needs in order to serve its intended “purpose”.  If you’ve ever seen a potter work with a piece of clay, then you know that in order for the clay to take its intended form, the potter never takes his hands off of the clay while ‘it is on the wheel’.

(2) The purpose of the clay (us) – because the potter has already determined what the piece of clay will be when it is put on the wheel, it is the clay’s purpose to ‘yield’ to the direction of the potter’s hands. Jeremiah 18:4 tells us that the vessel was marred while in the hand of the potter, so he made it again. The word “mar” means damaged, hurt, disrupt. Yes, there will be times when we endure hardship, heartache, and pain while in the hands of the Potter, but Hebrews 13:5b says “He will never leave us nor forsake us”. It is at this point that if we yield (remain obedient) to the Potter’s hands He can make us whole again.

(3) The purpose of the wheel – the wheel controls the speed at which the potter turns the clay and has to be controlled by the Potter. The potter doesn’t stop the wheel until it is time to take the vessel off. This is why it is so important for us to stay on the wheel, because as long as we are on the wheel, we remain in His Will. If we stay on the wheel, God has the power to mold and make us the way He desires us to be. It is on the wheel where He can strip us of all impurities and make us clean vessels again.

Now, thinking on all that you are currently going through at this point and time in your life, coupled with all that you’ve already experienced, have you figured out yet that it’s all a part of your make-up? God has used all of that to develop your character. So no matter what comes your way, distractions, disappointments, distrust, diseases, just be sure to “Stay on the Wheel.”"

–written by Linda J. Guy–

Hatred of Christians is alive and well in India

“Hindu Extremists in India Target Christian State Official

Hindu extremists in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have brought the incidence of Christian persecution to an unprecedented high, including a slander campaign against the state’s chief minister, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian. Sam Paul, public affairs secretary of the All India Christian Council, said at least one anti-Christian incident occurs per day. Paul believes that the rising number of attacks on Christians is linked to a campaign against Chief Minister Reddy by Hindu extremist groups. ‘Hindu extremists are accusing the chief minister and the state government ruled by the Congress Party of having a “Christian” agenda,’ Paul told Compass Direct News. They are trying to ensure that ‘the chief minister is branded as a supporter of Christian missionaries trying to convert Hindus by the use of force and allurement.’” Reported by Crosswalk.com

Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

So from God’s perspective, Mr. Reddy has much to rejoice about since it is an honor to be persecuted for Christ’s sake and his reward in heaven is great (Hallelujah!) even if he may not feel like it at the moment. 

An example of Islamic oppression of women

“Women bear brunt of Tehran’s crackdown



BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Iranian police shoved and kicked them, loaded them into a curtained minibus and drove them away. Hours later, at the gates of Evin prison, they were blindfolded and forced to wear all-enveloping chadors, and then were interrogated through the night.

All 31 were women – activists accused of receiving foreign funds to stir up dissent in Iran. But their real crime, says Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, was gathering peacefully outside Tehran’s Revolutionary Court in support of five fellow activists on trial for demanding changes in laws that discriminate against women.

During her 15 days in prison, ‘I tried to convince them that asking for our rights had nothing to do with the enemy,’ Abbasgholizadeh told The Associated Press by telephone from Tehran. ‘But they insisted that foreign governments were exploiting our cause.’

The March 4 arrests highlight how women’s rights, which were making some advances under the reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami, are being rolled back by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who succeeded him in August 2005.”

Full story here.

With tactics like these, is it any wonder that most of the refugees in the world are fleeing from Islamic-run governments?

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

When we surrender to Jesus Christ, all the barriers that separate us and all of society’s distinctions that make the claim that one set of people is superior to another, are done away.  Although we are given different roles (for example, men cannot bear children), we are all equal and have the same value in God’s eyes.

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. … But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law [of Christ] as transgressors.” (James 2:1, 9)

Constitution? We don’t need no stinking Constitution!–Hate Crimes Bill

Here’s an interesting story from Lifesitenews.com–

“Democrats Refuse Religious Freedom Amendment to Hate Crimes Bill

by Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 26, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Congressional Democrats on the US House Judiciary Committee quashed 25 amendments to the hate crimes bill H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act – including an important amendment protecting freedom of religion – before sending the bill to the House of Representatives for a vote.

According to the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), Congressional Democrats rammed through the hate crimes bill defeating all 25 Republican amendments, which would have clarified the bill’s language, included other special groups under ‘hate crimes’ protections, and ensured Christians would not be prosecuted for expressing religious convictions opposed to homosexuality.

Congressional representative Dan Lungren (R-CA) raised the objection that the ‘hate crimes’ bill failed to define the terms ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’ and demanded the Committee include a definition. Committee Democrats, however, who hold a 23-17 majority on the committee, refused to define either ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’ saying they were accepted definitions and need not be stated in the bill.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asked, ‘If a minister was giving a sermon, a Bible study or any kind of written or spoken message saying that homosexuality was a serious sin and a person in the congregation went out and committed a crime against a homosexual would the minister be charged with the crime of incitement?’

Chairman John Conyers and Congressional Democrats kept evading the issue, providing reasons why they could not accept the amendment until Rep. Lundgren demanded, ‘What is your answer?  Would there be incitement charges against the pastor?’

At that point Democrat Congressman Artur Davis from Alabama candidly said, ‘Yes.’”

This clearly shows that leaders from the Democratic party have a blatant disregard for God which leads to a blatant disregard for our Constitution.  I’m sure gay rights activists are eager with anticipation of this bill being made law to silence their critics in the American public.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

China’s human rights abuses continue, but who cares?

NPR reported this week that the government of China is continuing its human rights abuses.  Who are their victims this time?  Unborn children and their mothers.  Here’s an excerpt–

“During the past week, dozens of women in southwest China have been forced to have abortions even as late as nine months into the pregnancy, according to evidence uncovered by NPR.

China’s strict family planning laws permit urban married couples to have only one child each, but in some of the recent cases — in Guangxi Province — women say they were forced to abort what would have been their first child because they were unmarried. The forced abortions are all the more shocking because family planning laws have generally been relaxed in China, with many families having two children.

Liang Yage and his wife Wei Linrong had one child and believed that — like many other couples — they could pay a fine and keep their second baby. Wei was 7 months pregnant when 10 family planning officials visited her at home on April 16.

Liang describes how they told her that she would have to have an abortion, ‘You don’t have any more room for maneuver,’ he says they told her. ‘If you don’t go [to the hospital], we’ll carry you.’ The couple was then driven to Youjiang district maternity hospital in Baise city.”  Cases of Forced Abortions Surface in China, NPR, April 23, 2007

You can find the rest of the story here.  China had been pressured in previous years by the U.S. and a few other trading partners to improve on its human rights record, but that was only because the U.S. had a stronger economy than China’s and that gave them leverage.  Now, the U.S. is billions of dollars in the hole with China, making their ability to pressure the communist nation weaker.  Since their economy continues to strengthen by leaps and bounds (partly because of their unfair trade practices like selling their goods internationally at below market prices, manipulating their currency, and violating intellectual property rights), they are less willing to listen to anyone.  They probably feel that since they are so strong economically, that means their domestic policies are working and they should continue and strengthen those policies.

For years the United States government has been criticized for doing so much trade with China with all of its human rights abuses, but we were fed the line that as long as we are trading partners with them, we could influence them to treat their citizens better.  Yeah, I can see that policy worked really well (snicker).  It worked so well that China is now strongly enforcing its “family planning” laws by murdering unborn babies in spite of the fact the pregnant women want to keep their babies.  That’s what happens when money, material possessions, and power are considered more important than human lives.  In my opinion, these are the real reasons the U.S. wanted to continue trading with China.  The rights of Chinese citizens was never really a genuine concern.

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2)

Casting pearls before swine

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6)

This scripture is timely advice from Jesus Christ.  It teaches those of us who are Christians to be careful about who we give our godly counsel to and to exercise wisdom when  we share God’s blessings with others.  The two animals mentioned in this scripture represents two types of people, both types being non-Christian.  In the Old Testament, God gave strict dietary guidelines as to what animals Jews could eat.  Generally, only four-footed animals that parted the hoof and at the same time chewed the cud were considered clean.  Parting the hoof is symbolic of a clean walk before God while chewing the cud is symbolic of pure intents and thoughts of the heart.

Dogs neither part the hoof nor chew the cud.  Therefore, dogs symbolize people who have no claim to being righteous and have no concerns about who God is or what pleases him.  Swine part the hoof but do not chew the cud.  They symbolize people who claim to be righteous and have the outward appearance of being religious, but their hearts are full of wickedness and they are really not concerned about godly things.  Jesus considers both of them evil, having the same nature which is:

  1. They sneer at and mock godly counsel or other things that are sacred in God’s eyes.
  2. They feed their unbridled lust for things to satisfy their fleshly, ungodly nature.
  3. They are spiritually unclean, having no fear of God in their hearts.

The world is full of people who are like dogs in that if you try to give them godly advice because you want to see them improve themselves, they don’t appreciate it whatsoever and take offense to your pointing out their shortcomings.  Then there are the swine.  You try to share something of value with them like how they can be free of a sinful habit they are in bondage to if they surrender their lives to Christ, but they can’t distinguish the pearls you give them from regular rocks so they assume you are trying to start an argument with what they consider to be your harsh words.  Or maybe you have some extra money that God blessed you with and you see that they need financial help with their bills, so you give them money, but they blow it on gambling instead.  The result of both instances would be they end up despising you in their hearts and in some cases will go out of their way to try to hurt your reputation by lying about you behind your back.  Yet at the same time they claim to be good people and in some cases claim to be Christians.

Christ says we should make sure we don’t waste our valuable, God-given resources in these ways.  How can we really tell if a person is a dog or swine?  We test them according to how the Holy Spirit leads us in each situation.  This may call for us to test them maybe two or three times to make sure we have them pegged correctly.  If they fail the tests miserably, then we would do well to heed Christ and the following scriptures:

“Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.” Proverbs 9:8

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Altered minds, altered spirits: the drug trade

In the past few decades, there has been a push to legalize marijuana and to minimize the severity of using psychotropic drugs.  Of course, as with any other evil in our land, Hollywood and others with media access (including the porn industry) have been at the forefront of this movement.  Although there have been some movies about the dangers of drugs, there have also been many movies released making light of the use of illicit drugs and portraying drug users as being the life of the party.  Even with the U.S. government spending into the trillions of dollars in the war on drugs, they continue to be a persistent problem. 

Why does the use of drugs still persist?  Because the desire for drugs comes from the wickedness that is inherent in the hearts of mankind.  It is a reflection of a spiritual problem and man’s desire to resist God.  However, the demand for drugs also comes from, and is promoted by, the religion of witchcraft.  Whether we call it shamanism, sorcery, voodoo, ESP, psychic powers, astrology, wizardry, satanism, or witchcraft, it has for centuries been behind the use of mind-altering drugs.  Psychotropic drugs are used as part of their rituals so they can put themselves into altered states of consciousness (trances) to get in touch with the spirit realm.  They choose to be ignorant of the fact that the familiar spirits they are contacting for wisdom are none other than Satan and his evil angels.  But their so-called wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of the true and living God.

Satan and his angels transform themselves into angels of light.  Since practicers of witchcraft in their early stages deny his existence or God’s existence, they deceive themselves and open themselves up to be easily deceived by the devil.  And so they are willing victims, letting him lead them by the hand down the road to destruction.  Drug usage also leaves a person open for devils to possess them.  The person may be told by their familiar spirit that if they let him or her take control, they will experience more power than they ever imagined, thus the possession begins.

The New Testament reveals to us how intertwined the use of drugs are with witchcraft.  Wherever the words witchcraft or sorcery are used, it is the Greek word pharmakeia which means the use of or administering of drugs.  Shamans claim that when they administer the drugs as the spirit guide tells them,  healing results.  However, witches have also been known to poison and poisoning is also implied in the word pharmakeia.  We actually derive our English word “pharmaceutical” from this word.  Sorcerers, witches, and shamans were the original drug dealers.  They, in essence, had control of their people because they could use their drugs to alter their minds and display deceptive magical powers given to them by Satan.

So, you see, Satan is the god behind the illegal drug industry.  It has been rumored from time-to-time that those who run the drug cartels are involved in satanism and/or witchcraft.  Based on what the word of God says, it would not surprise me if this was proven to be true.  Nevertheless, for all the power these shamans may display, God’s power is much stronger.  Those who are in bondage to drugs and the spirits behind them can have their shackles of sin broken by the Lord Jesus Christ when they confess that he is Lord and believe in their hearts God raised him from the dead, accepting his death as the ultimate sacrifice for their sins.

“There shall not be found among you any one … that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.  Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.  For these [heathen] nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times [astrologers], and unto diviners [psychics]: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-14)

“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:19-20)

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers [pharmakeia], and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

“For without [outside of God's kingdom] are dogs, and sorcerers [pharmakeia], and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (Revelation 22:15)

“For this purpose the Son of God [Jesus Christ] was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8b)

God causes domestic disturbances

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:34-37)

What!?  How could the one who’s birth was heralded by the angels as being “peace on earth, good will toward men” say he came to do the opposite?  How is it possible the loving Savior of the world who said “blessed are the peacemakers” cause ill-will between people and break up families?  In cultures like ours where family ties are considered one of the most important ties people can have, this may be hard to understand.  But the God who rules the universe will settle for nothing less than complete loyalty from his followers.

The sword that Christ brings is his word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), dividing a man’s soul and spirit, and discerning a person’s thoughts as well as the motives of their hearts for their actions.  When the word of God is spoken, it causes individuals to search themselves, bringing about conflict in their souls between God’s truth and man’s sinful nature.  Upon hearing it, one can either become better or bitter.  Nevertheless, the truth must be spoken to expose errors and denounce sin whatever the cost may be.  Rest assured that if one accepts God’s word to become better, opposition automatically follows.  If a person shares God’s word in obedience to his commandments and out of love for the hearer, opposition will follow.

Nothing pleases God more than a person who is willing to sacrifice everything, including family ties, to put him first.  If we fear people, especially family members we love, more than we fear God, compromise of God’s commandments will become the order of the day for us.  Standing true to the Lord Jesus when we have family members who are heathens will lead to conflict and domestic disturbances of the spiritual and, in some cases, of the physical kind.  If I am in a family that worships Buddha or Allah or follows a different belief system, would I still follow Jesus if my family threatened to disown me, kill me, or throw me out on the street?  This is the type of loyalty God wants and deserves.  After all, he loves us in spite of all the evil stuff we’ve done and sacrificed everything for us to be free from our bondage of sin and to be with him.  Family ties are temporary, but to be tied to God through Jesus Christ is a tie that lasts for eternity.

Following Jesus Christ puts a person into the spiritual family of believers and sets that person apart from members of their physical family who don’t know God.  Anyone who doesn’t know God is in a different spiritual family headed by Satan and since Satan hates God, it should be no surprise when his spiritual children hate the children of God even if they are blood relatives.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Kudos to the U.S. Supreme Court!

Kudos to the highest court in our land showing wisdom on upholding the ban on partial-birth abortions!  Whoo-hoo!

Secular hip hop artists are traitors

When I say this, I’m talking only about the ones who use derogatory language to tear people down.  Although I believe racism is inherent in this country because people pass their prejudices down from generation to generation like a cursed family heirloom, hip hop artists who promote the disrespectful thug mentality can be blamed for some of the resurgence of open racism taking place here in the U.S. and Europe.  They and the record companies who back them went to great lengths to promote their music worldwide from the late 80′s to early 90′s and their marketing strategies paid off since everyone of every color and economic status here and in Europe now see it in videos or hear it on the radio constantly.

As a result, there have been reports of white college kids having parties dressed in blackface and baggy clothes to mock what they see.  Using the n-word and other racist and misogynistic language is now considered cool by many young whites who grow up listening to this music.  Why?  Negative hip hop artists have sold out the people of their own race to make a quick buck.  If a young group of white kids pull up in a vehicle blasting their car stereo with Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz screaming the n-word, any blacks within earshot who may be offended by it really don’t have a valid complaint even if the white kids are doing it to upset them.  The so-called artists have just provided a tool that any racist can use to indirectly call a black person the n-word.

In the past few months with all the racial stories in the news and the Don Imus incident, it has sickened me to see how some African-American celebrities like Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, and others make excuses for the bad behavior promoted by these so-called artists.  “They’re just keepin’ it real” or “they’re just expressing themselves as artists” or “they’re just telling us about life in the black community” are all just feeble, worthless excuses for what is clearly a double standard.

The underlying message they’re giving out is “We really don’t care as long as we get paid!”  This is the same mentality that ended up weakening Africa centuries ago when the European slave trade started.  Some Africans sold out their own people to make a quick buck from the Europeans thinking only of themselves.  They were foolish in thinking that being traitors would give them more power when all it did was make the Europeans not only want to own some of the best and brightest people from the continent, they ended up wanting to take their land as well.  So the whole continent suffered and still suffers.

Unless the negativity of these hip hop artists is dealt with, the associates of these people will continue to be killed needlessly, racism and misogyny will be more prevalent, and the minds of black young people (who need to be encouraged as much as possible to accomplish positive things) will be kept down in the gutter.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

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