Monday, April 15, 2013
In the United States the society has willfully rejected God and plunged into darkness and sin.
Just days after the Supreme Court conducted hearings on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 and The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but months before the Court renders a decision, TIME magazine - which, at one time was actually considered a news magazine - rendered its own decision. Featuring two provocative and controversial covers on its April 8, 2013, edition, TIME gleefully declared that "Gay Marriage Already Won."
Never mind the Supreme Court has yet to render its decisions; never mind that 39 states in the union restrict marriage to one woman and one man, either by statute or by their constitutions; never mind that many surveys still show that a majority of Americans disapprove of same-sex marriage, the Liberal Left and the Mainstream Media have made the decision for us. And they're counting on their friends on the court to follow in lockstep.
The essential shred of evidence TIME offered for its giddy declaration is found at the end of a 40-year timeline that lists the milestones in the march to same-sex marriage beginning in 1970. It's a graphic declaring that 53% of Americans now approve of same-sex marriage. However, if you look closely, you'll see that below the 53% figure is found the word, "average." Below that, you'll see that 73% of Americans ages 18-29 approve of overturning the present laws restricting marriage to one woman and one man.
That means that TIME gets the 53% "average" by combining the 73% of 18-29 year-olds with the much lower approval ratings of everyone else in the land.
But I suppose there's a certain devious logic to the TIME editors' thinking. Even if the Supreme Court upholds Prop 8 and DOMA, it won't be long before they, or other laws, will be challenged in court again. And if the generation that will soon be in charge is overwhelmingly for same-sex marriage (73%!), if it doesn't win today, it will most certainly win tomorrow.
Now, you may be asking yourself, "Why should I care if men marry men or women marry women?" The truth is that it's a very big deal. In fact, it may be the biggest deal - after the state-approved murders of 50 million unborn children - that the United States has ever faced or ever will face.
It's important because it weakens one of the last remaining foundational pillars on which our nation is built. For that matter, on which any nation is built. You see, the traditional definition of marriage - a recognized and exclusive union of one woman and one man - is the building block on which all civilizations throughout all of history have been founded.
It is, in fact, the only building block that has made history even possible. And when you review the great civilizations and empires that have collapsed throughout the ages, one of the classic death rattles is the demise of the sanctity of marriage and the acceptance and celebration of immorality and, especially, homosexuality.
And don't make the mistake of believing the lie that only the Old Testament condemns the practice of homosexuality. The writers of the New Testament were very specific and strong in their condemnation, too.
Let me make a distinction, though. I'm not talking about whether to tolerate or accept homosexual behavior. I'm talking about condoning and codifying those behaviors by officially changing our long-standing laws. Society can and does accept or tolerate the presence of certain behaviors as a fact of life without sanctioning or institutionalizing them. Formal recognition of gay marriage by a government implies society's seal of approval. When a government enacts such a law, it invariably promotes that conduct.
This week, I'm going to discuss where society's acceptance and celebration of the homosexual lifestyle places our world on the prophetic timeline.
Please don't misunderstand me. I do not believe that homosexuality and the fight for same-sex marriage is responsible for all the ills in America today. I do not believe that homosexuality is the cause of America's breathtaking moral, spiritual, economic, and political decline. I do, however, believe that it is a prominent symptom of the decay eating at the roots of our nation's freedom and strength. In truth, the Scripture teaches that rampant homosexuality -- and the general public's comfort with it -- is a primary indicator that a society has willfully rejected God and plunged into darkness and sin.
C. S. Lewis once made a chilling observation. He wrote, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'" When I look around at our world today and I see the utter collapse of moral and spiritual values and principles, I'm terrified to think of what this world will be like when God finally says to us, "Okay, if this is what you want, then your will be done."
I am so glad that the true followers of Christ will not be on this earth when that happens. Thank God, the Bible promises that we will be with Jesus, caught up in the clouds of glory to be forever with our Lord and Savior. Make certain you've accepted the atoning sacrifice that Jesus made to purchase your pardon. If you've done that, then you're ready to escape that day when God finally says to this sinful world, "This is what you asked for, this is what you will receive."
Hal Lindsey
Boston Marathon explosions: Two dead, more than 20 hurt near finish line
BOSTON— Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon as runners crossed the finish line on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring 23 on a day when tens of thousands of people pack the streets to watch one of the world's best known marathons.
Pictures from the scene showed blood stains on the ground and several people knocked down. Massachusetts General Hospital was treating victims of the explosion in its emergency room but information about their condition was not immediately available, a spokeswoman said.
Police reported at least one explosion and witnesses said there were two, which hit as spectators were cheering on people finishing the Boston Marathon, which was first run in 1897.
Reporters in the media center heard two blasts.
Boston police said two people were killed and 23 injured.
Scores of people, some bloody, wandered the streets around the finish line, though their numbers were thinning as police, some carrying heavy weaponry, tried to clear the area and a pungent smell hung in the air.
Mike Mitchell of Vancouver, Canada, a runner who had finished the race, said he was looking back at the finish line and saw a "massive explosion."
Smoke rose 50 feet (15 metres) in the air, Mitchell said. People began running and screaming after hearing the noise, Mitchell said.
"Everybody freaked out," Mitchell said.
Ambulances, fire trucks and dozens of police vehicles converged at the finish line.
U.S. President Barack Obama was notified and directed his administration to provide whatever assistance was necessary, the White House said.
"Blood everywhere, victims carried out on stretchers. I saw someone lose their leg, people are crying," the Boston Globe's Steve Silva reported from the citing, the Globe said on Twitter.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators typically line the 26.2 mile (42.19 km) race course, with the heaviest crowds near the finish line. The blasts occurred more than five hours after the start of the race, at a time when most top athletes were off the course but slower amateur marathoners were still running.
The transit agency shut down all service to the area, citing police activity.
Ambulances arrived on the scene within minutes and runners and spectators could be seen crying and consoling each other.
The Boston Marathon has been held on Patriots Day, the third Monday of April, since 1897. The event, which starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and ends Boston's Copley Square, attracts an estimated half-million spectators and some 20,000 participants every year.
Earlier on Monday, Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa and Kenya's Rita Jeptoo won the men's and women's events, continuing African runners' dominance in the sport.
The New York Police Department stepped up security around landmarks in Manhattan, including near prominent hotels, in response reports out of Boston, said Paul Browne, deputy commissioner of the NYPD.
New York police were redeploying counterterrorism vehicles around the city, Browne said.
Chicago Tribune
Man will become like God, say Mormons and transhumanists in Salt Lake City
Like every year, I attended the yearly conference of theMormon Transhumanist Association (MTA), on April 6 in Salt Lake City.
It is no mystery that I am very fond of the MTA. I think it represents the best example of successful integration of transhumanist ideas in a mainstream religion, and one of the best transhumanist communities.
Man becoming godlike: belief or heresy?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), aka Mormon Church, has a concept of boundless elevation and exaltation of Man, through all means including science and technology, until he becomes like God.
Conversely, God was once like Man before attaining an exalted status. “[Mormonism] allows for humans to ascend to a higher, more godlike level,” writes Max More in his introduction to The Transhumanist Reader, “rather than sharply dividing God from Man.”
Mormon transhumanists are persuaded that we will become like God — through science and technology — in a progression without end, and this seems a more faithful interpretation of the teachings of Joseph Smith and a return to the roots of the Mormon religion.
Not all Mormons agree with this transhumanist formulation of their faith but, according to MTA president Lincoln Cannon, it is a correct interpretation of the writings of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, close to the historic and philosophical roots of the LDS doctrine, as shown by the King Follet discourse and the quotes of Smith and other Mormon authorities collected here.
All Mormons are familiar with this aspect of their faith, but many modern Mormons seem to sweep these concepts to the back of their mind, as they do for other controversial issues such as polygamy, promoted (and practiced) by Smith and the founding fathers but frowned upon in modern times.
The tension between the progressive approach of the MTA and the more conservative approach of the Mormon Church at large was especially evident in Brad Carmack’s talk on the rights of LGBT and transgendered persons.
In the first keynote, longevity researcher Aubrey De Grey said that medical Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) may soon permit eliminating aging, and that failing to do so would be a “sin.” He countered many frequent “ethical” objections to extreme longevity research, showing that life extension is inseparable from healthy aging.
Computational theology?
In the more visionary part of this visionary conference, Alcor’s Mike Perry, author of Forever for All, presented his thoughts on far-future sciences and technologies able to resurrect the dead. In my own talk, I showed how the Problem of Evil — why a benevolent and omnipotent God permits evil and suffering — can be framed and “solved” in terms of the computational physics of a simulated universe.
In the second keynote, renowned historian Richard Bushman, the author of Rough Stone Rolling, a biography of Joseph Smith, put the ideas of the MTA in a Mormon historical perspective. He could hardly be expected to fully endorse the openly transhumanist vision of the MTA, but he departed holding a copy of Ray Kurzweil’s latest book.
As in Max More’s observation, the Mormon Church may be an especially fertile ground for the emergence of a transhumanist religion. But according to musician Micah Redding, similar openings can also be found in mainstream Christianity, albeit in a less explicit form.
Not all speakers were transhumanist-religion-friendly. Carl Teichrib, editor of Forcing Change, criticized transhumanist spirituality from a Christian perspective (see his review of the 2010 conference on Transhumanism and Spirituality), and Peter Wicks criticized the introduction of religious elements in transhumanism.
Kurzweilal
Is Pope Francis Laying The Groundwork For A One World Religion?
Does Pope Francis intend to help the global elite achieve their goal of uniting all of the religions of the world under a single banner? Will he be instrumental in establishing a single global religion for the glorious “new age” that the global elite believe is coming? After he was elected, the cover of Time Magazine declared Pope Francis to be the “New World Pope“, and since his election Pope Francis has made it abundantly clear that he is going to make ecumenical outreach a top priority. He has spoken of his “determination to continue on the path of ecumenical dialogue“, and he has already held a number of very high profile ecumenical meetings. Not only has he worked hard to reach out to leaders from various Christian traditions, he has also made it a point to try to acknowledge the mutual bonds that he feels with all other religions.
For example, in one recent address he made it a point to say that he believes that Muslims worship and pray to the “one God” that he also worships. This “all roads lead to the same God” philosophy is a hallmark of the one world religion that the global elite have been slowly building toward for decades. The global elite know that even with a one world economy and a one world government, humanity will never be truly united until there is a single global religion. Unfortunately, this one world religion that they are seeking to establish is diametrically opposed to the Christianity that we find in the Bible.
By throwing out Biblical truth for the sake of “friendship between men and women of different religious traditions“, is Pope Francis fundamentally betraying the faith that he claims to represent?
If there is going to be a one world religion, there will have to be a bond formed between Roman Catholicism and Islam. They are the two largest religious traditions on the planet, and so any truly “global religion” would definitely require the participation of both of them.
That is one reason why what Pope Francis has already had to say about Islam is so noteworthy. The following comes from remarks that he made during his very first ecumenical meeting…
I then greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, and all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity.
The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – I wish to repeat this: promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – it also attests the valuable work that the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue performs.
But are “Allah” and the God of the Bible the same thing?
Of course not. For example, Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God. Muslims deny this vehemently. For much more on why “Allah” and the God of the Bible are not the same, please see this article.
So either Pope Francis is denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, or he is exhibiting a frightening ignorance of basic Christian theology, or there is some other agenda at work here.
During that same ecumenical meeting, Pope Francis also made it a point to state that he feels “close” to those that belong “to any religious tradition”…
In this, we feel close even to all those men and women who, whilst not recognizing themselves belonging to any religious tradition, feel themselves nevertheless to be in search of truth, goodness and beauty, this truth, goodness and beauty of God, and who are our precious allies in efforts to defend the dignity of man, in building a peaceful coexistence among peoples and in guarding Creation carefully.
It is one thing to love people and to seek to build friendships with them, but it is another thing entirely to throw out the most basic beliefs of the faith that you supposedly represent in order to promote a specific agenda.
And Pope Francis definitely appears to have an agenda. On another occasion, Pope Francis declared that it was time “to intensify dialogue” with other religions, and that he was “thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam.”
But this affinity for Islam did not just begin recently. The truth is that Pope Francis was working hard to build bridges with Islam even when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires…
“His humility drew my attention,” Sheik Mohsen Ali, an important Islamic leader in Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald. He “always showed himself a friend of the Islamic community.”
And Pope Francis has a reputation for being a cleric that really “knows Islam“…
Sumer Noufouri, secretary-general of the Islamic Center of the Republic of Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald that the new pope is a “respectful, pro-dialogue person who knows Islam.”
But of course Pope Francis is not just reaching out to the Islamic world.
He has also been working hard to “intensify dialogue” with other Christian traditions.
In particular, he seems quite interested in improving relations with the Orthodox churches of the east…
Before his address, the pope had a private meeting withEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, who attended Francis’s inaugural Mass on Tuesday.
It was the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians had attended a Roman pope’s inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Francis called Bartholomew “my brother Andrew,” a reference to the apostle who was the brother of St. Peter and was the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium.
Francis also held a private session with Metropolitan Hilarion, the foreign minister of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest in the Orthodox world.
It won’t happen tomorrow, of course, but could Pope Francis be the Pope that brings the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox back together?
And of course a one world religion will not appear overnight either. There are far too many differences to overcome right now.
But as the world becomes increasingly unstable, people are going to be looking for answers. After the world is ravaged by economic collapse, food shortages, nightmarish pandemics, unprecedented natural disasters and horrifying wars, will it finally be ready for a one world religion that promises “peace and friendship” among all of the religions of the globe?
This is something to watch for in the years ahead. The global elite desperately want a single global religion, and they will keep moving things in that direction.
For now, Pope Francis just seems to be laying the groundwork for the one world religion that is coming. There is a 900-year-old prophecy that indicates that Pope Francis could be the last Pope. If that prophecy is true, then it will be very important to watch the actions of this Pope very carefully.
So what do you think about all of this?
Please feel free to post a comment with your opinion below…
The American Dream
If there is going to be a one world religion, there will have to be a bond formed between Roman Catholicism and Islam. They are the two largest religious traditions on the planet, and so any truly “global religion” would definitely require the participation of both of them.
That is one reason why what Pope Francis has already had to say about Islam is so noteworthy. The following comes from remarks that he made during his very first ecumenical meeting…
I then greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, and all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity.
The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – I wish to repeat this: promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – it also attests the valuable work that the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue performs.
But are “Allah” and the God of the Bible the same thing?
Of course not. For example, Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God. Muslims deny this vehemently. For much more on why “Allah” and the God of the Bible are not the same, please see this article.
So either Pope Francis is denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, or he is exhibiting a frightening ignorance of basic Christian theology, or there is some other agenda at work here.
During that same ecumenical meeting, Pope Francis also made it a point to state that he feels “close” to those that belong “to any religious tradition”…
In this, we feel close even to all those men and women who, whilst not recognizing themselves belonging to any religious tradition, feel themselves nevertheless to be in search of truth, goodness and beauty, this truth, goodness and beauty of God, and who are our precious allies in efforts to defend the dignity of man, in building a peaceful coexistence among peoples and in guarding Creation carefully.
It is one thing to love people and to seek to build friendships with them, but it is another thing entirely to throw out the most basic beliefs of the faith that you supposedly represent in order to promote a specific agenda.
And Pope Francis definitely appears to have an agenda. On another occasion, Pope Francis declared that it was time “to intensify dialogue” with other religions, and that he was “thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam.”
But this affinity for Islam did not just begin recently. The truth is that Pope Francis was working hard to build bridges with Islam even when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires…
“His humility drew my attention,” Sheik Mohsen Ali, an important Islamic leader in Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald. He “always showed himself a friend of the Islamic community.”
And Pope Francis has a reputation for being a cleric that really “knows Islam“…
Sumer Noufouri, secretary-general of the Islamic Center of the Republic of Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald that the new pope is a “respectful, pro-dialogue person who knows Islam.”
But of course Pope Francis is not just reaching out to the Islamic world.
He has also been working hard to “intensify dialogue” with other Christian traditions.
In particular, he seems quite interested in improving relations with the Orthodox churches of the east…
Before his address, the pope had a private meeting withEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, who attended Francis’s inaugural Mass on Tuesday.
It was the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians had attended a Roman pope’s inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Francis called Bartholomew “my brother Andrew,” a reference to the apostle who was the brother of St. Peter and was the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium.
Francis also held a private session with Metropolitan Hilarion, the foreign minister of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest in the Orthodox world.
It won’t happen tomorrow, of course, but could Pope Francis be the Pope that brings the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox back together?
And of course a one world religion will not appear overnight either. There are far too many differences to overcome right now.
But as the world becomes increasingly unstable, people are going to be looking for answers. After the world is ravaged by economic collapse, food shortages, nightmarish pandemics, unprecedented natural disasters and horrifying wars, will it finally be ready for a one world religion that promises “peace and friendship” among all of the religions of the globe?
This is something to watch for in the years ahead. The global elite desperately want a single global religion, and they will keep moving things in that direction.
For now, Pope Francis just seems to be laying the groundwork for the one world religion that is coming. There is a 900-year-old prophecy that indicates that Pope Francis could be the last Pope. If that prophecy is true, then it will be very important to watch the actions of this Pope very carefully.
So what do you think about all of this?
Please feel free to post a comment with your opinion below…
The American Dream
Connections
Joseph Herrin
Assembling the Puzzle - Finding Answers
Recently I have received a number of correspondences from brothers and sisters in Christ who have struggled with besetting sin. One sister shared that she is a compulsive shopper. A man wrote to ask me for prayer and advice because he is addicted to sexual sins. He views pornography, is married, yet has had sexual intercourse with women from his workplace, one of whom is herself married. Another sister in Christ wrote and shared that she had entered into a sexual relationship with a man for five years before marrying him. When the marriage became difficult, she left her husband and moved in with an older man who was kind to her and began having sex with him.
Over the years since Yahweh called me into a ministry of writing, counseling, and teaching, I have encountered such examples frequently. Some of the brothers and sisters who write to me are in deep distress. They are fearful of the consequences of their actions. They report a sense of separation from God. They have difficulty hearing God’s voice, and they often write with great emotion pleading with me to tell them what they need to do.
The church today is overrun with sin. There is little holiness among God’s people. Consequently, many are estranged from God. He seems distant to them. They cannot hear His voice. The scriptures declare:
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Hebrews 12:14
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord...
It is a terrifying thing to be estranged from God. Sin brings separation.
There is much confusion today regarding this subject. People write to me and ask “Why can’t I overcome this sin? Do I not have enough fear of God? Have I not been born again? Do I not have the Spirit of Christ in my life?” They cry out, repent, and ask God to help them not sin again, but they return over and over to the same behavior.
In this teaching I will share with you a revelation I received from Yahweh. It is a message I have not heard preached anywhere else. I invite you to ask the Spirit of Christ to guide you to truth and understanding as you read. What I share has the ability to transform your life, but the way is costly.
I was first exposed to pornography as a child of about 13 years old. My flesh was immediately enticed by sexual lust. I did not have to go looking for an enslaving desire. Sin was already resident in my flesh. It was awakened when I was exposed to pornography, and I began to entertain this sinful desire whenever I had the opportunity. As a young man of 15 I obtained my first regular employment in a small market. In the store was a magazine rack that contained a number of pornographic magazines. I would sneak them out back and look at them. I began stashing some behind the store and going back later and taking them home.
I fed the lust that excited my flesh. It was a love/hate relationship. I was a born again Christian, yet I was engaging in behavior that I knew to be ungodly. I would feel soiled, and sense the separation from God whenever I looked at pornography and entertained lustful thoughts in my mind. I was quite sensitive to the Father. I wanted to please Him. I usually found I could not even pray until the morning of the day after I had sinned. With a new day I felt like I could have a new beginning. I would repent before God. I would ask for His help. I would make a commitment to not look at pornography again, but my resolve did not last. I would sin again, sometimes the same day, and would be cast into despair.
This struggle continued into my thirties. Over the years I asked many ministers, church elders, and teachers, what the answer was. I confessed my sin to them. Yet none could help me. Even after I was married I continued in this behavior. When God gave me children my distress over my sinful behavior increased. I knew about generational sins. I did not want to pass along to my son and daughter the besetting sins I struggled with. I did not want them to defile their lives. As a father, I yearned for them to be pure and undefiled; to walk as overcomers in this life. I knew that I had to achieve victory over this sin. I cried out for the Father to help me.
When my daughter Kristin was just a couple years old I wrote the following poem.
Daddy’s Legacy
Joseph Herrin
Oh little child, dear child of mine
Fully wrought by loving hands divine,
Endowed with life and breath from above,
What will you receive from me, my love?
Your Heavenly Father, crafting with skill
Fashioned and formed you after His will,
Every precious detail according to plan,
What will you receive from me, a man?
An example of virtue, or an example of sin,
A heart filled with love, or dark thoughts from within,
Gracious words born of love, or thoughtless remarks,
What will you receive from me, my sweetheart?
Will your vision of God be clouded or clear?
Will your Father above resemble your father down here?
Will you approach Him in love, or hide out of fear?
What will you receive from me, little dear?
A shadow of God to you I will be,
But will it be godliness you see in me?
Will the outline I cast be of God or of man?
What will you receive from me, little lamb?
In answer to my cries, Yahweh drew my attention to the story of King David. In it He showed me the answers I needed. He also instilled fear into my heart. It was a holy fear; the fear of God.
II Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The account of David’s adultery with the wife of Uriah is well known to most Christians. Few, however, have discerned the patterns revealed through David’ life, or see how these things apply to them today. In his letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul relates the experiences of the Israelites as they were led out of Egypt and through forty years in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. The apostle then states:
I Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Paul could have written the same words in relation to the historical account of David’s life. It too was given to the church as an example. It was recorded for our instruction. The Spirit directed me to consider David’s life at length. When I did I was left trembling. Understanding of Yahweh’s dealings with His sons, those whom He loves, was made plain to me.
Hebrews 12:6
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.
David sinned by committing adultery and murder. David was repentant. He confessed freely his sin before God when the prophet Nathan was sent to confront him. David made no excuses. He gave no justification for his actions. He fully owned them. This permitted Yahweh to forgive David and remove the penalty of death. At the same time, Yahweh was firmly committed to teach David to hate the sin in which he had carelessly engaged. The means by which Yahweh taught David to hate sexual immorality and murder struck me with the force of a hammer blow. I cried out to the Father that He would help me to turn away from my sin before some similar discipline became necessary in my life.
David had a beautiful virgin daughter named Tamar. She was the sister of Absalom, whose mother was Maacah. David had another son named Amnon. He was the son of David’s wife Ahinoam. Amnon lusted after his beautiful half-sister even as David lusted after Bathsheba. Amnon’s attraction to his sister was illicit, and so too was David’s attraction for another man’s wife. Amnon used subtlety and deception to gain access to his sister in his bedroom and he raped her. Tamar was crushed.
II Samuel 13:11-14, 13:18-19
[Amnon] took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister." But she answered him, "No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing! As for me, where could I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel..." However, he would not listen to her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.... Now she had on a long-sleeved garment; for in this manner the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. And Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her long-sleeved garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
This event became known to David, but he did nothing to reprove Amnon. I have little doubt why David did not act. His own sin of adultery was fresh on his mind. He knew that it was his sin that had opened the door for this evil to be present in his own home, and among his own offspring. It must have grieved the heart of this man who had formerly been willing to risk his life to protect his father’s sheep, and later became the shepherd of Israel. He saw this innocent lamb, this beautiful virgin daughter, despoiled. Her purity was taken from her with violence. In observing this, David began to see the wickedness of the sin of unrestrained sexual lust.
The lessons were only beginning. Absalom hated Amnon for what he had done to his sister. Seeing that his father did not act to discipline Amnon, Absalom formed a plot and murdered his brother. Absalom was a beautiful son. The Bible says there was no physical defect in him. He was among the most handsome young men in Israel. He was a delight to his father, and greatly loved. Absalom fled upon killing his brother. After a time David’s anger waned and he missed his son. David permitted Absalom to return, but remained aloof from him.
Absalom’s resentment grew, and he plotted to take the kingdom from his father. He garnered support and raised an army. David was in peril and fled Jerusalem. David left some of his wives behind. Absalom was counseled by a cunning man to demonstrate to all Israel that there would be no reconciliation between Absalom and David. He was counseled to do something extremely odious. He took David’s wives and had sex with them openly on the roof of the palace. This was a fulfillment of the words of the prophet Nathan.
II Samuel 12:11-12
Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.”
I don’t know which was a greater grief to David, that his wives were sexually violated by another man, or that it was his son Absalom who had committed this transgression. David still loved Absalom. When Absalom was slain in the battle that ensued, David wept bitterly for his son.
II Samuel 18:33
And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"
David understood that all this had come as a judgment from Yahweh. His daughter would not have been violated; His son Amnon would not have raped his sister and been murdered; his son Absalom would not have killed his brother, defiled his father’s wives, and himself been slain, had it not been for David’s sin that opened the floodgates for transgression to enter his home.
How David must have come to loathe the sin he had once embraced. When he saw his virgin daughter violated, his sons given over to lust, his wives publicly despoiled, he surely came to see the utter evil of unbridled lust. Never again would he transgress against the holiness of Yahweh to sate the sexual lust of his flesh. David hated this sin.
In horror, I began to consider how Yahweh might teach me to hate the sin that I was entertaining in my life. He had protected me and kept me from acting upon my lustful thoughts. I had committed fornication and adultery many times in my mind, but the opportunity had not presented itself for me to act upon my evil thoughts. I knew Yahweh’s hand had shielded me. What if He were to remove His hand and allow Satan to entice me to act out my evil fantasies? In a moment I saw myself committing adultery, and the sin being exposed. My wife, my children, fellow Christians, family members and in-laws, all would see my sin and shame would be my covering. It was so real at that moment that I cried out and asked Yahweh to have mercy and keep me from ever disgracing His name and bringing shame upon my family in this way.
My mind imagined other ways by which Yahweh could teach me to hate this sin. My daughter could be defiled by another man. My son could be given over to unrighteous behavior as were the sons of David. How it grieved me to consider that my children that I loved deeply might have their lives destroyed by sin. It greatly grieved me to think that I might be so stubborn, so casual about my attitude toward this sin, that it would take a great tragedy to cause me to hate this sin as Yahweh hates it.
The fear of God, the dread of His hand of chastisement, provided me the motivation to stop viewing pornography. In fear of God, I stopped entertaining thoughts of engaging in sexual relations with the women I came in contact with. I understood that if I continued to do so, the time would come when I would act upon those thoughts and Yahweh would reveal my sin to the world.
People of God, it may seem a shameful thing for a minister to confess that he has transgressed in this manner. I believe it is the Father’s will that I humble myself by sharing opely my struggles with sexual lust. Yahweh gives grace to the humble, and I need much grace in my life. It is also profitable for others to hear that a fellow Christian has struggled with sin, and to learn of the manner in which Yahweh led him to victory.
Proverbs 28:13-14
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
Yahweh brought me to victory over viewing pornography back in the mid 1990s. A few years later, in 1999, the Father did one of the most beneficial things He could do for any son. He pressed me to embrace a life that would fortify me against the temptation of the adversary, and help me to remain steadfast in turning away from sexual temptation. What follows, is a description of one of the key elements to a life of victory over sin and temptation. You have perhaps never before made the connections that I will set before you. I encourage you to take the matter before the Father for His affirmation, for what I will share is that which He has taught me.
David’s life is set before the church today that we might not only know the consequences of sin and how Yahweh teaches His sons to hate sin, but to reveal how men set themselves up for failure, and how they might avoid transgression.
David Spies Bathsheba Bathing
A profound truth is revealed in the following four verses that open the account of David’s transgression with Bathsheba. Every word, every detail, is significant. Yahweh did not inspire holy men to record unnecessary information. Every jot and tittle of Scripture is divinely inspired.
II Samuel 11:1-4
Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" And David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her...
People of God, please pay heed to what is revealed here. It was the time for kings to go out to battle, but David stayed home in Jerusalem. David was at ease, enjoying the comforts of a palace life. He had idle time, and was wandering about on the roof of his palace. This was the same place Nebuchadnezzar was when he sinned and Yahweh judged him.
Daniel 4:28-33
All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes.”
Whether a man is a citizen of Zion, or a citizen of Babylon, he can fall in the same way. Ease and comfort, a failure to be where Yahweh desires and doing what He asks, is a sure way to open oneself up to temptation and grievous transgression.
David was appointed by Yahweh to be a warrior king. It was his divinely assigned role to lead in battle. Yet David remained at home, content to let others endure the hardship and rigors of warfare. After David sinned with Bathsheba, he sent for her husband, hoping to entice him to lie with his wife so he would think the baby was his own. Instead, David received a reproof from Yahweh. Uriah unwittingly prophesied, revealing to David what his own attitude and actions should have been.
II Samuel 11:8-11
Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." And Uriah went out of the king's house, and a present from the king was sent out after him. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. Now when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."
As disciples of Christ, we are called to be about our Father’s business. There is work to be done. There are battles to be fought. Yet many of God’s people have chosen to remain at home, enjoying the comforts and pleasures of life.
II Timothy 4:5
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
II Timothy 2:3-4
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Yahshua. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
I Timothy 5:6
Whereas she who lives in pleasure and self-gratification [giving herself up to luxury and self-indulgence] is dead even while she [still] lives.
[Amplified Bible]
In the book The Gate and The Way I shared the following:
In former years the saints in Christ were more amenable to suffering with Christ. I do not mean to suggest that there has ever been more than a remnant who have embraced such things, but at least the church spoke openly about such matters, even if only a few had the attitude of Paul expressed in the following words.
Colossians 1:24
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
In 1693 Thomas Shepherd wrote the first stanza to the hymn titled Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?
Must Jesus bear the cross alone
And all the world go free?
No, there's a cross for ev'ryone,
And there's a cross for me.
I recently finished reading the wonderful biography of Amy Carmichael written by Elisabeth Elliot. The title of the book is A Chance to Die. Ms. Carmichael left a comfortable life in England in the late 1800s to live among the native people of India as a missionary. She understood something about the ways of God, and the call of the body of Christ to share in the sufferings of Christ. The following poem that she penned gives eloquent testimony to her understanding and her experience.
Hast Thou No Scar
Amy Carmichael
Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?
Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.
Hast thou no wound?
No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?
What a question to ponder in this hour. “Can he have followed far who hast no wound or scar?” [End Excerpt]
There are some like David who have grown weary of the battle, yet there are far more who have never enlisted as a soldier of Christ to be commanded and yielded fully to the King of kings and Lord of lords. One of the tragic consequences of choosing a life of ease when you have been called to the rigors of discipleship, is that you become prey to the snares of the adversary. Not only do you subject yourself to temptations that could have been avoided, but the person who is living a comfortable, abundant life, is insulated from a life of daily dependence upon God for provision, protection, and every necessary thing. It is this dependence that encourages a healthy fear, and careful walk, before Yahweh.
When a brother wrote to me recently and shared that he has been falling repeatedly into sexual sin, I shared the following with him.
You have not yet come to a place as a Christian where you have laid down your life in order to take up that life Christ has chosen for you... You too were called the moment you were saved to lay down your life and follow Christ wherever He would lead you.
One of the greatest helps I have received in my battle with pornography, lustful thoughts, and sexual temptation, is that by casting myself wholly into the Father's hands to follow wherever He would lead, I have been brought to a place of daily, often desperate, dependence upon Him. A man who needs Yahweh's favor and help every day will not willfully sin against God. He fears too much the immediate consequences of his actions. Like a man on a battlefield, he dares not do anything to bring separation between himself and God, for he knows the consequences could be immediate and tragic.
By continuing in the material life you have chosen, you have removed yourself from a daily dependence upon God. Because you have money in the bank, a regular paycheck, food in the cupboards, etc., you have developed a sense of security. You do not feel vulnerable and exposed like a man who has sold all in order to follow Yahshua wherever He would lead. This has caused you to become careless in your attitude toward sin. You do not fear Yahweh as you ought to...
There are servants of Yahweh who have laid aside their comfortable homes, and material lives, to follow Yahshua into battle. This is Yahshua's invitation to all who would be His disciples. This is what I have been directed to write about recently in my blog posts.
You have been gracious to share your money with those who are following the Lord into battle, but He is not satisfied with this. He wants you to be in the battle. By remaining at home, by choosing comfort and ease, you have placed yourself in the way of temptation. Your problem is not that you have not been saved. It is not that you do not have the Holy Spirit. Your problem is that the lifestyle you have chosen for yourself is preventing you from walking in that daily dependence upon Yahweh that would encourage you to fear God and not sin.
If you will listen to the Spirit of Christ, you will perceive that the things I am writing to you are Yahweh's words. He has brought you to this place of desperation and fear, for He knows how much your soul resists yielding everything you own, and your very life, to Him. You cannot follow Christ by degrees. By giving Christ only a portion of your will and obedience you are finding that you lack what is needed to walk victoriously and to overcome temptation.
[End Excerpt]
Brothers and sisters, if you are finding yourself falling into temptation and sin; if you are having difficulty hearing God’s voice; if you lack spiritual power in your life; if Yahweh seems distant, perhaps it is because you are not where He has called you to be.
The message Yahweh has directed me to stress at this time is that the call to be a disciple of Christ is a radical call. Yahshua stated that a man must hate his own life to be His disciple. A person cannot choose the life their soul desires and be a disciple of Yahshua. The soul will choose comfort and ease. This was the experience of the inhabitants of Sodom, and it led to abominations in their lives.
Ezekiel 16:49-50
“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease... Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.”
Don’t choose for yourself an indulgent lifestyle. You are called to a life of surrender. If you remain at ease in Zion you stand in peril of being overcome by sin. You may find yourself committing abominations and paying the cost for doing so.
Listen to the voice of the Spirit of Christ entreating you to surrender all and follow Yahshua. Taking up your cross and follow Him is the only Way that leads to life.
May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.
Assembling the Puzzle - Finding Answers
Recently I have received a number of correspondences from brothers and sisters in Christ who have struggled with besetting sin. One sister shared that she is a compulsive shopper. A man wrote to ask me for prayer and advice because he is addicted to sexual sins. He views pornography, is married, yet has had sexual intercourse with women from his workplace, one of whom is herself married. Another sister in Christ wrote and shared that she had entered into a sexual relationship with a man for five years before marrying him. When the marriage became difficult, she left her husband and moved in with an older man who was kind to her and began having sex with him.
Over the years since Yahweh called me into a ministry of writing, counseling, and teaching, I have encountered such examples frequently. Some of the brothers and sisters who write to me are in deep distress. They are fearful of the consequences of their actions. They report a sense of separation from God. They have difficulty hearing God’s voice, and they often write with great emotion pleading with me to tell them what they need to do.
The church today is overrun with sin. There is little holiness among God’s people. Consequently, many are estranged from God. He seems distant to them. They cannot hear His voice. The scriptures declare:
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Hebrews 12:14
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord...
It is a terrifying thing to be estranged from God. Sin brings separation.
There is much confusion today regarding this subject. People write to me and ask “Why can’t I overcome this sin? Do I not have enough fear of God? Have I not been born again? Do I not have the Spirit of Christ in my life?” They cry out, repent, and ask God to help them not sin again, but they return over and over to the same behavior.
In this teaching I will share with you a revelation I received from Yahweh. It is a message I have not heard preached anywhere else. I invite you to ask the Spirit of Christ to guide you to truth and understanding as you read. What I share has the ability to transform your life, but the way is costly.
I was first exposed to pornography as a child of about 13 years old. My flesh was immediately enticed by sexual lust. I did not have to go looking for an enslaving desire. Sin was already resident in my flesh. It was awakened when I was exposed to pornography, and I began to entertain this sinful desire whenever I had the opportunity. As a young man of 15 I obtained my first regular employment in a small market. In the store was a magazine rack that contained a number of pornographic magazines. I would sneak them out back and look at them. I began stashing some behind the store and going back later and taking them home.
I fed the lust that excited my flesh. It was a love/hate relationship. I was a born again Christian, yet I was engaging in behavior that I knew to be ungodly. I would feel soiled, and sense the separation from God whenever I looked at pornography and entertained lustful thoughts in my mind. I was quite sensitive to the Father. I wanted to please Him. I usually found I could not even pray until the morning of the day after I had sinned. With a new day I felt like I could have a new beginning. I would repent before God. I would ask for His help. I would make a commitment to not look at pornography again, but my resolve did not last. I would sin again, sometimes the same day, and would be cast into despair.
This struggle continued into my thirties. Over the years I asked many ministers, church elders, and teachers, what the answer was. I confessed my sin to them. Yet none could help me. Even after I was married I continued in this behavior. When God gave me children my distress over my sinful behavior increased. I knew about generational sins. I did not want to pass along to my son and daughter the besetting sins I struggled with. I did not want them to defile their lives. As a father, I yearned for them to be pure and undefiled; to walk as overcomers in this life. I knew that I had to achieve victory over this sin. I cried out for the Father to help me.
When my daughter Kristin was just a couple years old I wrote the following poem.
Daddy’s Legacy
Joseph Herrin
Oh little child, dear child of mine
Fully wrought by loving hands divine,
Endowed with life and breath from above,
What will you receive from me, my love?
Your Heavenly Father, crafting with skill
Fashioned and formed you after His will,
Every precious detail according to plan,
What will you receive from me, a man?
An example of virtue, or an example of sin,
A heart filled with love, or dark thoughts from within,
Gracious words born of love, or thoughtless remarks,
What will you receive from me, my sweetheart?
Will your vision of God be clouded or clear?
Will your Father above resemble your father down here?
Will you approach Him in love, or hide out of fear?
What will you receive from me, little dear?
A shadow of God to you I will be,
But will it be godliness you see in me?
Will the outline I cast be of God or of man?
What will you receive from me, little lamb?
In answer to my cries, Yahweh drew my attention to the story of King David. In it He showed me the answers I needed. He also instilled fear into my heart. It was a holy fear; the fear of God.
II Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The account of David’s adultery with the wife of Uriah is well known to most Christians. Few, however, have discerned the patterns revealed through David’ life, or see how these things apply to them today. In his letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul relates the experiences of the Israelites as they were led out of Egypt and through forty years in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. The apostle then states:
I Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Paul could have written the same words in relation to the historical account of David’s life. It too was given to the church as an example. It was recorded for our instruction. The Spirit directed me to consider David’s life at length. When I did I was left trembling. Understanding of Yahweh’s dealings with His sons, those whom He loves, was made plain to me.
Hebrews 12:6
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.
David sinned by committing adultery and murder. David was repentant. He confessed freely his sin before God when the prophet Nathan was sent to confront him. David made no excuses. He gave no justification for his actions. He fully owned them. This permitted Yahweh to forgive David and remove the penalty of death. At the same time, Yahweh was firmly committed to teach David to hate the sin in which he had carelessly engaged. The means by which Yahweh taught David to hate sexual immorality and murder struck me with the force of a hammer blow. I cried out to the Father that He would help me to turn away from my sin before some similar discipline became necessary in my life.
David had a beautiful virgin daughter named Tamar. She was the sister of Absalom, whose mother was Maacah. David had another son named Amnon. He was the son of David’s wife Ahinoam. Amnon lusted after his beautiful half-sister even as David lusted after Bathsheba. Amnon’s attraction to his sister was illicit, and so too was David’s attraction for another man’s wife. Amnon used subtlety and deception to gain access to his sister in his bedroom and he raped her. Tamar was crushed.
II Samuel 13:11-14, 13:18-19
[Amnon] took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister." But she answered him, "No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing! As for me, where could I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel..." However, he would not listen to her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.... Now she had on a long-sleeved garment; for in this manner the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. And Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her long-sleeved garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
This event became known to David, but he did nothing to reprove Amnon. I have little doubt why David did not act. His own sin of adultery was fresh on his mind. He knew that it was his sin that had opened the door for this evil to be present in his own home, and among his own offspring. It must have grieved the heart of this man who had formerly been willing to risk his life to protect his father’s sheep, and later became the shepherd of Israel. He saw this innocent lamb, this beautiful virgin daughter, despoiled. Her purity was taken from her with violence. In observing this, David began to see the wickedness of the sin of unrestrained sexual lust.
The lessons were only beginning. Absalom hated Amnon for what he had done to his sister. Seeing that his father did not act to discipline Amnon, Absalom formed a plot and murdered his brother. Absalom was a beautiful son. The Bible says there was no physical defect in him. He was among the most handsome young men in Israel. He was a delight to his father, and greatly loved. Absalom fled upon killing his brother. After a time David’s anger waned and he missed his son. David permitted Absalom to return, but remained aloof from him.
Absalom’s resentment grew, and he plotted to take the kingdom from his father. He garnered support and raised an army. David was in peril and fled Jerusalem. David left some of his wives behind. Absalom was counseled by a cunning man to demonstrate to all Israel that there would be no reconciliation between Absalom and David. He was counseled to do something extremely odious. He took David’s wives and had sex with them openly on the roof of the palace. This was a fulfillment of the words of the prophet Nathan.
II Samuel 12:11-12
Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.”
I don’t know which was a greater grief to David, that his wives were sexually violated by another man, or that it was his son Absalom who had committed this transgression. David still loved Absalom. When Absalom was slain in the battle that ensued, David wept bitterly for his son.
II Samuel 18:33
And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"
David understood that all this had come as a judgment from Yahweh. His daughter would not have been violated; His son Amnon would not have raped his sister and been murdered; his son Absalom would not have killed his brother, defiled his father’s wives, and himself been slain, had it not been for David’s sin that opened the floodgates for transgression to enter his home.
How David must have come to loathe the sin he had once embraced. When he saw his virgin daughter violated, his sons given over to lust, his wives publicly despoiled, he surely came to see the utter evil of unbridled lust. Never again would he transgress against the holiness of Yahweh to sate the sexual lust of his flesh. David hated this sin.
In horror, I began to consider how Yahweh might teach me to hate the sin that I was entertaining in my life. He had protected me and kept me from acting upon my lustful thoughts. I had committed fornication and adultery many times in my mind, but the opportunity had not presented itself for me to act upon my evil thoughts. I knew Yahweh’s hand had shielded me. What if He were to remove His hand and allow Satan to entice me to act out my evil fantasies? In a moment I saw myself committing adultery, and the sin being exposed. My wife, my children, fellow Christians, family members and in-laws, all would see my sin and shame would be my covering. It was so real at that moment that I cried out and asked Yahweh to have mercy and keep me from ever disgracing His name and bringing shame upon my family in this way.
My mind imagined other ways by which Yahweh could teach me to hate this sin. My daughter could be defiled by another man. My son could be given over to unrighteous behavior as were the sons of David. How it grieved me to consider that my children that I loved deeply might have their lives destroyed by sin. It greatly grieved me to think that I might be so stubborn, so casual about my attitude toward this sin, that it would take a great tragedy to cause me to hate this sin as Yahweh hates it.
The fear of God, the dread of His hand of chastisement, provided me the motivation to stop viewing pornography. In fear of God, I stopped entertaining thoughts of engaging in sexual relations with the women I came in contact with. I understood that if I continued to do so, the time would come when I would act upon those thoughts and Yahweh would reveal my sin to the world.
People of God, it may seem a shameful thing for a minister to confess that he has transgressed in this manner. I believe it is the Father’s will that I humble myself by sharing opely my struggles with sexual lust. Yahweh gives grace to the humble, and I need much grace in my life. It is also profitable for others to hear that a fellow Christian has struggled with sin, and to learn of the manner in which Yahweh led him to victory.
Proverbs 28:13-14
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
Yahweh brought me to victory over viewing pornography back in the mid 1990s. A few years later, in 1999, the Father did one of the most beneficial things He could do for any son. He pressed me to embrace a life that would fortify me against the temptation of the adversary, and help me to remain steadfast in turning away from sexual temptation. What follows, is a description of one of the key elements to a life of victory over sin and temptation. You have perhaps never before made the connections that I will set before you. I encourage you to take the matter before the Father for His affirmation, for what I will share is that which He has taught me.
David’s life is set before the church today that we might not only know the consequences of sin and how Yahweh teaches His sons to hate sin, but to reveal how men set themselves up for failure, and how they might avoid transgression.
David Spies Bathsheba Bathing
A profound truth is revealed in the following four verses that open the account of David’s transgression with Bathsheba. Every word, every detail, is significant. Yahweh did not inspire holy men to record unnecessary information. Every jot and tittle of Scripture is divinely inspired.
II Samuel 11:1-4
Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" And David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her...
People of God, please pay heed to what is revealed here. It was the time for kings to go out to battle, but David stayed home in Jerusalem. David was at ease, enjoying the comforts of a palace life. He had idle time, and was wandering about on the roof of his palace. This was the same place Nebuchadnezzar was when he sinned and Yahweh judged him.
Daniel 4:28-33
All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes.”
Whether a man is a citizen of Zion, or a citizen of Babylon, he can fall in the same way. Ease and comfort, a failure to be where Yahweh desires and doing what He asks, is a sure way to open oneself up to temptation and grievous transgression.
David was appointed by Yahweh to be a warrior king. It was his divinely assigned role to lead in battle. Yet David remained at home, content to let others endure the hardship and rigors of warfare. After David sinned with Bathsheba, he sent for her husband, hoping to entice him to lie with his wife so he would think the baby was his own. Instead, David received a reproof from Yahweh. Uriah unwittingly prophesied, revealing to David what his own attitude and actions should have been.
II Samuel 11:8-11
Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." And Uriah went out of the king's house, and a present from the king was sent out after him. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. Now when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."
As disciples of Christ, we are called to be about our Father’s business. There is work to be done. There are battles to be fought. Yet many of God’s people have chosen to remain at home, enjoying the comforts and pleasures of life.
II Timothy 4:5
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
II Timothy 2:3-4
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Yahshua. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
I Timothy 5:6
Whereas she who lives in pleasure and self-gratification [giving herself up to luxury and self-indulgence] is dead even while she [still] lives.
[Amplified Bible]
In the book The Gate and The Way I shared the following:
In former years the saints in Christ were more amenable to suffering with Christ. I do not mean to suggest that there has ever been more than a remnant who have embraced such things, but at least the church spoke openly about such matters, even if only a few had the attitude of Paul expressed in the following words.
Colossians 1:24
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
In 1693 Thomas Shepherd wrote the first stanza to the hymn titled Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?
Must Jesus bear the cross alone
And all the world go free?
No, there's a cross for ev'ryone,
And there's a cross for me.
I recently finished reading the wonderful biography of Amy Carmichael written by Elisabeth Elliot. The title of the book is A Chance to Die. Ms. Carmichael left a comfortable life in England in the late 1800s to live among the native people of India as a missionary. She understood something about the ways of God, and the call of the body of Christ to share in the sufferings of Christ. The following poem that she penned gives eloquent testimony to her understanding and her experience.
Hast Thou No Scar
Amy Carmichael
Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?
Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.
Hast thou no wound?
No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?
What a question to ponder in this hour. “Can he have followed far who hast no wound or scar?” [End Excerpt]
There are some like David who have grown weary of the battle, yet there are far more who have never enlisted as a soldier of Christ to be commanded and yielded fully to the King of kings and Lord of lords. One of the tragic consequences of choosing a life of ease when you have been called to the rigors of discipleship, is that you become prey to the snares of the adversary. Not only do you subject yourself to temptations that could have been avoided, but the person who is living a comfortable, abundant life, is insulated from a life of daily dependence upon God for provision, protection, and every necessary thing. It is this dependence that encourages a healthy fear, and careful walk, before Yahweh.
When a brother wrote to me recently and shared that he has been falling repeatedly into sexual sin, I shared the following with him.
You have not yet come to a place as a Christian where you have laid down your life in order to take up that life Christ has chosen for you... You too were called the moment you were saved to lay down your life and follow Christ wherever He would lead you.
One of the greatest helps I have received in my battle with pornography, lustful thoughts, and sexual temptation, is that by casting myself wholly into the Father's hands to follow wherever He would lead, I have been brought to a place of daily, often desperate, dependence upon Him. A man who needs Yahweh's favor and help every day will not willfully sin against God. He fears too much the immediate consequences of his actions. Like a man on a battlefield, he dares not do anything to bring separation between himself and God, for he knows the consequences could be immediate and tragic.
By continuing in the material life you have chosen, you have removed yourself from a daily dependence upon God. Because you have money in the bank, a regular paycheck, food in the cupboards, etc., you have developed a sense of security. You do not feel vulnerable and exposed like a man who has sold all in order to follow Yahshua wherever He would lead. This has caused you to become careless in your attitude toward sin. You do not fear Yahweh as you ought to...
There are servants of Yahweh who have laid aside their comfortable homes, and material lives, to follow Yahshua into battle. This is Yahshua's invitation to all who would be His disciples. This is what I have been directed to write about recently in my blog posts.
You have been gracious to share your money with those who are following the Lord into battle, but He is not satisfied with this. He wants you to be in the battle. By remaining at home, by choosing comfort and ease, you have placed yourself in the way of temptation. Your problem is not that you have not been saved. It is not that you do not have the Holy Spirit. Your problem is that the lifestyle you have chosen for yourself is preventing you from walking in that daily dependence upon Yahweh that would encourage you to fear God and not sin.
If you will listen to the Spirit of Christ, you will perceive that the things I am writing to you are Yahweh's words. He has brought you to this place of desperation and fear, for He knows how much your soul resists yielding everything you own, and your very life, to Him. You cannot follow Christ by degrees. By giving Christ only a portion of your will and obedience you are finding that you lack what is needed to walk victoriously and to overcome temptation.
[End Excerpt]
Brothers and sisters, if you are finding yourself falling into temptation and sin; if you are having difficulty hearing God’s voice; if you lack spiritual power in your life; if Yahweh seems distant, perhaps it is because you are not where He has called you to be.
The message Yahweh has directed me to stress at this time is that the call to be a disciple of Christ is a radical call. Yahshua stated that a man must hate his own life to be His disciple. A person cannot choose the life their soul desires and be a disciple of Yahshua. The soul will choose comfort and ease. This was the experience of the inhabitants of Sodom, and it led to abominations in their lives.
Ezekiel 16:49-50
“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease... Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.”
Don’t choose for yourself an indulgent lifestyle. You are called to a life of surrender. If you remain at ease in Zion you stand in peril of being overcome by sin. You may find yourself committing abominations and paying the cost for doing so.
Listen to the voice of the Spirit of Christ entreating you to surrender all and follow Yahshua. Taking up your cross and follow Him is the only Way that leads to life.
May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.
World War III If Iran is attacked
Iran ratcheted up its vitriol against Israel and the United States over the weekend, warning that an attack on the Islamic regime’s nuclear facilities could lead to global war.
The rhetoric eerily matched that currently coming out of North Korea against its perceived enemies.
“Iran will not stand by in the face of such aggression,” Ali Ahani, Iran’s ambassador to France, said Sunday, according to the Islamic regime’s PressTV. “This can entail a chain of violence that may lead to World war III. A potential Israeli attack against Iran with an objective of destroying its scientific and nuclear facilities is sheer madness. Its consequences are disastrous and uncontrollable.”
The deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Brig. Gen Masoud Jazayeri, warned the United States on Saturday that Iran would continue its nuclear program.
“We would not trade off our rights,” he said, adding that Iran would stand with North Korea in its faceoff with America.
According to Mehr News, Jazayeri blamed the tension on the Korean Peninsula on the U.S. presence in the region.
“Whenever necessary, we would stop the U.S. excessive demands,” he said. “The Islamic Revolution will never leave its past and present friends. The U.S. and its allies will suffer great losses if a war breaks out in this region.”
The commander of the Islamic regime’s ground forces, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Poordastan, in his speech at Friday Prayers, also warned “the enemies” that the country’s army has its finger on the trigger and that any attack on the country will make the “enemy” regret its actions.
All enemy activities at Iran’s borders and in the region are being monitored by the country’s intelligence analysts, and Iran’s armed forces are prepared for any scenario, he said.
The regime’s PressTV ran an op-ed analysis on Saturday with a headline “Iran deals deathblow to U.S. global hegemony.” The analysis, by Finian Cunningham, an Irishman whom the outlet calls “a prominent expert in international affairs,” blames America for much of the world’s problems and warns of its decline.
“Iran, however, presents a greater and more problematic challenge to U.S. global hegemony,” Cunningham wrote. “The U.S. in 2013 is a very different animal from what it was in 1945. Now it resembles more a lumbering giant. Gone is its former economic prowess and its arteries are sclerotic with its internal social decay and malaise. … Iran exerts a controlling influence over the vital drug that keeps the American economic system alive – the world’s supply of oil and gas. Any war with Iran, if the U.S. were so foolish to embark on it, would result in a deathblow to the waning American and global economy.”
Cunningham said the story will not end there: “The attainment of world peace, justice and sustainability does not only necessitate the collapse of American hegemony. We need to overthrow the underlying capitalist economic system that gives rise to such destructive hegemonic powers. Iran represents a deathblow to the American empire, but the people of the world will need to build on the ruins.”
The world powers once again failed at Almaty, Kazakhstan, to get Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program and allow further inspections of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The talks, which lasted two days, were held last week between Iran and the 5-plus-1 powers: the United States, Britain France, Russia, China, plus Germany.
As reported exclusively on WND on March 20 and in a follow-up in The Washington Times the next day, information provided by a high-ranking intelligence officer in the regime’s ministry of defense revealed yet another secret site where Iran is engaged in completing its nuclear bomb program and arming its ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
The source added that not only does the regime have enough plutonium for several bombs, but it also has enriched uranium to weapons grade.
The new site, 15 miles from another previously secret site exposed in 2009 (the Fordow nuclear facility), is approximately 14 miles long and 7.5 miles wide, consisting of two facilities built deep into a mountain along with a nearby missile facility with over 380 missile garages and silos, surrounded by barbed wire, 45 security towers and several security posts.
American experts who viewed satellite imagery of the new site are concerned that Iran may be much further along in its nuclear bomb program than perceived and that the images of the site are a clear indication that the regime’s strategy is to put together an “objective force” and not just one or two nuclear bombs. An objective force is defined as the level of military forces needed within a finite time frame and resource level to accomplish approved military objectives, missions or tasks.
Last week, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, in a hasty and unusual press conference, denied the existence of this site, dubbed “Quds,” at which the rogue nation is making great progress in creating nuclear warheads for an array of long-range missiles stored underground nearby. He did not elaborate as to what the site is and what work is being done out of the facilities.
The satellite images clearly show this vast site is visible to the naked eye and that it is a high-priority site with secret work conducted deep within the mountain.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/iran-warns-of-world-war-iii/#WwfTS2bSSK13Ix4v.99
US Army Displays Hostility Toward Christians
Two recent incidents with the U.S. Army have indicated that freedom of religion is at stake.
On Wednesday an Army officer sent an email to subordinates, labeling conservative Christians organizations as “domestic hate groups,” and stated that their values don't align with “Army values.”
Click here to read the 14-page email sent out by Lt. Col. Jack Rich, in which he told other officers and soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., that, specifically, the American Family Association and the Family Research Council are “domestic hate groups” because they oppose homosexuality.
“When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values, don't just walk by—do the right thing and address the concern before it becomes a problem,” he wrote.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Fox News he was disturbed by the contents of the email.
“It’s very disturbing to see where the Obama administration is taking the military and using it as a laboratory for social experimentation—and also as an instrument to fundamentally change the culture,” he said. “The message is very clear: If you are a Christian who believes in the Bible, who believes in transcendent truth, there is no place for you in the military.”
The American Family Association is asking its supporters to investigate Rich's statements and to advise Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to insure the military ceases its anti-Christian rhetoric. Click here to take action.
"There are thousands and thousands of people enlisted in the United States Army who are themselves Christian and would resent the fact that this one lieutenant colonel is purporting to speak for the whole Army by saying AFA and FRC don't represent 'Army values,'" AFA President Tim Wildmon wrote in an email to supporters Thursday.
George Wright, Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said they are checking into the origin of Rich's email, and denied that there is any attack on Christians or those who hold religious beliefs.
“The notion that the Army is taking an anti-religion or anti-Christian stance is contrary to any of our policies, doctrines and regulations,” he stated. “Any belief that the Army is out to label religious groups in a negative manner is without warrant.”
But Liberty Counsel Action says otherwise.
“Make no mistake about it, religious freedom is under attack in this country,” said Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel Action.
The organization sent a letter Thursday to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging support for Rep. Doug Lamborn's (R-Colo.) letter to John M. McHugh, Secretary of the Army, calling on him to rescind, apologize and investigate an Army Reserve training brief that labels evangelical Christians and Catholics as “religious extremists.”
“The news of an Army Reserve training brief labeling evangelical Christians and Catholics as ‘religious extremists’ is insulting,” Staver noted. “To lump evangelical Christians and Catholics in with Hamas, al-Qaida or the Ku Klux Klan is outrageous. Such false labeling is dangerous and unacceptable.
“A full investigation is necessary to determine which sources the Army used in formulating this briefing and what remedial measures the Army will take to prevent this atrocity from happening again. A full apology is in order,” he concluded.
Charisma
North Korea’s Leader Missing from Public Eye for Two Weeks
SEOUL, April 14 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public for the past two weeks, sparking speculation amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday.
Kim has been absent from the public eye since April 1 when he presided over an annual parliamentary session. His absence was not unusual in the past but this month’s disappearance comes at a time when Pyongyang is expected to launch a mid-range ballistic missile, the agency said.
According to Yonhap, an official at Seoul's intelligence authority denied rumors of a coup against Kim, saying no unusual movement surrounding the North's leader had been detected.
Another source specializing on North Korea told Yonhap that Kim's absence is part of the North's "psychological warfare that could grab attention from South Korea and the United States."
Tensions rose sharply on the Korean Peninsula in December after North Korea tested a Taepodong 2 missile and again in February when it carried out its third nuclear test. The UN hit back with sanctions, and the start of joint military drills between South Korea and the United States last month further irritated the North, which threatened to carry out a nuclear attack on the US mainland, as well as on US forces in the region.
Chang Yong-seok, senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies of Seoul National University, told Yonhap that Pyongyang was unlikely to scale down its provocative stand against the US.
"Rather than attempting to change the current situation, North Korea is likely to keep raising tensions, while there is a possibility of slightly adjusting the level of tensions," Chang said.
According to Yonhap, Kim may appear in public on Monday, when Pyongyang marks the birthday of its founder, Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current leader. Seoul's military officials have said that a missile launch by Pyongyang could happen on Monday.
RIA Novosti
Israel 65 years of innovation
While a great deal of international and media focus has been placed on Israel’s military conflicts, the country quietly has become an energetic, ambitious incubator of entrepreneurialism and invention. What follows is a timeline chronicling some of the most important and interesting innovations produced by Israelis during their country’s 65-year existence.
UZI MACHINE GUN (1948): Major Uzi Gaf develops the Uzi submachine gun. Gaf builds in numerous mechanical innovations resulting in a shorter, more wieldy automatic. It is estimated that more than 10 million have been built; the Uzi has seen action in numerous wars and in countries throughout the world.RUMMIKUB (1940s): Ephraim Hertzano invents the smash hit board game Rummikub, which goes on to become the best-selling game in the United States in 1977.
SUPER CUKE (1950s): Esra Galun’s research into hybrid seeds leads to his creation of the world’s first commercial hybrid cucumber. Their descendants and the techniques Galun pioneered account for the majority of cucumbers cultivated today. Galun went on to develop early-blooming melons and disease-resistant potatoes. His work continues to inform and influence crop genetics.
CANCER SCREENER (1954): Weizmann Institute pioneer Ephraim Frei begins groundbreaking research on the effect of magnetism on human tissue. His work will lead directly to the development of the T-Scan system for the detection of breast cancer, which the US Food and Drug Administration described as a “significant… breakthrough.”
EARLY COMPUTER (1955): The Weizmann Institute’s WEIZAC computer performs its first calculation. With an initial memory of 1,024 words stored on a magnetic drum, it is one of the first large-scale stored program computers in the world. In 2006, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers recognizes WEIZAC as a milestone achievement in the fields of computers and electrical engineering.
SOLAR ENERGY BENCHMARK (1955): Harry Zvi Tabor develops a new solar energy system that today powers 95 percent of Israeli solar water heaters and is the standard for solar water heating around the world.
AMNIOCENTESIS (1956): Weizmann professor Leo Sachs becomes the first to examine cells drawn from amniotic fluid to diagnose potential genetic abnormalities or prenatal infections in developing fetuses. His work becomes known as amniocentesis, a routine procedure now conducted on pregnant women worldwide.
LAB-BRED BLOOD CELLS (1963): Sachs becomes the first researcher to grow normal human blood cells in a laboratory dish. This breakthrough leads to the development of a therapy that increases the production of crucial white blood cells in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
DRIP IRRIGATION (1965): Founding of Netafim, developer and distributor of modern drip irrigation.
COLOR HOLOGRAM (1966): Asher Friesem produces the world’s first color hologram. He goes on to explore 3-D imaging through work that leads to the development of “heads up” displays for pilots, doctors and other virtual reality systems.
DESALINATION (1967): Sydney Loeb takes a position at Ben-Gurion University, where he will develop the reverse osmosis desalination process, now the worldwide standard.
ADVANCED CELLULAR RESEARCH (1970): Ada Yonath establishes the only protein crystallography laboratory in Israel. She begins a course of research on the structure and function of the ribosome, the sub-cellular component that produces protein, which in turn controls all chemistry within organisms. Her work lays a foundation for the emergence of so-called “rational drug design,” which produces treatments for several types of leukemia, glaucoma and HIV, as well as antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs. Along with two colleagues, Yonath is awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
BLOOD DETOXIFICATION (1972): Meir Wilchek demonstrates that “affinity chromatography” — a method he developed for separating biological or biochemical materials — can be used to detoxify human blood. The work leads to the development of present-day technologies, employed around the world, that are used to remove poison from a patient’s blood.
DRONE AIRCRAFT (1973): Israeli fighter jets sustain serious damage during the Yom Kippur War. In response, Israel initiates the development of the first modern Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – also known as UAVs or drones. The new Israeli drones are lighter, smaller and cheaper than any of their predecessors, with capacities such as real-time 360-degree video imaging, radar decoy capability and increased operating ceilings. Drones enable Israel to eliminate Syria’s air defenses at the start of the 1982 war with Lebanon without losing a single pilot. Drones descending today from Israeli designs conduct military, civilian, research and surveillance operations around the world.
COMPUTER PROCESSORS (1974): Computer heavyweight Intel sets up an R&D shop in Israel, leading to the development of the globally ubiquitous 8088 processor and Centrino chip.
COMPUTER SECURITY (1977): Adi Shamir, working with two American colleagues, describes a method of encryption. Now known as RSA, it is the single most important encryption method used worldwide to secure transactions between customers and banks, credit card companies and Internet merchants.
DIGITAL AGE INFORMATION SHARING (1977): Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv develop the LZ data compression algorithms. Aside from their trailblazing academic applications, the algorithms become the primary basis of early computer information sharing. Today, LZ algorithms and their derivatives make possible our ability to send many types of photos and images between computers quickly and easily.
FARM-SCALE FOOD STORAGE (1980s): Shlomo Navarro invents a simple yet paradigm-shifting food storage system intended to help farmers in developing food-poor and resource-poor areas to keep their crops from spoiling after harvest. The system evolves into GrainPro Cocoons, water- and air-tight containers used around the world to prevent the damaging effects of spoilage and parasites without the use of pesticides.
LEUKEMIA TREATMENT (1981): Elli Canaani joins the Weizmann Institute. His research into the molecular processes leading to chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, will result in the development of Gleevec, a drug now provided to CML patients around the world. The molecular processes discovered by Canaani were subsequently discovered to be at work in other leukemias, as well as certain tumors and lymphomas.
UNDERSTANDING CELLULAR ACTIVITY (1981): Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover — along with American counterpart Irwin Rose — begin work that will lead to the discovery of ubiquitin, a molecular “label” that governs the destruction of protein in cells. The discovery produces a dramatic improvement in the understanding of cellular function and the processes that bring about ailments such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis. In recognition of their work, the team receives the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
A NEW FORM OF MATTER (1982): Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman discovers Quasicrystals, a “new” form of matter that had been considered not only nonexistent but impossible. Shechtman becomes the object of disdain and ridicule, but his discovery eventually is vindicated and earns him the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Applications of Quasicrystals range from the mundane (nonstick cookware) to the arcane (superconductive and superinsulative industrial materials).
COMPUTER “LANGUAGE” (1986): Computer scientist David Harel develops Statecharts, a revolutionary computer language used to describe and design complex systems. Statecharts are used worldwide in areas from aviation to chemistry. Harel’s work is also being applied to the analysis of the genetic structures of living creatures with hopes of applying subsequent discoveries to the analysis and treatment of disease, infection and other biological processes.
IMMUNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT (1991): Weizmann Institute professor Yair Reisner announces the creation of mice with fully functioning human immune systems. Described from an immunological perspective as “humans with fur,” the mice provide for the first time a real-world arena in which to study human ailments and represent a major step forward in the search for a cure for AIDS, hepatitis A and B, and other infectious diseases.
BABY MONITOR (1991): Haim Shtalryd develops the BabySense crib monitor, which becomes standard child safety equipment in millions of homes worldwide.
OFFICE PRINTER (1993): Rehovot-based Indigo Inc. introduces the E-Print 1000. The device enables small operators to produce printing-press quality documents directly from a computer file, revolutionizing the operations of work environments of all stripes.
COMPUTER SECURITY (1993): Gil Shwed, 25, and two partners establish the computer security firm Check Point. Within two years, Check Point signs provider agreements with HP and Sun Microsystems. The company experiences phenomenal growth, and in 1996 it becomes the leading provider of firewall and security services — including anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-data-loss security components – to businesses of all sizes around the globe.
INSTANT MESSAGING (1996): Mirabilis launches ICQ, the first Internet-wide instant messaging system. America Online adopts the technology and popularizes the world of online chat.MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TREATMENT (1996): Teva Pharmaceuticals introduces Copaxone, the only non-interferon multiple sclerosis treatment. The world’s top-selling MS treatment, Copaxone helps reduce relapses and may moderate the disease’s degenerative progression.
COMPUTER DICTIONARY (1997): Introduction of the Babylon computer dictionary and translation program. Within three years the system will boast more than 4 million users. Babylon eventually becomes integrated into most user-level Microsoft programs, allowing for seamless cross-language translation of millions of words at the click of a mouse.
“PORTABLE” SLEEP LAB (1997): Itamar Medical Ltd. is founded, and soon brings to market its WatchPAT sleep lab, representing a paradigm shift in the treatment of sleep disorders.
PILLCAM (1998): Given Imaging develops the PillCam, now the global standard for imaging of the small bowel.
FIRST AID (1998): Bernard Bar-Natan makes the first sale of his Emergency Bandage. A giant leap forward in field dressings, it has become standard equipment in both civilian and military first aid kits worldwide.
NANOWIRE (1998): Researchers Uri Sivan, Erez Braun and Yoav Eichen report that they have used DNA to induce silver particles to assemble themselves into a “nanowire,” a metallic strand 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. In addition to staking out new ground on the frontier of electrical component miniaturization, the wire actually conducts electricity, marking the first time a self-assembling component has been made to function and laying a path to exponential advances in the field of nanotechnology.
VISION-BASED CAR SAFETY SYSTEMS (1999): Amnan Shashua and Ziv Aviram found MobilEye, a company that provides advanced optical systems to car manufacturers to increase safety and reduce traffic accidents.
FLASH DRIVE (2000): M-Systems introduces the flash drive in the United States. Smaller, faster and more reliable than floppy disks or CD-ROMs, they will go on to replace those technologies worldwide.
ADVANCED UNDERWATER BREATHING TECH (2001): Alon Bodner founds Like-A-Fish, a manufacturer of revolutionary underwater breathing apparatuses that extract oxygen from water.
GROUNDBREAKING SPINAL SURGERY SYSTEM (2001): Mazor Robotics is founded and goes on to introduce its SpineAssist robotic surgical assistant, the most advanced spine surgery robot in use today.
URBAN AIR COMBAT/RESCUE (2002): Rafi Yoeli develops the initial concept for the AirMule urban carrier, combat and rescue vehicle.
TERRORIST DETECTOR (2002): In the wake of renewed terrorist activity against Israel and the United States, Ehud Givon assembles a team of researchers to develop an advanced and foolproof “terrorist detector,” resulting in the WeCU security system.
MICRO-COMPUTER (2003): Weitzmann scientist Ehud Shapiro develops the world’s smallest DNA computing “machine,” a composition of enzymes and DNA molecules capable of performing mathematical calculations.
BREAST TUMOR IMAGING (2003): The FDA approves 3TP, an advanced MRI procedure, for use in the examination of breast tumors. The brainchild of Hadassa Degani, 3TP distinguishes between benign and malignant breast growths without requiring invasive surgery.
ANTI-BACTERIAL FABRICS (2003): Aharon Gedanken becomes involved in the treatment of fabrics to prevent bacterial growth, which eventually will lead him to develop the technology for treating hospital fabrics with an anti-bacterial “coating” that will dramatically reduce hospital infection rates.
CENTRINO COMPUTER CHIP (2004): Intel Israel releases the first generation of Centrino microprocessor. Centrino is Intel’s mobile computing cornerstone; it drives millions of laptop computers around the world. Successive generations of Centrino have improved laptops’ function, speed, battery life and wireless communication capabilities.
TUMOR IMAGING (2005): Insightec receives FDA approval for the ExAblate® 2000 system, the first to combine MRI imaging with high intensity focused ultrasound to visualize tumors in the body, treat them thermally and monitor a patient’s post-treatment recovery in real time, and non-invasively. Thousands of patients around the world have been treated.
LAB-GROWN HUMAN TISSUE (2005): Dr. Shulamit Levenberg publishes the results of her work in the development of human tissue. Working with mouse stem cells, Levenberg and her partner Robert Langer produce the first lab-generated human tissue that is not rejected by its host. Levenberg goes on to use human stem cells to create live, beating human heart tissue and the circulatory components needed to implant it in a human body.
WATER FROM THE AIR (2006): Researcher Etan Bar founds EWA Technologies Ltd. In 2008 he produces a clean, green system that “harvests” water from the humidity in the air. The technology represents a boon not only to residents of water-starved desert areas, but also to farmers and municipalities around the world. Each device has the potential to provide two average American families with their entire year’s supply of water without contributing to global warming or pollution.
PARKINSON’S TREATMENT (2006): The FDA approves AZILECT, a breakthrough treatment for Parkinson’s disease developed by John Finberg and Moussa Youdim. AZILECT dramatically slows the progression of Parkinson’s in newly diagnosed patients, increasing the longevity of body and brain function and improving the quality of life for millions worldwide.
BEE PRESERVATION (2007): Rehovot-based Beeologics is formed. The company is dedicated to the preservation of honeybees, which are under threat from Colony Collapse Disorder and vital to the world’s food supply.
AIRPORT SAFETY (2007): Boston’s Logan International Airport begins testing of a new runway debris detector developed by XSight Systems. XSight uses video and radar monitors to identify and track runway debris, which has been identified as the cause of several airline accidents, including the 2000 crash of a Concorde jet that killed 113 people. XSight has the potential to save upwards of $14 billion per year and an untold number of lives.
TRAUMA VICTIM STABILIZER (2007): Dr. Omri Lubovsky and his sister, mechanical engineer Michal Peleg-Lubovsky, introduce the LuboCollar, a device designed to stabilize trauma victims while maintaining an open airway. The device replaces the standard procedure of intubating trauma patients before transport, saving an average of five critical minutes between the field and the hospital.
HISTORICAL SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS (2008): Brightsource Energy Inc. begins formalizing agreements with California power companies to develop the world’s two largest solar energy projects.
SEPSIS MONITOR (2008): Tel Aviv’s Cheetah Medical introduces the NICOM, a bedside hospital monitor that can detect and determine the treatment for sepsis, which occurs in approximately one in 1,000 US hospital patients annually. Sepsis previously had been treatable only after an invasive exploratory treatment, which itself could result in sepsis. The device goes into immediate use by hundreds of hospitals around the world.
ADVANCED FISH FARM (2008): GFA Advanced Systems Ltd. launches Grow Fish Anywhere, a sustainable, enclosed and self-contained fish farming system that is not dependent on a water source and creates no polluting discharge.
TOUGH POTATO (2008): Hebrew University Professor David Levy caps 30 years of research with the development of a powerful strain of potato that can be grown in high heat and irrigated with salt water. He shares his findings — and discussions of where they might lead — with scientists from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Morocco.A TWIST ON SOLAR ENERGY (2008): Yossi Fisher co-founds Solaris Synergy, a company that creates solar energy panel arrays that float on water.
LUGGAGE LOCATOR (2009): Yossi Naftali founds Naftali Inc. and begins distributing the Easy-To-Pick Luggage Locator, a remote luggage tag that alerts travelers when their luggage has arrived at baggage claim.
ARTIFICIAL HAND (2009): Professor Yosi Shacham-Diamand and a team of Tel Aviv University researchers succeed in wiring a European-designed artificial hand to the arm of a human amputee. In addition to conducting complicated activities including handwriting, the human subject reports being able to feel his fingers. Achieving sensation represents the culmination of Shacham-Diamand’s work and a breakthrough in the evolution of artificial limbs.
WATER PURIFICATION (2010): Greeneng Solutions launches the first of its ozone-based water purification systems. Designed for commercial, industrial and domestic applications, Greeneng’s product line uses ozone-infused water to eliminate germs on kitchen equipment, household surfaces, swimming pools and more. Purifying with ozone is faster and more effective than the global-standard tap water additive chlorine, and ozone produces none of the harmful side effects of chlorine such as asthma and contaminated runoff.
VISION LOSS TREATMENT (2010): VisionCare Opthalmic Technologies debuts the CentraSight device, a telescopic implant that addresses age-related macular degeneration. CentraSight is the first and only treatment for AMD, a retinal condition that is the most common cause of blindness among “first-world” seniors.
MINIATURE VIDEO CAMERA (2011): Medigus Ltd. develops the world’s smallest video camera, measuring 0.99mm. The device provides for new diagnoses and treatments of several gastrointestinal disorders.
HELPING PARAPLEGICS WALK (2011): The FDA approves clinical use of ReWalk, a bionic exoskeleton developed by Argo Technologies that allows paraplegics to stand, walk and climb stairs.
BREAST TUMOR TREATMENT (2011): IceCure Medical launches the IceSense 3, a device that destroys benign breast tumors by infusing them with ice. The procedure is quick, painless, affordable and is conducted on an outpatient basis. Soon after, clinical trials begin to study the efficacy of the treatment on malignant breast tumors.
MISSILE DEFENSE (2011): Iron Dome, a short-range missile defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, shoots down a Grad rocket fired at Israel from Gaza. It marks the first time that a short-range missile has been intercepted, opening up new possibilities for military, civil and border defense in the world’s conflict zones.
ENDANGERED SPECIES STEM CELLS (2012): Israeli scientist Inbar Friedrich Ben-Nun leads a team of researchers in producing the first stem cells from endangered rhinos and primates in captivity. The procedure holds the potential to improve the health of dwindling members of numerous endangered species, as well as staving off extinction.
DIABETES TREATMENT (2012): DiaPep277, a vaccine based on the work of Irun Cohen, is shown to significantly improve the condition of Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes in newly diagnosed patients.
HELPING THE BLIND TO “SEE” SOUNDS (2012): Dr. Amir Amedi and his team at Hebrew University demonstrate that sounds created by a Sensory Substitution Device (SSD) activate the visual cortex in the brains of congenitally blind people. MRIs of blind people using the device show that it causes the same brain responses of sighted people. This discovery allows the team to adapt the SSD to allow blind individuals to “see” their surroundings by learning to interpret audio signals visually.
FUTURISTIC FOOD PACKAGING (2012): Israeli computer engineer Daphna Nissenbaum creates a revolutionary, 100 percent biodegradable food packaging material. Her company, Tiva, produces materials for drink pouches, snack bars, yogurt and other foods – all of which provide a minimum of six months of shelf life, will completely decompose in a landfill, and can be composted industrially and domestically.
THE “GOD PARTICLE” (2012): Switzerland’s Large Hadron Collider produces the Holy Grail of physics – the Higgs Boson, or “God Particle,” a subatomic particle that accounts for the existence of matter and diversity in the universe. A team from Israel’s Technion was charged with building and monitoring the collider’s elementary particle detectors, without which the discovery of the Higgs Boson would have been impossible.
The Times of Israel
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