Caged America

The apparent selfish sense of entitlement most Americas have has become a crutch to their growth as spiritual beings. This crutch is made ever more solid as our government seeks to offer more programs that simply issue a handout instead of a hand up, which is right and true and kind in every sense of the word. But there is a huge difference between a handout and a hand up. One seeks to enable and empower while the other seeks to deflate and destroy.

A hand up offers immediate relief and seeks to develop a person’s ability to start caring for that need themselves, whereas a handout gives immediate relief and then continues to give that relief without demanding change or growth on the recipients part which insures their continued dependency and deters their ability to learn to care for themselves.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 (AMP) For while we were yet with you, we gave you this rule and charge: If anyone will not work, neither let him eat. 11 Indeed, we hear that some among you are disorderly [that they are passing their lives in idleness, neglectful of duty], being busy with other people’s affairs instead of their own and doing no work. 12 Now we charge and exhort such persons [as ministers in Him exhorting those] in the Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and earn their own food and other necessities.

To exhort means to encourage them to change their direction, not reward their behavior with benefits. These very costly “free” benefits do nothing but become a crutch for people to lean on and make personal growth impossible. Think about it for a minute, and I am not calling us mere animals here; but if you place an animal in a controlled environment and take away his ability to hunt, gather, live and provide for himself, what happens to that animal over a long period of time? Ask any zoologist and they will tell you that the animal loses its will to live. A vibrant spirit will become a dull and lifeless soul living in a hand to mouth existence.

Compare the wild lions of Africa to the domestic cats we see in the zoo today. Sure the ones in the cage may look prettier to our eyes and be lovely to behold, but if you look closely at the essence of the animal you would see something not quite so lovely. He has become lazy, bored and uninterested in life. He loses every good attribute that once made him king of the jungle. His righteous pride has been taken from him and that fierce instinct to survive that once made him great and made him feel alive has vanished. Look deep enough and you would see the walking dead that slothfulness and dependency and cages will produce in any beast or brother alike.

Take a look at that passage again. You see what happens when people are not forced to work and produce for themselves, they become more interested in other peoples affairs rather than their own. The Bible says idleness is the devils playground. And slothfulness and laziness breeds contempt in the souls of man.

We are to help those in need. The Word of God is clear about that. And at the same time we are to teach, exhort, lift up and lead the way for them to follow and grow and live and learn. Welfare in its current condition has taught a large section of our society to become content with living in cages, both physically and spiritually. They have become dependent upon the handouts of government programs and this has taught society to rely on others for their well being and in effect has created a social crutch that if not torn down will keep our culture crippled.

“God tells us to be willing to help those who really need it, but He does not expect us to enable moochers! If people are in a difficult position because of circumstances beyond their control, we can and should help them as we are able, but if someone is lacking because they are too proud or too lazy to work, then they need to go hungry until they get up and work! Don’t feel that it is your responsibility to help a lazy moocher. They need to learn the lesson that you reap what you sow and if you won’t work, you won’t eat either. Encourage them to work and earn their own food and necessities.” Revival Ministries International, http://www.revival.com/www/r.aspx?p=18&aid=415

Proverbs 12:11 (AMP) He who tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits is lacking in sense and is without understanding.

And then to make matters worse this dependent environment and attitude is passed on to the next generation and we start the cycle all over again. Instead we should seek to help those in need while at the same time teach them to understand where they got off track and show them how to get back on the right road and learn to walk in victory. I found this personal story online about a third generation welfare child who has traveled the hard road of poverty and pulled herself up to become an inspiration to others and it confirms what I believe in my heart and soul.

PEOPLE WANT TO CHANGE = THEY JUST DON’T KNOW HOW

We would be providing a service that would have lasting and positive impact on generations to come if we could take this testimony to heart and start developing programs that direct not disable a person’s growth as a productive member of society but seek to educate them and make them an intricate part of their community. This is her story.

“I am a third generation welfare child. I was born and raised in the projects to a single mother who already had two children. I recently took an economics class in college and I learned that welfare children don’t have much of a chance. And we don’t. I got kicked out of High School and had to go to Job Corps. Then I got pregnant and became a single unwed mother. I lived in a shelter for pregnant teens and moved into the projects. I wound up with 3 children before I landed a job that actually got me off welfare. And I was only making 23,000. Then, because I was so ghetto, I got into it with some girls at work and they got me fired. I was 7 months pregnant and had maxed out all of my credit cards on groceries. This is how I got into debt. No one would hire me because of my protruding belly. I even went to interviews and they told me they would not hire me because I would be needing time off shortly. I could have filed several suits for this illegal treatment, but with what retainer fee? I have excellent skills to work with. I can speak two languages, I can type 75 wpm, and I am a computer expert. I am now married and have 5 children. Every job I have had since has resulted in downsizing or lay off. I learned my lesson about being fired and straightened up my act. After being laid off this last time I decided I was going to go to school full time. I feel that without a degree I won’t go anywhere in life. I was taking one course per semester and working full-time. At this rate I would finish a two year degree in 2009. I just wish someone would have taught me this when I was younger. We need programs in our public schools to help our less fortunate or poor children get on the right track. My mother didn’t teach me jack, and now I am paying for all of my silly mistakes. I have been paying my creditors and trying to make good on my debt. I also pay off one bad debt each year with my Earned Income Refund from the IRS. One of my biggest mistakes (that I realize now) was to let someone talk me into refinancing. I am studying to be an Accountant and a Web Programmer. When I took my accounting class, I began to look over all of this crazy paperwork that I have and I realized that someone talked me into refinancing a loan for another 24 months when I only had 3 more months to pay on it. I couldn’t believe it. I think we are all blind to this madness. I will never again own a credit card. If I can’t afford it, I don’t need it. If I can’t afford to buy my kids clothes, I will go to the clothes closet and get them for free. They grow out of them anyway. As long as they are gently used, that is all that should matter. People need to stop living out of their comfort zone and stop wasting money!”

Vanidosa27, http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/about6223.html

The Bible has been telling us this foundational truth for thousands of years.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from his ways.”

You can apply this biblical truth to the good and the bad things we teach our children. We are responsible to be the parents God has called us to be, both individually and as a whole in society. God does not give to us everything we ask for, He gives us everything we need to grow and become strong. He does not reward the slothful nature of a man.

Proverbs 21:25-26 (AMP) The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26 He covets greedily all the day long, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous gives and does not withhold.

Ephesians 4:28 (AMP) Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.

Gods Word is very clear about responsibility and opportunity. Every person is given the God given right to live, to love and to pursue happiness, not to have happiness handed to them on a silver platter and never have to give anything in return. This awesome gift of grace comes with responsibility and the Lord is faithful to teach us everything we need to know to acquire the means to live in peace and prosperity if we are only willing to learn and grow from hardship instead of grumble and demand justice and handouts. Our country was founded on these same principles. We make is so complicated when it is really quite simple. If you cannot provide for yourself, than we as brothers and sisters in Christ should help provide for you and if you can provide for yourself than you are responsible to do whatever you can and also to live with the understanding of how blessed you are, so that you are willing and able to help others less fortunate that you.

These are some very important words of wisdom that our country was founded on. Read them again and again and again until the truth jumps out at you and you begin to see clearly how far off track we have come as a nation in creating the caged animals of tomorrow and having the audacity to call this oppression “assistance”.

The Declaration of Independence

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

During Pearl Harbor one of the military leaders of Japan said that they were afraid that the bombing had simply awakened a sleeping giant, meaning that America had potential that had never been explored or seen before and that this attack on her borders would bring her true nature to the front lines. I believe we are being attacked again, not from bombs of battle but from the wages of welfare. True change starts from within. We can break out of this cage of oppression and declare our liberty to live and learn and grow and fall down and get back up again as we awaken the sleeping giant once again. Let us come together and demand that our country get back on track and start building a society worthy of our status as the greatest country in the world.

Psalm 117:1-2 1Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! 2For His loving kindness is great toward us and the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!

I look forward to the Restoring Honor to America tour this August hosted by Glenn Beck and it is my solemn prayer that together we can bring this nation back to her former glory in the same Spirit in which she was founded.

God Bless America

Ms. Chris

Exhale

It’s a strange feeling to realize that you haven’t been breathing for quite some time. It feels like a sigh of relief after a long time of holding your breath in anticipation; a deep exhale after you’ve spent many days living on short gasp of air. I imagine the feeling of drowning and then that burst of exhilaration as you realize you are granted life once again and the ability to breathe fresh air. That is what forgiveness feels like. It’s almost as if the day you receive your forgiveness has been cleansed and now your life has a new light. It becomes a time of renewal and refreshing and each new breath seems to be full of hope once again. It’s a strange experience that is hard to put into words…. forgiveness.

God has given you the grace to receive forgiveness. You must simply approach Him in sincerity and truth and be open enough to receive His revelation. Whatever it is in your life that you are holding onto, let it go. There is nothing in this life worth losing your blessing over. I am not talking about salvation. You can be saved and miserable all at the same time. I am speaking about having an abundant life now, while you still have a human body to experience it. The Lord tells us we are to put Him first and He will give us the desires of our heart. What are you placing before the love of God in your life?

What are you allowing to take precedence over the Lord in your life? It can be anything from leisure time, to lack of devotion, to outright disobedience. When there is misery and restlessness in your spirit that is your spirit crying out for help. Your spirit yearns to be one with God and for this to occur you must walk in righteousness. The sin in your life prevents this walk with God.

As a child of God you have been granted grace and mercy. This liberty is easy to abuse if you do not take practical steps to keep yourself in line with God’s will. Your restless spirit is simply an indication that you have gotten off-track and a spiritual re-alignment is necessary. Once you find this breath of life your soul rejoices in the Lord and all his mercy.

#1 – SEEK UNDERSTANDING

Go to the Lord with an open heart and willing mind and allow God to reveal your sin to you. He will give you understanding. Do not turn away from the revelation of the Spirit. Search your heart and soul to confirm what the spirit reveals and accept that you have sinned against the Lord.

Proverbs 2:6“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

 

#2 – SEEK FORGIVENESS

Once you truly accept your sin you must seek mercy before Christ. You already know that you are unworthy and in this humbled spirit you are able to comprehend your need of forgiveness. An arrogant heart cannot receive forgiveness for it cannot accept that it deserve punishment. There is only one thing that will prevent you from being forgiven, and that is your own selfish pride. Seek the Lord in all humility fully grasping your unworthiness and He will heal you wholly and completely.

Mark 3:28 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter;

 

#3 – SEEK REPENTANCE

To repent means to, “turn away from one direction and turn toward another direction”. Now that you have been forgiven you must forsake the sin in your life and turn that energy towards the Lord. Accept the forgiveness freely offered to you and realize sin is your enemy and will bring you nothing but misery. The Lord said to the paralytic man at the pool in John 5, “do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you”. If you willingly go back to the sin in your life you are inviting even more devastation and pain into your life. You are the commander and chief of your life.  You alone choose the path you will follow. The Lord has given you the freedom to choose and in this choice lays an immense responsibility to choose wisely.

Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,”

The Call

To hear the call of God is unlike any other experience you will ever have in this world. It is a life changing event that is hard to describe with mere words. It takes a willing heart to hear the call of God, and sometimes it can take several attempts before the sound of the world around you becomes quiet enough for you to hear the Spirit of God within yourself. Each of us originated from God, and we all have His Spirit living within us. It is God who gave us the breath of life, and has determined a specific purpose and plan for each of us before the world began.

You are a living breathing walking talking Spirit of God with a very specific purpose and plan for your life. The fact that you are here now is an indication that you are growing closer to that purpose. Listen to that desire that has been nagging at you to know him more. You have been surrounded by the world and all it’s thunder for so long, yet now you are finally coming to realize there is more to life than this. And that realm of truth lives within you.

Once we are born into this world we immediately start taking in the material things around us and over time our senses become numb to the spiritual elements that live inside us. Each of us will have various levels of difficulty tuning back into that spirit once God calls us, but it is a process that will bring you closer to your Father in heaven at every level. Ultimately we are all going to stand before God and answer for the life He has given us. Can you sincerely say you have given your best?

He gave you His best. He gave you His Son. That sacrifice is what has made it possible for you to even be considered worthy of standing before God. Now that you hear His voice calling you and feel the truth inside your own soul SCREAM FOR JOY!!!

You have been called. You are a chosen child.

You are blessed beyond what you can even understand at this point.

What an awesome opportunity for you to start walking by faith, not by sight. What a chance He has given you to start tuning back into your Spirit and become truly alive for the first time in your life. Start to listen for your spirit to lead you everyday and you will find the will of God for your life. Don’t give up.

This awakening is between you and the Lord. You alone have control as to how far this relationship will progress. The choice is yours. God loves you very much and has called you to His side. His will for you is an abundant life (John 10:10), but the choice to receive this gift remains yours alone. Don’t let this moment pass without accepting His gift of eternal life. My guess is that He has called you before and you turned away.

Your spirit aches for unity with the Creator and His divine truth will be revealed in you. Only Jesus Christ can truly shine a light in this darkness we call life. The Holy Spirit of God is how you ended up at this particular website to begin with. Accept the gift you are being offered right now. Open the gift of eternal life and start to grow into your divine purpose before God.

Your spirit is hungry and can only be fed by the Word of God. It is very simple really to accept Christ as your personal savior and start this growth process. You hear people say they are “saved” all the time, but what does that really mean?

It means…

THEY HEARD & THEY BELIEVED
(John 3:16) At long last you feel the tug of your spirit, and you are going to answer this time. Jesus is calling you to believe in Him, to follow Him, to allow His Spirit to guide you in this life. Put your trust in His plan for your life. Give your life to Him now.

YOU WILL FIND PERFECT PEACE !!!!
(Philippians 4:7) You will learn the details of His plan in time as the lines of communication become more clear, you study the Word of God and you start to grow into a son of God, but for now just rejoice in the fact that you have heard His voice. Understand this miracle means you are truly blessed. Blessed actually means “indwelt by God”. The spirit of God now lives inside of you, and you have begun to be spiritually alive in Christ.

Hallelujah!!!

Be thankful, and keep alert to the presence of your spirit. It may be a song you hear, a sermon you hear, the voice you hear in your dreams, or a word given at just the right time when you needed it so badly. Never doubt that God is here, and He is guiding you, and He will never let you go from this day forward. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

God bless you now and forever.…Oh yeah He already has

Romans 8:38-39 “³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Reverend Chris Horne

Doubt destroys dreams

Mark 11:22-24

And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

Did you ever hear the saying that if you think you are a loser than you’ve already lost? Do you realize the deep truth of this statement. Jesus did. Our thoughts are more powerful than most of us realize and doubt is one of the most powerful thoughts of all. When Christ commanded us to believe in Him, He did not just want glory for Himself. He wanted us to realize the power of belief and the detriment of doubt. Christ knows our belief is essential to the power of God working in our life and likewise doubt can destroy our dreams before they even have a chance to begin. Just look at what Christ said so many times after healing someone, He would say to them, “Your faith has healed you.”

On the other hand look at the admonition of the Lord concerning doubt. Matthew 17:20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. The doubt of the disciples made it impossible for them to cast the demons out of the young boy.

The manifestation of human thought coupled with divine power is a mystery that I believe we will never fully understand until our homecoming, when the mysteries of God are going to be revealed finally, but we can take Jesus at His Word, since He is not a man that He should lie.

We must learn to believe well. And that takes practice. Start small and find a promise you know the Lord has given you. Stand on that promise and see it through. Think of all the promises the Lord has already seen fulfilled in your life. Ask the Lord to help any unbelief you have and strengthen your faith. He will give freely every spiritual gift that you ask for in His name. SO ASK ALREADY. The Word of God tells us we have not, because we ask not. The gifts of the Spirit are already yours, you just have to start applying them to your life.

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

Do you lack love, start practicing love in spite of your feelings. Do you lack joy, start being joyful in all circumstances. Do you need more peace in your life. The Word of God tells us to pursue peace, that means chase it down and make it your own. Sometimes you have to fight for what you want. All the gifts of the Spirit are the same, they are yours for the taking, so take them already. Start walking in the gifts of God and stand firm in who you are in Christ. YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE ONLY LIVING GOD AND SERVANT TO THE KING OF KINGS!!!!

Start acting like it.

 

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”        - Franklin D. Roosevelt

What are you practicing

Ezekial 18:21-22 “But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. “All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.”

The Bible tells us that we become that which we practice. If we practice deceit, we become a dishonest person. If we practice charity we become a giving person. If we practice patience we become a humble person. Although I think we all know this and have heard this lesson many times, it is one fo those truths that need to be repeated throughout life to remind us to do yet another perform a self evaluation of the “practices” we have allowed to take root in our life. We all must examine who we have become and often to keep ourselves on the path of righteousness.

The word practice is from the Greek word “prasso” and means “repeated and learned behavior”. This means that to practice evil, or practice sin is to live by, rely upon and continur to practice the thing. If you allow sin to rule and riegn in your life willingly and do not turn yourself and your self-will over to God to allow Him to heal your soul you are practicing sin. You are willigly separating yourself from God and all His graces. This my dear brother will remove you from the blessings of God in your life and there is no way to live in abundace on this path of unrighteousness.

Does He still love you, yes. Does He still want the best for you, yes. Can He make you do anything you do not want to do, no. And He cannot give you something that does not exist. His blessing and provisions for your life are contigent upon you wlaking the path HE HAS SET BEFORE YOU. If you go off in your own direction, don’t expect God to pull your provision off of His road and lay them on yours. His way is the only way. You have freewill my friend and you excercise that authority everytime you choose what habits to practice in your life.

As you examine that habits that have formed in your life ask yourself three questions.

1 – Does this habit honor God and agree with Gods Word?

2 – Has God asked me to give this habit up? Why?

3 – Why do I hold onto this habit?

 You cannot win this battle in a day and there are some habit that can be broken in an hour and then others that will take what seems to be a lifetime. CHRIST KNOWS YOUR HEART, and He knows if you are truly tyrying to let go or truly trying to justify and hold on.

 Once your self-exam is complete and the results are known, take them to Christ in a humble spirit and He will in bold fashion remove them from your life. Do you truly want to break the bad habits in your life that are keeping you from living and walking in Gods will?

Lay them at His feet.

Where you are weak He is strong.

 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Ever wonder what we look like to God?

Have you ever wondered what we must all look like to God?

Imagine you had 25 kids all under the age of 4!!!

 All  of them are whinny, greedy, hungry, thirsty and need your attention RIGHT NOW!!!! And at the very same moment each of them is capable of being  adorable, lovable, snuggable and the most beautiful thing you ever laid your eyes upon.

You work day in and day out tiressly expressing your love to them in a variety of ways so each can receive your affection in thier own unique way. You never cease to provide them with all the abundance and grace at your disposal. You protect them, guide them, shelter them and love them as fiercly as any parent ever could.

And yet each one feels as if you love the other one more.

You love each and every one of them with all your heart and you know there is nothing in the world you wouldn’t do to bring them eternal joy and happiness, even give your own life.

Now imagine that more than half of them never even know your name, never see you smile and never hear you tell them how amazing they really are to you. You will never hear them call you daddy and you will never get to hold them, even once, in your eternal embrace.

Now times that feeling by a trillion and you will barely begin to glimpse the indescribable love of Jesus Christ.

 ACTS 17:22-28

So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. ”For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD ‘ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having  determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

How bad do you want the blessings of God?

Colossians 1:10-12 ¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

The Word of God is clear that it takes work to get to His promises. We cannot simply sit and wait for manna to drop from the sky. Yes, it is true the Lord is our constant provider, and He will supply our every need, however we have to go out and get the bounty ourselves. Endurance is essential to reaching the promise land. And endurance does not develop without times of enduring. We see three things that help us to exercise the endurance muscle. #1 – BEARING FRUIT – What are you doing that is bringing glory to God? Does your life accurately reflect the love you have for the Lord so that people can see Him in you, even when times are rough? #2 – GROWING IN KNOWLEDGE – How much time do you spend in the Word of God? Do you know what you believe and why? Can you stand and give a defense for the hope that is in you? Are you still hungry for Gods Word?  #3 – BEING STRENGTHENED – Are you filling up your spiritual fuel tank? Are you running on unleaded or premium? The amount of time you spend in worship and prayer directly affects the amount of spiritual fuel you have to live your life and walk in the power and promises of God.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”                   

~Abraham Lincoln