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Friday Proverb – The Wicked Will Always Counter Attack
Did you ever feel that every time something good happens – something bad follows? There is a reason behind that – and his name is Satan. Since the beginning, he has mustered a response for every movement the Lord has made. A close examination of the church ages, shows Satan made a counter attack at each significant uprising of the church. The same thing happens in individual lives, and in the national and international arena.
Proverbs 11:11
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted:
In every instance, even following the 1st and 2nd Great Awakenings – Satan has launched a counter attack almost immediately. What was the evil one’s response to the Age of Missions, Great Awakenings, and the Philadelphia Church Age? False philosophies, and cults. Higher “criticism,” Darwinism, progressive education, and Freudian psychology. On top of those four philosophies, which have infiltrated the education system – the major cults also rose during this time. Mormonism, 7th Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Unitarianism, and Armstrongism. Every single one – still active and growing in this time.
but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
We should not be disheartened or discouraged when the president vetoes the bill we want passed, or a judge overturns a pro-life, or pro-traditional marriage bill. A close study of the Bible and secular history reveals that the tide of evil will always thwart the upright, and will continue to do so until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to set things right. This is why beloveds – the evil one is working so hard, because he knows his time is short! Liberals and progressives may be riding high now – but I would not want to be in their shoes for anything in the world. Their victory is only temporary. Very temporary.
Revelation 20:11-15
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
sage
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from The Vine Vigil!
Saturday Bake – Rustic Italian Bread
In an effort to restore this blog to what it was before my blogging partner lost his mind, I will begin posting the Saturday Bake again.
Today’s Bake is rustic Italian bread, made in the bread machine. It is excellent spread with butter and garlic bread topping, then broiled or toasted.
1 & 1/4 c. warm water
2 T. Powdered milk or Nido
2 T. Olive oil
2 T. Sugar
1 t. Sea salt
3 & 1/3 c. Bread flour
1 t. Dried Marjoram
1 t. Dried basil
1 t. Dried thyme
1 & 3/4 t. Yeast for rapid Bake (or)
3/4 t. Yeast for regular Bake.
My bread in the picture is on a crumb saving breadboard. This simple yet ingenious contraption is a cutting board that catches the crumbs from the bread. Once finished, the crumbs can be saved and used in cooking, in meatloaf, or as a topping for Mac & cheese etc. I just tip the crumbs into a large glass jar and put it in the freezer. There are many recipes that call for bread crumbs…
I got this crumb saving bread board from Amazon over 10 years ago and it is still in great condition. I wipe it clean with a damp cloth and that’s it. It is made from bamboo!
Sage
A Life of Faith vs. A Life of Feeling
St. Pat – a true Christian
Happy Valentine’s Day from The Vine Vigil
Happy New Year from The Vine Vigil
Christmas Day 22
Christmas Day 12
Christmas Day 9
Thanksgiving Proclamations by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, – AmericanMinute.com-William J. Federer
The Bible Believer’s UFO Debrief!
THE BIBLE BELIEVER’S UFO DEBRIEF: WHAT YOU CAN KNOW ABOUT UFO’S FROM THE BIBLE.
1. According to the Bible, other than mankind and the animals, God created different classes of spiritual beings the Bible calls angels, seraphim and cherubim. Among these is the leader of the spiritual kingdom of darkness the Bible calls Satan, the devil, Lucifer, the great red dragon, the prince of the power of the air. Revelation 12, Ephesians 2:2, Job 1-2, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 KJV.
2. The Bible says that Satan was one of the cherubim in Ezekiel 28. This is very important to remember as the cherubim are a very special class of spiritual creature.
3. U.F.O. stands for Unidentified Flying Object. The United States Government now prefers Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon or U.A.P.’s for short. So technically speaking anything can be a UFO/UAP of its flying in the air and cannot be identified. Many of these are most likely natural phenomenon, living pterodactyls and dragons, or meteorological weather equipment.
4. However, some UFO/AUP activity is of such an obvious supernatural and sinister nature that a Biblical answer must be sought aside from natural explanations.
5. While the Bible does not acknowledge physical creatures in the way that humans think of physical life thriving on planets such as Venus, Mars, Pluto, Mercury etc., the Bible DOES acknowledge that man is NOT alone in the Universe. As a matter of fact, Satan and his angels frequent God’s Third Heaven everyday. See Revelation 12 KJV. In the Tribulation, they will come down to earth and will no longer have access to the Third Heaven that sits above our “Outer space”.
6. There is MUCH in the UFO literature that cannot and should not be taken seriously by the Bible believing Christian. However, since we judge everything by the word of God- Acts 17:11, Isaiah 8:20, John 5:39 KJB- there are times where UFO material does seem to have a Biblical connection to the principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places-Ephesians 6.
7. A major Biblical explanation can be applied to what one reads about the “flying saucer” and “spaceship” phenomenon. Based on the Bible’s account, I believe that these vessels or flying vehicles are real actual vehicles and that we can understand something of their Satanic and Biblical nature. Cherubim, of which Satan is a part, are flying creatures that fly around in what the Bible calls wheels and rings with eyes, with wheels spinning in the middle of a wheel in Ezekiel chapters 1, 10 and 28.
The modern nomenclature of flying discs and saucers have their counterpart in the Bible’s wheels and rings. According to one UFO researcher I read years ago, these flying discs are made of a peculiar metal that seems to be alive or sentient. The Bible often speaks of things being simultaneously spiritual with the ability of being seen in the physical realm. For example, the flying locusts of Revelation 9 that come up out of the bottomless pit are obviously spiritual beings but they can also be felt physically by mankind according to what we read in that chapter. So it is with some of the UFO phenomenon. It is of a spiritual nature that manifests itself in our physical world.
Ezekiel 1:20 says “Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” See that? Those wheels had the spirit of the living creature inside of them. This obviously can be applied to what one reads in the UFO accounts, so the Bible believer has an edge that the United States Government does not have! The Government doesn’t have to declassify anything because we already have the Book on it!
The Bible believer recognizes the nature of Satan and his angels and unlike the NSA, U.S.A.F, CIA, FBI, the X-File researchers and others, we know what the UFO occupants are about. To us, they are fully identified! The UFO deception is only effective toward those who have not placed their trust and belief and knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man Who Came From Heaven and the Creator of the Universe! John 3:13, 1 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 3:9 KJV.
Nate Beck
Paul, the Rapture Fanatic!
PAUL, THE RAPTURE FANATIC!
I find that the Apostle Paul must’ve been as obsessed with the Rapture as much as I am. Why?
Well, let’s see……
Here are 33 different passages from just Paul himself, not even counting those of Peter, James, Jude, and John, that talk about the Rapture or some aspect thereof!!! Notice also that with the exception of Philemon, Paul mentions the Rapture in every single epistle and letter that he wrote!!!
Yes, I think about the Rapture everyday. It should be at least as important to us as it was to Paul, I would think.
- “Waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23.
- “Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:7.
- “they that are Christ’s at his coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:23.
- “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-52. - “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”
2 Corinthians 5:2. - “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:8. - “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:”
Galatians 1:4. - “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:10-14. - “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
Ephesians 5:31-32. - “until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6.
- “till the day of Christ”. Philippians 1:10.
- “to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better.” Philippians 1:23.
- “the day of Christ.” Philippians 2:16.
- “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”
Philippians 3:11. - “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Philippians 3:20-21. - “The Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5.
- “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4. - “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
1 Thessalonians 1:10. - “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”
1 Thessalonians 2:19. - “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 3:13.
- “the coming of the Lord” 1 Thess. 4:15.
- “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. - “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
1 Thessalonians 5:4. - “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ” 1 Thess. 5:23.
- “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” 2 Thess. 2:1.
- “the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. 2:8.
- “the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thess. 2:14.
- “the patient waiting for Christ” 2 Thess. 3:5.
- “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Timothy 6:14.
- “His appearing and his kingdom.” 2 Timothy 4:1.
- “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:8. - “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
Titus 2:13. - “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Hebrews 9:28.
Nate Beck
How I Beat the Unpardonable Sin!
How I Beat the Unpardonable Sin! By Nate W. Beck. Copyright 2024 by Nathan William Beck. All Rights Reserved. All Scripture from the Authorized King James Holy Bible.
Millions of people, including Christians, struggle with mental health issues and mine is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, which causes your mind to focus on your biggest fears and disgusts and repetitive behavior and sometimes a constant need for validation. This post isn’t about OCD, so I’m not going to go into a whole long thing about its causes, history, treatment, diagnosis etc. Suffice it to say that OCD sufferers are not responsible, for the most part, for the unwanted thoughts that pop in their heads no more than someone with a physical handicap or someone who is paralyzed can help their condition. Fast forward to the absolute hell I used to struggle with. If I had let the devil get his way, I would’ve been totally ineffective for the Lord and would’ve just given up.
Some well known Bible verses, though often little understood.
“But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Matthew 12:24-32.
“And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”
Mark 3:22-30 KJV.
Those passages are some of the most terrifying parts of Scripture. To think that there is one sin that, if committed, God will NEVER forgive you for. Well, of course, early in my twenties, with my OCD, I would have terrible thoughts that would get stuck in my head where I would cuss the Holy Ghost and have to fight it off by cussing Satan instead and saying over and over again Praise you Holy Ghost in place of the unwanted thought. This caused me great stress and turmoil and I would constantly doubt my Salvation and ask the Lord to take these thoughts away. It was absolute hell for me and even so today revisiting it. There are lots of reasons I never wanted to write/revisit this, but there it is. Upsetting the Holy Ghost is the last thing I would ever want to do at any point in my Christian life and such a thing should repulse any sane Christian. But a mental illness like OCD that Satan can use to his advantage presents a serious problem. A problem most Christian pastors and counselors are ill equipped to handle.
A couple things I want to point out about the passages on blaspheming the Holy Ghost. Number one, this was a sin of the tongue, not thoughts. Number two, it was the unrepentant Pharisees openly accusing Jesus of having an unclean spirit and doing healings by the power of Satan. Number three, no one ever mentions this sin again in the Bible AFTER the Cross. Many, including myself, believe this sin could only be unforgiven before Jesus paid for ALL sin on the Cross. Other Christian writers have dealt successfully with explaining the Unpardonable Sin such as Pastor James L. Melton and Joseph Dearing. See my Recommended Reading List.
A fourth thing to mention is that the Bible never says that any Pharisee who blasphemed the Holy Ghost was worried about what Jesus said about it. If you’re worried you’ve committed this sin, that’s a good indication you haven’t committed it at all. It is also strange that Paul would never feel the need to give people a repeat warning in any New Testament letter he wrote about the one sin that God could supposedly never forgive. I know some Charismatic and “Holiness” groups who take advantage of that fear today when confronted with their false doctrines. Some such self righteous snobs think you can lose your salvation if you fart in public!
Where I Found Help.
For the longest time, I would search in vain for help with this struggle and though I wrote to many ministries, I didn’t find any answers that were satisfying or any real help at all. Finally, I found help in two sources which really answered my problem. The first was a book titled Brain Lock: Free Yourself From Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, an expert on OCD. A huge help, Dr. Schwartz explained how and why OCD works the way it does, described other historical figures who struggled with the same thing I was dealing with and explained why an OCD sufferer is not their thoughts and can’t be responsible for a thought that they cannot control or that is totally unwelcome in the first place. As evangelist Dwight L. Moody said in Secret Power, you can’t control birds flying over your head (unwanted thoughts), but you can certainly keep them from making a nest in your head!
Brain Lock is one of the best self therapy books for OCD sufferers available. Another book that is a big help that I discovered later is Dr. Ian Osborn’s Can Christianity Cure Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? In that book, Dr. Osborn details the mental struggles of Martin Luther and John Bunyan, who most likely had OCD. As I said, there are millions of people who have struggled with this, and many Christians like me suffer in silence because they don’t have any real answers. Furthermore, many more have no Biblical training in how to conduct spiritual warfare either, to combat the devil’s tactics. I’m not saying every case of mental illness is of the devil. Not saying that at all, but Satan can certainly use such as an advantage over the Christian! I’m proof of that! Ephesians 6 KJV.
The second big help came from Dr. Peter Ruckman, one of my Christian heroes. It was around 2007-2008 that I finally got around to buying his Chalk Talk sermons on DVD and the one the Lord led me to pick first was Demons and Christians. I’ll never forget it. It was a work night (third shift) and I got up around 6PM, found it in the mail and decided to stay up and watch the whole thing before work. I was really excited because I had never seen Dr. Ruckman preach before, but just heard him on tape. A powerful sermon, and one of my favorites, about the half hour mark into it, Dr. Ruckman said something that hit me and made tears stream down my face!
Speaking of how demons can manipulate you and introduce thoughts in your head, Dr. Ruckman described being out jogging at night and hearing voices cussing the Holy Ghost. He said, “You know, it’s a good thing the Lord gives us so much to worry about sometimes and our minds just aren’t in neutral, because ANYTHING can pop in there!” He continued, “but I’ve got more sense than you’ve got, because I know that ain’t me! If it were up to me those thoughts wouldn’t be there. I know what’s going on!”. Dr. Ruckman continued to describe how unclean spirits operate, and he has some of the very best material on spiritual warfare. Since one of my all time favorite men of God went through this kind of thing, I didn’t feel so alone in the struggle as I had! This was a tremendous blessing from the Lord, very personal, and I will never forget it! God bless Brother Pete Ruckman!
Other than the inner workings of OCD, a devil, being a spirit, and Satan, being the prince of the power of the air- Ephesians 2:2, can certainly cause thoughts to pass through your head that aren’t yours. Even the Spirit of the Omnipresent Lord and the Spirit of Satan have to inhabit the same Universe! One of Satan’s favorite pass times is to get the child of God to doubt their salvation in Christ and the never ending love that the Lord has for us. Satan thrives on fear and torment. See 1 John 4:18. The best thing to do is to immediately recognize that the thought isn’t yours, rebuke it in Jesus’s Name and move on. When I finally came to the realization of the fact that these weren’t my thoughts, and that my salvation wasn’t in jeopardy, and the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ washes ALL MY SIN AWAY anyway- 1 John 1:7, Revelation 12:11 KJV, the thoughts went away completely! That’s how I beat the unpardonable sin!
So much more could be written on this, and I probably will in an expanded publication, but don’t let the devil or anyone else deceive you into thinking that the Lord won’t forgive you of certain sins, ESPECIALLY sins you don’t have much control over. The Lord is smarter and more just than that, so give God some credit, won’t you? There are also many Scriptures, some cited below, that shows the Lord has much compassion on those who are of a contrite heart over sin and mental struggles. We have complete and total victory in the Lord Jesus Christ and You too can beat the unpardonable sin!
Recommended KJB Scriptures. The best defense to combat unwanted and unholy thoughts is to saturate your mind and heart with as much of the word of God, the King James Holy Bible, as possible! Psalm 119:11 KJB. Make sure it’s the Authorized King James Holy Bible too. All modern versions are of the devil and from corrupt Roman Catholic manuscripts and only serve to further mess your mind up!
2 Timothy 1:7
1 John 1:7-10
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Romans 7:18 (it’s important to remember that the human brain is also flesh)
1 Thessalonians 5:14.
Isaiah 26:3
Isaiah 57:15
Psalm 34:18
Psalm 51:17
Isaiah 66:2
Recommended Reading.
Demons and Christians. by Dr. P. S. Ruckman
Brain Lock. by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz
Can Christianity Cure Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? By Dr. Ian Osborn.
The “Errors” in the King James Bible. by Dr. Ruckman.
Secret Power by Dwight L. Moody.
Soul Winning Crash Course. by Joseph Dearing
Martin Luther’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. by Dr. Osborn.
Hard Sayings In the Bible. by James L. Melton.
Fighting Back by James L. Melton.
Eternal Security. by Dr. Ruckman.
Nate Beck
WHAT DOES “GOD ENLARGING JAPETH” HAVE TO DO WITH DONALD TRUMP?
The Vine Vigil 