God's Convenient Agent

Do you remember the comedian, Flip Wilson, popular years back, who had a favorite expression, “The devil made me do it!” What I am going to talk about here is not easy. Scholars have debated the function of Satan since Bible times. We each have our concepts of Satan and how he works. But in this article I may change your perception of Satan, the devil.

   If we believe the Word of God and the words of Jesus Christ, we must know that there is a literal person in the spirit realm called "Satan" who is at work on human beings in a "cover-up job" – he wants to cover-up our relationship to God. Satan works on people by deception. The Bible calls him the "father of lies".

 

Let’s first get a little background on this person, Satan. Most theologians agree that Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 give background information on Satan. Here are excerpts from Ezekiel chapter 28:

“You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” (v.12)

“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until wickedness was found in you.” (v.15)

Here was a great spiritual being who had all the credentials to please God, and yet he rebelled against God. Quoting more: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness.”

The root cause of Satan’s sin was his own vanity! Very pleased with all the gifts God created in him, he began to trust in his own abilities to decide what was right and wrong.

Going on in Isaiah 14: “You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne  above the stars of God…I will make myself like the most High.” (v.13)

Satan’s vanity led him to believe he was good or better than God Himself. And it brought on  consequences that he never expected.

Then comes God’s judgment in Ezekiel 28: “I will cast you to the ground. I will lay you before nations that they may see you. You have defiled my sanctuaries by your many sins…and I will bring you upon the earth in the sight of all men.”

Satan, a spiritual being who could not be destroyed was exiled to planet Earth.

  You may wonder why God placed Satan here on earth in the first place where He intended to create sons out of human beings. Why not sentence him to a prison where he would be out of contact with God’s potential children? Why allow him to try to influence humans?

OK. Let’s move on to how Satan operates now that he is on planet Earth.   

The book of Job in the Bible has been a controversial book. The first two chapters of Job are probably the weirdest and most misunderstood passages in the Bible. But since the Bible is the inspired Word of God, we are to learn from every part of it. But what is Job to teach us? You have probably heard the expression, “the patience of Job”. People think that Job had to have extreme patience to endure all that he did. And this is true. But is this the real message? Others say that the book is a lesson in self-centeredness. It may seem that Job served God in every area through Job’s pride and self-interest. And God had to take him down a peg and show him who was the real boss.

In the first two chapters of Job,  we find God dealing with Satan. And in the rest of the book we find Satan dealing with Job and Job dealing with those around him and dealing with himself. But I believe that the real purpose that God had in mind through the book of Job was to show us how God allows Satan to deal with converted believers who have Christ living in them and have the righteousness of Christ.

In chapter 1:1 we see that Job was a righteousness man. But we know that a man can only BE righteous when he contains the righteousness of God in Christ. Under the New Covenant, this happens when we repent and accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Righteousness is a quality only of God. We do not know how Job came to contain God’s righteousness, but it seems to be by faith as did Abraham, Moses, David and others.

The most controversial part of the book is when God and Satan communicate in the first two chapters. I’m going to use the Message Bible for a colorful accent.

One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan also showed up. God singled out Satan saying, “And what have you been up to?” Satan answered God, “Oh, going here and there checking things out on earth.” Then God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him is there – honest and true to his word; totally devoted to God and hating evil? Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, you bless everything he does – he can’t lose! But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He’d curse you right to your face, that’s what.” God replied, “We’ll see. Go ahead – do what you want with all that is his. Just don’t hurt him.” (Job 1:6-12)

What a weird conversation! Aren’t God and Satan total enemies?

Satan then does take away Job’s family and possessions.

The same scene between God and Satan is repeated in chapter 2 only it has to do with Job’s health. And God allows Satan to [quote] “Go ahead – you can do what you like with him, but mind you, don’t kill him.”

And Satan gave Job a horrible and painful skin desease.

What’s going on here?  

I believe the book of Job shows us some of the thinking of God about how He would bring about GROWTH in His converted children.

Instead of banishing Satan away, God uses Satan as His “Convenient Agent” on the earth to bring His children into GRADUAL understanding within their soul of their total dependence on Christ to live their life. Even with the righteousness of God within us by our spirit union with Christ, we must grow on a day to day basis within our soul (minds, emotions and will) to always accept and acknowledge the fact of our union with Christ even when our physical senses seem to contradict it.

   Satan has been called the "Evil One" or "Mr. Sin". Sin and Satan have been intertwined into a tight association – and so they should be. But we have to consider what sin really is. There are definitions such as: sin is the transgression of the law; and sin is unrighteousness. But on a more practical and less transcendent level, it is well to consider sin as ANY THOUGHT, WORD, OR DEED CARRIED OUT WHILE UNDER THE ILLUSION OF YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT STRENGTH.

   Sin IS the transgression of the law – when the law is seen to be the way things have been created to work correctly, that is by a dependence and trust in God.

   Sin IS unrighteousness – when righteousness is seen to come from Christ within and not from anything we can achieve on our own.

 

There is one facet of mature experience which is often missed, yet it lies at the root of capability on any level, and no one can be sure of himself without it. Everything in existence is a system of opposites. Darkness is the absence of light. We have positive and negative poles. A thing is only a thing because it has its opposite. It has a right and a wrong and the one has overcome the other. You cannot say a certain “yes” in a decision until you have first canvassed the alternatives and said an equally certain “no” to each of them. The strength of the “yes” is in swallowing up the “no”. And here we have God’s perfect wisdom in the birth and growth of His children, and in having a convenient opposite, the wrong one, the evil one, through whom God would bring His vast family of sons to maturity. To have true sons, they must find themselves in their freedom. They must discover that to be a person there are alternatives and they must make their free choice – and ultimately their right choice – through having first made the wrong one and tasted the consequences.

God is always in ultimate control of Satan. Satan can only do what God allows him to do since all the power in the universe is ultimately in the hands of God. There is no battle going on between God and Satan just as there can be no battle between the convicted criminal and the judge. The judge has the power over the criminal and the criminal must do the will of the judge.

And carrying our justice system analogy even further, on occasion a judge might temporarily “use” a convicted criminal by releasing him from his confinement away from society and allow him to use his criminal expertise to help the court catch another person of more importance. And I believe that this is why there is an active Satan.

In Job chapters one and two, we see Satan, as it were, reporting back to the judge about the status of someone of more importance. Satan’s “mission impossible” is to remove the righteousness of God from Job. And this is an example of how God deals with all converted believers. Every Christian, because of Jesus living in them, is considered righteous by the Father because of Christ’s righteousness, not their human good works.

But every Christian is at a different stage of maturity in their soul, in their understanding of their total right standing with God. So God allows His agent, Satan, to externally influence us negatively in order to drive us to the positive point of total reliance on the life of God through Christ living in us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says that “God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to withstand, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.” God knows exactly where we are in this maturity of soul. And He will not allow Satan to influence you in any way beyond what your level of maturity can handle.

So we, as converted believers, have nothing at all to fear from Satan. God will only allow him to drive us closer in our soul to our best relationship with Christ.

When we slip up and sin, it hurts us! We see the negative effects of it in our lives and it hurts! No one likes to hurt. We see that the cause of our hurting is that we tried to exert independent control with our own human power and we failed. Every sin that hurts brings us closer to total maturity of mind and understanding that life is meant to be lived by a total union of our spirit (Christ’s direction) and our soul (our mind’s acceptance of Christ’s direction), and our body following with it.

I see Job as any converted believer who contains the righteousness of Christ. God deals with Job through Satan on the level of Job’s maturity. And at the end of the book in chapter 42:1-6, Job shows that Satan’s influence has actually helped him toward greater maturity. Because he says, “I see that no thought or purpose of God can be hindered…my eye [my soul] really sees God as He is [that a human being is really meant to live in a union with God receiving God’s total control over his life]…I hate myself and repent.” Job came to the understanding that there was no independent power in Job to run his life. And he hated that false understanding. He repented into a recognition and acceptance of total union.

Since John 8:44 says that unconverted persons are “of their father, Satan”, their spirits are in a union with and directed by Satan’s nature within. This is different from the way that Satan dealt with Job. Here Satan was externally influencing a child of God such as we are.

The secret is to see prosperity in poverty, light in darkness, good in evil. It is to see God in both sides of any pair of opposites. Psalm 139:12 says, “Darkness and light are alike to you.” If you see either side of opposites as outside of God, you are still taking of the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil.”

The secret of contentment is to see that all things are as God means them to be as they cause effects in people.

Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Do you believe that ALL things work for good or only those things that have the appearance of good? At some point we must see that all circumstances are God in perfect love action for the redemptive good of all concerned.       

Because of our union with Christ, nothing evil can separate us from the love of God, and nothing good can bring us any closer to God in spirit reality.

Both good and evil appearances have a redemptive purpose in our lives. Joseph saw this, so he told his brothers in Genesis 50:20, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

We must face the fact also that positive circumstances of life can tempt us into the illusion of separation from God as readily as negative circumstances. Feelings of independence and separation from God seem to be quite natural during periods of success, health and apparent “good”. So you see that good, and health, and victory can be imposters as much as evil, sickness and defeat.

A quotation from Rudyard Kipling from his poem “If” hits this point: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat these two imposters the same…the earth is yours and everything in it.”

The key is simply acknowledgment of His presence in all things. It begins as we learn to praise Him in all situations, even those we cannot understand or rationally justify it. Somehow most of us cannot initially handle the truth that God actually uses negative evil as well as positive good. We find it necessary to attribute the power of evil to an “evil power”. We tend to equate evil to our personal concept of what “hurts” us or what is “comfortable” for us.

What is the catalyst that finally brings us to that greater awareness and that fixes our understanding as to His presence in ALL things? ADVERSITY! Man’s adversity has always been God’s opportunity. The evil which Satan influences in a converted believer is allowed of God – and God is eternally involved in the “correction” of His sons.

A Christian (one who is “in Christ”) will never face punishment for his sins. Notice that I said “punishment” and not “correction”.

Punishment is a penalty imposed on an offender for a crime or wrongdoing. It has retribution in view (paying someone back for what he deserves). Punishment is looking back to the offense, is impersonal and automatic, and its goal is the administration of justice.

Correction or discipline, on the other hand, is totally different. Correction is training that develops self-control, character and ability. It is looking forward to a beneficial result, is very personal, and individually applied. Punishment and correction sometime “feel” the same to the one on the receiving end! But the sharp difference can be seen in both the attitude and the goal of the one applying it.

Under the New Covenant, God never deals with His children on the basis of punishment. All of the punishment of God for our sins was fully received by our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross. Now that we are children in the family of God, He deals with us only on the basis of correction.

OK – now that we understand that Satan is only God’s agent, let’s look a little at Satan’s game plan. Let’s compare truth and deception.

First, God’s truth for unbelievers is that they are sinners – they have no ability to live a “good” life by their own independent power.

Satan’s deception for unbelievers is that they are NOT sinners – they can live a reasonably “good” life by trusting themselves.

Another truth for unbelievers is that they are guilty – they have need for a Savior not only to avoid the punishment for their sin, but to keep them away from future sin.

Satan’s deception for unbelievers is that they are NOT guilty – therefore they have no need for a Savior. The “bad” things that they do are just “human nature” and are to be expected.

A third truth for unbelievers is that their Savior is Jesus Christ.

Satan’s deception for unbelievers is that Jesus Christ was a better than average man but had no power as a savior.

A fourth truth for unbelievers is that God is a caring, loving forgiving Father.

Satan’s deception for unbelievers is that, if there is a God, he is very harsh and judgmental.

 It must be understood that Satan, by using or not using religion, will do everything he can to get men to a place of satisfied human living without being born again and changed from a child of Satan to a child of God. The thing that Satan doesn't want above all is conversion and new birth. This is why there are multitudes who don't understand what it means to be "born again", even though many of them ARE genuinely born again into God's Family.

     For a Christian, Satan's nature has now been put out and he can now only exert an external influence in the Christian life.

Satan can only attempt to distract the child of God away from the awareness of who he is in Christ. This is done by the only way that Satan knows, the illusion of independence. Just as with an unbeliever, Satan uses feelings of independence.

   HE WILL TRY TO COUNTERACT THE TRUST AND DEPENDENCE A CHRISTIAN HAS IN GOD THROUGH CHRIST. Now, how does Satan work on converted believers?

First, God’s truth for believers is that they are forever “saints”, children in His family, children needing correction, but children never to be forsaken or disowned.

Satan’s deception for believers is that they are NOT saints but still sinners unable to get their act together even when they call out for help from God.

Another truth for believers is that they are not to let guilt overwhelm them in their sin because correction, not punishment, will come from a loving Father.

Satan’s deception for believers is that they are guilty of sin. Satan reverses his technique of no-guilt in unbelievers and tries to establish as much guilt as possible in the Christian mind. He says, "Look at what you did there with that sin! After all God has done for you, you go and do a thing like that! You're never going to please God. God is hard to satisfy. What makes you think you could ever act like Christ? No matter what God says, you have no salvation and will probably die in your sin.”

A third truth for believers is that Jesus Christ has come to dwell in and lead a Christian in a relationship to be established on a daily basis.

Satan’s deception for believers is to bring the whole spirit realm into question by subtle influences. He tries to make the visible world seem to be more real and attractive than the spiritual.

A fourth truth for believers is that as God’s child, the Father is now my Dad, my protector, my provider, the source of unlimited unconditional love.

Satan’s deception for believers is that you are just another human being fighting the ways of the world and can never live up to the love of God.

   And how is this going to work out in day to day living by a Christian? There will be sin (a slip into independent wrong) externally influenced by Satan. And when this occurs, Satan will say, "There! See! You're not so good after all! Look at the bad things you do. Why even a lot of unconverted people are better than you are! A saint? Hah! This union and trust in this God of yours is foolishness!" Satan will try to tear down our Family security, our secure salvation.

   There are several tricks that Satan plays on Christians to keep them from the understanding of their rebirth in Christ. One of these is that Satan, by religion, will offer to the Christian a plan for "reformation". In fact, different religious groups offer innumerable ways by which man can live a better life, be happier, and prosper without giving up self-management. But reformation is not even in the picture when it comes to the description of union with Christ. While children in God's Family will, in time, show great change, this is the outworking of the Spirit and not the bringing of some great change in the self.

   Another trick Satan plays on Christians by religion is encouraging them to become "religious". Now that God has been so good to them, it is only right, he says, that they try to please Him by working hard in their own strength to do good works. This can lead to Christian "burn-out" – a spiritual fatigue caused by neglecting quiet time relationship with the indwelling Christ.

   After all this has been said concerning the probable thoughts of Satan, it would seem as if there is a continual battle between God and Satan. But the truth is that God is ever in control of Satan. God could at any time wipe out Satan's existence.

In conclusion, we as Christians cannot in truth say that “Satan made me do it!” Satan is only allowed to exist by God as a convenient agent of God. Satan is allowed to present the dark side of life in order that we may see the contrast with the brilliant light of God. And every “no” that we choose to say to the dark side drives us closer to saying “yes” to the lifestyle of the Father. “Yes” Father, I understand your ways. “Yes” Father, I am happy to live as your child.

 

My prayer:

Father, we come to You as your children, some as babies spiritually, some as young adolescents, and some more mature fathers and mothers. But wherever we are in our growth of understanding, we have this in common: We LOVE you for all you have done on our behalf. We THANK you for being the awesome God of the universe as a whole and also of our personal lives in particular. We have a bigger picture now of the working of Satan and his darkness, and long to see more of the brightness of your glory. And we ask this in the name of our indwelling Lord and Savior, Jesus.    Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Evolution's "Unnecessary" Organs

It was once thought that the human body was full of useless relics from its evolutionary past. Turns out that those bits and pieces serve a purpose after all.

Why do you have an appendix? Or wisdom teeth? Or something called a coccyx? Since the days of Darwin, numerous scientists and educators have argued that “useless” or “vestigial” organs prove the theory of evolution. These organs, they say, are like leftover scaffolding that had previously performed vital functions in mankind’s “pre-human ancestors.” They just haven’t evolved their way into oblivion quite yet.

Darwin explained in “On the Origin of Species” that: “Organs or parts bearing the plain stamp of non-utility are extremely common, or even general, throughout nature. It would be impossible to name one of the higher animals in which some part or other is not in a rudimentary condition.” His prime examples: the appendix and the coccyx (tailbone).

Subsequent specialists greatly expanded Darwin’s original list of useless organs. In 1895, German anatomist Robert Wiedersheim compiled a list of human structures he considered vestigial which came to be regarded as the official one. How many human parts were on it? More than 180!

These organs supposedly represented evidence that man has descended from ancestors in which these organs were functional. And man has never completely lost these characteristics; he continues to inherit them though he supposedly no longer has any use for them.

Textbook publishers quickly joined the pack, saying the human body – with its myriad useless relics – is like an “old curiosity shop” full of “showpieces” proving evolution.

The rapid embrace of the vestigial organ belief deepened the traction of the evolutionary theory, and also spawned new trends in the medical community. Some medical people said that these vestigial structures are not only useless to man but “worse than useless”. One called the appendix “a veritable death trap,” and throughout much of the 20^th century, medical practitioners removed appendixes, tonsils and other “dangerous” organ as routine operations.

The wormlike abdominal structure called the appendix has long occupied the lowest position on the organ totem pole. The organ’s primary importance seemed to be only for the financial support of surgeons, and to provide fodder for TV sitcoms.

For that reason, experts took note in 2009 when immunologist William Parker at Duke University Medical Center said, “Maybe it’s time to correct the textbooks. Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a vestigial organ.”

Parker had discovered that the appendix serves as a storehouse where good bacteria can lie in wait until they’re needed to repopulate the stomach after an episode of diarrhea or other intestine-emptying illness.

A separate recent study showed that the appendix conducts operations similar to those of the tonsils at the opposite end of the alimentary canal, which increase resistance to throat infections. And the appendix also helps generate, guide and train white blood cells, especially for fetuses and children. Valerie O’Loughlin, a professor of medical sciences at Indiana University, said it is “the site where a type of white blood cell called b-lymphocytes can be recognized and where the newborn and young child’s body can start to recognize certain pathogens that are in the intestinal tract.”

Then there is the tale of the tail. Darwin explained, “The coccyx (human tail-bone) corresponds with the true tail in the lower animals like monkeys.”

Some evolutionists argued that the human coccyx was more of a reptilian relic than a mammalian one. But they agreed that the tailbone is largely useless and therefore a proof of evolution.

In 1994, renowned anatomy professor David Menton explained that among the key functions of the coccyx is its acting as an anchor point for several converging muscles from the ring like arrangement of the pelvic bones. “The incurved coccyx with its attached pelvic diaphragm keeps the many organs in our abdominal cavity from literally falling through between our legs.” He said that the removal of the coccyx often causes incontinence and serious difficulties with sitting, standing or giving birth. Yes, the tail-bone, too, was placed in the body for a purpose.

Even vitally important organs such as the parathyroid and thymus glands were considered vestigial until fairly recently, simply because experts didn’t understand their crucial purposes.

The evolutionary argument claims that the organs in question have no function. But such a conclusion can only be reached with INFINITE knowledge. It is impossible to prove that something has no function. The most a scientist could say would be that, despite rigorous efforts, no clear function was discovered for a certain organ, but that a future experimenter may well uncover one.

So how did such a flawed theory gain widespread acceptance? Why are some scientists willing to compromise their objectivity which is one of the foundations of science? The idea is the product of men groping for evidence to back the theory of evolution.

In the centuries leading up to the Scientific Revolution, the Catholic Church reigned as the primary authority and knowledge source for much of the world. The clergy often viewed scientists and their discoveries as a threat to Catholic doctrine, and sometimes embarrassed the church by striving to defend erroneous church teachings like geocentrism (that everything revolved around planet Earth) that science offered empirical evidence against.

Competition intensified between science and the church and, for some scientists, the desire to undermine the church’s authority became the driving force. Some scientists aimed to challenge God’s very existence as a way to discredit the underpinnings of religion. Such reasoning spawned the evolutionary theory. Proponents of evolution have sometimes undertaken studies with that conclusion already firmly in mind. Whatever they can contort into supporting the arguments for evolution, they keep. All else they often reject or downplay.

The advancements of science only brings the perfection of the Creator’s designs more clearly to light. The astonishing perfection and purpose in every element of the body’s design should deepen man’s faith in the divine intelligence behind our existence.

When evolutionists strive to attribute the wonders of the human body to blind coincidence, they unknowingly exercise a blind, deceptive and irrational RELIGIOUS faith.

Christians face a difficult battle against this blind faith which is often found even among true Christian adherents. We must be able to recognize this blind faith in order to weigh evidence objectively. The wonderment of God’s masterful biological designs should boost our faith in the all-powerful Creator. And His purpose for our lives is as perfect as the bodies He designed to sustain us!  

 

Are You Depending on GOLD? Or Should You Take Away the "L" In Gold?

Is investing in gold important? Central banks around the world seem to think so. Should you?

If you had invested $1,000 in ExxonMobil a decade ago, your investment would have doubled. If you bought technology giant Microsoft, your investment would still be worth about $1,000. An investment in General Electric stock would be worth only $660 today. Bank of America, even less at $400. But you could have done worse. Had you invested in Pets.com, Lehman Brothers, Enron and a host of other big-name companies, you would have nothing.

What would your investment be if you had invested in gold? $6,800.

Why would a shiny metal with few industrial uses, and that doesn’t earn interest or generate income, almost septuple in such a short time?

First a little background. In case you didn’t notice, the global financial system is in danger of collapse. The dollar, yen and euros backing it could fall with it. Governments are cracking. The world is at risk of a new Greater Depression.

The problem behind it all is TOO MUCH DEBT. In the United States, federal debt is now $16.4 trillion – but America’s whole economy only generates $15.5 trillion. Europe, Japan and the UK have the same problem: Debts are growing – economies, not nearly so much. According to the World Economic Forum, TOTAL global debt, including local governments, corporations and individuals, reached a whopping $190 trillion at the end of 2011 – more than 3.3 times the size of the total global economy. And even that does not describe the full problem. Governments owe tens if not hundreds of trillions more in promised retirement benefits that people are relying on. There is no way these debts can be paid.

Central banks around th world are responding by doing what all the fashionable textbooks say should be done: They are printing money like crazy to pay debts.

The trouble is, this “solution” comes with side effects: devalued currencies, trade war, and a risk of America being reduced to a barter economy. That is why the world’s biggest banks are ALSO buying up a whole lot of an asset that can’t be created or willed into existence by politicians seeking to cheat economic realities.

That asset is GOLD! They’re buying it. Should you?

In late 2009, Cheng Siwei, a former vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Standing Committee, said China was alarmed by U.S. money printing. He stated that China had lost confidence in the U.S. dollar and was moving toward a partial gold standard through reserve accumulation. “If they keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a few years the dollar will fall hard,” he said.

The next year, Hong Kong announced that it would repatriate all its gold that was stored in London. The central bank of India also announced that it had secretly purchased 220 tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund. In 2012, Venezuela ordered the return of all 220 tons of gold it stored in London and New York. Reports emerged of Russian and Middle East central banks buying gold.

For the first time in many years, central banks became net buyers of gold in 2011. Since then, bank gold-buying has accelerated. In 2012, central banks will purchase an estimated 550 tons of gold – up from 85 tons in 2011. Forbes reported that China imported 76 tons through its new gold center in Hong King – up 22 percent from a year earlier. In November, the Bank of Korea announced it had increased its gold supply by 20 percent. Also in November, it was reported  that Brazil’s central bank had purchased 19 tons.

Now golden heavyweight Germany is also bringing its gold home from New York. After German authorities were not allowed to inspect their gold deposits, Berlin has asked for 165 tons – about 10% of its holdings in America – to be returned. Germany repatriated two thirds of its gold from London years ago.

Analyst John Mauldin calls gold “central bank insurance.” He says history shows that “monetary stability yields to political expediency.”

If central banks, which have shunned gold for the past 40 years, are now turning to it as an insurance policy, something must be wrong. The scramble for gold is heating up.

What about you? Is gold a safe investment for you? As long as the global economy is functioning and people are worried that paper money is being destroyed, there will be a growing demand for gold. In the short term, gold has potential as a good investment.

Gold is in a bull market. Since 2002, it has increased from $300 per ounce to around $1,700 per ounce. That’s more than a 500% return. The Dow Jones rose only about 30 percent during that time.

Yet much of America seems oblivious to gold’s record. Outside of conservative talk radio and TV, just about the only mention of gold you hear is from companies that want you to pawn or sell your gold jewelry. This is the opposite of the 1970’s and 80’s when coin stores across the country popped up to sell investment-grade gold to people. Most Americans missed one of the best investments of the past 40 years.

Today the economic situation has no solution in sight. As economic reality eventually dawns on the collective mind of the public, gold prices could easily head for unknown heights.

But by then, buying gold will be an exercise in futility. Certainly having some portion of your assets in gold at this time makes sense. But if you are looking to gold to save you from looking economic collapse, you’re in for a shock.

When the economic system collapses and there is no food to eat, no one will care how much gold you have. Deep down, many investors realize this. That is why some financial advisers recommend becoming self-sufficient and even learning to raise your own food.

But even growing your own food, having your own water well and knitting your own clothes won’t provide security.

There is, however, another safe investment guaranteed to produce an absolutely massive return – but you have to be willing to invest.

INVEST IN GOD. DEPEND ON GOD. Invest in your relationship with Him. Put your heart into a dependent relationship with Jesus Christ. The Father invested in your future by sending His Son to die for your sins. Now you can invest in your future by accepting Jesus as your Savior and the Lord of your life.

I keep a little plaque on a shelf in my bathroom to remind me in the morning of a very important FACT. The plaque says:

Romans 8:28

“All things work for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Jesus comes to live in you and He “will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

So, folks, even when things get really rough and desperate, Jesus will give you peace in the storm. God is concerned about your priorities – where you are spending your time and energy. God wants to make sure you know what is important to you. What do you put first in your life?

Invest in gold if you wish. But don’t DEPEND on gold! If you really care about your future, depend on the one true source of protection. INVEST IN JESUS CHRIST!

 

A Review of: "The 5000 Year Leap"

A Review of the Book “The 5000 Year Leap” – a miracle that changed the world” by W. Cleon Skousen

 

Preface: Why is it important to study the Founders’ success formula today? Why had someone not taken the time and trouble to catalog the ingredients of the Founding Fathers’ phenomenal success formula so that it would be less complex and easier to digest? The many books on the Constitution don’t portray a philosophical comprehension on why it was supposed to be so great.

The Founders’ monumental task: structuring the government with all power in the people. Measuring people and issues in terms of political parties has turned out to be philosophically totally misleading. The Founders did not see politics as “left” and “right”. They considered the two extremes to be anarchy on the one hand - with no government, no law, no systematic control and no government power - and tyranny – where there is too much government control, too much political oppression, too much government - on the other.

The object of the Founders was to discover the “balanced center” between these two extremes. What they wanted to establish was a system of “People’s Law” where the government is kept under the control of the people with enough government to maintain security, justice and good order.

Their first attempt at constitutional writing was the “Articles of Confederation”. But it was soon seen that that this gave too much power to the people toward anarchy and not enough power to the federal government.

Thus a new Constitution was needed with a “balanced center”.

The new “Constitution” became based on the Founders’ 28 basic principles:

 

1. The genius of Natural Law – the only reliable basis for a sound government and just human relations is “Natural Law” from a Creator.

Cicero recognized and identified the “rules of right conduct” with the laws of the Supreme Creator of the universe.
The reasonings of the mind given us by the Creator will generally lead to common sense conclusions.

 

2. A virtuous and moral people – a free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong. A corrupt and selfish people could never make the Constitution work properly. Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.

 

3. Virtuous and moral leaders – the most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders. Public officials should not be chosen if they lack experience, training, proven virtue and demonstrated wisdom. A political process should be developed through which these good virtues can be precipitated to the surface and elected to public office.

4. The role of religion – without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained. Basic religion must be taught in schools. This is basic religion:

a. There exists a Creator who made all things and mankind should recognize and worship him.

b. The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong.

c. The Creator hold mankind responsible for the way they treat each other.

d. All mankind live beyond this life.

e. In the next live mankind are judged for their conduct in this one.

These basic tenets do not conflict with any religious doctrines and should be taught in all schools.

The Founders wanted the Federal government excluded from all problems relating to religion and churches.

 

5. The role of the Creator – All things were created by God, therefore upon him all mankind are equally dependent and to him are equally responsible. The attitude of the Founders toward God’s law (both natural and revealed) gave early Americans a very high regard for the Law as a social institution. Most of the Founders continually petitioned God in fervent prayers, both public and private, and looked upon his divine intervention in their daily lives as a blessing. The Founders were not indulging in any idle gesture when they adopted the motto, “In God We Trust.”

 

6. All men are created equal – but only in three ways: in the sight of God, in the sight of the Law, and in the protection of their rights.

 

7. Equal rights, not equal things – the proper role of government is to provide equal right but not try to provide equal things to everyone – not take from the “haves” and give to the “have nots”. It was realized the some would prosper more than others – that is inevitable as long as there is liberty. Government provision for the poor should not encourage idleness. The Founders felt it would corrupt the government and also the poor for the federal government to be involved in public welfare and gave no Constitutional authority to it.

 

8. Man’s unalienable rights – these rights are endowed by their Creator. These rights did not originate from any social compact, king, emperor, or governmental authority. There can also be vested rights which are created by the community, state or nation for out protection and well-being. However, these can be changed anytime the lawmakers feel like it.

In general, our unalienable rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

 

9. The role of revealed Law: to protect man’s rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine Law. The ten commandments are the general form of this Law. But this Law endows man with unalienable duties as well as unalienable rights – public morality and private morality.

 

10. Sovereignty of the people – the God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people. No “divine right of kings”. Rulers are servants of the people.

 

11. Who can alter the government – the majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical. There is no right of revolt in a minority.

 

12. Advantage of a republic and not a democracy – a democracy requires the full participation of the masses of the people in the legislative or decision making processes of government. But people become so occupied with their daily tasks that they will not properly study the issues, nor will they take the time to participate in extensive hearings before the vote is taken. A democracy becomes increasingly unwieldy and inefficient as the population grows. A republic is a scheme of representation.

 

13. Protection against human frailty – a constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers. They felt the greatest danger arises when a leader is so completely trusted that the people feel no anxiety to watch him. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

 

14. Property rights essential to liberty – life and liberty are secure only whey property rights are secure. If there were no such thing as ownership of property, there would be no “subduing” or extensive development of the resources of the earth.

 

15. Free market economics – the highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market economy and a minimum of government regulations. No government interference in production, prices or wages. Prices are regulated by competition on the basis of supply and demand. Profits make production worthwhile. Freedom to try, freedom to buy, freedom to sell and freedom to fail.

 

16. The separation of powers – the government should be separated into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Monarchy (executive power) could easily become tyranny; aristocracy (the senate power) could sink into oppressive government by a few rich families; democracy (the house of representatives power) could turn into mob rule. It was decided then decided for a judicial system to watch over the actions of the President, the Senate and the House.

 

17. Checks and balances – in order to prevent the abuse of power. The trick was to separate the powers of the three branches and then delicately lace them back together again as a balanced unit.

 

18. Importance of a written Constitution – it is most likely to preserve the unalienable rights of the people. Much of ancient common law was unwritten and thus could easily be destroyed and replaced. The Founders considered it wise to use the wisdom and experience of many delegates assembled in a convention rather than leaving it to the genius of one individual. There is a tremendous advantage in having a completely written document for reference rather than a number of scattered statutes.

 

19. Limiting and carefully defining the powers of government – all other powers being retained in the people. The first ten amendments were added to include the unalienable rights of men so there could be no question as to the strictly limited authority the people were conferring on their central government. The federal government was supreme in all matters relating to its responsibility, but it was specifically restricted from invading the independence and sovereign authority reserved to the States.

 

20. Majority rule and minority rights – efficiency requires government to operate according to the will of the majority, but Constitutional provision must be made to protect the rights of the minority. Delaying action until it has the unanimous approval of all can be disastrous in a time of emergency and it even inhibits healthy progress in normal times.

 

21. Strong self-government – the keystone to preserving human freedom is strong local self-government. The centralization of political power always destroys liberty by removing the decision making function from the people on the local level and transferring to the officers of the central government. The people lose their will to solve their own problems. The federal government should remain relatively small.

 

22. Government by law and not by men – to be governed by the whims of men is to be subject to the ever-changing capriciousness of those in power. Law is to be as binding on the ruling authority as it is upon the people. Law should be understandable and stable.

 

23. Importance of an educated electorate – there must be a broad program of general education. No nation had ever before attempted the educating of the whole people. In Europe, at the writing of the Constitution, only 2% of the people could read and write.

There must be good local school boards. Education must include morality and politics with even young children trained in the Constitution and the Bible.

 

24. Peace through strength – a free people in a civilized society always tend toward prosperity. But covetous predatory nations can be attracted. The nation must be adequately armed for defense. The way to secure peace is to be prepared for war. We should not become dependent on other nations for essentials.

 

25. Avoid entangling alliances – we should strive for peace, commerce and honest friendship with other nations but alliances with none – not “isolationism” but “separatism”. But we must be careful about passionately favoring one nation over another. Extend commercial relations to other nations but have as little political connection as possible.

 

26. Protecting the role of the family – the core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family. Therefore the government should foster and protect its integrity. The tie of marriage must be respected. There is complete interdependence between a husband and wife for their mutual happiness. The State must not interfere with legitimate family relations.

 

27. Avoiding the burden of debt – the burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest. The Founders knew that borrowing can be an honorable procedure in a time of crisis but they deplored it just the same. They looked upon it as a temporary handicap which should be alleviated at the earliest possible moment.

It borders on criminality for one generation to impose its debt on the next generation.

 

28. The Founders’ sense of Manifest Destiny – The United States was to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race. There was a sense of mission, a conviction that they were taking part and were instruments of divine design which would shower its blessing on all mankind. The steadfast faith in an unseen ruler and guide was to them of great moral value. This was not a spirit of perverted chauvinism associated with the idea of “racial superiority”. Thomas Jefferson looked upon the development of freedom under our Constitution as “the world’s best hope”.

 

Conclusion

The Founders knew they were sailing into uncharted waters, and they knew their ship of state was entirely different from anything else on the face of the earth. True, they had examined every kind of political operation known to man, and they had abstracted from history every lesson and precaution they could learn, but their own product was unique, bold, and filled with the promise of a better day.

Happily for America,  happily we trust for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society. They pieced together the fabrics of government which have no model on the face of the globe. They formed the design of a great nation which it is incumbent on their successors to improve and perpetuate.

 [Review by Lou Hodapp]