Compass Point and Daily Links

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Compass Point

How many really understand the significance of the true gospel message brought by Jesus during His earthly ministry?

I thought about this while recently preparing a sermon on the subject of salvation. The question of how God provides eternal life to mankind is directly tied to the understanding the truth of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is about Christ's rule on this earth with the aid of a spiritual family of beings born into the family of God at the resurrection. How we become part of the family is at the heart of the message of salvation.

God literally has offered to save us from death through the life of His Son. Christ is like the rescue swimmer sent to save a drowning victim, pulling them into safety. The process of bringing man to that "safe shore" is what conversion, living in a Godly manner, is all about.

Salvation is a core doctrine of the Bible that one must understand in order to live forever with God. The terms must be followed exactly as God designed it. This is not understood by the many. Most people today do not want to be bothered by the technicalities of doctrine. they would rather settle for the smooth feel good teachings of a spiritually therapeutic "gospel".

Christ came preaching the gospel of the kingdomof God saying "repent, the kingdom is at hand". (Mark 1:14)  Bingo!  There is that word, repent. Another hard saying to grasp and do.

Salvation is directly tied to the true gospel. Could it be that the true gospel has not been effectively and completely preached for all these generations?



The Six Day War-Fortieth Anniversary

Today is the fortieth anniversary of the the Six Day War fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1967. That war changed the map of Israel and has defined the regional problems ever since. At the time Israel was seen as an underdog, the "David" in the story, afterwards it became the Goliath, and has dominated the scene ever since.

Next to the founding of the state in 1948 this war was the most significant event in the nations young history. It resulted in large acquisition of land in Gaza, Sinai and the West Bank. But from an emotional, historic and prophetic view it was the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem that was stunning. Here was the Western Wall, known then as the Wailing Wall. The Temple Mount and the sections southward containing the original site of King Davids city. With this area now in Israeli hands scholars and archaeologists could begin exploring the rich history of the past.

And explore they did. Among the first sites to see the spade of a shovel was the fabled Temple Mount. I was there in 1971 as part of a group helping to uncover its history.  I remember there was such a rush to get the job done.  The Israelis were eager to uncover the first century period as proof of  Jewish habitation of the site. That one goal was most important above all others.

Mush of the coverage from the main stream press today spins the Six Day War as a "pyrrhic" victory for Israel, the beginning of all their problems with the Palestinian and Arab neighbors. Not so. The Arab states wished to drive Israel into the sea long before the first shots were fired.

Be sure to click on the link above for a fascinating web site showing a history of the war.

"Countdown" to Israel's End

Iran's President Ahmadinejad spoke out Sunday once again about the need to "wipe Israel off the map". This time he says a "countdown button" has been pressed to bring an end to Israel.
 

"With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine," Ahmadinejad said in a speech.

"By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future," he said. He did not elaborate."

He doesn't need to. To ignore his words is folly. Ahmadinejad and his religious backers mean what they say and say what they mean, have since 1979 when they overthrew the Shah.

Their goal is the destruction of the Jewish state and to become the regional power. They plan to use nuclear weapons as the ultimate leverage to achieve their ends. I refer you to this article from last week as an overview of Iran's intentions.

Warfare on the Installment Plan

Niall Ferguson says America is financially overstretched at home because of the growing demands on Social Security and Medicaid.

Financial articles like this are good when they give information showing the massive amount of gross domestic product America turns out-over $13 trillion. This is what keeps us afloat inspite of the large accounts deficit we have with foreign creditors.

Ferguson makes the point that this could change with another terrorist strike here or in Europe. Of course a lot of things would change then.