A TOPIC CLOSE TO MY HEART:
Fathers And Sons
Stephen Hanson
June 12, 2004
MAL 4:5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. [6] He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
1CO 4:14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. [15] Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. [16] Therefore I urge you to imitate me. [17] For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. 1JN 2:13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
"Without a good father, a son cannot come unto maturity. Without a strong male influence, a nation is without a leader. There are men who claim to be leaders but are not. There are many children who are left without a father. There are many young women who have never known the hand of a good father. Can a nation survive without the hands of the fathers? Can young men know true leadership without them? A curse is coming unless this land can bring the hearts back to the fathers. For there is an emptiness in the land. Many sons have gone astray because of this. But I tell you, there are many young men in the faith who need fathers in their lives. Those who are more mature in the faith need to guide them.
We need apostolic fathers. We need prophetic fathers. We need those who can nurture and can guide. Can the young in the faith service without them? We don't need those who lord over other things. Children need boundaries and limits, but a body that is controlled by a single leader is doomed to failure. Those who have known Me, be a strong influence in the lives of others. Be the father to them that they need. Then my body can come unto maturity. "
Stephen Hanson
1323 Shasta Dr. Colorado Spgs. CO. 80910
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http://www.angelfire.com/in/HisTruth/PayPalform.html To Sin, Or To Continue To Sin
Stephen Hanson
June 13, 2004
I want to speak to you about the concept that we ALL sin, but that if we know God then we will not CONTINUE in sin. There is a difference here, although it may seem like these two issues, or concepts are the same. I felt it important to write about this foundamental issue because oftentimes, there seems to be some confusion within the body of Christ concerning sin and how we are to live our lives as believers. We are told in 1JN 1:8:
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
So, it is plainly seen here from this passage of scripture, that ALL of us sin. We must not be led astray by various teachings that say that we will not sin. We need to know however, what it means to continue in sin, or simply to know that we do sin. When we sin, then we have an advocate with the Father, His son, who cleanses us from our sins.
But now, let us look at the next few verses in 1 John. 1JN 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Why would we be told in these few verses, "so that you will not sin......"? I believe that we must understand that in verses 9 and 10 above that sin here is mentioned as a noun. In the section immediately following it, we find the word "sin" referred to as a verb ( I write this to you so that you will not sin.) In this usage here of the word sin, it is in an active tense. The apostle was referring to the "repeated" sin in a person's life. What does that mean? It means I believe, to commit a particular type of sin again and again. That is substantially different than saying that there is NO sin within us. There is sin within us because of our fallen nature.
It is interesting to note that we will not continue in sin because of something that has been planted within us. 1 John 3[9] No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. God's seed, His spirit, has been planted within us through the Holy Spirit. As this seed begins to grow and flourish, then the works that we do will not be works after the flesh, after our carnal nature, but they will be done after the fruit of the spirit. We will begin and will continue to manifest in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Gal. 5: 22 This is markedly different from the seed of death. James 1 mentions about how sin can give forth to a seed as well: [15] Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Now, we will still sin, but we will not want to "continue to sin" again and again because of His spirit that is at work within us to conform us to His image. And then even "if" we do continue to sin, God will cleanse us and purify us after we have confessed to Him our sin. Now, we know that we all have had a former way of life, a former way of existence if you will, that was a life without God. This old life though, was a life that was not a life of freedom, but was a life of death. There was no fruit to be found from or in that life, and it was to be done away with: RO [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- [7] because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. So, when we think of sin and how it still can plague us, we now have the "freedom" to embrace the new life that God has given unto through His Son.
So finally, we are to count ourselves dead to sin, but alive to Christ: RO 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus [14] For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. This teaching may be Part 1. of two parts, in that the second one will deal more with grace, how wonderful it is, and yet how it can be abused.
Stephen Hanson
The End Of All Things Is At Hand
Stephen Hanson
June 17, 2004
MT 24:4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. [5] For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. [6] You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. [7] Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are the beginning of birth pains.
MT 24:9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. [10] At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, [11] and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. [12] Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, [13] but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
"The end of all things is coming and will soon be at hand. Not many more seasons will pass, and then the end will come. I tell you that many deceptions lie in the near future. The rumors that you have heard about the attacks upon America will suddenly materialize. Those who are near the coastlines, beware and take cover; for larger metropolitan areas are targeted. Be forewarned, and be alert! The military will take action and many lives will be lost. These things have been predicted by others, and yet many still bury their heads in the sand. "
"But swiftly I come on the wings of the wind. Many persecutions are ahead for my people. For you will be handed over to the courts but I will plead your case for you. Beware of false prophets promising you many things. There will come many claiming to be a new spiritual leader. I tell you that surely you will know them by their fruits. Those who are near Me and hear my voice, will be a light in a dark place. Many congregations will fall and will split over petty differences. You will hear of a brighter tomorrow forecast by some. Use your discernment to know which is true. For the mature, I ask you to eat strong meat. If you want words of comfort and sugar-coated messages, then go to a psyhic. I tell you that my truth is embodied in my spirit. Those who eat of its fruit will live. Surely, in spite of all of this, I will be hedge of protection for my people. "
Stephen Hanson
Experts: Iran Ready to Take It to the Brink Tuesday, June 29, 2004 By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
WASHINGTON — With a dubious nuclear technology program, the capture of British sailors last week and reports of meddling in fledgling Iraqi affairs, Iran (search) — a member of the now-notorious "axis of evil" — appears to be testing the waters to see how far it can push the West.
Some foreign policy analysts say Washington may find it difficult to fight back.
"The costs of the Iraq war are higher than just the soldiers who are dying and the money we are spending," said Joseph Cirincione, director of the non-proliferation project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (search). The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq squandered much of the U.S. authority in the Middle East and may have damaged America's ability to get help from Muslim states to fend off threats from Iran, he said.
"We really destroyed our relationship with the Arab world, and we are now in a much weaker position with Iran," he said.
"Iran is drawing a line in the sand," said Alireza Jafarzadeh of Strategic Policy Consulting (search). Jafarzadeh, formerly linked to the Washington, D.C.-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, which has been called a terrorist organization by the State Department, has won much support on Capitol Hill for his work as a staunch watchdog of Iran's nuclear weapons programs.
"Iran clearly wants all players in Iraq to know that the bigger and more populated and stronger neighbor is the big bully in the alley," he said.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran has claimed hundreds of nuclear experts are working directly for Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that Iran seeks to have a nuclear bomb within two years. Last week, FOX News showed satellite images of two locations in Iran that are suspected of being sites for Iran's continued efforts to produce nuclear weapons.
On Monday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (search) and his weapons inspectors toured one of those facilities. The tour came after Iran was rebuked by the IAEA two weeks ago for noncompliance with weapons inspectors. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei told Reuters that he was pleased with Iran's cooperation.
The tour also followed an announcement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday that it would resume construction on centrifuges, a move critical to building a nuclear bomb. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Iran will not begin enriching uranium, the process of injecting gas into centrifuges.
The U.S. responded by suggesting that the United Nations may want to seek sanctions on Iran. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told "FOX News Sunday" that the United States has been working with the IAEA and European nations to make certain the Iranians know "they only have two choices — to cooperate or face isolation."
Last week, experts warned the House International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran would spell imminent disaster for the United States.
"A nuclear-capable Iran, under their present leadership, could be an unparalleled earthquake, with shockwaves that could rock the foundations of U.S. vital interests in the region, at home and around the world," said Paul Leventhal, founder of the Nuclear Control Institute. Leventhal added that Iran's support of terrorist organizations could lead to the further proliferation of nuclear materials.
Reports indicate that Iranians are helping insurgents in Iraq fight U.S. forces and are terrorizing Iraqis aiding the new interim government, and before that, the Coalition Provisional Authority. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., who has been keeping a close eye on Iranian weapons acquisition and sales for years, emphasized this problem in recent Capitol Hill hearings.
"In my opinion, the bulk of what we are seeing in terms of unrest in Iraq is being carried out both by Iranians, by those groups being supported by Iran's money and by those organizations that are determined not to have Iraq be a stable nation," he said.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, who testified at the hearing, concurred, but did not overemphasize Iran's role.
"I agree with you that Iran is important. I wouldn't say it is the key to everything," he said.
Iran also demonstrated its disregard for international relations last week when it captured eight British sailors who said they had mistakenly crossed into the Iranian side of a disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway between Iran and Iraq. The prisoners, who were released after a week in captivity, were paraded about on international television in what some say was a message by hardline leaders that the country will not be trifled with.
"It is the first shot across the bow," said Nile Gardiner, international affairs analyst with the Heritage Foundation.
"This is really a wake-up call for Downing Street and the Foreign Office," Gardiner said, referring to the British government. Iran "senses weakness in Iraq and a perceived weakness on behalf of Britain and America and they are testing and probing the strength of the West in regard to Iraq."
Even with the aggressive moves by the regime in Tehran, analysts vary on how to respond. Most of those who spoke with FOXNews.com agreed that a pre-emptive strike like the one launched against Saddam Hussein, who had repeatedly ignored U.N. disarmament resolutions and subverted international inspectors, is not a viable option for Iran. Direct negotiations with the government or supporting internal opposition groups combined with a "carrot and stick" approach appear more feasible at this time.
"It's very uncertain we don't know what is going to happen here, it could go either way," Cirincione said. "A lot of it depends on keeping the pressure on, that means having a united front with the Europeans and the other nations in the region. It means having a comprehensive strategy offering Iran positive incentives as well as disincentives."
Richard Murphy, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Iranians are acting "paranoid" and "jumpy" because they perceive American and other Western interests encroaching on the region. He suggested that it would behoove the United States to ensure any action taken against Iran's nuclear program has an international face.
"They are feeling that Uncle Sam is behind every corner waiting to bash them," said Murphy. "What we do not need is an openly hostile Iran intervening in Iraq."
Jafarzadeh, who said he believes the order to restrain the British soldiers came straight from the hardline theocracy, suggested that the international community be not only united, but firm as well. Anything less would make all efforts useless.
"What would make [the mullahs] bolder and more persistent in pushing their objectives is to see indecisiveness and confusion in the international community," he said. "Tehran will only take you seriously when you are serious, when you show teeth."
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,124072,00.html
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Luke 21:28 "And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh."
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