The quotation "All men are created equal" is arguably the best-known phrase in any of America's political documents, as the idea it expresses is generally considered the foundation of American democracy. Thomas Jefferson first used the phrase in the Declaration of Independence. None of Jefferson's biographers or studies of the Declaration accept the claim that the phrase was suggested by Philip Mazzei, although this claim has been made by non-scholars.

The opening of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, states as follows:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

US President Abraham Lincoln succinctly explained the central importance of the Declaration to American history in his Gettysburg Address of 1863:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

The phrase was also quoted by Martin Luther King, Jr. in his famous I Have a Dream speech, as the "creed" of the United States:
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
Even before all of this a man in the wilderness loudly declaired essentially the same idea.

Matthew 3:1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,John 1:6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

This man was no respector of persons. He knew that of a certainty, all men are created equal. He gave out his message of the light to all. He bowed down to no man.
God expects that of us.

Jeremiah 1:4-5
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jeremiah 1:8Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

How many times have we deferred speaking out for the Lord because of the status or the stature of others?
I once found my self working on a new home being built by a man who was recently retired. He had build a large finacial empire that employed hundreds of men. He got used to the special treatment that others gave him because of his position in his company and because of his financial status that he had acheived.
He couldn't understand the insulance of all of the construction workers who were engaged in the process of building his mansion. He had no understanding of the independence that almost all men in construction have.

His wife let me know that he was suffering deep depression and did not understand why. I did...
I had no greater respect for him anymore then I did for the man who was picking up the construction trash around the job. Both were equal in my eyes and worthy of equal treatment and equal respect..

One day the man asked me to tell him what I thought about how long it would take to complete his home. The builder had told him that it would take two years. I told him the truth, it was going to take much longer then that. Then I told him why he was depressed. He was used to the position that he had held for so many years in his business that he had build. He had grown accustomed to special treatment from others. He had learned to think of himself as being above them in a sense. He grew to feel that he was not equal to those around him.

And now here he was retired around all of these independent mavericks who could care less who he was or what he had acheived. He was no longer respected or honored like he was accustomed to, and this was painful for him. He thought of himself in the false way that his position in his company had entitled him to and made him accustomed to.

I gave him my, "We all came into this world naked and we are all going to leave this world naked" speech.
You know the only thing that we can take with us is what we did with God's Son Jesus Christ and how we conducted our lives and how we treated others while in this world. Sure we can amass power and position over others. Some men are never satisfied with what they have, always needing more wealth and more power.

These kind of men are in power behind the scenes of this earth today. They are currently making their power moves to end the nations of this earth to establish their global government that they will be the heads of. Little do they realise that their leader is Satan himself. Nor do most of them realize that the bible has predicted their actions way before any of them even existed. The antichrist is at work in the earth today.

We see the subtle and gradual things that they are doing to remove sovereignty and independence from nations and individuals. How they are doing this is so simple and so obvious to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/05/06/who-will-be-tested-next-the-dilemma-of-franklin-graham/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlbertMohlersBlog+%28Albert+Mohler%27s+Blog%29


Matthew 16:1-3
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
The signs of the times? Look around you. See what is going on. See. Hear.
The coming of the Lord is at the door.

Evil is ever increasing. My country, America, is under major attack from within. Christians have been lulled into complacency, thinking that there are those who are watching out for their interest when the adverse is true. Satan has made great headway in America in the last few years, right under the noses of Christian leadership. One day they will wake out of their slumber, but then it will be too late. The works that evil men have done will be intrenched and undoable. America's Christian influence will be handed off to the Chinese Christians like a batton in a relay race. The Chinese will go out into the Arab nations with the gospel message.

Matthew 13:12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Why did Jesus say this?
His answer:
Matthew 13:10
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
We watch something happen on TV and we are told one thing when we are watching another thing. We hear what is happening but we are told we didn't hear it. We see what is happening, but we are told we are seeing something else. And we believe what we are told to believe. Where is our Christian spiritual discernement? Who are we listening to? Who are we believing? Our inner witness of the Holy Spirit or the news sources?

As a result we are going to lose. Correct that...we have lost.
Only a matter of time before the gospel batton is handed from America to China...
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart..."

John 11:35Jesus wept.

This message didn't turnout like I thought it would.

I think that while we are all equal as men. We are not all equal spiritually. Even those who say that we are, are wrong. Who are you serving? Are you serving your self or are you serving the Lord? You decide!

Joshua 24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html

http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/gods-love.htm

http://www.allaboutgod.com/god-is-love.htm

http://www.godandscience.org/love/

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/unique4.html

What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Become a better person so that God will accept you?
You may be surprised that none of those things will work. But God has made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him.
The following principles will explain how you can personally begin a relationship with God, right now, through Jesus Christ...

http://www.ccci.org/wij/index.aspx

Only one life, t'will soon be past- Only what's done for Christ will last...

."For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)." The choices that we human beings make (both believers and non-believers alike) have such an impact, not only on us, but also on those to whom we relate, and in turn, on those to whom they relate. This is one of the important aspects of witnessing and evangelization, for as we share Christ with others, they in turn share Christ, and so on, and many people are affected and impacted.....

There are so many things that people can and do give themselves to, aren't there? We all have certain talents and bents and preferences (not necessarily evil or destructive in and of themselves), and a person who is without Christ will persue their heart's desire- be it good or bad- and history is replete with examples of individuals who go to great lengths to accomplish 'great' things. This world of ours is full of wonders. It's also full of distractions. People have devoted their entire lives from youth 'till their death, to objects, ideas, concepts, things that they hold near and dear, that have no eternal value whatsoever.

Again, these pursuits may be not be in and of themselves bad, but to seek knowledge or experiences- even the most worthy of exploits- will always be fatally incomplete if God is not our ultimate desire. We human beings so misuse our wonderfully engineered minds and bodies, often without even pondering the long term affects. Those without Christ simply don't know better, but the Body of Christ ought to. A believer who seeks to pursue his or her own way, with little regard for the will and leading of God's Spirit, is in a more pitiful position than a lost person doing the same thing, because the Christian knows that he or she has a redeemer to whom we will ultimately answer- a redeemer who created and knows every one of us, and He beckons to us, "Come unto Me". He never stops calling us, but will we listen?

Kathryn Kuhlman spoke to a group of graduating students at a Christian University in 1974, concerning the remainder of their young lives, "The choices that you make can shake the world for God!" It's easy to see, if you've studied her life, where she stood in terms of making choices, and what her priorities were- and she wanted to impart these things to those young students. Miss Kuhlman knew the potential that those kids had. She knew their Lord. But she also knew that the choice was theirs, and if they didn't let the world know who Jesus Christ was, then they would not have fulfilled their high calling. Sure, they knew the Savior, but was He their passion, their goal, their very lives? Kathryn Kuhlman had a way of making people see things as they are in reality, and that graduating class took notice!

Believer, whom are you serving this very moment? How do you want to be remembered? What matters most to you?....

Only one life, t'will soon be past- only what's done for Christ will last.


Jim

Genesis 1:28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it...

Some people feel that God didn't know what He was talking about. They think that they know better.

"Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth's biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense."

1 Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons

http://vhemt.org/?

2 Timothy 3:16

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength. Now, I'm not going to tell you anything here that you don't already know, but we all need to be reminded, especially when things in our lives seem the roughest and there is no way out, that no matter what- The joy of the Lord is your strength.
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Our circumstances must never be our strength, because they can change so quickly, as can our surroundings, our moods, our desires. The world depends on superficial and transitory things for strength because those things are all that they have, or else they imagine something bigger than themselves, but usually something quite general (non-specific) that may see them through, but the believer has as his or her Protector the One Who spoke the universe (and everything in it) into existence, and His reality is not simply imagined.

God never promised us a rose-covered pathway (I know that from experience, and so do you!), but He does promise us that He will never leave us or forsake us- EVER. We must always remember that... As believers, we need to keep in mind that He is ALWAYS with us- every moment that we live, and then the very moment that we breathe our last- He takes our hand and brings us to Himself, for all eternity...Yes, we are in very good Hands, indeed!......
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The biggest problem that we have concerning this truth is that we don't spend enough time contemplating His Presence. You notice I didn't say that we don't spend enough time IN His Presence, for we are ALWAYS in His Presence, but we need to ponder this fact, and trust that He knows our estate, that nothing that happens in our life escapes His Knowledge and attention....
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Easy to say when things are going smoothly, isn't it? But it is true in the most absolute sense, regardless of our present circumstances. Is there a secret to always knowing His Presence and care? Well, the very Son of God didn't simply rest in the fact that He knew who He was, He sought the Father EARLY, before the crowds came. He coveted the Presence of His Father! Do we covet the Presence of our heavenly Father?
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How about King David, "O God. thou art my God; EARLY will I seek Thee, my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." (Psalm 63:1)......

Do we pant after Him like the deer panteth after the water (psalm 42:1)? Do you feel it as you read it? Now, tell me- is there a 'secret' to always knowing God's Presence and care- to always trusting God, no matter what? Read what the scripture tells us, and ponder the depths of His wonderful Word. His Spirit is bearing witness with what you have read. Seek Him early, and with all your heart....

En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing