Many Americans haunted by ghosts, look to astrology – REUTERS By Ed Stoddard – Thu Dec 10, 9:23 am ET

I’ve always been a Christian. I grew up Catholic but I’m now just a Christian. Many people call it non-denominational, but it’s no different. A Christian is a Christian. Right?

To add to this, I grew up with both of my parents being born and raised in South Louisiana – Cajun Country. There is a rich heritage of food, music and beliefs. Beliefs such as Traiteurs (treaters or healers) and that someone could put the Gris-Gris (pronounced Gree-Gree) or a type of voodoo curse on you. So while I was a Christian – Catholic – I also believed in these things too, some almost as strongly as the Catholic faith.

While reading through this article it reminded me of that time. How confusing and odd it was for me. To believe that I served THE God who created the universe yet believe that someone could put a curse on me and God would not or could not do anything was completely opposite of what I was supposed to believe. As you read through the article you notice the numbers and percentages of people that have beliefs in everything from astrology, to ghost, to even mixing in Eastern and New Age religions. Yet, we are clearly instructed and told in Exodus 20:3-6:

Anything that is not of God, His Word, His Son, or His Spirit that is obeyed and yielded to is disobedience and ultimately sin. The most disturbing statement in this article is the quote from Pew researcher Alan Cooperman, where he states, “American religious folks hold a variety of views and there is overlap among their beliefs and practices. Many do not fit into simple boxes.” While I understand that “religious folks” can cover a multitude of views and beliefs in America, the article is directly siting Americans who are Christian or have a more dominant tendency toward Christianity – that just sounds weird.

Look, it’s as simple as this – either you are a Christian or your not. You can’t be a little Christian and a little New Age and a little of this and that. There is no place for it…God’s Word is clear. Jesus said in John 14:6:

Being a Christian means you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you become, as the word Christian means – a little Christ. You are supposed to reflect Him, 100%, not the other religions and beliefs and views. Getting into agreement or even having a belief other than what His Word says compromises the very things that He died for on your behalf! In fact, it nulls and voids it, hence why in Exodus it says that you and your children for generations to come will not be blessed just simply for allowing that sin in and then passing it on to your children.

Our Pastor taught us about something earlier this year that bears sharing here. In Genesis 47 we read the account of Joseph and the famine that came upon all the lands surrounding Egypt. Joseph had received favor (Godly favor) in the sight of pharaoh and when Joseph’s family (the nation of Israel) came to him asking for helping, pharaoh granted them to live, dwell and have the land of Goshen in Egypt. What’s interesting is that if you study this chapter and the next chapters, through the beginning of Exodus, out, you will notice that while the rest of the people both in and outside of Egypt were dealing with a famine, the people who served God and only his direction, (the Word of God) living in the land of Goshen, flourished! Genesis 47:27 says:

Now while that is great and definitely what we want, what you see is that the people of Israel grew and multiplied so much that they began to intermingle with the Egyptians. As they did, they of course still believed in God and His Word, but they started adopting and beginning to believe some of the Egyptian ways and beliefs. If you don’t believe that, just look at what they did when it took days for Moses to come down from the mountain where he was receiving the 10 Commandments – what did the people of Israel do? They created golden calves and golden gods to begin worshiping, assuming that either Moses left them behind or was killed by God. Now where did they learn that? These were supposed to be the people of God! The ones who were made in the image and likeness of God. Yet here they are making gods and worshiping them, knowing their core beliefs?

Christians, the time has come to stop intermingling our belief with other non-Bible beliefs! We wonder why people have a hard time believing in Christ or Christianity? What have we given this world and those looking for Him? Confusion? Misguidance? Yet we were told to be a witness and preach the Gospel. What is the Gospel? That Jesus Christ is THE way, THE truth, and THE life and that NO ONE and NOTHING provides you access to God, our heavenly Father – PERIOD! So what do you do if you have been a Christian who picked up some things from Egypt and intermingled them with your beliefs?

First, stop it and get rid of it – ditch those beliefs and things you have picked up along the way that replace or displace God, Jesus and His Word.

Second, repent and turn away from that belief – God gave us THE way through His Son, Jesus, and if we heartfully repent and turn away from those things, He is faithful to forgive us and bring us back into right standing with Him.

Third, pickup and build up your relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit – read the Bible and begin placing God’s Word (His Will, Beliefs, direction, guidance, and life) back inside you. Stay focused on Jesus – let Him be first in all things…give Him the preeminence and do not let any other gods go before Him. As you do this, you begin to love God and His Word which positions you for a full return of His love and blessings that will extend to generations of your family, because the right things will be passed down. We just have to start with asking ourselves, “What do I believe? And who am I according to the Bible?”

And that is The Truth!
PD2

Yahoo! Finance Article – Why This Recession Seems Worse Than ’70s and ’80s

Yahoo! Finance Article – Foreclosures fall from December to January

Yahoo! News Article – U.S. January foreclosures fall: RealtyTrac

Yahoo! Finance Article – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly up 1 percent

Turn on the news and you will hear how we are in a recession and on the verge of another Great Depression. “The current situation has nothing in common with the Great Depression,” says economist Steve Hanke of the Cato Institute and Johns Hopkins University. “The sooner they [in Washington] stop spinning the bad news story and say nothing, the sooner we’ll be more confident.”

You probably have not heard the news that foreclosure went down since last month. There actually was a drop in foreclosures from December 2008 to January 2009. We are all being bombarded with negative words and predictions daily. David Jones, CEO of DMJ Advisors, is among those who see “hints of stability.” By that he means, the rate of decline in areas like retail appear to be slowing. “We’ll see the same thing happening on the housing side in the next couple months,” says Jones.

The Commerce Department said total retail sales rose 1 percent in January, advancing for the first time in seven months.

“I’m just waiting for the shift in people’s expectations,” says Chris Rupkey of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. We have all watched the stock market rise and fall in a day, so dramatically based on fear of the unknown, have heard what the President is saying or not saying, and have kept up with the status of the stimulus plan. Yes, there has been a rise in unemployment since last year, but it is not as bad as everyone is claiming . We have heard that this is like the 70’s, but even though the sharp decline in payrolls over the past three months has been stunning, it is not as bad on a percentage basis as one period in 1974-1975, according to David Resler, chief economist at Nomura International. Resler says the economy would have to lose some 767,000 jobs a month over a three-month period from the current employment level to match that miserable performance.
Home foreclosure filings in January totaled 274,399, down 10 percent from December according to RealtyTrac’s (an online market of foreclosure properties) U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report depends on who you are listening to and I know for every bit of information in this article that I quoted there are other news stories saying doom and gloom things with no glimmer of hope.

Interesting thought – we can either speak good things over the economy or bad things. In Proverbs 18:21 of the New King James Version it says:

I also love the Message Bible translation of Proverbs 18:21. It says:

What are you choosing to say over the economy, your finances and your job? I am speaking good things over all of it. This goes beyond just being positive or looking on the bright side. We should speak “The Truth” in our lives. The truth comes from the Word of God!

The truth is found in Philippians 4:19 of New King James Version:

Another truth is found in Luke 6:38 in the New King James Version:

We all need to remember even in these times where the world is uncertain, when we give it will be given back to us. God’s children should still be giving and be in faith that their seed is multiplying.

The truth is that fear does not come from God. In 2 Timothy 1:7 of the New King James Version it says:

Personally, I am going to keep looking up to God who is Jehovah Jireh, My Provider ( Genesis 22:14). As the song goes I cannot be moved. Jesus is my Rock and Salvation (Psalm 62:2) and I shall not fear!

LD

I just Praise God and thank Him and the Holy Ghost for all He has done in and through me. I’m humbled and amazed that The Father, The God of the Universe, would use someone like me to bring something like this to you and the ends of the earth! So I just lean not on me or my abilities but look to the Holy Ghost, Jesus and the Word of God to deliver to you, the reader, The Truth.

Being an engineer and, as my wife calls me, computer nerd, by formal University education, it seems odd that He would call me into a ministry such as this. But I trust God and the Holy Ghost and understand that this is not about me or any individual’s ability – it’s all about Jesus!

For far too long both God’s people and the people of the world have been subjected to media, newspaper, T.V., opinions and various other sources telling them “the facts” but always leaving them questioning “the truth” of the matter. I’ll say it just like the Holy Ghost said to me…..”what the world needs now is to know The Truth in all things. They are hungry for The Truth and are waiting for someone to show them and tell them The Truth.” In a nutshell, that is exactly what “Herald of The Truth” is all about!

I’m not really sure where this will go or what the Holy Ghost has in store, but I do know that as I step out and do as I’ve been instructed that The Truth that the Holy Ghost was referring to will be delivered and known! What you can expect from this site is nothing but The Truth of God’s Word, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost delivering resp0nses to headlines, news topics, and various subjects that lack The Truth. These responses will be delivered by mighty men and women of God who know and are just as eager to share The Truth with you!

Feel free to submit e-mails and comments suggesting or asking for The Truth about any news article, topic or media source that you need to hear The Truth about. We will be more than happy to allow The Truth to come out!

We hope you enjoy this site – please subscribe and visit often as we know that God will reveal Himself, His Son, the Holy Ghost and most importantly, The Truth to you personally!

Be blessed always!
PD2