By Agur ben Yakeh
[30 October 2023]

The skeptic swore, “There is no God! No God!—I can do anything I want! I’m more animal than human; so-called human intelligence escapes me.

“I flunked ‘wisdom.’ I see no evidence of a holy God. Has anyone ever seen Anyone climb into Heaven and take charge? grab the winds and control them? gather the rains in his bucket? stake out the ends of the earth? Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons. Come on now—tell me!”

The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true; he protects everyone who runs to him for help. So don’t second-guess him; he might take you to task and show up your lies.”

And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things before I die; don’t refuse me—Banish lies from my lips and liars from my presence. Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get independent, saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God.”

Save Our Students
Fall 2023

A man pointedly questioned our going outside a high school to offer the evangel message of salvation through JESUS Christ. Indeed, a number of people have questioned it, but one in particular questioned, and in such a way as to be clearly suggesting that we ought not continue going. A visiting brother was astounded by this and wondered who this man was, wrongly concluding that he must certainly not be a supporting collaborer.

We had begun praying concertedly regarding this specific outreach venture back in July, and we have continued to increase in specific and intentive prayer in all our prayer groups regarding this exact evangelistic outreach since then.

We station ourselves on God’s ground and graciously offer free bibles and sound biblical tracts along with free friendly conversations and discussions. We are gentle toward all, and we are not of those who spew hatred, anger, vitriol, who incite division or political agendas. We do not tolerate such people to be among our own numbers. We extend the WORD of life with grace and peace. We hold out the words of truth, of hope, of forgiveness and salvation by grace through faith in JESUS alone. We declare the grace of God boldly, and we answer with gentleness and respect. By God’s great grace and favor, He grants that we experience the favor of both God and man and walk in peace with outsiders.

So, here is a question. Do you have a 15 year old son? Do you have a high school student? Do you know anyone who does? If not, imagine what it would be like, and then consider some further thoughts. Are these students born again? Are you sure? Are you upset that they are born again? Do you think they are too young to be born again? Are they too young to hear the good news of JESUS? Do you truly believe it is wrong to offer the good news of salvation outside a high school? Are you afraid? Maybe a little? Or a lot? Do you have some fear of man? That is understandable. This is a very common ploy of Satan. Of course, you do not believe it is wrong to offer salvation by grace through faith in JESUS to high school students.

So, here is another question. Who will go? Oh someone else will go. Who? There is another way to do this. Oh, how? And when? Where? There are students sharing the good news with their fellow students. That is true, and that is wonderful and amazing. It truly is. We are praying for these students. We are meeting with these students. We are encouraging and supporting and networking and collaborating with these students. This is God’s community. This is not any one of our exclusive community. This is not my community or your community. This is God’s community, and only because of that, this is our community.

Friends, keep in mind that there are 1000 and more reasons not to do what JESUS commanded. There 1000 and more reasons not to go, not to go into the street. There is a lion in the street. There are people who do the works of their father the devil. There are people who falsely accuse brothers in Christ. There are pushy people who push their own agenda and make themselves adversaries of the Holy One and His ambassadors. There are lazy people and there are mere talkers.

Consider this also: it is one thing to agree with something when it is stated. It is another thing entirely to declare that thing yourself of your own initiative without any provocation. And then an entirely different category is action. Action and verbal assent are two entirely different things. We know that it is not those who merely say, LORD, we obeyed You whom JESUS will commend before The Father. Rather, JESUS clearly said it is those who do what He commanded whom He will commend before The Father.

So do not go if you are not born again. Do not go if you have not experienced the life altering grace of JESUS the Messiah. Do not go if you have not truly experienced the transforming power and sacrificial agape love of the Almighty Father through our great God and Savior JESUS Christ. Do not go if you have hatred in your heart toward your brothers, toward your sisters. Do not go if you do not care about the eternal destiny of thousands of lost souls.

Do not go if you have your own agenda. Do not go if you have alterior motives, though we will still give thanks to God if you do hold out the true evangel of salvation whether by pure motives or ill. But do not go if you love to argue. Do not go if you are pushy. Do not go if you are possessive or domineering or hateful or angry or political. Do not go if you think you are strong or if you are not filled with the Holy Spirit of God and His holy anointing and grace.

Do not go if you are an accuser of the brethren. Do not go if you have fear of man or have not counted the cost of discipleship. Do not go if you do not truly know that JESUS is the resurrection and the life. Do not go if you are playing games or are just a nominal Christian. Do not go if you do not even know what the evangel is or what discipleship is. Do not go if you think the evangel is about America or about being a good person or about going to church or winning arguments.

As a matter of fact, on second thought, please do not go. These and 1000 other things we experience every day among those who are within and those who are without only skim the surface of the opposing positions, hindrances, lies and deceptions of ideas falsely called science and of those with a mere form of godliness denying the power thereof.

Do not go.

First, repent and turn to God for the remission of your sins. Weep, mourn and wail for your misery has come upon you. Turn to God, and be saved. Call on Him, and He will answer you. Then, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Be washed with the pure water of the WORD.

Then go.

Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. Have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Be careful not to utter careless words. The fool utters all of his mind, but the wise man keeps it in until afterward.

Jezebel was the epitome of a wicked adversary of God’s prophets, His people and the LORD Himself. This wicked and perverse woman opposed everything righteous and followed demonic, deceptive, devious and murderous ways of Satan.

Read from her first mention in 1 Kings 16:31 to her last mention in 2 Kings 9:37. Elijah lived and served during her treacherous and wicked life. The LORD took him home before ridding the earth of her wicked soul.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭15:1‭-‬5‬
[1] Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? [2] The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; [3] whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; [4] who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; [5] who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

We see another example of the Jezebel spirit in the person of Elymas, a Jewish false prophet and counted among the number of the magi. Here, we see one partial description of a Jezebel spirit.

Acts‬ ‭13:10‬
[10] “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

Beware a Jezebel spirit.

Seek the LORD earnestly. Cry out to the LORD in your inner man and in your inner room. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Build yourself up in your most holy faith. Do not give the enemy a foothold. Walk in the Spirit. Keep in step with the Spirit. Guard your heart. Guard your spirit. Test the spirits. Do not believe every spirit. Do not answer a fool according to his folly. Let your words be few. Set apart Christ in your hearts through faith. Be strong in the LORD, and in His mighty power. Do not be weary in well doing for in due season you will reap a harvest if you faint not. If you run with men and become weary, what will become of you when you run with horses. If you do not stand by faith, you will not stand at all. Stand firm then. And after you have done all you can to stand, stand firm. Put on the full armor of God that you may withstand all the fiery darts of the evil one and stand in the evil day.

See study notes in comments

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FEW WILL READ THIS
fewer will do this

The inner room

Jesus said, “Go into your inner room, close the door and pray.”

I see a room we called the prayer closet. The year is 1991. It is a clean but shaggy old tiny closet in a corner of the second floor of that old early 1900s house near Fremont Street which housed the men of Centrum in Las Vegas.

This was the well used prayer closet used daily by those of the men who were serious about getting their lives on track. This was the room where prayer discipleship took place.

Most people, the vast majority in the world, have never been blessed to stop and even consider these words of Jesus, let alone to experience the truth, to recognize what He actually said, to consider what He actually meant and to do what He actually instructed.

Jesus said, “Go into your inner room, close the door and pray.”

Many are called, but only a tiny, tiny minority ever heed the voice of the Shepherd of the sheep.

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Discerning Material & Immaterial
Distinguishing Natural & Spiritual

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

In an effort to understand spiritual things, natural man has long sought a one to one correlation between a physical component and a spiritual portion. These terms can be useful in part but the WORD alone precisely divides between these things.

Material – Immaterial
Physical – Spiritual
Heart – Soul
Brain – Mind
Bones – Will
Kidneys – Emotions
Marrow – Health
Muscles – Strength

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‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:30‬ ‭
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:23‬ ‭
The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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‭‭Psalm‬ ‭16:7‬ ‭
I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭23:16‬ ‭
My reins shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things.

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Reins: Heb. kilyah: a kidney

Kidney: figurative, as seat of emotion and affection

Job 19:27; Proverbs 23:16; Psalm 16:7; Psalm 73:21;

Jeremiah 12:2 – near art thou in their mouth, and far from their affections; hence, as involving character, the object of God’s examination

Jeremiah 11:20 compare Psalm 7:10, Jeremiah 17:10, Jeremiah 20:12, Psalm 26:2

Don’t miss this.

Human nature is such that it takes about 1 second for a person’s family and friends to turn from being supportive to one being ostracized. This is a trait of fallible human nature. Even if a person is not entirely ostracized, there are varying degrees along a sliding scale spectrum of this phenomenon.

The seeds of this are entirely understandable. They are easily and readily forgivable. Fallible human nature wavers between opinions. This is normal and happens at every level. Every person grapples with distinguishing truth from error, right from wrong, and thus opinion from opinion. People do this about everything. When a person or persons become the subject of scrutiny, this fallible nature is turned on that individual. Most people crumble under the increasing weights of public opinion. Some people crumble under the weights of their own conflicted opinions, let alone the varied opinions of a small nucleus of family and friends. Then, increasingly more people are of such fortitude that they would begin crumbling under the multitudinous opinions and scrutiny of a larger and larger number and breadth of public scrutiny.

And so it is for any individual, especially one who has no interest but pleasing God and doing His will rather than the will of any man.

The one who sets his course to do only what The Father says will encounter all manner of conflicting opinions, views and thoughts concerning him, his words, his actions, his associations, his methods, his temperament, ad infinitum. Most choose varying degrees of equilibrium in order to balance the degree of scrutiny and opposition with their individual personal ability to stand up under the varying degrees of scrutiny and pressure.

The man who fears God, however, does not aim to please himself, nor does he rest in his own strength.

For this cause, such a man will feel the full weight of all opposition from friends and family because he has emptied himself of his own interests. At the same time, by the power of Christ in him such a man will care little or nothing at all for the tremendously fickle and weak opinions of man. This is because the otherwise empty shell of such a man’s own personal life in regard to the opinions of man, having been filled and brought to life with and by the true life and love and power of Christ in him, will be able to withstand all manner of opposition from fickle man.

Each person aiming to stand will also naturally consider themselves in the description of this person standing up under pressures. Indeed, there is only one Who stood up under the greatest pressures. However, each one alone knows his own joys and sorrows. For this reason, each one aiming to stand true most easily sees himself as the one standing firm under great pressure. Only the truly mature more readily recognize others who are weak and in need of strength and support and thus attend to those rather than to caring for oneself as being in need.

This is an initial short form version of a potentially powerful analogy recently being shared with a number of people, hopefully sincere enough to accept a serious and genuine quest. Following the initial short analogy is a spontaneous free form reflection on this possible powderkeg.

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Counterfeit

There is a counterfeit. In fact, it is clear that there are counterfeits. There is no honest denying of this. There is no way around the fact that there are at least 2 major counterfeits, and to be honest we must truly say that there could be 3 counterfeits. However, if there are 3 major counterfeits, then the original failed permanently, and we are all completely bankrupt. Then indeed all the conspiracy theorists are actually the only ones who have it right, and everything is likely in a much worse state than all of us conspiracy deniers have maintained.

But to keep this short for now as promised, let’s summarize this recent powderkeg analogy which is more true than most will likely admit because no one wants to be bankrupt. The problem is, billions of people have believed lies. There is no way around that. And these are not small lies. These are lies which have to do with eternity.

So, in short for now…

You have $1 million USD

I have $1 million USD

But a currency expert comes and examines all the currency and declares that one of the two is all COUNTERFEIT. Neither of us wants to believe it could be ours. Considering this scenario about money is challenging enough. Considering this about matters of eternal life should stop us cold in our tracks.

This is the crux of the short form of this analogy. Seriously considering this real life analogy is the challenge being presented here. Granted, most people simply do not really and truly care about eternal life. They will say they do but they will not honestly and truthfully accept this challenge.

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For Serious Truth Seekers Only

For the few who may perhaps have a true desire for truth, those can continue reading. The following are some further free form reflections considering this analogy, considering the scenario of what to do after learning this real world truth that there is counterfeit currency in circulation and at least one of us has all COUNTERFEIT currency.

We compare the bills, our friends and family compare them.

Popular society compares them and says they are the same. They are all good. All the currency is good. Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief. Everyone is relieved and glances furtively around because almost all know just below the surface how tenuous this is. They know this is not actually true. This is a completely false sense of assurance that everyone instantly knows is false and recognizes as disingenuous. But we have a society of fools. A global society of weaklings and liars. Frauds & fakes. THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES! You frauds!

Jesus cannot have died and not died.

One of these is a lie or both of them are lies.

Here are the only possible options.

1. Jesus died

2. Jesus did not die

3. Jesus did not exist

Billions of people know that Jesus died.

A billion people know that Jesus did not die.

Millions of people know that Jesus did not exist.

These statements are not all true. They cannot be. The last set of 3 statements could in fact all be true. People do know things which are false. Knowledge does not equal truth. This is the nature of deception. That is why so many of these recent conversations among so many of us in these daily in person discussions have talked deeply not only about COUNTERFEIT but also about the directly related topic of DECEPTION.

And so I have asked scores of people this question.

Does a deceived person know they are deceived?

And the only correct answer by definition is No.

So, are you bankrupt?

Is the $1 million USD you have which includes your family, your culture, your heritage, everything you have heard and learned and loved and cherished from infancy all COUNTERFEIT?

You are not brave enough to entertain that question honestly are you? I almost cannot blame you. You and the vast majority of people are not brave enough. Billions of people are much too cowardly. After all, if you search it out, you will discover that all counterfeits come after the original, not before when there is no original. All counterfeit Messiahs, all counterfeit Christs come after the true Messiah. As Messiah Himself put it, many false prophets and false Messiahs will come. That is, the counterfeits always come after the authentic original. That is just how things work. No one has ever made a counterfeit before the original.

Only a corrupt, deceiving evil entity would create a delusion before the original. A holy Creator can oppose His enemies with a strong delusion because they rejected Him first, but don’t miss the order of things. Don’t miss this simplest sense of chronology like so many of my acquaintances. So many show that they have lost all ability to understand simple order, simple chronology, simple history, simple cause and effect. Many of them stumble over the simplest causative questions. Which came first: the chicken or the egg. They ponder for long minutes in a quandary over this simple question which should take a mere second. And then they answer incorrectly.

It is no wonder they cannot identify which of the two major texts is the obvious COUNTERFEIT. They fail to recognize simple order.

But what about me?

Is my proposition genuine? Even with what I just said? Will I give up my $1 million USD to discover the truth even if that means I have to forsake everything for the truth? Family, culture, heritage, country, my people?

Yes, we will abandon it all for the sake of this call. No other reason at all but the sake of this call.

And so, we extend this challenge, this quest, this mission for even the few truly noble, brave and honest souls which may be left.

Only those willing to forsake everything need bother with this because those who really only want to hold on to their $1 million will always remain deceived and will hold on to any COUNTERFEIT because they are deceivers from the beginning. They are liars and lovers of money and pleasure rather than lovers of God. They have a form of godliness denying the power thereof. They refuse to deny themselves. They love to put on a nice facade, a nice front. They love the praise of people, and they will never give up their COUNTERFEIT monopoly money. Their whole society, the whole culture, the entire global economy is based on this fraud, on this cheap worldly currency. They will not really accept this challenge. They will fake it at best because they love themselves, they love money, they love carnal pleasure, they love their false god, their false gods, the idols in their hearts, they love their selfish lives more than the TRUTH, and so they have turned in hatred away from the only true Savior who alone is able to save them from their selfish love of money, their greed which is idolatry.

Give up your COUNTERFEIT.

This is your mission should you choose to accept it.

This message will self destruct along with your short earthly life in a mere matter of relative moments in 3…2…1…

And then the Judgment…

Then what will you do with your COUNTERFEIT money you chose to hold onto along with your family, your people, your culture rather than the True Savior of your soul?

Then what will you do?

Thought Boundaries

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭5‬

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139:16‭b-‬18

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Today Boundaries

Do not let yesterday or tomorrow encroach on today

• Regrets from tomorrow
• Fears and worries from tomorrow

We are given every Today as a gift, the state of life in which we live. Each day is a new gift bounded by new morning mercies and evening forgiveness. By these, we bar out any regrets of the past and any fears or worries against tomorrow. And so also through daily forgiveness by day’s end, we barricade any ill beyond Today.

…

Morning
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Evening
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭26‬

Today
“God again set a certain day, calling it ‘Today.’ This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ ” ‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬

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Life Boundaries

~Spiritual application of life boundaries~

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.” ‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭4‬:‭10

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:5‭-‬7

Any reading from the Qur’an immediately reveals that rather than being a stand alone scripture, it is actually merely a crude commentary.

The Sleepers of Ephesus in the Qur’an is in surat al-khaf chapter 18.

Any sample will do, but one suitable example is to read chapter 18 and chapter 21 al-anbiyah The Prophets.

It is so obvious that the Qur’an is simply and merely a very shoddy and crude commentary in 7th century Arabia of the true scriptures as well as various legends, stories and accounts from Greco-Roman, Jewish, pagan and Christian literature.

Honestly, it is embarrassing because it is such bad writing, thinking, summary.

It is in crass terms like a junior high level attempt at commentary.

It is not in the genre of scripture at all but is exactly what everyone knows simply as commentary.

That is the actual literary genre of the Qur’an. It is merely a shoddy commentary on scripture set in 7th century Arabia.

It is a crude, unscholarly set of poor quality homilies or attempted sermons.