Greetings!
We certainly have a lot to pray for concerning our nation, uppermost, as always, being the need for a nation-wide revival of righteousness among God's own people!

Concerning our government and politics, however are two things that are of enormous consequence if left unchecked!

First is the matter of this administration's attempt at a government take-over of healthcare/health insurance the constitutionality of which is now being considered by the Supreme Court.  As I see it, the decision will come down to one Associate Justice, Anthony Kennedy - - reported to be the "swing vote" on this court.

Let us pray that he votes in the manner best for the American people, which I believe is to rule that this law is in violation of both the letter and intent of our constitution for a free minded, free willed people to choose for themselves if, how much and what kind of health insurance they want to purchase. 

Granted, the industry DOES need to be - I believe - totally revamped!  But to make having insurance a matter mandated by the government is not the way to do it.  There are a good many ways that can be used in the free market system to redesign health insurance and care, and government does have it's place in regulating unfair practices without a complete government takeover!

OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE - - Racism in our nation has now resurfaced to an extent that I have not seen since I was a young boy in the 1960's!  What is worse, this is a manufactured situation!  As soon as Obama was elected the foundation began to be put in place that any disagreement with his policies, plans, decisions and actions are because he is not white!  (Although, everyone needs to remember that he is just as much white as he is black being his mother is white!  Of course this has been totally neglected by most of the mainstream political machinery!)

These workers of evil are doing all they can to utilize racism to cause division in our nation I believe for one reason and one reason only - - "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:"  Jesus

This past week due to the shooting in Florida of a young black man who was shot by an HISPANIC man has brought out the progressive social engineers en masse!  Without waiting to see ALL the facts behind this terrible incident they are crying out that it is because the boy was not white - - when the fact of his race may very well have had nothing to do with his shooting!

We need to pray that God open the eyes of the mass majority of the American people to see that a relative few social engineers are attempting to destroy the unity of our society by re-creating detestable racism!  While racism does exist, racism has not been the dominant factor in our society for decades now and if we take the bait and return to this horrible condition, the result will be catastrophic for our nation - - what were the race riots of the 60's and early 70's will seem like minor arguments compared to the race wars that will result from what these workers of evil are attempting to accomplish today!

Oh, and by the way, we need to remember just which political party were the most opposed to the rights of minorities back in the day - - here is a hint:  It was not the conservatives and Republicans that were violently against civil rights!  It was not the conservatives and Republicans who tried to keep black people "in their place"! 
How many Republican or conservative Congressmen, Senators, Governors and Legislators cried out in anger against letting black people go to the same schools as white kids; or ride in the front of busses; or eat in cafes; or drink from the same water fountains . . . just research history to learn who it was! 

Yes, we need to pray for our nation!

Many Blessings!
In Christ,
Timothy 

Would A Good Shepherd Break Your Leg?
THOUGHT:  Why does Jesus refer to those of us who are His - - as sheep?  Because sheep do two things very well:  Follow or go astray!  In fact, sheep are always either part of the flock or are wandering off and getting lost!  And isn't' that the way we are as well?

A great many, perhaps even the majority, of church people today don't really know what God means by LOVE!

If a ministry leader speaks of the penalties of sin, of consequences of disobedience to God's Word, of death and destruction from rejecting God's Word ... many church people won't accept what he/she says because, after all, GOD IS LOVE! 

So, if God loves me, He would never do or allow anything to be done that would cause me pain or injury or suffering!  I mean, really, He would not be a good God if He did anything to us that hurt, right?  Hmmmmmmm.

Once I was counseling a sister in Christ about some problems and I asked her if she thought God would ever "spank" His children.  Her answer was an emphatic NO!  Ironically (not) the problems she was dealing with were due to her having never punished her daughter and could not understand why her daughter was doing such terrible things!

Many church people of today insist that there is no place for any kind of spiritual law in our lives because we have been set free!  They don't want to hear that God has set His laws in place for our benefit - not the Mosaic Law, but God's Law that preceded the Mosaic Law!  After all, we now live in the LOVE of God not by the law of God!  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

Many churches today are so focused on activities to appeal to, attract and retain members that the issue of sin and consequences are nearly totally neglected and when you ask why, the answer is that God wants us to live in fellowship because God is love and we need to focus on how we feel about each other, because love is to feel good about and because of others!  Hmmmmmmmm.

Why?  Why are things in the church community so out of proper focus?  Well, prophetically because these are all signs of the end times of the Church Age we are living in - - but what is behind this is something far more tragic:  God's people don't know what love really means!

Love is not unconditionally accepting a person regardless of how he behaves!  Love is not refusing to judge if a person is right or wrong!  Love is not feeling good about another person (this is affection)!  Love is not receiving pleasure from some one or some thing (that is sensuality)!  In fact, love is not correctly defined in most situations that love is declared!

LOVE IS doing what is in the true best interest of the OTHER person!

Thus, God so wanted to do what is in OUR true best interest that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

But is God's love limited to our going to Heaven when we die?  Or, does God love us THROUGHOUT our earthly lives as well?  If so, then He will be continually doing what is in our best interests!  (By the way, if we love Him, then guess what?  We will be concerned to do what is in HIS best interest as well!)

So now back to the "us being sheep" thought. 

When a sheep stays with the flock, all is well with the sheep:  Each one is cared for, secure, comfortable, and protected!  When a sheep wanders away from the shepherd and thus the flock, that sheep then becomes vulnerable to injury, hunger, fear and ultimately prey for predators!  (This is why Jesus warned us about wolves in sheep's clothing - - predators have an easier time of devouring sheep if they can lead them away from the safety of the shepherd!)

Some sheep are habitual wanderers, routinely placing themselves in jeopardy and always making the shepherd go searching for them to return them to safety!
According to some traditions, a good shepherd will, after a time of this, using his rod would wound one of the lamb's legs.  (If actually broken or just bruised is not really known) 

Why?  In doing so the shepherd would carry the lamb on his shoulders while the leg healed.  During this time, the lamb would be totally unable to wander away and at the same time would be totally dependent upon the shepherd for it's feeding and care!  This then creates the lamb's "security zone" from which, when it was healed, it would not leave again.

So now, is the Good Shepherd being punitive or loving?  Is he taking retribution for the lamb's misbehavior or is He doing what is actually in the lamb's best interest?  Is the Good Shepherd injuring the lamb to feed His own egotistical needs, making Himself feel important by crippling a lamb in order that it become totally dependent upon Him - - or - - is He doing what will ultimately insure that the LAMB is consistently safe, secure, provided for and able to be a mutually responsible member of the flock?

Here is something that people - the sheep - often forget:  The shepherd is a shepherd regardless of if an individual sheep remains in the flock or not!

God does not need people to be God!  His existence does not depend upon us and there are multitudes of creatures that worship and serve God whether humans ever do or not!  So what God is concerned about is US and not Himself!

People need God to exist!  Man is originally the creation of God and was created to be loved by God and to share in a love fellowship with God.  And God made a way by which we can be reconciled to God, reunited with Him in that love fellowship!  And once we say that we want His love, He believes us and begins doing what is in our best interest - - which is ultimately to be under His care in His kingdom!

The question is, then, do we really want God to do what is in our best interest?  If so then we need to come to grips with how God loves us! 

Continued Next Issue

Many Blessings!
Dr. Timothy

P.S. You are invited to join us for the interactive Wednesday night Bible studies called True Hope Live!  7pm central time and it is free!  Join us by computer/internet or by phone conferencing!  Find out how by clicking here!  We would love to have you with us!

PROPHET'S CORNER

Global March Aims To 'Liberate Jerusalem'
From CBN.COM

On Friday, organizers of the Global March to Jerusalem hope to further their goal of liberating Jerusalem from the "illegal Zionist occupation." It's a concept they apply to all of "occupied Palestine." 

The group chose March 30 to coincide with Palestinian "Land Day" and predicts "massive marches" at Israel's northern and southern borders, the "West Bank" (Israel's biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces are preparing for Friday's march and plan to incorporate lessons they learned during border protests at last June's commemoration of the "Nakba." Nakba is an Arabic term meaning "catastrophe," which they use to describe the establishment of the modern State of Israel. 

The European Preparatory Committee for the Global March to Jerusalem, whose membership includes the U.K.'s Muslim Brotherhood and the Free Gaza Movement, invited people across Europe to take part in the "legitimate struggle of the indigenous Palestinian people." 

"We say no to Zionism and to an exclusive Jewish colonial state, which reacts to the legitimate struggle of the indigenous Palestinian people with the expansion of its apartheid rule," the invitation read.

The rhetoric is strikingly familiar to the Free Gaza Movement's aim to confront "Israel's ongoing abuses of Palestinian human and political rights."

Rising Muslim populations in Europe and the U.S. equate Zionism with oppression and promote the theory that the Jewish people are the interlopers and have no legitimate claim to Israel or Jerusalem.

Iran is actively promoting the event, the Israeli-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported earlier this month. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran should support all movements and groups operating against Jerusalem.

Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip plan to participate in the march, aimed in part "to end the Zionist policies of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and Judaization" of Israel's capital.

"We paid a lot in blood in order to keep Jerusalem an Arabic and Islamic city," Gaza-based Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on February 24. "The Arab Spring brought the Islamic nation to the threshold of the city of Jerusalem."

In a position paper published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs' Jerusalem Viewpoints, author Ehud Rosen analyzed the rise of the international campaign to delegitimize Israel.

He cites the September 2001 U.N.-sponsored conference in Durban, South Africa, as major turning point in that campaign. It labeled Israel an apartheid state that engaged in ethnic cleansing and promoted genocide -- and urged the international community to isolate and boycott the Jewish state.

The Arab Spring, Rosen says, bolstered this increasing campaign to delegitimize Israel since it strengthened the rise of Sunni Islam in such countries as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Kuwait and Morocco.
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Christian Demoted Over Facebook Comments Loses Human Rights Argument

From:  Charismanews.com

A judge has stopped a Christian from using human rights arguments in his legal case against his employer who demoted him because of his moderate comments about gay weddings in churches.

The ruling was handed down last week by District Judge Charles Khan at Manchester County Court.

Adrian Smith will continue his legal action, claiming breach of contract, but the judge’s ruling will fuel concerns that the rights of Christians are being relegated.

The ruling also comes amid deep national controversy surrounding the government’s plans to redefine marriage.

Critics of the plans are concerned that people who believe in traditional marriage could find themselves on the wrong side of the law if the legal meaning of marriage is changed.

Smith’s legal case against his employer can still proceed, but the judge’s ruling means that he cannot rely on his human rights. He will continue to argue that his employer is in breach of contract. The case is likely to be heard in the summer.

Smith was a housing manager at Trafford Housing Trust (THT) when, on Feb. 13, 2011, he posted a link on his personal Facebook page to a BBC news story entitled “Gay church marriages get go ahead” and added his own comment: “an equality too far.”

The comment was made on his personal Facebook page, in his own personal time, and was only visible to his Facebook friends and their friends.

Two colleagues read his Facebook comment. One of them posted a response asking Smith: “Does this mean you don’t approve?”

On the evening of Feb. 14, Smith posted: “I don’t understand why people who have no faith and don’t believe in Christ would want to get hitched in church. The Bible is quite specific that marriage is for men and women. If the state wants to offer civil marriage to the same sex then that is up to the state; but the state shouldn’t impose its rules on places of faith and conscience”.

The comments were brought to the attention of Smith’s employer, and he was disciplined. He was demoted from his position as housing manager and his salary was reduced by 40 percent. He unsuccessfully appealed against the decision.

Smith's situation hit the headlines in October last year. The government’s Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, said THT’s actions were “excessive and disproportionate.” Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell agreed and has offered to appear as a witness in Smith’s defense.

Smith is taking legal action against THT. Public bodies are bound by the Human Rights Act in all of their activities, including their employment practices. THT provides social housing for Trafford Council and is a hybrid body—both public and private.

Lawyers for Smith said its employment practices were part of its public function, and therefore the Human Rights Act applies. Smith’s lawyers pointed out that THT disciplined him because it was worried about its reputation in relation to its public function of providing social housing.

But lawyers for THT say its employment practices are part of its private functions. The judge agreed with THT and struck out that aspect of Smith’s case.

Smith’s legal case will proceed without the human rights arguments. It is being financed by The Christian Institute, a national charity that defends the religious liberty of Christians.

A spokesman said: “This ruling, while not fatal to Smith’s case, is deeply concerning. It reinforces the widely held perception that Christians are not afforded the same human rights as others. If the shoe were on the other foot, if an employee had been disciplined for advocating gay marriage, it is inconceivable that human rights arguments wouldn’t apply. This ruling is particularly relevant at the present time, as the government is planning to redefine marriage. Many people who believe in traditional marriage are worried that they will be penalized for their beliefs.”