TRUE HOPE TIMES


Volume 2 November 5,2011

Hello,
The idea came up this week to include a section in the True Hope Times for Spiritual Life Questions and Answers for our readers to participate in.  If you would like to see this be included in the weekly "Times" and if you would participate by submitting questions that concern yours or your family's (or friend's) spiritual success, please let us know by sending us an Email!

If a significant percentage of our readers respond in the affirmative we will begin to include this as a weekly feature and if you want to include a question with your response that would be even better!  Please let us know by Email!  Click Here!


By the way ... REMEMBER THIS WEEKEND OUR CLOCKS CHANGE TO DAYLIGHT STANDARD TIME!  Saturday night be sure to set your clocks back one hour so that you won't be off schedule for your morning worship church services!


Many Blessings!
Dr. Timothy

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A Presentation of ...
True Hope Churches & Ministries


From Dr. Timothy
Dr. Timothy Hoflund
PURE HEARTS
 & PURE WORDS

 The one thing that other people cannot see is the one thing that betrays us and will cause other people to label us a failure!  I am speaking of our hearts, the "throne" of our lives while in these corrupt bodies of flesh and blood!

Here are some things that Jesus has to say about our hearts (I'll let you look up the Scriptures but the passages below are from the NKJV) ...

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

"But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things."

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 

"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
"These are the things which defile a man ..."

Hopefully you begin to get the picture ... while only God can look upon our hearts, we are not only able but responsible to pay attention to the symptoms which indicate that impurities exist at dangerous levels in our hearts - and then take correct action to remedy the problem! 

The best way to determine the conditions of our hearts is to pay attention to both the words and thoughts that emanate therefrom!

  • According to a ChristiaNet survey, 50 percent of Christian men are addicted to pornography. And it’s not just a “guy-thing;” 20 percent of Christian women are addicted to pornography, and 60 percent of Christian women admitted to significantly struggling with lust.  (Read Prophet's Corner below)

I was speaking with a close friend of mine this week about this and shared with him that I recall having had an immoral dream one time and woke up repenting and asking forgiveness for the contents of the dream ... and then I asked God, "where did that come from?"

Many times we think that the condition of our hearts are just fine but the words we speak and the thoughts we have betray the fact that our hearts may be in a state of impurity that needs to be dealt with!

Often, because of the words we speak, others may sense or fully realize that we are in spiritual trouble and draw back from following our leadership due to what is obvious to them - - our hearts have some area of uncleanness in them and our leadership can't be trusted right now!

Yet, when someone tries to speak to us about what they sense or see, we are blind to the problem and deny what they are saying!  We may resent their questioning our moral integrity and spiritual condition because after all, our hearts are just fine - especially if we are in the position of ministry leadership!  Sadly, being in leadership can compound our resistance to remedy because to admit to a problem could jeopardize our position in the church!

I once had a close friend who lost his position as Pastor of a congregation because of this very thing.  When I spoke to him about the matter of his words and thoughts, even his dreams while he slept (which he had shared with me) I asked him if he saw that his heart was in a state of impurity.

Whle his response was not in anger, he reacted in denial all the same.  He told me that he was certain that his heart was fine and that there were no problems with the condition of his heart.   He took great exception that some on his board of directors had said that, because of certain inappropriate things he had said to a female church member, he was in a state of moral failure.

Because he was in denial, the only thing I could say to him was to challenge him to ask God to show him just where did these thoughts and words come from, what were their source?  I don't know if he ever did because I haven't heard from him since that incident.

Here is one more thing that God tells us about our hearts ...

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?
 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

God takes the condition of our hearts very seriously.  If we insist that our hearts are clean and we refuse to examine our heart's condition by the words we speak and the thoughts we have then we keep ouselves blind to a very hazardous condition which can both be the undoing of ourselves and others as well!

If we refuse to deal with symptomatic impurities in our hearts then God will!  God knows that if our hearts are not clean, we are not fit for service nor duty because the devil has great advantage against us in such a condition!

If our hearts are unclean and impure to the point of producing symptoms, then not only are we prime targets for satanically orchestrated defeat, those who follow us also become prime targets for the same fate! 

Why is this the case?

Because what we (leaders) allow in our own hearts and lives will be seen as spiritually acceptable by those who follow us which makes it all the more difficult for them to see the very peril this places their lives in! 

Can God allow that?  Will God allow that?  Not in the lives of those who are truly His children! 

Why?  Because our minds are to be transformed - and our lives are to be conformed into the spiritual likeness of Jesus as a witness for the positive life changing love of God!

Sadly too, sometimes we know we have specific impurities in our hearts but don't know who we can trust to help us.  The more important our role of leadership the more difficulty we have in confiding in someone else for spiritual assistance - yet if we don't deal with those impurities they may well become our downfall!

God is faithful!  He is faithful to provide a way of cleansing and purifying our hearts if we will but turn to Him in total honesty and lay ourselves open to Him!

NEXT TIME - - REMOVING IMPURITIES

Many Blessings!
Dr. Timothy


PROPHET'S CORNER
1.  Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
 2.  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
 3.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
 4.  Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
James 4

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Pornography in the Pew – A Hidden Sin

http://www.christianpost.com

White Ribbon Against Pornography Week kicks off Sunday, and with it comes a renewed push toward increasing awareness and providing solutions.

The website pornharms.com has an entire section devoted to WRAP Week, and will air a live webcast Sunday on Internet Safety 101. The site is also giving away copies of Truth Behind The Fantasy of Porn: The Greatest Illusion on Earth, by Shelley Lubben, a former pornography star.

It is widely known that pornography is a prevalent issue in today’s society, but its potential of addiction is not isolated to the secular world. Charles Swindoll calls it “the no. 1 secret problem in your church.”

“Without your knowing, it could be eating your church alive. And the scariest thing is . . . you may not realize the extensive damage it's causing,” Swindoll wrote on his website, Insight for Living. “It's ruining marriages, destroying relationships, harming youth, and hurting the body of Christ."

No longer is viewing pornographic material confirmed to boys and men sneaking a peak at a Playboy magazine. The Internet has created an instant and easy access to what is known as “hardcore” images and film.

"I’d say the overwhelming majority of users have almost no understanding of the consequences of pornography," said David R. Smith, author of Ministry by Teenagers, in an email to The Christian Post. "They do not understand that it’s not real. They mentally glaze over the reality that pornography is about two Ms: money and masturbation. Of course, it also leads to the dehumanization of women (no matter what the adult industry may say)." 

Pornography and sexual sin are becoming more and more pervasive. According to watchdog organization Covenant Eyes, the profit obtained from the pornography industry is more than the collective revenue of the top technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple, EarthLink and Netflix.

United Families International found that 40 million Americans regularly visit pornographic sites and 2.5 billion pornographic emails are sent each day. The same survey found that nearly 30,000 users are viewing porn each second.

According to a ChristiaNet survey, 50 percent of Christian men are addicted to pornography. And it’s not just a “guy-thing;” 20 percent of Christian women are addicted to pornography, and 60 percent of Christian women admitted to significantly struggling with lust.

And yes, pornography is in the pulpit, too. Christianity Today found that 37 percent of pastors admit that they struggle with Internet pornography, and 51 percent say it’s a source of temptation. And more than half the pastors surveyed (57 percent) said that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue in their church.

It breaks apart marriages – 56 percent of divorces involve one party having an obsessive interest in “pornographic websites,” according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. And pornography breaks up churches.

“You hardly need to be reminded that fallen pastors and priests did not ‘suddenly’ fall. More often than not, pornography played a role in their downward spiral,” Swindoll wrote.

But there is hope.

"Help exists," Smith said. "There are hundreds of reputable agencies and ministries that specialize in overcoming pornography addiction. Some of them are even free: www.XXXchurch.com being one of them. The greatest need any person struggling with pornography abuse has is accountability. That individual should seek a person of authority to whom he/she is accountable in this arena of their lives."

Several other ministries exist for Christians seeking help with pornography such as Pure Life, The Meadows and Pure Intimacy. There are abundant resources available on the Internet and in books, including www.blazinggrace.org, a website dedicated to the issues of pornography and sex addiction, and foreverfamilies.byu.edu.

“It’s not just an adolescent male thing that guys grow out of,” said Rusty Rohr, a recovering pornography addict in the Pure Life recovery program. “It’s a serious problem, a heart issue. … And men can find freedom, not just cleaned up behavior.”

Meanwhile, the annual WRAP Week is continuing to raise awareness about the pervasive problem and help those affected. Now in its 24th run, the WRAP Week campaign is collaborating with ex-porn stars, filtering companies, scholars, therapists and others in more than 20 national events.

Also, in conjunction with the Oct. 30-Nov. 6 WRAP Week, Morality in Media is launching its second Be Aware: PORN HARMS National Awareness Campaign.

“[Pornography] is destroying families and is the main contributor to the exploitation of women and children. Pornography is the gateway to the sex industry and the harm must end,” said Patrick Trueman, president of MIM, in a statement.

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Students of the Bible should understand today's economic news
By Bill Wilson

Unemployment in America remains at 9.1%. There is no indication that the economy is improving. Bloomberg quotes Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics, saying, "Much of the weakness in hiring can be blamed on uncertainty." These type of assessments sound accurate, but in reality are misstatements. The business atmosphere is not good. The government has engulfed the economy with its historic debt. There is no uncertainty about it. The economy both in the US and worldwide is headed for a major calamity, save a miracle. This is very predictable. American families would be wise to read their Bibles that they might find the secrets of survival in this new world order.

Many denominations downplay Biblical prophecy. They just don't understand it, do not believe prophecy relates to the modern post-Christian world in which we are living. By many accounts, the Bible is entirely prophetic as well as historic and poetic. There is prophecy fulfilled, and prophecy yet to be fulfilled. The Bible consists of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, 18, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Prophecy, therefore, is embodied in the Holy Scriptures, and Jesus shall fulfill all.

When the Governor of the Bank of England, for example, is saying that the world is facing "the most serious financial crisis we've seen," Christians with a clear understanding of the Bible should not panic. The birth pangs of prophecy have stepped closer to fulfillment. In the prophetic book "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" there is a scene in heaven described by the Apostle John where the third seal is opened, releasing the third of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The rider on this black horse "had a pair of balances in his hand." Revelation 6:6 says, "And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny..."

A type of this prophecy is unfolding before our eyes, like layers of an onion leading to it's core. It appears that the world is being prepared for the crisis created by the end time prophecies. Financial calamity, as the third horse of the Apocalypse depicts, is on the horizon worldwide. No matter what the reason--poor leadership, poor decision-making, evil intent, whatever--the birth pang of financial calamity is upon us. We also know more is to come. The Bible warns us. It would be wise to make preparations that we are not caught unawares. Proverbs 22:5 says, "Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them." Tend to your soul. Receive the protection of the Lord.

From Prophezine

 
Messages From Leaders
WHERE DO WE GO TO EAT?
By:  David Wilkerson

The seventh chapter of Micah contains one of the most powerful messages on the new covenant ever preached. In this incredible sermon, Micah is speaking to natural Israel—yet he is also speaking to the church of Jesus Christ in these last days. He
begins his sermon with a heartbroken cry—one that is still being heard from spiritually starved believers around the world today:  “Woe is me! . . . There is no cluster to eat” (Micah 7:1).
 
Micah is describing the effect of a famine in Israel—a famine of food and of God’s Word. It echoes the words of an earlier prophecy by Amos where the Lord says: “Behold, the days are coming . . . that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a
thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall . . . run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it”  (Amos 8:11–12).
 
It was harvest time in Israel and the vineyards should have been bursting with fruit, but there were no clusters hanging from the vines. Micah watched as people went into the vineyards looking for fruit to pick and finding none. In his prophetic eye, Micah saw
multitudes in the last days running from place to place, seeking to hear a true word from God. He envisioned believers scurrying from church to church, from revival to revival, from nation to nation— all seeking to satisfy a hunger and thirst for something to nourish
their souls. The cry is still heard, “Woe is me—there is no cluster!”
 
There is a great famine in the land. Yet, in spite of multitudes running about looking for spiritual food, those who truly desire God’s Word comprise only a remnant (see Micah 7:14, 18). This is certainly as true today as it was in ancient Israel. Few Christians
today truly hunger to hear the pure word of the Lord. Instead, the majority fatten themselves on Sodom’s apples, feeding on the straw of perverted gospels.
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