Circumcision And Blamelessness: A Temporary Call for Abraham And His Descendants (Genesis 17) [08/16/2019]

I just reread chapter nine of Brian Houston’s There Is More book, and noticed verse one of this chapter in it. And it’s in the first Amplified Bible version that the author had pulled it from! (Speaking of which, this chapter is in pages 8-9 of the NKJV Bible I received as a gift once (this is the same Bible I use for that translation; I didn’t switch to a bigger one, likewise for any of the others), page 11 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 18-19 of my VOICE copy, and pages 19-20 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.) The verse was quoted in page 130 in that book, on the bottom, actually.

I hope to remain blameless before Christ, which I’m sure He’ll continue to do for me, but I’ve seen people try to ruin the dreams God had spoken for me, even after some friends had declared me a prophet to the nations! (Disclaimer: I do not believe you should set yourself up to be someone like this; it depends on Christ’s call. But you don’t need to be one to be prophetic. Besides, it’s just one part of Christ’s invisible Church that He’s got.) Whatever Christ calls me to do, I’m going after it with everything I’ve got! It’s really hard to do that (not to mention frustrating) when I see anti-Christian oppositions such as blaming one’s own sons or daughters for any reason, a rude cashier fueling the fires of godless anger, worship of politics, and sometimes un-Christian products I don’t touch, just to name a few. I’ve written before how the whole country has delighted in anger since before its inception. Well, Calvinism (a belief in things such as double predestination, limited atonement, and perseverance of the saints, all of which are thoroughly false yet embody Christ’s truth and godliness, even quoting numerous Scriptures to try to back them all up) is actually a big reason the U.S. now exists! I don’t know how many others may have had a similar conception (I speak in terms of making new countries), but one thing I know is sure: Christ and His teachings have never been popular. I hope people read this, for I want other people who may or may not live in the U.S. to become Christian as well. For Jesus has never not wanted people to be saved. And I’m just going to warn you right now: the circumcision thing — that was more often than not done religiously after God had said the things recorded in this chapter of the Bible. For Stephen says in Acts 7:51-53, ” You stubborn, stiff-necked people! Sure, you are physically Jews, but you are no different from outsiders in your hearts and ears! You are just like your ancestors, constantly fighting against the Holy Spirit. Didn’t your ancestors persecute the prophets? First, they killed those prophets who predicted the coming of the Just One; and now, you have betrayed and murdered the Just One Himself! Yes, you received the law as given by heavenly messengers, but you haven’t kept the law which you received” (VOICE). Stephen was recounting Israel’s history from Abraham to David and Solomon and notes God’s statement in Isaiah 66:1-2. As the note that is printed between this and verse 51 says, such a strong message strikes a nerve, and Stephen becomes the first martyr of the Church because of it. Thank God he said as he was dying just moments later, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60, NASB) I think we’re past the point of no return, seeing that tension between the believers and the hypocrites who go to churches such as Cornerstone (not bashing any persons, but there’s too many fakes in these places). Six years ago, I mentioned the Calvinism problem in my Tumblr post, before I no longer posted anything on it. And, well… just read it. Many things have happened since then, of which I can’t go into detail tonight. But right-wing ideas have since gained more power, and I think we’re ruined as a result. I don’t want to have a fatalistic mindset, though. I’ll explain why…

Jesus is coming to take His people into the heavens who are still alive, fulfilling the Rapture prophecy (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Hopefully, I’m one of those people who experience this opportunity. Yet from the popularity of this teaching in the 1970s throughout the Church came much hatred against Christ, thinking, “This world is going to Hell. If we don’t promote the truth like crazy, Jesus won’t come back!” But this was the attitude of the Pharisees when they were alive in Jesus’ time, for they expected political power to triumph over the Romans. It’s no different in the world among churchgoers today, for not only are gunmen worshipping the president and promoting God’s Name in what seems like endless hatred as if He encouraged it… people are dragging down those whom Jesus came to heal, such as the asylum seekers fleeing violence in Central America, the transgender and homosexual people, the impoverished in any part of the world, those who want a future (whether they can afford college or not), enslaved men, women, and children, the suicidal, those who harm themselves, the homeless (I’ve been homeless twice myself in the span of five years, and both stints were before my 27th birthday less than two years ago), the rape victims (and others afflicted by sexual abuse and violence) — I could go on. It’s not as though God put Abraham in Canaan for nothing, though. For Jesus was born from him about two thousand years after this occurred, and He lived a perfect life, forgiving everyone in the end by His sacrifice, and rising again so we could live. Too bad many grotesque things happened in between those two lifetimes, and people still follow after these evil deeds, with many by now knowing the truth of Christ’s love for them and others bot not believing it by being unmerciful and unforgiving — you can turn to James 2:13 for what happens to those who hate mercy. It does say that mercy triumphs over judgment, though, thank God! 😁😁😁😁😁

Just a sidenote (this doesn’t have much to do with the post), Ishmael’s 12 sons fathered the Bedouin tribes now in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where Islam was later founded in 622 A.D. by Mohammed the “prophet” — he was said to be the last of Abraham’s offspring, but I think Abraham still has many descendants today, even those who don’t have Sarah as a matriarch (read Genesis 25:1-6 for Abraham’s other wife (and their descendants) after Sarah’s death). Mohammed did many reprobate deeds anyway, so that alone should tell you Islam is no good (he had founded the Islamic religion and had written the Quran, teaching nonstop hate — thank God many people in the Middle East hate a lot of what’s in it!) Also, Muslim tradition tells you that Abraham built the “kabah” (Arabic for “cube”) — that wasn’t built by him, I don’t think. It’s not like Abraham would establish anything violent… you know? Didn’t Jesus say that Abraham didn’t behave like the Pharisees did during His time? (See John 8:40.) Still, I pray for many people in the Middle East to become Christian; hopefully someone can translate this in Arabic, including the statement that Jesus loves everyone. The Internet is a huge platform with too many possibilities, numbering in trillions upon trillions (and counting) of informational things and hilarious clips, not to mention entertaining videos of Nintendo games such as the Mario Kart series and Super Monkey Ball 2. But I’m sure you know there’s inappropriate content across the websites, so watch out for any demonic influences and idolatry and sexual innuendo. Still, someone’s gotta know Arabic and English fluently; there’s nearly eight billion people in this world, you know. I pray people in Iran become Christian, too… I had a dream once that I was in Iraq and I was trying to share the Gospel with someone and authorities found out… it wasn’t very pretty, but thankfully, the dream ended there.

Also, Abraham was doubting that God would give him and Sarah a child, for they were well advanced in years, but still they were holding out for Him to bring Issac into the world. I think we can all behave like this sometimes. But just to be clear: I do not believe in the prosperity gospel message, for they say it always happens to believers in Christ and the Bible tells us otherwise. The prosperity message is embedded in American culture, too. I think it’s Calvinistic as well; it’s really weird. Unfortunately, people get offended by things like this, and that can silence even a strong speaker. I’ve been told I was offensive by the spiritual gifts I was trying to speak about, not to mention the truth about Christ’s love for everyone, and that none is left out of His sacrifice on the cross — little did I know that offense was a powerful weapon, for I was put in a mental hospital for no good reason. and many bad things followed after I was released. Those were dark days, guys. I still get flashbacks. I’m grateful to live with two friends who love me like brothers, but even though a year had passed before I got calls about paying back debts last summer (it’s now mid-August), it’s not enough; I thought I could pay them back later… I guess our country’s leadership has always been greedy for cash. My student loan debt has actually increased even with my rehabilitation program for it finished. Thank God the company I’m working with isn’t backed by any political power, though.

Anyway, it’s almost midnight and I have work in less than ten hours, so do you want to give me any prayer requests? Drop them in my e-mail: ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read each one and write them all down on my bedroom walls! (I still haven’t gotten any, though, but maybe I just don’t write on here much.) Anyway, I really need to go, so I’ll see you in the Sodom and Gomorrah chapters… oh, God, this’ll be a wild ride 😨😰😱