CONVERGENCE

Convergence: 1) the act, fact, or condition of converging; 2) the point at which things converge.

Converge:1) to come together or tend to come together at a point; 2) to move or be directed toward each other or toward the same place, purpose, or result. (Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition)

A check of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible reveals that neither "convergence" nor "converge" appear in the Bible; yet I contend that the principle has been there all the time. With the benefit of hindsight (which is not always 20/20 but is usually clearer than present or future sight) we can see that Galatians 4:4 speaks of a moment of convergence. "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law," Galatians 4:4 (NKJV)

The New Living Translation says, "But when the right time came..." From God's perspective, the right time was a time when many things converged. At the top of the list there is the matter of prophecy. Without delving too deeply into the subject, the following Scripture gives us a clue.

²⁵ "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
²⁶ "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:25-26 (NKJV)

From the time that the decree was issued to rebuild the walls and streets of Jerusalem (Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445 B.C.) until Messiah was cut off (crucified) there would be 69 weeks of prophetic (360 day) years, or 483 years. While this does not pinpoint the time of Messiah's birth, it comes close. Interestingly, the prophecy of the 70 weeks of years (the afore mentioned 69) plus the final week, which is 7 years yet to come, was given to Daniel. Daniel was a righteous Hebrew lad, taken into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C. Daniel, for about 70 years, would maintain his integrity while serving under several kings as both an administrator and as a Magi. As the time of the Savior's birth approached, who were the people who realized what was about to happen? It was the Magi.

¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
² saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." Matthew 2:1-2 (NKJV)

Not only did the prophetic calendar converge with the time of Jesus' birth, but with most of the known world under the rule of Rome, there existed a time of relative peace (Pax Romana), a well developed system of roads was in place, and many peoples were united by a common language. At just the right time Jesus was born, which meant also that at just the right time He died and rose again. The world was in a state that made the spread of the gospel.

All of that leads to my simple conclusion for today. Just as the First Advent of Jesus the Christ occurred at a time when many things in the world converged, so will it be at the Second Advent of Jesus the King. This may help to explain some of the many things which are currently happening on planet earth. Most of the politicians and the pundits would have us think that either things are spinning out of control or that man can fix things if only ____________. The truth is that nothing is out of God's control, including the fact that soon there will appear on the world stage a man who deceives many into thinking that he has the solution.

Next time we will look at some of the things that seem to be converging on that point in time. Until then, keep looking up, for your redemption draws near (Luke 21:28).







 

A Nation in Disarray

Government Shutdown ... Debt Ceiling ... Sequestration ... Weapons of Mass Destruction ... Syria ... Israel ... Palestine ... Iran ... Afghanistan ... Iraq ... Obamacare ... The LGBT Agenda ... Women's Right to Choose ... Islam ... Terrorism ... Benghazi ... NSA Spying ... 1st Amendment ... 2nd Amendment ... Democrat ... Republican ... Rhino ... Tea Party ... Progressive Liberal ... Conservative (fiscal or moral or both) ... The UN ...

Any one of the above topics (and many) will certainly wind up the pundits of every stripe and color, so I wish to talk for just a minute about a topic that is not all that dear to the hearts of many people. I have chosen to do so on a blog site because I do not have much access to the shakers and movers inside the beltway. I am forever grateful that I do have access to the One who will have the last shake (Hebrews 4:16; 12:26-27).

In any event, this is an open letter to the President of the United States, to every member of his cabinet and staff, and to every senator and congressman. You will spend a lot of time, energy, and money trying to resolve the many problems facing our nation, the above list being just a sample. I can tell you, based not on any personal expertise but on the unchanging Word of God, that all of that effort will be wasted until you first restore righteousness to the foundations of our country. We have lost our moral bearings as a nation, and until those are regained, all of our efforts will be in vain. For it is written:

"Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people." Proverbs 14:34 (NKJV)

"If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?" Psalms 11:3 (NKJV)

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance." Psalms 33:12 (NKJV)

Someone might ask, "Even if I agreed with you, where should we start?" I do not believe for a second that God requires a complicated answer to that question. Our own instincts agree with the Word of God that life is sacred, and comes from God. We wrote that into our Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life ..." That certainly agrees with ...

¹³ For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. Psalms 139:13-16 (NKJV)

We MUST, as a nation, pass laws granting personhood status, under the 14th Amendment, to all humans from the moment of conception. God has given us 40 years to remove the stench of blood-guilt from our land and we have not yet done it. We MUST do so before it is too late; before the problems listed above (and worse) consume us. You, as leaders of this once great nation, have a responsibility to put the ship of state back on the right course.

And we the people have a responsibility to communicate to you our desire that you do so. Therefore, this letter is also to all the people. You can become active participants in something called the 3.1.10 Initiative. Call your 3 congressmen at least 1 time per month and register your strong desire to see Personhood/Life at Conception legislation (H.R. 1091 and S. 583) passed into law just as soon as possible, and urge at least 10 of your friends to do the same.

The amazing thing about getting this message out on the world-wide web is that it can either sit there in cyber-space or it can go viral. Without righteousness being restored to the foundation of our nation, we will continue to be a nation in disarray. It's up to you.

World News Through the Third Lens: The State of Our Union

In the president's state of the union address last Tuesday.........

Why bother to go over that speech, the contents of which, if they become reality, will push the United States of America further into the abyss? There was not one mention of the connection between our moral decline and our fiscal problems. The proposals to "fix" our economy not only miss this connection - they lack one shred of common sense as shared by Dr. Ben Carson at the National Prayer Breakfast. President Obama should have been taking notes rather than looking for a hole to crawl into.

Rather than taking apart the President's agenda, which includes (in this writer's opinion) much that constitutes impeachable offenses, I would rather focus on just one sentence in Senator Marc Rubio's rebuttal speech. "But America is exceptional because we believe that every life, at every stage, is precious, and that everyone everywhere has a God-given right to go as far as their talents and hard work will take them."

Every time I read that, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I think those are symptoms of hysteria, so you can consider this blog as written by an hysterical man on a mission. While I appreciate Senator Rubio's pro-life statement, I can't help but wonder why his name was not listed as a co-sponsor on Senator Wicker's bill: S.91 Life at Conception Act introduced at the beginning of the 112th congress. Why was this bill allowed to languish in committee without, at least, a real battle? Why hasn't a version of S.91 been introduced to the 113th congress by either Sen. Rubio, Sen. Wicker, or either of Tennessee's two "Pro-life" senators, Corker and Alexander? Could it be because of the state of our union is actually disunity?

Through the third lens of Scripture.................

Ephesians 4:1-6 (NKJV)
¹ I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Our country is most definitely not exceptional because of a belief that every life, at all stages, is precious. If that were so, we would not be a nation that has allowed the legal murder of over 55 million babies in the womb over the past 40 years. I also think that the church of Jesus Christ has lost its exceptionalism by allowing this to happen in our beloved country. How has this happened when the majority of people in this country say they believe in the sanctity of life? I think it is because we are not united in what we mean when we say we are "pro-life."

There is no claim that any of the numbers hereafter are accurate, but I do believe that they are accurate in what they represent.

Of the 200,000,000 or so people in the USA eligible to vote, approximately 150,000,000 of them are registered to vote. Of the registered voters, over 80,000,000 say they are pro-life. Let's just go with the 80MM and break that down further.

Let's say that 50%  (40MM) think that abortion should be banned, but with exceptions (i.e., rape,incest, health of mother, etc.)

Let's say that the other 50% (40MM) think that all abortions should be banned; no exceptions.

Out of either group there have sprung various and sundry pro-life organizations, but they often refuse to work with one another because of disagreement regarding the exceptions.

Out of each group there have sprung many mercy ministries (i.e., Care-net) which focus most of their attention on helping those in crisis pregnancy situations, with very little effort directed at going up-stream to prevent the crisis. As such, they have staff and budget needs to be met.

A considerable portion of the pro-life movement is devoted to keeping people abreast of current events in this arena. As such, they have staff and budget needs to be met.

A very small percentage (probably less than 1%) of the people who say they are pro-life actually take their theology out to the streets. These people operate with next to nothing for a formal budget. Most of the workers are strictly volunteers and any funds collected go directly to alleviate the needs of families who choose life - right at the gates of the abortion mills. Even the seasonal efforts to go to the streets attract a very small percentage of the evangelical church. In the Bible Belt part of Tennessee where I live, only about 15 of the 1000 churches in the area will be participating in 40 Days for Life.

I have kept this numbers game to a minimum because my purpose is not to divide, but to unite. I am willing to accept the fact that many different approaches have been taken by the pro-life community, and that pro-life commitment varies from person to person. I am not suggesting that the various efforts of organizations like Personhood USA, Care-net, Operation Save America, Operation Rescue, Life News, 40 Days for Life, et al should cease. God forbid! What I am suggesting is that everyone who calls him/herself "Pro-Life" should take the minimal steps granted to every citizen of the USA to end abortion in this country. This can be done without having to fund a staff or a budget; it can be done without engaging in endless speeches.

Personhood is the answer............

The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution states, "...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Because, as a nation, we seem to have lost our ability to recognize that a baby in the womb is a person from the moment of conception, there is a need for congress to act, under section 5 of the 14th Amendment, and extend the protections thereof to each born and preborn human person.

Our duly elected congressmen (senators and representatives) need to know that the will of the people is to define personhood as beginning with the moment of conception. Let's not engage in endless debate regarding exceptions; the need to attack this state by state or restriction by restriction. Let's just tell congress that we believe that human life begins at conception and that equal protection under the law should apply at that point. We demand a law that guarantees this. Once this is the law of the land, and only then, will Sen. Rubio's statement ring true.

Join the 3.1.10 initiative. 3 - the number of congressmen you should contact; 1 - the number of times to contact them per month requesting passage of Life at Conception/Personhood legislation ASAP; 10 - the minimum number of friends you should urge to do the same.

The Spirit, which is Life is calling us to unity.....................