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By Frederick Hoehn, copyright 2013. We have an expression, “Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” It came up recently on TV regarding the decision the President was making whether to strike the regime of Bashar Al Assad in Syria or not. There is an unpleasant set of possible results if we do, and also if we don’t. But with God, you’re only damned if you don’t get born again. In John chapter 3, Jesus said, “You must be born again.” You get born again when you believe the gospel message that Jesus never sinned, died on the cross for our sins, and that God raised him from the dead. In Romans chapter 10, verses 9,10 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you’re saved. For with the heart man believes for righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made for salvation. This Syria thing could prove to be a quagmire for the United States. They’re saying, “No boots on the ground.” That seems like a very worthy goal. But a little thing like the death of the archduke of Austria in Serajevo was responsible for the start of World War 1. There is always the possibility of unintended consequences. Another scripture that applies here is, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Who said that? Jesus. And President Abraham Lincoln also quoted that as a reason not to allow the South to secede from the United States. If we strike Assad, we could be divided against ourselves. A military strike against him couldn’t help him in any way. It would only hurt him. It would send him a step further in the direction of regime collapse. If his regime does collapse, radical Islamists could take over, and make Syria a worse place than it was under Assad. It is lamentable that Syrians were killed by chemical weapons (gas), but there were about one hundred thousand more that were killed without chemical weapons. Since when is it the job of the United States to be the policemen for the world? We have already done a lot, and expended a lot of treasure. What other nation is partnering with us if we do strike Assad? Nor will such a strike guarantee that Assad won’t do it again. This seems a very good opportunity to ask God to render justice, and then to leave it in his hands. But with God, people get damned because of sins they commit. Sin is the transgression of the law. God has given us laws to live by in the Bible. There is only one person who never committed sin, and that’s Jesus. It is because he committed no sin that his death is acceptable by God the Father as payment for the sins of the world. But Christians today tend to be somewhat ignorant about what their benefits are as Christians. In Psalm 103, we are told that not only does God forgive our sins, but he also heals our diseases. Exodus 15:26 tells us, “I am the Lord that heals you.” But when you get something from God, you get it by faith. Jesus said, “When you pray, believe you receive the things you ask for, and you shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) Notice that the believing is present tense, but the shall having is future tense. First you believe, and then you shall have. But if you don’t believe, then you don’t have. Beside healing for his people, the Lord also has the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the speaking in unknown tongues. It is an unknown tongue to the person doing the speaker. You speak a language that you never learned. How is that possible? Because when Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost then gives you words to speak in a strange language. Then, you add your voice and speak those words out loud. Though you don’t understand what you’re saying, God understands all languages. You build up yourself on your faith when you pray in unknown tongues. (Jude vs. 20) Scriptures quoted are from the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version, and the New Testament, Hoehn Version, copyright 2011. Both are available as ebooks for the Kindle readers from Amazon.com
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