"Honest Answer" - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

“Honest Answer”

“But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37, NKJV

Have you ever got this response to a question, need a real answer, but instead, you hear back, “Let me pray about it.” Almost non-committal. Because that is what it really is quite often.

You are looking for a commitment from another, and yet, as so often is the case with Christians these days, we have become so accustomed in giving a non-committal response to most requests, just to get the one asking to hopefully forget about asking us in the first place, and not bother asking again. In truth, it is because often we are hoping they will forget about asking us and find someone who will give an honest answer.

In far too many cases, it has become a flippant, quick answer, when the response is, “I will pray about it”, when all along we are hoping the one asking won’t follow up after enough time has gone by.

Somehow, I get the sense that when Jesus gave His answer of “let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’”, He knew what was in the heart of man. In fact, He followed this statement with another, “For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Wow! If we must give something other than a yes or a no answer, it is from the evil one? Jesus said as much.

I like how THE MESSAGE version of the Bible verse reads, “Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.”

Simply put – if you can’t give an honest answer about something, just say so. “Yes, I can" or "No, I can’t.”

Here is another verse about responding in truth from the heart, written in the Complete Jewish Bible. “Giving an honest answer is like giving a kiss.” Proverbs 24:26

Most kisses are good, so I take this to mean that when you say what you really should say, that which is in your heart, then the person receiving the answer knows it, and is thankful for the truth given.

For myself, I am thankful for those who tell me, honestly, whether or not they can do something asked of them. If they truly are not sure of their schedule, commitment ability to complete the task asked of them, or simply don’t want to, I can appreciate that. Just tell me. But to say, “I’ll pray about it”, when you know you really won’t, then stop lying. Again, as Jesus said, “for whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

We need to be more honest with each other. We need to stop making excuses as to why we won’t be committed or give something, time or goods, when it is in our ability to do so. And if we can’t, then simply say so. Agree?

If you really are sincere, and really will commit to pray before giving your answer, knowing that you do need to seek the Lord for His wisdom and guidance, then do so. But if you know already that you really won’t give an honest answer, just to somewhat brush the person off, then simply let them know.

Being the leader of a ministry, I get many requests from those who know of our work, asking for more provision for them and theirs. There are several times when I simply need to tell them, “No.” That answer doesn’t make it any easier to say, but it is the truth.

Our trust in each other, and for one another, will become more as it should be, as we give honest answers to one another. Practice how you would want to be answered. By giving the truth.

Now think on this and see what good things the Lord has in store for you and those around you.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

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Pineville, NC 28134

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Now Think On This #445 - in the year of our Lord 08.05.19 – “Honest Answer” – Monday, 7:25 pm

Anti-Semitism Spiking: 'They Start with Jews, but They Never Finish with Jews' - CBN News Dale Hurd

Anti-Semitism Spiking: 'They Start with Jews, but They Never Finish with Jews'

08-05-2019

CBN News Dale Hurd

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the globe, especially in Europe. The world's leading Jewish organizations gathered in New York last week to discuss what can be done about it as the increasingly dangerous situation in Europe comes to America too.

Adolf Hitler would have loved it: a float in this year's carnival parade in the Belgian city of Aalst. It featured a Nazi-style depiction of greedy Jews, sitting on a pile of money, one with a rat on his shoulder. And when confronted by Jewish groups, the town mayor defended it.

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This is the same carnival which in 2013 featured a Nazi railroad car carrying Jews to a death camp.

Sometimes the evidence of anti-Semitism in Europe is obvious, and sometimes its subtle – like when Jews quietly leave a neighborhood because it isn't safe anymore.

CBN News traveled through Brussels with Jewish leader Joel Rubinfeld to visit his boyhood synagogue, which had to be sold because the area became too dangerous for Jews.

"I felt insecure coming here with my family. So it's a better thing that we left this place and that we go to a safer space," he said.

Jews have been in Brussels since the first century. They're still here. But many now are leaving because of anti-Semitism and threats of violence.

Rubinfeld said, "It's the not the aliyah, the big aliyah, but the internal aliyah – people who are leaving their city, remaining in the same country, leaving their city to go to a safer city; or people leaving their neighborhood because they feel threatened as a Jew there in this neighborhood and going to another neighborhood where they feel more secure."

The Jewish Museum in Brussels, where an Islamic terrorist killed four people in 2014, shows the 2,000-year history of the Jews in Belgium. But it's the more recent history that Europeans seem to be forgetting.

"So it's people who say yes but it's not anti-Semitic it's humor. But you know this kind of humor is killing Jews. Meaning Jews have the power, Jews have the money, Jews have the control – all these are very basic anti-Semitic clichés," Rubinfeld explained.

In Germany last year, violent attacks against Jews almost doubled. A prominent rabbi was spat upon in public last week.

In Britain, anti-Semitic incidents have risen for a third year in a row.

Anti-Semitism even began to show itself in France's yellow vest movement. In Paris, American writer Nidra Poller says it showed that revolts against the wealthy and powerful inevitably turn against Jews.

"Anti-Semitism is something like, oh the fumes and the fire that come up out of the center of society when the surface is crackling apart. And it's always there. And when it comes up it can become unmanageable and they are very destructive," Poller said.

A new Hudson Institute poll shows most Americans now believe anti-Semitism is growing in the United States. Some say anti-Semitism has infected the Democratic Party. And Rubinfeld has this warning for Christians: you're next.

"More problems will come. No, it's just the beginning. We know this. We know that about anti-Semitic…the anti-Semite. They start with Jews. But they never finish with Jews," Rubinfeld said.

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America Is Not Going To Be A Free And Open Society Any Longer - Michael Snyder

America Is Not Going To Be A Free And Open Society Any Longer Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:54 PM PDT Whenever a tragic act of violence makes national headlines, the calls to give up more of our freedoms and liberties in exchange for the promise of increased security become deafening.  But if we take another step toward becoming an authoritarian society every time something horrible happens, eventually we won’t have any of the basic liberties and freedoms that previous generations of Americans fought so hard to secure for us.  Unfortunately, voices like mine are becoming increasingly rare, and the American people seem to want a society that will shelter them from anything that could possibly go wrong.  Of course, there has never been such a society in all of human history, and we won’t be able to create one either.  No governmental system can eliminate the problem of evil, and bad things sometimes happen to good people.  And without a doubt, the mass shootings that we witnessed over the weekend were absolutely horrific.  In less than 24 hours, 29 American lives were lost between these two mass shootings, and this has greatly shaken the entire nation… On Sunday, Americans woke up to news of a shooting rampage in an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio, where a man wearing body armor shot and killed nine people, including his own sister. Hours earlier, a 21-year-old with a rifle entered a Walmart in El Paso and killed 20 people. In a country that has become nearly numb to men with guns opening fire in schools, at concerts and in churches, the back-to-back bursts of gun violence in less than 24 hours were enough to leave the public stunned and shaken. Sadly, these are not isolated incidents.  As our society has become less moral, we have seen an escalation of violence all over the country. According to USA Today, so far in 2019 there have been more mass shootings than days in the year… As gunfire ripped through America in an unprecedented 24 hours, a bleak milestone in a nation pocked by gun violence was marked: There have been 251 mass shootings in 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive. A shooting spree early Sunday at an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio – which left at least nine dead and more than two dozen injured – notched an even darker statistic: It occurred on the 216th day of the year, meaning there have been more mass shootings than days so far this year. As I have been warning for years, the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted is steadily disappearing. At one time, you could walk down the streets in most communities in America without worrying that someone would suddenly gun you down, but that is no longer a safe assumption. And in some areas, things are getting really, really bad.  Just check out what happened in Chicago over the weekend… In Chicago at least three people have been killed and 37 more injured since Friday evening in shootings within city limits, including 22 people shot Sunday in less than four hours, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. In particular, a mass shooting that took place near a children’s playground was particularly tragic… As The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reports, at least seven people were shot and wounded on Aug. 4 as they gathered near a children’s playground on Chicago’s West Side. The people gathered at 1:20 a.m. as they stood in the park on the 2900 West Roosevelt Road when a person opened fire from a black Chevy Camaro, said Chicago Police. So why didn’t this mass shooting get the same kind of coverage that the other mass shootings received? Could it be that it is because it didn’t neatly fit the agenda that the mainstream media is trying to promote? The city of Baltimore is another major American city where violence is completely and utterly out of control.  In fact, there is only one nation on the entire planet that has a higher homicide rate than Baltimore… Only one country in the world has a higher per capita homicide rate than the city of Baltimore. According to WorldAtlas, the murder capital of the globe is Honduras — where there are 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people. Baltimore, with 56 homicides per 100,000 people, edges out the number two spot ahead of Venezuela, where there are 53.7 homicides per 100,000 people. As the violence across our country continues to escalate, the calls to restrict our 2nd Amendment rights are going to become overwhelming. But taking away our 2nd Amendment rights is not going to solve the problem.  Instead, it will just take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. The truth is that the El Paso shooter picked a gun-free zone for a reason.  When they know that their targets will be sitting ducks, that just makes things even easier for the mass shooters. And the bad guys will always find ways to get guns.  Just look at the city of Chicago – they have some of the harshest gun laws in the entire nation, but they also lead the country in gun deaths. Unfortunately, logic doesn’t tend to work with those that love authoritarianism.  Whenever something happens, they want the government to do “something”, and that “something” almost always involves eroding our most basic rights. I wish that it wasn’t true, but this is where our country is heading.  Americans have been trained to believe that the government should take care of them from the cradle to the grave and should do all that it can to shield them from everything bad that can possibly happen in life. Sadly, every time such a totalitarian “utopia” has been attempted throughout human history, it has always ended very badly, and that will be the case here as well. About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time. The post America Is Not Going To Be A Free And Open Society Any Longer appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

[SIGN] Mingled Anointings - Building Community Builders, Morris Ruddick

[SIGN] Mingled Anointings Building Community Builders Mingled Anointings By Morris Ruddick Aug 03, 2019  “Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?’ Elisha said, ‘Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’” 2 Kings 2:9 Elijah’s God-encounter in the cave which followed his exploits against the prophets of baal and asherah began a transition […] The post Mingled Anointings (http://strategic-initiatives.org/mingled-anointings/) appeared first on Global Initiatives Foundation (http://strategic-initiatives.org) . Click to Read the Full Article »     Recent Articles: Glimmers of the Season The Daniel Calling The Secret Places Bitter Root Alliances The Wealth Transfer Revisited

Copyright © 2019 Global Initiatives Foundation, All rights reserved. You are receiving this post from Global Initiatives as a member of the Strategic Intercession Global Network [SIGN} Our mailing address is: Global Initiatives Foundation 3838 South Wabash Denver, Co 80206

"A Time for Unprecedented Favor and Radical Destiny" - Danielle Dixon THE ELIJAH LIST

"A Time for Unprecedented Favor and Radical Destiny"

Danielle Dixon  THE ELIJAH LIST

Aug 5, 2019

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:

     This message from Danielle Dixon of Australia is profound.

     I believe this will speak to the core of some of our readers...and you'll jump up and down saying, "This is for me!"

     Here's a small teaser of Danielle's word:

     We will see positions of political authority, justice departments, ruling and governing bodies in the nations of the earth being fulfilled by the sons and daughters of God. It may have looked impossible for them to win the vote and unlikely that they would turn the hearts of the people, so there will be no other explanation for their positioning than God's favor.

     Now find out much more about the favor of God coming your way! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

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"A Time for Unprecedented Favor and Radical Destiny"

Danielle Dixon, Queensland, Australia

The Latter Is Different Than the Former

Lately I have been sensing that the latter part of this year is going to be totally different from the intense warfare that so many of God's sons and daughters have been under.

I had an impression that the old, financial way of doing things has ended. This was the completion of a season of financial struggle, lack, delay and setback. I believe we've stepped into a new, fiscal year heralding unprecedented favor.

God's Favor is at Work in the Fullness of Time

As I was meditating on what the plans and purposes of God would look like in this season, the Lord impressed on me that He is releasing divine favor into the Body of Christ which will cause a dramatic shift. He is doing this so that the world will know who our God is and what He can do!

This is not the type of favor that causes people to like us or to give us "warm, fuzzy feelings." It is a supernatural favor to get the job done despite our lack of finances, wisdom, revelation or experience in any area. This kind of favor has little to do with how wonderful we are and everything to do with the appointed times of God.

In the Bible, we see that God's works have a set "Mow'ed" (appointed time). We read repeatedly about the "fullness of time, the appointed time and the fulfillment of time." In the Hebrew culture, these phrases represent the full circles of life where something is completed. (Photo via Unsplash)

The Lord lead me to Psalm 102, which speaks of such times:

"I know You are about to arise and show Your tender love to Zion. Now is the time, Lord, for Your compassion and mercy to be poured out—the appointed time has come for Your prophetic promises to be fulfilled!" (Psalm 102:13)

In Psalm 102:14-20, I saw the prophetic picture of the Body of Christ today, crying out to see God's goodness upon the earth:

"For Your servant's weep in sympathy over Zion's ruins and feel love for her every stone. When You arise to intervene, all the nations and kings will be stunned and will fear Your awesome name, trembling before Your glory! Yes, You will reveal Yourself to Zion and appear in the brightness of Your glory to restore her and give her children. He responds to the prayer of the poor and broken and will not despise the cry of the homeless. Write all this down for the coming generation, so re-created people will read it and praise the Lord! Tell them how Yah looked down from His high and holy place, gazing from His glory to survey the earth. He listened to all the groaning of His people longing to be free, and He set loose the sons of death to experience life."

Positioned for Radical Destiny

We saw this kind of supernatural favor upon Joseph's life during great darkness. God made a way to supernaturally promote him at the appointed time. At seventeen, he was sold into slavery. At thirty, he was prime minister of a nation. This is God's divine favor at work. Favor may not bring short cuts, but favor fulfills radical destiny.

We will see positions of political authority, justice departments, ruling and governing bodies in the nations of the earth being fulfilled by the sons and daughters of God. It may have looked impossible for them to win the vote and unlikely that they would turn the hearts of the people, so there will be no other explanation for their positioning than God's favor.

We will also see the people of God fulfilling His plans in the area of acquiring lands, properties, expansions and establishing church and community-functioning organizations. (Photo via Unsplash)

Things are close to their fullness of time, and it will not matter what the enemy does. When the favor of God is lavishly poured out, people will say, "Is anything too hard for their God?"

You Are on the Last Lap!

In a vision, I saw angels waving checkered flags as if they were signaling the last lap of a car race. The cars in the race were formula 1s. I believe that through this vision, the Lord is saying that God's vehicles are in top performance, fine-tuned, and near the end of their race.

These angels that were being dispatched into the earth were too many to number, and as they waved the checkered flags, the favor of God was being released, encouraging God's people as if to say, "You are on the last lap. Don't stop. Shortly there will be a lap of honor!" There is an increase of angelic activity in this hour of favor. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

Danielle Dixon
Ark Ministries 
Email: danielle@arkministries.com.au
Website: www.danielledixonministries.com.au

Pastor Danielle Dixon has a passion to see the "captives set free." Having overcome obstacles and bondages in her own life, she shares her life experiences to encourage others to believe that with God all things are possible. Danielle and her husband Massey Dixon are senior pastors of ARK Ministries, a church they planted 19 years ago in Queensland, Australia. Their vision is to embrace people with love, hope and the goodness of God. God has used her prophetic gift to encourage many people in church settings and the marketplace over the past 25 years of ministry.

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