The Spoken Word of Truth

Comment

Comment by DAVID NELLOR on August 3, 2010 at 7:55am

MY NAME IS DAVID NELLOR,
I WORK WITH THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.I.M.F,.

WE ARE CURRENTLY AUDITING THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS OF SOME SELECTED AFRICAN COUNTRIES.

DURING THE EXERCISE, WE HAVE DISCOVERED THERE ARE LOTS AND LOTS OF FOREIGN CONTRACTORS THAT EXECUTED CONTRACTS HERE IN SOME AFRICAN COUNTRIES,BUT DUE TO THE HIGH LEVEL OF CORRUPTION HERE IN AFRICA,SOME OF THESE CONTRACTORS COULD NOT RECEIVE THEIR CONTRACT PAYMENT FOR A LONG TIME NOW.

THIS IS BECAUSE SOME OF THEM HAVE DIED A LONG TIME AGO.

NOW I HAVE CONTACTED YOU BECAUSE THERE IS ONE OF THEM THAT CAME FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND HAS A SIMILLER NAME WITH YOU.

ALL EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE MADE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THIS CONTRACTOR HAVE ALL FAILED,AND IT IS VERY CLEAR TO ALL OF US THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THIS CONTRACTOR MAY BE HE IS DEAD AND HE DID NOT NAME ANY OTHER BENEFICIARY AS HIS NEXT OF KIN.

ALL WE HAVE DECIDED TO DO NOW IS THAT,WE ARE LOOKING FOR HONEST MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD THAT WILL MAKE GOOD USE OF THESE FUNDS TO DO THE WORK FOR THE LORD

NOW I WILL WANT TO PRESENT YOUR NAME TO THE PAYMENT BUREAU SO THAT THE MONEY CAN BE PAID TO YOUR CHURCH AND THE MONEY CAN BE USED TO DO THE WORK OF THE LORD.

THIS IS THE ONLY MEANS THAT THIS FUND CAN BE UTILIZED.

IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU WILL BE VERY HONEST IN HANDLING THESE FUNDS PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR MORE DETAILS.

I HAVE CAREFULLY CHECKED YOUR RECORDS AND PROFILE AND DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU.

PLEASE GET BACK TO ME FOR MORE DETAILS

My direct email address is nellor_dd@yahoo.com

My direct phone number is +442071939091

THANKS

DAVID NELLOR

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND REPRESENTATIVE

Comment by MaLon Israel on August 5, 2008 at 10:47pm

Material prosperity is Not Good for Israel

Hosea 10:1-2


(1) Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself:
according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars;
according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
(2) Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall
break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.



Hosea exposes the problem between God and Israel. He describes Israel
as a luxuriant grape vine sending runners in every direction,
indicating a bountiful crop. It indeed produces great material
prosperity, but it is consumed through self-indulgent gorging. This is
God's way of showing that Israel abused its prosperity: It used its
prosperity for the purposes of idolatry. Its prosperity played a part
in corrupting the Israelites' hearts, which is why Hosea mentions the
divided or disloyal heart in context with its bountiful fruit.

A large part of this world's appeal is its offer of financial
security. However, God shows there is a possible harmful, secondary
effect: As people become financially secure, their attention is
diverted from His purpose to vain and unimportant things. In other
words, prosperity turns people's heads. There is no doubt that
prosperity is good, but unless one is properly focused and
disciplined, it can also be a demanding master because of its power to
distract one into idolatry. Recall God's prophecy in Deuteronomy
32:15, predicting that when Israel prospered, then it would rebel.

This connects with the curse of Laodiceanism because God shows in them
what can happen spiritually as people increase materially. Because
such people are drunk through riches' deceptive promise, their
judgment is in danger of being radically altered. The Laodicean
evaluates himself, saying, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have
need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17).

He is deceived into thinking that his material prosperity proves that
God approves of his conduct and attitudes. His overall conduct may not
be too bad, but his poor self-analysis persuades him that he has no
urgent need to seek God any further. He then merely floats, going
through the motions, even feeling good about himself as he neglects so
great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). His opinion of his holiness as compared
with God's judgment is so far off base, it causes Jesus Christ to
regurgitate him from His body.

Recall the mention in Hosea 10:1 of increasing and embellishing altars
just before Israel fell to Assyria. One would think that, if altars
increase during this period of prosperity, then religion is
flourishing. Indeed, religion flourished, as Amos, Hosea's
contemporary, clearly reports (see Amos 5:21-27). However, it was not
the religion God gave through Moses, but idolatry that flourished! It
was a corruption of that religion, for the Israelites syncretized that
holy way with Baalism and other idolatries.

In Hosea 10:2, God charges Israel with having a divided heart.
Commentaries are at odds over what the Hebrew word translated divided
means. Most modern translations use "false," "deceitful," or
"faithless," and none of these are wrong, including "divided." The
Hebrew word suggests "smoothness" or "flattering," describing people
who "talk the talk" but do not "walk the walk."

Isaiah 29:13 clarifies what God means: "Therefore the LORD said:
'Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me
with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their
fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.'" Their reverence
for Him was mere intellectual accommodation intended to appease Him.
They used the name of God frequently, saying they trusted Him, but
they filled the nation with stealing, lying, and murder.

II Kings 17:33 illustrates their worship: "They feared the LORD, yet
served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from
among whom they were carried away." This describes to a T what Israel
did then and their descendants are continuing to do today. Moffatt
renders this, "They worshipped the Eternal, and they also served their
own gods."

This chapter reports on the behavior of the people placed in Israel
after Israel's conquest and deportation by Assyria between 722-720 BC.
These people, who became known as the Samaritans, feared the Lord but
worshipped their own gods. They were afraid of God, but they did not
really change their way of life. Thus, they developed a syncretic
religious system, a blending of the truth of God and outright
paganism. The Jews of Christ's day clearly recognized this putrid
blend and despised the Samaritans for it.

What is so interesting is that, by verse 36, God is no longer
reporting on the Samaritans but is addressing Israel. In other words,
God is saying that He was driven to defeat and scatter Israel because
they were guilty of exactly the same sin as the Samaritans! They too
had blended the worship of the true God with outright paganism,
utterly corrupting the relationship He had established with them.

It is urgent that we understand what is involved here because it
reveals the cause of God's anger that led to Israel's defeat and
scattering. We must understand that our god is not what we say we
worship but what we serve. Our god is what we give our lives over to.

Theoretically, the Israelites did not believe in idols, but in
reality, they did. They believed in a Creator God, but they worshipped
Him at the shrines they erected to the Baals. While they gave lip
service to the Creator, they adopted most of the Canaanitish religion
with its lewd immorality, and in actual practice, patterned their life
after it. In daily life, they conformed to and reflected the
Babylonish system just as Israel does today. This is exactly what God
warns us to flee, and the only way to come out of it is by developing
and maturing in our relationship with God.