God: Is He Conservative or Liberal?

Is God conservative or liberal?

Some would say, which God are you talking about? The God of the Christian, the God of the Jew, the God of the Muslim or the God that I choose to believe in?

For the sake of finding truth, let's say, "all of the above."

Most mainstream religions (and, quite frankly most people) believe in monotheism - the belief that there is only one God. Much to the surprise of the Jehovah Witnesses, as well as the Jewish and Muslim communities, Christians also believe in only One God.

Having said that, when I use the name Jesus in this article, please don't conclude that I am only talking about the Christian faith. While I am, personally, a Christian, I am writing this article to try and bring truth - truth from One God, the God of all creation - into view.

I have found that Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews and Muslims all believe in Jesus as a prophet, they simply differ in their belief of His deity. This article is not a debate about Jesus. This article is a thought provoking post about the One True God of all humanity - no matter your religion - and His ultimate desire for this world and, especially, for human beings in particular.

As a human being on planet earth who believes that God loves all people and He wants the best for all people, I am writing this article to bring about "thought" in the minds of those who either don't practice any religion, at all; or perhaps, who do have faith in God but they have not considered the end result of God's ultimate purpose and plan - His desire for all mankind.

I hope that whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or of some other faith, you will think soberly about the content of this article before concluding your opinion of what you believe to be the remedy for the evils of society.

Here is my article...

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Jesus (whether you believe in him as prophet or as deity) liberally loves all people but He conservatively hates sin and hypocrisy. His life on earth was a visual demonstration of God’s will.

Jesus never condemned the humble, nor turned His back on broken humanity. He did, however, openly condemn those whose “motives” were wrong. 

In fact, in Matthew 21, Jesus angrily overturned the tables of those who were selling doves to be used in sacrifices at the temple. In this same chapter He also spoke a curse onto a fig tree because it did not produce fruit for Him. Again, in Matthew 23, we see Jesus openly condemning hypocrisy and even going so far as calling the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (religious leaders) "snakes and a brood of vipers." 

Jesus would look straight through a person to expose the heart (the root) of the matter.

Everything that Jesus did was the will of God.

God is the same from Genesis to Revelation of the Holy Bible.

For the Christian, Jesus did not come to condemn the law but to fulfill the law. Nonetheless, the law is still God’s standard, because without the grace of God - (for the Christian, the blood of Jesus that only covers humble hearts of repentance) - the law remains in effect.

Satan, himself, tried to use the Word to tempt Jesus. But, because Jesus knew the meaning of the Word better than Satan, Jesus could not be led astray.

In fact, all faiths who believe in the account of the Garden of Eden should be able to easily see how the devil twisted God's Word against Eve when the serpent said, "Did God really say that you would surely die?" The deception was to create confusion, doubt, justification and rationalization in Eve's mind so that she would truly believe (at least for the moment) that it was okay for her to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, although God had clearly said earlier that it was forbidden. Eve probably had a sense of peace (although it was not true peace) when she made the decision to eat of the fruit.

The devil (you might think of him as an evil force) has been twisting God’s Word in the minds of all humanity since the Garden of Eden. Satan (the devil - the worker of evil) is a master deceiver and he is attempting to twist God's Holy Word, still today, in the minds of any human being who does not fully understand the character of God as both Loving and, yet, a Righteous Judge.

God loves people. His judgements are always for the purpose of turning sinful humanity back to Himself in truth and righteousness.

The wages (penalty) of all sin is death.

God does not want humanity to die mentally, emotionally, spiritually or physically - not individually, or as a family, place of worship, community, state or nation. (Hence, heaven is the ultimate escape from death. I call the way to heaven The Remedy for the wages of sin.)

Unfortunately, because all of humanity lives in a sinful world, we will all die (from this earth) one day - unless Jesus, Messiah comes back before that day comes.

For a moment, let's compare sin to cancer. Cancer secretly works, destroying good cells and overtaking body tissue with bad cells. Like cancer, you don’t always see sin or feel sin until it is too late.

Much like sin, oftentimes radical measures must be taken in order to eradicate cancer. Initially, these uncomfortable, painful, radical, cell-killing procedures can seem much worse than the cancer itself; but, the end result is intended to bring health and healing to the patient as well as the family members who have been traumatized by the secret mission of cancer.

In the same way, God will use seemingly radical measures, radical people and radical judgements to eradicate the sin that is ultimately killing humanity. His end result is righteousness, peace, joy, health, healing, prosperity and love.

In fact, God will even use people who have a form of godliness, people who are new converts, people of opposing faiths, and those who don't know or believe in Him, at all, to accomplish His divine plan for all of humanity.

Yes, the God of all creation will use circumstances, situations, governments and kings to accomplish His ultimate plan.

He is a loving, yet righteous, judge. He does not wink at rebellion, wrong motives, deceived hearts nor twisted scripture (those who twist His Holy Word to fit their own agenda).

With God - Who is the creator of the universe and the One who allows us to breathe the breath of life...

Right will always be right.

Wrong will always be wrong.

So when it comes to truth, it really doesn’t matter how we view God, it only matters Who He is.


He is.


God.


Christian, would you honestly say that Jesus would confirm the sinful behavior of a people group as the standard for a community?

Those of any belief, would you honestly say that “your God” (whatever religion you practice) would want humanity to be broken, rebellious, confused, law breaking or manipulative for the sake of appeasing human weaknesses?

As a person with common sense, do you honestly believe that a band-aide can fix a broken bone?

Citizen, can you honestly say that skin color, gender, personality or political party is not a factor in your zeal for promoting your opinion of how government should rule?

We should all agree that God loves all people in every corner of the world because for us to judge God's love for any other race of people, we place ourselves on the throne and say that we are God.

We should all agree that doing things the right way ultimately gives God glory and brings all of humanity from all parts of the world into truth and righteousness which ultimately brings peace, joy, health, healing, stability, harmony, prosperity and well-being to everyone.

In conclusion, would you honestly say that God is a conservative or a liberal?

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PS - The religions that I listed all agree on the fundamental definition of SIN. So, let's not use that as a crutch for justifying the twisted truth that the enemy of humanity has whispered into our ears.

We can choose to label sin as sickness, how God made me, disease or even our personal belief system; but, the fact still remains that God is the final judge of all creation and we will all die one day to face Him.

Even if you choose to believe that God does not exist, you have an inner knowing of right and wrong. And friend, if any of the religions in the world who believe that there is a God are right about His existence and His standard, you will not have a choice once you die. It will be too late to change your mind.

What we choose to believe carries no weight in the quest for TRUTH.

Truth is God. 

God is truth.

Spirit of Religion

The Pharisees Spirit is a Spirit of Religion.

It is among us every day.

It is one of Satan's most cunning lies.

It is heavy.

It is confusing.

It steals our joy.

It smothers our childlike faith.

It silences the Holy Spirit.

It fills us with doubt.

It paralyzes us with fear.

It chokes us with unbelief.

It causes us to be prideful.

It causes us to grow cold to the things of God.

It will stunt our spiritual growth.

It disguises itself as the truth.

It boast of rules, opinions, differences, exclusions, and division among God's people.

It raises an eyebrow.

It is suspicious.

It will keep us from being an example of the gospel in the eyes of the unbeliever.

Most unbeliever's can identify this spirit immediately.

The spirit of religion has caused a lie to be the truth in the eyes of that believer.

The spirit of religion is a deadly foe to those who don't know the Word of God.

Only the pure Word of God has the power to defeat this spirit.

Only those who rightly divide the Word of God can overcome the lure of this evil spirit.

In order to stay free from this evil spirit, Christians must humble themselves, pray, get alone with God, PRACTICE LOVE, and read their Bible through the lens of childlike faith - not through the lens of religious dogma or denominational doctrine that hinders the WORLDWIDE "Body of Christ" from loving one another, respecting one another, and learning from one another.

Want to be free indeed?

Shake loose form the Spirit of Religion NOW.

Tell the enemy you will not accept his lies any more.

Remember, this spirit will attach itself to Christians at various times to try and put a damper on our faith.

It seeks to thwart the Body of Christ from advancing the Kingdom.

We need to help one another, love one another, and pray for one another to keep ourselves free from the evil lure of prideful religion that seeks to cause strife among the body.

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Luke 11:42-51 AMP

42 “But woe (judgment is coming) to you Pharisees, because you [self-righteously] tithe mint and rue and every [little] garden herb [tending to all the minutiae], and yet disregard and neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done, without neglecting the others.

43 Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the [c]best seats in the synagogues and to be respectfully greeted in the market places.

44 Woe to you! For you are like graves which are unmarked, and people walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially unclean].”

45 One of the lawyers [an expert in the Mosaic Law] answered Him, “Teacher, by saying this, You insult us too!”

46 But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well, because you weigh men down with burdens [man-made rules, unreasonable requirements] which are hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers [to lighten the load].

47 Woe to you! For you repair or build tombs for the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.

48 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers, because they [actually] killed them, and you repair or build their tombs.

49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said [in the Scriptures], ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will put to death and some they will persecute,

50 so that charges may be brought against this generation [holding them responsible] for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,

51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], who was murdered between the altar and the house of God. Yes, I tell you, charges will be brought against this generation.’



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www.DeborahRossMinistries.org 

Deborah Ross Ministries

Hurricane Harvey and The Osteen's

What I am about to say in this blog is sure to get some negative backlash. Still, I feel the need to "come out of the closet" (so to speak) concerning the sad truth about American Christians today. It seems the church spends much more time fighting one another than they do fighting against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. As I read articles on the Internet concerning Joel Osteen, I see no difference in the worlds opinions and the church's opinions. Sadly, the verbiage, name calling, finger pointing and disgust from these two groups differs very little.

While there have been many Christian preachers, speakers, evangelists, and authors who have either divorced, committed adultery, stolen money from the church or something much worse, it seems the greatest sin in the eyes of the church, today, is success. God's people seem to be willing to look past all other leadership faults for the sake of grace and forgiveness, but when it comes to optimism, faith, success and popularity, well, that is deemed the unpardonable sin.

Over and over in God's Word we read where God's chosen people were full of faith. They were men and women who believed God in the face of adversity - people who expected God's favor. In fact, they all were wealthy (either by definition of accumulating a lot of stuff or by definition of having every need met). 

The Bible is a book of faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to even please God. It goes on to say that anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

The Bible is also a book of standards. As Christians, we are to hold up the standard of righteousness by loving one another, forgiving one another, praying for one another, covering one another, respecting one another and by cheering one another onto victory. When a brother or sister in Christ is successful in soul winning and discipling multitudes (as in mega church leaders), it's time to celebrate! Even so, when that brother or sister in Christ is rewarded from the Lord for earnestly seeking Him with unwaivering faith, we should be happy for them.

The Internet and news media can be so deceiving. You can read or watch something slanderous and instantly think that person is bad. When did Christians get permission to be critical, skeptical, judgmental, and even hateful to their brothers and sisters in Christ? This is not the working of the Holy Spirit!

Even Billy Graham and Franklin Graham have Internet haters because of their wealth. There are so-called Christian groups who spout their poisonous venom openly concerning any high profile man or woman of God who doesn't fit into their personal definition of how much net worth a Christian leader can have. Even though it is obvious that the Graham's have poured multiplied millions back into the ministry, envious naysayers won't allow themselves to applaud anyone who has found favor with God to be successful in both ministry and business.

There is a huge world out there that is literally dying to hear the good news of the gospel but they cannot receive it from the American Church that refuses to demonstrate the love of God within its own family. When Christians spew sarcasm, slurs, innuendos and even malicious blasphemy against God's anointed, the world rolls its eyes and laughs.

The church is to be the Body of Christ. This means that not everyone will function the same; not every pastor will preach the same. Even though each man or woman of God has their own niche, it does not exclude them from being important in The Body. If God gave any one person all of His wisdom, all of His anointing, all of His knowledge or all of His understanding, that person would be perfect and would surely become prideful. Instead, God places each leader in The Body as it pleases Him. He does this so that the people of God can mature and grow to become all that He created them to be.

So the dismal comments in the news media about Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church during such a catastrophic time in their home town due to Hurricane Harvey is absolutely out of line with Christian behavior. The response from Christians in other states and other cities should be one of concern, prayer, help and support. Not only is it wrong to cast disparagement toward these people of God, it is exactly what the world looks at when it decides it doesn't want anything to do with Christianity. Shame on us!

It's time that Christian leaders across America and around the world repent for their arrogant, self-righteous judgements against co-laborers who may not teach God's Word with the same vernacular, measure of faith, style or accent on certain scriptures. As long as Jesus Christ is being lifted up as The Way, The Truth and the Life and as long as souls are being born-again, the church needs to practice praising God for His Kingdom coming to earth through vessels of clay who have surrendered their life to the call of ministry.

If one of God's leaders commits certain sins that would warrant His judgement, God is more than able to handle it. And, if the Holy Spirit speaks to one of God's leaders to bring correction to another leader, the proper way to handle the situation is face-to-face and not on the Internet, social media, the news, the pulpit or some other public forum. 

No name calling allowed.

What would Jesus do?  

Mark 7:21- (AMP)

For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, envy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment).  All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man.”

1 Peter 2:12 (AMP)

Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

#namecalling #fingerpointing #hurricaneharvey #joelosteen #AmericanChristians #BillyGraham #FranklinGraham #BodyOfChrist #standard #Houston #Texas #LakewoodChurch

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Professional Speaker - Booking Tips

HOW TO BOOK A PROFESSIONAL CHRISTIAN, MOTIVATIONAL OR INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER / TALENT:

Booking the perfect Christian, inspirational and/or motivational speaker or talent for your next event can be an overwhelming task... and we are here to help you!

Questions like:

"Where do I find a speaker?"
"How much will it cost to contract a professional speaker or artist?"
"Can I afford the speaker that seems perfect for my event?"
"What are the expectations of a professional speaker/talent?"

To help ease your mind, we have created some Booking Tips that will help you get the speaker you really want, who will make your event come alive with rave reviews.

HOW TO BOOK 

A CHRISTIAN SPEAKER, SINGER, MUSICIAN OR ARTIST FOR YOUR EVENT: 

PREPARATION PRAYER - When booking a Christian speaker or talent, you want to be sure that you contact and secure the person that the Lord has prepared for your event. For this reason, you and your board need to spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to point you in the right direction. Then, move forward with expectation that the Lord will bring it to pass as you trust Him for the provision needed to serve Him with excellence. 

TIME - Predetermine your event dates and a general idea of your event timeline before contacting your speaker. It is impossible for a speaker to let you know if they can book your event without knowing the date/days/hours/timeline that you expect them to be available. Remember, most professional speaker calendars are filled anywhere from 3 months and even up to 3 years in advance, so you'll want to contact your speaker/talent and lock them in with a deposit and contract RIGHT AWAY.

EXPERTISE - A speaker/talent fee or honorarium is not an hourly fee. Ministry professionals spend countless hours researching, studying, practicing, and preparing for their presentations. In addition, many vocal and musical artist have invested years into fine tuning their craft. It is not practical, nor possible, for most speakers/talent to perform every night in a different location; otherwise, their families would suffer and, therefore, their ministry would be in vain. Speakers and artists must feed their families, keep their ministries afloat and live on the income generated from their willingness to step out in faith to follow the call of ministry on their life. As an event planner, it is important to keep a generous heart and willing spirit toward your speaker/talent. When you do, God will honor your event in a greater way. 

 
BUDGET - Before you contact a speaker or artist for your event, be sure that you are prepared to talk about money. This seems to be the most uncomfortable part of the booking process for many volunteer event planners. Most speakers and artist have a place on their initial Booking Form (usually found on their website) for you to insert your budgeted amount that you and your board have in mind to spend on your speaker. Do NOT leave this section blank. Christian speakers - unlike secular motivational, inspirational speakers - oftentimes have an unspoken sliding-scale fee chart. In other words, some speakers have a flexible honorarium by which they may take into consideration travel time involved, length of the event, number of talk(s), preparation time, your budget and/or the size of your group.

MORE ABOUT MONEY - As an event planner who is in charge of Booking A Speaker Or Talent, you have a unique opportunity to be a blessing in the same way that you expect your speaker to bless your group. Not only should your organization seek to be generous by budgeting in a standard speaker fee, but you also need to factor in things like mileage or airfare, food and accommodations - for two. While some speakers travel alone, many travel with an assistant. And remember, if you are looking to book a speaker to bring 4 messages, it will most likely cost more than if that same speaker only brought one message. In the same way, if your speaker is required to be at an event for three days, yet they only speak once a day, that speaker will probably require more to justify their time away from home. 

SPEAKER FEES - Although speaker/artist fees can be all over the board (ranging from $50.00-$50,000.00+), typically you can expect to book a professional Christian speaker or artist for $500-$5500 per day. Of course, bands and groups will range a little higher depending on how many are in their group. Plus, speakers who are in high demand may be considerably more expensive.

PROTOCOL - Professional, Christian communication is so important when contacting a speaker. It is very frustrating to the speaker when an event planner makes an inquiry and then never follows back up. The speaker is then left with not knowing whether to tentatively save their date or to give it to the next inquiry. As a common courtesy, always let speakers/talent know what is going on behind the scenes during the booking process. Things like, "I'm talking with my board and I'll get back with you by Friday" or "Thank you so much for your time but we have decided to use another speaker/talent this time." And... if you tell them that you will get back with them by Friday, please do it, even if you still don't have the final information needed to complete the booking. 

DEPOSIT & CONTRACT - Most speakers will require a 10-25% deposit to secure your date. It is best to send in the deposit and booking agreement form (contract) within 5 business days after agreeing upon the terms for your speaker. This way your date does not get taken by another event planner. Even if your speaker is coming to you on a "love offering" basis, good business practice and common courtesy should include sending in a financial binder with your booking agreement. Your deposit and/or binder may also include things like mileage, food per diem, airfare tickets, hotel confirmation numbers, etc. Never expect a speaker/talent to drive from city-to-city, or state-to-state, without providing them with the appropriate funds needed to arrive at your event prepared, at peace and on time. 

WHAT IS A PER DIEM? - A per diem is simply an allowance or payment for each day's expenses. For instance, if you've booked a speaker who will be spending a day, or even a half day, traveling to your event, you should provide a per diem for them to get food, drinks, snacks or other necessities along the way. Once your speaker arrives, you will either want to provide meals, snacks and drinks or continue to provide a per diem for them to survive while there. In addition, you'll want to take care of their return home by providing a per diem. A good event planner should "offer" a per diem of $25-$50 per day, per person - depending on how many assistants or band members are traveling with that speaker and how much travel time is involved. Some speakers may have a required per diem while some may not. Either way, it is good practice to provide for your guests. 

 
LOVE OFFERING ONLY - As a general rule, speakers and talent who are contracted for a special event, conference, retreat, concert, community event, and so on should be booked by providing a set speaker fee. Love offerings may be acceptable for speakers if the event is confined to a Sunday morning service or a revival; of which, they are the only speaker/talent who will be receiving a love offering. Never ask a speaker to come and split a love offering with another guest speaker/talent unless that love offering is in addition to their agreed upon speaker fee. Generally, all male crowds or mixed crowds (male & female) will give more liberally than all female crowds. For this reason, many female evangelists don't have an issue with speaking on a love offering only basis when it is for a Sunday service or a church wide revival. Special events, however, usually work best when contracting by speaker fee.

DETAILS - It is so important that the event planner provides clear information many weeks before an event concerning the EVENT ADDRESS, DIRECTIONS, CONTACT NUMBERS, ETC. Very Important: Always provide a cell number that can be reached if the speaker/talent needs to call during travel. Don't leave your speaker/talent wondering about your city trying to find your location and they cannot reach you by phone and/or text. In addition, give your speaker/talent a clear description (on paper) about the timeline, theme, their specific role, etc. Spectacular events are all about the details!

MARKETING - It is up to the individual event planner to market their own event. Most speakers/talent have high resolution photos, bios and other files that are either available on their websites or are available to email to you once your booking is confirmed. These materials are vital in marketing and advertising your event with professional standards. If desired, once you have created your marketing materials, many speakers will help you market your event on their website, social media and other outlets if you provide them with branded materials well in advance. Things like: custom website banners, slogans, artwork that you are using to advertise your event and so on. In addition, many speakers/talent are happy to give radio and/or television interviews that you might be able to set up for your event - if time allows. Be creative in getting the word out!

WAITING PRAYER - If you are hosting a Christian event and you want God to move, you must bathe your event in prayer months before it ever happens. Then, once you've done all the planning and preparation that you know to do, you can relax knowing that it will all work out for His glory and the good of everyone attending. At your event, allow God to move! Pray for Him to move and then be willing to follow His move... because when He shows up He usually does the unexpected! 

WELCOME & SUPPORT - When your speaker and/or talent arrives it is so important that you make them feel welcome! Remember, you know who they are and what they look like because you have been all over their website reading their articles and looking at their pictures... but they don't know anything about you. Be sure to have someone assigned to making sure that your speaker/talent is taken care of at all times.

DEPARTING GIFT - Departing gifts are such a blessing! Speakers come on the scene and share personal things about their life. They have made themselves vulnerable before your group. Be sure to finish up your event by presenting your speaker with a departing gift. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant, but it should be something that is well thought out. For instance, if your speaker is flying back home after your event, a book, iPod, ear buds, professional travel tote, special key-chain, leather journal, gift cards, make-up, jewelry or some other small, practical gift would be appropriate. If your speaker is driving back, you can give a slightly larger or more bulky gift such as a gift basket. But really... the most practical gift that carries the biggest blessing is to take up a love offering at the end of your event (in addition to the agreed upon speaker fee). Remember, you cannot outgive God. He will always give back to those who are generous and grateful - especially toward ministers of the gospel! 

DEPARTING PRAYER - Always, cover your speaker/talent in PRAYER before they leave. Pray for safe travels, blessings, protection from scorners, mockers and nay-sayers, open doors of opportunity and increased anointing, financial blessings and pray for their families!

CLICK TO INQUIRE ABOUT BOOKING DEBORAH ROSS FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT!