Some Community News - By Duncan Conner

Hey all,

Greetings in the name of Christ.  I wanted to write and let you all know that I will be taking some time off this week, which means that I will be taking a little time away from the web site as well.  I will still continue to post news articles every day, however I will not be posting any new articles until next week.

Just to let you know, I am working on 2 major things for the site right now.  One is the series of articles that I have been talking about for some time now on step by step, what some of the things you can be doing right now to be preparing for the days ahead.  I hope that you have already started.  If not, better late than never.  We are in a lull right now–an inflated period where the economy is flush with bailout money.  As you know it started to collapse at the beginning of the year, and then after all the stimulus worldwide, they flooded the globlal economy.  Imagine it like blowing up a baloon that has a pinhole in it.  We discovered at the beginning of the year that our baloon had a pretty serious pinhole.  The baloon was deflating and deflating fast.  So what did we do?  We took as deep a breath as we could and blew into the baloon.  We blew it up really big, then let go, and said, “Wew, not it is blown up again.”  But it still has a hole in it!!!  So not too long from now, we are going to start to see the effects of this thing again.  RIGHT NOW is the time to be preparing if you haven’t already prepared yet.  More on this later.

The other thing that I am working on is a letter that I am crafting to my family.  I sat down the other day and started writing a heartfelt letter to my family (who are mostly non believers).  I wanted to write to lay out a case for the collapse of America, what Obama is doing, and how all this possibly relates to Bible prophecy.  I had no idea I would now be on my 50th page with this letter.  I plan to publish this letter on the site as soon as I am done, just in case it may be of benefit to any of you.

I look forward to taking a little R&R time this week.  Keep looking up, take the extra time to look at some of the other many articles and preparation resources you may have missed. God bless you all and see you soon.

In Him,

Duncan Conner

Spiritual Preparation

As I began to sit down and think about the things that needed to be on this web site concerning preparedness, I knew that the most important preparation anyone needs in light of the upcoming events is spiritual preparation.

The most important decision that anyone can make is to become a Christian. But you may not know why it is so important. Let me explain…

Ever wonder why it seems that the world is so bad? Ever asked yourself the questions: Why is there rape, murder, adultery, lies, sexual abuse, physical abuse, wars, disease, famine, hostility, etc? Why does it seem that as each year passes by, we loose more and more of our innocence? Why do so many of us have a longing in our hearts for times gone by… a sense of the “good old days” when things seemed less complicated, less worrisome, and less hectic?

When a forensic scientist goes to the scene of a crime, their primary duties are to collect clues and make observations that will help them determine the root cause of the case and finally get down to finding out who the perpetrator was. In the case of the evil of this world, it is possible to do the same. Like forensic scientists we have been given the answers as to the root cause of all the evils that exist today. The Bible is the only book in the world that details the root cause for the situation we find ourselves in today…why there is evil in the world.

In Genesis chapter 2 we are told the age old story of Adam and Eve, the first humans to live on the earth. They, at that time, lived in a place called the Garden of Eden. It seems that the world was nothing but lush gardens back then. The earth was pristine and beautiful. At this time we as humans were living an entirely different story than we are today. This was God’s original story for us.

Now for true love to exist, God needed to make it possible for mankind to choose (i.e. to choose to live as God’s representatives, to represent God on the earth, and to each other, to co-create, co-rule and take care of the earth, and to spread throughout the earth and establish communities of fellowship and love). They had only one rule; to not eat from one tree…a tree called the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

But then something tragic enters the equation. Here is how the story continues in Genesis chapter 3:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [a] and hers; he will crush [b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

The Story has now taken a turn for the worse. Like a disease, sin has entered into what was once perfect and beautiful. I sometimes use the illustration of a large glass of clear water. If you take a glass of water and pour in black dye, what happens? The black die will blend in and become a part of the water, filling the glass. So when you are done pouring, you still have a glass of water, but now it is tainted and black. This is the same with us. We were that pure glass of water so to speak. And when we chose to sin, we enacted a process that was devastating. The “black dye” in the illustration is in reality for us called sin. A basic definition of sin is simply failing to live up to the image of God, the image we were originally created to live.

Now it is important to know that there was nothing magical about this tree. It wasn’t the fruit itself that was bad. The tree only represented a divine principle, namely that man has choice. Adam and Eve already knew good and evil, but if they ate of the fruit that God had specifically told them not to eat, then it was a sign of their inward disobedience of God.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve there have been many adverse affects on us and human beings. In a nutshell, here is what happened to humans after the Fall:

1. There has been complete and utter separation…

…Between us and God

In the beginning in the Garden of Eden, we enjoyed the reality of His presence with us, but now, instead, we run from Him. Sin in us has now created a wall of separation from us and God because God cannot be in the presence of sin. We live in fear thinking that He is hostile toward us. The fact of the matter is, we are the ones who are hostile, projecting our hostility on God. We ironically run from the only One who has the power to overcome our fears and longings. We pull away from the One who can defeat our brokenness and sinfulness and fulfill our deepest needs. We feel, far from God. Like Adam and Eve in the garden we feel we have to hide from God because we feel ashamed. For most who do not know God there is mistrust, an automatic response in our hearts that doubt God. He is perfect and now we are not, so thus we cannot walk together as we once did. So we are separated from God.

…Between Each Other

Because our sin separates us from God, our sin also separates us from each other, completely. With Adam and Eve there was once true union, but after the Fall there was mistrust between them. They were ashamed that they were naked in front of each other. God originally designed us to enjoy, wholesome, enriching relationships with each other. But what happens? We find ourselves manipulating and being manipulated. We as families and societies cannot be transparent with one another. We do not know how. We combat each other for power, influence and greatness. We use our influence to control and to create classes of people. Racism is rampant in our world as well as looking down on those who are poor or who do not fit a certain category. We allow others to strip us of our dignity and sense of worth. At night we have to lock our doors for fear of other humans coming in to harm us or our families. Depression and loneliness are all over the place in societies all over the world. People look to feel belonging in all the wrong places. So we are separated from each other.

…Between us and creation

God originally intended that we should live in harmony with everything that He had made. Originally we were to be the caretakers over creation, tending to it and caring for it and all the creatures of the earth. But instead of being good caretakers of creation, we enslave it to make it serve our own desires. We no longer see the earth as “God’s Country,” we see it as something to be conquered, to be industrialized. Our sin has introduced destruction into creation. The world itself is running down, burdened by pollution, wars, and destruction. The earth is constantly being torn by tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. In the beginning there was no fear between animals and mankind. But now there is fear and separation. We are separated from our environment…creation.

…Within ourselves

This is probably the most disturbing part of sin. Sin actually reaches down into our own personal existence, our very own souls. How? Simply this, we do not fulfill God’s design for us. Our very own genetic makeup has been altered as a result of sin. Because of this we are completely separated from our true inner selves. We simply are not who we were created to be. And we can sense this within ourselves. We know between right and wrong and often we choose the wrong, and because of this we are our own worst enemies. No longer do we naturally live for God. When man made a choice to defy God, our sensitive and fragile souls were altered. We no longer naturally chose God. Now we naturally choose evil. Our very own flesh and blood has been tainted with sin. Our emotions used to be ruled by a strong sense of love and care. We naturally had no anger, resentment, pain, loneliness, fear, etc. But now our inner selves are filled with these negative things. We are separated from our true selves.

2. In a fallen state, we are condemned in God’s eyes.

Romans 5:18 says, “Consequently…the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men…” As sinful creatures standing before a Holy God, a Righteous Judge, we are completely condemned because of this condition we are in. This is illustrated very strongly in the Story of Adam and Eve where once they had sinned; they were forever banished from the Garden of Eden. Angels were even sent to bar the way back into the Garden. Inside the garden they would have lived forever, being connected to their Source of life (God). But outside the garden, they will die. They were banished outside the Garden.

But this is not the way it was supposed to be. We were created in the image of God, and with that came a certain way of life. We were to live as righteous people, bearing the image of our Creator and living with Him. But instead, our fallenness is expressed in our sinful acts, and because of the presence of sin in our lives, this leaves God, the Righteous Judge, with no other alternative except to view us as guilty and deserving to be condemned.

And of course we know that condemnation to be…hell. Before God, all people who are fallen are sinners. All who are sinners deserve hell. Therefore, as a result of sin, the destiny of each and every single human being is hell, which is the ultimate place of separation from God.

3. We have becomes slaves to sin

The Bible says, talking about our sinful state, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:21-24)

The Bible talks about us as being slaves to sin. We can no longer choose the good all the time, for when we try to, we inevitably choose the bad at some point. When it comes to the decision to make a moral choice, we are already predisposed to do wrong because of our inner disease. The presence of sin leaves us predisposed toward evil. Because of sin, our lustful hunger propels us to choose evil; we are in the truest sense of the word slaves, bound to sin. This is the exact reason why Adam and Eve could not return to the Garden of Eden. They were diseased with sin. They would no longer have the innocence that had before.

4. Because of where we are with sin we are literally hopeless.

Because of sin, our situation in this life is indeed hopeless. Sin saps us of all of our strength. Our inner resources are too weak to pull us up out of the sludge and ooze of the swamp of life. Sin for us, is not just a bad mark on us, it permeates into the deepest recesses of our inner being. For humanity, there is not one single aspect of human life that is not untainted by the consequences of sin.

As an animal is left helpless amongst a pack of raging hungry wolves, so we without God are left helpless in the midst of evil. As a cancer patient lies terminally ill with only a few days of life left, so we too have been diagnosed with an incurable disease, one that will eventually kill us. As an individual, we must admit that we are failures.

So our failure leaves us separated, condemned, enslaved, and depraved.

Having said all of this above, it is easy to see that instead of living in a progressive Story ever deepening in relationship with God and moving ahead in our imaging and duties as ambassadors, we progress downward in all of the above effects, further separating ourselves, and dying ultimately alone in hell. This is our disease and it is incurable from our standpoint. This is simply where we are. There is nothing we can do about it. We are all going to die and we are all condemned to separation from God in hell.

Sound pretty bleak? Believe me it is. So is this it? Is this the Story as we know it? God started something great and grand, we messed up and now it is all over? No! This is where the Story really takes a turn that is completely unexpected. This is where the story gets really exciting!

God could have said “forget it” But He doesn’t. He loves us so much that from day one, He set in motion a plan to undo the mess that we created. Look again at what he tells Satan in Genesis 3:14-15:

14 “So the LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, ‘Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

In this scripture we find the very first of what will be hundreds of prophecies concerning a coming Messiah. This will be someone who will crush the serpent’s head, which in other words, means this someone will crush the serpent and all he represents. So basically what this boils down to is that there will come a time when someone will be sent by God to deal with Satan and with the affects of the Fall mentioned above.

From this point in Genesis, the plan will take the next few thousand years to come to fruition. And as you move throughout the rest of the Bible, you see God moving and causing the events of history to serve His end goal, i.e. saving man and bringing Him back into a right relationship with Him.

At the midpoint of The Story, God sends Jesus who was the Messiah. We see his life recorded in the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The express purpose of God sending his Son was threefold:

1.) To show us how we are supposed to live our lives. By the way he lived his life, Jesus showed us what a saved life looks like. He is the perfect example for us to follow.

2.) To save us from Sin and all of its affects. The result of Jesus dying on the cross was that he was able to overcome all the affects of sin, and thus the barrier that existed between us and God. Through him we can be saved and begin the road to recovery from our sins, and then…

3.) To show us the way to heaven. In all that he did and said, Jesus revealed to us that this life is not the end-that the Story is not yet complete. There has to be some other events that happen first before he comes back and completes the work he initiated 2,000 years ago. If we die, we die in him, completely safe. But that is not the end. There will come a time where he will return. Those who have died will return with him. He will destroy all sin and evil in this world and set up his kingdom forever, the end result being we will live and reign with him forever-thus restoring what was lost in Genesis.

So how is a person saved?

There are so many scriptures that a person can go to in the Bible that explain clearly how to be saved. The most important thing to remember at this point is that yes, Jesus wants to save you from your sins. But that is not the end goal of your salvation. Jesus didn’t come and do all that he did just so you could be saved and then live a mediocre life. He wants to transform you, change you, and mold you into the person that he has called you to be before you were ever born. So having said that, the best example I know of with salvation is by using none other than the example of Jesus himself.

Now you might ask: “Why use Jesus as an example of salvation? He didn’t have to be saved did he?” The answer is no. He didn’t have to be saved. But his purpose in life was to come down to this earth and live as a man. He was God in man living to show us how to live as human beings. He was our perfect example. And so everything he did and experienced becomes our experience as a Christian. So lets look at these guideposts in the life of Jesus.

Guidepost #1 - He held a deep faith in God. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus put his complete trust in God. The same then is asked of us. Before a person can be saved they must personally believe that God exists and that He is who He says He is. John 8:24 says, “…If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” Part of this deep belief in God is the willingness to tell others about your faith. Jesus also said, Matthew 10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” If you are going to be a Christian, you will need to be a part of a thriving church in your community. Most make their confession in a church service before the members of the congregation.

Guidepost #2 - He lived what a repentant life looks like. When you look at the life of Christ, you see a life that was lived without sin. But again, that was how we were supposed to live before the Fall occurred back in Genesis. Now we have sin, and the Bible calls us to turn away from our sins. This idea of “repentance” means to turn away from something and turn to something else. Jesus constantly turned away from sin and turned to God. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.” We in turn must be willing to do the same. Bear in mind, this is not to say that you are going to be perfect because you will not. It is a willingness to do whatever it takes to change your life.

Guidepost #3 - He submitted to the will of God. Before he began his ministry and public life, the Bible records that he visited John who was baptizing at the Jordan river. Then something rather shocking happens. He goes down into the water and waits for John to baptize him. John is rather shocked by this because he knows that Jesus has no need of being baptized-he perfect, without sin. He rightfully asked the question, “Shouldn’t I be baptized by you?” Jesus’ answer is telling.

The story continues in Matthew 3:13-15, 13 “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. Jesus knew that regardless of the fact he was perfect, it was God’s will for him to be baptized, to show as an example the way we are to follow in his footsteps.

After his baptism Matthew records, 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” And so completes the picture of salvation for those who follow in the footsteps of Christ.

In short, to be saved, a person must believe in God and confess that Jesus is His Son, and that he came to this earth to die for our sins, to undo all the effects of sin. They must repent, that is, be willing to change and turn away from their old life and turn to God for a new life. Having this foundation they then follow Christ into the water of baptism “to fulfill all righteousness” at which time they too, just like him, receive the Holy Spirit-God’s presence in your life that helps your daily walk and transformation (see Acts 2:38-39).

Now I must say that there is one more guidepost-the most important one of all.

Guidepost #4 - Jesus was faithful unto death. After the baptism of Jesus he lived for the next 3 ½ years living and fulfilling the mission that God had for him on the earth. He stayed faithful through all of it, regardless of other people’s attitude toward him. And ultimately his faithfulness to God led to him being crucified on a cross. If we are to walk in the path of Christ, we are also called to this same level of devotion. Again we will not do it perfectly, which is why we have the Holy Spirit to help us. But the scripture says in Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’”

If you have decided to become a Christian, then let me encourage you to continue your growth by doing the other things he did. Read the gospels. They will give you a clear picture of God’s will for your life on things like: getting connected with a church that is faithfully committed to following God, prayer, Bible study, fasting, giving, helping others, etc. May God bless you in your decision and if you have any questions please feel free to e-mail us at info@theomegareport.com

Until He Comes…

Duncan Conner