When the Wrong Use Of a Word Becomes a Lie

The wrong terminology can have devastating effects, especially when used by political factions with an agenda.  If the incorrect usage of a word is intentionally perpetuated, it's not long before people everywhere are indoctrinated to believe it's application is correct.   It becomes a form of brainwashing with the intent of convincing the masses to think and move in a particular direction.  And there's always someone or something that is adversely affected - like Israel.

When I Googled the phrase and image "occupied territory," the results were staggering but not surprising.  First and foremost, Israel and its "occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip glaringly stood out at the top of the long lists of websites and definitions.  One such site, Wikipedia, defines the phrase in the following way:

Occupied territory is territory under military occupation. Occupation is a term of art in international law; in accordance with Article 42 of the Laws and Customs of War on Land (Fourth Hague Convention); October 18, 1907,^[1] territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised. At the end of a war, usually the victorious side is in possession of territory previously possessed by another state. This territory is known as occupied territory. Acquisition of occupied territory is incidental to a war, where the military forces of the occupying power come into the possession of territory previously held by another state. Occupation is usually temporary; and under the subsequent articles of the Hague convention (articles 43, 44, and etc.), and the Fourth Geneva Convention the status quo must be maintained pending the signing of a peace treaty, the resolution of specific conditions outlined in a peace treaty, or the formation of a new civilian government.^[2] 

^{Wikipedia follows this definition up on another of its sites by describing the "Israeli-occupied territories" on its borders, citing the United Nations' (UN) Security Counsel Resolution 242 following the Six Day War in 1967, and demanding that Israel withdraw from the territories it has "occupied" and initiate "termination of all claims or states of belligerency."  Wikipedia further adds that the UN demanded Israel  show "respect for the right of every state in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." (emph. mine)}

^{To this day, the on-going so-called "peace process" that has consumed American Presidencies since Jimmy Carter (whose writings, actions, and speech have revealed his true feelings for Israel and the Jews, and is an embarrassment to our nation) has remained stagnant with no equitable solution in sight.  All of the posturing in front of the cameras and hand-shaking between Israel and the Arab world, with each succeeding President standing between them, are merely a front to give the impression that "respect for the right of EVERY state in the area to live in peace" is not a possibility, but a pipe dream.} 

^{The so-called "Palestinians" are seen as the victims and Israel is seen as the aggressor, keeping the Arabs living among them subjected to poverty with no state of their own.  Forget the fact that Israel, which is the size of the state of New Jersey, is bombarded on a daily basis with the terror of incoming rockets into her towns and cities, suicide bombings, and the vitriolic hatred of the world.  Because of the perpetuation of a single phrase and the indoctrination of the world's population into believing it, when the wrong use of a word or phrase becomes a lie, the world will not recognize it as such.}

^{The following video is provided by One Jerusalem, an organization dedicated to retaining the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; no divisions, no compromise.  If you want to know the truth about the phrase "occupied territories" and the true history behind the West Bank, watch it.  After you do, let's all start using the right term in relation to the on-going dispute over the land of Israel and Who really owns it.}

"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of My people and My heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up My land, and have cast lots for My people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it."  (Joel 3:1-3 ESV)

Don't Taunt My God

(This was first posted in May of 2009 and written by my sister, who has contributed a few times to the blog.  One of her passions is for the unborn and the sanctity of life.  We need to encourage her to contribute more often!  I hope it also encourages you to stand up for God  in today's battles as young David did against Goliath. ~ Karen)

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:15, 16  (NASB)

When you think about it, there are not a lot of things that are good lukewarm.  In fact I would challenge you to name even one.  Well, I don't really want to take that bet but you know what I mean. Food is usually best if it is hot or cold. Mmmmmm.  Cold milk, cold watermelon, compare those to lukewarm milk, lukewarm watermelon.  No comparison.

Today, we as Christians tend to be lukewarm when it comes to issues that we need to take a stand on.  Normally it's fear that drives us to sit on the fence.  We certainly wouldn't want someone to think that we are judgmental or one of those religious nuts would we?  So, we either allow the world to skew the truth in our minds or we don't say anything at all for fear of retribution.

Take the abortion issue for instance. How many times have you heard this statement when a friend or acquaintance is explaining their stance on life?  "Well, I consider myself pro-life because I would never do that.  But I don't want to push my views on anyone else.  So I believe abortion should be between a woman and her doctor and her family. It should be legal."

Here is my answer to that person: " Um, excuse me, but how can you be pro-life if you would stand back and allow the systematic murder of our most innocent and vulnerable?  This is one of the most picture perfect examples of being lukewarm.  Do you think as a Christian that Jesus is pleased with your answer?"  There it is.  Fear of looking judgmental.  Fear of looking too radical.  Who cares what the truth is?  Who cares that the world in its self centeredness and sin is taunting the Living God.

That brings me to the following story.  We've all heard it, but have we really? 

For about the last 3 months or so, our adult Sunday school has been studying 1Samuel 17. The story of David and Goliath.  Our teacher has challenged us to really dig for the reason that God put this story in His bible.  Growing up, and even until the last few months, I was like most people and saw it as a story of the little guy going up against the big mean guy and prevailing.  I saw it as a story of courage and faith.  All of that is true.  But I missed the big picture.

For 40 days and nights the armies of Israel were being taunted by a Philistine warrior named Goliath.  We all know he was big.  Most scholars put him at about 9ft. 6in., give or take.  Truly, I don't care about an inch or two here or there.  This was a large scary man.  He was also covered from head to toe with the latest in armor and had a shield-carrier who walked out before him.  He carried a javelin which probably weighed around 30 lbs. and he could fling it because of the way it was made.  He also carried a large sword.  Well, Israel was terrified. Shaking in their boots so to speak.  Goliath was asking for someone to come and fight him. "Hey guys, if you win (yeah right) we'll be your slaves; if we win you come and be ours."  King Saul had even offered his daughter and basically no taxes for the man who would go out and take him on.  No takers.  Until David enters the picture.

Small of stature, young, just a shepherd, never been a warrior before.  Dad had sent David to find out how his brothers were doing on the front and to take some provisions to them.  About the time he got to the battle front to greet his brothers, David heard the taunting coming from Goliath.  He saw the army of Israel turning and running.  He was asked,  "Have you seen this man who is coming up?  Surely he has come to defy Israel." He also heard what Saul would do for the man who took this giant on.  Now listen to this: David says, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?  For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the Living God!!?"  I love this man.  He has a heart for God.  Did you hear what he was saying?

The story doesn't stop here.  Satan starts his wicked work.  The attempt to discredit starts. One of David's older brothers, Eliab, says to David, "Why have you come down? (You little pipsqueak), And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? (Yeah, you and your nothing little job). I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle."  David says, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?"  So he goes to King Saul.  Man, oh man. King Saul sees this inexperienced, small youngster and tries to discourage him from the battle also, but David doesn't give in.  Finally Saul relents and gives David permission to go out and fight Goliath. 

BUT FIRST let's try on this armor.  Doesn't fit.  Won't work.  But it doesn't stop David.  He goes out, gets 5 smooth stones (Goliath had 4 sons. He knew he only needed one for Goliath) and says to Goliath, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."  Well, we all know the end of the story.

So, about now you are saying to yourself, "where is she going with this?"  My question to you is this: was David lukewarm?  Who was his first love?  Who was He fighting for?  We need to ask ourselves these questions when faced with our Goliaths.  Do we run from the fight or do we go to it knowing that our God is fighting for us?  Do we tell the truth when faced with the lies of this world or do we run from it?  Do we allow the world to taunt the Living God with horrors like abortion, or do we pick up our little pathetic slingshots and our few stones and allow our God, the fiercest of warriors, to sling them for us?  He wants to use us like He used David.  He wants us to be like David, a man after God's own heart.  But to do that, we must be hot for Him.

This is a rallying cry for all of you out there who love God, who are tired of the taunting from the world.  I'm not afraid, and there is One Whom I do not want to offend.

The Cost of Faithfulness

(I thought I would re-share this with you.  Written over a year ago, it's a reminder of the cost we may pay for our faithfulness to Christ.  I hope it encourages you.)

As I sat down to study and read my devotionals this morning, my mind was still heavy over the loss of an old friend last night.  By loss, I mean he decided to delete me from his Facebook friend list.  I have known him for almost 40 years, we went to school together and when we reconnected on FB, it was a pleasure to know he seemed to be the same sweet person I remembered.  But time has a way of changing people in ways we can't fully understand.  

My friend and I had both changed, which is a good thing from certain perspectives, because I needed to change, as I'm sure he did.  We had matured and grown but most importantly at a specific time in our lives, had received and embraced convictions that now mastered our lives.  As we went on reestablishing our once-solid friendship, we were able to disagree over some things and still love and respect each other.  But it appeared that another change was beginning to be revealed that my friend found he couldn't, nor wouldn't, tolerate.  It was this that caused a tear in the fabric of our friendship, one that pulled at the threads of reason and truth and brought damage to it.  Whether or not it can ever be mended is not clear to me at this point.  But I still cling to a thread of hope that it can and after going into God's Word and receiving confirmation and peace over the conflict, I must leave it all in the Lord's hands to sort out.

Christ once said, "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?  No, I tell you, but division.  From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.  They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." (Luke 12:49-53)

Jesus could have further added that there would also be division between friends because there would be those who would refuse to believe what others would bring them in the way of the truth of God's Word.  They would reject it and, perhaps, respond with willful separation from their family or friends and turn to others they have surrounded themselves with who bring them a false and destructive message.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, THEY will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  THEY will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."  (2Tim. 4:3-4 - emph. mine)

People such as those mentioned in Paul's exhortation to Timothy are not thrust upon those who refuse to hear the truth.  They are unable to infiltrate a church or a heart that is divinely guarded and protected by God.  Instead, they are invited in or sought out by the ones who want their ears tickled because of their desire to create a god of their own choosing rather than the God of the Bible.  The message these false teachers bring is more pleasing to their sense of fairness, individual responsibility, and what they, themselves, desire from God.  Rather than believe the truth that is being told them, they prefer the "myths" of sly, malevolent, untruths that appease their conscience and allow them an excuse for every aspect of their lives and how they live them.  In other words, THEY choose to "exchange(d) the truth of God for a lie" (Rom. 1:25) with conscious willfulness and blatant disregard for the true message they have received.

We have a tendency, whether we consciously know it or not, to compromise God's truth in order to prevent dissension or division.  After all, who wants to lose a valued friend or loved one over an argument?  But it goes much further than simply wanting to maintain a relationship with someone you cherish by avoiding conflict.  If we are who we claim to be, that is Christ's chosen, then we have a responsibility to obey His command that we "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19), and to "be prepared in season and out of season [to] correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" (2Tim. 4:2) those who are being grossly misled.  There should never be compromise when it comes to preaching or teaching the Word of God.  We must choose whom we will serve, God or man, and remain firmly grounded on His truths.

The cost of remaining faithful to God can seem devastating to us at times.  It can mean being isolated from the ones we love here on earth, being castigated as "hateful", "mean", "self-righteous", or a host of other accusations.  It can cost us friendships.  But I think Oswald Chambers in today's devotion from "My Utmost For His Highest" speaks loudly of our responsibility to our Creator in how far we must go to assure God we are doing our best for Him, in spite of what may come out of it.  It's where I want to be and how I want my God to see me: faithful to Him regardless of the cost.

"The Price of Vision" 

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord."  Isaiah 6:1

"Our soul's history with God is frequently the history of the 'passing of the hero.'  Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is where we faint and fail and get discouraged.  Take it personally: In the year that the one who stood to me for all that God was died - I gave up everything?  I became ill?  I got disheartened? or - I saw the Lord?

My vision of God depends upon the state of my character.  Character determines revelation.  Before I can say, 'I saw also the Lord,' there must be something corresponding to God in my character.  Until I am born again and begin to see the Kingdom of God, I see along the line of my prejudices only; I need the surgical operation of external events and internal purification.

IT MUST BE GOD FIRST, GOD SECOND, AND GOD THIRD, UNTIL THE LIFE IS FACED STEADILY WITH GOD AND NO ONE ELSE IS OF ANY ACCOUNT WHATEVER (emph. mine).  'In all the world there is none but Thee, my God, there is none but Thee.'

Keep paying the price.  Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision."


To Christ be all the glory, honor,  and praise!  And may our Lord and Savior have  our complete devotion, in spite of the cost!