In Jeff Flynn-Paul’s book, ‘Not Stolen’, he describes the gods of the Mesoamericans: primarily the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas. He writes: “Aztec religion was polytheistic, which absorbed many concepts from earlier Mesoamerican cultures, particularly Maya. Though they believed in an ultimate god, they also worshipped many lesser deities who represented various concepts, objects, and places. One of the central concepts of their religion was that human blood was needed in order to keep the world from falling apart; the gods had given blood at the time of the world’s creation, and humans were therefore obliged to give this blood back or risk the dissolution of the world. There was a great deal of entropy in their religious philosophy, meaning that continuous rituals (including human sacrifice) were necessary in order to keep the world operating on its present course. The symbolism of the skull was widespread in Mesoamerica, though skull worship was taken to new heights by the Aztecs and their allies. Aztec priests were seen as those responsible for providing gifts to the gods, while rulers were charged with providing the proper number of sacrificial victims for their temples. When a people were conquered by a neighboring tribe, those who were not sacrificed would be forced to adopt the religion of the conquerors, though oftentimes important local deities would be incorporated into the calendars of the conquerors themselves.” (Pg92)
  Flynn-Paul continues on pages 143-144. “The Aztecs engaged in cannibalism on a far grander scale. This was on account of the sheer number of excess human corpses that their culture created on an annual basis. The very first group of Spaniards captured by Mexican Indians in 1520 was ritually slaughtered and cannibalized along with their Indigenous allies. As reported by the Guardian in 2015, a group of fifteen Spaniards, forty-five colonial soldiers, fifty women, ten children, and “hundreds of their Indigenous allies” were captured and put in cages. Like a scene out of a particular disturbing movie, one or two a day of the Europeans and captured Indians were chosen at random and sacrificed in a gruesome manner, within earshot of the other prisoners. The bodies were then dismembered and cooked, and the flesh distributed to the people of the town”.
 “The slow, steady pace of human sacrifice, which occurred over the course of many months, shows a desire to propitiate different gods on their feast days—for example, rain gods preferred children. But archaeologists also speculate that it served to provide an ongoing source of protein for the people of the town. The Aztecs were notoriously short of large domesticable animals to use for food, so this steady ritual of human sacrifice met a social need for protein. The town where this occurred was previously named Zultapec—but after this windfall of sacrificial victims, its name was changed to “Tecoaque”, which meant “the place where they ate them.”
  I want to offer two purposes for this tidbit. But I want to offer my second (2) purpose, first!  The Bible teaches that sin does three things:
1.Blinds. It causes misunderstanding, delusion, confusion, and deception. (Lu11:34,35  Rom1:21)
2.Enslaves (spirit, soul, body) Pro29:6; Jn8:31-32,34; Rom8:2
3.Death/Murder (spirit, soul, body). Rom6:23; Gal6:8
  In other words, sin not only destroys the spirit and body, but also corrupts the mind, so that humans begin to reason through their sin. I repeat, when sin dominates a man’s life, that person ultimately thinks through his sin! For this reason, God says beware that the light within you is not darkness(Lu11:34,35). Titus 1:15 says it best: “…but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
  Flynn-Paul’s research confirms the Sovereign God had good reason to inspire the ‘FIRST’ commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”(Ex20:3). In other words, false religions are not simply differing points of view; or another form of worship; or multiculturalism! Flynn-Paul confirms that as sin matures over time---the end of sin, especially the sin of idolatry---is violence and murder!
   The first purpose (1) for this tidbit goes even deeper into idolatry! Like sin, but slightly different, John 10:10 teaches that Satan also does three things to humans:
           1.Steal
           2.Kill
           3.Destroy
  Throughout human history, and once again as Flynn-Paul confirms, people groups from all over the world have fallen into human sacrifice—which is the reason God forbad it in Israel (Deut12:31; Deut18:10). Tragically, following the nations around them, in spite of God’s clear commands, Israel fell into not just human sacrifice, but an even worse: child sacrifice (2Kgs21:6).
  How does a human come to the point of human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of a child? The Biblical answer is ‘Demon possession’! Deuteronomy 32:17 declares that idolatry is not just the worship of a false god, but the worship of demons: “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread” (NAS).
  Over time, as sin and/or Satan matures in a human life or a nation, the climax is violence and murder(Gen 6:1-13)!  
  What then is abortion? Abortion is not a woman’s right; nor is the baby a product of conception (POC); nor is abortion birth control; nor is the child an imposition!  On the contrary, God’s thoughts and ways are higher than man’s (Is55:8,9)! Therefore, God declares:
1.Humans are created in God’s image and likeness(Gen1:26-28)
2.Human life begins* at conception(Ps51:5)
3.Using His own hands--God knits 'each and every' child together in a mother’s womb (Ps139:13 ESV, NLT)
4.Abortion is murder (Ex20:13), taking innocent human life (Pro6:17)
5.A person is ‘fully’ deceived by their sin to murder a child in the
womb(Tit1:15)
6.Abortion is child sacrifice, and is literally the worship of
demons(Deut12:31; Deut18:10; Deut32:17; 2Kgs21:6)
 
* -Human Embryology & Teratology, 2nd edition, 1996, pages 8, 29, Ronan O’Rahilly and Fabiola Miller: 
“Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed. … The combination of 23 chromosomes present in each pronucleus results in 46 chromosomes in the zygote. Thus the diploid number is restored and the embryonic genome is formed. The embryo now exists as a genetic unity.”
 
-The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th edition, 1998, pages 2-18, Keith L. Moore: 
“[The zygote] results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm … unites with a female gamete or oocyte … to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us
as a unique individual.”
 
 
Quotebit
"I don't need a church to tell me I'm wrong where I already know I'm wrong; I need a church to tell me I'm wrong where I think I'm right."
​                    - G.K. Chesterton

  The above is a topic subtitle found on page 108 of the book ‘Not Stolen, The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World,’ by Jeff Flynn-Paul. This is an outstanding expose’ of the liberal agenda to destroy America’s historical record as the world’s leading country for both opportunity and prosperity. I highly recommend it.
  Flynn-Paul writes of several critics who falsely charge America “that it was only colonialist exploitation of nonwhite peoples that made modern Westerners rich.” (pg108). For example, he cites activist author and professor Ibram Kendi, who often quotes Eric Williams ’argument in ‘Capitalism and Slavery’ that the transatlantic slave trade was the main source of modern European wealth. In Kendi’s eyes, every European with a Gucci bag only has it because one of his African ancestors worked for them, directly or indirectly, as a slave sometime in the past.”     Flynn-Paul follows up, quoting Noam Chomsky, another American professor and political activist, who in his book ‘Year 501’ declared: “the colonies of the New World offered enormous riches. The Acts and wars expanded the trading areas dominated by English merchants, who were able to enrich themselves through the slave trade and their plunder-trade with America, Africa, and Asia, assisted by “state-sponsored wars…” (pg108).
  He continues with Ta-Nehisi Coates, a renowned American writer known for his works on race, who “likewise testified to Congress in the summer of 2020 to the effect that in the nineteenth century, half of all American wealth as derived from or was reliant upon slave labor. Presumably, for Coates, the other half would have been derived from land appropriated from Native Americans. This tale has all the ingredients to stoke a rage born of injustice. It paints a picture where in the year 1500, BIPOCs across the globe were on an economic par with Europe, poised to create a harmonious and prosperous future for themselves. But European rapaciousness, driven by the alienating logic of capitalism and a thirst for conquest, not only stole this bright future but also rendered BIPOCs desperate and subservient, while white people used colored capital to create a glittering civilization for themselves. In this view, Europeans have been little more than schoolyard bullies for the better part of a millennium.”(pg109).
   There is only one problem! None of these critics’ accusations align with historical facts! Flynn-Paul writes, “Indeed, researchers repeatedly show that transatlantic slavery contributed only a modest sum to total European GDP. At the very height of the slave trade, between 1750 and 1800, this amounted to somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 10 percent. Before and after that period, the numbers become even more inconvenient for anyone trying to make this argument. According to the global GDP figures published by Angus Maddison in his seminal ‘The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective’, European per capita wealth in the year 1000 was about the same level as the rest of the globe---that is to say, $400 to $500 per person, measured in 1990 international dollars. Maddison’s 2010 figures are freely available online and in various printed formats.”*
  “Between the years 1000 and 1500—long before Europeans could be accused of exploiting more than a tiny handful of nonwhite people—a remarkable thing happened. The per-person GDP of Western Europe steadily grew to nearly double the global average, while the GDP of every other region stagnated or grew by a modest amount. Maddison’s dataset shows European per capita GDP in 1500 at nearly $800, while Mexico, Peru, and Africa still stood where they were five hundred years earlier—at about $400. Nor did the per capita GDP of Mexico, Peru, or Africa plummet after the arrival of the Europeans—it simply remained on the same slow-growth trajectory that it had been on for centuries. So much for the notion that European arrival constituted an economic disaster for the majority of Indigenous inhabitants.”(pg110)
  “Meanwhile, the richest non-European areas in the year 1500 were China and India, whose GDP has been estimated at $600 and $500. This is a modest increase on the $450 per person these societies had produced in the year 1000. In the five centuries during which they were unmolested by European colonialism, then, China and India only managed to grow their economies at a few per cent per century. After 1500, the European economy continued to grow at the same strong pace that it had done in the preceding five centuries. It did not suddenly grow at a faster pace, even as it forged Wallerstein’s “World System”. “Over the eight hundred years between the year 1000 and 1800—both before and after colonization---Europe’s GDP experienced a remarkably consistent growth rate of about 10-15 percent per century. European per capita GDP went from $800 in 1500 to $900 in 1600 to $1000 in 1700 to $1200 in 1820.” (pg111)
  “This suggests that the European economy was already set on its growth trajectory prior to its colonial adventure and the discovery of New World colonies---while very helpful for some regions at certain times---did not significantly alter the growth trajectory of the Western European economy as a whole. All of Maddison’s data thus points to the conclusion that the relatively small amount of wealth generated by New World trade—including both slavery and land appropriations from the Natives---was mere icing on the economic cake of long-term European growth. Stronger evidence against Ibram Kendi’s wishful thinking would be difficult to find!” (pg111).
  Kendi, Williams, Coates, Chomsky etc.,** are just a few of the many liberal academicians who have had major influence across America, promoting their myths. However, because many liberals who think like them are Americans, it is obvious that their actual target is not Europe, but America! They use Europe only as a launch pad to attack the obvious, and undeniable opportunity and prosperity America has provided for the world!
  Tragically, their atheism has created their deception (Tit1:15; Rom1:21,28), preventing them from understanding that God, i.e.the Bible, i.e. the Judaeo-Christian ethic…is the real reason for both Europe, and then America’s riches…not colonialism nor slavery. Angus Maddison’s research is the literal, undeniable evidence that their attempts to explain away American prosperity are absolutely false!***
  The Bible declares righteousness exalts a nation (Pro14:34), and although America’s past has neither been innocent, nor perfect as it relates to righteousness…yet its’ past has been penitent--- allowing the eternal God to work His righteousness--over a period of time—culminating in God blessing this nation more than any other nation in the history of the world!
 
*Maddison’s dataset is available at the University of Groningen website: “Maddison Database 2010,” Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen, https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-database-2010
  
**Despite all the claims by various activists, professors, and writers, the research shown above by Maddison shows that the statement that “the transatlantic slave trade was the main source of modern European wealth” is false. It is just one of the many attempts to purport/cast Europe as benefiting economically from slave labor during the colonial period. Of course, the greater purpose for eliciting these “so-called facts”---which are actual lies--is part of an agenda to infiltrate and incorporate into the mindset of young Americans that this nation has been racist from its foundation to this present day. 
 
***See the following confirming graphs
 
Tidbit
The mystery key necessary for all achievement is the ability to endure through the pain caused by either the sin nature or the creation, during the pursuit of an objective.
                           – Derrick Jackson

​

I am an American Patriot! I am unapologetic, resolute, and undaunted in proclaiming my steadfast love for the United States of America! But first, allow me to unveil a few fellow black Americans who apparently do not share my love of country. I categorize them by their own spoken words as “American haters”!
-Josh Howard, former NBA, Dallas Mavericks star once said, “The Star-Spangled Banner is going on right now. I don’t even celebrate that ---- I’m Black.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi523TdWj_E)
(https://youtu.be/-BqG9kjknVw?si=O7HgbMZlNALOsoGL)
-Black singer Rene Marie was asked to sing the National anthem for a Mayoral event in Denver, Colorado, but substituted the Black National anthem instead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw02sW04hHE). After such an outrage, Rene explained, “When I decided to sing my version, what was going on in my head was: ‘I want to express how I feel about living in the United States, as a black woman, as a black person.”
-Or, what about Reverend Jeremiah Wright, “…no, no, no, not God bless America, but God damn America. That’s in the Bible, for killing innocent people. God damn America…” Actually, Reverend Wright---you need to reread your Bible! There is no damning America in the Bible!!!
-Or, what about black ‘Grey Anatomy’ star actor Jesse Williams declares, “…we're done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us…” His take is really interesting because he has a ‘White’ mother! I wonder if he applies his statement to his own mom!
 I personally beg to differ with the previously mentioned people quoted above! On the contrary, let’s look at some past Black patriots, who loved God first, and then second, loved America---in that order: which is the real foundation for American Patriotism.
1.Johy Roy Lynch, who was born into slavery in 1847, but later became the first black Speaker of the House--in none other than--Mississippi!! Furthermore, he was the first Black to preside over a National Convention in 1884—the Republican National Convention. He said,
 “I love the land that gave me birth. I love the stars and stripes. This country is where I intend to live, where I expect to die; to preserve the honor of the national flag and to maintain perpetually the union of the states, for which hundreds, and I may say thousands of poor, brave, and true hearted colored men have fought, bled and died.”
2.Abolitionist Frederick Douglas, was taught by his mentor William Lloyd Garrison that the Constitution of the United States was a racist, pro-slavery document because of the inclusion of the 3/5 clause. However, subsequently, in his writing entitled ‘My Bondage And My Freedom’, Mr Douglas had a change of heart,
“I was on the anti-slavery question, fully committed to the doctrine touching the pro-slavery character of the Constitution. I advocated this with pen and tongue according to the best of my ability. However, upon a latter reconsideration of the whole subject, I became convinced that the Constitution of the United States not only contained no guarantees in favor of slavery, but on the contrary, it is in its letter and spirit an anti-slavery instrument, demanding the abolition of slavery as a condition of its existence as a Supreme law of the land! Here was a radical change in my opinions.”
 
  The next seven people (3-9), whom I call them the Black Magnificent Seven--all of which were American Patriots--- who loved and served America during the Reconstruction period(1866-1876) —which was a time just after slavery ended in 1865. They were the first Blacks elected to Congress in American history--all elected as Republicans.
3.Hiram Rhodes Revels(1827-1901) from North Carolina. He was both a pastor and missionary for the AME church, who later became the first president of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, which is now Alcorn State University. He became America’s first black U.S. Senator from Mississippi after the end of the Civil War. Ironically, he filled the Senate seat vacated by Jefferson Davis who left to join the Confederacy to become its president.
4.Benjamin Turner from Alabama. He was a slave both before, and during the Civil War. Incredibly, he was so wise and articulate that he became a wealthy businessman within five years of the war’s conclusion. He was elected to the House of Representatives. 
5.Robert Delarge from South Carolina. Like Benjamin Turner, Robert was born a slave, yet within three years of the end of the Civil War he served in the state house, where he chaired the Republican Party’s platform committee, and became a state wide elected official, all before being elected to the House of Representatives in Washington D.C.
6.Josiah Walls from Florida. He was a slave before the Civil War and was forced to fight for the Confederate army. After being captured by the Union army, he quickly enlisted with them, and later even became a Union army officer. Subsequently, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was twice challenged by the Democrats for his congressional seat. He successfully won in his first election challenge, but lost his second attempt and the Democrats sent him and he never again returned to Washington.
7.Jefferson Long from Georgia. He also was born a slave, but taught himself to read and write, and later even built a business. However, after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Democrats made sure his business was boycotted, and after suffering great financial loss, he was forced to return home.
8.Joseph Haines Rainey from South Carolina. He was also born a slave. Incredibly, he became the Rainey became the first African American to preside over the House of Representatives as Speaker pro tempore. He served in Congress longer any of the other black person during Reconstruction. 
9.Robert Brown Elliott from South Carolina. He was not born a slave, and had a high formal education. He could speak and read in four languages: Spanish, French, Latin, and English. He became the Speaker of the House on the state level.
These are just a ‘few’ of the Black American Patriots who lived in American antiquity.
  I’m sure you are probably wondering why Blacks who lived through and around the time of slavery were American patriots, while it appears that so many contemporary Blacks are angry at America…what is that all about?
  First, there are many contemporary Blacks who love America—because they have come to understand God’s call upon this great nation! While many Blacks have bled and died fighting in past American wars; many other Blacks have read about the great sacrifices those Blacks who lived before them had to make to realize their unique purpose.
  There are at least three reasons it appears that Blacks hate America:
1.In order to increase ratings and sales, the liberal media loves to agitate, stirring up resentment, by incessantly presenting Blacks who are angry at White people…for being White! For example,  White Privilege, Whiteness, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, etc.
2.The vast majority of Black ‘America-haters’ are Black racists/nationalists, i.e. Black liberals* have been taught to focus on American slavery, which they claim has caused a permanent mental illness called Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS)!
3.Tragically, because of liberalism, there has been a great falling away from the Word of God, i.e.faith in God, by American Blacks, which has resulted in either ignoring or rejecting God’s call on this nation.
 
Can Blacks be American Patriots? Absolutely YES!!!
 
Blacks should be America’s GREATEST patriots!!!
  
*Although I’m sure they exist, I have never seen or heard of a Black ‘America-hater’ who is not a liberal/progressive. 
 
QuoteBit
Don't take the casual approach to life. Casualness leads to casualties.  –Jim Rohn

In America, this day--we are seeing the implementation of normalizing evil/sin. Unless there is national repentance(2Chron7:14), and God has mercy, He will have to judge this great nation. Below, I have listed 9 stages that nations go through as evil/sin becomes the norm!
  The normalization of Sin has two parts:
A.Individual Sin
B.National Sin
Let’s begin!
-“The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.”  
                                                                     -Ps12:8
-“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”    -Is5:20
-“And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”                                 
                                         -Judges 2:10 (2:11-13)
 
A.Individual sin
i.Doubt. This means the people of a nation begin ignoring their own personal sin by sowing seeds of ‘doubt’ in their own hearts. For example, departing from church attendance, scheduling sporting events on Sunday morning, especially for children; removing the Bible and/or prayer from public schools; reducing church services to an hour because people have things to do on Sunday; using Sunday mornings for “family time” etc.
  These seeds of ‘doubt’ manifest into internalized statements like: “I don’t understand the Bible”; “I’m too/very busy”; “I don’t have time”; “Sunday is my only day for family!”; “I need to support my kids in their sports on Sunday morning!”
ii. Unbelief. Over time the above seeds of ‘doubt’ begin to sprout in the heart(Mk4:3-20), making God’s word the same as any other voice, which means there is no more “trembling” at God’s word (Is66:2). Tragically, this is not the end…but the beginning. As time passes in a state of doubt, the heart further descends into making other voices more important than God’s voice/word. I repeat, this all happens internally, in the heart (Pro4:20-23).
  As doubt descends and is established, it suddenly turns into ‘Unbelief’; which is defined as the INTERNAL rejection of God’s word! I repeat, the sin of doubt ignores God’s word—and naturally and normally descends into unbelief, which rejects God’s word!
iii.Trivialize sin. Apathy, lethargy; “I don’t care!”; “What difference does it make?” “To each his own.”
iv.Personal justification/rationalization of sin. Individual endorsement of sin; possessing sin in one’s personal life. This stage often calls sin “passions”, “personal lusts”, “my truth”, “Love is love”; “People can do what they want in their bedroom” etc. This is called relativism, which is a doctrine of the religion of atheism.
a.This stage often exists through a pseudo compassion.
b.On the contrary, compassion, which is different from empathy, is designed by God to apply to people, not to human behaviors or actions.
 
  Sometime during or at the end of stage four, sin enters the public or cultural arena. From this point, the following three stages begin slowly, but increase in their descent as sin becomes more and more popular, ultimately landing in an irredeemable abyss…and the judgment of God!
 
B.Public sin
v.Rename sin. ‘Abortion’ becomes ‘pro-choice’. ‘Fornication’ becomes ‘making love’. ‘Adultery’ becomes ‘Open marriage’…etc., etc.
vi.Affirm sin/Market sin/Celebrate sin (1Cor13:6; Pro28:4) 
a.Celebrate sin or Promote sin in the 8 spheres of life: church, business, government,
    science, academia, media, entertainment, family.
vii.Codify/Legalize sin (Is5:20)
           a.enact laws in favor of the sin
           b.enact laws against God and the Bible
These 2 final stages conclude the cultural normalization of sin.
           viii.Culture can no longer restrict sin, because of normalization. The nation/people group
                  turns violent against each other. (Ps37:32; Gen6:1-13)
ix.God's wrath
 
 
 Quotebit
The key to all achievement is the ability to endure the pain caused by either the sin nature or the creation during the pursuit of an objective.         
                                              -Derrick Jackson

  In part 1, I argued that the phrase “I identify as…” at its foundation is idolatry! In part 2, I wrote about race, which is one of two primary ways (race & sex) liberals apply their self-invented statement “I identify as…”.
  In this tidbit, I want to address sex. First, allow me to remind you that God’s perspective on identity is absolute. In other words, there is only one way to identify humanity: the Image and Likeness of God (Gen 1:26-28).
 Now, let’s look at self-identifying using sex. The most often ways—but not exclusive--- liberals use sex to identify is:
1.A woman/female declares: “I identify as a man!”
2.A man/male declares, “I identify as a woman!”
3.A man/male or woman/female declares, "I identify as non-binary—belonging to neither sex, male or female!"
   First, it is critical to understand that the origin of these 3 lies (like self-identifying by race) begins with a rejection of God. How? Liberalism rejects God as the Creator (Col1:16), Whom created mankind as only male and female (Gen1:27; Mat19:4). Liberals reject God as the only Sovereign (1Tim6:15), Whom alone created according to His own desire (Col1:16)…without man’s input* (Pro21:30)! And finally, they reject God as the source of all things (Col1:17).
 Tragically, the sin of rejecting God not only affects the spirit(Rom6:23; 2Thes1:7-9), and the body(1Cor6:18), but also defiles the mind (Tit1:15; Rom1:21)— restricting understanding of life and God---through their sin nature(Rom8:5-9). This evil is illustrated in Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken ‘me’ the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” In other words, rejecting God as the Creator, Sovereign, and Source means the human mind will replace God’s ways with man-made solutions using the sin nature, which I repeat, Jeremiah 2:13 calls “broken cisterns which hold no water”. Of course, the greatest example is, “I identify as…”.
  In the context of self-identifying using sex, because sin does not remain static, over time the sexual perversion of self-identification results in a spiral downward into an ‘irresistible’ free-fall from evil to evil (Jer9:3). In other words, the sin of self-identifying by sex will not only remain as men identifying as women, and women as men. As we have already seen, self-identity has continued its downward spiral into our society, heralding humans who now identify as hundreds of additional invented genders, along with their own choice of personal pronouns. Tragically, this spiral downward has continued to now include humans self-identifying as animals, like cats, dogs, horses, etc. Furthermore, liberals have accepted, legitimatized, and marketed this behavior, even inventing the name ‘Furries’ for humans who re-identify as cats! And what’s more, to accommodate the ‘Furries’ myth, public schools have even placed cat-litters in their bathrooms!!**
 The rejection of God establishes this delusion by negating understanding of the human sin nature, as well as the demonic world behind it!! To the contrary, rejecting this sexual perversion is not an attempt to enforce some Puritanical killjoy on humans! Sexual perversion ignites the human sin nature like a match ignites a can full of gas!! In other words, because the wages of sin is death(Rom 6:23), the downward spiral of sexual perversion literally ends in violence!
 Scripture literally confirms ‘violence of sexual perversion’ in several places, such as:
-Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:5
-The Levite and his concubine in Judges 19
-The 23,000 deaths of Israelites 1Corinthians 10:8, as judgment for their sexual sin 
  However, the most popular account is found in Genesis 6:1-13, which records Noah’s flood, and the destruction of all mankind except for 8 souls!
  Unless you are living on the moon, oblivious to the world around you, the nations of the world are experiencing a serious uptick in violence as predicted in Matthew 24:37. Therefore, if humans continue down the path of self-identification using “I identify as…” the tragic consequences of the “days of Noe” are destined to return!
  Why? I repeat, rejecting your God-given identity destroys the first of the two fundamentals of life: 1. Who you are(identity), which inexorably leads to the rejection of the second: 2. Why you are(unique purpose).
Self-identification is the ‘APEX’…and the ‘FINAL’ lie of Satan---before God must intervene in righteous judgment!!
 
*Which absolutely rejects the idea that man can self-identify!!!
** The question is, where will the downward spiral end?!!?
 
 

'  In part 1, I sought to prove that the phrase “I identify as…” at its’ foundation is blasphemy…it is idolatry! Why? From the perspective of God--Who is the only Sovereign(1Tim6:15)--there is only ONE way to identify humanity: man is created in God’s Image and Likeness(Gen1:26-28).
 To the contrary however, there are two primary ways liberals apply their self-invented statement “I identify as…”:
           1.Race
           2.sex
   Allow me to begin with ‘Race’ and conclude with ‘Sex’ in a following tidbit. The emphasis in America on race as the identifying factor of humans is horrendous! It’s an abomination! From God’s perspective, it’s idolatry—because it substitutes man’s view(Jer2:13; Col2:8) for God’s Sovereign purposes! Therefore, to identify by race is not a White or Black issue, but a sin issue.
  When we look at: “I identify as…” using the ‘supposed’ colors of white, black, red, brown, and yellow that have become the norm in our world, I find it truly amazing how humanity could ever have agreed with this foolishness! Yet, this simply confirms the power that sin has on the human heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” -Jer17:9
 Now…let’s examine the phrase: “I identify as…” using skin color. First, let’s simply identify how God created skin biologically.
-Biologically, human skin is the largest organ in the body.
-Biologically, God created man with skin tone, not skin color!!!
-Biologically, what is known as 'skin color' is primarily controlled by Melanin, which is a chemical in the genes that actually gives humans their skin ‘TONE’.
-Biologically, Melanin literally manifests in skin as dark and light…or, literally as differing shades of brown—NOT: white, black, red, or yellow!!
-Socially or Culturally—NOT biologically--man invented* skin colors white, black, red, and yellow.

          I know it may be shocking to your system — but I repeat—what we have called the 5 'skin colors', in reality, are differing shades of the 'tone' of brown! As Chlorophyll makes plants green, so…Melanin manifests in the human skin as brown. Therefore, the supposed skin colors of white, black, red, and yellow are a ‘Social Construct’, i.e. an invention of humans! See my footnotes on ‘race’ from Newsweek and National Geographic magazines*, which both confirm my contention that race is a ‘Social Construct’. 
  Moving forward, allow me to offer just one biological piece of evidence on skin to illustrate why humans should not use skin color to either self-identify, or to identify others.
  One incredible reason God created human skin is to protect humans from the sun. The sun’s rays can literally kill humans without Melanin. For example, the pathology of albinism is a genetic mistake that hinders the production of Melanin in humans and tragically presents huge obstacles for many millions of people all over the world.
  How do these biological facts relate to “I identify as” using skin color? First, God created mankind in His image and likeness. Therefore, to identify by anything else, or as anything else,  replaces God as the only Sovereign---substituting self for God! Remember, the Bible says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men”(1Cor1:25), therefore the idea of ‘self-identification’ challenges the omniscience of God, the wisdom of God, and the love of God—exalting human reason above the sovereign God!
  Second, allow me to show you the absolute futility of self-identifying by race, i.e.skin color…instead of God’s image and likeness! Biologically, the body has many organs: the liver, the stomach, the kidneys, the spleen, the lungs, the intestines, the skin, etc. Although the skin is the largest of the body’s organs, every organ plays an important role in the health and well-being of the human body. What’s more, the skin is more important than the skin color because although every human has skin, not every person has the same skin color(tone)! Yet, even people with less Melanin, i.e.humans with lighter skin, are protected from the sun’s rays, just like those humans with more Melanin!
  Therefore, to identify by your skin color: “I’m black and I’m proud!” in reality, is to identify by a body organ! In other words, why choose skin color to identify yourself? Why not identify by another of the body’s organs, considering all organs are equally important! For example, “I’m a liver and I’m proud!”
 I pray that you get a big laugh at the sheer stupidity, ignorance, and foolishness of identifying by anything other than the image and likeness of God!!!!

 *https://www.newsweek.com/media-creating-false-perception-rising-racism-my-new-study-proves-it-opinion-1583264
 
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/race-genetics-science-africa
 
Tidbit
“The end of God’s gift of creativity to man was designed to be create abundance.”  -Derrick Jackson

  The term “I identify as…” has become a dominant personal philosophy of the American consciousness, and sadly, in many places around the world! In my opinion, this statement is the doorway down into the final abyss!!!!
 
Scripture declares: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” -Gen1:27.
 
This one single passage expresses God’s view of man’s ‘identity’: the image and likeness of God! Therefore, because God alone is sovereign, only He can determine man’s identity. However, and to the contrary, the phrase: “I identify as…” also speaks directly to the ‘identity’ of mankind, but from an exactly opposite position! In other words, although both God and man advocate for man’s ‘identity’, the definition AND application of ‘identity’ from both perspectives is as far apart as the East is from the West!
  Allow me to explain. I agree with God’s word that human life breaks down into two fundamentals:
           1.Who you are? (Identity)
           2.Why you are? (Unique purpose)
  To deviate…in any way from these two fundamentals will over time cause your life to spiral downward into hopelessness, despair, and even murder! Why? To identify self, or another human being, using any other criteria than the image and likeness of God is not just wrong, or immoral… but is idolatry! Remember, God alone is omnipotent and omniscient, and in His sovereignty chose to create man in His image and likeness, which, for emphasis, I repeat, is God’s only definition of man’s identity!
  First, God is Sovereign, which means He alone rules. In other words, because He created all things, He alone rules and reigns over all. Therefore, mankind had/has absolutely nothing to do with ‘WHO’ or ‘HOW’ he was created…or Who he is…apart from God! Before man even existed, Genesis 1:26 declared ‘how’ God would create mankind: in His image and likeness! God asked of no human their counsel or advice! And subsequently, Genesis 1:27 declares God acted and created man in His image and likeness!!! I repeat, it was God’s Sovereign decision to create man in His own image and likeness--before man even existed! Therefore, for a human being to say “I identify as…” philosophically and in practice---deifies himself, by determining his own identity---which Genesis 1:26 and 27 declares is reserved for God alone! Allow me to repeat myself, for any man to identify himself…exalts self as god!
  In practice, the man who says “I identify as…” tells the same lie of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:14: “I will be like the most High.” In other words, both statements: “I will be like the Most High God” and “I identify as” possess the same meaning—self-deification. How? When Lucifer made the claim: “I will be like the Most High God”, he did not mean: “God will rule some things, AND, I also will rule some other things”—for that is impossible, and Lucifer knew it! Remember, God is called “the only Sovereign”(1Tim6:15), and sovereignty means rulership…and because Lucifer knows God’s word(Mat4:6), he would have never thought he could rule along with God as His equal!! On the contrary, Lucifer desired to replace God—which is why he was instantly kicked out of heaven when he made this statement(Lu10:18)! So too like Satan, when any human declares “I identity as”, by God’s definition of the word “identity”, man rejects God’s sovereign determination of identity, replacing it with whatever man chooses to identify as! This is SELF-DEIFICATION!
  Interestingly, and finally, even if a person chooses to identify as God’s image and likeness, that one still commits idolatry! Why? Because he yet determines his own identity! I repeat, if you make the statement about yourself, “I identify as God’s image and likeness!” using the meaning and tone of the contemporary culture that uses the statement: “I identify as…”---that one still commits idolatry! Why? Remember, the thinking of the contemporary culture that declares “I identify as…” believes that they can determine their own identity…not the doctor, nor the parents, and especially not God!!! Therefore, even by declaring what ‘appears’ to be God’s word: “I identify as God’s image and likeness!”, on the other hand, they are determining this solely through their own world-view, which exists as:  “I am the captain of my own ship!” Or, I do whatever I want!” Or, "I can be whatever I want!" which are statements that originate in self-deification, and ultimately originate in Satan’s delusion: “I will be like the most High God!”
  I repeat, to determine your own identity, by default constitutes idolatry—because you are removing God’s sovereignty and replacing it with man's sovereignty!
  On the contrary, identity can only be determined by ‘revelation’ from God to man. I repeat, only God can reveal to you about you!
  Ephesians 1:17-18 declares,
              “17.That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
                    may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
                     knowledge of him:
               18.The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye
                     may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the
                     riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
 
Why? Because God sovereignly created you in His image and likeness. Therefore, only the Sovereign, Creator God can reveal to you who you are, i.e.your identity.
 
 
QuoteBit
The law of sowing and reaping, present in much of God’s creation was created according to God’s nature, and was given to mankind to demonstrate how that nature works (Rom1:20)
                                                     -Derrick Jackson

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.                     -Matthew 18:2,3
 
    Jesus answered his disciples in response to their question concerning the kingdom of heaven. In practical terms, Jesus was teaching His disciples how faith is conceived and works. While meditating on this passage, the word ‘converted’ leapt from the Bible’s pages and burned in my heart. After a little research, I found that ‘convert’ means to turn, turn around; to turn one’s self. It means especially to twist, then to turn, bend, steer; and finally, it means to turn one thing into another.
    Jesus tells his disciples that if they want to be great in the kingdom of heaven or possess great faith, they must be converted. Remember, He’s talking to his disciples; he is not talking to those who don’t know him. He is talking to those who walked and talked with him daily. In my opinion, this charge is quite amazing because these men had to give up their former lives to follow Him--surely that kind of a sacrifice should constitute enough of a conversion! However, Jesus seems to tell them their initial sacrifice or turn around was not enough. This passage asserts there is yet more change required—a change so drastic that it is comparable with the first conversion!
    The last definition above says the Greek word for ‘convert’ means to turn one thing into something entirely different. In Revelation 11:6 this definition rings loud and clear; the text says the two faithful witnesses would have the power to turn water into blood! 
    Jesus says His disciples, those who had walked, talked, and followed him, would have to be turned into something they presently were not to enter the kingdom of heaven or have great faith. Remember, this is after they gave up their lives to follow him. Even more astonishing is that he instructs them that they would have to be converted into a child. One would think Jesus would instruct them to convert to some accepted spiritual giant like a priest, a king, a prophet, or something with great status attached to it. However, Jesus has a way of using what the world refers to as foolishness to confound the wise--he simply said become like a child.
    What is the meaning of this intense metaphor? Because of how life presently exists on this earth, the idea of faith is discouraged and even mocked. The assumption is that over time, through the course of normal daily living, the average adult's faith is greatly hindered or destroyed. Therefore, Jesus says we adults must convert back to a child to have faith. Jesus says the average adult has grown to discard faith, and to regain it must be preceded by a conversion. Christ says an adult must convert from someone he is presently and again become like a child…to believe.
    Why a child? I believe Jesus used a child because children possess an inherent ability to believe. For example, in general, children accept anything that mom and dad say. A child believes implicitly; all children possess the propensity to believe easily. Contrary to the standing belief of our culture, Jesus used a child to show how one must believe without needing sense knowledge, or without needing proof! Wow! This is a direct contradiction to all we are taught in our upbringing! From the time we enter school until college graduation, children are instructed not to believe easily! We are taught to learn to discern; don’t be a follower; don’t talk to strangers; don’t go into your friend’s house; and never, never, never get into an automobile with an unfamiliar person! At every level of life, we are trained not to trust, but to believe only after first questioning!
    Now we can better understand why Jesus said we must be converted! Children dream, they imagine, they believe whatever you say, no matter who you are. The more far-fetched, the more children love it. Interestingly, the God kind of faith that moves mountains and changes the world requires us to dream big, see the invisible, and do the impossible!
   If you are going to do something great, you must first believe it. You cannot believe unless you go through a conversion process to become like a child. Go to a child and ask him what he thinks about life--let him/her teach you faith!!
    I admonish you today to just make a conscious decision to believe something you know you cannot do! The impossible is everywhere around you…you certainly don’t have to look very far. Will someone step forward to convert to childlike faith? Will it be you?
 
To Your abundance,
Pastor Derrick Jackson
 
 
Quotebit
"If you cannot save money, then the seeds of greatness are not in you."
-W. Clement Stone

    Abortion, gay rights, gay marriage, transgenderism, Supreme court judges, stem cells, war, environment, racism, illegal immigration, terrorism, Islam, Israel, unemployment, poverty etc, etc, etc. In our culture, these and many other topics generate not only debate…but sadly—division and hatred! People viciously slander one another using creative invective, often leading to permanent division--even within their own families! It is not extreme to say that America has become a permanently divided nation. But why is this?  
    Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has struggled to discern “truth”! Pontius Pilate earnestly asked Jesus—What is truth?(Jn18:38)---a question that is still vitally relevant today. As the time allotted for earth races toward its end---and as God’s Word is ignored---confusion and chaos reign, and more and more people are rejecting ‘THE TRUTH’ (Jn14:6); instead, deferring to “My Truth”---to inspire their current living experience. This deception has grave consequences!
    Paul’s admonition sums it up:
“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the ‘love of the truth’, that they might be saved.”
                                          -2Thessalonians 2:10
 
    This passage informs us that unrighteousness creates deception in those who perish. The word “perish” refers to those who reject Jesus(Jn3:16)! However, on the opposite side of 2Thessalonians 2:10, it teaches that righteousness creates a love of the truth— which is required for both salvation and maturity. Therefore, the point of this passage instructs us that righteousness facilitates truth, and then truth facilitates righteousness!  
   But…what is truth? Because Jesus calls Himself “THE truth” (Jn14:6), if you consider Him credible, as I do---I begin my definition of truth with Jesus. In other words, truth is a person; or truth is a being--- the Being of Jesus Christ(Jn14:6)!!
  In addition, Scripture also declares: “the Word of God is truth”(Jn17:17);  “the Spirit is truth” (1Jn5:6); “Your law is truth”(Ps119:142); “Your commandments are truth”(Ps119:151), etc. Therefore, truth is NOT reality, nor a concept, nor a proposition, nor a feeling!!
  Theologically and philosophically, like the nature of God, truth is: 1.objective; 2.universal; 3.eternal, and therefore immutable!!! For emphasis---this describes God!
 To the contrary, however, our contemporary culture trains people to use ‘feelings’ as their way to determine right and wrong, or good and evil! This results in the tragedy of substituting “My Truth” for THE Truth”! In everyday lingo, the “My truth” ideology boils down to a rejection of God and His word in favor of “personal feelings”, which philosophically is known as relativism!
  But why is a “My Truth” ‘feelings-based value system’, i.e. feelings; i.e.relativism…wrong, or even evil? Is it not true that feelings are natural/normal, and because everyone has them, feelings must be good, because God created all things good(Gen1:31)? The answer is “yes!” BUT…when man fell, “sin entered the world and death by sin, and sin passed upon all men”(Rom5:12). This means sin entered man’s flesh…becoming sinful flesh(Rom8:3). Therefore, even though the flesh is good, it possesses sin! This is called man’s sin nature—which every human possesses (Rom5:12).
   The problem is that feelings are part of the flesh which is controlled by man’s sin nature! Therefore, feelings were never intended to determine right and wrong, nor good and evil!!! Why? Because man’s sin nature (Rom7:17-21; Ps51:5)---cannot choose good(Rom8:5-8)! In practice, the “My truth” ideology---which is relativism—and which is controlled by the sin nature, can only reject God (Rom8:5-8); which means it must reject absolutes—which come from God and His word. Man’s sin nature chooses sin naturally, normally, and easily(Rom8:6,7)! For example, when a light is turned off at midnight in a room without windows—no resistance, no strain, nor struggle ensues---darkness automatically fills that room! So, it is also true of man’s sin nature!
  A few contemporary living examples of the utter chaos of relativism are: “Do what you want to do!” or “If it feels good, do it!” or “Follow your heart!” “There are no absolutes*!” or “You can’t impose your morality on me!” Although the previous statements appear innocuous at their most fundamental level, however, under their masks lurks the authentic face of an inability to discern good and evil--which by default leaves only the choice of evil, but the perception of good! Why? Because feelings are natural/normal for each person, and each person justifies (Rom3:19,20) their own feelings as good!  Hence, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…” -Pro21:2.
This is relativism!
  Due to the shock value of my previous point, allow me to repeat myself. In the absence of God’s word, mankind can only choose/do evil---because man’s sin nature can only choose evil! Yet, because man justifies himself(Rom3:19,20)---he calls his evil good! Scripture verifies this fact: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”    -Isaiah 5:20.
  However, because the entrance of God’s word is light (Ps119:130), where “light” is defined as ‘understanding’, means only God, and the absolutes of His word determine truth! On the contrary, to depart from God and His absolutes--both creates and establishes deception. How?  Deception occurs when mankind exalts ‘feelings’ to ‘absolutes’*; or lowers ‘absolutes’* to ‘feelings’.
   In review,  Why Is Our Culture So Confused? Very simply: No God of the Bible---no absolutes**; no absolutes leaves a vacuum which is filled by ‘feelings’, i.e., man’s sin nature—which is used by each individual to determine his own ‘right and wrong’ or ‘good and evil’. Another verifying passage is: “You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” -Deut12:8
 So….a ‘feelings-based value system’ can only justify every “feeling” as right or good—which is relativism. BUT… to apply the ‘feelings-based value system’ to everyone, relativism must contradict itself by making relativism an absolute!!
  In other words, because “My Truth” means ‘My personal truth’, it has to be right, good, moral, because it is “My Truth”. But…this philosophy must also be true of every other human being! So…as everyone adopts this principle, it becomes an absolute*! NOW…the philosophical contradiction of “My Truth” becomes crystal clear---relativism must use an absolute to prove its relativism!!
  However, moving forward from the philosophical contradiction to a practical application, the practical contradiction is even worse!!! If everyone possesses a “My Truth”, and by default that “My Truth” is right or good—because it is personal and individual---then evil cannot exist! Why? Because an evil in one person’s eyes is another person’s “My Truth”!!! Once again, the word of God is found true: “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
 
To Your Abundance,
Pastor Derrick Jackson
 
*An absolute is defined as: 1.objective; 2.universal; 3.eternal
**It is important to note that all religions have absolutes. Does this mean that the absolutes of every religion are right because they are absolute? NO! Only the absolutes of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…are authentic! Why? Because…there is only one God!
2Samuel 7:22-“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee….”
Isaiah 44:8: “…Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
Isaiah 44:6-“…I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. [1]”
Isaiah 43:10,11: “10… before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
           11.I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Jeremiah 10:10: “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king:”
John17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”


Quotebit
​Here's the major problem with going on strike for more money: You cannot get rich by demand.    -Unknown
 
 

​   The issue of money and God has been one of the church’s hot topics in recent years. Much of Christendom is known for its public stance against the word ‘prosperity’, preferring to contrast wealth with a life of self-denial. Despite its great wealth, the Catholic church has historically led the way in this area by promoting asceticism. Famous men like St. Francis of Assisi have been lionized for their vow of poverty and extreme austerity. However, contemporary ultra-evangelicals have now taken the lead in opposing what they call the ‘Prosperity Gospel’
   To support its position, the church has used such scriptures as Peter’s declaration when healing the paralytic: “…Silver and gold have I none…” (Acts3:6); or, the words of Jesus, “…the Son of man hath nowhere to lay his head…” (Matt.8:20); or, what is arguably the most famous passage used to support poverty, “…it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matt.19:24).
  In addition, many contemporary churches shout: “HERETIC!!” or “FALSE TEACHER”!! at any pastor, Christian, or church who even mentions the word ‘prosperity’ from their pulpits! All who dare cross this line are branded with the derisive epithet: ‘PROSPERITY PREACHER’!
  On the contrary, aspiring to be like the ‘Berean’ Christian (Acts17:11), I think Jesus should always be our highest and greatest example on any subject matter regarding the Word of God. John 1:4 perfectly supports this sentiment: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” The word “light” in this context means understanding. Let’s look at six Biblical reasons why it is literally impossible for Jesus to be poor. To be candid, the following 6 reasons support the idea that not only was Jesus not poor…But he was wealthy!
 
1.Herod was a king, and one earmark of a king is that he was wealthy. Because this is true, it is also safe to assume that those who handled his money, or those who were assigned to steward his wealth, also possessed a more than average amount of substance. In Luke 8:3, the Bible introduces Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward. The text declares she was a follower of Jesus and gave money to His ministry. Although the scripture does not mention how much she gave or how often she gave, we can assume that because she was a person of substance, when she gave to Jesus, it was not a mere pittance.
  Even more important than Joanna, Luke 8:3 further lists others who gave to Jesus. The context declares: Susanna, and ‘many’ others also gave to Him. Therefore, I think it is safe to assume that the intent of using the words “many others”, rather than just “others”, means that Luke intended to convey that a significant amount of money was given to Jesus.
 
2.Jesus had a treasurer, i.e. someone whose sole responsibility was to keep the money that came in from people like Joanna, Susanna, and “many others”. The fact that Jesus had a treasurer for His ministry is a vital piece of evidence supporting the AMOUNT of money people gave to Him, as well as the amount He spent! In other words, Jesus was taking in a large amount of money! How do I know? Since when does a poor man possess a treasurer? On the contrary, in Jesus’ day, poor people begged just to get to the next day!
 There is no recorded instance of Jesus ever begging—because He is the righteous(1Jn2:1)! Psalms 37:25 declares, “…I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
 
3.Incredibly, Judas, who was Jesus’ treasurer, was stealing money (Jn 12:6). And what’s even more astonishing is that despite Judas pilfering…there was still enough to support Jesus and His apostles---all without raising an iota of suspicion! We can only conclude that Judas’ diabolical behavior occurred in the midst of an abundance of money.
 
4.When Jesus called the 12 apostles(Mk3:14), they were not simply living on their parents, some, if not all, owned their businesses. Therefore, even before calling the 12, we can assume these were men of substance, they were at least providing for themselves. So, to answer the call to ministry, the 12 apostles had to leave their work, which means Jesus had to support at least 13 people: 12 apostles plus Himself!
  However, the Bible teaches Peter was married (Mat8:14), and later Paul refers to the ‘marriages’ of other apostles(1Cor9:5). Although 1Corinthians 9:5 may or may not refer to the 12 original apostles. We now know that Jesus had to support at least 14 people: Jesus + 12 apostles + Peter’s wife = 14.
  Fourteen is not the final number! At the time of Jesus, because it was normal in the Jewish culture to marry young and have lots of children, it is therefore not out of the question to assume Jesus supported many more than 14 people. How is that? Who were the others? Besides Peter’s wife, if the other 11 apostles were married, the number requiring provision would instantly leap to 25, including Jesus. However, if the apostles had children, the number He supported could easily have been north of 50 people!!
  If you think the number 50 is absurd, remember Jesus chose 12 apostles(Lu6:13) from 70 original disciples(Lu10:1)!! Like His 12 apostles, Jesus required these 70 men to leave their homes to do kingdom work(Lu10:9,17). So, following is my million-dollar question: who and how were these 70 men financially supported?* The only answer is Jesus! BUT…how could He have accomplished this incredible feat without an abundance of money?!?!
 In conclusion, even if we return to the number of 14 total people whom Jesus originally provided for, how could He ever have supported even this number without possessing an abundance of money?
 
5.We know for certain that Peter was married(Matt8:14), and because of Israel’s long-standing tradition regarding family, means he probably had children. So, one of the greatest supports for Jesus’ wealth is when He called the twelve to ministry, Peter’s wife, along with any wife of an apostle who was married--would have assuredly raised Cane---had they not been well provided for in their husbands’ absence!!!
  What better way for the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees to convince the multitudes that Jesus was a deceiver, had even the slightest bit of strife arise from Peter’s wife, or the homes or the wives or families of the other apostles…’IF’…they were without shelter or food, or provision of any kind!!! We can absolutely rest assured that the Pharisees would have used this chaos to their advantage, having a history of searching for reasons to condemn Jesus!!
  However, not one shred of evidence exists in the Gospels that either Peter’s wife, or the other apostles’ wives, or their children, or the wives of the 70 disciples raised any objections to Jesus ---due to a lack of provision! I repeat, and once again, there can be only one answer for this dilemma: the wives and families were abundantly provided with more than enough to help soothe their aching hearts from the absence of their husbands!!
  Need I remind you that the apostles were probably absent for days, weeks, and possibly months at a time when Jesus sent them to the cities and towns of Israel!! So not having more than enough provision would have certainly pushed the wives, or their families---over the edge!
 
6.It has traditionally been the opinion of scholars that there were three kings who paid tribute to Jesus at His birth, each one giving a commodity of either gold, frankincense, or myrrh(Mat2:11). However, the Biblical text does not indicate the total number of kings, so it could have been two or more. Yet, even if we assume the number of kings to be the traditional three, kings do not give small gifts to kings---but normally flaunt their wealth, giving large gifts (1Kgs10:2,7,10). Therefore, the worth of the gold, frankincense, and myrrh these kings gave to Jesus---would have been unimaginable!
  In addition, the amounts of treasure given by the kings would have been especially greater because they believed Jesus was a king(Mat2:2); the Messiah(Mat2:6); and God(Mat2:11)! As I have already noted---kings don’t give kings small gifts!!!
  In my opinion, the gifts from the kings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh are ‘the’ greatest evidence that Jesus was wealthy---even from His birth!!**
  In conclusion, because Jesus is our highest and greatest example, fear not what others think of you as you prosper in this life! Remember, do not settle for poverty…because God’s will for you is abundance…i.e.more than enough!
 
 
*Are you prepared to say these 70 men had no families or obligations from which they had to break away to obey Jesus? This would be too great a leap for me! On the contrary, it is much easier to accept the fact that Jesus possessed an abundance of money to support 70 men, their wives, and children---because He is more than enough!!!
 
**If you argue that Joseph spent the 3 king’s money in Egypt, there are four reasons to reject this notion:
           1.The money was not given to Joseph, but to Jesus.
           2.Joseph was a man of great integrity.
           3.Joseph was not a thief.
           4.Joseph was a carpenter; therefore he would have used his skill to provide for his family.
 
QuoteBit
Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you
would not take money. AUTHOR UNKNOWN