Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we continue with the Book of Genesis chapter 19
19:1-15 Sat in the gate implies that Lot was a leader in the city, possibly a judge (cf v. 9; 34:20). Pressed upon them greatly: Lot knew what might happen to them if they did not stay with him. That we may know them: The word know is to be interpreted in the light of Genesis 4:1 as carnal or sexual knowledge, here referring to homosexuality. We are given a glimpse of the unspeakable possibilities of human depravity. The Scripture clearly denounces homosexuality as sine (cf. Lev. 18:22-30; 20:13; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10). Later, the law would make homosexuality a capital offense, grouped with incest and bestiality. I have two daughters was an absolutely amazing alternative to be offered by a believer. Seemed as one that mocked: Evidently Lot’s testimony had degenerated to the point where even his family did not believe he was serious.
19:16-38. I will not overthrow this city: That God not only spared Sodom until Lot was save, but also spared another city (Bela) permanently because of his prayer, is one of the strongest Old Testament illustrations of eternal security for backslidden believers. In spite of Lot’s deep apostasy, the New Testament assures us that he was a righteous man” (redeemed), and that his “righteous soul” was daily vexed with the unlawful deeds of his Sodomite neighbors (2 Pet. 2:8). Doubtless, Lot will be among those who “shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). She became a pillar of salt: Jesus used this incident as a warning to others not to look back (Luke 17:21-33). Lot’s wife apparently lingered behind, continually and longingly looking back on her beloved possessions, and now as buried by the explosion that resulted from the destruction of the city. Brimstone and fire may refer to a meteorite shower that literally burned up the whole area.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we continue with the Book of Genesis chapter 18
18:1-15 The three men who appeared to Abraham were the preincarnate Christ (Yahweh) and two angels (v. 22;19:1). Here we find an example, not only of “entertaining angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2), but also of God becoming the guest of one of His saints (cf. John 14:23; Rev. 3:20). Sara laughed within herself either because she did not know of the promise of 17:19 or because she was unconvinced it would be fulfilled. In either case, one of the three men was now clearly identified as Yahweh, who knew Sarah’s thoughts.
18:16-33 This section gives the basis for Abraham’s being called the friend of God (2 Chr 20:7; Is 41:8; James 2:23). Because he was the friend of God and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him, he was allowed the high privilege of learning something about God’s principles of dealing with those nations. The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great: Their sins cried out for punishment (cf 4:10), Hos 7:2; Jonah 1:2). I will go down (cf 11:7) indicates that God’s justice moved Him to demonstrate that He had full possession of the facts. Actually the two angels went to Sodom and the Angel of the Lord stayed with Abraham. Abraham expressed concern for the people (cf. 13:8, 9). Fifty righteous: Lot was one of them (2 Pet. 2:7), but there evidently were not even 10 righteous (19:14). Therefore the city had to be destroyed. In all likelihood, backslidden Lot was the only “just” man there.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we continue with the Book of Genesis chapter 17
17:9-14 – Abraham’s part in the covenant-making process was circumcision, which God established as a sign of the covenant to indicate that his offspring were uniquely dedicated to God (Ex. 4:24-26; Rom. 4:11). A Hebrew who failed to observe this rite would be cut off from the covenant community. Circumcision was to serve as an outward sign of inward dedication to God. In itself, it was neither efficacious, nor unique to Israel.
17:15-22. Then Abraham…laughed: It seems strange that Abraham laughs at the idea of a hundred-year-old man begetting a son, when his own father was 130 at the time of his birth. Sarah would die when he was 137, but he was able to beget sons long after that (25:1-6). Paul states that when he was 100, “He considered not his own body now dead” (Rom 4:19). This laughter is one of doubt as verse 18 reveals. His plea, O that Ishmael might live before thee! Indicates his wish to adopt him as his heir (cf. 15:2, 3; Ps 2:7 and the law code of Hammurapi for the legal statement of adoption expressed by “thou art my child,” and when God declared officially that Jesus was His Son, at the Resurrection, Rom. 1:4). Thou shalt call his name Isaac: The name means “He Laughs” and was to serve as a reminder to Abraham of the unlikely means by which he was brought into the world, and his response in 17:17, and Sarah’s reaction in 18:12.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
Today, we lost a great man of God, the Reverend Dr. Timothy Wright.
Please pray for his family and the church at large.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
One day, three men talking. They were from three different denominations. One was a Methodist, one was a Baptist, and the other was Pentecostal. The Methodist said to the Baptist "I live holy," and the Baptist asked him "How would you prove that?" He said "We have a method of praising God, a method of worshiping God, a method of selecting who will pastor as an itinerant elder, a local elder, and who will serve as steward and stewardess, even who will be a trustee."
The Baptist said "Well, I don't agree with what you are saying, we live holy as well. First of all, John the Baptist established the doctrine within our first churches, and he was a prophet and he baptized the Lord Jesus Christ, and he established the first ministerial staff (followers) before the apostles, and he continued to cry in the wilderness 'Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.' And he heard the voice of God say 'This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.' Can't get no holier than that."
The Pentecostal said "Now, wait a minute, we live holy as well. Remember Jesus said to His apostles 'Remain in Jerusalem until you be endued with the power from on high.' And when the apostles were one accord, the Holy Ghost came in as a mighty rushing wind. And the disciples of Christ began to speak in unknown tongues. We don't believe in wearing makeup, we don't believe in the fancy braiding of the hair. We speak in tongues, we believe of the gifts of the Spirit, we believe in apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers. So we feel that we are holier than thou."
Along came a man that once was a drunk, drug addict, and dealt with prostitutes. He had been close enough to hear the conversation, and he said "I may not know much about holiness, but I do know this, without Jesus, there can be no change. And I speak as one that served satan by drinking, drugging, and having promiscuous sex with prostitutes. It was not a method of salvation that saved me, but the Grace of God. It was not the baptism of water that gave me the power to overcome the works of the flesh, I was not delivered on the day of Pentecost, I was delivered on the day that I confessed my sins, realizing that God is faithful to forgive my sins and cleanse me from unrighteousness. No, I don't know much about holiness, but I know in order to serve God, we have to love one another, and what I have just heard from the three of you, the love of God is not shown, the unity is not shown, and the Holy Spirit, which is the witness of the testimony of Jesus (The Gospel), is not there.
Only God can declare holiness, it is not a method, it is not a denomination, it is not how you dress, but it is living according to God's Word.
I see the three of you pointing at each other, judging each other, which is not of God. How can you make the statement I am holier than thou?
Should you have any comments regarding this writing, feel free to contact me via email.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we continue the study of the Book of Genesis chapter 16 and move into chapter 17.
16:7-16 (continued) The Hebrew actually means "in defiance/disregard of" as shown in Genesis 25:18 and Deuteronomy 21:16. The idiom and context denote a hostility on the part of Ishmael (and his descendants) toward his brethren (Issac and his descendants) and even among Ishmael's own people. Thus began the Jewish and Arab conflict, due to an act of the flesh on the part of Abram. When Hagar finally gave birth, Abram was 86 years old. Eleven years had passed since God first promised an heir, and His promised was still unfulfilled.
17:1-8 Thirteen years had passed since the birth of Ishmael (verse 1). Almighty God (Hebrew El Shaday): El denotes "power" and Shaddai may be derived from the Akkadian shadadu, to "overpower," portraying God as the overpowering, almighty One who will supernaturally provide descendants for Abram when all other means fail. Thy name shall be Abraham: Abram means "High Father," but he is now to be called Abraham, suggesting he will become the father of a multitude (Hebrew ham 12:3). Everlasting covenant...I will give...the land: Since the covenant is "everlasting" and includes possession of Canaan, it guarantees Israel the right of possession as an earthly inheritance forever. God is the Landlord who gives the title deed to Israel, His son. Thus, the Jews have a rightful claim to this land as long as the earth shall stand.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Again, I am sitting in my bedroom, and receiving a revelation from God. Today, I want to talk about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the Book of Genesis chapter 16, God promised Abram and Sarai a son. At that time, Eliezer was the only heir that Abram had. The Bible tells us that Abram entered into Egypt, where there was a Pharaoh that loved beautiful women, and he took Sarai into his harem. This Pharaoh was warned by God, and was told "If you touch this woman," "you are a dead man."
Of course, Abram lied to Pharaoh and stated Sarai was his sister. Pharaoh became angry and cast him out of Egypt, giving him Haggai, Sarai's maidservant. Ten years passed, and Abram and Sarai began to doubt God, as it was the custom of the Jews that if a pregnant woman sat between the knees of another woman, that child would belong to the woman whose knees the pregnant woman sat between. Ishmael was born (father of the Islamic nation). God stated that he would be a wild man, and live before his brethren. Issac was born of Sarai, and is the father of Judaic nation. These two men are brothers.
God's word is true. No nation, no war, no prayer, is going to stop these two brother from fighting. The United States and other countries are wasting resources, losing manpower, trying to prove God wrong. What Bible are you reading?
In the Book of Matthew, Jesus stated "that there will be wars and rumors of wars, famine in diverse places." Take a look at the world's economy. What Bible are you reading?
The U.S supported the Taliban during the Cold War, and now they are attempting to defuse a situation that they promoted. What Bible are you reading?
God's Word states "Not a jot or tittle of the word shall fail, for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." These wars are fulfilling the Word of God. What Bible are you reading?
Man should spend his time worshiping and praising God instead of worshiping the creature more than the Creator. What Bible are you reading?
Our soldiers are being made to believe that they are fighting for a worthy cause, and what they are doing is fighting against God's Word. Issac and Ishmael are going to continue to fight each other until Jesus' return. What Bible are you reading?
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
This writing is entitled Where Do We Go from Here. First, we allow prayer to be taken out of the schools, and the school system began to fail. Where do we go from here?
Clergy began to bless animals within the church, where do we go from here?
Clergy began to marry same-sex partners, where do we go from here?
The government began to pass laws that would allow same-sex partners to have the same benefits as husband and wife (male and female), where do we go from here?
Attempts are being made to take In God We Trust off of our currency, where do we go from here?
Parents are no longer the key element in our children's lives, the child protection agency has more rights as to how our children should be raised than the parents, where do we go from here?
Honesty has no place in society, truth is no longer wanted in our churches, where do we go from here?
Civil Rights are being ignored, even by agencies that are designed to protect the citizens' Civil Rights, where do we go from here?
Profanity has engulfed our youth conversations, where do we go from here?
Sexual promiscuity is a way of life and everyone is turning their head, not to face the reality that sex should under the covenant of marriage, where do we go from here?
If God does not intervene, the answer to the question where do we go from here, is that most of us will end up in hell!!!
This writing is to remind you of the responsibility that each of us have to ensure change. Without change, this country will be destroyed by satan.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we continue the study of the Book of Genesis chapter 15.
15:7-21 Divided them in the midst: "Cutting" a covenant conveys the idea that the same will be done to the one who breaks this covenant. Ancient covenants were sometimes confirmed by the having of the sacrificial victims and the two parties to the covenant passing between them (Mari Tablets and Jeremiah 34:18, 19). In this case, however, God alone passes between the animal pieces, in the form of a smoking furnace from which torch-like flames shoot out (Exodus 19:18), because this covenant with Abram is unconditional, and can be carried out only by God Himself. Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs: This is a prophecy of Israel sojourn in Egypt, predicted to take place some three hundred years later and lasting about four hundred years (Exodus 12:40, 430 to be exact). Then God would judge that nation (Egypt in Exodus 15), and bring Israel out with great substance (Exodus 12:34-36), and use them as a means of judgment upon the inhabitants of Canaan, when the iniquity of the Amorites would be full.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
