The Ramey Commentaries (TM) By Mike Ramey

 

“But evil men shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

--II Timothy 3:13 KJV

 

“Give advice: IF peopled don’t listen, let adversity teach them.”

--African Proverb

 

     Nearly everyone has heard of Samson; the man who was blessed by God in the Old Testament Book of Judges (Chapters 13-16 KJV) to begin taking the Philistines down a few pegs on the humility meter.  Samson had a good run but lacked focus on God and his true mission. He wound up having his hair cut (the source of his strength) and had his eyes put out.  On top of this, he was imprisoned by his foes and made to grind at the mill. 

 

     Thinking God’s champion was no longer a threat, the ruling elite of the Philistines decided to have a great party in front of their main idol.  Thousands of them attended this shindig.  For extra fun, the leadership decided to have old, blind Samson appear as a ‘special guest’ so that they could ‘make sport of him’. 

 

     Modern day translation: make fun of or mock him and the God he served. 

 

     Well, the Philistines overlooked this fact: God had not forgotten Samson.  As the former thorn in their side was brought out to the festivities, Samson asked to be led to the two main pillars which held up the ‘political pleasure palace’.  Samson prayed.  God heard Samson’s prayer.  With a mighty shove, Samson—literally—brought the house down on the Philistines.  It also killed Samson, but the effort wiped out the entire Philistine ruling class.

 

     The Philistines deceived themselves into believing that they ‘had’ Samson—and his God-- right they wanted them.  They refused to heed the handwriting on the wall; that there was a chance that Samson could regain his strength and be a threat to their plans.  In the end, they wound up deceiving deceived themselves into early graves.

 

     If one is a casual student of history, it is not that hard to learn how much the hatred of God, the KJV Bible, Jesus Christ and the Church short circuits one’s belief system.  There have been numerous historical figures who wanted to practice their sins without obstruction or condemnation.  These ‘mockers and scoffers’ have done their level best to hammer away at the anvil of the true Christian faith.  They hammer away, blast away, and scoff away--only to discover a fatal flaw in their plan: “The hammers brake: The anvil still stands.” 

 

     Many a wayward, God-hating historical figure found out too late that their arms were too short to box with God. They eventually found their eternal resting place was Hell.  This may seem harsh, but the truth…is the truth.  Young people need to get back using the Bible as their yardstick in living life instead of being suckered by modern liberals and repeating their errors.

 

STAND UP FOR YOURSELF—EVEN IF YOU STAND ALONE:

     Folks, NOT everyone is going to like you—especially IF you have God in your life.  People are going to criticize you because you don’t march to their drum beat.  Even IF you decide to ‘change’ to appease the critics, the critics will STILL come after you!  This is a part of life.  The best solution is to learn early how to expect criticism and develop a thick, tough skin.

 

     Again--for my young brothers and sisters, tis better to walk alone than to hang with a crowd going the wrong way against plain common sense and the righteousness of God.  One old preacher I know stated it this way: “There’s trouble in crowds”.

 

    Unlike others who have written extensively on the subject of modern liberalism, I am heading at it from a biblical point of view.  One must consider a combination of atheism and agnosticism as twin roots of the modern liberal tree.  One who has a healthy fear of God; one who knows their Bible and has a relationship with Jesus Christ and His church cannot mark themselves as ‘true’ modern liberals.  Evil and righteousness cannot go together.

 

    I realize at this point that there are a few who may be shaking their heads in disbelief as there are many of those who are either pastors or church members who proudly hold themselves to be ‘modern liberals’.  Sadly, they are clearly ignorant of God’s Word.  One who ‘claims’ to be a Christian cannot ‘side’ with the devil—either in public or private.  One who ‘claims’ to be a preacher of God’s Word on Sunday morning cannot go out Sunday night and engage in Antifa or Black Lives Matter (BLM) antics, such as burning Bibles ‘for the sake of social justice’.

 

     I’ve had to separate myself from more than a few Pastors and preachers over the years because of their support of modern liberals for (or in) public office.  For the life of me, I cannot understand how one who ‘claims’ to be a mouthpiece for God votes for a candidate who stands against basic bible doctrine—and does not think that such support of evil will not touch their families or ministries.  Just as people expect to be continually rescued by God and God’s people every time they willfully wallow in sin, modern liberals expect to be ‘bailed out’ of their destructive mindsets.  Yet, once they are rescued by the very people whom they want to destroy, modern liberals eagerly reengage in their destructive efforts.

 

     Modern liberals are deceiving and being deceived. First, they are deceived by their support of candidates who no longer stand for righteousness and God (meaning the Democratic party as they removed God from their party platform in 2012).  Second, they are deceived that there will NOT be consequences against themselves and their families from the God whom they ‘claim’ to represent.  Further, just because modern liberals label themselves as ‘progressives’ does not make them any less Democrats.

 

DECEIVING AND BEING DECEIVED:

     What do I mean by ‘deceiving and being deceived’?

 

     In the Book of Second Timothy, chapter three, there is a very potent section of Scripture which plainly states the dangers and woes in our day for those living righteous lives.  Scripture also lays out that those who are in love with evil, do evil and support evil will be twice deceived into believing that they will ‘get away’ with their dirty deeds.

     Here’s a prime example: a pro sports franchise brings a high-profile—but troublesome--athlete to their team roster.  There is much fanfare.  Ticket sales go up—especially season ticket sales (the lifeblood of any sports team). The player ‘loves’ his new city, is projected as being loyal to the new team, and is projected by team PR to stay with the franchise for a long time.  Of course, the new player does his task well, and the team starts making great progress.  For the first time in years, the team is not only above .500—they make it to the playoffs. 

 

     However, the public never gets to see the player’s contract. Through clever negotiating the player may be traded to a better team for ‘certain’ considerations.  After only a few seasons in the new town, the new sensation has packed his bags and heads to a bigger team and a bigger market.  In short?  The ticket holders were deceived.  The franchise was deceived.  The player was deceived.  All the participants were deceived from the beginning and being deceived all the while.  The objective from the beginning was for the team to keep the money flowing in from the season ticket holders. 

 

     This—and added deception scenarios play out also in education, business and politics on a daily basis.

 

THE EIGHT MARKS OF A MODERN LIBERAL:

     The Bible reminds the Christian that they need to not only shun making alliances with those who are outside of the faith (unequally yoked as stated in II Corinthians 6:14), but there is a need to ‘mark’ those that labor among them.  Just as there are certain marks which define a Christian, there are certain marks that define a modern liberal…eight general ones as I have observed over the years:

 

  1. Rejection, visible mockery, public/private contempt for, and rejection of God, His Word, His church, and His people. However, the modern liberal WILL make the effort to understand God’s church and God’s people just enough to ‘use’ them for their own ends (like free babysitting from traditional families to pastors who will ‘herd’ church members onto a bus to go downtown after church to ‘early vote’.)

 

  1. Lust/Desire/Want of the good life and/or something for nothing without taking the normal route to success while feeling they are ‘better’ than others who do things in an upright manner. Modern liberals are selfish in their desires and will think nothing about exalting their needs over the needs of others—even those who are less fortunate.

 

  1. Modern liberals live life based upon their favorite ‘isms’: atheism, racism, communism, socialism, environmentalism, feminism, globalism, socialism. Using such ‘isms’ to define their lives and draw/propel them to like-minded people with whom they can share their distaste of those who do not believe in the cause, nor see life the way they do.

 

  1. Rabid or abnormal acceptance of abominable sins. Abortion-on-demand, homosexuality, transgenderism, same-sex marriage and more.  This acceptance rests in the fact that they are actively practicing these sins/abominations.  They take delight in others who are either practicing the same sins OR use their ‘social platform’ to recruit potential followers/victims.  Lastly, they will re-name their pet sins to ‘confuse’ the public (adultery becomes ‘an affair’).

 

  1. Modern liberals seek to lift themselves ‘above’ others through the usurping of rights from others who clearly do not agree with their lifestyle choices. In addition, the modern liberal WILL take every advantage to claim the rights denied to or mocked in others. Further, modern liberals will—again—change language they deem harmful to their causes through their allies in the MSM, entertainment, sports, education and political power structures (who seem to all chime in together with the same warped messages).

 

  1. Modern liberals place great value on entitlement—especially when it benefits their political, financial, or social power collective. Modern liberals ‘shun’ those who take the traditional route to success.  However, the modern liberal is NOT above asking the hard working (after dark of course) to bail them out of trouble when their sins come home to roost.

 

  1. Modern liberals love to play the victim; love to lie, and love to share lies about their rivals—which translates into multiple opportunities for deceiving and being deceived. Lies are cyclical.  Eventually, they come back home to roost.  Further, modern liberals enjoy their own ‘echo chamber of sycophants (male and/or female)’ who are quick to support the lies of the group even IF the truth is standing in front of them.

 

  1. Modern liberals believe in due process and fundamental fairness for themselves, but NOT for those who oppose their agenda or oppose those in the orthodoxy of modern liberal clique. Further, IF one of their friends, supporters or family members get ‘caught’ in criminal activity, they are NOT ashamed to ‘lawyer up’ and blame the victim or the system to paint themselves in the most favorable light.  Modern liberals are quick to demand swift judgment on their enemies, but eternal mercy for their supporters.

 

     As we wrap up this first segment of my series, please remember that we are firmly in the end times.  Israel became a nation in ONE day (May 14, 1948).  Prayer and KJV Bible study are needed now more than ever.  Christians cannot afford to fall asleep at their posts, nor be missing from the battlefield.  This fight is spiritual warfare at its best…and continues to expand.

 

     Mike Ramey is a Minister, syndicated columnist and Modern Street Gangs Consultant who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  “The Ramey Commentaries” is one of a variety of his written works appearing in cyberspace.  To drop a line—or a whine—the address is still the same: manhoodline@yahoo.com.  ©2021 Barnstorm Communications International (1).

Votes: 0
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

Rev. M. G. “Mike” Ramey (Retired) served as the Certified Modern Street Gangs Specialist & Media Consultant of “The Gang Line”. He had been interviewed in the U. S. and abroad on radio, television, and Internet about the dangers of Modern Street Gangs since 2007. His writings on Modern Street Gangs abound in print and online. Previously, he served as an award-winning broadcast journalist, producer, and TV/Radio talk show host. He has also served as a staff writer, section editor, and syndicated columnist. Ramey has won—or helped to win—some two dozen journalism awards and citations. He also holds a Police Citation for Citizen Bravery from the Indianapolis Police Department (1986). Ramey is also married, an Ordained Minister (Retired) and a KJV Bible Teacher.

Ramey is a Certified Modern Street Gangs Specialist with Certifications in Law Enforcement (2006), Non-Law Enforcement (2010), and Gangs & Cults Ministry (2017). He also has endorsements in K-12 Gang Issues and Transnational Gangs. He also carries Specialist Ratings in Cult/Occult Crime, and Transnational Human Trafficking. Ramey has also served with several International anti-gang ministries, including Gangstyle.com of Washington state (2004-2009), Thug Exposed Ministries of California (2010 to 2015) and Bishop Outreach Ministries of Florida (2010 to 2015).

In 2011 “The Gang Line” offered training and certification coursework for those interested in becoming certified Modern Street Gang Specialists: Training approaches the anti-gang ministry field through the combined use of spiritual (biblical principles/discipleship) and criminal (gang members and gang crime). From 2015-2017, Ramey served as an Advisory Board Member for the School of Criminal Justice at Harrison College, Indianapolis, Indiana, with a specialty of Organized Crime & Gangs. From 2017-2019, Ramey served as a Bible Teacher to at-risk detained juvenile offenders at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center with his own Bible-based Curriculum centering upon Biblical Life Skills taught from the Book of Proverbs.

Rev. Ramey’s skill set includes having been a veteran substitute teacher (Secondary Education), a college instructor for two Bible colleges in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, a Probation Officer (Intensive/High Risk & School-Based) with the Marion County Juvenile Court, and a peer grant reviewer of anti-gang grant programs with the U.S. Department of Justice (2010). He also created, designed, and taught the course “Modern Street Gangs: Developing Urban Ministry Strategies—UM-190” at Crossroads Bible College, Indianapolis, Indiana (2009 & 2010). In 2013, Ramey served as a post-production Consultant for Chick Publications’ national anti-gang comic: “Black Angel”. It was translated into Spanish in 2014.

Ramey has written extensively on the topic of Modern Street Gangs with two Internet columns: “The Gang Line” and “The Gang Line Blogger” which abound in cyberspace. In a post-pandemic society, the motto of The Gang Line still rings true: “Spiritual Solutions for Spiritual Problems!”

You need to be a member of TheBlackList Pub to add comments!

Join TheBlackList Pub


https://theblacklist.net/