The Sword of the Lord Trumps the Physical Swords!

Isaiah 59:19 says, "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."

And what is the "standard"?

Our standard, our "Law", our power, our weapon is... the WORD OF GOD.

Get it? Have you discovered the power of God's Word yet? Have you applied it to impossible situations in your own life? Have you witnessed the miracles that come about when we claim the Word of God for healing, finances, leading and protection, etc.?

The Word of God is quick (alive) and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing assunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

How we treat the Word, how we react when someone gives us a verse or quotes the Word is somewhat telling about our spiritual condition and what is most important in our lives.

If someone gets a verse for you, it's exciting. That means that the Lord gave you a verse to personally apply to yourself. If we are putting the Word first, we are automatically putting God first because He is the Word. But, if you say you're putting God first and you don't give priority to His Word, the work you're involved in will probably not go far or stand for long.

That's what the Bible means when it talks about building our house on the Rock. Of course Jesus is the Rock of Salvation, but He is also the Word.  Revelation 19:13 (And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.)

So, what should we do when we are under attack?

Ok, that's the question but I just realized that WE ARE ALWAYS UNDER ATTACK. Think about it. We are on the devil's territory wherever we go in this world and we are surrounded by devils, demons and humans possessed of devils. As soldiers of Christ, we will always be in the minority! It seems like a negative observation but I do believe it is accurate. It's scriptural. The apostles told us so! Jesus told us so!

Here are a few verses to describe what our planet will be like before the return of Christ:

Matthew 24:10 And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying (having sex) and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,...

Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death, 13And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:

2Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts. (Lust includes lusting after money, food, power, and of course, sex. It's ok to be aroused over your own wife or husband, but not to intentionally allow yourself to be aroused over someone you know you shouldn't be.)

I John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (If worldliness is not of God, it can only be of the Devil.)

The Devil is the god of this world. This may come as a hard saying, but we are not supposed to love this world.

I John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Have you ever wondered why you don't seem to enjoy the things of this world: the noise they call music, the confusion they call partying, the violent movies and TV they call entertainment? It's just ungodly. Pure and simple, it's not of God, so, what's to like about it?

We all have a few cling-ons from the past, a few bad habits and desires that we shouldn't have. But, eventually we should love the Lord our God with our all and turn away from the pleasures of sin. There are godly pleasures, beautiful music, God's creation, scriptural joy, etc. That's choosing the good and eschewing the evil. All that to say that if it's not of God or it's not scriptural, it's of the Devil. There are only two choices.

So, when the attacks of the Devil cross over into the PHYSICAL REALM, then what?

In my estimation, I'd say that the physical attacks of the enemy should be treated exactly the same as the spiritual attacks, with prayer and the Word.
 

I'm not going to be one to suggest that we run out and buy guns or weapons. That's really got to be according to your faith. Some may claim that Jesus was in favour of having a weapon. He said in Luke 11:21 & 22
"When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils."

I don't know how you interpret that verse but the way I read it is that a physical weapon can be overcome by someone more powerful. Our spiritual weapon is the One that will remain strong! God will be our shield, our protection, our weapon. In the Bible, God turned his children's enemies blind! He tricked them! He had them kill each other. He drowned them. He put a protective barrier around his children. He guided a small stone to kill a giant.

There have been all kinds of miracles throughout ancient and modern history of ways in which God protected his own.

I heard of a soldier who was shot point blank but didn't get hurt because the bullet was stopped by a small Bible he had in his shirt pocket! I heard of another man who was being executed but God didn't allow the bullets to harm him. I heard of a Christian family whose house remained standing even after all the other houses around it burned to the ground. The fire lept over that one house.

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him! Let God deal with your enemy. It takes faith. But, God really is your best weapon. He is the Word. If you get to know Him intimately, He'll be all you ever need.

Drown Your Fear in Faith

When Jesus told us not to fear, it was more than just good advice. Just as He told us to love one another, He told us not to fear. And when Jesus makes a suggestion, we should take it as an order. He is our Commanding Officer. He knows best. He has the battle plan. So, although He makes it sound like a suggestion and He never shouts orders at us, as good soldiers, we should take His suggestions and advice very seriously. 

DO IT! You'll be glad you did!

IS FEAR A CHOICE? Do we actually have a CHOICE to not fear?

Abolutely! A resounding YES on that one! Fear is a choice. It's the WRONG choice. We allow fear in when we stop trusting God. We invite fear in. We feed it. We nurture it!

But, what did Jesus say about fear? He said, "DON'T DO IT!" In other words:

"LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET IT BE AFRAID." (John 14:27b)

It's our choice. We can choose to allow fear to control our thoughts and actions and speak fear and doubt. Or, we can allow faith and trust to take the wheel and speak faith.


I have known several strong believers who indulge in fear. It sort of amazes me because these folks have so much faith and love the Lord but, it often seems that the fear has become a habit or an accepted weakness that some of us make excuses for. There are multitudes of different fears out there to assail us. It's like, "Choose your poison." But I choose none of it.

Ok, I admit, I am a little afraid of cock-roaches. As I confront them, the fear lessens, but the fear of cockroaches seems to be my Achilles heel. Because cock-roaches are ugly and huge, I have justified in my mind that fear. But, I know it's wrong and I know that the Lord can help me to conquer it.

Then, there's the fear of the future. THAT'S a big one! How many of us have a fear of the future? Someone starts talking about the progression of what's going on in the world in politics, the weather, earthquakes, floods, famines and diseases and it sets off panic bells. Right?

Without the Lord, I would be in constant panic. "How are we going to survive? We're all gonna DIE!" Which brings me to another fear: DEATH. And, yes, we're all gonna die... sooner or later. But, even then we should have no fear!

In Psalm 34:4, David says, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 91:5 says, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;"

Terror is fear. Terrorists are people who use fear to their advantage. Terrorism is the noun. Terrorism is the embodiment of fear. The Devil knows that when we are terrified, we are NOT TRUSTING GOD.

You can't do both! You either fear God or you fear the Devil. Fear of God leads to life. Fear of the devil leads to death.

IT'S TIME TO FACE OUR FEARS!

 What are you afraid of?

Are you afraid of the dark? (Don't laugh I know believers who cannot sleep without a light on.) Are you afraid of snakes? rats? cock-roaches? germs? diseases? break-ins? poverty? accidents? failure? the opinions of others? teachers? Immigrations officers?

What is your biggest fear?

Psalm 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart , Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; He will come and save you.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! "Not by (your) might, nor by (your) power but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." Zechariah 4:6

God said in Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Take it as a command that we must obey. DO NOT FEAR!

The fact that prophecies are being fulfilled should excite us. The fact that the end is near should thrill us. The fact that all these things are coming on the earth in our days means that our God is indeed in control and He knows way ahead of time what's going to happen. He is our God. It proves to us that we were right in believing in the One True God Who has told us thousands of years ago what is going to happen in the end time.

Every time that things line up with Bible prophecy, it increases my faith. So, therefore, if God loves us enough to tell us step-by-step and inch-by-inch exactly how the last days will unfold, doesn't it stand to reason that He loves us enough to prepare us for our individual destinies? In fact, Jesus told us in Luke 21:18 & 19,

"Ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish."

That's a verse I am claiming! It's ours to claim and it's according to our faith to ask God for what we want. So, what I want is that not a hair of my head shall perish! I mean, they fall out all the time and that's ok, but God is not going to allow my enemy to touch me! Hallelujah! I believe it!

God puts a protective bubble around His children!

We Will Not Fear!

If I were your commanding officer and you were in my army, my first order would be:

DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEAR.

Fear is a lie. It contradicts the Word of God. In effect, there is no such thing as fear.

The world is run by fear. Isn't it? But believers in the True God are not of the world.

John 15:19 says, "If ye (YOU) were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth (HATES) you."

Fear is a lie of the Devil and therein lies his power. The Devil is a liar and the Father of Lies. So, WHY DO WE LISTEN TO HIM?

Imagine how powerful an army we could be if we were removed of all fear. A FEARLESS ARMY. We should be fearless! We have nothing to fear. "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

The martyrs didn't die cowering in fear! They were NOT shaking in their boots! If you think that then you are believing a LIE. You don't have to believe everything you hear. You don't have to give the Devil an audience. Let him die of loneliness.

We are supposed to be over-comers, not underneathers. We are supposed to be in charge of the Devil! Did you know that? WE HAVE AUTHORITY OVER THE DEVIL. ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY. YES, WE DO! WE CAN COMMAND THE DEVIL and HE MUST OBEY IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

I am not making this up!

Have I ever felt fear? Of course I have. It's a terrible feeling and I refuse to allow it to take over. Fear causes me to scream out to God and rebuke the Devil!

Here's the effect that fear has on me: it makes me feel weak, like a little weak, sick cry-baby. I feel like curling up in a little ball and hoping it all goes away. So that is very humiliating and that's a good thing! Why? Because my only alternative is to ask God for help. The only way out of fear is through Jesus. There is no other way. He is the Prince of Peace. And the name of Jesus has ALL POWER.

Even if the circumstances don't change immediately, step one is to rid yourself of fear. Fear is your biggest enemy. FACE IT AND REBUKE IT! Just say, "I COMMAND YOU TO LEAVE IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST!"

Simple.

Then, to calm yourself, you can just thank the Lord and praise the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you and the circumstances with the power of Love. Love never fails.

Maybe you don't have huge fears. But, how many of us feel worry? pressure? fretfulness? panic? insecurity?

Of course, there are some people who love the adrenaline rush that fear causes. They love to watch horror movies and take frightening risks. That's the other extreme which I don't recommend. To purposely jump into a risky situation is like tempting God, as Jesus said when the devil told him to throw himself down from a pinnacle of the temple, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord, thy God." (Matthew 4:6 & 7)

As long as we have these physical, fleshly bodies, we will be tempted to fear. Some kinds of fear can protect us from danger but, mostly, as Christians, the fear we experience is of the Devil. God's Spirit will warn us or cause us to pause or hesitate, but not to panic. If that adrenaline-filled panic hits, rebuke it and ask Jesus to calm you down. Sometimes I tell myself, "Chill out. Calm down." In a sense, I'm ordering my flesh to bring itself into subjection to the Spirit.

Reign in your fear. Don't allow it to take the reigns. It's unscriptural. It's a lie. It has no place in God's kingdom.

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!"

Look at the example Jesus gave us. He was attacked by the enemy before His death and He cried out to God in the Garden of Gethsemane. I think He was double-checking to make sure that His crucifixion was God's perfect will because He asked God to take it away. "Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done." So, once He talked to God about it and He knew it was God's will, He got up, ready to face his destiny. When the soldiers came to arrest Him, He was at total peace and calm.

God didn't take the cup away and He didn't change the circumstances. But, God took away the fear. Jesus got the anointing to go through what He had to go through. And, that's not to say that He didn't suffer.

But, what we are called to go through is not to be compared with taking on all the sins of the world. We will never be called by God to go through something we don't have the anointing and power to go through!

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." I Corinthians 10: 13

FACE YOUR FEAR. It is a lie of the Devil. It has no power over us unless we allow it to. Command it to leave. Cast it into the pit of hell! It is not allowed to hang around!

And though it's hard to admit, fear comes in where we have weakness. Yes, the enemy knows our weaknesses. He knows where to hit us. Like in those action movies where the bad guy always presses on the hero's previous injuries and wounds, the Devil knows where it will hurt us the most.

So, we should learn to identify our own weaknesses and focus on placing our armour where it is most needed. The first thing to protect is our MIND. THAT'S THE BATTLEFIELD for the most part.

Put on the helmet of SALVATION!

That battle for our soul has been WON! We don't need to fret, fear or worry about whether or not we will be saved! WE ARE SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. And though we are FAITHLESS, He remains FAITHFUL! HE CANNOT DENY HIMSELF. In other words, you cannot lose your salvation!

If you are truly born again, you cannot lose your salvation! YOU ARE BORN AGAIN. You live in a different world than before, the world of the Spirit of God. God's Kingdom. Heaven is IN us! THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE AND NOW IN US! WE ARE IT!

You have been born again into the Kingdom of God if you have received Jesus Christ as your Saviour. If you are a born-again Christian, your job is to STOP LISTENING TO THE LIES OF THE DEVIL! Take up that white-hot sword of the WORD OF GOD and go on the ATTACK!

Quit letting the Devil walk all over you! Preach the Word at him! Command him to leave! He hates to hear you praising God! Fill the atmosphere all around you with praise to the Lord and the Devil will flee!
 

Get the Antidote

We used to tell our kids that for every hour of TV they watched, they should get an hour in the Word of God. I think the same holds true today, if not more so. Even if what we're watching on TV or Youtube is the truth and an expose on the "powers that be", we should still maintain our spiritual equilibrium.

We can get too much truth. Too much reality. Sometimes the cold, hard facts are too much to take. The devil loves to get us so full of the negative aspects of what's going on in the world today that we take our eyes off the Lord, off the Word and off the goal. That's how he tries to weaken us.

If the enemy of our souls can get us to focus on all the evil and wickedness going on around us, we'll soon want to give up. He wants to make us think that it's impossible. But, in fact, it's not even God's will for us to worry about most of that stuff. The time may come when we may have to deal with something negative, but when that time comes, God will give us the grace, strength and faith to deal with it. We don't get the power to deal with things that don't concern us or that haven't happened yet.

Ok. Having said that, we can't just turn a blind eye either. Bad things are going on. Cancer rates are sky-rocketing, the elite of this world are taking our freedoms, the economy is failing, Roundup is destroying our food, Big Brother is watching every move we make and on and on. We can be aware of all of this stuff and maybe we should be aware of it. But, only so we can pray against its power over us.

We should look at in this way: it's child's play. The devil and his ilk are naughty, little children trying to annoy us. That's all. We can't take it seriously. Even if things look really bad, our God is all-powerful. Our God is omnipotent. He is omnipresent. He is omniscient. He is the One with the power and it's all His plan. The devil really can't do anything outside of God's will. He can't touch us without God's permission.

The Devil is a puny, weak little drama queen, constantly trying to get attention. He'll do anything to get our attention off of God. How much better if he can get us to doubt God and question our God. But, as the saying goes,

"The Devil flees when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees."

Sometimes our greatest strength is in our weakness. Our greatest power comes from having a vacuum for the Word of God to take root in the depths of our souls. I have to remind myself that it's perfectly ok to hide myself in the Word. Is it an escape?

Yep!

John 14

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place fo you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

THIS is the GOAL. HEAVEN is our GOAL.

This life is the temporal, imitation of reality.  That's why this life seems so ridiculous, so inexplicably nonsensical, erratic and unreasonable. It seems pointless, futile, or, as King Solomon said,

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 1:2 & 14)

In spite of all the nonsense going on in the world today with people struggling for power and wealth, God has his children out there searching for Him and it's up to us to guide them into the fold. That's what puts meaning back into this crazy life of ours. We're supposed to search out and find His lost sheep. It may be one-by-one or dozens at a time.

Heaven rejoices over one saved sinner.

The thing I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't get an overload of bad news, even if it is the truth. I love to hear all the conspiracy theories and follow all the latest exposes. But, when it gets to be too much, it's time to run back under the shelter of His wings and SOAK IN THE WORD.

I need that HEALING BALM to bring back PEACE AND MEANING to my existence.

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

If you don't know what is going to happen to your soul when this life is over, I strongly suggest that you take Jesus as your Messiah. He gave His life to pay for your sins so that you don't have to try to pay the impossible price for your own forgiveness.

"For what is your life? It is but a vapour that appeareth for a little while and then vanishes away."

To accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you can say a prayer like this:

"Dear Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God who died on the cross two thousand years ago to pay for my sins. Please come into my heart and wash away all my sins. Give me eternal life and a new life in your Holy Spirit. Amen."

If this is the first time you have accepted Jesus, please do write in the comment section below or send me an email as I would love to hear from you. Also, I suggest that you get yourself a Bible in your language and start reading from the book of John. You can also read from the beginning of this blog.

"He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (I John 5:12 & 13)

How Much Does God Love Us?

There's a verse in Romans 8 that I have seen pastors and believers quoting quite often lately. It's a verse that popped off the page at me a couple of years ago, so I wrote it in big letters and put it up on the wall.

It is such a powerful verse because it expounds to me the enormous, incredible love of my Saviour and it presents God to me in all His splendour and power beyond my wildest imagination. It says:

"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)

I get the feeling that I have not begun to even scratch the surface of the possibilities of that one verse. And, believe me, I HAVE USED IT A LOT!

For example, I was standing at the bag check-in for my flight to Vietnam when I discovered that I could not board the plane without a visa. It was mind-numbing information. The attendant told me that I could not go to Vietnam without a visa or they would put me on a plane back to Thailand and send me back to my home country. 

Did I panic? Did I freeze up? (It was tempting! But, no, I pulled out the strongest weapon in my arsenal of scripture for a time like that. It was Romans 8:32 and I asked God to open the door for me to Vietnam [if it was His will])

As I walked away from the counter, half wondering what country I should fly to, I heard that still small voice say, "Check your email." So, I reluctantly did, even though I thought, "I can't get a WIFI connection at this airport and it's too late now anyway."

But, miraculously, I got online. (I honestly don't know how I did because previously my laptop wouldn't allow it to happen.) There in my inbox was my VISA FOR VIETNAM. Next, I needed to print off a copy of it, so that took another prayer request.

I felt led to an agent at the Singapore check-in who was not occupied. He told me I could email the visa to him and he'd print it off for me. So, I did. Then, back to my check-in man who informed me that they would present me with the document at the Departure Lounge.

Answered prayer.

That verse is powerful! I just feel like, when I hold that one up to the Lord, ALL THINGS ARE possible! It's like a hungry baby wailing for food. God can't resist it. And, as I have said before, I believe God loves to help us. He does.

Let's take a closer look at this verse written by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans.

"He that spared not His own Son..." God made the Ultimate Sacrifice. Not just the death of His Son but the pain and torture of His own Son and their separation in order for Him to overcome death and hell. As humans, we can't begin to fully understand how huge that sacrifice was.

"how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?" If God loved us THAT MUCH, everything else is just peanuts. Everything else is easy compared with the Greatest Gift of all eternity.

HE GAVE  US LIFE FOREVER.

Inside of the stupendous gift, there are "incidentals" that flow freely as an off-shoot. Everything else just sort of naturally occurs once we accept the GOLDEN GIFT OF SALVATION.

Christmas is such a good illustration because, for most kids, even these days, they can allow themselves to imagine that they will receive their biggest wish come true on that special day. When I was a kid, every gift was super amazing. I mean, I hadn't earned it. I probably didn't deserve it. But, here was a GIFT that someone had bought especially for me, hoping that I would like it. So, I did. It didn't even really matter what the actual gift was because it was a GIFT. It had my name on it. That's really all I cared about.

Christmas as a child was a FRAME OF MIND. It was an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. Even if you didn't get exactly what you wanted, you were happy. Besides, there was always next Christmas. And there was a feast of nuts, sweets, special baked goods, turkey and even, possibly, a glass of sherrry!

Christmas is a day of ALL THINGS.

But, the Lord wants to freely give us all things every day! THAT'S how much HE LOVES US!

Fall in love with HIM!

MY HERO!

These days, I'm starting to realize that the most important thing in my life and walk with the Lord is my relationship with the Lord. And it's not about dropping everything and falling down on my face.

It's just so simple. It's just acknowledging God's presence.

He's always there, right at our right hand. "A very present help in trouble." And, these days, we are always in trouble. That's how I see it. I see that I'm always struggling either with myself and my lack of patience, lack of faith and lack of obedience; or I'm struggling with the enemy of my soul and his agents. So, we are always in some kind of trouble.

Today, I was thinking, "God, I'm so demanding and I have so many needs. I'm always needing Your help with finding something or getting something or doing something. I'm so 'high maintenance'."

But the message I "felt" was that Jesus loves to be asked for help. He loves maintaining me. Why?

Well, I think there are many reasons. First, He loves us to communicate. It shows Him we not only believe He hears us, but we show Him our lack and need for His help. He loves to fill the void. He loves to be our Hero.

I guess you could say I love being the "maiden in distress". It's just so inspiring to see God save me over and over again and come to my rescue in big and little ways all day long every day! He's my Knight in Shining Armour, or as a Spanish friend would say, my "Blue Knight". (In Spanish they call the hero your "Blue Knight". I don't know why.)

The Bible spends a lot of time instructing us on how to relate to God. He is the vine we need to abide in. He is the door we go through. He is a shelter, a rock, a hiding place. And we are to "Call unto" Him. He is our bread, water, light, ... We are to cast our burdens on Him.

So, does that mean that God is our slave?

I was wondering about that. I told the Lord, "I feel as though I keep giving You orders, Lord but I don't want to make a slave out of You." So, then the thought came to me that, in a way, He is like the genie in the bottle. (The bottle being the Word!) So, we rub or read the Word and He pops out "at our service".

And, even though this sounds ridiculous, I think it's true! I think God loves to be at our beck and call, ready to serve, ready to help, strengthen, comfort, protect or whatever we need! There really is NOTHING he will not do. Nothing is beneath Him or His Holy Spirit. SO!

So, although I want to be a slave to God, it really is the other way around. Or maybe both ways.

And when you get to that glorious point where all you need is God, you realize that He really is much, much more than ALL you need. He is all you want! He is all you desire! He is all you dream! And He is greater and more marvelous and stupendous than you can ever imagine. 

HE IS. 

The thing is that I keep pushing His buttons, thinking that, sooner or later He's going to get ticked off at me and leave. BUT HE DOESN'T. It's like every time I ask Him for something, He does it and I get the feeling He's saying, "Ask more. Ask more. That was nothing for Me. Expand your expectations." (John 16:24; John 14:13 & 14) 

"IF YE SHALL ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME, I WILL DO IT."

What a promise! Does it really mean what it says? "ANYTHING"? Why not test it? Let's put this verse to the TEST! Let's find out if God really meant what He said! If that is the case, that means WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD THROUGH OUR REQUESTS! 

Think of the ultimate power God has put into the hands of His faithful followers!

It has been said that God is only limited by our lack of faith.

Every time God answers a request, it increases my faith to ask for more. It's almost like a game to see how big my faith is to ASK. Of course, I ask nicely and I always add, "if it's Your will".

So, this amazing, awesome relationship that I have been honoured with has become my priority. I don't want to make a move without Him. I don't want to have a thought that doesn't include Him. And I don't want to sound overly spiritual because, really I don't see myself that way. I see myself as "needy" but not ashamed to be needy, because, so far, my neediness has been at the bottom of a stupendous dependency on the Creator of the Universe.

This relationship we can have with the God of Love is what will be our strength in times ahead. In fact, I believe it is absolutely necessary, vitally important and the best thing we can do for ourselves and for the rest of the world. Everyone needs this!

My God is not merely the God of this world. He is the God of all the worlds. He is the God of the Universe and Beyond. And He's my Hero!

REVELATION in a NUTSHELL

Since my salvation in 1972, I had read the book of Revelation dozens and probably hundreds of times. I had read the entire Bible dozens of times but I was making a  point of reading Revelation more frequently because it seemed to be so relevant. But, one evening in Malaysia, I had read Revelation twice and was on my third read when I heard that still small voice.

Sometimes it's just so natural or even without words but I "felt" the idea, "Why don't you read it through slowly one word at a time, like it's a puzzle. Ask me to show you word by word."

So, I started reading and questioning the Lord at every puzzle, everything that puzzled me. I knew that the 144 thousand was a big debate. It sure wasn't what the Jehovah's Witnesses said. But, Christians I'd associated with in the past said,

"WE are the 144 thousand!"

That just didn't seem to fit either. When something isn't right, you just don't have a peace about it. So, I really wanted to know and I asked God. At first I thought,

"Maybe when we get saved, we are born again into the Jewish family and become spiritual Jews so that we each become a member of one of the tribes." But, I didn't have a complete peace about that either. The Bible makes it clear that it's talking about the 12 tribes of Israel.

Then the thought came to me that, "Maybe this is the army that comes down from heaven with Jesus!" Well, of course it is. The Bible tells us right in Revelation 14:1 that the 144 thousand are standing on Mount Sion with Jesus and we know that when the Lord returns to fight the Battle of Armageddon and pour out his wrath, He will land on Mount Sion."

So, who are these people in his army? That was my question. As I was reading, I came across Revelation 7 where the angel says, "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." And I realized, this happens right before the wrath! And we born-again believers will NOT be on the earth for the wrath of God! Not only that, but the direction the angel was flying was UP. The angel was ASCENDING. That means he was going up to get to the men that he was going to seal! Those men were coming DOWN from heaven!

Now I knew who they were! They are men of God from the tribes of Israel, men of renown who fought on the earth. The Bible says they were redeemed from the earth. So, they will be coming down from heaven with Jesus to fight in the Battle of Armageddon. It's almost too simple. Of course.

The action begins in chapter 6. And it's pretty clear that there will be souls slain for the word of God before the actual Tribulation starts because they ask, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" And they are told to wait "a little season" until "their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled." I would assume that that is referring to the Tribulation.

Yet, there is no description of the 3 1/2 years of Tribulation in this chapter because the next verse jumps into the Wrath of God which begins with a "great earthquake".

This "great earthquake" is a marker in my mind for the beginning of the Wrath of God. If you follow along to the end of the chapter, it says,

"The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, ... hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB: For the great day of his WRATH is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

The Wrath of God is NOT for us, folks! Not for God's kids. And whenever it talks about "hurting the earth" or pouring out vials, it's talking about the Wrath. In fact, even the sixth seal refers to the wrath as we just read.

So, that all became clear in my mind and the so-called scales were falling off my eyes. With the Lord's help, it all fell into place. I felt as though the Holy Spirit was leaning over my right shoulder and guiding my thoughts. It was like a very simple puzzle, all right there but just overlooked or not pondered on long enough.

Mind you, the book of Revelation is NOT chronological. There is a time-line that's clear but the chapters don't follow sequentially and, really not much is even spoken about the Tribulation in this book. Chapter 7 starts off with the Wrath and ends up at the throne of God (possibly during the Marriage Supper) after the Tribulation. Chapter 8 starts off with 30 minutes of silence before the Wrath is poured out. Chapter 9 is all Wrath of God. In chapter 10, the mystery of God is finished.

In chapter 11, the Tribulation is mentioned as "forty and two months" that the Gentiles will tread the "holy city" under foot. Not only is Jerusalem God's holy city, but all of us born-again believers are God's lively stones who will go through the tribulation to purge and purify us and bring us closer to God.

In chapter 11, we see that God refers to Jerusalem as being spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. So, we start to see how God sees the new temple of the Jews and the performance of their daily sacrifice. (In other parts of the Bible, God says even her prayers will be an abomination and God will not hear them.) That's not to say that many Jews are and will become Christians.

In the same chapter, the two witnesses are killed and left for three days. (I'm guessing that when we see these two witnesses killed in the streets of Jerusalem, we can count three days until the Rapture!) This event will also coincide with the Rapture because it says, "The SAME HOUR was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell."

How the timing is exactly, we can only guess that the earthquake and the Rapture happen very close together if not simultaneously, because the two witnesses are raptured or resurrected. That makes me think they may have been taking part in the Rapture because during the rapture the graves will open and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Chapter 12 talks about the Tribulation in an encouraging way, mentioning that God has prepared a place for at least part of the Bride of Christ where she will survive for the 3 1/2 years.

Chapter 13 describes the Antichrist and his side-kick, the False Prophet or the second beast who comes up out of the earth and causes the earth to worship the first beast. AND this second beast does great wonders so that he makes fire come down from heaven. He even has power to give life to the image of the Antichrist.

Chapter 14 is about the Wrath of God and Jesus coming down to deliver it. He discovers that Babylon has fallen. Why is she called the great city? Why is this city so important to the angel?

Because it is God's City, Jerusalem. She has been persecuted and destroyed and judged as has been done to her in the past when she went a whoring after other gods. This is her final judgement. And now her true King and Messiah has come back to avenge her on her enemies, the ten horns that burned her with fire. This is the Battle of Armageddon!

Chapter 15 makes it clear that "we" (God's chosen ones that go through the Tribulation) are NOT on the earth at the time of the Wrath but are with God on the Sea of Glass singing songs and praising God. (And probably watching the big battle going on down on earth called "The Battle of Armageddon".)

After all this, in chapter 16, it says that "Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." So, it seems that when Jesus said in Matthew 23, "Woe unto you" to the Jews, He really meant "Woe!" This chapter confirms to me that God will allow Jerusalem to be judged and that Babylon the Whore is indeed Jerusalem who will be destroyed in one hour.

Chapter 17 describes the whore drunk with the blood of the saints. Just as Jesus told Jerusalem in Matthew 23:34 and 35 "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar."

Does that sound like the Roman Catholic Church to you? Did the Roman Catholic Church shed all the righteous blood upon the earth? They are not even old enough to have done that. Yes, there was the Spanish Inquisition and lots of persecution of true Christians, but, who has been more accountable?

Jerusalem has been persecuting Christians for thousands of years. Approximately 4,000 years. In fact, Jesus even goes all the way back to Abel's martyrdom. That's a lot of blood. Would God be a just God to overlook all of that?

Yes, Jesus died to cover our sins, but how can He cover the sins of those who have rejected Him? Yet, I believe that the Wrath of God and the judgement of Jerusalem is also done in love! Jesus wouldn't do it unless it were absolutely necessary. And after the "spanking", He avenges Jerusalem on her enemies.

I think this "Babylon the Great" is going to be some amazing, monumental and glorious-looking temple full of all the wealth of the Jews. The Antichrist will lust after it and take it over, placing his Abomination of Desolation right in the holy place. (Of course, there is no holy place anymore because the holy place is now in our hearts of flesh. That's why we no longer need sacrifices.)

In chapter 18:12 and 13, Babylon is described word for word exactly the way Solomon's temple is described in the Old Testament.

"The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine and oil and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men."

This won't be the first time that God has allowed Israel's enemies to destroy her temple and take her people captive. And this third temple will be built by non-believers. This temple worship will be an abomination to God, just as the Catholic temple worship and idol worship is an abomination to God. In fact, it's possible that Catholics will worship together with Jews in Jerusalem because Pope Francis is encouraging religious unity. Talk about abominations. Gather all the false gods together. Why not throw in a Buddhist statue while you're at it? And a few Hindu gods?

Ok! So, that's that! We should keep our eyes on Jerusalem. When she is compassed with armies, the end is near. So, that means that the destruction of Jerusalem will happen near the very end of the Tribulation, I would assume. Right around the same time as the two witnesses rise from the dead.

Then, there's 1,000 years of Christ's reign on earth. Then the devil makes a come-back and does NOT get the point. He tries to kill God's saints with an army of people that he was able to deceive. (Don't be deceived.) But, God calls fire down to burn them all up. Now, you can feel sorry for the False Prophet and the Antichrist because they're both going together into the lake of fire. Death and hell are also going to be cast in there along with "whosoever was not written in the book of life".

Then John sees something wonderful: a new heaven and a new earth! Read it if you want to! Revelation 21 and 22.

Israel's Evil Twin

This may come as a surprise to you but, God said that He loved Israel and hated Esau, Israel's twin!

Why would God hate Esau?

Esau forsook something very precious in the eyes of God. He forsook his birthright. He gave it up as if it had no value because he had a rumbly in his tumbly. You can read about it in Genesis 25:29 - 34.

As odd as it may seem, the history of the world seems to sometimes hang on these little details that seem so infinitesimal to us. A little hunger pain set this one off.

Now, what is the big deal? Well, it was an attitude. The Bible says "Esau despised his birthright." Being a grandson of Abraham, it seems that when Esau minimized that heritage he was born into, God took that very personally. Here was a grandson of Abraham, the "Father of Faith", who had no respect for his heritage of faith and therefore, no respect for God. So, God hated him.

Jacob (Israel) was not the best example of a godly man either. He bribed his twin brother with food and then he tricked his own father into giving him the blessing of the eldest son, too. And Jacob also wrestled with an angel to get another blessing! But, he had his priorities right. He got the blessings of God.

Meanwhile, Esau went off and married two Hittite women. That was "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah", his parents. (Marrying Canaanites was a pretty ungodly thing to do in those days. They were of a different race and religion. This also showed how little Esau cared about the God of Abraham.)

And when Esau cried and wept to his father his father gave him a blessing. Do you know what he said?

"By thy sword shalt thou live..." among other things.

To make matters worse, Esau went and married wives that were daughters of Ishmael. (Genesis 28:9)

So, now we've got Esau marrying into Ishmael's family. Ishmael was the son of Abraham because of Sarah's lack of faith. In a sense, Sarah was leaning on the arm of the flesh when she went to Abraham and begged him to sleep with her handmaid, Hagar. God told Abraham he would have a son, so Sarah thought she would give God a little help. She decided she herself was way too old for God to use to bear a son, so she got Hagar on the job. Then, when Hagar got pregnant and had a son, Hagar must have lorded it over Sarah a bit too much because Sarah had her kicked out of the camp!

So, Ishmael, although he was a son of Abraham, was not the promised child and was not chosen of God, although God promised Hagar that he would be a great nation. And, as we know, the Arabs are a great nation.

The Jews and the Arabs are brothers. Born of twins. Abraham is their father. BUT... in order to be a TRUE son of Abraham, one must have FAITH in the true God. Herein lies the controversy that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Then there was the "prophet" Mohammed and Islam was born. The Muslims needed a "holy book" and so was born the Koran. Where did the writings for the Koran come from? Mostly from the Bible and Jewish fables and writings.

You can see by looking back into history that there was "bad blood" between Esau and Jacob. Esau (the father of the Arabs) hated his brother, Jacob (the father of the Jews) because Jacob tricked him out of his birthright AND blessing. But, mostly, I think Esau was very jealous of Jacob because God had blessed him ahead of Esau. That's because Jacob obeyed God and honoured his birthright.

Now we are seeing the Arabs running around trying to establish righteousness in the arm of the flesh by the letter of their (Shariah) law. Even now, the prophecy is being fulfilled that Esau would "live by the sword". That bad blood is still flowing and now the Muslims have two enemies: Jews AND Christians (both infidels). And it's all because Esau despised his birthright and God. AND because Sarah didn't believe God when God said she was going to have a child. Little did Sarah know what great repercussions one bad decision could cause.

Both the Jews AND the Arabs (and everyone else on the planet) must come to the knowledge of salvation in Christ who also was a son of Abraham. Abraham believed/believes in Jesus. As Jesus said, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad!"

God told Abraham, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."

In Jesus who came of the seed of Abraham shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Whoever believes on His name will be saved. Amen.