If you have read my previous post entitled, "How Will We Know When We're in the Last Seven Years?", you will know that I pointed out the "signing of the covenant" as one of the signs that begins the last seven years of life "as we know it" on this planet.
I singled that out so that it would be clear, emphatic and easy to remember.
But, what about the beginning of the last three and a half years? How will we know for sure when that has begun?
It was Jesus Himself Who warned us about the "Great Tribulation" in Matthew, chapter 24. We know from other verses in the Bible that the "Great Tribulation" lasts for three and a half years. Revelation chapter 13 describes the world dictator or "Antichrist" and the time period that he will be given to continue.
Revelation 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
If you divide 42 by 12 (12 months in a year), you come up with 3.5 years. That's not a coincidence. That's God reinforcing His word by using months as well as years. He also tells us the time period in days.
Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (3.54 years)
During this time of tribulation, the woman (or believers) flees into the wilderness.
Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
(One score is 20 years. So, that adds up to 1260 days.)
If you divide 1260 days by 364 (there are 364 and 1/4 days in a year), you will get 3.461 years.
If you choose to use the Jewish months, there are roughly 355 days in a Jewish calendar year, so by dividing 1260 days by 355, you come up with roughly 3.54 years.
In another verse, Revelation 12:14, it says, "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."
That's three and a half years.
So, the question is: How will we know when we're in the last three and a half years?
Matthew 24:15 WHEN YE THEREFORE SHALL SEE THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL THE PROPHET, STAND IN THE HOLY PLACE...
21 FOR THEN SHALL BE GREAT TRIBULATION, SUCH AS WAS NOT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE.
Jesus made it very clear. He said "when". "When you see." We are going to see the Abomination of Desolation. Now, in this time on the earth, everyone is able to simultaneously see something important. Just like we all saw the twin towers fall. We'll see the placing of this "thing" when it is erected "in the holy place".
Is there a question about where the "Holy Place" is? No, it's not the Vatican. It's Jerusalem. If you haven't read the Bible, God has always referred to Jerusalem as His own holy place and the place Jesus will return to very soon.
Now, at this point in time, there is a mosque sitting on the temple mount. However, the Jews intend to build their own temple in the same vicinity. Therefore, the signing of the peace covenant (Daniel 9:27) may even make that possible, since, at the moment, it seems to be a political and religious impossibility.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Don't Burn the Bridge of Forgiveness
George Herbert said
"He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven."
Whoever thinks they do not need to be forgiven is greatly deceived.
In a sense, if we do not, cannot or will not forgive, we are declaring that we do not need forgiveness and we are not required to extend it to others. And that's just pure PRIDE. It's a ridiculous and childish attitude of,
"I'm perfect but you're not."
It's like that picture of the kid on the playground who says, "I'm taking my toys and going home."
He doesn't want to share his toys with others because he's selfish. It's funny and even kind of cute because we've all been there. But, hopefully, we will all grow out of that stage.
So, how is it that some of us are deceived into thinking that we are not required to forgive?
I think it has something to do with comparing sins with sins. The thought pattern is like this:
"I can forgive THIS but not THAT. THAT was a sin of the mind but THIS is a sin of the heart. THIS was unintentional but THAT was on purpose!"
We get the idea that we can be stingy with our forgiveness as if it's something we possess and give away. That right there is wrong thinking because, as imperfect human beings, we don't naturally possess the ability to forgive. It's not like we have a reservoir full of forgiveness to pour out to whoever we decide "deserves" it.
Like the lady told the judge, "Please have mercy on my son!"
And when the judge said, "Your son does not deserve mercy!"
She replied, "If he deserved it, it wouldn't BE mercy!"
The only way we can extend forgiveness to others is by fully and deeply knowing that we are not perfect, we are sinners and that we deserve to go to Hell! Yes, we deserve to go to Hell, people. iThere's not one of us who can escape the fires of Hell without the blood of Christ!
And just because you "feel" or "judge" that someone has "done you wrong", it does not give you the right to hold a grudge. You don't have that luxury unless you are GOD.
In fact, Jesus warned us in this way. He said in Matthew chapter 6, verses 14 and 15
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Wow.
That's pretty intense, don't you think? I mean, this is Jesus Christ our Saviour talking saying that, "Yes, I died for you and I forgave you, but if you don't forgive others, you won't be forgiven."
I almost just don't want to believe that because it's so drastic. It seems really harsh. Does it mean we will actually lose our salvation if we don't extend forgiveness to others? Well, Jesus said it. Was it just good advice? Or, is it true that God will not forgive us unless we forgive?
One way to look at it is like this:
Ok, you died. You're standing in front of the gates of Heaven. But, before you can get IN, you have to make sure you clean up any grudges you're holding in your heart against anyone on the planet. You can't take that unforgiveness into Heaven with you.
Maybe we need to look at unforgiveness as a sin. That would help us identify it as unwanted energy. It's a strain and a drain and a weight on our souls. That would mean that forgiveness is NOT an option. You don't get to choose to not forgive without very heavy consequences, according to Matthew 6:15.
What we need to ask ourselves is: "Do I really want God to not forgive me?"
What does that mean? Can you imagine God waiting on you to forgive your brother or sister before He deigns to forgive you? Do we really want to build a wall between ourselves and God?
How do we picture God? Is He the One who is critical, cold, hard, austere, rigid, unbending, unsympathetic and bound to the law? Is God like that? No! That is not the picture of the Christian God.
That pretty much describes the Devil.
Yes, folks, it's the Devil who has all those attributes. He's legalistic, judgmental, proud, haughty, unbending, unmerciful, critical. Oh, AND unloving. In case you didn't know it.
So, now, taking everything into consideration: where does unforgiveness come from? God? Jesus?
I have had difficulties forgiving people whom I felt did me wrong. One thing that helped was to STOP focussing on that person's huge mistake and to focus on a few of my own bloopers and unkind deeds (of which there are plenty). But the way to make forgiveness come easy is to remember in detail all the suffering that Jesus had to go through for our own sins.
Besides, if I hadn't gotten saved when I did, who knows what terrible crimes I would have been capable of committing? If I'd stayed on that road to destruction and selfishness, it may have led me to any number of dastardly deeds! But, thank God, someone had the love and compassion to tell me about salvation!
Now, it's just a matter of passing it on. "Pay it forward." And that's what forgiveness is all about: "paying it forward" because "what goes around comes around" and for sure, we're gonna need forgiveness one of these days very soon!
The bridge of forgiveness is a VERY busy bridge just flowing with non-stop traffic! God help us not to cause a road block.
"He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven."
Whoever thinks they do not need to be forgiven is greatly deceived.
In a sense, if we do not, cannot or will not forgive, we are declaring that we do not need forgiveness and we are not required to extend it to others. And that's just pure PRIDE. It's a ridiculous and childish attitude of,
"I'm perfect but you're not."
It's like that picture of the kid on the playground who says, "I'm taking my toys and going home."
He doesn't want to share his toys with others because he's selfish. It's funny and even kind of cute because we've all been there. But, hopefully, we will all grow out of that stage.
So, how is it that some of us are deceived into thinking that we are not required to forgive?
I think it has something to do with comparing sins with sins. The thought pattern is like this:
"I can forgive THIS but not THAT. THAT was a sin of the mind but THIS is a sin of the heart. THIS was unintentional but THAT was on purpose!"
We get the idea that we can be stingy with our forgiveness as if it's something we possess and give away. That right there is wrong thinking because, as imperfect human beings, we don't naturally possess the ability to forgive. It's not like we have a reservoir full of forgiveness to pour out to whoever we decide "deserves" it.
Like the lady told the judge, "Please have mercy on my son!"
And when the judge said, "Your son does not deserve mercy!"
She replied, "If he deserved it, it wouldn't BE mercy!"
The only way we can extend forgiveness to others is by fully and deeply knowing that we are not perfect, we are sinners and that we deserve to go to Hell! Yes, we deserve to go to Hell, people. iThere's not one of us who can escape the fires of Hell without the blood of Christ!
And just because you "feel" or "judge" that someone has "done you wrong", it does not give you the right to hold a grudge. You don't have that luxury unless you are GOD.
In fact, Jesus warned us in this way. He said in Matthew chapter 6, verses 14 and 15
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Wow.
That's pretty intense, don't you think? I mean, this is Jesus Christ our Saviour talking saying that, "Yes, I died for you and I forgave you, but if you don't forgive others, you won't be forgiven."
I almost just don't want to believe that because it's so drastic. It seems really harsh. Does it mean we will actually lose our salvation if we don't extend forgiveness to others? Well, Jesus said it. Was it just good advice? Or, is it true that God will not forgive us unless we forgive?
One way to look at it is like this:
Ok, you died. You're standing in front of the gates of Heaven. But, before you can get IN, you have to make sure you clean up any grudges you're holding in your heart against anyone on the planet. You can't take that unforgiveness into Heaven with you.
Maybe we need to look at unforgiveness as a sin. That would help us identify it as unwanted energy. It's a strain and a drain and a weight on our souls. That would mean that forgiveness is NOT an option. You don't get to choose to not forgive without very heavy consequences, according to Matthew 6:15.
What we need to ask ourselves is: "Do I really want God to not forgive me?"
What does that mean? Can you imagine God waiting on you to forgive your brother or sister before He deigns to forgive you? Do we really want to build a wall between ourselves and God?
How do we picture God? Is He the One who is critical, cold, hard, austere, rigid, unbending, unsympathetic and bound to the law? Is God like that? No! That is not the picture of the Christian God.
That pretty much describes the Devil.
Yes, folks, it's the Devil who has all those attributes. He's legalistic, judgmental, proud, haughty, unbending, unmerciful, critical. Oh, AND unloving. In case you didn't know it.
So, now, taking everything into consideration: where does unforgiveness come from? God? Jesus?
I have had difficulties forgiving people whom I felt did me wrong. One thing that helped was to STOP focussing on that person's huge mistake and to focus on a few of my own bloopers and unkind deeds (of which there are plenty). But the way to make forgiveness come easy is to remember in detail all the suffering that Jesus had to go through for our own sins.
Besides, if I hadn't gotten saved when I did, who knows what terrible crimes I would have been capable of committing? If I'd stayed on that road to destruction and selfishness, it may have led me to any number of dastardly deeds! But, thank God, someone had the love and compassion to tell me about salvation!
Now, it's just a matter of passing it on. "Pay it forward." And that's what forgiveness is all about: "paying it forward" because "what goes around comes around" and for sure, we're gonna need forgiveness one of these days very soon!
The bridge of forgiveness is a VERY busy bridge just flowing with non-stop traffic! God help us not to cause a road block.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Imposters!
In one chapter alone, Jesus warns us three times about imposters!
Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
(Many shall come in Jesus's name and shall deceive many.)
Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
(Many. That's not just a few, then.)
Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
(This is the third time just in chapter 24 that Jesus has warned us! We should consider ourselves warned. Then, He goes on to tell us exactly how to know when the "Real Jesus" returns. He goes into detail to describe His return just so we will all know without a shadow of a doubt that it's really Him!)
Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(We won't be able to miss it! It won't be a secret! The whole sky is going to light up! Get that picture? Any questions?)
Furthermore, He goes on to tell us exactly when this phenomenal return is going to take place.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(It will be very obvious that "something's going down" when all of a sudden the sun and the moon go black! Hard to miss that! The powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Can't wait to see that! It doesn't sound like a secret "rapture", does it?)
30 And then (and only then) shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Italics, brackets and underlining have been added. I'm quoting the King James version of the Holy Bible.)
Matthew 24:31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(There you go! So, even if you are blind and deaf and you don't see that the sun and moon are black and that the entire sky has lit up with the return of our Lord; even if you don't hear the great sound of the trumpet, He's going to make it very clear by "gathering" us together! And, then, guess what happens!
You should know this already, right?)
I Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(Can you imagine that? Does that please you? Will that make you happy?
The Final Grand Climax!
Isn't that worth suffering for? Going to prison for? Sacrificing for? What wonderful encouragement. You could just take that one verse of scripture and hold it in your heart for the rest of your life and it would get you through just about anything, wouldn't it? What a promise to cling to!
To me, that's just a whole lot better than some wimpy, secret snatching away of the believers in a hidden so-called "Pre-tribulation Rapture" that is a fabrication of someone's fearful imagination. Those who believe in that think,
"Our God is so merciful, He would never allow us to suffer going through the tribulation."
He wouldn't? If you think that, take a look at the history of believers since the crucifixion of Christ!
Give me a break! And read Hebrews chapter 11! Ever hear of martyrdom?
And yes, our God is merciful. That means we won't go through anything alone. He'll be right there with us and help us get through whatever we need to go through and He'll help us to be a testimony for Him, too.
But, we will not suffer the "Wrath of God". The wrath is reserved for the most unbelieving, wicked who have persecuted and killed the true believers. Right? We need to understand the difference between God's wrath and the "Great Tribulation". That may require some Bible reading.
Here's another suggestion: Just read the Bible word for word exactly as it is. And, by all means, ask God to help you understand what you're reading. Don't allow preconceived ideas and man's interpretations to interfere with your relationship with the naked, pure Word of God. Allow it to speak personally to you. Don't worry if you don't understand it all. Nobody does.)
Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
(Many shall come in Jesus's name and shall deceive many.)
Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
(Many. That's not just a few, then.)
Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
(This is the third time just in chapter 24 that Jesus has warned us! We should consider ourselves warned. Then, He goes on to tell us exactly how to know when the "Real Jesus" returns. He goes into detail to describe His return just so we will all know without a shadow of a doubt that it's really Him!)
Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(We won't be able to miss it! It won't be a secret! The whole sky is going to light up! Get that picture? Any questions?)
Furthermore, He goes on to tell us exactly when this phenomenal return is going to take place.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(It will be very obvious that "something's going down" when all of a sudden the sun and the moon go black! Hard to miss that! The powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Can't wait to see that! It doesn't sound like a secret "rapture", does it?)
30 And then (and only then) shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Italics, brackets and underlining have been added. I'm quoting the King James version of the Holy Bible.)
Matthew 24:31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(There you go! So, even if you are blind and deaf and you don't see that the sun and moon are black and that the entire sky has lit up with the return of our Lord; even if you don't hear the great sound of the trumpet, He's going to make it very clear by "gathering" us together! And, then, guess what happens!
You should know this already, right?)
I Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(Can you imagine that? Does that please you? Will that make you happy?
The Final Grand Climax!
Isn't that worth suffering for? Going to prison for? Sacrificing for? What wonderful encouragement. You could just take that one verse of scripture and hold it in your heart for the rest of your life and it would get you through just about anything, wouldn't it? What a promise to cling to!
To me, that's just a whole lot better than some wimpy, secret snatching away of the believers in a hidden so-called "Pre-tribulation Rapture" that is a fabrication of someone's fearful imagination. Those who believe in that think,
"Our God is so merciful, He would never allow us to suffer going through the tribulation."
He wouldn't? If you think that, take a look at the history of believers since the crucifixion of Christ!
Give me a break! And read Hebrews chapter 11! Ever hear of martyrdom?
And yes, our God is merciful. That means we won't go through anything alone. He'll be right there with us and help us get through whatever we need to go through and He'll help us to be a testimony for Him, too.
But, we will not suffer the "Wrath of God". The wrath is reserved for the most unbelieving, wicked who have persecuted and killed the true believers. Right? We need to understand the difference between God's wrath and the "Great Tribulation". That may require some Bible reading.
Here's another suggestion: Just read the Bible word for word exactly as it is. And, by all means, ask God to help you understand what you're reading. Don't allow preconceived ideas and man's interpretations to interfere with your relationship with the naked, pure Word of God. Allow it to speak personally to you. Don't worry if you don't understand it all. Nobody does.)
Monday, August 11, 2014
Forced Faith is not Faith
God does not force us to believe in Him.
Like a lover Who is madly in love with us, He waits. He woos. He rescues us. He sends messages to us. He sends messengers. He gently pleads, He reveals Himself in His handiwork. But, He never forces Himself on us. Ever.
Think about it for a moment:
If a baby were born into the world and prevailed upon to believe in a demanding "God" who insisted on certain prayers at certain times and in a certain way, how would that be pleasing God?
If God is Love (as the Bible tells us) then, how would it please a God of Love to pray and worship Him without involving one's heart?
God does not want robots who are forced to love Him. In fact, God made a very big deal about giving humans the majesty of choice. Yes, even the choice to rebel if we choose to. Choice is an important part of being human.
If we had no choice but to worship and love God, I think we would become slaves or robots and... more-than-likely, not really in it with our whole hearts. If we were forced to pray and praise God every day, it would get to be a habit and would very soon (I imagine) lose its appeal due to the repetition and non-voluntary state of the worshippers. This would seem true even more when the habit is forced upon us by humans rather than by a willingness to obey God.
(That doesn't necessarily mean that, as believers, we will always "feel" like praising God. That's a different subject altogether.)
How much faith does it take to believe in the "God" you are taught to believe in from birth along with the rest of your family? How much faith does it take to believe in something you are not allowed to stop believing in?
Well, that is a question.
If a person is in such a case, I think they should ask themself another question:
"Would God want or even need me to believe in Him if I had no other choice?"
There are loads of gods out there to choose from. There are loads of religions, cults, gurus and idols. But, there is only one God Who is the actual Creator of heaven and earth, our bodies, hearts and souls.
It is up to us to choose. I believe that unless we have the majesty to choose, we will not have the honour of knowing the One True God.
God wants us to know Him. He wants us to have a loving relationship with Him. He wants us to want Him. He wants us to choose Him.
Like a lover Who is madly in love with us, He waits. He woos. He rescues us. He sends messages to us. He sends messengers. He gently pleads, He reveals Himself in His handiwork. But, He never forces Himself on us. Ever.
Think about it for a moment:
If a baby were born into the world and prevailed upon to believe in a demanding "God" who insisted on certain prayers at certain times and in a certain way, how would that be pleasing God?
If God is Love (as the Bible tells us) then, how would it please a God of Love to pray and worship Him without involving one's heart?
God does not want robots who are forced to love Him. In fact, God made a very big deal about giving humans the majesty of choice. Yes, even the choice to rebel if we choose to. Choice is an important part of being human.
If we had no choice but to worship and love God, I think we would become slaves or robots and... more-than-likely, not really in it with our whole hearts. If we were forced to pray and praise God every day, it would get to be a habit and would very soon (I imagine) lose its appeal due to the repetition and non-voluntary state of the worshippers. This would seem true even more when the habit is forced upon us by humans rather than by a willingness to obey God.
(That doesn't necessarily mean that, as believers, we will always "feel" like praising God. That's a different subject altogether.)
How much faith does it take to believe in the "God" you are taught to believe in from birth along with the rest of your family? How much faith does it take to believe in something you are not allowed to stop believing in?
Well, that is a question.
If a person is in such a case, I think they should ask themself another question:
"Would God want or even need me to believe in Him if I had no other choice?"
There are loads of gods out there to choose from. There are loads of religions, cults, gurus and idols. But, there is only one God Who is the actual Creator of heaven and earth, our bodies, hearts and souls.
It is up to us to choose. I believe that unless we have the majesty to choose, we will not have the honour of knowing the One True God.
God wants us to know Him. He wants us to have a loving relationship with Him. He wants us to want Him. He wants us to choose Him.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Noah Movie Review
The movie, "Noah" starring Russel Crowe started out alright. I mean, the first few seconds were accurate in that God created the heaven and the earth. But, after that, it became a fairy tale. Sadly.
I was quite disappointed because it was sort of interesting and even had a lot of facts thrown in but it was a big letdown simply because it was not scriptural.
One redeeming factor of this movie is that it may get people to pick up their Bibles to find out,
"Did that really happen?"
"Was Noah really THAT out of touch with God that he was going to kill the baby if it was a girl but allow it to live if it was a boy?"
That part reminded me of China.
If you do happen to want to read your Bible to compare it with the movie, you'll find the story of Noah in the book of Genesis chapters 6 to 9.
The Bible indicates that God spoke quite clearly and directly to Noah, giving him specific instructions on how to build the ark as well as directions on storing up food, even telling Noah exactly how long the rain would fall. God even told him when to leave the ark.
In the book of Genesis, you'll notice the words, "the Lord said" followed by a direct quotation of words that God spoke to Adam, Noah and Abraham.
God had conversations with Adam as they walked together in the garden. In fact, God tells us that man was created for God's pleasure. So, it seems that God enjoyed talking with Adam and Eve before the fall.
He continued to talk to specific men afterwards. Then, angels spoke to specific people in an audible voice.
Although, it happens less often in these days that humans hear the audible voice of God, it does happen.
Nowadays, we are living in the "Age of Faith" so that in order to know God, we need faith to believe in a God we no longer hear in an audible voice or see with these physical eyes (unless God so chooses to allow it). Most of the time, our relationship with God is by faith.
When God speaks to His children, it's usually not audible. It's a thought or a knowing by faith.
But, when Noah heard from God, God was speaking out loud very clearly. There were no "if's, and's or but's" like the movie portrayed. Noah was not confused about his mission as he was in the movie.
God told Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth... but with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."
Noah knew exactly what his mission was. He knew what God was doing and why. He didn't have doubts or wonder what God was telling him. He simply obeyed.
Through Noah's obedience, mankind had a second chance. Of course, mankind muffed it. Again.
Still, obedience to God is a wonderful thing. When we do it God's way, it shows God we believe in Him and trust that He knows best.
I was quite disappointed because it was sort of interesting and even had a lot of facts thrown in but it was a big letdown simply because it was not scriptural.
One redeeming factor of this movie is that it may get people to pick up their Bibles to find out,
"Did that really happen?"
"Was Noah really THAT out of touch with God that he was going to kill the baby if it was a girl but allow it to live if it was a boy?"
That part reminded me of China.
If you do happen to want to read your Bible to compare it with the movie, you'll find the story of Noah in the book of Genesis chapters 6 to 9.
The Bible indicates that God spoke quite clearly and directly to Noah, giving him specific instructions on how to build the ark as well as directions on storing up food, even telling Noah exactly how long the rain would fall. God even told him when to leave the ark.
In the book of Genesis, you'll notice the words, "the Lord said" followed by a direct quotation of words that God spoke to Adam, Noah and Abraham.
God had conversations with Adam as they walked together in the garden. In fact, God tells us that man was created for God's pleasure. So, it seems that God enjoyed talking with Adam and Eve before the fall.
He continued to talk to specific men afterwards. Then, angels spoke to specific people in an audible voice.
Although, it happens less often in these days that humans hear the audible voice of God, it does happen.
Nowadays, we are living in the "Age of Faith" so that in order to know God, we need faith to believe in a God we no longer hear in an audible voice or see with these physical eyes (unless God so chooses to allow it). Most of the time, our relationship with God is by faith.
When God speaks to His children, it's usually not audible. It's a thought or a knowing by faith.
But, when Noah heard from God, God was speaking out loud very clearly. There were no "if's, and's or but's" like the movie portrayed. Noah was not confused about his mission as he was in the movie.
God told Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth... but with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."
Noah knew exactly what his mission was. He knew what God was doing and why. He didn't have doubts or wonder what God was telling him. He simply obeyed.
Through Noah's obedience, mankind had a second chance. Of course, mankind muffed it. Again.
Still, obedience to God is a wonderful thing. When we do it God's way, it shows God we believe in Him and trust that He knows best.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
The Touch of Your Faith
Some people don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God. It is difficult for them to believe that words written on paper could have any power at all. It is difficult to believe that a book came from God.
Let's take this a step further. Christians believe that this book IS God.
Think about it. God is His Word. His Word says so!
John 1: 1 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."
We are told that the Word (Jesus) was with God and that He is God. How do we know that Jesus is the Word? Revelations chapter 19. If you read the whole chapter, you'll be mind blown. But, to identify Jesus as the "Word", you can read verse 13:
"And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word off God."
In verse 16, it says, "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." just to make no mistake. Same Dude!
The WORD is GOD.
BUT! Now, this is a big huge BUT, ok? This is an important BUT. You cannot read the Word of God without something that is so important that if you don't have it, you will be causing destruction to yourself and others.
The LETTER OF THE LAW KILLS. Without the Spirit of God IN YOU, you can read this very same Bible and it will BACK-FIRE!
How's that for a tremendously powerful keg of dynamite? YES! That is the power of God! He insists that we read it in HIS SPIRIT with the ANNOINTING of His Holy Spirit! And NOT with our human MIND alone. We must be guided by the Holy Spirit in the reading of His Word, dear ones.
It takes the touch of your FAITH!
So, let's back this up a bit and take another look at what is being said here, ok?
I'm saying that the Word is God BUT if you read it in your own human understanding without God's Spirit to guide you, you can come up with all kinds of destructive and fatal results!
Your faith is the key that unlocks the mystery of God's Word. If one reads the Word in DOUBT, they will get just what they are looking for. Their lack of faith will produce the opposite results as someone who reads the Word in FAITH.
The Dead Sea scrolls were handed down to us from thousands of years of History. What a miracle! Even a non-believing archaeologist would have to agree that the preservation of God's Word is a miracle. These scrolls were hand-written and copied word for word and duplicated exactly as they were written from the beginning when God spoke to Moses face-to-face.
The New Testament is written by men who were on the earth while Jesus was in human flesh. Yes, the Word became flesh. God put on human flesh so He could understand what it was like. He was tempted by sin but he did not yield to it. He carried that sin to the cross and was made sin for us!
I'm so convinced of the love and mercy of God that I believe if a person honestly wants to believe in the True Living God Who is alive and speaks to us today, God is not a cruel tyrant who is unwilling to help that person to understand. He's not going to make it difficult. He'll HAND you faith on a silver platter. He'll even SHOW UP in some cases and I've heard of people who have SEEN Jesus. That's how easy He makes it for those who are SERIOUS about finding the TRUTH and WANT the TRUTH with ALL OF THEIR HEARTS.
God makes it easy for us to believe in Him. He bends over backwards. All we have to do is take the FIRST STEP. Just accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour/Messiah/Lord/Jehovah/Mediator/Prince of Peace/Son of Man. Just ask Him to come into your heart, into your life and show you what's up! Then read the Bible in an attitude of faith. He'll GIVE you the faith to believe it.
You won't believe EVERYTHING all at ONCE! Nobody's got that much faith. Do they? (Maybe some do.) But, as much as you can accept and believe will get you started on a wonderful trip into the realm of the joys of the Spirit World! There's no end to it!
The Word plus your faith plus the Holy Spirit equals LOVE, JOY, PEACE, SPIRITUAL POWER, THE TRUTH, FREEDOM, UNDERSTANDING, PATIENCE, THE ANSWERS, WEALTH, WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, DIRECTION, ETC.
What have you got to lose? Probably nothing worth keeping. Lose yourself in God's Word!
Let's take this a step further. Christians believe that this book IS God.
Think about it. God is His Word. His Word says so!
John 1: 1 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."
We are told that the Word (Jesus) was with God and that He is God. How do we know that Jesus is the Word? Revelations chapter 19. If you read the whole chapter, you'll be mind blown. But, to identify Jesus as the "Word", you can read verse 13:
"And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word off God."
In verse 16, it says, "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." just to make no mistake. Same Dude!
The WORD is GOD.
BUT! Now, this is a big huge BUT, ok? This is an important BUT. You cannot read the Word of God without something that is so important that if you don't have it, you will be causing destruction to yourself and others.
The LETTER OF THE LAW KILLS. Without the Spirit of God IN YOU, you can read this very same Bible and it will BACK-FIRE!
How's that for a tremendously powerful keg of dynamite? YES! That is the power of God! He insists that we read it in HIS SPIRIT with the ANNOINTING of His Holy Spirit! And NOT with our human MIND alone. We must be guided by the Holy Spirit in the reading of His Word, dear ones.
It takes the touch of your FAITH!
So, let's back this up a bit and take another look at what is being said here, ok?
I'm saying that the Word is God BUT if you read it in your own human understanding without God's Spirit to guide you, you can come up with all kinds of destructive and fatal results!
Your faith is the key that unlocks the mystery of God's Word. If one reads the Word in DOUBT, they will get just what they are looking for. Their lack of faith will produce the opposite results as someone who reads the Word in FAITH.
The Dead Sea scrolls were handed down to us from thousands of years of History. What a miracle! Even a non-believing archaeologist would have to agree that the preservation of God's Word is a miracle. These scrolls were hand-written and copied word for word and duplicated exactly as they were written from the beginning when God spoke to Moses face-to-face.
The New Testament is written by men who were on the earth while Jesus was in human flesh. Yes, the Word became flesh. God put on human flesh so He could understand what it was like. He was tempted by sin but he did not yield to it. He carried that sin to the cross and was made sin for us!
I'm so convinced of the love and mercy of God that I believe if a person honestly wants to believe in the True Living God Who is alive and speaks to us today, God is not a cruel tyrant who is unwilling to help that person to understand. He's not going to make it difficult. He'll HAND you faith on a silver platter. He'll even SHOW UP in some cases and I've heard of people who have SEEN Jesus. That's how easy He makes it for those who are SERIOUS about finding the TRUTH and WANT the TRUTH with ALL OF THEIR HEARTS.
God makes it easy for us to believe in Him. He bends over backwards. All we have to do is take the FIRST STEP. Just accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour/Messiah/Lord/Jehovah/Mediator/Prince of Peace/Son of Man. Just ask Him to come into your heart, into your life and show you what's up! Then read the Bible in an attitude of faith. He'll GIVE you the faith to believe it.
You won't believe EVERYTHING all at ONCE! Nobody's got that much faith. Do they? (Maybe some do.) But, as much as you can accept and believe will get you started on a wonderful trip into the realm of the joys of the Spirit World! There's no end to it!
The Word plus your faith plus the Holy Spirit equals LOVE, JOY, PEACE, SPIRITUAL POWER, THE TRUTH, FREEDOM, UNDERSTANDING, PATIENCE, THE ANSWERS, WEALTH, WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, DIRECTION, ETC.
What have you got to lose? Probably nothing worth keeping. Lose yourself in God's Word!
Friday, July 4, 2014
Blast the Devil!
Having fought quite a few spiritual battles myself, I would like to offer a few tips to newcomers to the faith. Learning from the mistakes of others is wisdom. Look no further: I'm a professional mistake-maker right here. And, if I may be so bold to say, a seasoned soldier of the Lord.
So, what works for me? How do I overcome my spiritual battles?
Well, #1. I can't so it has to be the power of God. And, #2. Don't think you'll overcome the devil. He'll keep coming back as long as you have breath. But you can dismiss him, ignore him and rebuke him. Again, that has to be by the power of God.
How do we get the power of God?
Take a look at the title of this blog: The Most Important Book has the power. In fact, as I may have mentioned previously, the Bible has ALL the answers to every problem you will ever face in life. But, it takes you looking for the answers in there. Fortunately, I have done quite a bit of "digging" and "mining" to come up with lots of gems to use in your spiritual battles.
Although this is not exactly a Bible quote, it has helped amazingly over the years:
So, what works for me? How do I overcome my spiritual battles?
Well, #1. I can't so it has to be the power of God. And, #2. Don't think you'll overcome the devil. He'll keep coming back as long as you have breath. But you can dismiss him, ignore him and rebuke him. Again, that has to be by the power of God.
How do we get the power of God?
Take a look at the title of this blog: The Most Important Book has the power. In fact, as I may have mentioned previously, the Bible has ALL the answers to every problem you will ever face in life. But, it takes you looking for the answers in there. Fortunately, I have done quite a bit of "digging" and "mining" to come up with lots of gems to use in your spiritual battles.
Although this is not exactly a Bible quote, it has helped amazingly over the years:
"PRAISE IS THE VICTORY!"
You may well ask, "How does praise give me the victory over the devil?" And that's a good question. There are lots of ways praise does it and praise is probably your most powerful weapon.
Praise declares to the devil, to yourself and even to those around you (if anyone is hearing you praise God) that Jesus Christ is Who He is! And the devil hates to hear that! He hates praise. He plugs his ears and runs. So, right there, you have overcome the voice of the devil preaching in your ear.
Praise fills the atmosphere around you with positive, faith-building vibes.
Praise is the sacrifice that God has requested us to make, so that means, you are obeying God when you praise Him and you are giving him what He wants. You're loving God when you praise Him.
Praise shows God that you are looking to Him for the answers and not depending on your own strength.
Praise feeds your faith and helps you rise above!
Praise is powerful! Your praise coming out of your mouth in words has spiritual power. It unlocks the vaults of heaven.
Praise is like locking into the heart of God. You're not pleading, begging, sobbing and doubting anymore if you're praising so that shows God you BELIEVE. You are already thanking Him for the solution.
Praise pushes the devil and his little helpers far away from you and from your receptors.
Praise brings down the Spirit of God! It literally opens up Heaven to you! Nothing is impossible.
The book of Psalms is full of David's praises to God. He says,
"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." Psalm 91:1
We are not to fear any of the devil's devices or lies. Because we TRUST in God.
Develop your trust muscle by using it. Starve your doubts to death and feed your faith the Word.
"When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against Him." Isaiah 59:19 That's a promise you can claim and tell that to the devil.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
Sometimes we have to put forth a little effort to resist the devil and his temptations. When we allow ourselves to fall into his temptations, it makes it harder on us later I find. And, the devil knows what your weaknesses are.
I hate to tell you this, but the enemy of your soul knows you pretty well. That's a bummer because he has insight into all your weaknesses and knows all the buttons to press to get you totally down and out, useless, helpless and defeated.
That's the reason why you cannot give him an inch. Not even a fraction of an inch. Resist him right at the start before he leads you off into "La La Land" to waste your time and energy.
Since the punk knows us so well, it sure is a good idea to get to know HIM and his usual dirty tricks, accusations, lies, traps, temptations, confusions, illusions, negative thoughts, etc. I mean, really, he has no new tricks. We've seen them all. But, we can't underestimate him either and think that we have any power of ourselves to overcome him.
Don't let your guard down!
"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life!" I Timothy 6:12
"Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11
"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Ephesians 6:14-18
God has provided armour for us. How cool is that? All we have to do is put it on!
Did you get the parts? There's a girdle or skirt of TRUTH, a breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS, shoes of the GOSPEL, a shield of FAITH, a helmet of SALVATION and a SWORD of the WORD!
God knew we would need it. The more active we are for the Lord, the more the devil is going to fight us. I actually have begun to feel privileged when the devil pulls out his big guns and declares war on me. I just look up at Jesus and say,
"Hey, looks like something's got him going, eh?"
Then, I talk to the poor little shrivelled, ugly devil and I say nasty things to make him feel even worse than he already must feel. I remind him,
"You know you're going to burn in Hell for eternity, right? You're going to get tossed into the bottomless pit. Up and down back and forth. First you fall as far down as possible before gravity pulls you back towards the surface so you can fall again and again over and over forever! Too bad. Poor you! You really blew it when you thought you could be better than God, eh? Sorry for you, bud. NOT. BUZZ OFF! In the name of Jesus Christ my KING!"
Yeah, the battles are getting heavier. I feel for those who are newcomers to this game because they have to grow up really fast and learn how to fight!
The very first battle you'll probably have as a new believer (after you have received Jesus as your Messiah and Lord) is you'll look at yourself and feel hopeless. That's the devil's favourite lie. He'll tell you,
"Look at YOU. You're nobody. God can't possibly use you. You're a failure. You know you are... bla,bla,bla, lie, lie, lie and a little truth mixed in to help you swallow the lies..."
The devil will tell you you are NOT saved but you are going to hell and that God does not even exist. He wants to destroy your faith right at the "get-go" and wash you OUT fast. So HANG ON.
The devil does NOT want you to pass the message of salvation on to others. So, he tries hard to make you doubt it yourself. He tells you to quit, that there's no use in even trying. Besides, you're a mess and there really is no hope for you. Lies, lies, lies, ...
But, cheer up! At least you're on the Winning Side! You have chosen well! We have actually already won! Even when it looks like we're losing, we have already won because Jesus died on that cross at Calvary.
He bled and died and paid the price for all of our sins. If we always remember that, that alone will give us strength to face any battle because He fought and won the hardest battle of all!
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." Hebrews 12:2-4
Keep looking unto Jesus. He's the Example to follow.
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