Thorn in the Flesh

I read and respond to many prayer requests on Facebook -- so many people are going through trials and tribulations and need our collective voice going up to the Throne on their behalf -- myself included. One I read recently was seeking agreement to his prayer that he shared in which he started it by saying, “I claim victory over such and so.” I’ve seen others begin with “I decree this in Jesus’ name.”

These words defy the LORD’s instructions to us to “ask” in His name. Asking is not decreeing, demanding, or claiming. It is common to see such wrong prayers performed by televangelists in which they address Satan and say “I take authority over you Devil” . . . Does that make the devil omnipresent? Why talk to him as if he tuned into all prayers as God does?

Do we have all authority over the devil? If we did, the antichrist would never rise and fulfill the prophecies of his 7-year revolt and earthly exaltation. When Jesus sent out the seventy in His name while He was still with us, they returned excited about their delegated power:

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”- Luke 10:19-20

Does that same power operate in Christians today or even after His resurrection and ascension? Certainly spiritual warfare against the power of the enemy over our lives continues and we can have victory as we resist Satan and he flees from us. But even the devil has a purpose here in the scheme of things until Jesus returns and locks him up. If we could just stomp on him, why couldn’t the Apostle Paul do so when he pleaded to the LORD to be free from his invisible enemy?

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” - 2 Cor 12:7

So Paul could not demand, decree, claim, or rebuke what God allowed. If he could not do so, neither can we.

The war against the powers of darkness will continue until Jesus returns with us His saints to rule and reign over this planet. Until then, we need the spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6 to resist the enemy. We must not give him any advantage over us by wandering off into enemy territory. 

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” - Eph 6:16

And we must be on the alert for one another -- we’re not in this battle alone. Soldiers watch each others backs. This is where confessing our faults one to another and bearing one another’s burdens come in. The need to gather together is all the more vital as we see the Day approach. The devil knows his time is short and he is on the rampage. It’s not “every man for himself,” but “all hands on deck.”

Keep on the lookout for your brother - you are his keeper.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” = Rom 8:35-39

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." - 1John 3:13-16

Church Calendar

Easter is coming soon -- another tradition of man that has been placed on the Catholic Church Calendar as a way to compel Christians to attend church by compulsion. We do not need to follow the Calendar to celebrate the resurrection of our LORD Christ Jesus. We are to memorialize His death and resurrection every time we break bread together until He comes.

If you’ve listened to my Scattered Sheep Report and seen the postings on my Facebook page of the fish head man attacking Lenton meat-eaters, you know what I think about churchianity and Catholic baggage left over in the Protestant denominations. How could the Apostle Paul be any clearer with what he wrote to the believers in Galatia?

Gal 4:9-11 - “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”

Attending church under the threat of being guilty of a sin is the bondage upon which Rome built her holy Roman empire. Paul calls it weak and beggarly. Some translations use the words, “weak and worthless.” Even if non-Catholic churches play up Easter with their sunrise services and Easter egg hunts, they are playing into something that passage says is futile. He even takes it personally by saying it’s as if all the work of the Gospel he preached to them was in vain -- a waste of his time -- if what they end up with is this kind of empty churchianity.

And then to top that off -- those he warned were apparently offended by his words:

Gal. 4:16 - “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”

How many times have some of you been vilified and ostracized for speaking the unpopular truth to your churched and unchurched family and friends?

When I buy some marshmallow peeps and maybe a chocolate bunny from the special occasion aisle at the grocery store next month, I’ll relish the treat without giving it any religious significance whatsoever. I might even eat a hard-boiled egg or two without even thinking of the stone being rolled away from the empty tomb.

You might want to ditch church on Easter this year to leave room for the crowd that comes out twice a year. Your pastor no doubt will be giving the Gospel message, assuming that the crowded pews are full of unconverted sinners carrying on a long-held empty tradition of attending church on Easter. Let them have their day. We walk in the light and have no need of going back over the milk of the Word.

"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." = Heb 6:1-2

"When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." -- Matt 28:17-20

Restoration of All Things

I posed this question earlier in the week and it only sparked a couple of A-mil fb friends to surface and proclaim that Elijah will not actually come - the prophecy already being fulfilled by John the Baptist.

"Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things."-- Matt 17:11 -- When Elijah comes, what things will he restore? 

Jesus here is saying that Elijah is still coming, and in the next verse stated that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. He was obviously showing the present and future double fulfillment of the prophecy -- a spiritual fulfillment first off, and the physical fulfillment before His second coming.

John the Baptist called the people back to their fathers, but is that the same thing as the final Elijah restoring all things? John the Baptist did not restore all things -- Elijah's future ministry plays a role in the second coming when the one Elijah proclaims does indeed restore all things. 

Now -- what needs restoration in this day and age that Elijah points to and Jesus' return fulfills? Where do we begin?

• Restore the faith once and for all delivered to the saints that has been hijacked and corrupted by apostate imposters.

• Restore the planet earth that is groaning for the corruption and destruction being done upon it by the earth dwellers.

• Restore the 12 Tribes of Israel to their promised land and to their Messiah -- when they look upon Him whom they have pierced.

• Restore a righteous government -- a new world order -- where David is back on the throne and we resurrected saints rule and reign with Jesus 1,000 years.

• Restore the ecology of the planet and even the harmony between the animals.

I could go on and on. All I can say is -- Bring it on Jesus!! Every knee shall bow before Him -- I await that day -- but not in idle anticipation, but with an excitement that I hope is contagious among people I encounter.

What a happy day that will be!!

“But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." - Acts 3:18-21

"But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea."
--Is 11: 4-9

Lazarus

Dear Pilgrims-

I saw a trailer for a new film that just came out. It is called The Lazarus Effect – named after the Bible story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The problem with the movie scenario is that the serum used to revive a dead woman brought the spirit back from hell – and as you can imagine what follows makes for a ghastly horror movie. When you watch the trailer, you’ll see a quick flash of a black screen with John 11 imprinted on it. If you blink, you’ll miss it. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGfOyzyK2cQ ]

Why has this zombie theme been so popular in the history of novels and films? The Frankenstein monster -- those brought back from the dead – are always frightening and evil. If they all are inspired by John 11, they sure got it all wrong. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, he continued to live out his life just as he always had with his two sisters. He was no monster.

The Walking Dead TV series, inspired by the vintage film, The Night of the Living Dead, is a mockery of the true resurrection we saints anticipate. When the dead in Christ rise first, and we are transformed from mortal to immortality, we won’t be spooky at all. When we come back in our resurrected bodies to rule and reign with Christ, we’ll be glorious and beautiful. The only fear we’ll invoke to mortals will be holy fear and reverence.

I honestly believe that when we are caught up into heaven, to the place where Jesus said He would prepare for us, when we get there it will really feel like home, sweet home. It will not be a strange place for us. We will feel very comfortable – nothing scary about it.  If you are feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been – that’s what your heart is longing for.

The world can have its zombie stories – because without Jesus that is the horror that awaits them. All the cheap thrills and chills the world now gets attending such movies will be even more of a nightmare when they find themselves at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Our resurrection from the dead is described in this passage:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

-- 1 Cor. 2:9

I hope this new film that directs the lost to John 11 will be a shout out to the audience that they have a choice to make. Choose Jesus and you’ll be blessed like Lazarus, reject Jesus and you’ll resemble the woman and dog displayed in this movie. Pray they will see the obvious.

"Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” -- John 11:23-26

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. "- Rev 22:1-3