The coming of the LORD is so close, we can almost feel it. The birth
pangs we read in Matthew 24 are now part of our everyday life.
So, since we know what we know, what do we do? I think we can start by
cleaning house. We can get rid of anything that offends - things we hold
onto for maybe sentimental reasons that we know would not be pleasing
to our God. Since it's all gonna burn - why not burn it early?
All the Kingdom parables warn of those not ready for the Master's
return. The examples Jesus used were either caught sleeping or being in
sin. Our world has put its stamp of approval on sin - "do your own
thing" - yet we are not to be of the world. But you all know that.
The devil knows his time is short and boy is he ever on the rampage. He
deceives the world and attacks us. He seeks a foothold in our lives and
we give it to him when we hold onto things or ideas that exalt his
kingdom and offends God's kingdom. We need to remember whose Kingdom
we're of.
When my son was 4 years old, after the service I
picked him up at children's church and I asked him, 'What did you learn
today?' He responded exuberantly, "I learned I have to grind up my
loins." I laughed and said, "you mean gird up your loins." "Oh yeah,
that's right," he said.
That lesson is so important today as
spiritual warfare is on the increase. Keep your spiritual armor on and
remember to pray over your children daily and bless those you love. Make
those prayers part of your daily routine.
And of course, staying in the Word keeps our mind on Him. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and on the alert.
Keep on the lookout!
"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound
of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying,
'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and
rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and
His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed
in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints.'" - Rev. 19:6-8
"Now Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, 'Behold, the Lord
comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to
convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him... Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen." - Jude 14-15, 24-25
Does it seem like God is far from us
sometimes? As the world appears to be crumbling around us, it can seem
that way. If it were not for the sure word of prophecy, we might cave in
under the pressure of the perils of this world.
I watched a movie on TV last night called "I am Legend" starring Will
Smith. It is one of the post-apocalyptic tales of the near annihilation
of humanity by a man-made virus that got out of control. Only a few
people were immune. One thing that struck me was when a young woman
looked at Neville and said that she could hear God and knows He sent her
to him. He scoffed at her, but she said now that all the noise of
society was silenced, He could be heard more clearly if only we would
listen. At the end of the movie, just before Neville blows himself up
with all the mutants to save her life, he looks at her and says, "I'm
listening."
We grew up watching films that predicted a doomsday
scenario and always laughed them off. They're not so funny anymore. In
the 1970s "Soylent Green" showed a future where food would be so scarce
the government would recycle dead people to feed the living. Who can
forget Burgess Meredith in the Twilight Zone episode where New York City
is demolished by a nuclear blast and he rejoices over the piles of
books at the library? Or when the same actor stood up for the Bible
against a repressive regime in the episode titled "The Obsolete Man"?
I'm sure all of you can come up with movie titles that were once
thought to be unrealistic that now don't seem so far-fetched. There was
even a television series called "The Prophets of Science Fiction" that
showed just how prophetic some authors from the old days were.
When we think about these things, it is good to know that the coming of
the LORD Jesus is at hand - especially His coming for His church before
He returns with His bride. We can rejoice while those who reject Him
have no such hope. His coming for us is our Blessed Hope. That hope will
sustain us through the difficult times ahead.
We must keep our
eyes on Him, stay awake, and keep on the alert. We must be in the world
and not of it, knowing our citizenship is in heaven from where we await
our Savior. Incline your ears to the Master's voice as we wait to hear
those words, "Come up here."
Keeping on the lookout!
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the
face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the
boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the
hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far
from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being" -
Acts 17: 26-28a
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in
God, believe also in Me. 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. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you
to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. - John 14:1-3
Dear friends - particularly you women on the watch- I received
an email this morning from a woman concerned that her church has brought
in a women's program out of Campus Crusade for Christ that she has
looked over and has felt uncomfortable with. Here's the promo for the
program: "Announcing the release of The Significant Woman -- an
exciting, newly published, biblically based life coaching discipleship
resource for women. It presents 6 biblical life principles--or
PEARLS--in creative ways. The principles are facilitated within a Life
Coaching Group and Peer Coaching environment. The Significant Woman PEARLS biblical life principles help women: ** Be encouraged to take the next step in their personal journey with Christ. ** Creatively grasp and apply the truth that their worth comes from Christ. ** Discover and celebrate how uniquely God has created them. ** Articulate their core values and identify their personal mission, which is a reflection of God's purpose and His mission." I'm not one to mince words - so this was my response: Dear Dolly (name changed to protect the discerner) This is mainstream churchianity - trying to turn the bible into a
self-help psychologized system of churning out Stepford wife clones. The
bible is NOT a self-help book nor is it about me. Our focus should be
on Jesus, not self. When we love Jesus and are grounded in His word we
are conformed to His image. These methods try to imitate that but
there's no spiritual power in such things. Other than that,
this is typical Focus of the Family/Campus Crusade money-raising
capitalism at work. A ChristianityToday approach to church life I would
classify under lukewarm vomit. But the pastor doesn't know what else to do with the women in the church, so that's the best they can come up with. This is not Spirit-led so you find yourself in a powerless place. ==
The Church of Laodicea - but that IS today's church. You can choose to
pass up on going, but there isn't much you can do to sanctify the
apostasy. In Jesus, Jackie "The night is far
spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as
in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust,
not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." - Rom 13:12-14
"Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now
the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory
to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor 3:16-18
"I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." - Rom 12:1-2
My prayer for all of you, including
myself, is that we stay in step with our LORD on the narrow path to
which He has directed us. Let's not try and push ahead and move ahead of
His timing.
The Internet and Facebook are
filled with lots of factual news and information. However, it also
feeds us much disinformation and our human tendency is to latch onto
what fits into our individual expectations.
For instance - we
know we live in perilous times and God has given us a general picture of
what the coming Tribulation is going to look like. We can't change what
is written in God's Word. But when we hear reports of a coming economic
collapse or a coming world war, we often grab onto those rumors and let
them cloud or direct our thinking. Some even panic over those reports.
Jesus tells us to abide until He comes. He is our peace. Our marching
orders remain the same regardless of the circumstances of this world.
"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will
judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach
the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke,
exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." - 2 Tim 4:1-2
“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 28:19-20
Look out for the numbers game. Churches and
ministries all seem to play it. Evangelists boast of how many people
answer their altar calls. TV preachers put up numbers of those calling
in and how much money gets pledged.
Churches post projected amounts needed for the budget vs. amounts
received in the offerings. All these things are boastful and prideful
and grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
"Now Satan stood up against
Israel, and moved David to number Israel...And God was displeased with
this thing; therefore He struck Israel." - 1 Chr 21:1,7
Even
King David could be moved upon by Satan. Pride, we're told, is the
number one sin that motivates all other sins. I think that is why we see
a dearth of anointed preachers and teachers today. The better preacher
they are, the more it goes to their heads.
An old friend of
mine, the late Dave Hunt was one of the most humble men of God I've ever
known. As a young believer I recall approaching him after one of his
moving messages and telling him how great it was. He reacted like I had
just slapped his face, and hurried to tell me it's the LORD - give honor
to Him alone.
Dave knew the danger of getting puffed up.
As a new believer, so hungry for God's Word, I could not suppress my
excitement after hearing a Spirit-inspired message and would thank the
speaker afterwards. Most would just say, Thank You. Dave recognized the
danger.
When do we cross the line over into idolatry? I believe
that happens when we exalt the messenger and not the One they point to.
The whole world will be falling into that snare soon when the antichrist appears and the whole world wonders after the beast.
We need to guard our hearts and minds.
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is
faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are
able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you
may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." - 1
Cor 10:12-14
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." - 1 John 5:21
[We can
appreciate this child's talent even as we see the attitude of idolatry
in the cheers of the audience. They don't call it "American IDOL for
nothing!]
I've been awfully nostalgic lately - maybe that's a sign of my age.
Television is so filled with garbage that I find myself drawn to
watching old movies and TV shows. One thing I've noticed is that the
Bible is quoted quite often in dialogue,
as if it was expected that the verses would be familiar to the
audience. On two different episodes I watched this week of the Perry
Mason show from the early 60s, he or another character quoted this verse
from Proverbs: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes" - Prov. 12:15
They didn't cite the verse or where the quote came from - it was just
assumed all would know. I've seen this same thing on episodes of The
Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock show - it was just a natural way
for people to talk back then before Sergeant Pepper.
The Bible
talks about a time when there would be a famine for the hearing of the
Word. This is certainly fulfilled in our time. Even churches are getting
away from teaching the Bible and are becoming more like weekly pep
talks.
I know this is not news to any of you that America has
lost her biblical moorings and our society is post-Christian. In these
dark days of apostasy it's more important than ever to abide in the Vine
and to be in Christ. We can still feed ourselves on daily Manna as we
read God's Word with the understanding given to us by the Holy Spirit.
To those without the Spirit of God, the Bible is just wise words on
paper - but to us the words breathe life to our souls.
Remember to pray for America and for the peace of Jerusalem.
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who
is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given
to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s
wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Cor 2:12-14
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the
LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou
walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Dt. 6:4-7
The mystery of iniquity is now widespread. The world has become a more
violent and cruel place. The news is full of ugly footage of man's
inhumanity to man. Antisemitism and anti-Christian bigotry and hatred is almost palpable around the globe.
But even on the local level, people just seem to be getting nastier and
meaner. To quote the verse "the love of many shall grow cold" does not
even quite personify the spread of evil we're seeing today in the course
of our lives. The roaring lion is on the loose and he's seeking whom he
may devour.
One can hardly leave the house without noticing
this. I was at the grocery store the other day, putting my groceries on
the checkout spindle, when I heard a vile voice growling at the clerk.
"Why are you putting my bread in the same bag with other stuff?," she
snarled. The clerk looked up startled. The bag was only half-full with
the bread on top. The mad woman went off in a rage. "I'll bag it myself!
You don't know what you're doing. You people are always bagging my
things wrong. I'm going to report you. I'm sick of this store!"
"I didn't know you wanted your bread in a bag by itself," the clerk
politely responded. "I would have gladly done so if you only would have
asked."
The crazy lady's voice could be heard throughout the
store as she ranted on and on while bagging her purchases. When she was
done she rolled her cart over to the customer service counter to
complain. Although I had a lot of groceries, she was still over there
ranting at the managers and pointing at the clerk when I paid for my
groceries.
I told the clerk that I could see she did nothing
wrong. She said, "Oh, that's nothing new. You should stand here and
watch what I go through every day. You'd be shocked."
On the
way out, I lingered near the front desk waiting for the mad banshee to
leave. When she did, the manager immediately headed for the clerk, I
suppose to confront her. I stopped the manager and told her that the
customer was obviously having "aisle rage" and the clerk did nothing
wrong. I gave her a blow by blow description of what I witnessed. Then
her boss came over and she told me to tell him what I told her. I did
so, and that calmed things down and they all returned to their stations.
The Bible says that the LORD loves justice. We as His ambassadors will
run into such incidents like this -- even more so in the future as evil
increases. May God give us the boldness and courage to speak up for the
victims and not turn away like others, whether it is a small injustice
or a big one. "Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy." - Proverbs 31:8-9
