Prepare for the Great Storm

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

We see the signs all around us. Storms are coming. The confusion grows stronger with each passing day and who knows, really, what the truth is behind the stories we are told in the mass media. But most people I talk to will admit, something is coming.

The Bible calls this time (among some of its names) the Day of the Lord, the 70th week of Daniel, the time of Jacob's trouble or the Great Tribulation. Scoffers may say that people have been calling for Christ's return ever since He ascended to heaven. But Jesus did fulfill all the prophecies in the Bible about His first Advent, so why would anyone think He would not fulfill the ones about His second Advent?

Why is there all this fighting and bloodshed in Jerusalem? Did you know that the Bible prophesied this very thing would happen in the last days? One of the last books in the Old Testament, Zechariah tells us: “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it." Zechariah 12:10

Have you noticed how many people are against Israel now? Even some of their own people are marching against their own military. That is because Jerusalem has become that burdensome stone Zechariah warned us about. But that is not all the trouble we see. We see trouble in America with our immigration crisis, trouble in the Ukraine and in Russia, trouble in Iraq as the terrorist group Isis takes over and forces the Christians to either leave or die. (Nice choice.) And there are many more troubles, in fact, wherever you find people you will find trouble because the minute we are born we are appointed to trouble.

Job 5:6-7 "For affliction does not come from the dust,Nor does trouble spring from the ground;Yet man is born to trouble,As the sparks fly upward."

We are born to trouble because we all are born into spiritual death, whether we like it or not. But our hope comes from One Man, the perfect Man, the God Man: I Corinthians 15:20-22 says "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

By taking a simple step of faith in what Jesus did for you personally on the cross, you can be instantly transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and forever enter the family of God. The only thing necessary is faith in the Son of God. John 3:36 affirms: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Though there is a lot of bad news in the world today, the good news outweighs the bad news. God is still holding out the lifeline to anyone who wants to climb into the ark, so to speak, before the great deluge hits. It is not too late for anyone, no matter how grievously they may have wandered. No sin is too big, and God is no respecter of persons. Anyone, anywhere, who seeks for shelter from this final great storm may freely have it.

If you have made that decision, then read God's Word like a little baby who wants their bottle, and it will guide you during these perilous days. Find a church where you can hear God's Word. Then, we can be like the wise man who built his house on a rock, and ready when at last the storm comes. May God prepare us for that Day.

I would love to hear your comments!

God Has Not Forsaken Israel-- Neither Should We

Isaiah 51:3 For the LORD will comfort Zion,
"He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden,And her desert like the garden of the LORD;
Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody."

Once again we see the Mideast stewing in a vicious brew of tumult. It is easy to listen to the news broadcasters and let that help us form what we think might be an obvious opinion: that one side is mercilessly pounding the other and that they are the side that should be railed against. If you listen to the mainstream media, you will easily discover what I am talking about. But are they telling us the truth?

While I am not a political pundit, I do know that God happens to love people on both sides of this conflict. He cares about the souls of both the Jews and the Arabs, who have been at odds ever since Sarah kicked Hagar and Ishmael out of the tent they shared with Isaac. I do know that the enemy of men's souls hates the Jewish people, because they were the ones whose race brought forth the Messiah. He figures if he can destroy the Jews, than God cannot be faithful to keep His other promises either. We have seen the enemy try to destroy the Jews all throughout human history, especially in the Holocaust. But the devil has never succeeded. He insanely hopes that God will be proven to be a liar, but we know that can never happen. God has never lied once in fulfilling His Word and is not about to start doing so now. In fact, it is impossible for God to lie!

"...in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began..." Titus 1:2

To lie is to sin, and have darkness inside. But the Apostle John testifies: "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." I John 1:5

God is not listening to what the commentators are saying. He has promised to save His chosen people Israel. He calls them His Beloved.

"Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:
My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill." Isaiah 5:1

They were the natural branches and we, the members of Christ's Church became grafted in because of their unbelief:
"And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you." Romans 11:17-18

But that does not mean God is done with Israel. Remember Who will fight for Zion! Though they have forsaken Him, He has not forsaken them, nor will He ever. When they are in their final week of years in the 70 Weeks Prophecy of Daniel, all the nations will forsake the nation of Israel. Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near." Luke 21:20 If we think the publicity campaign against Israel is bad now, I wonder what the media will say in the Tribulation period! Israel will have no one else to look to but God, and suddenly they will realize that their Messiah really was Jesus after all!

Christ will come and personally save them in the final battle of all, Armageddon. The prophet Zechariah clearly tells us:

“It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10

Zech. 14:3 "Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle."

So what are we to do now, as we see things deteriorating in the Middle East?

Psalm 122:6 says to: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you."

The day that God made His covenant with Abraham, He promised him that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Think about it. In Jesus coming from the Jewish nation and the tribe of Judah, He offered Himself the perfect sacrificial offering for all mankind. So the Jews have blessed us tremendously in giving us the Messiah, whether they realize it or not. It does not matter what others are saying or doing, God said in Genesis 12:3: I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God will not fit into our box...

"If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:37-38

I was reminded at church today that God will not be limited by our puny human plans, or our human preconceptions. Often times when I pray, I think I know how God will answer the prayer, as if I have the omniscience of God. But He reminds me that His ways are so much higher than my ways, and His thoughts so much higher than my thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

I have been praying about a certain situation for quite a while now and told God that I believed He could answer exceeding abundantly beyond what I could ask or think. (Eph. 3:20) Well, He did that today, in a way I never would have dreamed. He broke down barriers. All in a way that was way beyond my own human understanding. How great is my God.

Sometimes we don't see the fruit of our prayers for years, but when I see an answer like I saw today, it encourages me to keep on praying for others that have gone on for years. Situations that seem impossible from a human standpoint are nothing to God. I love it when God told Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14) about Sarah bearing a son in her old age. He says it also to us, whatever situation we are in. Or what does God say through Isaiah?

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31

My hope cannot be in myself or my ability to affect anything, but when I put my hope in the Lord, I will never be disappointed. I still have situations that seem impossible, by human standards, for "fixing." And every time I try to "fix" them myself, they only get worse. But in prayer, I leave them at the foot of His cross, and trust that He hears. Micah promises:

"Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." (Micah 6:7)

So, even if our situation seems impossible, if God is in it, He can move mountains, and He is glorified when we believe that He can do above and beyond what we could ask or think. Our prayer is for His will, not ours, to be done. We must not faint,but keep on believing until we see our mountains moved! "And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9no

Halfway through 2014...and a minute to pause

"I returned and saw under the sun that-- The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all." Ecclesiastes 9:11

I just realized, 2014 is half gone already. I feel it barely started and here we are at the beginning of July. Do you ever feel you "can't keep up?" I have felt that way ever since I was in my early twenties. Now the years roll by faster and faster, and each one blurs right into the next. I can't keep up.

The wisest man on earth, Solomon, tells us, no matter how many toys we collect, no matter how high up the ladder of success we crawl, no matter how much fame and fortune we amass, still,
"time and chance happen to them all." Kind of equalizes all of our playing fields, from the richest CEO to the poorest child lying in a refugee camp somewhere. We can't outwit the passing of time, or the day God has appointed for us to leave this earth.

And so, halfway through this year, I think to myself, am I going where I want to be going in this year 2014? What matters to me the most? I believe there is more waiting beyond this life. One day, which will seem like the blinking of an eye, I will stand in front of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and give account for the time He gave me here on earth.

If you ask my family, they will tell you I have a weakness for collecting books. It is evidenced in every room of my home. Yet, when I get right down to it, when am I finally going to have the time to sit down and read every one of them? Is this what I need to do, right here, right now, in light of the times? And so, I am slowly parting with some of them.

Eureka! I cannot do it all, I know that to be true. I am not the woman who can "bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan..." as the old perfume commercial goes. No, I am just me, with my many limitations. But I have the gift of this day, and how I choose to spend it is up to me.
I want to choose that one thing that is necessary, as all the distractions clamor for my attention:

"...one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil.3:12-13

A Remembrance of the Passing of Time

"I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread." Psalm 37:25

While shopping for groceries today, I recognized a familiar face. I couldn't recall just where I saw her before. I thought for a little bit and then realized, it was the face of a woman who cashiered at our local Foodland,gone for at least 15 years now. I thought I might say something to her, but then thought better of it, thinking she would think I was crazy if I told her I remembered her from there. But on the next aisle, she told me that my face looked familiar. And so we had a pleasant chat. She still wore the same hairstyle, only time had worn her face, and I am sure mine looked aged to her as well.

When I shopped there, it was a totally different stage of my life: the stage of being a young mother with three hungry mouths to feed. There was healthy competition in our shopping district because we had two grocery stores separated by a discount store in between. I hunted out the bargains in each place for the best value for my growing family. The woman always worked hard at the store, I remembered asking her for rainchecks on items that sold out. She always wore a pleasant smile. Now, that store has twice been replaced, and soon will be vacant once again. Nothing comes to stay.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

Time... you see people and then you don't see them. We are mere shadows walking the face of this planet. I am ashamed to say I used to get inwardly annoyed with a man who took forever to get across the street with his cane. He and his wife always walked about the neighborhood together. Now, I only see her.

Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them. Psalm 39: 6

My father mowed a graveyard as a young man, way out in the middle of an Iowa cornfield, a version of a known epitapah appeared on one of the graves. As a young girl, I went down to visit that graveyard, entranced by the message on the old gravestone. My father, now an old man, can still recite the verse on the stone:

Remember this, as you pass by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you will be
Prepare for death and follow me.

Sobering thought for a child but now it has great impact as the years fly by. I "am" now, but my days are fleeting upon this earth. I need not get caught up in the cares and anxieties of this life, for it is just a fleeing shadow, real life begins where God is, not here on this planet. Although, right now, I have His eternal life by His grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As I face perplexing trials, I need not worry about tomorrow. I do not know where I will be tomorrow, but I can trust that my Father above will always be faithful no matter what I am going through.

"Behold, blessed is the one who God reproves; therefore despise not the the discipline of the Almighty, For He wounds, but He binds up; He shatters, but His hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes." Job 5:17-20

Remembering Those in Prison ...

"Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill treated, since you yourselves are also in the body." Hebrews 13:3

I read this verse today in my time with the Lord. How appropriate, for there are a countless number of brothers and sisters behind bars because they name the name of Jesus. Just how can I remember them?

Looking up the word "remember" in the Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org) it is from the Greek word #3415 mimnēskomai, and here are the meanings:
to remind
to be recalled or to return to one's mind, to remind one's self of, to remember
to be recalled to mind, to be remembered, had in remembrance
to remember a thing
be mindful of

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3403&t=NASB

Thinking about those who are in prison for their faith is not a pleasant thing to think about, at least from my worldly standpoint. Who wants to consider that there are those who are enduring beatings and torture for the name of Jesus? But Jesus had another viewpoint about those who suffer, totally different than the worldly way I naturally see it.

In the Beatitudes recorded in Matthew's gospel, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5: 10-12)

Now that is not the natural way of looking at persecution. If you go to the Voice of the Martyrs website, (persecution.com) you can read about increasing amounts of persecution growing around the world as the love of men grows cold. It is not something that is comfortable to do, but it is reality for thousands and thousands of people across this planet.

One of the most simple ways to "remember the prisoners" is to lift them up in prayer to the Lord. I spoke with a representative from Voice of the Martyrs, and she told me that this is their number one request. Prayer is our one offensive weapon to use against the kingdom of darkness. We can pray not only that the prisoners will have food to eat but that the Holy Spirit would recall to their minds spiritual food as well. We can ask for God to surround them with His peace, even for His angels to minister to them. There are so many ways we can pray for the prisoners. I think one of the best ways is to find appropriate Scriptures and pray them to God, because He ultimately honors His Word.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

We may not be able to physically go to their prisons to visit them that are in bonds, but we can visit them by communing with God in prayer for them. These are members of our very own Body!

Romans 12:5: "so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." and also I Cor. 12:12 "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ."

It is hard to understand why this amount of suffering is going on, and why so many are being martyred at this time. But we must trust that the Lord is in control of all things, and know that if we pray for the persecuted, it is as we are doing it unto the Lord.

Matthew 25: 34-40
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Proclaim Forth His Victory

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

I read in Revelation 11:15 today: "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever."

If God is dwelling in eternity future already, He sees this verse as a done deal. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ already. We are just waiting to see the outward fulfillment of this in time.

Therefore, we can have boldness as we approach the Throne of grace in prayer. We can come to God proclaiming forth His victory over principalities and powers, and the enemy. We don't just have to give him a laundry list of what we want Him to do for us, but praise Him for what is already done.

One of the greatest things I like to thank Him for is wiping out all the transgressions I have committed, that proclaimed me guilty as charged. Colossians 2:13-15 declares:

"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."

The confession part is for my sake, for He has, according to this verse, forgiven all my sins already. The confession is for relieving my guilty conscience. He hasn't just forgiven mine, but those of the whole world! The only thing that stands between an unbeliever and God is their refusal to believe. But their sin, it has already been paid for. I John 2:2 says:

"And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

The victory is accomplished! I can praise God for what He has done, knowing it is perfect and complete, and according to the Word, I am also complete in Him.

Colossians 2:9-10 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."

When we face problems, we can approach them with confidence, knowing that Jesus won that day on the cross 2,000 years ago.

John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And he bowed His head, and gave up His spirit."

The word for finished is #5055 in the Greek Lexicon, teleo. It means: end, goal. To make an end or accomplishment, to complete anything, not merely to end it, but bring it to perfection or its destined goal, to carry it through. (definition from Lexical Aids to the New Testament compiled by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D)

Isn't that great news? When we approach God with our problems, first we can thank Him for the great victory He has wrought through His Son, Jesus Christ. This victory can never be taken away from us.We always have hope as a believer, no matter how great our problems. When we start our prayer with this thought, somehow it takes our mind off the smallness of our problem and onto the greatness of God.

Psalm 111:1-2

"Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.

Great are the works of the LORD;
They are studied by all who delight in Him."


Let us delight in Him today. Amen.