Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Let's all pray for this Brother in captivity today.
Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, has been imprisoned in Iran for over a year for the crime of being a Christian. more: http://beheardproject.com/saeed
In recent negotiations with the government of Iran over their nuclear program, his plight was left unresolved by our administration.
We cannot, we will not, let this stand.
As members of the Body of Christ, when one member suffers we all suffer. Our brother is suffering…and we must enter into that suffering along with him and his family to seek God’s power to free him.
We ask all people of all faiths to join us in calling for an end to this injustice.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO
I propose the single loudest outpouring of support via social media to free Saeed in recent memory and perhaps in the history of the church.
On WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4, every Christian with a platform, great or small, will feature Saeed on it with the demand that our government use it’s God given power for good to secure his release.
If you have a Facebook page, you have a platform.
If you have a Twitter account, you have a platform.
If you have a Blog, you have a platform.
If you have an Instagram account...you get the idea!
Use the hashtag: #freesaeed and/or #savesaeed on all your platforms.
Our scattered voices can be ignored, but if we can come together across denominational and political lines as one voice the church may break prison chains once again.
We need every single Christian to spread the word to friends, family and any media outlets.
Pastors, feature this on your websites and blogs.
Bloggers, we need it on your front page.
Brothers & sisters, we need your Facebook status & even your profile pic.
We welcome any ideas to further this cause and we encourage your participation and promotion.
This is an historical moment for the church to come together for something that’s close to God’s heart - human life and dignity.
Please feel free to copy this content or modify this content, and post it as your own on your own media!
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WHAT #freesaeed / #savesaeed IS ALL ABOUT -- THE MISSION
1. AGREEMENT: There’s much we all disagree on, but over this issue we'll unite our voices to demonstrate agreement & use the hashtag #freesaeed and/or #savesaeed on Dec. 4th
2. AWARENESS: We want our governing officials to know, though Saeed Abedini may not be of interest to them he is to “us” (see #1) and therefore as elected officials working “for the people" we want it to be their priority too.
Also, because President Hassan Rouhani حسن روحانی has both FB & Twitter accounts, we want him to be aware that Saeed is not forgotten nor insignificant, and we want his immediate release.
3. PRAYER: This is an opportunity to pray for our imprisoned brother. God moves through the prayers of his redeemed people (Acts 16:25-26).
None of the above is a magic formula. Assuming by adding more voices to beg/plead with God as if he needs convincing because of his stubborn unwillingness to bless, is nothing short of paganism & grossly misrepresents the God of the bible. This God, is a Father who lovingly gave this broken/sinful world his greatest treasure (John 3:16), not because they were asking, but because he is Good.
So, motivated by loving trust in Him, may we in agreement humbly/boldly pray (Heb 4:16). Perhaps, He who delights in blessing, feeding hungry mouths & setting captives free, may once again move to open prison doors by moving the hearts of leaders.
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. - Proverbs 21:1
- - - - - - - - - -
LINKS:
Current Info:
http://beheardproject.com/saeed
https://aclj.org/Tags/Saeed
Tweet President Hassan Rouhani حسن روحانی
@HassanRouhani
Contact your Senator (U.S. Senate: Senators Home)
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Contact the House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/
Much of the above content was adapted from this blog: http://bit.ly/IqAWNx
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Final Warning
It has been 14 months since my last post and there has been much change since that time. The reasons for my absence are many and varied and I will not delve into them.
As I stated in my title this is my final warning unless God says otherwise because no one seems to be listening or paying attention anyway but I feel I must make a last appeal in hopes that a few will have eyes to see and ears to hear.
We are on the verge of Jacob's Trouble as the Bible proclaims or otherwise known as the Great Tribulation that lasts for 7 years. I thought as we got closer to that period of time that people would become more aware of what is happening but it seems just the opposite is taking place. There seems to be a kind of blindness that has overtaken many so they are not aware that the wolf is at their very door.
The Bible proclaims that this period of time will be the worst time of trouble the world has ever seen. If you had lived during the time of the Jewish Pograms or the Armenian Exodus or the Holocast then one would wonder how much worse it could get but the Bible is always right so you can expect worse. It speaks of a time when a person is fleeing from a lion and meets a bear face to face or if he makes it home and goes into his house for safety and leans his arm against the wall that a viper will bit him.
That clearly reveals a time and condition where there's no place to hide.
The only safe place is to be found in the Secret Place of the Most High God where He will cover you with His wings. Ps91:1
There's also a time coming when it will be too late to make that decision. The Scripture says "My Spirit will not always strive with man". I do not know how many times you can reject the urging of the Lord to make a decision for Him but there's clearly a limit. Some of you out there are holding back because of someone else. Perhaps your spouse is not willing. Should not matter for how do you know if your decision and the resultant change will not affect him or her. The Scripture speaks of this, asking the question "how do you know if your righteous manner of life may save that unbelieving spouse?"
Now many out there who have not made a decision for Christ may think that it's all about going to Church but I can promise you that going to Church will not make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage will make you a car.
Some have their eyes open to what is happening in this country but their trust is in what they have accumulated. They think that no matter what happens they will have whatever they need to see them through. The Scripture tells of a king that had amassed a fortune and one evening he was standing on his balcony observing it all and said to himself "look at all I have acquired I can now take my leasure and enjoy the remainder of my days in prosperity and making merry" At that very moment the Lord said "this night your life will be taken from you" and indeed he died that very night.
There is no security in wealth when what the elite have planned for us comes to pass.
The Bible even declares that silver and gold will not do us any good.
The Bible states that God knows those whom are His and knows how to shield them from harm. My concern is that many people will wait too long before making a decision and will not have conducted enough business with God to have an ounce of faith. Life giving and life saving faith does not come overnight. A simple example, you may ask someone if they know of a good upholsterer and they will tell you go see John Martin. So on their recommendation you come to me to get a job done. Now this job is very important and takes special skills and I want a lot of money to do that job. You may be hesitant to hire me for the job because you really don't know me or the level of my skills, you only heard about me from someone else. However, If you are a repeat customer and I have done several jobs for you and you found my work to be the best then it could be said that you have faith in me to deliver what I promise. God is like that, until you stop listening to other people and come to Him for yourself you will never know if what others are saying is really true. The Bible says "he that would come to God must be believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him". At some point you have to get off that fence and surrender and you will discover what an amazing experience you have been missing.
The important thing to consider here is that it takes time to develop a deep trusting relationship and the longer you put it off the greater the chances are that you will not make the decision at all or if you do that you will not have made it soon enough to allow you time to build the kind of trust that will take you through the difficult times and rest assured that the difficult times are right around the corner.
It is said that God is a God of love and that is very true and if it is true then why would He permit things to get so difficult? The answer is very simple, He has a goal in mind and that is to have a people who are filled with His Spirit and are faithful to the end and He will use them throughout eternity in His kingdom. Very few have a lot of patience and the wait will reveal those that are really His. We become solidly grounded and rooted in Him as we dedicate ourselves to His word, His ways and to prayer. As I said before, Church going will not make you a Christian, it is all the days and hours in between. Church was God's plan to make you not feel that you are alone. Unfortunatly it seems to have become something else.
Many people view Christianity from the standpoint of keeping a set of rules, otherwise known as the law. Unfortunatly that does not change us, we simply are externally keeping rules that may make us appear righteous but we remain unchange inside where it counts. Now if you are Born Again through the blood of Jesus and surrender yourself fully to Him then He puts His nature within you and your old nature takes a back seat. What happens then is a litteral change in your value system and your desires change and it becomes second nature to do those things which are pleasing to God. The diffence is that you will not become prideful because you will be utterly amazed at what has happened and know that it was not you but a supernatural work of the Spirit of God. There's a dramatic difference between one who is Born Again and one who has got religion. One is a work of the flesh and the other is a work of the Spirit.
If the law has no value then why did God impose it upon the Jews for 1500 years before the appearance of Christ? He gave them the law and allowed them to stumble along for that long to show them that no one through the deeds of the flesh could ever please God. Then by sending Jesus mankind could enter into the rest of God and cease from his own labors and rejoice in the goodness of God that He wanted for us all along. To take it a bit further let me explain something about sin. Sin disrupts God's perfect order. Take some time and consider the way the universe works. Everything is perfect in it's order and timing. Change the timing of the sun or moon or the orbit of the planet and chaos takes place. In the perfect order that the body functions, if something gets out of order then sickness takes place. Sin did the same thing in God's kingdom and the result was death. Man was created in God's image and God is said in scripture to be 3 in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We as humans were also created 3 in one, body which is your pysical flesh, soul which is your mind, will and emotions, these we are very aware of, then the third part is our spirit. We are not aware of our spirit because in effect it is dead. When God said to Adam and Eve, "do not eat of this tree which is in the center of the garden for if you do you shall surely die". What He meant was that their spirit would die and it is our spirit that allows us to know God and have fellowship with Him. Adam and Eve were in the garden and were naked and thought nothing of it and had no shame but when they disobeyed the command of God, instantly they were aware of their nakedness and were ashamed and hid themselves and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. God came looking for them knowing what they had done. Sin always have consequences and always requires the sheding of blood. You may ask why that is so if God is sovereighn and I cannot tell you, it is simply the way He designed the universe and any time something disrupts that perfection there is consequence. So that day God Himself killed an animal and made the skin of that animal as a covering for their bodies as well as a covering for their sin. Then for nearly 4000 years it continued in this manner that whenever someone sinned it required that an animal be slain and it had to be an animal that was perfect in every way or it could not be accepted. Then as the Scripture says "in the fullness of time God sent His only Son to earth to die as the perfect sacrifice that no longer would it be necessary to kill an animal everytime someone sinned.
You see it was a one for one exchange. Adam sinned and because of that sin the curse came on every human born from then on. But when Christ died He was perfect and because of His perfection and spilled blood, deliverance from the curse of sin came upon the whole world. The only thing is that though it is there for everyone there is a requirement and that be that each person must decide for himself if he wants it or not and since Christ in His humilty laid down His own will and chose the Fathers will we are required to do the same. It is not enough to say I believe, there must be a decision to lay down your self life and take up His purposes instead. It is an amazing trade off because He is an amazing God but you will never know unless you get off the fence and decide to follow Him. So when you make that decision that includes a complete surrender you spirit is revived and comes to life and that is why you are said to be Born Again for indeed that part of you that has ability to have fellowship with God has come to life.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Culture War
Whether we like it or not the culture war has begun in earnest. Up until now it has been more of a "cold war" but has now broken out into open hostility. I am speaking of course about the current controversy over the comments of Chick fil A CEO concerning gay marriage. This is just the tip of a huge iceberg that has been with us for a long time but has now come to the forefront and will test the very foundation of your relationship with Jesus Christ.
As I watched people lining up to support Chick fil A by purchasing meals my heart was warmed but at the same time I wondered how many of these same people are being hypocrites by standing in line at Starbucks for their caffeine fix when Starbucks is on the other side of the same issue. You can't have it both ways. Our stand for Christ can not be two sided. Just because some brave soul takes a stand against evil we jump in to defend them but when evil goes on in our favorite establishment we ignore it saying we can do nothing about it anyway. I'm not saying that we should go out and begin to demonstrate against Starbucks or any other establishment that supports ideas or morals that we don't agree with because we would quite possibly run out of places to purchase anything that we need. My point is that we can't have it both ways and now that hostility is out in the open the true Christian had better get his act together and decide which side he is really going to be on and get his relationship with Christ on a firm footing because soon there will be no choices left. You will either take the devils mark or go without the ability to purchase food or anything else nor will you be able so sell anything. Will your faith stand up under that kind of pressure? Will you be able to wait on Him to bring food to your table by miraculous means or will you cave in when your wife or child begins to complain about their hunger?
What has for so long been a future scenario is now a present reality. What is presently demonstrations will soon be violent uprisings. There is a very short distance between the kind of disagreement that we now see and outright hatred that will result in destruction and death. While the government may make feeble attempts to quell it they will have little affect because they really do not want to stop it for it plays right into their grand plan. This all leads to what I really want to talk about here and that is our foundation.
We often talk about Christ as our foundation and our rock and Jesus said that if we were founded on Him as the Rock then the storms could come and we would stand but if we were founded on the shifting sand of society that the storms of life would cause a collapse.
Now is the time to decide whether you value your relationship with Him more than any worldly thing including that daily coffee fix or the trip to your favorite retailer or your bank account or even your life.
The first question to ask yourself is "Am I truly Born Again"? In order for you to be able to answer that question I am going to attempt to define what that really means because everything depends upon it.
Jesus said "you must be born again". This is nothing to do with being a faithful attender of a local church nor of giving of your finances in tithing though that may be part of the result of being "born again".
First of all I believe that no one can understand what it is to be "born again" unless they have experienced it. Even if you have experienced it you cannot really explain it because it is spiritually discerned. Just as the Bible is foolishness to the unbeliever because it is spiritually discerned. In other words unless the Spirit of God dwells in you, you cannot know what I am talking about and must come up with some other means to describe the religious experience.
Man will never be changed by obeying a set of rules. Witness our present world. We have so many laws that no one even knows them all and yet we become more lawless everyday. Something has to change a man on the inside. No human in the flesh or natural state is even worthy of the name Christian. I don't care how moral you are, if Christ does not live in you then you are eternally lost for Christ said that all our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Christ was and is the only perfect person to walk this earth but through the New Birth He puts into man His own disposition or nature which is absolutely perfect, displacing our old adamic sinful, hateful, selfish nature. This is accomplished in the most simple but mysterious way and that is by your total surrender. It is so very simple but for most it is very difficult because it means the willingness to give up everything in order to receive something that is promised but not experienced yet so there are many questions that will not be resolved until you take that big leap of faith. Personally I cannot imagine jumping out of an airplane at 20,000 feet with a parachute on my back that was packed by someone I never met but that is about what it is like, you just don't know if it is going to open until you try it. Secondly there is no half hearted way to try sky diving is there, it is all or nothing. Well there's not really a way to just try Jesus either, it' all or nothing because He doesn't respond to half hearted efforts. He may stand at the door of the aircraft and try to encourage you to take that leap but in the end you must jump out in order to find that He is there to catch you.
Once you do take that daring leap you will discover what was unseen and a relationship will begin that must grow. If you will work to maintain that relationship then His very perfection will become yours. You may argue that point with me by saying "no man can be perfect" but you are thinking in human terms and God does not think as a human. According to the Bible the word perfection means "complete or mature" and I will leave it at that. I will let God be the judge. I just want to be considered complete in His eyes.
The term surrender is a very important one and needs to be fully understood because it is key in your relationship with Him. To surrender is to give up all power and defences and all decision making and handing it over to an occupying force. Consider Germany and Japan at the end of the war. They not only turned over their defencive weapons but complete control of their country and peoples to the occupying forces. I'm sure that it was difficult and even humiliating for them but it turned out for their best because the occupying force was truly benevolent and set out to rebuild them. Consider them today. This is actually a poor comparison because one is natural and the Other is spiritual and the most benevolent being in the universe but I think you can get the point anyway. He won't do all the good He and only He can do for you unless you will dump yourself squarely down in His hands and say just take over. While this may sound like you just giving up doing anything that is not really the case. As time goes on and He is training you in His ways then more and more the decisions you make will be good decisions because you are learning how to hear His still small voice. It is not as though that you have to pray and ask about everything you do but as you walk hand in hand with Him your common sense decisions will be in line with His perfect will and your confidence in His ability to direct you will increase with each passing day.
Just don't ignore that check in your spirit when you hear it because that is His voice and ignoring it could lead to much sorrow.
How do you know if it's working? Life should be getting better. The Apostle John wrote these words;
3 John 1:2
New King James Version (NKJV)2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Early in my Christian walk I often thought scriptures like this were just kind thoughts from loving people to people they cared about but now I know that they are divine truths. The very words of God intended to give us a message and that being, "as your relationship with me grows then I can bless you with good health and bless you with finances because I know I can trust you to do the right things with it. I love you and I will prove it but you must prove that you really love me first. Not all at once, after all love grows with time when nurtured." What are you spending your time on?
God bless you all,
john
As I watched people lining up to support Chick fil A by purchasing meals my heart was warmed but at the same time I wondered how many of these same people are being hypocrites by standing in line at Starbucks for their caffeine fix when Starbucks is on the other side of the same issue. You can't have it both ways. Our stand for Christ can not be two sided. Just because some brave soul takes a stand against evil we jump in to defend them but when evil goes on in our favorite establishment we ignore it saying we can do nothing about it anyway. I'm not saying that we should go out and begin to demonstrate against Starbucks or any other establishment that supports ideas or morals that we don't agree with because we would quite possibly run out of places to purchase anything that we need. My point is that we can't have it both ways and now that hostility is out in the open the true Christian had better get his act together and decide which side he is really going to be on and get his relationship with Christ on a firm footing because soon there will be no choices left. You will either take the devils mark or go without the ability to purchase food or anything else nor will you be able so sell anything. Will your faith stand up under that kind of pressure? Will you be able to wait on Him to bring food to your table by miraculous means or will you cave in when your wife or child begins to complain about their hunger?
What has for so long been a future scenario is now a present reality. What is presently demonstrations will soon be violent uprisings. There is a very short distance between the kind of disagreement that we now see and outright hatred that will result in destruction and death. While the government may make feeble attempts to quell it they will have little affect because they really do not want to stop it for it plays right into their grand plan. This all leads to what I really want to talk about here and that is our foundation.
We often talk about Christ as our foundation and our rock and Jesus said that if we were founded on Him as the Rock then the storms could come and we would stand but if we were founded on the shifting sand of society that the storms of life would cause a collapse.
Now is the time to decide whether you value your relationship with Him more than any worldly thing including that daily coffee fix or the trip to your favorite retailer or your bank account or even your life.
The first question to ask yourself is "Am I truly Born Again"? In order for you to be able to answer that question I am going to attempt to define what that really means because everything depends upon it.
Jesus said "you must be born again". This is nothing to do with being a faithful attender of a local church nor of giving of your finances in tithing though that may be part of the result of being "born again".
First of all I believe that no one can understand what it is to be "born again" unless they have experienced it. Even if you have experienced it you cannot really explain it because it is spiritually discerned. Just as the Bible is foolishness to the unbeliever because it is spiritually discerned. In other words unless the Spirit of God dwells in you, you cannot know what I am talking about and must come up with some other means to describe the religious experience.
Man will never be changed by obeying a set of rules. Witness our present world. We have so many laws that no one even knows them all and yet we become more lawless everyday. Something has to change a man on the inside. No human in the flesh or natural state is even worthy of the name Christian. I don't care how moral you are, if Christ does not live in you then you are eternally lost for Christ said that all our righteousness is as filthy rags.
Christ was and is the only perfect person to walk this earth but through the New Birth He puts into man His own disposition or nature which is absolutely perfect, displacing our old adamic sinful, hateful, selfish nature. This is accomplished in the most simple but mysterious way and that is by your total surrender. It is so very simple but for most it is very difficult because it means the willingness to give up everything in order to receive something that is promised but not experienced yet so there are many questions that will not be resolved until you take that big leap of faith. Personally I cannot imagine jumping out of an airplane at 20,000 feet with a parachute on my back that was packed by someone I never met but that is about what it is like, you just don't know if it is going to open until you try it. Secondly there is no half hearted way to try sky diving is there, it is all or nothing. Well there's not really a way to just try Jesus either, it' all or nothing because He doesn't respond to half hearted efforts. He may stand at the door of the aircraft and try to encourage you to take that leap but in the end you must jump out in order to find that He is there to catch you.
Once you do take that daring leap you will discover what was unseen and a relationship will begin that must grow. If you will work to maintain that relationship then His very perfection will become yours. You may argue that point with me by saying "no man can be perfect" but you are thinking in human terms and God does not think as a human. According to the Bible the word perfection means "complete or mature" and I will leave it at that. I will let God be the judge. I just want to be considered complete in His eyes.
The term surrender is a very important one and needs to be fully understood because it is key in your relationship with Him. To surrender is to give up all power and defences and all decision making and handing it over to an occupying force. Consider Germany and Japan at the end of the war. They not only turned over their defencive weapons but complete control of their country and peoples to the occupying forces. I'm sure that it was difficult and even humiliating for them but it turned out for their best because the occupying force was truly benevolent and set out to rebuild them. Consider them today. This is actually a poor comparison because one is natural and the Other is spiritual and the most benevolent being in the universe but I think you can get the point anyway. He won't do all the good He and only He can do for you unless you will dump yourself squarely down in His hands and say just take over. While this may sound like you just giving up doing anything that is not really the case. As time goes on and He is training you in His ways then more and more the decisions you make will be good decisions because you are learning how to hear His still small voice. It is not as though that you have to pray and ask about everything you do but as you walk hand in hand with Him your common sense decisions will be in line with His perfect will and your confidence in His ability to direct you will increase with each passing day.
Just don't ignore that check in your spirit when you hear it because that is His voice and ignoring it could lead to much sorrow.
How do you know if it's working? Life should be getting better. The Apostle John wrote these words;
3 John 1:2
New King James Version (NKJV)2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Early in my Christian walk I often thought scriptures like this were just kind thoughts from loving people to people they cared about but now I know that they are divine truths. The very words of God intended to give us a message and that being, "as your relationship with me grows then I can bless you with good health and bless you with finances because I know I can trust you to do the right things with it. I love you and I will prove it but you must prove that you really love me first. Not all at once, after all love grows with time when nurtured." What are you spending your time on?
God bless you all,
john
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Changing Times and Seasons
I have just gone through more than 30 days without a single word to write. As I have said before I do not write just to be writing nor do I write to comment on others opinions. I write when something is given to me and that comes in such a variety of ways that I am nearly always surprised by it. Such was the case last night.
I was taking a shower and pondering all that is going on in the world and in particular all of the satanic symbolism that is being overtly displayed surrounding the upcoming Olympic Games in London. I have forwarded articles to you folks out there that have been written by a fellow Christian that looks a lot like yours truly. His articles are very well done and well researched and if you chose to believe them, very telling of where we are in God's timeline. Here is his latest article concerning the Olympic Games and Babylon Rising. http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/babylon-rising-part-seven-ringing-in.html
Anyway as I was pondering these things a thought occurred to me that has never entered my mind before. These days there is much talk about the Mayan calender and the fact that it does not go beyond December 21,2012. I have paid very little attention to this before because how can a Christian who trusts in God take his signals from a band of savages who used human sacrifice to appease their gods? Also I could not take the idea seriously that it could be the end of the world because there is just too much foretold in the book of Revelation that has not yet come to pass. Now here's the thought that came to me;
Just a little over two thousand years ago the Messiah came to earth and the times and seasons were changed. Prior the Christ is referred to as B.C. and subsequent to Christ is referred to as A.D.
Presently the world is in a state of chaos and is getting worse by the day and everyone is looking for someone to come along and save the day. Could 2012 and what the Mayans were seeing be the changing of times and seasons? Could this be the time of the appearance of the false Messiah?
Perhaps what the Mayans were seeing was the end of the kingdom of God as we know it and the arrival of the kingdom of satan and they just didn't know what it meant. Revelation speaks of satan coming down have great wrath for he knows his time is short.
When Christ came He announced "The kingdom of God has come down to you! " and along with it came the Holy Spirit Who has remained until now. However there is this verse to consider in this day;
2 Thessalonians 2:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
Lawlessness abounds and as man continues to push God aside in pursuit of their own evil agenda the Spirit is slowly being taken away. The above scripture does not say that it will happen all at once and from what I am seeing it is a gradual removal until all trace of godliness is gone and only those with the mark of God on them will be aware of His presence.
Many among us and sadly I must say even many Christians are focused on the presidential race as to who is going to be in the White House for the next four years. I don't think it is going to make a whit of difference who is there because the way things are going the country is going to be ungovernable very soon. No man will be able to solve the problems that we are facing and that are going to get much worse. Look out there right now, it is estimated that 80% of the country is in drought conditions and we have had some of the worst wildfires in history and when I opened our local paper last night I learned for the first time that Oregon has the largest wildfire in 150 years raging in southeast Oregon. It was merely a footnote in another article. Drought, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes and other disasters are not man made and therefore there is little the government can do about it. We are teetering on the edge of economic collapse and all they can do is print more money that makes what we have worth less. Mark my words you are going to need a whole lot more green to buy anything soon and especially food. What do you think the drought and wildfires are doing to our future food supply?
I am concerned for the Christian who is looking for a rapture to whisk him away before the bad stuff really arrives because he is going to be bitterly disappointed and will be easy prey for the one who is going to offer him a solution, "just take this little mark and we will take care of everything". Wake up!! we may have but five months to make up our minds which side of the fence we are going to be on and preparation must begin now. By preparation I mean get on God's side with fervency and seek His face because the only safe place will be under the shadow of His wings with the faith of a little child.
Read Psalm 91 as if it is a promise of protection to those who are absolutely sold out to Him for that is what it is. The Psalmist foresaw this day and spoke of it in the only words that he had at his disposal.
There are some of you out there that are on the fence and you know it. You know the truth, you know that Jesus is the Christ yet you have never made Him Lord. It's time to stop procrastinating and get off the fence once and for all.
Last week a man was in my shop and we were talking about current events and you could see the fear in his eyes and hear it in his voice. I know he is a believer but not committed and I said something about it is the end times and we shouldn't be surprised by it and he said "I think you are right but it might not end for hundreds of years and I'm just trying to be optimistic for my kid's sake. Friends this is just an excuse to do nothing. As long as we can convince ourselves that it is far enough away then it is someone else's problem and not ours but I will tell you it is your problem and my problem right now unless we make it His problem by committing our ways and life totally into His hands. I urge you to do it now, delay no longer, you entire future depends on it.
God bless and keep you all,
john
john Martin
email; justjohn@eoni.com
I was taking a shower and pondering all that is going on in the world and in particular all of the satanic symbolism that is being overtly displayed surrounding the upcoming Olympic Games in London. I have forwarded articles to you folks out there that have been written by a fellow Christian that looks a lot like yours truly. His articles are very well done and well researched and if you chose to believe them, very telling of where we are in God's timeline. Here is his latest article concerning the Olympic Games and Babylon Rising. http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/babylon-rising-part-seven-ringing-in.html
Anyway as I was pondering these things a thought occurred to me that has never entered my mind before. These days there is much talk about the Mayan calender and the fact that it does not go beyond December 21,2012. I have paid very little attention to this before because how can a Christian who trusts in God take his signals from a band of savages who used human sacrifice to appease their gods? Also I could not take the idea seriously that it could be the end of the world because there is just too much foretold in the book of Revelation that has not yet come to pass. Now here's the thought that came to me;
Just a little over two thousand years ago the Messiah came to earth and the times and seasons were changed. Prior the Christ is referred to as B.C. and subsequent to Christ is referred to as A.D.
Presently the world is in a state of chaos and is getting worse by the day and everyone is looking for someone to come along and save the day. Could 2012 and what the Mayans were seeing be the changing of times and seasons? Could this be the time of the appearance of the false Messiah?
Perhaps what the Mayans were seeing was the end of the kingdom of God as we know it and the arrival of the kingdom of satan and they just didn't know what it meant. Revelation speaks of satan coming down have great wrath for he knows his time is short.
When Christ came He announced "The kingdom of God has come down to you! " and along with it came the Holy Spirit Who has remained until now. However there is this verse to consider in this day;
2 Thessalonians 2:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
Lawlessness abounds and as man continues to push God aside in pursuit of their own evil agenda the Spirit is slowly being taken away. The above scripture does not say that it will happen all at once and from what I am seeing it is a gradual removal until all trace of godliness is gone and only those with the mark of God on them will be aware of His presence.
Many among us and sadly I must say even many Christians are focused on the presidential race as to who is going to be in the White House for the next four years. I don't think it is going to make a whit of difference who is there because the way things are going the country is going to be ungovernable very soon. No man will be able to solve the problems that we are facing and that are going to get much worse. Look out there right now, it is estimated that 80% of the country is in drought conditions and we have had some of the worst wildfires in history and when I opened our local paper last night I learned for the first time that Oregon has the largest wildfire in 150 years raging in southeast Oregon. It was merely a footnote in another article. Drought, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes and other disasters are not man made and therefore there is little the government can do about it. We are teetering on the edge of economic collapse and all they can do is print more money that makes what we have worth less. Mark my words you are going to need a whole lot more green to buy anything soon and especially food. What do you think the drought and wildfires are doing to our future food supply?
I am concerned for the Christian who is looking for a rapture to whisk him away before the bad stuff really arrives because he is going to be bitterly disappointed and will be easy prey for the one who is going to offer him a solution, "just take this little mark and we will take care of everything". Wake up!! we may have but five months to make up our minds which side of the fence we are going to be on and preparation must begin now. By preparation I mean get on God's side with fervency and seek His face because the only safe place will be under the shadow of His wings with the faith of a little child.
Read Psalm 91 as if it is a promise of protection to those who are absolutely sold out to Him for that is what it is. The Psalmist foresaw this day and spoke of it in the only words that he had at his disposal.
There are some of you out there that are on the fence and you know it. You know the truth, you know that Jesus is the Christ yet you have never made Him Lord. It's time to stop procrastinating and get off the fence once and for all.
Last week a man was in my shop and we were talking about current events and you could see the fear in his eyes and hear it in his voice. I know he is a believer but not committed and I said something about it is the end times and we shouldn't be surprised by it and he said "I think you are right but it might not end for hundreds of years and I'm just trying to be optimistic for my kid's sake. Friends this is just an excuse to do nothing. As long as we can convince ourselves that it is far enough away then it is someone else's problem and not ours but I will tell you it is your problem and my problem right now unless we make it His problem by committing our ways and life totally into His hands. I urge you to do it now, delay no longer, you entire future depends on it.
God bless and keep you all,
john
john Martin
email; justjohn@eoni.com
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Perfect Love
My last article was on fear and after some reflection I felt that I needed to add a few more thoughts on the subject. No one likes fear and certainly no Christian should suffer from fear or allow it any place in their life.
Jesus said "fear not" and that is as much a commandment as "do not steal or commit adultery". Why? Because is shows a lack of faith, plain and simple. Faith is not as complex or unattainable as some would think because it is a gift and it is freely given those who diligently seek the Lord. Faith in it's simplest description is the ability to truly believe the promises of the Promisor. Usually the promise goes like this; "You do this and I will do this in return". It is nearly always a two way street. While you cannot save yourself with your efforts you can obtain eternal life through obedience and love. He has already done His part but you have a part to do to access what is already made available. I have often used the term "passionate pursuit" to describe how our relationship with Him should be and here is a scripture;
Hebrews 11:6
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Jeremiah 29:13
New King James Version (NKJV)
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Now here is a scripture that is the opposite and is the condition of many Christians today;
Matthew 15:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
Those who are in the second category are those who have fear of something unless they are too blind or arrogant to fear anything.
Much of the blame for this condition rests on the shoulders of those who are supposed to be our spiritual leaders and should be pointing out these matters. Some may tread around the edges but are afraid to speak plainly for fear of offending anyone. Better to offend I say than to do nothing to stop folks from a headlong plunge into hell or even living a life that is like hell. I have often heard it said that "He didn't promise you a rose garden" and I would argue that point. The abundant life that Jesus came to give us is better than a rose garden. It is simply that few enjoy it to it's fullest because they will not comply with the requirements. All the dark clouds are the result of outright sin or made necessary for a course correction. God will micromanage your life if you will let Him and He can do a much better job than you can because He can see everything and you cannot. Main problem is that most people don't want someone else making decisions for them even when the outcome is for their benefit or else the effort to come into that intimate relationship with Him is just too much effort.
I titled this "perfect love" and that is from this scripture;
1 John 4:18
New King James Version (NKJV)
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
God's love is always perfect but it is not complete or perfect for me until it is returned. It must be reciprocated to be complete. The word "perfect" that is used in scripture means "mature or complete" so While God's love is awesome and even beyond comprehension it is not of much benefit to me until I love Him in return and there is plenty of scripture that defines how my love should be and here's one;
Deuteronomy 6:5
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
This does not sound like the sort of love that many Christians have for Him because I set in many meetings and it is simply amazing to me how few even have a working knowledge of the Bible which is His eternal word. They not only do not know what is in it but can't even find a book or chapter. This does not sound like a heart that is on fire for Him. Nor does it sound like a soul that is seeking Him, the soul is our mind, our will and our emotions combined. To me this scripture says that I should love Him and seek Him with every faculty in me without reservation. Believe me, the benefits outweigh the costs by a huge margin. God gives incentives but we must work to discover them.
Be blessed in your efforts to renew and increase your love for Him.
john
email;justjohn@eoni.com
Jesus said "fear not" and that is as much a commandment as "do not steal or commit adultery". Why? Because is shows a lack of faith, plain and simple. Faith is not as complex or unattainable as some would think because it is a gift and it is freely given those who diligently seek the Lord. Faith in it's simplest description is the ability to truly believe the promises of the Promisor. Usually the promise goes like this; "You do this and I will do this in return". It is nearly always a two way street. While you cannot save yourself with your efforts you can obtain eternal life through obedience and love. He has already done His part but you have a part to do to access what is already made available. I have often used the term "passionate pursuit" to describe how our relationship with Him should be and here is a scripture;
Hebrews 11:6
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Jeremiah 29:13
New King James Version (NKJV)
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Now here is a scripture that is the opposite and is the condition of many Christians today;
Matthew 15:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
Those who are in the second category are those who have fear of something unless they are too blind or arrogant to fear anything.
Much of the blame for this condition rests on the shoulders of those who are supposed to be our spiritual leaders and should be pointing out these matters. Some may tread around the edges but are afraid to speak plainly for fear of offending anyone. Better to offend I say than to do nothing to stop folks from a headlong plunge into hell or even living a life that is like hell. I have often heard it said that "He didn't promise you a rose garden" and I would argue that point. The abundant life that Jesus came to give us is better than a rose garden. It is simply that few enjoy it to it's fullest because they will not comply with the requirements. All the dark clouds are the result of outright sin or made necessary for a course correction. God will micromanage your life if you will let Him and He can do a much better job than you can because He can see everything and you cannot. Main problem is that most people don't want someone else making decisions for them even when the outcome is for their benefit or else the effort to come into that intimate relationship with Him is just too much effort.
I titled this "perfect love" and that is from this scripture;
1 John 4:18
New King James Version (NKJV)
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
God's love is always perfect but it is not complete or perfect for me until it is returned. It must be reciprocated to be complete. The word "perfect" that is used in scripture means "mature or complete" so While God's love is awesome and even beyond comprehension it is not of much benefit to me until I love Him in return and there is plenty of scripture that defines how my love should be and here's one;
Deuteronomy 6:5
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
This does not sound like the sort of love that many Christians have for Him because I set in many meetings and it is simply amazing to me how few even have a working knowledge of the Bible which is His eternal word. They not only do not know what is in it but can't even find a book or chapter. This does not sound like a heart that is on fire for Him. Nor does it sound like a soul that is seeking Him, the soul is our mind, our will and our emotions combined. To me this scripture says that I should love Him and seek Him with every faculty in me without reservation. Believe me, the benefits outweigh the costs by a huge margin. God gives incentives but we must work to discover them.
Be blessed in your efforts to renew and increase your love for Him.
john
email;justjohn@eoni.com
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
FEAR
I never know what is going to be the catalyst for another article. Sometimes everyday events serve to direct my thoughts in a certain direction and this is one of those times.
I was having lunch at the Senior Center about 10 days ago and was sharing a table with several others. One of those present who was setting right next to me was well known by me for more than 30 years and is probably one of the dearest Christians that I know. Good works galore and full of scriptural knowledge. In our conversation this person was telling me some of their activities and mentioned taking someone to a home for Alzheimer's patients. I commented that was sad and that it seems that Alzheimer's was increasing in frequency and this persons response was "Yes and it is my greatest fear". I was surprised at that response and said so because this should not be the case for a true Christian. I quoted this verse;
2 Timothy 1:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind
Then I said do you really think the loving God that you have served faithfully for so many years will reward that service with such an end? I said a few other things that I will not repeat but the person said "I never thought of that and now I feel better".
I thought that was the end of it but ever since then I have been bombarded with thoughts concerning fear and what may imply for the Christian. Some articles are born fully developed and others grow slowly and it take a while before I see it is something I should write.
First of all I believe fear is a symptom of something worse going on in the life just as pain is a symptom rather than the actual problem. We can take a pain killer for the pain but we haven't done anything to solve the underlying problem and so it is with fear. We can ignore it or we can even try to do something to ward off the thing we are afraid of but we still haven't done anything to remedy the cause of the fear.
A Christian should fear only one thing and that is God and that should be a fear that is mingled with deep reverence. The kind of fear that I'm talking about is that which a child has for a good father. A father that the child loves very much because the father is very loving and kind and does lots of fun things with the child but when the child steps out of line and needs correction the father does not hesitate to lower the hammer and the punishment fits the crime. When I was a kid I definitely did not want to incur my fathers wrath and though I did sometimes, it was something I did not want to repeat. There is no one so kind and loving as our heavenly Father but we can never ignore His judgement that is rendered out of love and desire for us to reach our ultimate potential and of course that is the very likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. As long as our progress is in that direction there is no need for fear but should it stop or begin to drift in the other direction then there is plenty of cause for fear.
I believe fear for a Christian has it's root in complacency. This person I was having a conversation with was the most fervent on fire Christian that I had ever known but in the course of our conversation I learned that it was no longer the case. Much of the fire seemed to have gone out and there was a coolness set in that was very easy to detect. Though I don't see this person very often because they live in another community, our conversation had always been very animated and heartwarming because of the similarity of our passion for the things of God. I commented that it is quite puzzling that in the day that we see that the end of all things is at hand that few if any are heeding the admonition of Hebrews 10:25
King James Version (KJV)
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Instead of getting together more often most churches are now down to one hour on Sunday morning only with no midweek or Sunday evening service. This person said "oh our church has a midweek service but we don't hardly ever go.
Friends this is complacency and complacency is another term for lukewarmness and lukewarmness is one of the most dangerous places to be. If we have ever been in a state of fervent love and devotion for the Lord that condition should only be increasing, not decreasing. There is no end or point of arrival where we can say I have now arrived and can just kick back and take my ease. Here's the warning from scripture;
Revelation 2:4
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Revelation 3:14-16
New King James Version (NKJV)
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[a] write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[b] I will vomit you out of My mouth.
If you have never been hot for the Lord there's still time but if you have been and are not now you probably are experiencing some fear about something and you need to realize that God is calling you back before it is too late. A lifetime of devotion will not prevent being spewed out of His mouth if you have become lukewarm and do nothing about it. One does not need to fall into gross sin to be rejected by God.
There is much more that I could write on this subject but I will stop here and hope and pray that this is sufficient to get the attention of those who need to consider their present state with Him.
Many blessings
john
email; justjohn@eoni.com
I was having lunch at the Senior Center about 10 days ago and was sharing a table with several others. One of those present who was setting right next to me was well known by me for more than 30 years and is probably one of the dearest Christians that I know. Good works galore and full of scriptural knowledge. In our conversation this person was telling me some of their activities and mentioned taking someone to a home for Alzheimer's patients. I commented that was sad and that it seems that Alzheimer's was increasing in frequency and this persons response was "Yes and it is my greatest fear". I was surprised at that response and said so because this should not be the case for a true Christian. I quoted this verse;
2 Timothy 1:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind
Then I said do you really think the loving God that you have served faithfully for so many years will reward that service with such an end? I said a few other things that I will not repeat but the person said "I never thought of that and now I feel better".
I thought that was the end of it but ever since then I have been bombarded with thoughts concerning fear and what may imply for the Christian. Some articles are born fully developed and others grow slowly and it take a while before I see it is something I should write.
First of all I believe fear is a symptom of something worse going on in the life just as pain is a symptom rather than the actual problem. We can take a pain killer for the pain but we haven't done anything to solve the underlying problem and so it is with fear. We can ignore it or we can even try to do something to ward off the thing we are afraid of but we still haven't done anything to remedy the cause of the fear.
A Christian should fear only one thing and that is God and that should be a fear that is mingled with deep reverence. The kind of fear that I'm talking about is that which a child has for a good father. A father that the child loves very much because the father is very loving and kind and does lots of fun things with the child but when the child steps out of line and needs correction the father does not hesitate to lower the hammer and the punishment fits the crime. When I was a kid I definitely did not want to incur my fathers wrath and though I did sometimes, it was something I did not want to repeat. There is no one so kind and loving as our heavenly Father but we can never ignore His judgement that is rendered out of love and desire for us to reach our ultimate potential and of course that is the very likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. As long as our progress is in that direction there is no need for fear but should it stop or begin to drift in the other direction then there is plenty of cause for fear.
I believe fear for a Christian has it's root in complacency. This person I was having a conversation with was the most fervent on fire Christian that I had ever known but in the course of our conversation I learned that it was no longer the case. Much of the fire seemed to have gone out and there was a coolness set in that was very easy to detect. Though I don't see this person very often because they live in another community, our conversation had always been very animated and heartwarming because of the similarity of our passion for the things of God. I commented that it is quite puzzling that in the day that we see that the end of all things is at hand that few if any are heeding the admonition of Hebrews 10:25
King James Version (KJV)
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Instead of getting together more often most churches are now down to one hour on Sunday morning only with no midweek or Sunday evening service. This person said "oh our church has a midweek service but we don't hardly ever go.
Friends this is complacency and complacency is another term for lukewarmness and lukewarmness is one of the most dangerous places to be. If we have ever been in a state of fervent love and devotion for the Lord that condition should only be increasing, not decreasing. There is no end or point of arrival where we can say I have now arrived and can just kick back and take my ease. Here's the warning from scripture;
Revelation 2:4
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Revelation 3:14-16
New King James Version (NKJV)
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[a] write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[b] I will vomit you out of My mouth.
If you have never been hot for the Lord there's still time but if you have been and are not now you probably are experiencing some fear about something and you need to realize that God is calling you back before it is too late. A lifetime of devotion will not prevent being spewed out of His mouth if you have become lukewarm and do nothing about it. One does not need to fall into gross sin to be rejected by God.
There is much more that I could write on this subject but I will stop here and hope and pray that this is sufficient to get the attention of those who need to consider their present state with Him.
Many blessings
john
email; justjohn@eoni.com
Friday, June 1, 2012
An Evening Prayer in Remembrance of the Lord's Prayer
Our gracious heavenly Father, you have shown us Your holiness by sending Your Son Who in turn has come to reside in our hearts. Praise be to His Name that is above all names in heaven or in earth.
Through Him Your kingdom has come and established itself in the lives of those who choose You.
Through the strength and guidance that He provides Your will has been done according to the best of our ability through the love that is shed abroad in our hearts by Your Holy Spirit.
Today was a good day, I pray that tomorrow will be an even better day and fill your heart with joy.
You have kept your promise to supply our daily bread and I am confident that you will do so tomorrow as well. I am most grateful that my problem is the need to work at keeping the pounds off rather than the struggle to find enough to eat to add a few pounds.
Thank you for the forgiveness that you have so freely extended to me that has made me feel so free and filled with peace. It has humbled me because I know what I am inside that nobody else knows. It has changed my heart and given me the ability to forgive those who so thoughtlessly hurt me. Oh by the way, you know Harold my co-worker down at the mill? Well today he was telling me about all the trouble he has at home with his wife being sick and his kids making trouble at school and the car broke down. Well I was telling him about all the awesome things that you have done for me and the peace that you have given me, after listening to me go on for half an hour he said that he would like to have a boss like that and I told him that all he had to do was ask. Well he did. Please take good care of him. Yes Lord I know you will.
Oh and you know that woman in the office who is always trying to catch my eye? I thank you that you always remind me with that little voice inside that the grass is not really greener on the other side of the fence and the wife I have at home is the one that You chose for me. You’re my deliverer from temptation.
Yours Lord is the kingdom, Yours Lord is the Power and above all, Yours Lord is the Glory but I thank you that you have given me the promise that I am a joint heir with you in all that is in the future and not because of anything that I have done but because of what Your Son has done.
Amen
By john Martin
Email; justjohn@eoni.com
Through Him Your kingdom has come and established itself in the lives of those who choose You.
Through the strength and guidance that He provides Your will has been done according to the best of our ability through the love that is shed abroad in our hearts by Your Holy Spirit.
Today was a good day, I pray that tomorrow will be an even better day and fill your heart with joy.
You have kept your promise to supply our daily bread and I am confident that you will do so tomorrow as well. I am most grateful that my problem is the need to work at keeping the pounds off rather than the struggle to find enough to eat to add a few pounds.
Thank you for the forgiveness that you have so freely extended to me that has made me feel so free and filled with peace. It has humbled me because I know what I am inside that nobody else knows. It has changed my heart and given me the ability to forgive those who so thoughtlessly hurt me. Oh by the way, you know Harold my co-worker down at the mill? Well today he was telling me about all the trouble he has at home with his wife being sick and his kids making trouble at school and the car broke down. Well I was telling him about all the awesome things that you have done for me and the peace that you have given me, after listening to me go on for half an hour he said that he would like to have a boss like that and I told him that all he had to do was ask. Well he did. Please take good care of him. Yes Lord I know you will.
Oh and you know that woman in the office who is always trying to catch my eye? I thank you that you always remind me with that little voice inside that the grass is not really greener on the other side of the fence and the wife I have at home is the one that You chose for me. You’re my deliverer from temptation.
Yours Lord is the kingdom, Yours Lord is the Power and above all, Yours Lord is the Glory but I thank you that you have given me the promise that I am a joint heir with you in all that is in the future and not because of anything that I have done but because of what Your Son has done.
Amen
By john Martin
Email; justjohn@eoni.com
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