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
Sunday, August 5, 2012
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
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Blog from a friend
I do not often use other peoples material but this brother in Christ is very good and it would be wise to take note of his warnings. None of us has the whole picture nor the same calling. His seems to be to analyize events and fit them into a prophetic view of the future. Mine is to call the people of God to prepare their hearts and lives to be in harmony with the Word of God so as not to be found lacking when that final day arrives. There are others with different callings and we all work to do what God has purposed for us to do to prepare His sheep for His purposes. Here is the link to Joseph Herrins blog.
http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/dragon-and-time-of-indignation.html
http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/dragon-and-time-of-indignation.html
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Endgame Part 3
I didn't really intend for there to be a part 3 to Endgame but I receive a message from a reader asking when I thought Jesus was coming back. My answer to that question will be the shortest that I have ever given because it is simply "I Don't Know". However the question itself sparked considerable other issues that I can and perhaps should write for whatever value they may provide. First let me say that no one should be taken by surprise when the Lord returns. He promised that He would and I have walked with Him long enough that I believe Him. When He ascended into heaven there were a number of people watching as He rose into the air and disappeared into the clouds and as they were staring up two angels appeared and asked why they were staring upward in amazement. They said rest assured that in the same manner that He went up that He will return. The clouds that He disappeared into were not mist clouds that we normally see but an angelic host and He will come back in the same way, first seemingly surrounded by clouds but as He gets closer you will be able to see all the millions of angels as well as all those that have gone before because it says that He will return with the saints who have been with Him.
By the way, you can always tell who was there when He went up by the sunburn on the roof of their mouth. I think there will be similar astonishment at His return.
As for the timing of this event even Jesus does not know it. He said only the Father knew and He wasn't telling. But then Jesus said you have been given signs so be on the lookout. He said you can look at the sky and tell a lot about what the weather can do so if you would apply the same diligence to observe the signs I have given then you will stand just about as much chance of being ready for my return.
How very interesting and telling of the times we live in. Weather observation has become a very fine art. It amazes me that they can tell a good many hours in advance of a violent storm. They can tell you just about how strong the wind will blow and how many hundredths of inches of rain will fall. They can tell days in advance the temperature variations and upper and lower limits. When I was in the U.S. Air Force I trained as an air traffic controller and part of the training was weather observation. A controller had to be able to make a visual observation and general short term forecast for any pilot that would ask and this occurred frequently. However this type of observation was of the level that Jesus was talking about. What we have today is something of a much different nature and accuracy. How very telling of the times the weather observation is a science and spiritual observation is at an all time low. First of all much of the so called scriptural science or observation surrounding the second coming is dreadfully flawed. It is based on traditions of men and doctrines of demons.
1 Timothy 4:1
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
Actually there are many but right now I am only going to talk about one and it is the Big One. The Rapture. There is no such word to be found in the Bible. The word was invented by man to describe being caught up to meet Jesus in the air upon His return to earth as described in the scripture below;
1 Thessalonians 4:17
New King James Version (NKJV)
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Here is a brief description of where the whole idea came from. I will include a link below it for a more indepth explanation for those who want to investigate further. Actually a google search will provide a vast array of articles on the issue.
Here is an excerpt from an article by Brian Schwertley.
The teaching of a secret pretribulation rapture is a doctrine that never existed before 1830. Did the pretribulation rapture come into existence by a careful exegesis of Scripture? No. The first person to teach the doctrine was a young woman named Margaret Macdonald. Margaret was not a theologian or Bible expositor but was a prophetess in the Irvingite sect (the Catholic Apostolic Church). Christian journalist Dave MacPherson has written a book on the subject of the origin of the pre-tribulation rapture. He writes: “We have seen that a young Scottish lassie named Margaret Macdonald had a private revelation in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in the early part of 1830 that a select group of Christians would be caught up to meet Christ in the air before the days of Antichrist. An eye-and-ear witness, Robert Norton M.D., preserved her handwritten account of her pre-trib rapture revelation in two of his books, and said it was the first time anyone ever split the second coming into two distinct parts or stages. His writings, along with much other Catholic Apostolic Church literature, have been hidden many decades from the mainstream of Evangelical thought and only recently surfaced. Margaret’s views were well-known to those who visited her home, among them John Darby of the Brethren. Within a few months her distinctive prophetic outlook was mirrored in the September, 1830 issue of The Morning Watch and the early Brethren assembly at Plymouth, England. Early disciples of the pre-trib interpretation often called it a new doctrine.”
John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), who was the leader of the Brethren movement and the “father of modern Dispensationalism,” took Margaret Macdonald’s new teaching on the rapture, made some changes (she taught a partial rapture of believers while he taught that all believers would be raptured) and incorporated it into his Dispensational understanding of Scripture and prophecy. Darby would spend the rest of his life speaking, writing and traveling, spreading the new rapture theory. The Plymouth Brethren openly admitted and were even proud of the fact that among their teachings were totally new ones which had never been taught by the church fathers, medieval scholastics, Protestant Reformers or the many commentators.
The person most responsible for the rather widespread acceptance of Pretribulationalism and Dispensationalism among Evangelicals is Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921). C. I. Scofield published his Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. This Bible, which espoused the doctrines of Darby in its notes, became very popular in Fundamentalist circles. In the minds of many a Bible teacher, fundamentalist pastor and multitudes of professing Christians, Scofield’s notes were practically equated with the word of God itself. If a person did not adhere to the Dispensational, Pretribulational scheme he or she would almost automatically be labeled a modernist.
http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/rapture.htm
As a side note; Just because a seemingly spiritual person has a vision or prophesy does not necessarily mean that they received it via the Spirit of God. As in the scripture I quoted above, demons are often bringing deceptive doctrines into the Church through various means to further corrupt our path. They have more power than you think and that is why the scripture warns us to "test the spirits".
Long before I ever even heard the doctrine of an imminent rapture there was just something in me that I can only refer to as instinct, that that God's people would be here till the end of all things. That the 7 year tribulation period was a time of sifting of sorts that would determine who had it and who didn't. Now just so that you don't start looking at yourself let me explain. This is not so much about who makes it and who doesn't but about relationship that I've talked about so much in past articles. None of us have what it takes to make the grade and that's the truth. Only Jesus Himself could ever stand in God's presence and say I have finished the course without failure. It will always come down to your relationship of trust with the Master. He will finish the course for you but will you let Him? Will you die to self? Will you lay down your arms and trust His strength even though you cannot see it?
Will you spend enough hours with Him to erase the doubts you have about His love for you?
Right now you cannot perceive the horrors that are coming on planet earth. Most people just don't read their bibles enough to know what is coming nor do they believe that the loving God they hear so much about would allow such things to happen. Friend it will happen and is much closer than anyone thinks and it says that if God did not shorten those days that not a single person would survive but for elects sake He will shorten those days.
I believe that God has not revealed the time of His return for this reason. If I could say that it would happen in 6 months then some people would say, "good, I have 6 months to party and then repent". Others would stop doing anything because whats the use, it will all be over soon anyway. We are to occupy and be about the masters business as though He's coming any moment and that we must give answer for what we did in the last 30 seconds because we are His ambassadors. Jesus told parables about someone buying a vineyard and leaving others in charge and then making a surprise return to see how they were doing with His property. He told of giving money to 3 different people and going away, expecting that they would invest it and make profit for Him on His return. These things I will leave for the reader to search out for themselves and here's why. I have found over the years that if someone finds a lot of information in contemporary writing that gives them to spiritual guidance that they will read that instead of going to scripture for themselves. I would be doing a disservice if I caused people to read my stuff instead of searching bible and praying for themselves. I may be able to convince some to my way of thinking but that is not the goal here. Jesus said go forth and make disciples. He did not mean "go forth and make followers of yourselves" but make them followers of Me". There is only one way to follow Jesus and that is to spend time with Him, not reading my blog. If I thought that is all that was happening here I would stop writing today. I believe I have always tried to direct everyone to Jesus, not to my teaching. There are many out there who's motives are indeed to attract followers to themselves for personal gain and it doesn't take long in their presence to figure that out if your eyes are open. Avoid them like the plague because they will not tell you the truth because the truth is almost always distasteful to the carnal Christian.
No one need fear the time that we are already entering if they are grounded in Christ. I mean GROUNDED. I cannot emphasis that word enough. That is accomplished through what I have previously termed "Passionate Pursuit". Nothing else will do. While we live in the time of Grace if you will look at the old Testament you can learn much about what God expects of us in this present age.
At the time of the laying down of the Mosaic Law the people were instructed to write these laws on their garments and on their foreheads and engrave them on their doorposts and when they are walking on a path with their children to talk continually about them. Today we would call that "brainwashing". Well if you ask me we could all use some washing of our brains from all the filth that we swim in daily. The point is that the focus was to be on the spiritual and that God would take care of the natural. Few people that I know of have discovered the truth of that. I can honestly say that I have and it has completely changed my outlook on life. I do not worry about a single financial matter. I simply don't have to. Do I have an abundance of money? No, but I always have enough for everything I need and at times someone comes to me in need and I always have the ability to help them with either a loan or a gift. Finance is simply not something I need to worry about for He takes care of it all. Yes I still work to earn money but I never have to advertise and I never run out of work and I know lots of other businesses that struggle with both.
I do not have to struggle with desires for earthly possessions because I get such satisfaction out of the life that He gives me that such things as a new car or the latest electronic gadget holds no attraction for me. Therefore I have no debt and so I'm not paying for a bunch of dead horses so to speak. I'm getting off track here a little but these matters could make a huge difference in your life as we go forth into this time ahead of us that is referred to as "Jacobs Trouble" or the "Great Tribulation". We will all have enough on our minds without having the additional worries about food, clothing or shelter.
One of the things that is scarcely if ever talked about is what is really going to happen after Christ comes back. Most people that I know think that we are going off to heaven, sit on a cloud and play a harp or something silly like that. Now I might enjoy doing that occasionally but I cannot imagine that being my occupation for eternity. There simply has to be something more because I can think of a thousand things that I could do here on earth that I haven't gotten to do yet and the scripture I referred to earlier says that He can do (provide) above what we can ask or think. So I'm convinced that I have no ability to imagine the vastness of variety that is going to be available to me and everyone else there and there will be no shortage so there will be no occasion for envy. But heaven is not the place you think it is or at least not where you will be spending the next 1000 years after Christ's return to earth because He is coming to earth to remain for at least 1000 years. Earth is going to be in a state of utter chaos as well as a condition of utter destruction and I'm not so sure that He is going to wave His magic wand and just make it all new. There may be the largest and most enormous reconstruction project in human history begin to take place and it will be fun. Instead of being hard work, causing us to break out in a sweat it will be extremely enjoyable because you will never hit your thumb with a hammer or get a sliver but whatever it is that you have done in your life on earth and often been disappointed because you couldn't do it perfectly or did not have time or finance to explore your creativity to the fullest, now you will have time eternal and unlimited resources. Yes there will be plenty of the supernatural but it will be the norm and will open our eyes to the amazing attributes of our God and King. During these 1000 years Satan is bound in the pit and I really don't know why that is so but I'm just telling it like it is. after the 1000 yrs then he is released for a brief time in which he will attempt to once again rally forces to destroy God but will himself be destroyed in the lake of fire. It is then that God will create a new heaven and a new earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
King James Version (KJV)
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Most bible teachers use this scripture among others to try to prove a pre tribulation rapture or return of Jesus and I'm not going to go into that right now but I want to show you a secret that is hidden there because it bears out my contention that we are not being taken to heaven but rather are joining Jesus in His return to earth. It will be our first hand experience of anti gravity. Here are two other new testament scriptures that are also key to my hypothesis.
Matthew 25:1-10
King James Version (KJV)
25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Acts 28:13-15
King James Version (KJV)
13 And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
The verse from 1 Thessalonians tells of being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. If taken by itself one would naturally assume that it means what is seems to mean when is says "so shall we ever be with the Lord" as though we will always be in the air or above planet earth with Him. Unfortunately that is the very manner in which the most interpreters view it because they choose to ignore all the other scriptures that are contradicted by such an interpretation. I am not even going to bring out the scriptures that speak of Jesus coming to set up His earthly kingdom. I really don't like dealing with this topic at all because it is more of a distraction than a help. I have seen over the years how people get so focused in on one thing that they neglect everything else that is so much more important. However I will give you this one very important fact and then leave the rest to the interested reader to pursue for themselves.
The key word in all three scriptures above is "Meet". And you need the meaning of the word quoted in the second and third to understand the meaning of the word in verse one. Here is why. The original is translated from Greek and I have taken the scriptures for the original King James translation because the James Strong Concordance is keyed to the King James Bible. There are many places in the King James scriptures where the word "Meet" is used but only four places where it is used in this particular context. It is reference #529 in the Greek dictionary and means "a friendly encounter". There is only a minor inflection indicated in this usage as compared to all other usages of the word but that minor inflection is vital because of what was occurring when it was used.
In the parable of the 10 virgins, they were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. When the call came it was "He is coming, go out to meet Him". He was coming to the meeting hall where a wedding and a feast was to take place. The 5 who were ready went out to meet Him and then turned around and retraced their steps to enter the meeting hall. When they went out to meet Him He did not turn around and go the other direction and return to the place He came from. No, it was His greeting committee who did the turning.
Now in the story for the book of Acts the Apostle Paul was on his way to Rome, when news of his pending arrival reached the believers at Rome they went out as far as the Appii Forum to meet him.
Here again the believers were the ones who did the meeting and the turning. His destination was Rome, disciples came to meet him and accompany him to his destination, simple as that. Here you have these examples of the usage of meet as described in #529 of the Greek dictionary and now in 1 Thessalonians 4 again the only other place where #529 is used to describe "Meet". In my mind it can mean only one thing and that is; Yes the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, a huge welcoming committee but once we reach Him then we turn around and descend with Him because His destination is planet earth. That is the end and the beginning of it. I will not touch this topic again unless the Lord orders me too for the reasons I have described above.
I can promise you the following statement and it has always been my contention,
If you will be diligent and ask God these questions instead of some fallible fleshly human being like me, He would give you the answer and it would build your faith so much more than reading my opinion and that is why my focus will always be to try to persuade all my readers to get with God and pursue Him and His knowledge with passion, it's your only security against deception.
John 6:44-46
New King James Version (NKJV)
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
Be blessed and be a blessing my friends
john
email: justjohn@eoni.com
By the way, you can always tell who was there when He went up by the sunburn on the roof of their mouth. I think there will be similar astonishment at His return.
As for the timing of this event even Jesus does not know it. He said only the Father knew and He wasn't telling. But then Jesus said you have been given signs so be on the lookout. He said you can look at the sky and tell a lot about what the weather can do so if you would apply the same diligence to observe the signs I have given then you will stand just about as much chance of being ready for my return.
How very interesting and telling of the times we live in. Weather observation has become a very fine art. It amazes me that they can tell a good many hours in advance of a violent storm. They can tell you just about how strong the wind will blow and how many hundredths of inches of rain will fall. They can tell days in advance the temperature variations and upper and lower limits. When I was in the U.S. Air Force I trained as an air traffic controller and part of the training was weather observation. A controller had to be able to make a visual observation and general short term forecast for any pilot that would ask and this occurred frequently. However this type of observation was of the level that Jesus was talking about. What we have today is something of a much different nature and accuracy. How very telling of the times the weather observation is a science and spiritual observation is at an all time low. First of all much of the so called scriptural science or observation surrounding the second coming is dreadfully flawed. It is based on traditions of men and doctrines of demons.
1 Timothy 4:1
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
Actually there are many but right now I am only going to talk about one and it is the Big One. The Rapture. There is no such word to be found in the Bible. The word was invented by man to describe being caught up to meet Jesus in the air upon His return to earth as described in the scripture below;
1 Thessalonians 4:17
New King James Version (NKJV)
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Here is a brief description of where the whole idea came from. I will include a link below it for a more indepth explanation for those who want to investigate further. Actually a google search will provide a vast array of articles on the issue.
Here is an excerpt from an article by Brian Schwertley.
The teaching of a secret pretribulation rapture is a doctrine that never existed before 1830. Did the pretribulation rapture come into existence by a careful exegesis of Scripture? No. The first person to teach the doctrine was a young woman named Margaret Macdonald. Margaret was not a theologian or Bible expositor but was a prophetess in the Irvingite sect (the Catholic Apostolic Church). Christian journalist Dave MacPherson has written a book on the subject of the origin of the pre-tribulation rapture. He writes: “We have seen that a young Scottish lassie named Margaret Macdonald had a private revelation in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in the early part of 1830 that a select group of Christians would be caught up to meet Christ in the air before the days of Antichrist. An eye-and-ear witness, Robert Norton M.D., preserved her handwritten account of her pre-trib rapture revelation in two of his books, and said it was the first time anyone ever split the second coming into two distinct parts or stages. His writings, along with much other Catholic Apostolic Church literature, have been hidden many decades from the mainstream of Evangelical thought and only recently surfaced. Margaret’s views were well-known to those who visited her home, among them John Darby of the Brethren. Within a few months her distinctive prophetic outlook was mirrored in the September, 1830 issue of The Morning Watch and the early Brethren assembly at Plymouth, England. Early disciples of the pre-trib interpretation often called it a new doctrine.”
John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), who was the leader of the Brethren movement and the “father of modern Dispensationalism,” took Margaret Macdonald’s new teaching on the rapture, made some changes (she taught a partial rapture of believers while he taught that all believers would be raptured) and incorporated it into his Dispensational understanding of Scripture and prophecy. Darby would spend the rest of his life speaking, writing and traveling, spreading the new rapture theory. The Plymouth Brethren openly admitted and were even proud of the fact that among their teachings were totally new ones which had never been taught by the church fathers, medieval scholastics, Protestant Reformers or the many commentators.
The person most responsible for the rather widespread acceptance of Pretribulationalism and Dispensationalism among Evangelicals is Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921). C. I. Scofield published his Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. This Bible, which espoused the doctrines of Darby in its notes, became very popular in Fundamentalist circles. In the minds of many a Bible teacher, fundamentalist pastor and multitudes of professing Christians, Scofield’s notes were practically equated with the word of God itself. If a person did not adhere to the Dispensational, Pretribulational scheme he or she would almost automatically be labeled a modernist.
http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/rapture.htm
As a side note; Just because a seemingly spiritual person has a vision or prophesy does not necessarily mean that they received it via the Spirit of God. As in the scripture I quoted above, demons are often bringing deceptive doctrines into the Church through various means to further corrupt our path. They have more power than you think and that is why the scripture warns us to "test the spirits".
Long before I ever even heard the doctrine of an imminent rapture there was just something in me that I can only refer to as instinct, that that God's people would be here till the end of all things. That the 7 year tribulation period was a time of sifting of sorts that would determine who had it and who didn't. Now just so that you don't start looking at yourself let me explain. This is not so much about who makes it and who doesn't but about relationship that I've talked about so much in past articles. None of us have what it takes to make the grade and that's the truth. Only Jesus Himself could ever stand in God's presence and say I have finished the course without failure. It will always come down to your relationship of trust with the Master. He will finish the course for you but will you let Him? Will you die to self? Will you lay down your arms and trust His strength even though you cannot see it?
Will you spend enough hours with Him to erase the doubts you have about His love for you?
Right now you cannot perceive the horrors that are coming on planet earth. Most people just don't read their bibles enough to know what is coming nor do they believe that the loving God they hear so much about would allow such things to happen. Friend it will happen and is much closer than anyone thinks and it says that if God did not shorten those days that not a single person would survive but for elects sake He will shorten those days.
I believe that God has not revealed the time of His return for this reason. If I could say that it would happen in 6 months then some people would say, "good, I have 6 months to party and then repent". Others would stop doing anything because whats the use, it will all be over soon anyway. We are to occupy and be about the masters business as though He's coming any moment and that we must give answer for what we did in the last 30 seconds because we are His ambassadors. Jesus told parables about someone buying a vineyard and leaving others in charge and then making a surprise return to see how they were doing with His property. He told of giving money to 3 different people and going away, expecting that they would invest it and make profit for Him on His return. These things I will leave for the reader to search out for themselves and here's why. I have found over the years that if someone finds a lot of information in contemporary writing that gives them to spiritual guidance that they will read that instead of going to scripture for themselves. I would be doing a disservice if I caused people to read my stuff instead of searching bible and praying for themselves. I may be able to convince some to my way of thinking but that is not the goal here. Jesus said go forth and make disciples. He did not mean "go forth and make followers of yourselves" but make them followers of Me". There is only one way to follow Jesus and that is to spend time with Him, not reading my blog. If I thought that is all that was happening here I would stop writing today. I believe I have always tried to direct everyone to Jesus, not to my teaching. There are many out there who's motives are indeed to attract followers to themselves for personal gain and it doesn't take long in their presence to figure that out if your eyes are open. Avoid them like the plague because they will not tell you the truth because the truth is almost always distasteful to the carnal Christian.
No one need fear the time that we are already entering if they are grounded in Christ. I mean GROUNDED. I cannot emphasis that word enough. That is accomplished through what I have previously termed "Passionate Pursuit". Nothing else will do. While we live in the time of Grace if you will look at the old Testament you can learn much about what God expects of us in this present age.
At the time of the laying down of the Mosaic Law the people were instructed to write these laws on their garments and on their foreheads and engrave them on their doorposts and when they are walking on a path with their children to talk continually about them. Today we would call that "brainwashing". Well if you ask me we could all use some washing of our brains from all the filth that we swim in daily. The point is that the focus was to be on the spiritual and that God would take care of the natural. Few people that I know of have discovered the truth of that. I can honestly say that I have and it has completely changed my outlook on life. I do not worry about a single financial matter. I simply don't have to. Do I have an abundance of money? No, but I always have enough for everything I need and at times someone comes to me in need and I always have the ability to help them with either a loan or a gift. Finance is simply not something I need to worry about for He takes care of it all. Yes I still work to earn money but I never have to advertise and I never run out of work and I know lots of other businesses that struggle with both.
I do not have to struggle with desires for earthly possessions because I get such satisfaction out of the life that He gives me that such things as a new car or the latest electronic gadget holds no attraction for me. Therefore I have no debt and so I'm not paying for a bunch of dead horses so to speak. I'm getting off track here a little but these matters could make a huge difference in your life as we go forth into this time ahead of us that is referred to as "Jacobs Trouble" or the "Great Tribulation". We will all have enough on our minds without having the additional worries about food, clothing or shelter.
One of the things that is scarcely if ever talked about is what is really going to happen after Christ comes back. Most people that I know think that we are going off to heaven, sit on a cloud and play a harp or something silly like that. Now I might enjoy doing that occasionally but I cannot imagine that being my occupation for eternity. There simply has to be something more because I can think of a thousand things that I could do here on earth that I haven't gotten to do yet and the scripture I referred to earlier says that He can do (provide) above what we can ask or think. So I'm convinced that I have no ability to imagine the vastness of variety that is going to be available to me and everyone else there and there will be no shortage so there will be no occasion for envy. But heaven is not the place you think it is or at least not where you will be spending the next 1000 years after Christ's return to earth because He is coming to earth to remain for at least 1000 years. Earth is going to be in a state of utter chaos as well as a condition of utter destruction and I'm not so sure that He is going to wave His magic wand and just make it all new. There may be the largest and most enormous reconstruction project in human history begin to take place and it will be fun. Instead of being hard work, causing us to break out in a sweat it will be extremely enjoyable because you will never hit your thumb with a hammer or get a sliver but whatever it is that you have done in your life on earth and often been disappointed because you couldn't do it perfectly or did not have time or finance to explore your creativity to the fullest, now you will have time eternal and unlimited resources. Yes there will be plenty of the supernatural but it will be the norm and will open our eyes to the amazing attributes of our God and King. During these 1000 years Satan is bound in the pit and I really don't know why that is so but I'm just telling it like it is. after the 1000 yrs then he is released for a brief time in which he will attempt to once again rally forces to destroy God but will himself be destroyed in the lake of fire. It is then that God will create a new heaven and a new earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
King James Version (KJV)
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Most bible teachers use this scripture among others to try to prove a pre tribulation rapture or return of Jesus and I'm not going to go into that right now but I want to show you a secret that is hidden there because it bears out my contention that we are not being taken to heaven but rather are joining Jesus in His return to earth. It will be our first hand experience of anti gravity. Here are two other new testament scriptures that are also key to my hypothesis.
Matthew 25:1-10
King James Version (KJV)
25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Acts 28:13-15
King James Version (KJV)
13 And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
The verse from 1 Thessalonians tells of being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. If taken by itself one would naturally assume that it means what is seems to mean when is says "so shall we ever be with the Lord" as though we will always be in the air or above planet earth with Him. Unfortunately that is the very manner in which the most interpreters view it because they choose to ignore all the other scriptures that are contradicted by such an interpretation. I am not even going to bring out the scriptures that speak of Jesus coming to set up His earthly kingdom. I really don't like dealing with this topic at all because it is more of a distraction than a help. I have seen over the years how people get so focused in on one thing that they neglect everything else that is so much more important. However I will give you this one very important fact and then leave the rest to the interested reader to pursue for themselves.
The key word in all three scriptures above is "Meet". And you need the meaning of the word quoted in the second and third to understand the meaning of the word in verse one. Here is why. The original is translated from Greek and I have taken the scriptures for the original King James translation because the James Strong Concordance is keyed to the King James Bible. There are many places in the King James scriptures where the word "Meet" is used but only four places where it is used in this particular context. It is reference #529 in the Greek dictionary and means "a friendly encounter". There is only a minor inflection indicated in this usage as compared to all other usages of the word but that minor inflection is vital because of what was occurring when it was used.
In the parable of the 10 virgins, they were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. When the call came it was "He is coming, go out to meet Him". He was coming to the meeting hall where a wedding and a feast was to take place. The 5 who were ready went out to meet Him and then turned around and retraced their steps to enter the meeting hall. When they went out to meet Him He did not turn around and go the other direction and return to the place He came from. No, it was His greeting committee who did the turning.
Now in the story for the book of Acts the Apostle Paul was on his way to Rome, when news of his pending arrival reached the believers at Rome they went out as far as the Appii Forum to meet him.
Here again the believers were the ones who did the meeting and the turning. His destination was Rome, disciples came to meet him and accompany him to his destination, simple as that. Here you have these examples of the usage of meet as described in #529 of the Greek dictionary and now in 1 Thessalonians 4 again the only other place where #529 is used to describe "Meet". In my mind it can mean only one thing and that is; Yes the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, a huge welcoming committee but once we reach Him then we turn around and descend with Him because His destination is planet earth. That is the end and the beginning of it. I will not touch this topic again unless the Lord orders me too for the reasons I have described above.
I can promise you the following statement and it has always been my contention,
If you will be diligent and ask God these questions instead of some fallible fleshly human being like me, He would give you the answer and it would build your faith so much more than reading my opinion and that is why my focus will always be to try to persuade all my readers to get with God and pursue Him and His knowledge with passion, it's your only security against deception.
John 6:44-46
New King James Version (NKJV)
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
Be blessed and be a blessing my friends
john
email: justjohn@eoni.com
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Endgame Part 2
You may wonder why I bother to write these articles or what is my motivation beyond what I explained in part 1. There is that part about not really feeling that I have a choice but there is also a logic and I hope that by explaining it that some will be helped or encouraged in their growth. Growth is the operative word here. My concern and main motivation as a Christian beyond my own walk with Christ is to urge other Christians to grow in Christ. Don't I care about non Christians? Absolutely but non Christians don't want to be Christians and it's not really my job. No one can come to Christ unless the Father draws them and that's a flat out fact so our job is not so much evangelism as it is to live a holy life and be a good example and not give the unbeliever reason to find fault with Christianity and the Father will draw them in when He is ready. So my burden is with the Christian who believes that he is going to heaven but is doing nothing to make that happen. The root must bear fruit. Jesus told a story and it goes like this;
Luke 13:7-9
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
The thing that Jesus is looking for is fruit not a bunch of leaves or more branches. Many Christians add a lot of religious stuff to their lives that count for nothing. Only the fruit counts. There are two kinds of fruit to be considered and both are important and I cannot really prove which is more important but I am going to take a stab at it anyway.
1. The Fruit of the Spirit which is outlined in Galations.
Galatians 5:22-23
New King James Version (NKJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
2. Then there is the fruit which is the actual reproduction in kind. In other words you are a born again child of God and through various means you have helped someone else to become a born again child of God. That is the second type of fruit. How does a seed reproduce itself? By dying.
John 12:24
King James Version (KJV)
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
This is about dying to self, accepting His ways and desires for you over the desires of your flesh.
So which of the fruits is more important? Neither, actually they go hand in hand. However if you focus on the fruit of the Holy Spirit then the other will take care of itself because you cannot bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit and live a life of carnality at the same time for they are like oil and water and will not mix.
If you are growing in the ways of God through relationship and fellowship with Him the fruit will be coming forth in ways that you cannot yet imagine. A person with a hot temper cannot understand how God can change him so that temper no longer has control over him. The scripture tells us that we become like that which we worship. There's a commercial on TV right now that shows a man and his son setting on a couch drinking a soda pop and junior is copying every move that dad makes. Mom is thinking "water would be much better" (a certain brand of course) and next thing you know they both are drinking and enjoying a refreshing water with their legs crossed and the same arm behind their head. The message being that small children adore their parents and if given the chance will become like them.
Worship your heavenly Father in Spirit and in Truth and you will become like Him. That is why it's called the Fruit of the Spirit rather than the fruit of religion. It is actually the Spirit manifesting His presence in your body. When this becomes a visible reality in your life then the reproductive kind of fruit will just happen because unbelievers that God is drawing to Himself will witness that and be drawn to it and you will become an instrument in God's hand to help them. This so different than the one who gets saved and says "I love God and I am going to go to work for Him so I will go to school and get a Christian education and then off to seminary and become a Pastor or teacher and spend my life working in the Church. That is man's way and may provide you a great career and a good income but may not fulfill God's purpose for your life at all. Matter of fact there's an interesting scripture that when I discovered it was almost the single thing that kept me from going into missionary work and here it is.
1 Corinthians 7:20
New King James Version (NKJV)
20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.
In the first year after I was saved I started in bible college with full intention of going into missionary work. After I finished the first year I was praying about whether to continue on with the second and third and so forth. I had reasons to question the decision because of various difficulties I was encountering. Let me tell you that not all of the problems that you encounter when you start something like this is Satan trying to hinder you as some would observe. Sometimes God is trying to get your attention and say hey you are on the wrong road, you may have asked me but you didn't wait for the answer. Anyway I was praying fervently and fasted for a few days and one morning I just picked up my bible and let it fall open and this was the verse that was showing. It struck me like a lightning bolt. I was operating my upholstery business at the time and I decided to drop out of Bible college and wait and see what God had in mind. I could literally write a book on the experiences that occurred over the next 5 years and they were all good. I eventually became a pastor anyway but not because I sought it but because I was approached and asked to fill that role and that is another story within itself.
I must point out that the context of the above scripture is about the Jewish ritual of circumcision which was a requirement under the law and after Christ was no longer a requirement. It was sometimes a matter of debate when a non Jew became a Christian whether he needed to become circumcised or not and Paul wanted to put an end to the debate once and for all. However scripture can have more than one meaning and when God speaks it to you then you need to take heed regardless of the perceived context. I believe Paul did intend it to have broader implications for these reasons. Paul himself was a religious leader of influence and authority and traveled about exercising that authority. When he became a born again Christian he simply changed sides. He still traveled around and exercised his authority. It is just that his authority came from God instead of man. Most of Jesus disciples were fishermen and when they came to him they merely became fishers of men instead of fish. The little man Zacheous who was a wicked tax collector became a Christian and did not change his work but simply became an honest tax collector. As a matter of fact the only place in scripture that I am aware of there being some sort of religious training school is the mention of the school of the prophets spoken of at the time of Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind and Elisha is left behind. It says the students of the school of the prophets had told Elisha that his master was going to be taken up that day but when he in fact was taken up they asked Elisha if they could go looking for him and searched for him for three days. This is a great example of mixing the ways of God with the teachings of man. It produces a mixture and a lot of foolishness. Ask any honest pastor and he will admit there is a lot of foolishness that has to be endured to uphold the structure that is called the Church today. There is nothing in scripture at all that supports the idea of a religious training institute. A prophet is born, a leader is chosen based on his relationship to God, not his level of training. With man training or educational certificates is everything yet I personally know men with Dr. after their name who don't have a lick of common sense. With man everything is upside down. The greatest leader that Israel ever had was but a simple shepherd boy whose whole life was but a passionate pursuit of his heavenly Father.
I write these articles for one reason only and that is because I am concerned with the complacent attitude that plagues God's people. You may ask "what business is it of mine"? In a sense it is none of my business and I realize that but it is not a matter of judging anyone or condemning anyone but rather the desire to inform and encourage. There is so much time to eternity. So much time to either enjoy the fruits of your life on earth or the opposite, so much time to wish that you had done things differently. Life on earth is but a vapor that quickly vanishes and yet because we don't have a vision of eternity that is wrapped in some form of reality we ignore it and spend most of our time trying to grab more of the world before we pass from it. We really should be longing for heaven instead of more of earth. That can become a reality for you if only you will give the Lord more of yourself because He will begin to change your perspective. Your daily experience with Him will begin to trump your experiences with worldly things until those gradually fade into insignificance. The problem we face today the the people of old did not face is the ease that we experience today. Life is simply too easy and full of conveniences that they did not have so for them to look forward to a heavenly kingdom was ever before their eyes and like a man in prison looks forward to the day of his release and his imagination is always at work and this is probably what motivates him to behave himself in order to get time off for good behaviour. This is a very poor example because it is very limited in scope. The apostle Paul was taken up to the third heaven wherever that is and said he saw and experience things that could not be spoken.
Ephesians 3:19-21
New King James Version (NKJV)
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
I can do great things with my imagination but this scripture tells me that my imagination is incapable of grasping what is awaiting those who are faithful in their pursuit of God. I like to use the word "Pursuit" in terms of our relationship with Him because even though we are told that He is right here and waiting to hear from us there is a sense of having to be passionate in our attempts to find Him. Paul's speaks of a race that is run.
1 Corinthians 9:23-25
New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
The imperishable crown is not eternal life, it is something more that distinguishes one person from another. There's only one prom queen at the prom, there is only one rodeo queen crowned at each rodeo though at our local rodeo we have a parade where the queen and her court come from a variety of other places with rodeo's to participate in the parade and advertise their particular rodeo as well. The point being that a crown is a distinguishing feature and is given for standout performance and not everyone will have one.
We must make a distinction here between faithful service and work. They are not the same. Someone may spend his entire adult life working for God and receive nothing as a reward because his reward he received from man through praise and monetary reward because he was perceived to be a great minister or whatever but never did anything under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Then there's the one who never gets noticed at all but goes about his daily life hand in hand with Jesus just doing the simple stuff that no one else even wants to do and lo he gets the crown because he did it cause Jesus wanted him to do it.
I have gone far away in a sense from the direction I started out and I will try to get back to it. As I stated earlier there was an event in the heavenlies that resulted in a huge evacuation of one third of heavens population. I believe that every single one of those beings had a divine purpose in the universe. I don't believe that God created anything that had no purpose and therefor His plan entails replenishing heavens population but this time rather than with untested beings it will be with tried and true, through the fire and refined beings that when they enter His presence there will be such adoration, having already seen the severity of God will joyfully serve and worship Him throughout eternity.
What we have going here on earth is designed to bring forth the best. As cream rises to the surface and heat brings out the dross and pressure produces the diamond and time produces the oak tree the events of our lives here on earth are designed to get rid of the junk that is the result of self will. This is what God is after. He was kind and wise enough to give us self will and not interfere with that and then lead us down a path that gives us the opportunity to give up that one thing that sets us apart from all the rest of creation and that we hold most dear. That is why it is called the narrow path because few choose it. mankind values self determination above almost everything else. Even a lot of money only means anything because it increases our ability of self determination and therein lies the trap of wealth. No one likes to hear someone say to them "you go here or there and do this or that" unless they have a different view of life and eternity. No one can trump up that different view or attitude for it is a gift that is given to those that will ask for it but once you receive it there's nothing to compare with it because life becomes a continuous adventure. I want to encourage everyone to begin to consider the shortness of this life with the length of eternity and to ask yourself if what you are doing right now is what you want to be looking back on when you enter into those gates and the opportunity for change is forever lost. If you aren't sure or are even reluctant, if you would simply speak to the Lord about it and ask Him to help you to be willing you might be very surprised at the result.
May you all be blessed with an increase desire to Pursue Him.
john
email: justjohn@eoni.com
Luke 13:7-9
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
The thing that Jesus is looking for is fruit not a bunch of leaves or more branches. Many Christians add a lot of religious stuff to their lives that count for nothing. Only the fruit counts. There are two kinds of fruit to be considered and both are important and I cannot really prove which is more important but I am going to take a stab at it anyway.
1. The Fruit of the Spirit which is outlined in Galations.
Galatians 5:22-23
New King James Version (NKJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
2. Then there is the fruit which is the actual reproduction in kind. In other words you are a born again child of God and through various means you have helped someone else to become a born again child of God. That is the second type of fruit. How does a seed reproduce itself? By dying.
John 12:24
King James Version (KJV)
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
This is about dying to self, accepting His ways and desires for you over the desires of your flesh.
So which of the fruits is more important? Neither, actually they go hand in hand. However if you focus on the fruit of the Holy Spirit then the other will take care of itself because you cannot bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit and live a life of carnality at the same time for they are like oil and water and will not mix.
If you are growing in the ways of God through relationship and fellowship with Him the fruit will be coming forth in ways that you cannot yet imagine. A person with a hot temper cannot understand how God can change him so that temper no longer has control over him. The scripture tells us that we become like that which we worship. There's a commercial on TV right now that shows a man and his son setting on a couch drinking a soda pop and junior is copying every move that dad makes. Mom is thinking "water would be much better" (a certain brand of course) and next thing you know they both are drinking and enjoying a refreshing water with their legs crossed and the same arm behind their head. The message being that small children adore their parents and if given the chance will become like them.
Worship your heavenly Father in Spirit and in Truth and you will become like Him. That is why it's called the Fruit of the Spirit rather than the fruit of religion. It is actually the Spirit manifesting His presence in your body. When this becomes a visible reality in your life then the reproductive kind of fruit will just happen because unbelievers that God is drawing to Himself will witness that and be drawn to it and you will become an instrument in God's hand to help them. This so different than the one who gets saved and says "I love God and I am going to go to work for Him so I will go to school and get a Christian education and then off to seminary and become a Pastor or teacher and spend my life working in the Church. That is man's way and may provide you a great career and a good income but may not fulfill God's purpose for your life at all. Matter of fact there's an interesting scripture that when I discovered it was almost the single thing that kept me from going into missionary work and here it is.
1 Corinthians 7:20
New King James Version (NKJV)
20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.
In the first year after I was saved I started in bible college with full intention of going into missionary work. After I finished the first year I was praying about whether to continue on with the second and third and so forth. I had reasons to question the decision because of various difficulties I was encountering. Let me tell you that not all of the problems that you encounter when you start something like this is Satan trying to hinder you as some would observe. Sometimes God is trying to get your attention and say hey you are on the wrong road, you may have asked me but you didn't wait for the answer. Anyway I was praying fervently and fasted for a few days and one morning I just picked up my bible and let it fall open and this was the verse that was showing. It struck me like a lightning bolt. I was operating my upholstery business at the time and I decided to drop out of Bible college and wait and see what God had in mind. I could literally write a book on the experiences that occurred over the next 5 years and they were all good. I eventually became a pastor anyway but not because I sought it but because I was approached and asked to fill that role and that is another story within itself.
I must point out that the context of the above scripture is about the Jewish ritual of circumcision which was a requirement under the law and after Christ was no longer a requirement. It was sometimes a matter of debate when a non Jew became a Christian whether he needed to become circumcised or not and Paul wanted to put an end to the debate once and for all. However scripture can have more than one meaning and when God speaks it to you then you need to take heed regardless of the perceived context. I believe Paul did intend it to have broader implications for these reasons. Paul himself was a religious leader of influence and authority and traveled about exercising that authority. When he became a born again Christian he simply changed sides. He still traveled around and exercised his authority. It is just that his authority came from God instead of man. Most of Jesus disciples were fishermen and when they came to him they merely became fishers of men instead of fish. The little man Zacheous who was a wicked tax collector became a Christian and did not change his work but simply became an honest tax collector. As a matter of fact the only place in scripture that I am aware of there being some sort of religious training school is the mention of the school of the prophets spoken of at the time of Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind and Elisha is left behind. It says the students of the school of the prophets had told Elisha that his master was going to be taken up that day but when he in fact was taken up they asked Elisha if they could go looking for him and searched for him for three days. This is a great example of mixing the ways of God with the teachings of man. It produces a mixture and a lot of foolishness. Ask any honest pastor and he will admit there is a lot of foolishness that has to be endured to uphold the structure that is called the Church today. There is nothing in scripture at all that supports the idea of a religious training institute. A prophet is born, a leader is chosen based on his relationship to God, not his level of training. With man training or educational certificates is everything yet I personally know men with Dr. after their name who don't have a lick of common sense. With man everything is upside down. The greatest leader that Israel ever had was but a simple shepherd boy whose whole life was but a passionate pursuit of his heavenly Father.
I write these articles for one reason only and that is because I am concerned with the complacent attitude that plagues God's people. You may ask "what business is it of mine"? In a sense it is none of my business and I realize that but it is not a matter of judging anyone or condemning anyone but rather the desire to inform and encourage. There is so much time to eternity. So much time to either enjoy the fruits of your life on earth or the opposite, so much time to wish that you had done things differently. Life on earth is but a vapor that quickly vanishes and yet because we don't have a vision of eternity that is wrapped in some form of reality we ignore it and spend most of our time trying to grab more of the world before we pass from it. We really should be longing for heaven instead of more of earth. That can become a reality for you if only you will give the Lord more of yourself because He will begin to change your perspective. Your daily experience with Him will begin to trump your experiences with worldly things until those gradually fade into insignificance. The problem we face today the the people of old did not face is the ease that we experience today. Life is simply too easy and full of conveniences that they did not have so for them to look forward to a heavenly kingdom was ever before their eyes and like a man in prison looks forward to the day of his release and his imagination is always at work and this is probably what motivates him to behave himself in order to get time off for good behaviour. This is a very poor example because it is very limited in scope. The apostle Paul was taken up to the third heaven wherever that is and said he saw and experience things that could not be spoken.
Ephesians 3:19-21
New King James Version (NKJV)
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
I can do great things with my imagination but this scripture tells me that my imagination is incapable of grasping what is awaiting those who are faithful in their pursuit of God. I like to use the word "Pursuit" in terms of our relationship with Him because even though we are told that He is right here and waiting to hear from us there is a sense of having to be passionate in our attempts to find Him. Paul's speaks of a race that is run.
1 Corinthians 9:23-25
New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
The imperishable crown is not eternal life, it is something more that distinguishes one person from another. There's only one prom queen at the prom, there is only one rodeo queen crowned at each rodeo though at our local rodeo we have a parade where the queen and her court come from a variety of other places with rodeo's to participate in the parade and advertise their particular rodeo as well. The point being that a crown is a distinguishing feature and is given for standout performance and not everyone will have one.
We must make a distinction here between faithful service and work. They are not the same. Someone may spend his entire adult life working for God and receive nothing as a reward because his reward he received from man through praise and monetary reward because he was perceived to be a great minister or whatever but never did anything under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Then there's the one who never gets noticed at all but goes about his daily life hand in hand with Jesus just doing the simple stuff that no one else even wants to do and lo he gets the crown because he did it cause Jesus wanted him to do it.
I have gone far away in a sense from the direction I started out and I will try to get back to it. As I stated earlier there was an event in the heavenlies that resulted in a huge evacuation of one third of heavens population. I believe that every single one of those beings had a divine purpose in the universe. I don't believe that God created anything that had no purpose and therefor His plan entails replenishing heavens population but this time rather than with untested beings it will be with tried and true, through the fire and refined beings that when they enter His presence there will be such adoration, having already seen the severity of God will joyfully serve and worship Him throughout eternity.
What we have going here on earth is designed to bring forth the best. As cream rises to the surface and heat brings out the dross and pressure produces the diamond and time produces the oak tree the events of our lives here on earth are designed to get rid of the junk that is the result of self will. This is what God is after. He was kind and wise enough to give us self will and not interfere with that and then lead us down a path that gives us the opportunity to give up that one thing that sets us apart from all the rest of creation and that we hold most dear. That is why it is called the narrow path because few choose it. mankind values self determination above almost everything else. Even a lot of money only means anything because it increases our ability of self determination and therein lies the trap of wealth. No one likes to hear someone say to them "you go here or there and do this or that" unless they have a different view of life and eternity. No one can trump up that different view or attitude for it is a gift that is given to those that will ask for it but once you receive it there's nothing to compare with it because life becomes a continuous adventure. I want to encourage everyone to begin to consider the shortness of this life with the length of eternity and to ask yourself if what you are doing right now is what you want to be looking back on when you enter into those gates and the opportunity for change is forever lost. If you aren't sure or are even reluctant, if you would simply speak to the Lord about it and ask Him to help you to be willing you might be very surprised at the result.
May you all be blessed with an increase desire to Pursue Him.
john
email: justjohn@eoni.com
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Endgame Part 1
I woke up very early this morning with this word on my mind and it would not go away. Along with it came other thoughts pertaining to it and I finally realized that there was no use trying to go back to sleep and I might just as well get up and write. Let me explain something; I do not wrack my brain trying to come up with things to write. I have so much to do that it is neither necessary nor convenient. It just happens. I have a business that is doing quite well with no lack of work. I have a home that always needs some sort of maintenance or upgrade. I have a family that requires my time and attention so I have no personal need to do a blog and it does not provide any form of income nor fame so why should I do it. The Apostle Paul said "woe is me if I do not preach the gospel" It simply was something that was laid on him and he realized that he really had no choice in the matter. I feel pretty much the same. I am but a simple peasant with no claim to fame whatsoever. For those who do not know I only finished the 8th grade and made two attempts at the 9th grade and gave up. Before I became a Christian at age 32 I was taking Valium everyday, shooting myself with liquid B-12 and had to set with a traction device under my chin twice a day because the tension in my whole body was killing me little by little.
In one instant of time all that changed, How I came to the point of surrender is another story but when I made that decision there was no longer any question that there was a God and that He cared for me and that was all that mattered. Perhaps if I shared what my previous life was like from early childhood you would better understand why it meant so much to me to learn that God was not only real but that I mattered to Him. At that point nothing else mattered and it still does not. Yes life has important things that need our attention but there comes a time when we must recognize that we are not our own for we are purchased with price.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
New King James Version (NKJV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
There is no limit to what God can do with a vessel that is yielded to His will in all things. In a moment of time all that was weighing me down was gone. The pain in my body, the confusion in my mind, the rebellion in my heart and a whole host of other dreadful things were gone and a peace that I had never known settled over me. I had tried to quit smoking for years and had even gotten down to no longer buying or carrying cigarettes but still had that horrible nagging habit that just wouldn't let go. Every day I would go to work and the business next to mine was a saddle maker who rolled his own cigs. So I would go in and visit with him and borrow his makings and roll one and smoke it. Guess what? It would give me a tremendous headache that would last until evening but I would go in and do it again the next day knowing full well what I would face but I just couldn't cope with the craving for nicotine. The very day that I surrendered my life to Christ that craving vanished without a trace.
As I said before I know that I am nothing but God can do whatever He wants with nothing, He created the earth out of nothing and here's a scripture that is interesting on that subject.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
New King James Version (NKJV)
Glory Only in the Lord
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
God is not interested nor impressed by our brilliance, education or wealth. If you had all the money in the world and offered it to God He would pay no more attention to you than that drunk down on skid row.
He is interested only in a heart that is surrendered to Him and with that He can do anything. Now I don't even know why I said all that because it is very much off subject from where I started but I guess in retrospect I felt it necessary for me to tell you that I don't think that I am a great thinker and that I just have to get my thoughts out there. Well then you might say " So you think that you speak for God? that sounds a bit arrogant doesn't it? My only answer is, I am just a reporter. These things come to me, I don't conjure them up and I feel compelled to write them and believe I would be disobedient if I didn't. They are there for those who may benefit from them and those who don't or won't need not read them and that is where I will leave it. I will continue to report as long as I have things to report and believe that I am to report them. There are things that I have known for a long time but have never felt that I was to say anything about them and my article on Eternity was one of those things but a release came in an unusual way and I have learned to follow the signs.
So what about the Endgame? Maybe now I can get to the subject that got me up at 4 am.
All that we see going on today around the world is leading to something that the Christian often speaks about but knows little about. I really wonder how many of today's professing Christians really know what lays ahead. I think most actually believe that nothing is really going to change except that one day they will stop breathing and will be ushered into the presence of God in heaven and will dwell there forever.
The forever part is true but there's much more before we get to the forever part. One must wonder about the why of it all. If God's plan was just to save everybody and take them to heaven then why not just do it now and get it over with? The earth is overflowing with evil and has for centuries and has only gotten worse. Human suffering is at an all time high, why not end it all now? I truly wish I had all the answers but I don't so I'm just going to report on those things that I feel I have been given.
God has existed forever and so has His universe. Why He permitted imperfection to exist in the first place no one will know until they are with Him in eternity and then I suspect we will be amazed at His wisdom. I know that everything was created by Him including the angels and Satan was the highest ranking angel. They were created and dwelt in His presence. It is very difficult to imagine being in the presence of the most benevolent and loving being in the universe and still having evil thoughts but that is what the Bible tells us about Satan. He became jealous and his heart was lifted up and he desired to be like the Most High God. Sorry, not going to be allowed here, out you go. He had already gotten one third of the entire host of angels on his side when God stepped in and said "enough,We will have order here and you must leave and everyone who has sided with you must leave also".
Now heaven is much more than we think of it as being. Imagine the universe beyond the dimmest star that you can see. It goes on and on beyond there too. Heaven is not one small location nor is earth the only place in Gods creation that there is life. Can I prove that? Science has been trying for generations to discover that but if they would only read the scriptures they would know. Jesus said to His disciples "Other sheep have I that are not of this fold". When He said the words "This Fold" He was speaking of the newly established fold of Christianity on Planet earth. So where are the other sheep? Somewhere out there in the universe. The Bible reveals many things that scientists took a long time to discover. Another example is that there is no single heavenly body that is the same as another and here is the scripture;
1 Corinthians 15:41
New King James Version (NKJV)
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
It is so easy to pass right over so much in scripture and that is one of the reasons that you should not read it as you would read a book. The Bible must be read and studied thoroughly mingled with prayer because it depends upon the Holy Spirit to reveal the hidden things. They are not really hidden but are spiritually discerned and without the Spirit's involvement you will never see it. And let me say something about prayer while I'm at it. Most Christians don't pray enough and some don't pray at all and I think the reason is that they simply don't understand prayer. Prayer is assumed to be getting down on your knees, folding your hands and closing your eyes and trying to concentrate on saying something holy sounding to God. There are indeed times needed when you do that but the word "Pray" is simply translated as "Ask" as in to speak or make a request to another. You can speak to God at any time and any place and it is not necessary to close your eyes either. What God wants is your complete attention and devotion and when you speak to Him about everything then you also have His attention and devotion. He is far more devoted to His child than His child is to Him. Think about it for a minute. As a parent aren't you thrilled when your child asks you for advise and actually wants it and will follow it? As often as possible I like to provide scripture so that you don't think that this is just off the top of my head. And I can assure you that when I provide a scripture that it is already tested and I know that it is true and works. Here's one to back up what I'm saying about prayer;
Proverbs 3:5-7
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Footnotes:
a.Proverbs 3:6 Or make smooth or straight
It is so easy to simply see these words as poetic musing rather than instruction about talking to God about everything but that is what it means. When I got into the habit of talking to God as though I could see Him and He's right beside me life began to go so much better. I would have to spend the rest of my life writing to describe all the neat experiences that I have had because of the relationship that has grown out of that practice. It seems that I have taken a lot of rabbit trails in the process of this article but when I write it just flows and I cannot always follow the original intent and I have to believe that there is someone out there that needs whatever has been written. If I tried to stay on track exclusively then it would be me and not the Spirit and that must never be. I am going to take up this subject in a second article because this has become rather long and already into a second morning and I'm out of time.
In closing I have one thing to add. The reward system in God's kingdom is like the ultimate pyramid system. You know what I mean, the sales system where you start out selling something and then you get someone else to sell it also and you get a portion of their sales and then they get someone else to start selling and you both get a portion of their sales. Well in the kingdom of God it works in similar fashion but you don't even have to become a salesman. If you simply take the time to forward one of these articles to someone else and they are drawn to Christ as a result, there is a reward for both of us. Even if they are not immediately drawn but some years later they remember something that was said in the article and they finally wake up and turn to Christ the result is the same. I don't know how God manages to keep track of all this stuff but He does. How does He keep count of all the hairs in your head when you lose so many every day?
Again I will provide a scripture so no one thinks I'm making stuff up.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
So when you forward this or any other spiritual article to another person you are either planting an original seed or watering a seed that someone else has planted. Or else maybe that person is already a Christian but is struggling with issues and this somehow helps them, the result is the same. Once again you have added to your heavenly account. I bet most of you out there never thought of this. It's like an almost effortless way to store up treasures in heaven that will last for eternity. Of course I expect that you will use Godly wisdom in determining if these things are true and will not lead anyone astray.
God bless you all as we seek to please Him and follow the narrow path to it's ultimate destination.
john
In one instant of time all that changed, How I came to the point of surrender is another story but when I made that decision there was no longer any question that there was a God and that He cared for me and that was all that mattered. Perhaps if I shared what my previous life was like from early childhood you would better understand why it meant so much to me to learn that God was not only real but that I mattered to Him. At that point nothing else mattered and it still does not. Yes life has important things that need our attention but there comes a time when we must recognize that we are not our own for we are purchased with price.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
New King James Version (NKJV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
There is no limit to what God can do with a vessel that is yielded to His will in all things. In a moment of time all that was weighing me down was gone. The pain in my body, the confusion in my mind, the rebellion in my heart and a whole host of other dreadful things were gone and a peace that I had never known settled over me. I had tried to quit smoking for years and had even gotten down to no longer buying or carrying cigarettes but still had that horrible nagging habit that just wouldn't let go. Every day I would go to work and the business next to mine was a saddle maker who rolled his own cigs. So I would go in and visit with him and borrow his makings and roll one and smoke it. Guess what? It would give me a tremendous headache that would last until evening but I would go in and do it again the next day knowing full well what I would face but I just couldn't cope with the craving for nicotine. The very day that I surrendered my life to Christ that craving vanished without a trace.
As I said before I know that I am nothing but God can do whatever He wants with nothing, He created the earth out of nothing and here's a scripture that is interesting on that subject.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
New King James Version (NKJV)
Glory Only in the Lord
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
God is not interested nor impressed by our brilliance, education or wealth. If you had all the money in the world and offered it to God He would pay no more attention to you than that drunk down on skid row.
He is interested only in a heart that is surrendered to Him and with that He can do anything. Now I don't even know why I said all that because it is very much off subject from where I started but I guess in retrospect I felt it necessary for me to tell you that I don't think that I am a great thinker and that I just have to get my thoughts out there. Well then you might say " So you think that you speak for God? that sounds a bit arrogant doesn't it? My only answer is, I am just a reporter. These things come to me, I don't conjure them up and I feel compelled to write them and believe I would be disobedient if I didn't. They are there for those who may benefit from them and those who don't or won't need not read them and that is where I will leave it. I will continue to report as long as I have things to report and believe that I am to report them. There are things that I have known for a long time but have never felt that I was to say anything about them and my article on Eternity was one of those things but a release came in an unusual way and I have learned to follow the signs.
So what about the Endgame? Maybe now I can get to the subject that got me up at 4 am.
All that we see going on today around the world is leading to something that the Christian often speaks about but knows little about. I really wonder how many of today's professing Christians really know what lays ahead. I think most actually believe that nothing is really going to change except that one day they will stop breathing and will be ushered into the presence of God in heaven and will dwell there forever.
The forever part is true but there's much more before we get to the forever part. One must wonder about the why of it all. If God's plan was just to save everybody and take them to heaven then why not just do it now and get it over with? The earth is overflowing with evil and has for centuries and has only gotten worse. Human suffering is at an all time high, why not end it all now? I truly wish I had all the answers but I don't so I'm just going to report on those things that I feel I have been given.
God has existed forever and so has His universe. Why He permitted imperfection to exist in the first place no one will know until they are with Him in eternity and then I suspect we will be amazed at His wisdom. I know that everything was created by Him including the angels and Satan was the highest ranking angel. They were created and dwelt in His presence. It is very difficult to imagine being in the presence of the most benevolent and loving being in the universe and still having evil thoughts but that is what the Bible tells us about Satan. He became jealous and his heart was lifted up and he desired to be like the Most High God. Sorry, not going to be allowed here, out you go. He had already gotten one third of the entire host of angels on his side when God stepped in and said "enough,We will have order here and you must leave and everyone who has sided with you must leave also".
Now heaven is much more than we think of it as being. Imagine the universe beyond the dimmest star that you can see. It goes on and on beyond there too. Heaven is not one small location nor is earth the only place in Gods creation that there is life. Can I prove that? Science has been trying for generations to discover that but if they would only read the scriptures they would know. Jesus said to His disciples "Other sheep have I that are not of this fold". When He said the words "This Fold" He was speaking of the newly established fold of Christianity on Planet earth. So where are the other sheep? Somewhere out there in the universe. The Bible reveals many things that scientists took a long time to discover. Another example is that there is no single heavenly body that is the same as another and here is the scripture;
1 Corinthians 15:41
New King James Version (NKJV)
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
It is so easy to pass right over so much in scripture and that is one of the reasons that you should not read it as you would read a book. The Bible must be read and studied thoroughly mingled with prayer because it depends upon the Holy Spirit to reveal the hidden things. They are not really hidden but are spiritually discerned and without the Spirit's involvement you will never see it. And let me say something about prayer while I'm at it. Most Christians don't pray enough and some don't pray at all and I think the reason is that they simply don't understand prayer. Prayer is assumed to be getting down on your knees, folding your hands and closing your eyes and trying to concentrate on saying something holy sounding to God. There are indeed times needed when you do that but the word "Pray" is simply translated as "Ask" as in to speak or make a request to another. You can speak to God at any time and any place and it is not necessary to close your eyes either. What God wants is your complete attention and devotion and when you speak to Him about everything then you also have His attention and devotion. He is far more devoted to His child than His child is to Him. Think about it for a minute. As a parent aren't you thrilled when your child asks you for advise and actually wants it and will follow it? As often as possible I like to provide scripture so that you don't think that this is just off the top of my head. And I can assure you that when I provide a scripture that it is already tested and I know that it is true and works. Here's one to back up what I'm saying about prayer;
Proverbs 3:5-7
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Footnotes:
a.Proverbs 3:6 Or make smooth or straight
It is so easy to simply see these words as poetic musing rather than instruction about talking to God about everything but that is what it means. When I got into the habit of talking to God as though I could see Him and He's right beside me life began to go so much better. I would have to spend the rest of my life writing to describe all the neat experiences that I have had because of the relationship that has grown out of that practice. It seems that I have taken a lot of rabbit trails in the process of this article but when I write it just flows and I cannot always follow the original intent and I have to believe that there is someone out there that needs whatever has been written. If I tried to stay on track exclusively then it would be me and not the Spirit and that must never be. I am going to take up this subject in a second article because this has become rather long and already into a second morning and I'm out of time.
In closing I have one thing to add. The reward system in God's kingdom is like the ultimate pyramid system. You know what I mean, the sales system where you start out selling something and then you get someone else to sell it also and you get a portion of their sales and then they get someone else to start selling and you both get a portion of their sales. Well in the kingdom of God it works in similar fashion but you don't even have to become a salesman. If you simply take the time to forward one of these articles to someone else and they are drawn to Christ as a result, there is a reward for both of us. Even if they are not immediately drawn but some years later they remember something that was said in the article and they finally wake up and turn to Christ the result is the same. I don't know how God manages to keep track of all this stuff but He does. How does He keep count of all the hairs in your head when you lose so many every day?
Again I will provide a scripture so no one thinks I'm making stuff up.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
So when you forward this or any other spiritual article to another person you are either planting an original seed or watering a seed that someone else has planted. Or else maybe that person is already a Christian but is struggling with issues and this somehow helps them, the result is the same. Once again you have added to your heavenly account. I bet most of you out there never thought of this. It's like an almost effortless way to store up treasures in heaven that will last for eternity. Of course I expect that you will use Godly wisdom in determining if these things are true and will not lead anyone astray.
God bless you all as we seek to please Him and follow the narrow path to it's ultimate destination.
john
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Crying Wolf
For years I and others have been crying out saying the wolf is at the door with little or no attention being paid to it. It is common and we all know the story. Ears become deaf to warnings about things that never seem to happen. That's the way it is in God's world, HE give warnings but never gives a clear time frame because if He did then people would live their reckless life right up to the last minute and then repent in the final moments before the disaster strikes. Jesus warned us that judgement would come as a thief in the night. The disaster of the twin towers of 9/11 caught everyone by surprise and I think everyone was expecting more to follow shortly thereafter. When another one did not occur then everyone went into coma mode trusting that our government had everything under control. Well in fact they did have everything under control and going exactly the way they wanted it to go. The truth is that while we were crying wolf (disaster approaching) the sly fox (much more subtle than the wolf) was raiding the hen house. Now there's nothing left but a pile of feathers and not a peep out of anyone.
What difference does it make if your liberties and prosperity is taken away all at once or incrementally? You will be just as broke and just as desperate either way. The only difference is that by doing it in small stages they have avoided rioting which has given them time to make preparations to deal with rioting which is certain to occur and much sooner than anyone thinks. If there is anything at all that you absolutely must do before serious austerity sets in you had better do it now.
We have been seriously anesthetized by our comforts while the only thing of real value has been taken away from us, OUR LIBERTY. If you don't agree with me then just try to build something on your own property without permission. What about the poor farmer who cannot do anything with his land because somebody decided that it was once a wet land. Pig farmers in Michigan are having their entire herds of swine destroyed because they don't have a certain hair color. They teach our little children in school about sex and especially alternate lifestyles but arrest 6 year olds for singing a song about being sexy. There are literally thousands of examples of the already in place Police State and yet most people accept it as necessary to keep them safe from the boogie man (who ever he is).
The other distraction is the political scene which is a carefully choreographed side show to keep people in the dark about what is really happening before their very eyes. It's like the Emperor has no clothes and doesn't know it. Did you know that the Oregon governor now made it a law that a Hispanic immigrant now only needs to show his Mexican id card when he is driving and is stopped by a police officer. No longer does he need a drivers licence. It was bad enough that he could go in and get a licence without any id. Do you know that I have been an Oregon resident all my life and had an Oregon drivers license for 54 years but if I want to renew it I will need tons of ID including my original birth certificate and a picture Id and I don't know how much other stuff. What is going on is not just about illegal immigrants or any other single issue but all things put together spell one thing, "Population Control".
If you think that the election will change anything you are dead wrong. In the first place any politician who had any worries about being reelected would not be doing the things that president Obama is doing. His level of arrogance tells me one thing and that is simply that he knows that the election is already in the bag. Either his re election is assured or he has a plan in place to insure there is no election. I suspect it is the latter. Most likely we will see major civil unrest before the summer is out and the question is, What should we be doing about it? Here's the problem, If you chose to join in protests it is very likely that you will be detained and no one will care. Why? Because in the wake of 9/11 and the whole war on terror the people have been very successfully divided in opinion. Any person who opposes the government must surely be a potential terrorist and deserves to be put away. We need a revolution but any person who tries to start one will surely be a martyr and no one will care because he is already classed as a danger to society. When enough of the population is fooled then it is impossible to get enough together to make a difference.
The question remains "what should you or I be doing"? I strongly urge you to pay no attention to those who advocate violence. The Bible warns that whoever lives (retains his life) by the sword will die by the sword. Some would say well I would rather die fighting than to go down without a whimper. Well we are not fighting a war with another country, this is a spiritual battle and the outcome has already been determined and the only winner will be the faithful Christian. None of this is new, it has been foretold for thousands of years and yet few choose to believe it. If you were fully committed to Christ you would have no difficulty at all in believing it because He makes Himself so real to you that it is no problem to see the invisible spiritual side of life. God in His mercy has declared that there must be an end to the evil that has controlled this planet and the lives of men for so long and to reward the faithful and the time is here. I can only urge you to get off the fence now, stop being divided by two opinions and make a final decision to get off on His side and stay there and begin to consume His word. Spend time talking to Him, He's eager to hear what is on your mind. He will change your perspective overnight and draw you into His presence in ways that you could never imagine. We cling to things we have and want so foolishly. There's an old hymn that says " Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace"? you must experience this to understand it but it is so true. There is not a thing I have or that the world has to offer that I would not gladly give up for just one closer encounter with Him. There's another thing too and that is the matter of peace. I do not really know of more than one or two other people today that I can say for sure know true peace in spite of all that is going on around us today. But a life truly hidden with Christ in God insures complete peace. You know deep inside that really bad things are coming but something inside give assurance that the Master is in charge and that He has His angels all around you and nothing can harm you because you have made Him your shelter rather than having built yourself a bomb shelter or a literal fortress.
I suggest that you take some time and read Psalm 91 and as you read it pray and ask the Spirit to help you see it for the Prophesy that it is. It was written thousands of years ago as a promise for a future that the writer could not understand nor did he have the words to express things in the language that we have today but it is all there. I know it is just words but when the Spirit of God is opening your eyes then it takes on a much different sense. It speaks of literally thousands of people dropping like flies all around you but whatever is killing them does not harm you. Do you believe the stories of the Bible? 3 men were thrown into a furnace so hot that the men who threw them in were destroyed by the blast of heat and yet these 3 men were walking around in there then a fourth person appeared who was said to look like the Son of Man. When they were allowed to come out there was not even the smell of smoke on their clothes and the rope that was used to tie their hands was not singed. This tells me that even a nuclear explosion will not be able to touch me as long as God chooses to keep me on this earth. Do I have any fear of such things? I would be liar if I said that I didn't. However I have also discovered something about my Lord. He gives you what you need at the time that you need it rather than in advance. Faith to believe is not something that you work up but is a gift that is given due to faithfulness. That is why I have written so many times that you need to begin spending more of your time with Him instead of pursuing earthly pleasures because it is the only way you will ever learn to trust Him in all things and to really know that this is not your home anyway and to begin to long for the promise of a dwelling with Him. Oh how I pray that God will use some of these simple words to persuade some to turn from their present path and seek the narrow way before it is too late. The trouble of which I speak is no longer in some distant time but is here now and perhaps it just hasn't touched your life yet but rest assured it will. Don't wait until that happens to make a decision because there is such a thing a "TOO LATE". You definitely do not want to go alone through what lies ahead.
john Martin
email: justjohn@eoni.com
permission to copy or forward these messages is given without reservation.
What difference does it make if your liberties and prosperity is taken away all at once or incrementally? You will be just as broke and just as desperate either way. The only difference is that by doing it in small stages they have avoided rioting which has given them time to make preparations to deal with rioting which is certain to occur and much sooner than anyone thinks. If there is anything at all that you absolutely must do before serious austerity sets in you had better do it now.
We have been seriously anesthetized by our comforts while the only thing of real value has been taken away from us, OUR LIBERTY. If you don't agree with me then just try to build something on your own property without permission. What about the poor farmer who cannot do anything with his land because somebody decided that it was once a wet land. Pig farmers in Michigan are having their entire herds of swine destroyed because they don't have a certain hair color. They teach our little children in school about sex and especially alternate lifestyles but arrest 6 year olds for singing a song about being sexy. There are literally thousands of examples of the already in place Police State and yet most people accept it as necessary to keep them safe from the boogie man (who ever he is).
The other distraction is the political scene which is a carefully choreographed side show to keep people in the dark about what is really happening before their very eyes. It's like the Emperor has no clothes and doesn't know it. Did you know that the Oregon governor now made it a law that a Hispanic immigrant now only needs to show his Mexican id card when he is driving and is stopped by a police officer. No longer does he need a drivers licence. It was bad enough that he could go in and get a licence without any id. Do you know that I have been an Oregon resident all my life and had an Oregon drivers license for 54 years but if I want to renew it I will need tons of ID including my original birth certificate and a picture Id and I don't know how much other stuff. What is going on is not just about illegal immigrants or any other single issue but all things put together spell one thing, "Population Control".
If you think that the election will change anything you are dead wrong. In the first place any politician who had any worries about being reelected would not be doing the things that president Obama is doing. His level of arrogance tells me one thing and that is simply that he knows that the election is already in the bag. Either his re election is assured or he has a plan in place to insure there is no election. I suspect it is the latter. Most likely we will see major civil unrest before the summer is out and the question is, What should we be doing about it? Here's the problem, If you chose to join in protests it is very likely that you will be detained and no one will care. Why? Because in the wake of 9/11 and the whole war on terror the people have been very successfully divided in opinion. Any person who opposes the government must surely be a potential terrorist and deserves to be put away. We need a revolution but any person who tries to start one will surely be a martyr and no one will care because he is already classed as a danger to society. When enough of the population is fooled then it is impossible to get enough together to make a difference.
The question remains "what should you or I be doing"? I strongly urge you to pay no attention to those who advocate violence. The Bible warns that whoever lives (retains his life) by the sword will die by the sword. Some would say well I would rather die fighting than to go down without a whimper. Well we are not fighting a war with another country, this is a spiritual battle and the outcome has already been determined and the only winner will be the faithful Christian. None of this is new, it has been foretold for thousands of years and yet few choose to believe it. If you were fully committed to Christ you would have no difficulty at all in believing it because He makes Himself so real to you that it is no problem to see the invisible spiritual side of life. God in His mercy has declared that there must be an end to the evil that has controlled this planet and the lives of men for so long and to reward the faithful and the time is here. I can only urge you to get off the fence now, stop being divided by two opinions and make a final decision to get off on His side and stay there and begin to consume His word. Spend time talking to Him, He's eager to hear what is on your mind. He will change your perspective overnight and draw you into His presence in ways that you could never imagine. We cling to things we have and want so foolishly. There's an old hymn that says " Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace"? you must experience this to understand it but it is so true. There is not a thing I have or that the world has to offer that I would not gladly give up for just one closer encounter with Him. There's another thing too and that is the matter of peace. I do not really know of more than one or two other people today that I can say for sure know true peace in spite of all that is going on around us today. But a life truly hidden with Christ in God insures complete peace. You know deep inside that really bad things are coming but something inside give assurance that the Master is in charge and that He has His angels all around you and nothing can harm you because you have made Him your shelter rather than having built yourself a bomb shelter or a literal fortress.
I suggest that you take some time and read Psalm 91 and as you read it pray and ask the Spirit to help you see it for the Prophesy that it is. It was written thousands of years ago as a promise for a future that the writer could not understand nor did he have the words to express things in the language that we have today but it is all there. I know it is just words but when the Spirit of God is opening your eyes then it takes on a much different sense. It speaks of literally thousands of people dropping like flies all around you but whatever is killing them does not harm you. Do you believe the stories of the Bible? 3 men were thrown into a furnace so hot that the men who threw them in were destroyed by the blast of heat and yet these 3 men were walking around in there then a fourth person appeared who was said to look like the Son of Man. When they were allowed to come out there was not even the smell of smoke on their clothes and the rope that was used to tie their hands was not singed. This tells me that even a nuclear explosion will not be able to touch me as long as God chooses to keep me on this earth. Do I have any fear of such things? I would be liar if I said that I didn't. However I have also discovered something about my Lord. He gives you what you need at the time that you need it rather than in advance. Faith to believe is not something that you work up but is a gift that is given due to faithfulness. That is why I have written so many times that you need to begin spending more of your time with Him instead of pursuing earthly pleasures because it is the only way you will ever learn to trust Him in all things and to really know that this is not your home anyway and to begin to long for the promise of a dwelling with Him. Oh how I pray that God will use some of these simple words to persuade some to turn from their present path and seek the narrow way before it is too late. The trouble of which I speak is no longer in some distant time but is here now and perhaps it just hasn't touched your life yet but rest assured it will. Don't wait until that happens to make a decision because there is such a thing a "TOO LATE". You definitely do not want to go alone through what lies ahead.
john Martin
email: justjohn@eoni.com
permission to copy or forward these messages is given without reservation.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
What about Eternity?
What about Eternity?
Is the God who in His awesome power created everything we see and a whole lot of stuff that we cannot see , yet so powerless that satan could frustrate His plans for creation and all of mankind?
Ask most religious folks, especially Pastors and teachers and they won't say it in those exact words but that is the general idea you will get from their answers.
If God created man in His image and then 90% or more of them wind up spending all eternity in hell then one would have to assume that His plan was a failure.
Answers like this are what come out of seminaries where all you have to do is pass the test to see if you memorized enough of the garbage they fed you and you are then qualified to speak for God.
I have to challenge this kind of thinking and teaching for it does not honor God nor His holy Word the Bible.
Seminary or not, there is no substitute for a heart felt love and passion for God that gets you up early in the morning to spend time with "The Teacher" seeking His face in study of His word and fervent prayer.
The more time you spend with Him the more repugnant those quick and judgemental answers become.
I believe with my whole heart that as time is spent with the Lord Who indwells us the more our hearts and thinking will change and develop into His heart and thinking. The Apostle Paul said that he was like a woman in child birth in agony waiting for Christ to be formed in us and he didn't just mean Christ's holiness but His way of thinking and again I have to say that it is not a mimicking Him but actually experiencing His life and thoughts in you.
I will freely admit that God has a gentle loving side and a stern side as well because the scriptures plainly tell us that He does.
I find it very interesting that the very same ones who proclaim an eternal hell will not proclaim that God also disciplines His children
sometimes very severely with sickness or other painful trials in order to bring course corrections.
First of all let me say that God is not a respecter of persons. During the time of Noah before the worldwide flood, Noah was building an ark at God's command and at the same time he was preaching impending doom. Of course the people laughed at him because nothing like rain had ever been seen much less a deluge of water that could sweep away everything in it's path. The result was that by the time it began to rain the ark was closed and sealed and all the people drowned. The new Testament say's that Jesus went and preached the gospel to those very people who were disobedient in the time of Noah. HuH? they had their chance just like everyone today is said to have had their chance to repent.
Why did Jesus go into the pit and preach the gospel to them? Was it a cruel attempt to taunt them in their misery? Did He just go there and say to them "how you enjoying the fruits of your unbelief ? Too bad you weren't born in my time you would have had a chance to believe in Me". God is not a respecter of persons nor does He give unfair advantage to one over another. I do not claim to understand all He does but I know what the scriptures reveal about Him and as I get closer to Him they speak much louder to me on a lot of issues that I used to misunderstand. Here is one that is very pertinent. Christ had 12 disciples and one of them was Thomas. Thomas was a faithful follower but after Christ's Crucifixion and subsequent resurrection he refused to believe any reports of Jesus being alive again. Now in God's eyes one form of unbelief is no different than another form of unbelief. Hebrews 4 speaks of an evil heart of unbelief. Jesus made a special appearance and told Thomas " look here at the wounds in my hands and go ahead and put your hand in the wound in my side because I want you to believe". Thomas did so and fell on his knees in repentance. There's an old country and western song that goes like this and it's full of truth; "it is no secret what God can do, what He's done for others He'll do for you, with arms wide open He'll pardon you" and so on. He may not do it in the exactly same way but God is more fair than any human ever could be and if He had to make a special appearance to Thomas to get him to believe then I cannot accept the idea that He would do any less for anyone.
If all this is true and scripture doesn't lie or contradict itself then how can we possibly make the judgements that we do today?
Some of my readers will say I'm taking this too far and others will say that I'm not taking it far enough and that's ok because my purpose is not so much to prove something but to encourage thought outside the box. I'm going to take a big risk here and tell you what I think.
While I cannot prove every little detail any more than my critics can prove their theories that are based on a few out of context scriptures.
I firmly believe that God is big enough to overcome the wiles of Satan, after all He created him and it seems that he was already present on planet earth at the time man was created so I fully believe that he was no accident nor did he upset the plan of God. Mankind was not some cosmic experiment that went awry but no earthly mind can fully comprehend the wisdom of God or know how He intended to go about developing a tried and tested humanity to populate the universe but like the builder of a computer understands it's function God understands what He has created and I think He is not finished yet.
After the flood came Abraham and his descendants who became the Hebrew people, the children of Jacob or Israel as they are now known. God handed down through Moses the first written instructions concerning His will or desire for mankind. What it tended to reveal is that the holy requirements of God are beyond the capability of man to meet.
He let us struggle with that for about 2000 years and then He said I think it's time to enact part 2 of the plan and show humanity how I can take the burden off their shoulders and carry it for them if they will simply choose to cooperate (believe). Many did make that good choice and it was primarily those who had built for themselves a religious career that rejected Him. Much less a matter of belief but a matter of surrender. That is where the majority of unbeleivers are today, simply unwilling to surrender. Even in the heart of an atheist is a sneaking suspicion that all of this we see cannot have simply happened but if you admit that it didn't just happen then you might have to surrender.
To continue with what I believe to be God's plan: He wants to save everyone and He wants to reward everyone for faithful service. Unfortunately not everyone is willing to be saved nor to render faithful service. Just like on earth, heaven has a heirchy or level of authority. We can read about angels having different positions and Satan himself was the most prominent created being until he rebelled and was cast out. I believe that it will continue on into eternity and God is preparing men and women to fill positions of authority in the heavens that may have been vacated by fallen angels. However that is not even the important factor because we don't know more than He has revealed but we do know that He tell us that we should be storing up treasures in heaven where nothing can erode them rather than putting all our efforts into building our earthly home. Why? Because it is determining our eternal existence and position of authority and if we don't we will have regrets. So He gave us His Son and then He gave us His Spirit and those who are wise will accept Him and build for themselves an eternal dwelling place with a life of joy that is beyond imagination. Those who do not will be eventually persuaded to believe because once they have gone beyond the vail then the matter of doubt is erased. Unfortunately for them the rewards of walking by faith will not be given because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:16).
Yet the scripture plainly says that One died for all, meaning He died for the whole world not just the believers. You say "that's not fair" if I believe and serve and then some guy who doesn't believe still eventually gets saved anyway". Here's why it is fair; The whole world came under the curse of one man's sin, no one born has any option and no one gets to chose to be born it just happens to them. But do you really think that anyone is born by accident? I think not. God is more fair than any human being ever could be so He provided a solution to the one man causing all men to fall under the curse. He came in human form and took the punishment for every ones sin upon Himself. Every living human being is covered under that action. What remains is for everyone to accept it. It is a gift that must eventually be accepted to become effective. If I don't know about it or am stuck in stubborn unbelief it still does not void the action, it simply means that I'm going to have to go through more stuff that may be unpleasant until I do accept it. What seems unbelievable today in the world around me will be very believable when I pass through the vail and see what is on the other side. The invisible world will make a believer of me for sure and I'm not saying there is no punishment for wrong doing but if there is it is directed at one thing and that is to make a faithful believer out of me.
When Thomas put his hand in Jesus side and felt the wound from the sword that pierced Him he fell on his knees and said "my Lord and My God" and Jesus said to him "you have seen and believed, Blessed are they that have not seen me and believe". Therein lies the heart of the matter. He really wants everyone to freely believe and be blessed but if you will not then eventually you will because you will SEE. Everyone gets salvation eventually but it is faith that earns the reward.
This article came about in an unusual way or I would not have written it. The whole topic of hell is so controversial it has torn many relationships and whole churches apart. I have always had strong feelings about it and I have not written all that can be said about it. Anyway I was in Boise last week where my wife was having surgery. I had taken my laptop with me anticipating a long wait. I thought I would write an article as I had several topics going through my head in the last few days. I'm setting in the waiting room and open my laptop and discover there is no internet connection in that part of the hospital. That means I cannot use the online bible program that I commonly use. Next I find that I have drawn a complete blank, I cannot remember any of the topics that I had previously been considering. So I'm just setting there and feeling stupid and wondering what I'm going to do with all this time on my hands when these three words came into my mind "What about Eternity"? So I typed them and what you see above simply came off the ends of my fingers. I did not finish it before they called me to say that my wife was out of surgery and in the recovery room and I could go up to her room and wait there for her to be brought in. By the way she is doing well and we are home and I will be doing housework for a while.
Anyway that night I stayed in our motel room alone and I had a dream and I cannot remember a single thing about the dream except in the dream two scriptures came to me with understanding that I had not previously had so knowing that I would not remember them in the morning I got up and wrote them down. One of them was the scripture involving Thomas that I mentioned above and the other one is:
Luke 12:9-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
Mark 3:28-30
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Unpardonable Sin
28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Both of these scriptures say that "all sins WILL be forgiven except knowing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It does not say how nor when all sins will be forgiven but does not say that there is some sort of limit either in time or space. The fact is that the sins are already covered and it is only dependant upon the willing acceptance and that may occur in this life which is God's ideal for you so that you can store up treasures in heaven or it may occur after you have seen what is behind the vail which may cause you some regret because you may have to endure some suffering for your stubborn refusal to accept what was right in front of you all the time.
Here's another scripture that I have received deeper understanding of:
Romans 2:4
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
I used to think that by the goodness of God was meant that by showing His loving side that we are brought to repentance but that is not true. All my life I was exposed to the goodness and kindness of God and I just took it all for granted. It was only when life began to seriously fall apart at the seams did I look up to Him and call out for help. That is the real meaning of the goodness of God. He will not allow you to forever remain in a state of rebellion against Him. Because of His goodness He will do whatever it takes to bring you to repentance no matter how unpleasant it may have to get or how long it may take. If you do not surrender in this life I can assure you that you will in the hereafter. The scripture says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
If eternity in hell is the promise for every unbeliever then why did Jesus tell this parable?
Luke 12:46-48
New King James Version (NKJV)
46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
This scripture tells me that the punishment for wrong doing is not the same for everyone. That in itself should cast doubt on the whole theology of every unbeliever being cast into hell for eternity because if you are in outer darkness with no hope of ever leaving and in a state of misery then I doubt that it will make much difference what the individual circumstances may be. Everyone is still in a state of hopeless suffering.
So why hasn't God spelled it out more clearly for us? The answer is simple and I have already given it in the text above but I will repeat it again to make sure no one misses it. People are generally lazy and most often take the path of least resistance. That is not God's desire. Just like a good parent He wants us to excel and He will even help us to do that by His mighty power if only we will surrender to Him. HE wants over comers, tried and true that have proven that they can turn their backs on temptation instead of caving in like Adam. We all like rewards so He emphasises the reward system in hopes we will be motivated to take advantage of it. Unfortunately there are those who will not so He does warn that there is a cost to pay for disregarding His offerings but does not reveal that eventually He will persuade you anyway because even more would choose what they think is the easy way not understanding the torments that they will have to endure before relief is offered.
I plead with you out there who may not be doing all you can to fulfill God's call on your life. Take advantage of the limited time you have and begin to seek Him with all your heart for indeed the days we have remaining to store up treasures are growing short. Anyone who is breathing should be able to see that vast changes are taking place in our country and the world and our freedoms are vanishing and the hard times are upon us just as the bible has warned. Let us look up for our redemption draweth nigh.
john
email comments: justjohn@eoni.com
Please pass these messages on to your friends if they are helpful to you.
Is the God who in His awesome power created everything we see and a whole lot of stuff that we cannot see , yet so powerless that satan could frustrate His plans for creation and all of mankind?
Ask most religious folks, especially Pastors and teachers and they won't say it in those exact words but that is the general idea you will get from their answers.
If God created man in His image and then 90% or more of them wind up spending all eternity in hell then one would have to assume that His plan was a failure.
Answers like this are what come out of seminaries where all you have to do is pass the test to see if you memorized enough of the garbage they fed you and you are then qualified to speak for God.
I have to challenge this kind of thinking and teaching for it does not honor God nor His holy Word the Bible.
Seminary or not, there is no substitute for a heart felt love and passion for God that gets you up early in the morning to spend time with "The Teacher" seeking His face in study of His word and fervent prayer.
The more time you spend with Him the more repugnant those quick and judgemental answers become.
I believe with my whole heart that as time is spent with the Lord Who indwells us the more our hearts and thinking will change and develop into His heart and thinking. The Apostle Paul said that he was like a woman in child birth in agony waiting for Christ to be formed in us and he didn't just mean Christ's holiness but His way of thinking and again I have to say that it is not a mimicking Him but actually experiencing His life and thoughts in you.
I will freely admit that God has a gentle loving side and a stern side as well because the scriptures plainly tell us that He does.
I find it very interesting that the very same ones who proclaim an eternal hell will not proclaim that God also disciplines His children
sometimes very severely with sickness or other painful trials in order to bring course corrections.
First of all let me say that God is not a respecter of persons. During the time of Noah before the worldwide flood, Noah was building an ark at God's command and at the same time he was preaching impending doom. Of course the people laughed at him because nothing like rain had ever been seen much less a deluge of water that could sweep away everything in it's path. The result was that by the time it began to rain the ark was closed and sealed and all the people drowned. The new Testament say's that Jesus went and preached the gospel to those very people who were disobedient in the time of Noah. HuH? they had their chance just like everyone today is said to have had their chance to repent.
Why did Jesus go into the pit and preach the gospel to them? Was it a cruel attempt to taunt them in their misery? Did He just go there and say to them "how you enjoying the fruits of your unbelief ? Too bad you weren't born in my time you would have had a chance to believe in Me". God is not a respecter of persons nor does He give unfair advantage to one over another. I do not claim to understand all He does but I know what the scriptures reveal about Him and as I get closer to Him they speak much louder to me on a lot of issues that I used to misunderstand. Here is one that is very pertinent. Christ had 12 disciples and one of them was Thomas. Thomas was a faithful follower but after Christ's Crucifixion and subsequent resurrection he refused to believe any reports of Jesus being alive again. Now in God's eyes one form of unbelief is no different than another form of unbelief. Hebrews 4 speaks of an evil heart of unbelief. Jesus made a special appearance and told Thomas " look here at the wounds in my hands and go ahead and put your hand in the wound in my side because I want you to believe". Thomas did so and fell on his knees in repentance. There's an old country and western song that goes like this and it's full of truth; "it is no secret what God can do, what He's done for others He'll do for you, with arms wide open He'll pardon you" and so on. He may not do it in the exactly same way but God is more fair than any human ever could be and if He had to make a special appearance to Thomas to get him to believe then I cannot accept the idea that He would do any less for anyone.
If all this is true and scripture doesn't lie or contradict itself then how can we possibly make the judgements that we do today?
Some of my readers will say I'm taking this too far and others will say that I'm not taking it far enough and that's ok because my purpose is not so much to prove something but to encourage thought outside the box. I'm going to take a big risk here and tell you what I think.
While I cannot prove every little detail any more than my critics can prove their theories that are based on a few out of context scriptures.
I firmly believe that God is big enough to overcome the wiles of Satan, after all He created him and it seems that he was already present on planet earth at the time man was created so I fully believe that he was no accident nor did he upset the plan of God. Mankind was not some cosmic experiment that went awry but no earthly mind can fully comprehend the wisdom of God or know how He intended to go about developing a tried and tested humanity to populate the universe but like the builder of a computer understands it's function God understands what He has created and I think He is not finished yet.
After the flood came Abraham and his descendants who became the Hebrew people, the children of Jacob or Israel as they are now known. God handed down through Moses the first written instructions concerning His will or desire for mankind. What it tended to reveal is that the holy requirements of God are beyond the capability of man to meet.
He let us struggle with that for about 2000 years and then He said I think it's time to enact part 2 of the plan and show humanity how I can take the burden off their shoulders and carry it for them if they will simply choose to cooperate (believe). Many did make that good choice and it was primarily those who had built for themselves a religious career that rejected Him. Much less a matter of belief but a matter of surrender. That is where the majority of unbeleivers are today, simply unwilling to surrender. Even in the heart of an atheist is a sneaking suspicion that all of this we see cannot have simply happened but if you admit that it didn't just happen then you might have to surrender.
To continue with what I believe to be God's plan: He wants to save everyone and He wants to reward everyone for faithful service. Unfortunately not everyone is willing to be saved nor to render faithful service. Just like on earth, heaven has a heirchy or level of authority. We can read about angels having different positions and Satan himself was the most prominent created being until he rebelled and was cast out. I believe that it will continue on into eternity and God is preparing men and women to fill positions of authority in the heavens that may have been vacated by fallen angels. However that is not even the important factor because we don't know more than He has revealed but we do know that He tell us that we should be storing up treasures in heaven where nothing can erode them rather than putting all our efforts into building our earthly home. Why? Because it is determining our eternal existence and position of authority and if we don't we will have regrets. So He gave us His Son and then He gave us His Spirit and those who are wise will accept Him and build for themselves an eternal dwelling place with a life of joy that is beyond imagination. Those who do not will be eventually persuaded to believe because once they have gone beyond the vail then the matter of doubt is erased. Unfortunately for them the rewards of walking by faith will not be given because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:16).
Yet the scripture plainly says that One died for all, meaning He died for the whole world not just the believers. You say "that's not fair" if I believe and serve and then some guy who doesn't believe still eventually gets saved anyway". Here's why it is fair; The whole world came under the curse of one man's sin, no one born has any option and no one gets to chose to be born it just happens to them. But do you really think that anyone is born by accident? I think not. God is more fair than any human being ever could be so He provided a solution to the one man causing all men to fall under the curse. He came in human form and took the punishment for every ones sin upon Himself. Every living human being is covered under that action. What remains is for everyone to accept it. It is a gift that must eventually be accepted to become effective. If I don't know about it or am stuck in stubborn unbelief it still does not void the action, it simply means that I'm going to have to go through more stuff that may be unpleasant until I do accept it. What seems unbelievable today in the world around me will be very believable when I pass through the vail and see what is on the other side. The invisible world will make a believer of me for sure and I'm not saying there is no punishment for wrong doing but if there is it is directed at one thing and that is to make a faithful believer out of me.
When Thomas put his hand in Jesus side and felt the wound from the sword that pierced Him he fell on his knees and said "my Lord and My God" and Jesus said to him "you have seen and believed, Blessed are they that have not seen me and believe". Therein lies the heart of the matter. He really wants everyone to freely believe and be blessed but if you will not then eventually you will because you will SEE. Everyone gets salvation eventually but it is faith that earns the reward.
This article came about in an unusual way or I would not have written it. The whole topic of hell is so controversial it has torn many relationships and whole churches apart. I have always had strong feelings about it and I have not written all that can be said about it. Anyway I was in Boise last week where my wife was having surgery. I had taken my laptop with me anticipating a long wait. I thought I would write an article as I had several topics going through my head in the last few days. I'm setting in the waiting room and open my laptop and discover there is no internet connection in that part of the hospital. That means I cannot use the online bible program that I commonly use. Next I find that I have drawn a complete blank, I cannot remember any of the topics that I had previously been considering. So I'm just setting there and feeling stupid and wondering what I'm going to do with all this time on my hands when these three words came into my mind "What about Eternity"? So I typed them and what you see above simply came off the ends of my fingers. I did not finish it before they called me to say that my wife was out of surgery and in the recovery room and I could go up to her room and wait there for her to be brought in. By the way she is doing well and we are home and I will be doing housework for a while.
Anyway that night I stayed in our motel room alone and I had a dream and I cannot remember a single thing about the dream except in the dream two scriptures came to me with understanding that I had not previously had so knowing that I would not remember them in the morning I got up and wrote them down. One of them was the scripture involving Thomas that I mentioned above and the other one is:
Luke 12:9-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
Mark 3:28-30
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Unpardonable Sin
28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Both of these scriptures say that "all sins WILL be forgiven except knowing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It does not say how nor when all sins will be forgiven but does not say that there is some sort of limit either in time or space. The fact is that the sins are already covered and it is only dependant upon the willing acceptance and that may occur in this life which is God's ideal for you so that you can store up treasures in heaven or it may occur after you have seen what is behind the vail which may cause you some regret because you may have to endure some suffering for your stubborn refusal to accept what was right in front of you all the time.
Here's another scripture that I have received deeper understanding of:
Romans 2:4
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
I used to think that by the goodness of God was meant that by showing His loving side that we are brought to repentance but that is not true. All my life I was exposed to the goodness and kindness of God and I just took it all for granted. It was only when life began to seriously fall apart at the seams did I look up to Him and call out for help. That is the real meaning of the goodness of God. He will not allow you to forever remain in a state of rebellion against Him. Because of His goodness He will do whatever it takes to bring you to repentance no matter how unpleasant it may have to get or how long it may take. If you do not surrender in this life I can assure you that you will in the hereafter. The scripture says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
If eternity in hell is the promise for every unbeliever then why did Jesus tell this parable?
Luke 12:46-48
New King James Version (NKJV)
46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
This scripture tells me that the punishment for wrong doing is not the same for everyone. That in itself should cast doubt on the whole theology of every unbeliever being cast into hell for eternity because if you are in outer darkness with no hope of ever leaving and in a state of misery then I doubt that it will make much difference what the individual circumstances may be. Everyone is still in a state of hopeless suffering.
So why hasn't God spelled it out more clearly for us? The answer is simple and I have already given it in the text above but I will repeat it again to make sure no one misses it. People are generally lazy and most often take the path of least resistance. That is not God's desire. Just like a good parent He wants us to excel and He will even help us to do that by His mighty power if only we will surrender to Him. HE wants over comers, tried and true that have proven that they can turn their backs on temptation instead of caving in like Adam. We all like rewards so He emphasises the reward system in hopes we will be motivated to take advantage of it. Unfortunately there are those who will not so He does warn that there is a cost to pay for disregarding His offerings but does not reveal that eventually He will persuade you anyway because even more would choose what they think is the easy way not understanding the torments that they will have to endure before relief is offered.
I plead with you out there who may not be doing all you can to fulfill God's call on your life. Take advantage of the limited time you have and begin to seek Him with all your heart for indeed the days we have remaining to store up treasures are growing short. Anyone who is breathing should be able to see that vast changes are taking place in our country and the world and our freedoms are vanishing and the hard times are upon us just as the bible has warned. Let us look up for our redemption draweth nigh.
john
email comments: justjohn@eoni.com
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