Daily Devotional

Son, I am looking for My children to stand up and rebuild the wall of righteousness that has guarded America. I am looking for My children to stand in the gaps in the wall that have come because of rebellion.

 

America doesn’t even try to hide its rebellion towards Me. Its sins are obvious for all to see. Families are treated with contempt; they have changed what a family is. Look at the law suits, they accuse others falsely and for what, money? People do obscene things, and you cannot go anywhere without some form of sexual immorality being put in your face, and no one even blushes anymore. Murder, killing of babies, loan racketeers, and extortionists are everywhere. People never even think of Me or My word. They do all they can to get Me removed from by trying to change history and saying that I never helped or blessed America. Look at your leaders today; if you oppose them they tear you apart by slander and threatening you. They have no problem destroying people’s lives for money!

 

America has forgotten that without Me it falls. Therefore, the time of punishment has come, and I am about to unsheathe My sword to destroy these wicked people. Everyone in the world will know that I am the LORD. They will hear terrifying news and not know who to trust. When it begins, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all their strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will become as weak as water. I the Sovereign LORD says: “It is coming! It’s on its way!”

 

Son, you must remember that I delight in people with integrity. If you search for Me, you will find My favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you! Do not be afraid of what is coming. For you have the truth, and it lives in you and will be with you forever. If you love Me then do what I command of you!

 

Needed: Reformation – Chapter 11

WHO IS MAN? Part 2

 

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

 

There is no mention of man in the Bible until the sixth day of creation and then God said:  “Let us make man in our image.” There is also no doubt that man is different from all of the other creatures that God had made previously.

 

One might ask the question: Is there any difference between image and likeness? Some Bible students say that “image” refers to constitution which includes the gift of personality, mental and moral capacity, free will, whereas “likeness” refers to the moral and spiritual resemblance to God.

 

Man has faculties that no other creature has that God made. Man is able to see God, in His work.

 

Romans 1:19-20: “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

 

Man is able to see the wisdom of God. We read in Psalm 104:24: “How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

 

Man can also marvel at His power. Psalms 150:2: “Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.”

 

Man, above all of the other creatures that God created, can appreciate the goodness of God.

 

Psalms 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.”

 

Man’s ability to think, acquire knowledge, making deductions from knowledge gained that lead to practical results – shows that man is different.

 

Probably one of the greatest things that the Lord has given man is the ability to speak and express his thoughts with the gift of speech. Someone said: “Animals may have instinct, but man has intellect to guide him in important decisions.”

 

In considering man we need to understand that he was fashioned by God with deliberation, bore the stamp of the Divine and was made partaker of many divine qualities. There is no doubt that man is the crowning work of God’s creation.

 

It is important for us to see this with man, and even the drunken man lying on the street gutter; he still has the image of God on him.

 

 

 

 

Daily Devotional

Son, when the storms of life increase – will you still be joyful? In these difficult days knowledge of Me will give you good judgment and peace that the world knows nothing of. When you live out My words you will be known as a man of integrity. Others will be encouraged and have hope when they see you at peace because I am your stronghold.

 

When My children finally grasp how much I love them, the world around them will recognize that they are My children. My children must not be surprised that they will be hated. 

 

So My children, don’t just say that you love each other, show it by living it out. Then when you come to Me, you can come with bold confidence knowing that I will give you whatever you ask because you do the things that please Me.

 

So what do I want from My children when the storms come? Rest in the knowledge and security that you have eternal life with Me.  Know that I hear all of your prayers.  I will not turn away from you.

 

I hold each one of My children securely, and the evil one cannot touch them even though the world around them is under the control of the evil one. I give My children understanding so that they can know Me, the only true God. So, do not make a practice of sinning against Me like those around you that are under the control of the evil one.

 

Son, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by My Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from Me. If they deny any part of My Word then they speak from the world’s viewpoint. This is how you will know if they have My Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. Since they do not belong to Me, do not listen to them. They will be afraid of the Day of Judgment. If they are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that they have not fully experienced My perfect love, like you have.

 

Those who live in My truth will have confidence to speak My truth, even in tribulation, because My love securely in them expels all fears. Those who live in My truth belong to Me and I will never leave them or forget them.

Daily Devotional

Son, the last hour is here. So how will My children know that this is the last hour? I have told them from My word that the Anti-Christ is coming; well, he is here! People who want to belong to this world will not know the difference between My truth and his lies. Not one of these people who believe his lies have common sense. Their desire in life is for physical pleasure, a longing for what they see and to take pride in their achievements and possessions.

 

When I give My Holy Spirit, My children will know the truth. Because they know the truth they will walk in fellowship with Me and will be full of courage in the coming days. They will not shamefully shrink back from Me.

 

You must listen to me for I have important things to tell My children on how to be prepared. For, I speak the truth and My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those who seek the truth. I will show My children where to find this knowledge and discernment in this day of evil. Joyful are those who listen to Me, for they will find My favor. But those who refuse to know Me, and refuse My word will injure themselves, because they love death and not life.

 

Do you think that I like to see these rebellious people die? Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and turn to Me. Soon I will judge these rebellious people according to their actions, so tell them to repent and turn from their sins while there is still time, or their rebellion will destroy them! If they put rebellion behind them and surrender to Me – I will give each one a new heart and a new spirit so they can live and not die in their rebellion to Me! 

 

Son, I am the Word of life, and there is no darkness in Me at all. I am your advocate who pleads your case before the Father.  I am the One who is truly righteous, and it was My sacrifice that atones for your sins, and not only your sins but for the sins of the world. Therefore, live your life like I did, by not loving this world or the things it offers you, but look for Me daily, and wait for Me to answer you, to lead you and to give you what you need.

 

Daily Devotional

Son, the purpose in telling you what is about to take place is to encourage you and assure you that what you are about to experience is part of My plan to give you the future I promised; the end of this world as you know it is coming. Therefore, My children must be earnest and disciplined in their prayers. For the time has come for judgment, and it must first begin with My children. If judgment begins with My children then what a terrible fate awaits those who have refused My Good News!

 

Therefore, My children must stand on My written word. They must keep a copy with them at all times and read it daily. This regular reading will prevent them from becoming proud, and prevent them from turning away from Me. My children must take every word of Mine to heart. My word will show them how to live in this time by giving them wisdom; good judgment, common sense and discernment. Living out My word in their lives will develop a trust in Me so they will do My will, no matter what.

 

There will come prophets who will deceive My children by saying, “We are not at that time, and we can have peace.”  When there is no peace, the people will cry out, “What happened?” They will then understand that these prophets have lied to them. They will become discouraged because of their lies, and not be prepared. How terrible it will be for them; for they will  understand that these judgments are not being done without good cause.

 

So My children, do not turn away from My word. Test what prophets, teachers and pastors are doing with My word. Let My word penetrate deep into your heart, and you will know those who are telling you the truth. For I have raised up prophets from among those whom you would not think are prophets. You must listen to them, for I have put My words in their mouths, and they will tell you everything I command them.

 

When people ask about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. For they will see what a good life you live because you belong to Me. In this time of judgment cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. Don’t be surprised at this time as if something strange were happening to you. Be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. Praise God for the privilege of being called by His name! So keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the Me, the One who created you because I will never fail you.

 

 

Daily Devotional

Son, the leaders of America are planning evil and have been given wicked counsel. Therefore, My children must stand up and speak against them loudly and clearly. Telling them, “You have twisted justice and become blind to corruption. Murderers are all over and blood has filled our streets because of this.”

 

They knew that I am the Lord, but they have refused to obey My word; instead, they have copied the standards of the nations around them. But the time has come, and there will be no more delays. I will fulfill my threat of destruction in your lifetime. Tell them that this is what the Sovereign Lord says, “There will be no more delay! I will now do everything I have threatened!”

 

Son, when My children say to you, “He’s talking about the distant future. This won’t come true for a long, long time.” Tell them, “They will have lives that will make them bitter, and they will choke on the plans of these evil leaders. But to those who accept My warning and believe in Me – they will have My peace instead of fear and will be untroubled by what is coming.”

 

My children, cry out for insight, ask for understanding and common sense. I will be your shield  when you live your life with integrity. I will guard your path and protect those who are faithful to Me. Then you will understand what is right, just and fair, and you will know the right way to go. For, My wisdom will save you from the lies and threats of these evil leaders. Therefore, elect and trust only those men that follow Me.

 

My children must remember that the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. When My children fix their thoughts on Me and live with great expectation of the priceless inheritance that is kept in heaven, they will know there is wonderful joy ahead.  For they are chosen people and their wisdom will help them understand what they are to do.

 

So My children, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. You must live as a temporary resident in this world, like foreigners, and keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

 

Needed: Reformation – Chapter 10

WHO IS MAN? – Part 1

 

Isaiah 40:6 “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.’”

 

When we think of reformation we need to come back to what the Bible says about man. Here in the West we live like in the days of Nimrod when they were building the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar (modern day Iraq).

 

In the days of Nimrod man was supreme, he was god. Man was in rebellion against God. God had told mankind to multiply and fill the earth. (Genesis 9:1 and 7) Instead, we read that under the leadership of Nimrod men stayed together and were building “a tower that would reach into heaven.” Why? They wanted to make a name for themselves.

 

Man thinks that he has the answer to all of life’s questions. It is incredible that man can even think this way. When we look back at the 20th century and the wars that came through Nazism, Fascism and Communism where literally millions of people died; how can man still think he has the answers?

 

Yet, man in the West generally believes that he is god and master of his own soul; that he can manage without God, even if all of the evidence proves otherwise.

 

This type of thinking has pervaded the church as well. We do not voice it, but our actions speak louder than words; that we can manage God’s work without the Spirit of God. Remember that the best interpreter of a man’s thoughts is heard by his actions. One example of this today is the lack of prayer that we have in the average church.

 

A question was raised: Whatever happened to the prayer meeting? The answer has come back loud and clear through our actions that we can manage quite well by ourselves without any help from the Divine.

 

It is imperative that we see ourselves as God sees us and we come back to what God has intended for man. This to me is what reformation will do: reformation brings us back to God’s view of man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Devotional

Son, My children must love Me, their Lord God with all of their heart. They must not be deceived and turn away from Me by worshiping and serving other so-called gods.  They must commit wholeheartedly to these words of Mine. They must teach them to their children. Talk about My word when they are at home and when they are on the road, when they are going to bed and when they are getting up. They must show their love to Me by walking in all My ways and holding tightly to Me. They must remember that I made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them, and that I keep every promise I made.

 

Troubling times are coming their way and they must not be fearful but consider it an opportunity. For, I will bless those who patiently endure through these troubled times. They must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. They must get rid of all the filth and evil in their lives, and humbly accept My word. My word has the power to save and encourage them. But the key to this power is – they must not just listen, or only read My word; they must do what it says.

 

Today I am giving My children the choice between a blessing and a curse! They will be blessed if they are obedient. They will be cursed if they reject My word and turn away from Me and worship gods they have not known before. My children must not fall into the trap of following foreign religions and believing that My word is not applicable for today. 

 

Son, the end is almost here! The days of no more hope are almost upon those who reject Me. For, I am about to unleash My anger and call to account all of the detestable sins being committed today. Disaster after disaster is coming because the people’s wickedness and pride have blossomed to full flower. None of these proud and wicked people will survive. All their wealth and prestige will be swept away. Not one person whose life is twisted by sin will ever recover. They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won’t save them; it will neither satisfy nor feed them. All this, because they think it is nothing to thumb their noses at Me.

 

Lord, I will meditate on Your word; for I love Your promises and Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. I know in the days ahead that You will help me and my family. I know that You are close to us when we call on You in truth. I know that You hear our cries for help. Therefore, I will not fear. I will keep to Your bright path and walk with You all the way.

Daily Devotional

Son, what do I require of My children? They must live in a way that pleases Me and because they love Me, and want to serve Me with all their heart and soul; that they run the race I have set before them with endurance. This race will require them to strip off every weight that slows them down, especially the weight of sin that they have a hard time with. When My children become tired and want to give up, they must think of all the hostility I endured, and this will encourage them not to give up.

 

When My children listen for My voice and do what I say, this is called faith! This faith will give them confidence in the days ahead that what I told them will actually happen. It will give them assurance about things they cannot see now. When they obey and believe Me, their weaknesses will be turned into strengths. My children must remember that it is impossible to please Me without pure faith.

 

So until I come back, My children must look after each other. Make sure that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up in their lives towards other children of Mine. They must stand for holy marriage when others are dishonoring it. Remain faithful to one another. Don’t love money or the things of this dying world, but be satisfied with what you have.

 

Soon the people who rejected Me will see what happens when they rejected the gift I had offered them. They will recognize how hurt I was by their rejection of My gift. The reason they reject My  gift is because of their great pride in thinking they are such good and capable people!

 

Needed: Reformation – Chapter 9

JESUS: WHO IS HE?

 

Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

 

After 9/11 everyone was talking about God. I was thrilled to hear that God’s name was being invoked other than used in swearing. I would see different groups of people gathering together in public forums talking about God. I was thrilled that God was back in the public forum again. However, I soon noticed that on the same platform of people talking about God were Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. I then began to wonder what God they were talking about.

 

Never once did I hear the name of Jesus. As a matter of fact, it seems that people hate the name of Jesus. If you talk about God people are somewhat civil until you mention the name of “Jesus” and then they seem to go ballistic. In thinking about reformation this brings us to a very important question: Who is Jesus?

 

When witnessing to Muslims one of the big hang-ups they have is what do we mean by calling Jesus the Son of God. For the Muslim it is blasphemous, because they think we are saying that God had an immoral affair with Mary and through it God’s Son was born that we call Jesus.

 

What does the Scripture say? I would like to mention several important things:

 

First, we know that John calls Jesus the Word of God. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  It takes a breath to speak a word. Some who work with our Muslim friends say that what they mean by calling Jesus the Son of God is that He is the Breath of God.

 

However, we are told in Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” This means that He is the expressed image of God. If we could take a photograph of God it would be Jesus. If we want to know what God is like then we can look at Jesus. If we want to know what God would do then we can look at what Jesus did. Like the writer of the book of Hebrews says: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

 

Another aspect that we need to look at regarding Jesus is found in John’s gospel. When Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus asked the soldiers, “Who is it you want?” (John 18:4) They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied: ‘I am.’ With that utterance they fell down backwards.

 

What happened? What were the dynamics involved here.  When the soldiers came to Jesus to arrest Him they were asking for Jesus, but when Jesus answered them He reverted back to His Old Testament name, “I AM.” When He uttered those all-powerful words they fell down backwards.

 

When we look at this what we see coming out is that the Name of God is “I AM,” but He does business down here on earth as “Jesus.” Who is Jesus? He is God, the Creator, upholder of all things and by Him all things exist.

 

Is it not humbling to think that this God became a man, dwelt among us and tasted death for all men. Think about how the Author of life tasted death, the Ruler and Sustainer of all things come into this world as a little baby needing the complete care and nourishment of an earthly mother. This is our God – this is our Jesus. He deserves all of our worship as we ”fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

 

In Matthew 16 Jesus asked His disciples who people said that He was. They came back and said that he was one of the prophets. Basically, this is what we hear today, but then Jesus asked these 12 men (who had been with Him for almost 3 years) who they thought He was. Peter’s bold declaration was: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16

 

Reformation brings us back to the realization of who Jesus really is.