Terror to Triumph – Part 15

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

 

I have been writing about the need for character. When we look at the business, political, educational as well as art world we see this need for character becoming more and more manifest.

 

A congressman yelled out, “You lie!” when the President of the United States was speaking to both houses. Now, that is not the right thing to do (we need more civility in our conversations with one another and this congressman apologized later to the White House), but it has been proven that there were several lies in what was being said.

 

I wrote about determination and I would like to mention a few more things about this. Besides men like Hudson Taylor, CT. Studd and women like Amy Carmichael being examples of men/women of determination, we also have in Scripture many examples of men with the same characteristic, men like Elijah and the first martyr of the church, Stephen. What are some of things that we can see from these examples to help us in building determination in our lives?

 

1. They were men and women who were filled with the Word of God. When Stephen was giving a message to the people who eventually stoned him, he quoted over 100 Scriptures verses from the Old Testament. He quoted from Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah and Amos.

 

We also see with Elijah that the ‘word of God came to him.” They were examples of what Paul was talking about when he said, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly..” Colossians 3:16

 

Bakht Singh, a great man of India, was a Sikh convert. Brother Bakht Singh preached throughout India and saw fellowships established all over. In the face of much difficulty and opposition he was a determined man. What was his secret? No secret. He was a man just like us, but he had a great love for the Word of God. In every sermon he would quote 100 or more Scripture verses. At his funeral hundreds of thousands turned out to pay honor to the passing of this man of God, a great man of India.

 

It is interesting to see that after the command of Colossians 3:16 we have the same list of things after the command of Ephesians 5:18, to “be filled with the Spirit.” There is a direct parallel between being filled with the Word and being filled with the Spirit.

 

2. We see from the passage of Romans 5:3-5 that God uses adversity to build in us the character that He wants.

 

We see this also with Elijah and Stephen. Their lives were filled with adversity. Eventually Stephen lost his life by stoning and Jezebel was constantly trying to kill Elijah. However, we see that adversity instead of stopping them made them stronger.

 

This is what we must understand as well. Adversity can make us strong. After coming out from spying on the Promise Land Joshua told the people of God not to listen to the ten spies that said they could not take the land. Joshua’s comment was: “If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.” Numbers 14:8

 

“Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” Numbers 14:9

 

Joshua’s comment was: They are food for us. This is what gives us our spiritual vitality. This is what can make us men and women of character; men and women of God; men and women of determination.

 

3. We also see that the Lord will test us. He will allow the testing to come in order to teach us trust. He will not allow any more than what we can bear although at times it might seem unbearable.

 

We see this in the life of Elijah. He was told to hide himself at the brook Kerith. There he could drink from the brook and God commanded the ravens to bring him food to eat.

 

Night after night when he laid down he could hear the water running in the brook. It must have been a reassuring sound to hear the water. However, he noticed that each night he laid down the sound was becoming less.

 

Eventually we read the brook dried up. Where was Elijah? He was still at the brook waiting upon the Lord. The Lord had not told him to leave. If we were in Elijah’s shoes or sandals most of us would probably be digging our own wells. Not Elijah. He was waiting upon God.

 

After the brook dried up God told him to go to a widow woman in Zarephath. And Zarephath was where Jezebel came from. God was sending him to Jezebel’s back yard. Here was a woman that was looking all over the world for this man and God sends him to her back yard. What a test, but Elijah goes. He was a man of determination.

 

4. Men of determination are men who are single-minded. Determined men are like the Apostle Paul who said: “This one thing that I do..” They are men of one objective and that objective is the “glory of God.” (Philippians 3:13-16)

 

When Elijah was fighting Baal worship, God’s glory was at stake. The people were leaving the worship of the One and Only God for something that was far less.

 

With Stephen we see that he was up against a corrupt priesthood. The priests were making money off of the people’s worship. What was the result of these men of determination? Elijah calls a nation back to God. The prophets of Baal are killed and Elijah is taken to heaven in a fiery chariot.

 

Stephen was stoned, but out of that stoning came a new advance of the Gospel. The gospel started to move into Samaria and later on into the uttermost parts of the world.

 

During the stoning there was a young man by the name of Saul who saw it all and it made an impact in his life. Through this young man the Gospel started moving into all the world. We all have been blessed by the letters that he wrote that are now part of the New Testament of the Word of God.

 

In the book of Isaiah there is a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ: “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:7) In the New Testament we read: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51

 

Jesus Christ was determined to finish the work that the Father had given Him to do. “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4) Later on the cross he cried out: “It is finished.” A way was made for sinful man to approach a Holy God.

 

Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

 

We too have a job to do, a course to run. Will we finish the race? Will we complete what the Lord has given us to do? If we are to finish, not just somehow, but triumphantly then we need to learn the quality of determination.

 

Terror to Triumph – Part 14

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY continued

 

“It is not a question of learning a thing outside, but of determination inside.” Oswald Sanders

 

I spoke in a church on John 4:34 where Jesus mentioned to His disciples that His food was to do the will of the Father. I brought out that one of the reasons (perhaps the main reason) we do not see more being done for the Kingdom sake is because of a lack of ‘will.’

 

Moving into the 21st century to not only meet the challenges that lie ahead, but to see the Kingdom of God advance will take men/women of character. I have been writing about different aspects of character. What we need today are men/women of determination.

 

A lack in the church of Jesus Christ today is determination. We have a tendency to quit, especially if the way is hard or not what we thought it would be.

 

A person who lacks determination in their character is like the man of Proverbs 22:13: “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside!’ or, ‘I will be murdered in the streets!’” How often the difficulties stop us. This means that we will never be able to accomplish much because we will always have problems and difficulties in life. Like Billy Graham said, “Life at its best is filled with problems.”

 

Church history is filled with men and women of determination. They left their mark for God. At the age of 21 Hudson Taylor went to China. Instead of staying on the coast like all of the other missionaries he decided to move inland. By doing so he started what missionaologists now call the second wave of missions, reaching into the inland parts of the world. New mission societies were started like the China Inland Mission that Hudson Taylor founded.

 

At the age of 52 C.T. Studd went to the Belgian Congo. He had already spent time in India and China. He had to leave his wife behind because of her illness and over the next 18 years he saw her for about two weeks. Praise God for the determination of C.T. Studd. The Gospel is going out in Africa today.

 

Charles Fuller was a man who preached for thirty or more years on the “Old Fashion Gospel Hour.” Every Sunday his voice was heard by over twenty million people. Fuller started the Fuller Theological Seminary that has been a blessing to thousands of students. The burden of finance was upon him. His wife heard him praying to the Lord to be taken home. The pressure was great. Could this be what the Apostle Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 1:8 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.” Yet God did not take him home at that time. Like the Apostle Paul, he instead became a blessing to millions of people. Praise God for his determination.

 

Amy Carmichael has been a real blessing to my wife and I through the reading of her books. We named our oldest daughter after her: Amy.

 

In the midst of real difficulties in India Amy Carmichael opened up an orphanage and rescued little girls destined to be temple prostitutes and gave them a new life. She did this at the peril of her own life because she was determined to see something done.

 

The last nine years of her life she was completely bed-ridden. If you were to go into the room where her bed was you would see the imprints of the bed posts in the stone floor. When my wife and I visited the orphanage we were told that Billy Graham wept when he saw those imprints.

 

Yet from the bed she penned some of her greatest books and poems relating her love to the Savior. One of her famous lines that I liked very much and in many ways my prayer is the same: “Make me Thy fuel o’ flame of God!” Dead and yet she speaks on through her writings. What an example of determination.

 

What of the 21st century? Do we have the Hudson Taylors, CT Studds and the Amy Carmichaels being raised up that will not be stopped? I think so.

Terror to Triumph – Part 13

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY continued

 

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1) A good name and character go together.

 

When we see in our culture here in the West the surging moral relativism as well as our eroding value system, the family breakdown, sleazy television, movies and music that is poisoning the mind of our young people etc, we realize something of the challenge that is before us.

 

When we couple this moral breakdown with our subprime mortgages, fraud, corruption in our political system, lies that are being told, a media that report their own agenda rather than the truth, we realize the battle before us. Our public schools do not teach right from wrong, but only tolerance. Our young people as well as older people have no moral compass.

 

The following story illustrates very clearly what is happening in our culture, especially in the business as well as stock market world. The story is told about the farmer who left his prized cow with a friend so he could go on a trip. “The cow died while the farmer was gone, and he was distraught to learn the sad news upon his return. ‘I was going to sell the cow,’ he said. ‘I desperately need the money.’ Then he decided, ‘I will still sell the cow – by lottery.’ He sold 300 tickets at $2 each and presented the dead cow to the winner of the lottery. When the winner complained that he had no use for a dead cow, the farmer apologized and returned the $2 for his ticket – and retained the remaining $598!”

 

This is one picture of what has been occurring in the business world, particularly in the technology industry. Instead of bricks and mortar, investors have become shareholders in ideas and dreams, and in some cases, schemes. In the wonderful vision of hindsight, many, especially venture capitalists, are realizing they have been buying stock in “dead cows.”

 

When we think of character we must also give attention to ‘integrity.’ A man of character will also be a man of integrity.
The definition of integrity: unimpaired moral principles; honesty, soundness, the quality of being whole or undivided.  Some of the synonyms that go along with integrity are words like: virtue, honor, morality, principle, uprightness, righteousness and goodness.

 

Sometimes we can tell more about a word, not from the synonyms, but what we call the antonyms or words that have the opposite meaning. Antonyms for integrity: corruption, deceit, disgrace, dishonesty, disloyalty, double-dealing, duplicity and faithlessness are just a few.

 

What does Scripture say? The Hebrew word for integrity would be the word “tom:” it means completeness, simplicity, upright, integrity.

 

It is interesting that a root of the word ‘tom’ which is the Hebrew word for integrity is “Tummiyn.” The Tummiyn was one of the objects in the high priest breast plate. It was an emblem standing for complete truth.

 

Perhaps one of the ways to interpret the word integrity is complete truth.  This brings out the idea of several things. First, a man or woman of integrity is transparent. Secondly, there is no exaggeration with a man of or woman of integrity. And thirdly, a man or woman of integrity is a person that can be counted on. They mean what they say and they do what they say. They walk the talk.

 

The church is the institution that God has given to us to teach us what character really is. We need men and women of integrity.

Capitol Punishment – The Death Penalty

Posted by & filed under Carols Blog.

Last night Mike and I watched the true story movie: JUST MERCY. Synopsis written by Gregg Brilliant:

 

A powerful and thought-provoking true-story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan might have had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson.) One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx,) who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds-and the system-stacked against them.

 

After watching this heart-moving thought-provoking true story I went out on my patio and thanked God for Bryan Stevenson (a God-fearing man of great integrity and love for his brothers), who freed Walter McMillian from death row, as well as many others after, as the end of the movie documents for you.

 

I believe in “Capitol Punishment” a.k.a “The Death Penalty.”

 

“Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence ordering that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death sentence, whereas the act of carrying out such a sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and is awaiting execution is referred to as condemned, and is said to be on death row. Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes, capital offences or capital felonies, and vary depending on the jurisdiction, but commonly include serious offences such as murder, mass murder, aggravated cases of rape, child rape, child sexual abuse, terrorism, treason, espionage, sedition, piracy, aircraft hijacking, drug trafficking and drug dealing, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and in some cases, the most serious acts of recidivism, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping.”

 

While most prison inmates deserve to be there, and even sent to their death for what they’ve done – deserving of the death penalty, there are always a few innocent ones in prison that have not received a FAIR TRIAL, for whatever reasons: lack of funds, racism, greed, defense incompetence, rigged jury, conspiracy to cover up truth, etc.

 

Yet, I know without a doubt that when you invite the LORD GOD into your life – you will get a fair trial whether on this side of death or the other. I’m reminded of Jesus on the Cross, an innocent man, although He died in our place (guilty sinners) was ETERNALLY FREED on the other side of physical death to live the LIFE that is TRULY LIFE, and in His case, to REIGN SUPREME as the One True God over ALL Creation.

 

Sadly, innocent people who are arrested, jailed and imprisoned continue to reject their only hope and Savior Jesus Christ; they have no ‘higher court’ ruling in their favor in this life nor in the LIFE to come.

 

“The wicked are too proud to seek God.
They seem to think that God is dead.
Yet they seem to succeed in everything they do.
They do not see God’s punishment awaiting them.
The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us!
He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

 

“The LORD is KING (DEFENDER AND JUDGE) forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the earth.
LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
You will bring justice to the orphans and to the oppressed and the wrongly accused – so mere people can no longer terrify them.” Psalm 10

 

Thank You Father for the TRUTH, the WAY and the LIFE in Christ Jesus! Oh what a SAVIOR! Oh what a DEFENDER! Oh what a RIGHTEOUS AND JUST RULER He is, and will be at His second coming!

Coronavirus – Life Changes & Questions

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

Questions that I have been thinking about while being advised to stay at home:

 

1. Do we go to church or are we the church?
2. Do we know how to live off the land, or do we know how to live out of a grocery store?
3. Government has the answers or are they the problem?
4. Is this the beginning of the end as mentioned in the Bible, or this just birth pains of the end?

 

The reason I ask these questions is, life as we know it is changing. When things change it causes a lot of anxiety in people. Change causes us to find out what is important and what is not. We find out what is tradition and what is not. We see who are really our friends and who just want us as a contact. We begin to see with clarity and with clarity comes truth, and with truth we are set free.

 

To enslave people requires them to know that someone else will meet their needs. To free a person requires hard times, because it requires breaking free of depending on others. Maybe this time is a blessing, because it is bringing clarity to a lot of things that we have taken for granted.

Terror to Triumph – Part 12

Posted by & filed under Franks Blog.

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – continued

 

When we think of character we must think about COMMITMENT.

 

When I look at the evangelical scene today I see a great lack of commitment. When I look at the lack of laborers out on the field especially in the difficult areas of the world with the Muslim, Hindu and Chinese world – I believe it comes back to a lack of commitment.

 

Where are God’s people who will go to these hard areas of the world and stick it out? We find very few who even respond to the call or the challenge. Out of those who do respond we see a great number dropping out after a short time. Those who make it to the field often do not go back again after the first term. Why? I believe there are a number of reasons, but a big reason is a lack of commitment.

 

Commitment is important. Webster dictionary defines commitment as “to bring together, join, entrust; to give in trust or in charge; consign for safe keeping.”  I commit my life to Christ Jesus. I join my life to His. I give my life to Him.

 

The same is true of marriage. Why are marriages falling apart? I know that we often hear of incompatibility, mental cruelty, etc. All of these things are often camouflage for the real culprit that tears a marriage apart,  a lack of commitment.

 

When we commit our lives to the Lord we are committed to His will. Jesus said, “If you continue in my word then you are my disciples.” The word “continues” brings out the idea of commitment. ‘To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.’” John 8:31

 

However, we need to think through some of the reasons why we break our commitment.

 

1. It wasn’t quite what I felt it would be. This is one excuse that I hear quite often with people who break a commitment. Perhaps we didn’t count the cost.

 

Luke 9:57-58 “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'” When Jesus laid down the terms of discipleship we do not hear from these ‘would be followers’ again.

 

2. We don’t have a mind to suffer.
Peter 4:1 “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.”

 

This is part of our armor and is as essential to us as the armor we read about in Ephesians 6. Because we do not have that mind-set or mentality, we see that the enemy gets in and hits us just where we do not want to suffer. Consequently, we see what we can do to break our commitment.

 

When I was the director of our, Operation MObilization ship Doulos, a young lady joined our ship for two years. She had been very active in her church and had a responsible job. When she was on the ship she had to spend time washing dishes. Every night when she was in her room she was complaining about her dish-pan hands as she was complaining about how she did not join the ship to be a dish washer, etc.

 

One night while she was complaining to the Lord about her hands, how red they looked, etc. and thinking how she might be able to get out of her commitment – the Lord spoke to her and said, “Look at my hands…”

 

That was a turning point in her life. She realized how the Lord had suffered for her. She armed herself with the right mentality and stuck it out. She became one of our line-up team who have the responsibility of going ahead of the ship and lining up the program, a job that carries much responsibility, a job for people with commitment.

 

3. Wrong ideas of what it means to follow Christ.

 

We seem to think that following Christ there will be no problems, etc. We do not understand how the Lord builds in us character. It is not that we do not have problems because we do. As a matter of fact, we probably have more problems (because Satan is against us), but we also have solutions to our problems. And this is what makes the difference.

 

There is a tendency to think that by following Christ if things are rough and don’t seem to work them out that this cannot be of God. It is this type of thinking that leads into many erroneous ideas about discipleship.

 

How do we interpret Hebrews 11:35-38? “Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

 

What about these people mentioned here. Didn’t they have any faith? Couldn’t they believe God for deliverance? Yes, they had faith. As a matter of fact they probably had more faith. Here we see what real Biblical faith is. Biblical faith takes us through the problems. This is what commitment is all about.

Change Requires Adjustments

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

The times we are living has caused our daily routine to be changed. It is the same with the church, and I would like to ask some questions for those who attend a church. When you read the Bible, you see what the future is for those who follow Jesus; it brings persecution, confiscation of property, and even death.

 

Questions:
• If this a precursor to show His children how to be prepared for future times, then what changes should we be doing?

• Since we cannot meet as we use to, what would God be telling us on how to keep in touch with each other?


• When these future times come what will happen to our great buildings that we call churches?


• If these church building will be empty, and we’ve spent so much money to maintain them – should we begin now to remove them, and use this money for what the Lord says to?


• When persecution comes this will filter out those who are among us that are not really His children. Knowing this, then why are we allowing these people to have such a big say in our churches today?

The Pure in Heart

Posted by & filed under Carols Blog.

This morning reading God’s Word, I came to 8 words said by Jesus to a woman. Simon, a religious leader, had invited Jesus to have dinner with him and some other guests. A woman who led a sinful life came to see Jesus there. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume to pour on the Lord’s feet. As she got near Jesus she began to weep at His feet, wiping His feet with her tears. What made her weep? Do you think she wept because she KNEW she was a sinful woman in the presence of God? What did she believe about Jesus?

 

After Jesus heard Simon’s ‘thoughts’ about the woman, Jesus openly spoke to him in front of everyone using a parable to help Simon and the others in attendance that were just as self-righteous as Simon, understand their ‘own’ sinfulness.

 

“Two people owed money to a moneylender. One owed far more than the other. Neither of them could pay the lender back, so the lender forgave their debts. Now which of them loved the lender more?”  The answer was obvious, and Jesus responded to Simon as to how he had NOT done anything for Jesus that was at least the ‘customary’ things to do: washing His feet off and greeting Him with a kiss. And He summed it all up with:

 

“Therefore, I tell you Simon, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love for Me has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus turned to the woman and said these 8 life-changing words: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

 

Often, we Christians, as we like to think of ourselves, attack someone else (in our thoughts) for what we see them doing or saying that is clearly sinful. But we don’t know their heart like Jesus does. According to the Lord, we don’t even know the depth of evil and deception in our ‘own’ heart.  (Jeremiah 17:9)

 

“I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

 

As Christians we often become outraged when we think someone is lying or doing something we would never do, at least not in public. We will even publicly spout off about what someone else says or does. Yes, we are to “hate evil as God hates evil,” but at the same time He calls us (all sinners saved by grace) to humility and prayer. In my opinion, the Church in America has been very weak in humility and prayer, and is why our nation is in the trouble it is.

 

False humility is self-deception, and self-centered prayer is not at all acceptable to God. In fact, the Holy Spirit does nothing with our prayers that are self-centered instead of Christ-centered rooted in grace and truth.

 

You can grow up in a Christian home, know the Bible, believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, be involved in an organized church, etc. and yet NOT be in “fellowship” with the Lord Jesus Christ; NOT be ‘in love’ with the Lord as the Lord brought out with His parable here, knowing what was in each of their hearts about Him.

 

As Jeremiah (God’s prophet) confessed: “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for YOU are the one I praise….What passes my lips is OPEN BEFORE YOU….keep me from shame….do not be a terror to me, but keep me from terror.” (Jeremiah 17:14-18)

 

“Blessed is the one who fully trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be a strong healthy tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It (he/she) does not fear anything. It (he/she) has no worries in times of hardship. It (he/she) NEVER FAILS TO BEAR FRUIT.”  Jeremiah 17:8-9

 

As John the Baptist commanded the “religious” in his day, we “the religious” of our day, need to remember both the Lord’s teaching to Simon, and John’s message: Therefore, produce fruit worthy of repentance.” Luke 3:8

 

The sinful woman in Simon’s house loved the Lord more than Simon did because Simon didn’t see his own sinfulness as the woman saw her own sinfulness.

 

Humility is necessary in being forgiven and saved by the Lord. Simon’s sin was ‘worse’ than the woman’s. In thought, Simon expected the Lord to separate Himself from this sinful woman. Have you ever rejected a person that repulsed you? Have you ever looked at someone and criticized their behavior or how they looked? I have. Let’s be honest.

 

Hidden sin can be far worse than open sin. Jesus, who is the Holy Spirit, goes right to our hearts and is why we should constantly judge our ‘own’ hearts, and especially judge our own thoughts to guard our own words before they openly “pass our lips.”

 

With all that we are going through right now in our nation ‘politically,’ ‘socially,’ and ‘financially’ because of yet another plague, God is seriously purifying His own people. He’s working to unite us in Himself, showing us our responsibility as prayer warriors and as His humble servants doing His will only, in whatever way He calls us. God is also preparing us for far worse coming around the corner – that we be ready and prepared for Him. (Luke 1:17) If we are caught up in the disgust, frustration and anger ‘of our fear’ – we will miss the Lord’s open doors of opportunities and not understand what is ours to do in this time, or any time as His Day approaches.

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8

The Bride Has Made Herself Ready

Posted by & filed under Carols Blog.

One of the Lord’s watchmen/prophets recently said, “It’s time to prepare the Bride of Christ.” What does THAT mean? I asked Mike his opinion and he began to relate to the weddings our daughters had. The soon to be bride gets herself in shape for her gown. She sends out invitations to loved ones. She plans the food and drink. She keeps focused on the day, longing to be joined with her groom.

 

What comes to me is that both ‘spiritual and physical’ are necessary. The Cross is both vertical and horizontal. To me, it shows how the spirit and flesh are connected in that one effects the other, one needs the other to accomplish the will of the Father. The Father needed flesh and blood to prepare people spiritually, for life after death.

 

“Just as we are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many (those who believe in Him); and He will appear a SECOND time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are WAITING FOR HIM.”  Hebrews 9:28

 

Those who are “waiting for Him,” both alive and sleeping in their graves, are of His Kingdom waiting to be “with Him” as He promised His disciples; that we’d be with Him wherever He is.

 

The “second coming” of our Lord is after His rapture (taking off the earth) of the Spirit-filled church (bride) when we rise to meet Him in the clouds (1 Corinthians 15:51-54, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 and Daniel 12:7) in order to “escape the worse time on the earth” (Revelation 3:10-13 and Revelation 10:7) with the third “woe” of God’s wrath man’s wicked rebellion, (Revelation 11:14) with His “Two Witnesses” doing their assignment on earth.

 

This “rapture” of Christ’s Faithful Church relates to how the Lord spared His people in Egypt from His last 2 plagues on Egypt’s wicked rebellion (darkness and death – Exodus 10:21-12:13), the 9th being complete darkness over the land so that no one could see their hand in front of their face, but in the homes of God’s people there was LIGHT. If you’re paying attention to what’s happening in our world, it’s evident that complete darkness is ‘about’ to take over – with Christ’s prophecy being fulfilled of the coming of the anti-Christ and his “one-world government” and “mark of the beast.”  (Daniel 8:19-10:14, Matthew 24 and Revelation 13:11-18)

 

The 10th plague of death that killed all Egypt’s firstborn, even animals, was not felt by God’s people because they had obeyed the Word of the Lord through Moses, and applied the lamb’s blood over their doors and windows and eating the prepared lamb together in full obedience, thus the angel of death PASSedOVER the homes (families) of God’s people. (Exodus 12:13)

 

Oh, how I love this time of year that is called PASSOVER because the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross is over people with HIS faith. We don’t fear ‘physical death’ knowing we’ve been forgiven by God through His Son, and as Jesus was the “first-fruits of Resurrection” from physical death to eternal life with the Father, Jesus Christ opened the WAY for us to join Him, those who love and obey Him!

 

Prepare, oh bride of Christ! How do we prepare? We finish what is ours to do before the Lord calls us up to meet Him in the clouds. Each generation has a unique ‘physical and spiritual’ purpose. We testify of what Christ has done on the Cross, and has personally done for each of us, so that others might be saved. AND, we prepare provision (practical/physical survival) for those going through the worse time on earth who will call on the Lord to save them. Some will die a martyr’s death, but many will live through it – without taking the “mark of the beast” as the Lord warned. They will not be able to buy and sell without the mark of Satan. The Lord says to trust God in those days. God works through His people to prepare for His people later. We see this throughout the Bible in both Old and New Testaments.

 

The Holy Spirit’s work, Christ’s work through His Church, is to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord; turning the hearts of the parents to their children and turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous.” Luke 1:17

 

Wisdom knows what to do with what you ‘know’ from the Lord, and with what you’ve been ‘given’ of the Lord. This is how “the Bride makes herself ready.” Her righteous acts are her bright white bridal gown. Revelation 19:5-8

 

Christ’s one-thousand-year reign on the earth (His second coming) I see as the day between the Groom’s dinner (rapture of the Church at the 7th Trumpet Rev.10:7) and the Groom’s Wedding Day at the end of His 1K reign on earth.  (Revelation 21) God says that a day with Him in heaven – is as a thousand years on the earth.

 

After the earth is prepared with our KING of kings “making all things new on the earth and in the heavens,” having done all He said would do in His 1K reign – His New Jerusalem, the Bride comes down for the Wedding Day! Is His Bride making herself ready?

What is Passover?

Posted by & filed under Carols Blog.

As I consider this week and how people in America celebrate this time of year, and can’t now in the ways they have, I’m wondering what God has in mind.

 

Easter as the world celebrates it, is a ‘pagan holiday,’ and is why I choose to call this time of the year “The Passover of my LORD.” What is Passover? In a nutshell: It is the time of the year that God said is to be the first of our calendar year (Hebrew Calendar) because it’s when God saved His people in Egypt when He brought them out of slavery into a free new life with Him, teaching them to obey everything He says, so it would go well with them.

 

In the wilderness as they journeyed to the Promised Land, they learned who God is, how faithful and true, holy and just – He is. They learned how powerful He is over all nature and all world leaders who think THEY are the ones who should be feared and obeyed.

 

The Hebrews in the wilderness learned so much ‘from God’ about how to protect themselves and provide for themselves by obeying His laws and principles. And we have all this truth and wisdom from God in His written Word, the Holy Bible.

 

When the One True God is ignored, and His laws and principles are rejected, as they have been in America’s progressive evolution, He allows us to feel, so very personally, the ‘results and consequences’ of ignoring Him and rejecting His laws and ways. His laws and ways are for overcoming all that threatens the good life we are meant to live on this earth.

 

Repentance that God is after, is that we repent of what, or who, we have been trusting in that is an enemy of God and His Word. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes and makes himself to be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy of God.”  James 4:4

 

In America now, people worship various gods, unlike our founding fathers who worshipped the One True God, and therefore when we are attacked in some way, God leaves us to our opposing ideas, solutions, confusion and chaos – so we can see where it gets us.

 

Whenever a people live under a man or a government that rejects God and His Word, the people will naturally become slaves in that land. America’s founders knew this and is why they fled from ‘religious slavery’ where the King of Great Britain enforced his rules and regulations for worship upon all the people.

 

When America no longer upholds our “freedom of religion,” and all the other amendments protecting our God-given rights, we have become SLAVES.

 

The Hebrews in Egypt were slaves for 400 hundred years. In the beginning they didn’t see it coming, as it NEVER happens overnight, but by a slow progression away from God.

 

Jacob’s 11th son, Joseph, was removed from Jacob as a young boy (without going into the details of how and what he suffered), to end up in Egypt and eventually becoming Pharaoh’s right hand of governing all Egypt’s wealth and resources. As we read in the Bible, this happened to Joseph so that God could later deliver Joseph’s family (Jacob, his father, and his 11 brothers and their families) from the land they lived in when great famine hit, to ‘temporarily’ migrate to Egypt where they could live and have plenty living under Pharaoh’s favor of Joseph.

 

But, generations later, still in Egypt long after the famine had left the land they lived in, the government (Pharaohs later) turned on God’s people and they were forced into slavery, working 12-16 hours a day suffering ‘hard-labor’ to prosper the Egyptian way of life. Why? They didn’t have to become slaves. Are you beginning to see what the threat is in America?

 

THEN, as God’s people continually cried out to Him over their suffering, the Lord sent them a man to show them the way out, and not just any man, but one that God chose from birth to do God’s will. And you should know the rest of how God used Moses to deliver the Hebrew slaves with 10 plagues against Egypt, yet protecting the Hebrews where they all lived from the last 3 plagues.  The first 7 plagues taught God’s people to return to Him and listen to Him, via Moses.

 

Passover starts, because of what God told the Hebrews to do before the last plague of the angel of death coming to kill all first-borns. They were to put the blood of the sacrificed lamb over their doors and windows so that the last plague would PASS them by. We have the blood of Jesus Christ shed once and for all who believe.

 

The Lord told His people on their way out of Egypt, taking great plunder, this DAY should now be the FIRST day of the year for you; for it’s the day you are never to forget and teach your children generation after generation. It’s the day when GOD BROUGHT HIS PEOPLE OUT OF SLAVERY AND INTO FREEDOM UNDER HIS LOVE, PROTECTION AND PROVISION to live as free men with their families; FREE as long as they obeyed His Word and did all that He said they should do for their good future. God would then show Himself to the world through His relationship with His chosen people.

 

Similarly, this is how America started, God leading His own people out of religious slavery, but just as it went generations later for God’s people in Egypt slowly taking on Egypt’s ‘pagan gods,’ we have as well in America instead of remaining true and faithful to the Lord. Some Americans are clearly seeing how their lives are being controlled by the teaching, instructions, laws and current policies of ungodly leaders.

 

Like David cried out (David of the Bible, well-known and chosen by God for being a man after God’s own heart), “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

 

What does the Bible (God) say in answer to that question?  Well, I’d suggest you read the Lord’s letters to His people (the churches) in Revelation 2 and 3, as a start of what the Lord’s own people need to repent of, and what we will lose if we don’t repent and turn from our own wicked ways. Because only then God says (promises),

 

“If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and My people who are called by My Name humble themselves and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways (of following other foreign gods), then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-15