Can You Hear Me Now?

   FORGIVE ME if I have a little attitude this morning. So many now are talking about the "Blood Moons" and the total solar eclipses as signs of coming judgement. Well, better late than never! Over a decade ago I did a series on my public broadcast show on End-Time Ideas,  which included a chapter called, "The Final Sign".  It dealt with one of the most often repeated prophecies in Scripture; here is Peter's telling of it on the day of Pentecost: "And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the LORD come:"
   This prophecy is all through the Bible,  and it's good that people are talking about it now, but back in the day, everyone was like"Pre-Trib Rapture! Party Time!" Back when I was studying for my ordination in the Foursquare Church (which I didn't get), I learned the Church's creed is that there's not one more prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before the Rapture can happen. And that's what most Christians here believed. Just look how many prophecies have been fulfilled in the past 10 or so years!
   Remember Joseph's dream about the Sun and Moon bowing down to him? Jacob asked, "Shall I and your mother and brothers indeed bow down to you?" Not exactly: Rachel died from complications after she delivered Benjamin. The deeper prophetic meaning of this dream will be fulfilled when Christ returns, and the sun & moon will surrender to the True Light (Revelation 22:5) Don't you all realize there's no way we can have a solar eclipse, and a lunar eclipse at the same time? Think about it.
    And why are you all so surprised and shocked the the U.S. is turning against Israel? Does not the Scripture tell you Satan's "aliens" (unclean spirits like frogs) will gather ALL NATIONS against Israel? Do not the Prophets tell us the king would break his covenant? This ain't news, folks, and it sure ain't time to panic. Everything is going exactly the way the Bible always said it would. Not the way the "Bible Prophecy Experts" said, 'cuz according to them, the Rapture was scheduled for 1988.
   Well, some of you didn't listen to me back then: you're smarter than me, and holier, more righteous, I get it. I was telling folks for years we would be here during the Tribulation. You ought to have listened to me. Maybe you'll listen now. What I'm telling you is, God hasn't retired & He didn't resign. He protected His chosen from the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Romans, the Catholic Church, the Communists & Nazis; shall He not keep us also in the days of the AntiChrist? Did not our Lord promise He would be with us even unto the end of this age?
   God doesn't change, folks. It's time to stir up our faith in the God of Elijah, of Daniel, of Moses, of Joseph, of David, of Paul, and of John. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. Jesus will call His Two Witnesses, He will seal the 144,000, He will do great & mighty things you know not! BELIEVE! 

The Whole World in His Hands!

Kurios Theos Pantokrator...do you understand what this means? Yes, the literal translation from the Greek would be Lord God Almighty or Lord God Omnipotent, but what does that really mean? It means that our God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is Absolute Ruler of the universe; There is none higher than He; He needs no one's permission or approval to do anything He wishes!
   Realize that all the forces of nature- known and unknown- are His to command. A few examples:

He sendeth forth His commandment upon earth: His word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteh forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before His cold?  Psalm 147:15-18

And it shall come to pass in that day, That the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria, and they shall come... Isaiah 7:18

...and though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them. Amos 9:3 

And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth His word... Joel 2:11

In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. Psalm 95:4

He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He touches the hills and they smoke. Psalm 104:32

The silver is Mine, the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts. Haggai 2:8

   And as if this weren't enough, remember God can also turn His enemies against one another! Am I worried that the rulers of this world have all the money, write the laws, and direct the military? To God they're just a drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15) So they're all going to team up with the Devil to fight God? Is He scared? Should you be? "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." writes the Psalmist (Psalm 2:4-5).

   Listen, the devil may think he has Christians figured out, but he doesn't have Christ figured out! God has stuff we haven't even imagined yet (1 Corinthians 2:9), and we don't even understand all the prophecies- they're sealed until the end! Bottom line, our God ultimately holds all the power. Remember who you are and Whose you are. 

Grace and peace always, and in all ways.

With Their Boots On

   Twenty-one Coptic Christians were taken captive and put to death because they would not renounce Christ and serve Allah. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. Indeed, these are dangerous times we're living in. But we have hope, folks. We ain't in this thing to lose! Mordecai asked Esther,  "...and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" It's no mistake we're here at this time!
   Jesus posed this challenge: "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" I want the answer to be YES! Guys, it ain't time to give up; it's time to remember who we are and Whose we are! Speaking by Isaiah the Prophet, God says:

Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I AM the LORD thy God... Isaiah 43:1-3

   Did He not tell Joshua, "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" ? The same God Who was mighty in the ark of the covenant is just as mighty in the people of the New Covenant! When he said, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world", he didn't mean "a little greater" or "barely greater", he meant WAAAAAAAAAAAY greater!

   God's not going to evacuate us, nor will He let the devil trample us into the dirt! May I remind you that in every age and in each dispensation, God has raised up faithful servants to fulfill His purpose on the earth? Shall He not do so now also in these final days? Jesus encouraged the church of Smyrna, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer..."

Isn't He going to seal His 144,000 servants, and raise up His Two Witnesses? And God has a purpose & plan for each of US!

   I hear so many always talking about everything the Devil's doing, or claims to be doing. I'm not going there, I ain't his P.R. man. My gig is to remind you God hasn't thrown in the towel, and neither should we! We have a Friend That sticks closer than a brother; and Jesus will be with us even to the end of this age.

   Obama & the DHS say Christians are a bigger threat than ISIS. YOU GOT THAT RIGHT, MISTER! We are a threat to Satan and his kingdom, and it's about time we started believing that & acting like it. If God be with us, who can be against us? There is no reason God can't use any of us just as He used Esther, Joshua, Moses, Noah, Elijah, David, Samson, Daniel, or Enoch.

   I leave you with Revelation 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."  How I want to be in that number!

Take Courage, People of God!

  We live in a day when almost all we hear about is what the enemy is up to! They have all the money, they write all the laws, they control the military, the media, the schools and even the church, blahblahblah. "...and they worshipped the Beast, saying, 'Who is like unto the Beast? who is able to make war with him?'"   When Satan tried to impress Christ with all the power he's supposed to have, Jesus' answer was, "Take a hike!"
 The "elite", the "1%", the "Illuminati"----are they any better than us? They wanna suck up to the devil- does that make them invincible?They're human just like us, and can be defeated just like any other empire in history! Hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah:  "...who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the LORD thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?" Isaiah 51:12-13
   The Beast isn't unstoppable as long as God is on the throne! Let me remind you all of another prophecy of Scripture: "but the people who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits"  Daniel 11:32.  Zechariah goes on to state: " and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David as God, as the angel of the Lord before them" Zech 12:8 !  Just as the Ten Spies weakened the hearts of Israel by emphasizing the Canaanites' might, so too can we weaken the Church's resolve by overstating the enemy's power.
   After all, they're just men: they haven't evolved beyond us as they like to think! Isn't that what L. Frank Baum was telling us in his Wizard of Oz? You remember story: a teen runaway and her misfit loser friends take out two wicked witches (no thanks to the Wizard). Turns out "the Great & Powerful Oz" is nothing more than a special effects wizard, a master of illusion!
The enemy may be powerful, but the real power belongs to God!

"As it is written, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. NAY, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" 

   You thought Jesus is the Prince of Peace? He is indeed, but He is crowned with many crowns, and another one of His titles is the Lord of Hosts!  The Lord is a Man of War (Exodus 15:3)! And hey, when the Beast and the False Prophet are finally beaten, you're going to be looking at them like, "Whaaaaaaat?" "They that see thee (the Antichrist) shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, THIS is the man that made the earth to tremble?????"

Isaiah 14:16    

   It ain't our destiny to lose, friends! Just like the Wicked Witch of the West had a problem with water, Satan has an Achilles heel too: "AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY"  

   I don't care what kind of science they have, don't care what kind of magic they have; WE HAVE JESUS!   

Terrified Yet?

   They call him "Jihad Joe", the ominous, Darth Vader-like spokesman seen in ISIS beheading videos....the new face- or voice- of terror. Are you afraid someone one day will sever your head from your neck like the poor victim in the video? Don't be! Not saying it won't or can't happen, but Jesus commanded us:

"...Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you Whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you,  Fear Him."  Luke 12:4-5

   They want us to be afraid of them. All across the country people are kowtowing to ISIS already, embracing Islam & the Quran! Forget that! Paul instructed his disciples at Philippi,

"Only be sure as citizens so to conduct yourselves [that] your manner of life [will be] worthy of the good news (the Gospel) of Christ, so that whether  I [do] come and see you or are absent, I may hear this of you: that you are standing firm in united spirit and purpose, striving side by side and contending with a single mind for the faith of the glad tidings (the Gospel).

And do not [for a moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness]  will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of [their impending]  destruction, but [a sure token and evidence] of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God."  Philippians 1:27-28, AMP

It bears repeating, "...that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel: And in nothing terrified by your adversaries..."

   The Roman Catholic Church is seeking to capitalize on believers' fears of ISIS, calling Christians to "unity" under their shadow. We must not give in to that either! We are to strive for THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL, that faith the Apostles and Prophets gave their lives for! What faith? That if I donate to some TV preacher, I'll become rich? No! But that, "the very hairs of your head are all numbered" and Jesus can and will preserve and protect those who put their trust in Him!

   Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego told the king like, "Go ahead, make my day! Our God is able to deliver us, but if He chooses not  to, no big; we'll be in His presence in a minute anyway!" The Fourth Man who was in the fire with them will be in the fire with us too! He doesn't change: stand up for Jesus, & He'll stand up for you!

   There were cases when God teleported  Elijah out of trouble, and other times sent fire from heaven to burn up the bad guys; another time he blinded them all and took them prisoner! If the Father did that for them, will He not do it for you, O ye of little faith?

* * * * * * *

   FYI, Jihad Joe: you kill me, I ain't stayin' dead! When Jesus comes back, I'm comin' with Him, and the FIRST sucker I'm looking for is YOU! Whacha gonna do then? ; )

   'Til next time...

Fight the good fight. God save the Faithful.

Divine warning: Leaders will be held accountable!

    That funny amber icon on your dashboard you've been ignoring is a warning: "Check Engine Soon". You don't smell anything strange; you don't hear anything, you don't feel anything. So you keep driving.You drive right past that DEER CROSSING sign you've passed a million times without ever seeing any deer. You don't even bother to scan the woods for movement.We tend to block out warnings when we see no danger.
   In the Scriptures, Jesus gives  His folllowers a number of warnings of things to come, and we would do well to heed them. When Christ appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos, He directed him to send messages to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. As He reviews each church's character and performance, Jesus commends their  successes and exposes their faults.
   The congregations are reproved for their apathy and self-conceit, but really it's the leadership Jesus takes to task. Christ judges them, not just for what they do pro-actively, but also for what they allow to go on!
To wit:

"But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam..."

"So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate..."

"Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants..."

   He speaks of the deeds of the Nicolaitans (Re 2:6) the doctrine of Balaam, and the prophesy of Jezebel. I see three hotzones in the church which pastors and elders must watch over. The deeds, or what people are actually doing, physically. Doctrine is what is being taught, whether officially or casually: what the church believes or thinks. Prophesy refers to the spirituality of the church; not necessarily someone standing up & declaring, "Thus saith the Lord", but the spirit by which anyone ministering in the church speaks, or sings, or prays. That is, pastors, what are your people doing in their bodies, understanding in their minds, and following in their hearts?

   Note that Jesus even threatens to remove leaders who allow ungodliness to continue! What bothers this blogger is that church leaders fall all over themselves, bending over backwards to make the changes the world calls us to make, yet treat Jesus like a pesky little check engine light! When have you ever heard denominational leaders standing up & declaring a new policy forbidding the deeds of the Nicolaitans, the doctrine of Balaam, or the seduction of Jezebel? I wish!!!!!

   Paul warned the leaders of the church of Ephesus, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers..." (Acts 20:28) John the Baptist prophesied, "And  now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire..."  (Matthew 3:10)

   Pastors & elders can't control everything that people do, but they need to set the standards in the church and hold them up, correcting those who drift outside the lines. If you won't, and instead allow the world to shape your church, you will be removed!  Hebrews 13:17 tells us church leaders must give an account for what goes on in their churches. Remember, it's not just what you do, but what you allow.

Fight the good fight. God save the faithful.

 

What's Next?

   Once upon a time, someone decided this would be a good time to begin the new year (I don't really think so): so here we are! 2015 Anno Domini. What do I expect in the new year? Lies, lies, and more lies. I don't claim to be a prophet folks, just one who keeps his eyes on trends, and looks out to where they're heading.
   Who lies to us? The goverment? The press? The education system? The Church? The internet? The Devil? A true Prophet, Jeremiah, wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" That's right, friends: we deceive ourselves. People believe what they wanna believe! Facts and stats have nothing to do with it; even what is written in the Scriptures is set at naught when it conflicts with what we want to believe.
   I hear skeptics say, "There's not a shred of evidence" when there's a whole mountain of it right in front of them! The credulous believe rumors, "documentaries", myths, folklore, anecdotes,  and outright hoaxes with no evidence at all. How do we determine what is true, what is false?  I tell you, it is easier to get someone to believe a lie than it is to get them to believe the truth! Pretty much all you have to do is state it as if you yourself believe it, and your apparent conviction will be enough to sway some people's opinions.
   What have we got to work with? "Facts"? Who determines what is fact? The majority? The authorities? The "experts"? Statistics? Who collected them, and how reliable are their techniques? Who is reporting them, and are thet leaving some things out? Studies? Who funded them? How about Reason & Logic? They're pretty useful.....as long as you begin with a correct premise! We all know the guilty have been acquitted, and the innocent convicted through logical & legal manipulations. Gut feeling? Intuition? Good luck wit dat!
   We are told in Scripture, "... be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15) I heard a preacher on TV state, "I know it in my knower". That was his testimnony! I kid you not!  Guys & gals, we need something better than that!
   There are talkers out there known as "Truthers". But what if they're telling us just enough truth to earn our trust, only to turn around and tell us an even bigger lie? HOW DO YA KNOW? The Bible tells us "Prove all things." Don't jump on every bandwagon, folks. People are saying alot of goofy stuff, and the more it gets repeated, the more it gets believed----but it's still just as goofy! There was a story going around the web that NASA scientists predicted the sun would go dark for three days in December 2014. Duh!
   I think some people put stupid stuff out there just to see who'll bite it. If I could tell you one thing for 2015, friends, it's
DON"T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE & HEAR! 
   My Dad used to say there are three sides to every story: my side, your side, and the truth's side. Be careful who  you listen to. Peace.