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Archive for September, 2010

God Offers The Promised Land, But…..

30 Sep

God offered the Promised Land to those he brought out of Egypt. 

Deuteronomy 1:19-21 –  19 Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21 See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

After all that the Lord had shown them, did they take Him up on His offer?

Deuteronomy 1:26-28 – 26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’ “

The land was theirs.  The Lord had paved the way.  He already delivered them out of the great nation of Egypt.  What happened when they doubted Him and didn’t respond to this free gift?

Deuteronomy 1:34-36 – 34 When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”

They didn’t inherit the Promised Land.  They remained out in the desert until they died off and then a believing generation came along and accepted the promise.

You’ll find many parallels in the Bible.  We have been rescued from death, by the blood of Jesus.  The promise of eternal life with the King awaits.  However, if one doesn’t accept the sacrifice and promise, one does not enter into the eternal Promised Land.

It’s not enough to acknowledge God exists.  The Israelites were not a bunch of atheists after watching miracle after miracle.  They were a stiff necked bunch of individuals who didn’t act upon their faith.  They didn’t trust God.  Do you trust Jesus? 

So what does one have to do?  One needs to accept Him as Lord.  Can you refer to someone as Lord if you never pay attention to Him?  Can you refer to Him as Lord if you don’t make an attempt to live your life according to His plan for you?

Luke 6:46-47 – 46“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.

You don’t enter the Promised Land because you believe it exists, you enter by accepting the gift and taking the action.

Make Him Lord.  You won’t lose your life, you’ll find it.

 
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Posted in Inspiration, Motivation, Salvation

 

We Need The Right Mindset

29 Sep

Colossians 3:1-2 –  1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

The devil has had a heyday distracting the church.  Get you a great job.  Go for the big house.  You can be anything you want to be.  Work hard and get what you deserve.  You control your own destiny.  Don’t worry about the big pie in the sky you may be hearing about from that dreamer Jesus, besides you can worry about that right before you die.

The Bible doesn’t read like this at all.  Probably why today it’s the most widely bought and least read book in the entire world.

Do I go for the bag of peanuts or do I seek out the One who loves me, created me and wants to be my King.  If I seek Him there is an eternal reward and it won’t be peanuts.

Do I serve the one who completely hates me or the One who is love, and loves me completely?

Man is a cheap sell out and easily distracted.  If you have accepted Christ as your Savior and King, you have been given the Spirit and strength to avoid the pitfalls and distractions laid out there by the enemy.

Who will you serve?

 
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Posted in Inspiration, Motivation

 

Encouragement – Rapture – Pre Trib Support

28 Sep

Well it’s been a couple of weeks since I could get focused back on some prophecy.  I had a great two week vacation and was blessed enough to have access to the internet so I could keep up on the posting.

There are two scriptures I will put down that tell us to be encouraged regarding the rapture.  The first one comes right after one of the most popular rapture versus.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Is this in itself a verse that proves a pre-trib rapture on its own?  No, probably not.

However, it’s much easier to find encouragement in being spared during the most horrific time on the earth, even more so than the flood, than having to go through it.

The second verse which speaks on encouragement is Titus 2:13.

Titus 2:13 – 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Paul refers to the rapture in this verse as our blessed hope.  Hope like encouragement is something to look forward to, not something that is a consolation if you happen to avoid the slaughter of the days.

When is the church going to see His glorious appearing?  At the rapture.

I am getting down to the last few Pre-Trib support scriptures, so I realize these are not as solid as the other 15 or so Pre-Trib posts I’ve done previously.  To see those just go over to the categories column and click on Rapture and they will come up from the most recent on down.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, Rapture

 

Faith Is Putting Belief Into Motion

27 Sep

Galatians 3:6 – 6Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

If Abraham had heard God’s voice and said, “Yes I believe that is God”, and left it at that, would it have been considered righteousness?

If Noah heard God tell him to build an ark and he acknowledged it, but built no ark, would that have shown faith?

No.

Faith is putting your belief into action.  This is what the Lord blesses. 

When Paul was thrown into prison, he had faith that the Lord was with Him and still in charge.

When Joseph was thrown into prison, he had faith that God was in charge.

When Stephen was about to be stoned, he knew that the Lord was in charge.

Faith is putting your belief into action. 

Belief with no action reveals little to no faith.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation, Reflections

 

Quote –Billy Graham

26 Sep

If we had more hell in the pulpit, we would have less hell in the pew.
Billy Graham

Amazing quote and definitely true.  This country for the last fifty years has preached that all you need is grace and then go on your merry way and do whatever you want from there.

However, that has led to what seems to be a popular last day spirit in the church.  

Revelation 3:15-18 – 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

The church of Laodicea does have a message for those who wish to break out of this rut.

Revelation 3:19-21 –19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Be an overcomer and choose the side of God, because being vomited out of His mouth isn’t where you want to be.

Side note here:  He’s talking to the Church, not to unbelievers in the above-referenced scriptures.

 
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Posted in Quotes, Reflections

 

What Is God Like?

24 Sep

Have you ever paid attention Christians who never read the Bible or listen to God’s Word from others?

You’re not going to believe this, but God thinks exactly the way they do!

That’s really strange, because the more I read God’s Word; the more I realize He doesn’t think like I did at all.  The only reason I think even somewhat like Him today is because of what I have learned in His Word and applied it to my life.

God explains to us who He is in His Love Letter to us.  It’s called the Bible.  He’s the Creator and we’re the Creation.  To watch man, one would get confused on that issue.   

Isaiah 55:8 –  8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

So if are ways are not His ways, then how can we possibly know God?  Through His Word!

If you never get to know somebody, how will you know what they like?  You won’t. 

Most people don’t know who God is because they don’t take the time to try and get to know Him.  They’re not hurting in the “Me time” though.

Do you want to show the Lord you love Him and help yourself at the same time?  Read His Word.  Read the love letter He gave us.  Don’t stand in front of the Creator and try to explain you didn’t have time to read His book.

Pick up a One Year Bible.  I find the NIV allowed me to read it as a story and understand it as I was going along.  You make it a goal to get through it.  I can tell you one day a day and you’ll quit before you’ll finish it from front to back. 

Don’t stand in front of God without reading His Word from front to back at least once.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

Fill Your Cup

23 Sep

You have a full cup.  It’s full of something.  For some it’s full of emptiness.

Is this an oxymoron?  No, your cup is full of something.

Clearly the cup is your spirit.  Young and old alike have a spirit.  What you fill that spirit with is who you are or who you will become.

One of my favorites is that people want their children to become their own person.

Trust me we were all made unique and we all we become our own person.  If someone doesn’t want to guide their child through this world, the world will be happy to take over.   They’ll fill that cup with all sorts of flavors until it spilleth over. 

I have one guarantee for you.  If the world is influencing them, God’s not in it.

John 8:23 –But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

There is no greater supporter of letting your children become their own person than Satan.  However, he’s a cheater.  When one’s not protected or paying attention he’s doing his own influencing.

You know what we are supposed to be?  Children of God!

God wants to fill your cup.  In this country in the present you have that wonderful opportunity to do just that.  You have the freedom to read the Bible when you want.  You can go to church as a Christian and worship with others.  You can turn on the television and even tape your favorite pastors to watch when it’s convenient for you.  There are Christian radio stations in your car.  All of these things are about your loving God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

You have the ability to fill your cup all day long.  I’ve been on both sides of the coin.  It’s addicting. 

What?

It’s addicting.  Wanting God in your whole life becomes addicting.  I believe it’s because the light doesn’t like the darkness.  The light starts pushing out the darkness.  The spirit was made to love God.  It’s why we were made.

Complacency and filling your spirit with everything but God is habit forming and addicting also.  If you don’t take any time for God or seek Him in your day, wouldn’t say you are filling your spirit with darkness?

Matthew 6:23 – But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 Jesus is the Light.  Jesus is the Word.

John 1:1-5 –1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.  3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The more darkness you put in your spirit, the less you understand your God and Creator.

Fill your cup with the things of God, not darkness.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

God Limits Man To 120 Years

22 Sep

Genesis 6:3 – 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Why all the sudden only 120 years? 

I believe there are at least two easy answers to this question.

The first one being that 120 years or less is long enough for a man to be evil.

Genesis 6:5-7 – 5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”

Why was man so evil back then?  One it appears that not only was man a sinner, but the supernatural got involved also.

Genesis 6:4 – 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Chuck Missler does a great study of the Nephilim.  They appeared to have somehow bread with the daughters of Eve and created an offspring of human.  It is believed that these are the Giants we read about in other books of the Bible.  Goliath was the most famous of them all, because of his battle with David.  They were men of great strength and heroes among other men. 

They were clearly evil though as they mention them only one verse before how wicked man had become on earth.  That’s why it makes sense that the Son’s of God spoken of here were fallen angels.    

Hitler in my book lived long enough.  Stalin lived long enough.  Could you imagine if these men lived longer?

Which brings us to the second thing I believe is an easy reason.  It benefits man to face mortality at an earlier age.

The longer you have to face the mortality question, the longer you can put it off.  Man is still bad about this even at a life expectancy of 75 years.  It must have been really hard for Noah to witness to people back when they lived to be 900 that they needed God when they didn’t have Him.  Holy Spirit wasn’t there the same way we have Him now, and some of them were offspring from fallen angels or fallen creatures that weren’t from earth that came from the Heavens.

Man only has up to 120 years.  Spiritually that is a good thing.  With that knowledge and how quickly 75 years comes to us, you would think that more humans would be inquisitive. 

Why aren’t they?  It’s spiritual, we are spiritual beings.

Stop thinking with the flesh and start thinking with the spirit.  Now make it the Holy Spirit!

 
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Posted in Inspiration, Motivation, Reflections

 

Love Is Not Only A Feeling

21 Sep

Why are we swamped with so many divorces and relationship problems?

The main problem is our selfish nature.

It’s about me.

My needs aren’t being met.  My feelings are hurt.  Me, My, Me Oh My!

How many times have we heard marriage is 50/50?

It’s not!  If you think it is you’ll always feel like you’re being short changed on your 50 percent.

It needs to be 100/100.

How many relationships or marriages fail when both people care more about the other ones needs more than their own?  That deserves another question mark.   ?

Satan has a wonderful time reminding us that we are being short changed.  He sits back with his demons and constantly reminds us about what we are upset about.  What that person either did or didn’t do to me. 

Satan tells us he’s got a great idea.  You really don’t have any feelings for that person anymore anyway.  You should just leave them and start fresh.  You remember how you felt when you first met them.  That’s what you want.

I’ve got news for you, that’s called infatuation.  By the way it still exists when both work hard on the marriage.

Love is commitment.  Love is a choice.  Love is unselfish.  Yep here we go into those scriptures.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Jesus loved us enough to give it all on this earth.  Here is what He has to say in John.

John 15:12-14 – 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command.

Give 100 percent when you love.  Many times it is addicting and will come back.  If it doesn’t appear to be then pray constantly.  Also never be afraid to share words of love, in a loving way to one who seems they could use more of it.  There’s a spiritual battle out there and love is one of the strongest weapons.

 
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Posted in Opinion, Reflections

 

Quote – C. S. Lewis

19 Sep

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C. S. Lewis

I have told many people that if it weren’t for the Word of God, I’d be confused about what’s going on around me.

Seriously, if one pays attention to anything that’s going on around them, it’s mystifying. 

However, when one learns about the spiritual fall of man, he begins to understand himself and those around him.  Also in this day we live in, we get to see God’s prophecies unfolding.

What an exciting time if you’re looking for Jesus.  What a squandered time if you’re not.  Start looking, loving, and longing for His appearing.  There is a crown for those who do.  Do you think if you’re living your life as if he’s coming today, that you will disappoint Him?  Obviously not or you wouldn’t be getting a crown for it.

 
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Posted in Quotes, Reflections

 
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