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Archive for January, 2011

The Tribulation Is Coming

07 Jan

The tribulation is coming and it’s not like the world as a whole hasn’t brought it on.  Daniel in his prayer reminded the Israelites what was to happen if they turned their back on God.

Daniel 9:13-14 – 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Well, not everyone in the world has turned their back on God, but the world as a whole has turned its back on God.

The Israelites fell from favor because they turned from God.  The world was completely flooded back in Noah’s day and all but 8 humans perished because of their evil and turning away from God.  Yet in the last days there will be even more turmoil than that.  Here is what Jesus had to say about it.

Matthew 24:21-22  – 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

The further away man gets from God the more wicked he becomes.  That’s what is happening today.  Mainstream is getting further away from God.  The doors are starting to shut all over the world on getting the Gospel out.  The resources are starting to slowly dry up here in America, because we’re starting to go broke.

Once the rapture hits, you have those who don’t know God left on earth.  They will be two groups.  The ones who will be willing to accept Him and those who won’t accept Him, ever.  Those who do, most of them will be put to death in the Tribulation, but they will be saved.  Those who won’t accept Jesus will continue to get more and more evil.  God’s wrath, which really hits hard in the second half of the Tribulation, is reserved for these who really have distaste for God.

Revelation 9:20-21 – 20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Revelation 16:  – 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.  
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

You see man chooses God or he doesn’t.  To curse God and not repent even though they know they are being punished for choosing to be against Him, reveals how hard a man’s heart can become.

The Tribulation is coming, but his God’s wrath is not for those who love Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 – 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Make Jesus your Lord and Savior if you have not already.  I have put a page on how to do so if you have not in the upper right hand side of this page.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, End Time Prophecies, Motivation

 

More Than Conquerors – Part 1

06 Jan

Romans 8:31-39 – 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

   “For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am going to do a series starting with those verses towards the top every time. 

Why, because they are verses that need to be in our hearts at all times. 

Let’s start with the first verse and talk about each one.

Romans 8:31 – 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Nothing, nobody, or anything can stand against God and have victory.

Someone might say, well, Satan and others are running around free and doing as they please.  That’s not victory.  Satan apparently was the most beautiful angel created and his pride made him fall.  That’s not victory.  He managed to trick Adam and Eve and took temporary possession of the earth.  However, that’s not victory anymore than someone out long jumping someone else and ends up jumping off a cliff. 

Victory comes at the end of the war.  No one can stand against the Creator’s God and Jesus.

Genesis 1:26 –   26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

John 1:1-3 –   1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Don’t stand on the losing side regarding this one.  It’s a choice that most people are making without even thinking about it.

With God in your corner, not only are you completely in the only Hands that matter, you will have the ultimate victory.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

Some Wealth Verses In The Last Days

05 Jan

James 5:1-5 – 1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

There are some verses that speak about how men will be in the last days.  James here in his last chapter speaks on how men will be rich.  They will be self indulgent and greedy.  Look around.  Do you see that right now?  I sure do.  In fact for the last 30 years books have been written on how to become this very type of person.  These books dare you to be rich, control your own destiny, make it happen yourself, wealth beyond your imagination, and all other kinds of success manuals.  Almost all have to do with wealth, although many are trying to teach a new age message of positive thinking.

It’s normal to like nice things.  It’s normal to want nice things.  Like in all sin, man always takes it to the extreme.  Greed.

Greed is a sickness that is the love of money.  God doesn’t want you to love money.  God wants you to love Him.  The New Testament is full of this warning.

When we get to Heaven, God wants us to live in a paradise.  He is going to provide a paradise for those He loves and that have sought Him.  He doesn’t want us to live in trash piles, but he would rather see us help others out rather than seeing one person live in a castle and others living in a cardboard box.  It’s our choice on how we go about this.  It is this very thing I speak of that fits up in the James 5 verses.

Would you rather stand in front of God after owning 5 homes at once, all a half a million dollars or more apiece, along with many other worldly possessions?  Or would you rather stand in front of Him after living in a modest home and have given the rest of your wealth to missionaries, starving people, with no water, and supply the gospel to others?

Eternity is a long time compared to about 50 years of selfish living on ourselves.  The second scenario also reveals a lot more trust and faith into our King, which He also enjoys.

God Bless each one us and may we also do our best to put God first.  Today is a new day.

 
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Posted in Inspiration, Motivation

 

A Son And An Heir

04 Jan

Galatians 4:7 – 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

I’m not going to lie to you.  I am so grateful that the Lord loved me enough to have His Son die for my sins, that being an heir is mind blowing. 

You’ve probably seen movies in which someone is saved by someone else or spared death.  That individual then lives for that person, because if it weren’t for them there would be no life to live anyway.  The Count of Monte Cristo was one of those movies.  I understand the concept and I am now (took me awhile) wanting to live for the One that died for me.

He’s God and could take His giant thumb and press down on us at any time.  Yet He is so loving He doesn’t want anyone to perish.

2 Peter 3:9 – 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Unfortunately since we were born into sin many choose to remain in darkness.

John 3:19 – 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Now He didn’t have to save us.  This was a choice that our loving God and Father made.  He didn’t have to do a lot of things.  He certainly doesn’t have to make us heirs, but according to scripture, He has reserved that right for those who are children of His.

Romans 8:17 –  17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

So how should an heir act?  Well a good start would be for one to live for God instead of the short term desires concerning this world.

We may sinners, but we have a choice of rather to live for ourselves or to live for God and Jesus right now.  Does that matter?  If you’re saved by the Lord, inside your heart you know it does.

We are co-heirs with Jesus and an heir of God, because we are His children.  Jesus is my King.  Just the idea to be able to serve under Him and with Him is exciting.

We need to live our lives as servants for God and Jesus.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

When Do We Find God?

03 Jan

Jeremiah 29:13 – 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

 That statement doesn’t say when you halfway seek Me.  It doesn’t say seek the parts you wish to find.

Both of those things happen in this world and the result is someone making God out to be something other than what He is according to His word.

Proverbs 15:4 – 14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

Today those who don’t know God tune into those who are teaching evolution and accepting it as scientific fact.  They also look to others that want nothing to do with God.  Yet they don’t seek God and the Word themselves.

God wants us to know Him!  We do however; have to put some effort into it.

2 Timothy 2:15 – 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Matthew 7:7-8 – 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

We are to seek the God of truth.  We will diligently find God if we seek Him.

Too many people want God to be their own thing.  They have an idea of what they want him to be and then they try to support that.  Someone might say, “My God eats chocolate all day and wants me to also eat at least 3 pounds a week.  Also He is a lover of bulldogs.”  When someone else comes along and says, “Why do you believe that?”  They just fire back that it’s what they believe and they are allowed to have an opinion like everyone else.  In America today we are just supposed to respect others opinions, not to correct or seek truth.

God is real!  There are laws to physics.  There are absolutes.  Positive thinking isn’t going to get you in the good graces of God.  Why?  Because God made the rules on what it takes to get back into His good graces.  That would be Him sending His Son to die in our place.   Accept Jesus as Lord and His sacrifice and know that He is God’s Son and that He and the Father are One and you will live.

Seek God!

Look if you want to be good at tennis, what do you do?  You first seek on what it takes to be good and then practice, participate, and get good coaching.
If you want to be good at poker, what do you do?  Start reading books by winners.  Learn the odds.  Practice and play and play.
If you want to be good manager at work, which is respected by his workers below him and the upper management, what does he do?  He reads books.  He finds role models of those who were successful before him.  Treats others the way he would want to be treated.

If you want to have a great relationship with your Creator and God, seek Him!  Read the Bible and books that are by those who read the Bible.  We’re very fortunate to have that free ability, at least for the time being.

Seek God!  David sought God.  David was considered a man after God’s heart.  Seek God!

 
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Posted in Inspiration, Motivation

 

Quote – Augustine

02 Jan

He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.
Augustine

 

Romans 10:9 – 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

To be saved it’s that easy.

By no means is that where it is supposed to stop.  Unfortunately in this country many of our churches don’t go much further.  Even worse many don’t give an alter call to even officially offer one to do so.

 
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Posted in Quotes

 
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