It is not right that we should leave the word of God,

Posted on 01/24/2012 by remso

Looking at the book of Acts

Acts 6:2 KJV Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

As most of you know, Judas is no longer, and so the guys thought it made sense to replace him. It sounds like they flipped coins until it got narrowed down to Matthias. (I am sure I am over simplifying this decision-making process, but it says, after much prayer they drew lots, and Matthias was chosen.)

“Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples,…”

The twelve Apostles are now finding it necessary to delegate responsibility. It sounds as though they had done all the work, and it has begun to take them away from preaching (I will use the word here, but it is much to sterile. They were sharing the life they knew and understood. They shared what they learned at the feet of the Master.)

Whether they felt called to or not, the job of being a pastor, with all it’s demands was suddenly thrust upon them, and now it is taking a toll. Again, what would anyone of them have known of this? Nothing outside of watching Jesus communicate with people, both great and small. They watched how he cared for and loved the unlovely. They watched him respond to the request of the Roman centurion, and they saw what he did for the woman with the issue of blood. They saw the true pastor (a shepherd, in action.) Add to their education the fact that Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit (an unseen breath like entity, sent from God, in my name) would bring all the things that he had taught them back to their remembrance, and lead them and guide them into all truth. We also know that they watched him go up into the mount of Olives, his favorite place, to pray (communicate, speak with, listen to, and revitalize, because it had to have taken a toll on him too.)

I want to add something here. We hear the word prayer quite often, and if your like me, it means taking some huge space of time, secluded away from others, doing what?

Typically our prayers may be God help me, do you see what’s going on here, I am in so much pain. And while that is probably true, and not insignificant, it is only one aspect of prayer. I do not always seem to have the time to escape, and I find that after a while, even I get tired of hearing my whining about the pains, most of which I have brought on myself. While we all have issues that we need to take before God, (and I would suggest you do that before the mole hills turn into mountains,) things like the relationship break-ups, job stresses, anger, and tribulations because of the word (I get mocked upon occasion because of my sharing, but really it is nothing compared to what our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer in the middle east and African nations.)

So while I am walking around moping about the loss of a ten-year relationship with my girlfriend, (by the way, God is in control of that as well.) my Christian friend at work lost his best friend/wife to cancer. Suddenly my moping seems very insignificant. This event alone, more than any other caused me to refocus. I have now focused my prayers on things like: God use me, hopefully as some form of a good example; let my words bring life; give me a boldness like I have never known, and a backbone to stand in the face of tribulations.

Whether right or wrong, I find that when I pay attention, I have been praying all day long. I hear my spirit speaking about something, or talking to God about a customer that came through the store. I find myself with a compassion and love for the homosexual couples that I never had before. The world just wants to hate, not only them, but hate in general. Hate is so natural and easy. Now, how would I know this? I was taught by an expert, and I was good at it. To feel love and compassion, is to feel God’s heart. I know this because even in my worst moments I feel his arms being thrown around me.

We do know that over 3000 were added on the day of Pentecost. We also know that God was adding to the church daily. (Acts 2:47)

We do not know how many people are involved here, but where two or three people are gathered there can also be discord, and it did not take long.

 Acts 6:2 NIV So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

 One of the things I wanted you to see, even though this verse seems simple enough, is the word arestos. The KJV used the word reason.

Webster’s dictionary defines reason as: That which is thought or which is alleged in words, as the ground or cause of opinion, conclusion or determination.

To some degree I could see how this works, but my mind needs to have something more concrete. Thayer’s Greek definitions defines the word as agreeable. Now that makes volumes of sense to me. Considering the numbers of people who the Apostles are now having to deal with. Keep in mind that it says the disciples were now in the multitudes, and that was just the men folk they were counting, the logistics of what they were doing is becoming a full-time job in itself.

Did anybody else notice that service work is not necessarily what they were called to do.

Our focus now shifts.

“.. that we should leave the word of God, …”

Now the questions come.

One of the pastors that I am involved with uses the terminology “quiet time” to include his daily study time. During that time he is clearly looking at God’s word.

  1. Quiet time; is that what the Apostles are talking about?
  2. What is meant by “the word” here?
  3. These guys were bringing life and freedom to the new believers, many of which were Jews. Where did they get this information from?
  4. What kind of access did they have to the written word?
  5. If their access to the written word is limited, not only to them, but to their audience as well, then what are they relying upon?

In the passage given, the Greek for word is logomachia, meaning disputation or to strive about words. Using the word logomachia causes me a little grief, because I found it the Vine’s expository dictionary of New Testament words, and yet I could find no other reference stated in this exact way. What troubles me about this is not that Vine’s uses it, but that Pastors stand before us and say, “this is what the Greek word is, and what it means.” Even my Greek friend will give us the spectrum of meaning when defining a word for us. That does not cause confusion, but helps to clarify the definition.

An example of this spectrum came to me when I asked my Greek friend about the word “ministry” in Acts 6:2. The word in Greek is diakonia and means to be in attendance to as a servant.

But what is one of the typical things we picture when we hear someone say, “I am in the ministry.”?

Having been involved in a mega-church for a short period. I got the full dose of pastor talking about his Scottish golf vacation, his very expensive suits, and how disgusting it is to eat common food, from local restaurants. The implications of someone in that church, using the terminology ministry, has a huge price tag attached to it, and a snobbery that you could carry. This scenario is so far removed from what the word, in this verse means.

My point here is, that even a minimal grasp of how to look up things like this can help you comprehend how basic the motivation was, as the Apostles ministered the word.

To dispute with the word, sounds like a fight to me. Considering where they were standing most of the time (Solomon’s Porch), I would not be surprised, but fighting does not tend to win anyone over.

Apologists defend of the gospel, through knowledge, facts, evidence, and life application which occasionally takes on the argument status, but really, it is merely holding your ground against those who refuse to acknowledge truth. You are defending God’s word (Whether God needs it or not).

What we can learn is that the Apostles teaching was somewhat confrontational with Jewish leadership and apologetic at the same time.

They had no written word that they could carry around with them. The “word” was the scrolls in the synagogues. These were bulky, hand copied and rolled transcriptions of the Torah. Very few had a copy.

Considering that the scrolls only contained the law, that which brings about a sin conscience, these guys preached freedom from it.

How would one find freedom in the law? Only by knowing the character of the one who decreed it.

So what then did the Apostles mean when they said they should not leave the word of God.?

With only their memories, the Holy Spirit, and 3 years of walking with God himself, they taught the world. They had nothing else to lean on, but faith in the Holy Spirit, faith in their memories, the time they spent with Jesus, and the occasional access to the scrolls, if the priests allowed. They shared what they heard, and watched Jesus do.

The Apostles walked with Jesus, the Word, and they left that legacy for us in these words we get to carry called a Bible.

Posted in Things I have never noticed before, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

God’s word is alive, just ask Stephen.

Posted on 01/23/2012 by remso

Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost – A brief study in the seventh chapter of Acts.

False accusations have been brought against Stephen and now we find him before the high council of the Jews.

While most would react in anger, especially after being falsely accused, Stephen is just standing there placidly. So much so, that the scene is described as if they all saw the face of an angel as they glared at him.

Interesting, though the men with Daniel did not see the angel they fled in fear. Perhaps we are talking about a size issue. After all the men of Sodom went chasing after the angels that showed themselves there.

When the council finally asked Stephen to respond he gives them a very precise history of God’s hand in the salvation, sins, birth, and bondage of the nation Israel.

2 things have caught my attention as I read the seventh chapter. (I will pursue the second aspect in the near future, as exhaustion is rapidly gaining upon me.)

Acts 7:38 KJV This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and withour fathers: who received the lively oraclesto give unto us:

As I read through the various translations, one might say “living words”, and there should be no doubt that they are, while the other translates it as “life giving words.” Life giving has a completely different meaning.

The phrase lively oracles in Greek is: logia zonta – meaning living doctrines that give life upon obedience to them. Here, in this passage, the term applies to Moses’ law. “In Romans 3:2 it refers to the O.T., in general. In Hebrews 3:12 and 1Peter 4:11 it encompasses all of scripture.”(Vines expository dictionary of Bible words)

Romans 3:2 NIrV There is great value in every way! First of all, the Jews have been given the very words of God.

Hebrews 3:12 KJV Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

1 Peter 4:11 NIV If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Considering that I never thought of the law as anything other than a form of bondage, I have to now re-think my understanding.

One of the things that crossed my mind a couple of years ago, as my bible study group stumbled through Romans, was that Paul taught these concepts that we read in Romans based upon the old testament law and prophets, of which he was very familiar, and a personal/spiritual meeting with the living God.

Conceptually, the idea of living doctrines conveys: teaching or instructions that are alive.

We perceive alive as something that breathes, moves, and has some variable, visible aspect like tree growth.

A tree might be a great example in that it, from a simple, miniscule start, develops into a foundational plant with developing characteristics of what it’s potential can be.

Does the tree change? Not in it’s designed characteristics. Initially it could look no different from any other tree until it leafs out. The changes in the tree are growth enlargements as it gets taller, wider, stronger, and with maturity, produces fruit.

Most trees go through seasons where they leaf out, drop their leaves, go dormant for a time, and then produce leaves again. An irony in our comparison could be the Sasanqua Camellia. For it’s dormant season, a time of presumed bleakness and inactivity, is when it produces it’s spectacular floral displays. Consider that when it comes to our lives in Christ.

If we have grown, allowing God and time to mature us, then when a time of dormancy occurs, all the work involved in that growth may now be producing some fruit or foliage in the life of someone completely out of our field of view.

As a side note: I really enjoy listening to Dr. Chuck Misler, and I heard him teach a bit on Stephen’s discourse a few years ago. I think Chuck says this about every aspect and book of the bible. Dr. Misler speaks as though Stephen’s exposition before the Jewish council is one of the most significant and revealing looks into the history of the Nation Israel.

I opted to read through the books of Acts, as I had not been here for a little while, and I knew that it would be refreshing. Much like the fact that Jesus did more things than the bible could hold, each trip through a book I have not visited for some time, reveals things like I have never seen them before. I had started a paper on an aspect of chapter six, which I will post in the future, but this one verse in chapter seven speaks volumes to me.

If you take the time to meditate upon it. Meditate: to chew upon it as a cow chews cud. (Now there is a visual for you.) It is stunning the things you find. I can now tell you with confidence that God’s word or law will bring life, but then why wouldn’t it, isn’t Jesus the Word, and life himself?

Enjoy the journey while we can. Next stop, heaven.

Hope to see you there.

Oz

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You have done and said things!

Posted on 01/16/2012 by remso

This was written, and I attempted to post it on Sunday, 1/15/12, but either the internet, or WordPress was having an issue so I am  putting it up today. While some might say that the Lord did not want you to post it, another might say, that Satan did not want it posted. Roadblocks just tend to make me more determined, and beside, you either have faith or not, and I have faith that I heard God’s voice, and he told me that he wanted me to put this up. So, buckle up and hang on.

Sunday morning, and I am having a tremendous battle with depression. I did not sleep well, and had dreams that included stressful people in my life to add to it. I brought this on myself. Still, I got myself ready to go to church.

I have thought about being here, at this church, everyday since I learned that I would have the day off. What I love about this place is their heart for worship and the spiritual freedoms I find or should I say found here. (To be perfectly honest, I could go without most sermons.) At this place though, worship always gets my batteries recharged.

That being said, the depression like feelings were overwhelming this morning. I was there, but not in any mood to take part. Just the fact that I came should prove my willingness to allow God to bring about some form of healing in me.

Two things happened this morning in worship:

  • During worship I suddenly got quiet. At that moment the Spirit began to speak to me – I will elaborate in a moment.
  • The other thing is that someone, on stage, said, “nothing can separate you from the love of God.” Although that statement may be something that I am keenly aware of, (it has been a while since I dove into Romans.) and so remarkable that it should be a part of my everyday thinking, it did not cross my mind. Even if it had, would it have had the same effect prior to that moment?

As I stood in worship this Word began to come to me.

 “You have done and said things that caused great devastation, not only to those around you, but to your mind and spirit as well.”

 At this moment there are those that can totally relate to what I just said, and I feel that I am compelled to remind you, Nothing can separate you from the Love of God. I truly felt that this is what I was supposed to post.

As I stood hearing this, I said, “Lord my anger has surely driven people from you and made me look like a fool.”

As the Spirit replied, in my spirit I saw Peter in the garden that night slicing off the man’s ear.1 God said to me,

“in your time they call that attempted murder, and at the least assault, which carries a hefty prison term. Was I able to take care of that situation?”

 Of course my answer was yes.

 “Then give me the opportunity to take care of this, as well. As for those you feel you have chased away. They are in my hands and are not your concern. The choices they make about me are theirs alone.”

 “There is nothing to difficult for me.”2

 As he continued, he said,

“just as management asked you to not be angrily involved with that other employee, and you did that. I want you to remember how relaxed you became once you realized that someone else was in control and you did not have to worry about him anymore.
I am asking you now to no longer respond in anger, regardless of the situation, for there is no situation that I do not have a firm grip on the outcome. I am asking you to relax, listen to my voice inside of you, respond according to the voice of faith that I know you hear.

 There is no situation that I will not step into on your behalf! There is nothing that prevents you from calling upon my name; as you do you get to relax and watch the mediator do what he does best; you will be stunned. I am telling you this because of my deep love for you, and the fact that my approach is close at hand.

 The onslaughts are going to come with the purpose of distracting you from me, and the path that I have put you on. I urge to be awake and watch for me.

 Listen for the trumpet blast, you will hear it.

 Many will read this and scoff. To those I say, sleep on. I will know where your allegiance lies. No man will be denied my life and presence who calls upon my name.”

Allow me to explain something to you. When I get a word from the Lord, it seems that I sometimes only get two or three words. Sometimes it is an impression of some need. Occasionally, I am just told to go and be obedient and He fills in the blanks. Although much of what I received was at church this morning, during a time when I tend to be listening best, I was not in the best place to write this down. So let’s just say that some time passes and now you have the opportunity to recollect what was said.

One of my greatest desires would be to give the word exactly as I heard it, with clarity, and emotion, but in truth, much of that emotion is me.

If you are going to analyze the prophetic then you must remember that God uses people, and there is not a one of them that are not broken; some are retrained under the masters hand, but still broken, so there is always a measure of humanness involved.

These broken people are the same ones that God used to convey this book we call the bible. An example: God told Jonah to convey a message to Nineveh. If you will read the book you will see that Jonah’s brokenness got involved, for he says, “even when you told me to go, I knew you would be merciful to them.”

What is the problem with that? Nothing, mercy is a good thing, and thankfully God showed mercy on all of us, by having Christ shed his blood for us, but Jonah had some strong motivations to see these people dead, and was probably rooting for it.

I will tell you then that after I left church this morning, I drove for almost an hour, and stopped to eat. There I pulled out the pad and started transcribing what I remembered, and what he was now telling me as I wrote.

If you have not read any of my writings then you may not know my background, or should I say, heart. I was a young man when through combination of factors, I felt that God called me to be a prophet. In my mind’s eye I feel that God has called me to bolster staggering believers, those who may not even feel like believers, and those who are asleep. While this calling aspect may have happened over 30+ years ago I ran from it.

Now why would I do that? Well, for one, most folks, like many of you, balk at the idea. And some can be down right mean.

About seven years ago I made a foray into giving words that I felt were from the Lord publicly. While most were received well, there was a learning curve involved (I guess), and the last time I was really loud. Some took that to mean that God was mad at them, and they complained. (God will speak to you in a way that you understand. If he snaps at you to get your attention, then you would be wise to think of him as a Father that is correcting you, and nothing more. I would recommend a positive response from you, should he speak to you like that, because he is in all likelihood trying to save your life from some non-sense.) Anyway, the complaints got me shut down by the pastor that had originally encouraged me. What an odd world, but money talks.

There is a point to this. God is calling me back again, and if he tells me to put a word from the Spirit on the blog, then I must trust that he is speaking to someone directly. To be more direct, as I was receiving this word this morning, not only was I the target, but a brother that recently found my blog, who lives in Greece, was heavily upon my heart. I could see your face “lizam”.

Father, I ask now in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, who gladly offered himself up in our behalf, to step into the life of my Athenian brother. I do not know how bad off he is now, but I am asking you Father to touch his body, his soul, his mind, and his pocket-book. Help him, heal him, and cover his bills. Father there are so many of us that struggle with anger, because this world is not a perfect place and we are broken. Remind those that read this that you love them deeply, with an everlasting love, and that you have already proved your love for them on the cross. Make Jesus Christ and the power of his name real to them, and give them an insatiable desire for your word. Father if all they have for your word is my blog, then cause even the simplest passage that I put on here, bring a light into their life that is able to shine through to someone else. Father I ask that my words become something that they can use on a daily basis. I this is you Father then bring those to this place that need to hear you. Grow inside of them like some kind of dynamo. As it spins, it creates more energy, and that energy is your life inside of them. Father, I ask that you fill their minds and hearts with visions of your glory, and if they do not know hook them now, and pull on them, until they find a believer to tell them about the Love that I have found in you.

The Spirit and the bride say come!3 Behold, he is at the door4. Awaken and watch for his coming. I long so much for you to be there, and not have to go through the tribulation that is coming. Look around you, and you can see the devastation approaching. Some already have it at their doorstep, and we need to pray God’s protection over them when ever possible.

Those who have a heart for him will come.

1John 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear.

2Jeremiah 32:17 …there is nothing too hard for thee:

3Revelation 22:17 BBE And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him who gives ear, say, Come. And let him who is in need come; and let everyone desiring it take of the water of life freely.

4Revelation 3:20 KJV Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Posted in End times, Hope, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Where can I get some oil?

Posted on 01/14/2012 by remso

I have a very sporadic schedule, so on occasions I stop very early for breakfast. This is my quiet time before work, and something that I find essential. I have to spend time with the Lord each day. The more the better.

It was on one of these morning stops that I met Rick and Demetri. These men have met two days a week at this restaurant for some time now. I know this because for several years I have avoided them. Now why would I do that?

Three reasons: 

  1. I had my own agenda, spending time with my Father, and really did not want to interrupt that.
  2. This collection of men bring in a small mountain of study books, and I felt like this was going to be way over my head. Cover of "The Shack"
  3. I knew one of the men personally. The man I know has a Doctorate in Theology, and has used it as a club against me on several occasions One of those clubbings was after I had read the book “The Shack”. That book changed my outlook on who God was. I had never known such a loving God prior to that, but when I began to converse with my Doctorate “friend”, he informed me rather quickly that our conversation was over, as he did not have time such weak theology. Obviously he did not have time for me either. This was not the first time he had been so blatantly rude to me, but I thought I would give it one last try.

I had not seen my Doctorate friend at the restaurant for some time, and he was not there on this particular morning either. I came in with my rather large and obvious bible (as a side note – many now have the Bible on their phones and iPad. Hey, that’s great, but I want you know who I am and what I stand for. Not religion, but Jesus Christ, our salvation and soon coming king. With a phone stuck in my face, I am just another rude person, tuning everybody else out with their toy.), and they invited me to join them.

At first I turned them down, but after several seconds passed I asked what the topic of discussion was that day. Rick responded with, “the end times.” Now you have my attention. So I told them to bring on the battle, because I am in.

There was no battle. I found these two men to be very sincere, desirous of the knowledge of God, as I am, and both have hearts that love God. Demetri is Greek, and offers tremendous help with words and insight in the culture. Rick worked in finance and was a Pastor. I am not sure if he still is or not. I do know that he loves to talk, a lot. I have met with them on several occasions and recently asked for Rick’s input on what the oil represented in Matthew 25’s parable of the ten virgins.

It had only been a few days since I had mentioned this question to Rick, and I knew that he had other more pressing demands upon him, but he gave me a one page, handwritten answer. I was surprised and immediately began reading it.

Oh my; his response, was safe, non-nondescript, lacking in power, and said absolutely nothing. He either missed the point, did not get the point, or did not have time.

If I do not know the answer to the question, I will not stop until I find out what the answer is. – I happen to think that the answers are here in this book we call the Bible, if you are willing to look for them. (This makes me think of the X files television show. I actually liked it, a lot.)

First, there may be nothing more to the oil, than something that helps to create light, but we will explore that. Secondly, I am not so sure that I have a solid answer yet, but at least I will tell you that, and I will not let that stop me from exploring logical possibilities.

How’s that for an introduction. Now let’s dive in.

 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take olive oil with them. But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ “The sensible ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.’ “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. “Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us! ’ “But he replied, ‘I assure you: I do not know you! ’ “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13, HCSB)

  1. The lamps were quite small and had to be filled often. Taking more oil would have the been the only wise choice. An obvious factor here is that there is not an inexhaustible supply, and the lamps must be filled.
  2. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states: the Figurative Use of “Lamp” is in the sense of a guide in Psalm 119:105; Proverb 6:23, and for the spirit, which is called the lamp of Yahweh in man (Proverbs 20:27), and it of course often signifies the light itself. It is used also for the son who is to succeed and represent his father (1Kings 15:4), and it perhaps is employed in this sense in the phrase, “The lamp of the wicked shall be put out” (Job 21:17; Proverbs 13:9; and perhaps Job 18:6).
  3. The sensible or wise ones took extra oil in their flasks. If this represents the Holy Spirit, we have nothing that tells us that we have the ability to store up extra for future usage. It occurs to that it, like manna, is given for the short-term. Manna had to be gathered daily; it did not store; you had to consume it all, and it gave you sustenance for a duration. The Holy Spirit is so like that. Much like food, it drives the spirit of man for a time, but some aspect tends to burn out and needs to be refilled. Ephesians 5:18 CJB Don’t get drunk with wine, because it makes you lose control. Instead, keep on being filled with the Spirit – Read that and ponder the contrasts between wine, the reasons, the excess, and what God is offering us in exchange.
  4. The unwise, or non-sensible ones had to go to those who sell the oil and attempt to buy more. Just the fact that oil was needed implies that it was dark outside. Where were they going to buy oil in the middle of the night? If the oil is representative of the Holy Spirit, then who is trying to sell the Holy Spirit? If you will recall Peter and John had to deal with such an incident when Simon the “former” sorcerer asked if he could buy the gift of laying on of hands. That got him in some hot water. Sadly, I believe that some evangelists border on such nonsense. They will in a round about way try to sell you anything. The Holy Spirit is freely given, therefore while it may play a role in this scenario, it is not the primary aspect.
  5. The fact that the lamps were small and required frequent refillings should be a clue as to how our lives should be lived. I believe our lives should be lived as though we are in a pursuit. A.W. Tozer has a book, which I have not read, called Knowledge of the Holy. I am on a daily pursuit of knowledge about the one that chose to redeem me and call me his own.
  6. The five, had no oil because: The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. (Matthew 25:5 NIV) I have been accosted with argument even with my writings. They say stuff like, it has been over 2000 years, relax, don’t get so worked up, have fun, and this is from a pastor acquaintance of mine. I do not believe that we are to do anything but live life on the edge, and trust me, putting yourself out there and living like Peter did in the book of Acts, is about as on the edge as you can get. When I step outside myself, outside my little protective mode, and throw myself on the line in faith, I have never felt so alive.
  7. One last aspect to ponder is that all ten thought they were going to the wedding. We might equate that to the rapture of the church, or perhaps the harpazo/snatching away works better for you. One of thoughts that I cannot walk away from here, is that these were not cute stories that Jesus told, but analogies of what was to come, and this tells me that 50% are not going to make the first bus out of here. Do you realize what the implications of that are? If you do not make the first pass out of here, then you will have to prove your allegiance to God by being beheaded. While that is not a good thing, by any stretch, it gets worse. Isaiah tells us that they will dash your children upon stones before you. Now it is dramatically worse, and I strongly suggest that you get a backbone in a big hurry.

The five that were not ready is attributed to being drowsy and falling asleep.

I have had the opportunity to hang out with another bunch of senior citizens, that happen to all be Christians as well, but there is a difference, they do not meet because they wish to expand their horizons and knowledge with a discussion about the living God. In fact they will divert rather quickly if it gets to intense.

Strangely, I have had a couple of very interesting moments hanging out with them. A young Christian man, from the university across the street used to come in and sit close by. On two occasions I gave him a word that I felt was from the Lord. I get as much pleasure out of doing that as the person receiving the word might. But I will tell you that even as I was delivering this word to the young man, in a public place, the Pastor that was sitting with us, was giving me the stink eye.

I have tried to talk with this Pastor about end times events, and he wants no part of it. All he seems to want to say to me is, “just be happy, enjoy life, and there is no real trouble.” Good Lord, that man is asleep at the wheel. An interesting thing, my Dad went on a cruise recently with his church group, the pastor included. The pastor told them that he did not want anyone asking him religious questions or referring to him as pastor while they were together on the ship. Is there something terribly wrong with this picture. Although this is where I used to attend church when I was young, I have had no compulsion to go there for a long time. I wonder why.

I get excited because God’s word make me feel alive. I have always had a desire to understand end times and now suddenly, in this last year things have become so clear to me. I have gained an understanding of what Islam believes, and how they parallel our end times prophecy with precision. The players in the prophecies of Islam fit like a glove when you read the Revelation. To be honest, I do not understand why God has not come yet. When I tell people about the timing of things, I tell them we are no longer generations away, the clock is down to mere minutes, Jesus return is that close.

Cover of "The Islamic Antichrist: The Sho...

Cover via Amazon

 

 

The President of Iran, Ahmadinejad, has stated openly on three occasions, as he addressed the United Nations general assembly, that he has been called to usher in the awaited one, the Mahdi. This man is said to come in the midst of confusion and chaos, and he is willing to make that happen. Has anyone looked around the world lately. Folks, chaos is coming in the form of Islam, and it is riding a war-horse. Just today, 1/10/2012, Yahoo posts a picture of an obscure nuclear production site in Iran that is heavily defended with surface to air missiles. Why would you need that level of protection for an electric plant? You don’t, you need it for an atomic bomb production facility.

I could go on for pages on this stuff, but here is the point. If these five, who were wanting to go to the wedding, gathered in the same place as those that went, ran out of oil, then I want that oil. Maybe the oil is little more than desire, and anxious pursuit. I watch for him as a watchman on guard duty might. Scanning the horizon I see what is going on in the distance (The middle East. Folks, if you are watching the middle east, do not for a minute think that what is happening there is not quietly creeping up into your back yard.)

The Bible tells us what to look for and Israel becoming a nation is a major clue. Jesus said:

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

(Matthew 24:32-34 NIV)

The tree is in full bloom, and it almost seems as though the fruit is about to plucked off the tree.

Posted in End times, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

This will help me understand? (Said with an accent)

Posted on 01/08/2012 by remso

I had asked a Jehovah Witness friend from work some questions about end times, because I wanted to get his take on it.

He threw out his answer and then said, you should read this. It happened to be this booklet.

“What does the Bible teach?” written by the Jehovah Witnesses.

He stated, “this will help you understand the Bible.”

I chose to begin with chapter 9 as the chapter topic is: “Are we living in the last days?

That subject is my passion as of late, and I study it with consistency. I do not claim to be an expert, but I am getting better at it with everyday. I have also noticed that in discussions with other Christians I am getting canned answers. This demonstrates to me how little they read, apply logic and truly attempt to understand the scriptures. It also demonstrates how unwilling they are to think outside the box that religion has put them in.

 Do I have all the answers? No, but I am willing to ask and find out. I truly believe that if there is a question, the answer is in this book called the Bible, not some book by the Jehovah Witness. I also think that there are questions that are not to be answered down here. Daniel is an example of this. The angel told him that the understanding for what he saw was not to known then, but later; folks, the later is now.

 With the rise of Islam, and knowledge of what they believe, suddenly the book of Revelation and why Jesus comes at the end of the Great Tribulation with such a vengeance makes all the sense in the world to me.

 The 9th chapter of the booklet immediately asks 3 questions.

  1. What events in our time were foretold in the Bible?

  2. What does God’s word say people would be like in “the last days”?

  3. Regarding “the last days”, what good things does the Bible foretell?

 The first scripture reference is to James 4:14. They do not elaborate but my friend says look these up in your bible. I can assure you that they are not looking these scriptures up themselves or they would be screaming foul. This idea of looking up the scriptures for yourself is something that, as believers, we should all be doing. It reduces the ability for someone to deceive you, because you will be applying intelligence to what you hear and read, and judging it in contrast to what “the Word” says.

 What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears.

(James 4:14 CEV)

 The booklet makes the statement: “Tragic things happen so suddenly that no human can predict what tomorrow will bring“. While there is logic to this, you should rarely take scripture out context. That is precisely what the JW’s have done.

 Here is the entire passage

“.. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone? You should know better than to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!” What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. You should say, “If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things.” Yet you are stupid enough to brag, and it is wrong to be so proud. If you don’t do what you know is right, you have sinned.” (James 4:12-17 CEV)

 While things can happen that are tragic, and sudden, the biggest impact seems to be from not acknowledging God as being in control. One commentary that I read suggests that the person on the receiving end of these tragic events is self-willed and arrogant.

The booklet goes on to say that: “however, Jehovah knows what the future holds.”

Again, that is common sense to someone who reads scripture, but what about the person that does not. To back up this statement the booklet uses Isaiah 46:10 as their scripture reference.

Let’s look at Isaiah 46:10

(KJV) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Again, the student of scripture knows that God knows the end before it ever begins, but this passage speaks about a God that decrees how it will be more than it speaks about him knowing, and it has a context.

Isaiah 46:9-11 NIV Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. (10) I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ (11) From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.

The overall context is that God is in control and he honors his word. If anything this passage tells me that God can be trusted and regardless of what comes, he has my best interest at heart.

Look at Isaiah 46:4 NIV Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

There is nothing about this passage that warns of tragedy coming. Unforeseen events are a daily part of life. Tribulations, though not the Great one of scripture, are a daily part of life, and yet God brings hope. Did you ever wonder where the Apostle Peter or Paul got their information? Right here. God says, “I made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. This theme begins to pop up all over scripture, but the bottom line is that God is in control.

The last two verses of Isaiah are a radical statement against those that refuse to give God the glory. Read these:

Isaiah 46:12-13 NIV Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are now far from my righteousness. (13) I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel.

“Jesus Christ spoke about the kingdom of God which will bring an end to wickedness and make the earth a paradise.” (I will refer to the booklet as JWB from this point on.)

Their scripture reference is Luke 4:43. Alright let’s look at that passage.

Luke 4:43 NIV But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Once again, the student of scripture knows that the command was given in Mark 16:15 to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

But, what is the context?

Luke 4:40-44 NIV At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. (41) Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. (42) At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. (43) But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (44) And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

People had been coming to him steadily. Why, because they got something out of him. Not necessarily because they believed that he was the Messiah that they had waited for, but because he did not turn them away. Who wouldn’t come? He feeds and heals people, and no one has done that before.

While the people may not have understood who he was, the demons sure did, and they shouted out who he was as they came out at his command. Having been exhausted by all this he had found a quiet place, as was his custom. They found him again, and tried to prevent him from leaving. Now you get Jesus response, “I must proclaim the good news to other towns also”. And so he kept on preaching in other synagogues of Judea.

This passage is once again a thin example and should not be used as the backbone of your argument. It does define the statement: “Jesus Christ spoke about the kingdom of God which will bring an end to wickedness and make the earth a paradise.” While he did tell the people that he had to declare the good news of the kingdom, his main purpose here, it does not say what he preached and the result. That kind of assumption is pure conjecture here. There is a context here and this is not it.

If you gain anything from Jesus interaction with the people, you should come to understand that Jesus said what he meant, and meant what he said. He did go and preach the gospel to others, in so many ways.

There is nothing in this that even remotely backs the statement that he will make earth a paradise. I do though, believe the heaven will be exactly like this, paradise. Why do I think that? Because God make the earth, and all creation perfect in the day that he made it. Try looking that up! It was paradise, but paradise became subject to corruption just as man did. Revelation tells us that this earth and the heavens will be destroyed.

What the disciples asked was a very Jewish question, for they all understood that a Messiah would come and reign. The question was also asked to define when the destruction would come? Think about it, Jesus had told them that every stone in the temple would be thrown down. That happened in a relatively short period, but do you claim that as the forerunner to your paradise.

What Jesus spoke of is the most exciting time on earth. While there will be unparalleled destruction coming, it is also a time where those who have a relationship with Him, will be rescued out of here, and those that remain will have to make a stand for God or bow to the beast / man and give your allegiance to the god he worships. If you know anything about Islam then you would know that the beast will take the role of the Islamic Mahdi, and you have to bow your knee to Allah. Doing this is a personal affront to God and all that he represents. Why? Because he paid for you with his own blood, an act of Love that surpasses anything that man could ever do, and yet man still choose to give his allegiance to Satan, the power that the Mahdi / Beast embodies.

Those who are not established in hope have nothing to look forward to but fear and dread. Try reading the book of Revelation for yourself. You will find the judgments of the seals, the bowls, and the trumpets. All this is going on at the same time the Islam is trying to weed out those that will attempt to resist its false prophet.

I have a hope that I can anchor on two things, even though there is so much more.

1Peter 1:3 tells me that: “..he has (Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, my Savior and soon coming King.) caused me to be born again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

This passage ends with a comma, therefore the thought continues:

1 Peter 1:4 KJV To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you,

Another comma. I am getting to where I love commas because each one gets better. Now I have an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance, a promise that will not fade away, reserved in heaven for me. But not just me, anyone who calls on the name of the Lord as their own. Jesus I need you and want you in my life. How I have lived without you I do not know. Come into me as you promised and let the rivers of living water flow from me as you promised. I turn my life over you and give you control, now take control of me and bring me into your kingdom.

1 Peter 1:5 KJV Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

While Jesus himself is a strong anchor that easily stands alone, another one that I learned to lean upon is one that Jesus himself stated, and the Apostle Peter reinforced, and expounded upon.

Jesus said, these last days would be as in the days of Noah.

Matthew 24:37 KJV But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Read the whole thing and then put some thought into what the implications are.

The saga begins in Genesis 6:5 and continues through Genesis chapter 7. Even as Noah worked upon the Ark evil and the threat of destruction stood outside the door step.

An important passage to note in this is Genesis 7:16.

Genesis 7:16 KJV And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

 In terms of a guarantee and hope, destruction is literally coming like a flood and God shuts the door behind them. One might even conjecture that God could not release the floods until Noah and his family were safely inside the Ark, protected. That is not such a far-fetched idea.

Look at 2 Peter chapter 2. Peter describes God’s salvation of Noah, but takes it a step further and includes Lot. God warned that he would destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. After sending angels and telling Lot and his family to get out, Lot hesitates. The angels had to physically escort them out, stating that we can do nothing until you are safe.

Genesis 19:16-22 NIV When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. (17) As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” (18) But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! (19) Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. (20) Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it–it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” (21) He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. (22) But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

Here is the key to this, and an aspect of the believers hope.

2 Peter 2:9-10 NIV if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. (10) This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;

“In fact, Jesus disciples asked: ‘what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?’” JWB

This is supposed to be a quote from Matthew 24:3. Let’s just look at that a moment.

Matthew 24:3 NIV As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

So what was going on that the disciples should ask this question.

Matthew 24:1-2 NIV Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. (2) “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.“

Jesus told them that the temple would be thrown down. This happened in 70 A.D., at the hand of Titus. While many felt that this was the end of the world, it was not.

No one asks, “what will be the sign of your presence.”JWB

Presence

PRES’ENCE, n. s as z. [L. proesentia; proe, before, and esse, to be.] The existence of a person or thing in a certain place; opposed to absence.

Are you serious, God, as a man, was sitting before them, answering their questions. He had not, as far as we know, explained to them that he going back to the Father, so how could this be an aspect of their thinking. They no more believed he was the Messiah, than any of the Pharisees that plague him.

 Revelation 1:7 NIV “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.

 If you make the claim that Jesus returned to the earth in 1914 or when else, then you have taken the role of deceiver, or as Revelation calls him the anti-Christ. Trying to make people believe that Jesus acted outside of Truth makes you no less destructive than the False Prophet himself.

So if you now have people looking for signs of some presence then they will waste their time unproductively at everything but the Truth. Jesus himself said that he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John testified that he, Jesus, was the Word of God, and the ONLY begotten Son. Standing around, not looking at the Truth, but looking for what they don’t know, millions will be deceived, and be caught off guard.

One way that will happen: Islam despises “the people of the book”. In truth, this is the scripture, the Truth, that leads men to Jesus Christ, the Son, and none other. But Islam too has its prophecies. One of which calls for the appearance of Jesus. Not the Son of God, but the son of Mary. They call him Isa ben Mariam, and he is just a man.

  1. He is definitely a Jew, of the Aaronic line, therefore qualified to be a high priest in the rebuilt Jewish temple. (That will become very important in a minute.)
  2. How is it that Muslims that hate Jews, are awaiting one? Because he is also a Muslim. When he comes he will be asked to say a prayer over the battle that is to take place. He defers to the Mahdi (the beast of Revelation, and leader of Islam at this time.) For him to defer to the Mahdi is to show a strong allegiance and subservience to Allah, not God the creator.
  3. This Jesus of Islam is said to barter a peace treaty with Israel with those Muslim nations that have surrounded Israel, as they move in to destroy it.
  4. He is said to produce lost documents that will prove that the Messiah that Israel seeks is all wrong.
  5. He is said to produce the lost Ark of the covenant.
  6. Many will be deceived. This may include those outside the Jewish faith.
  7. He is said to have complete access to the temple.
  8. He is said to be the enforcer of global Sharia law. That law allows for the beheading of those that oppose Islam.

So back to the obscure allusion to an answer to the question that the disciples asked. When Jesus responded to their question, what was the first thing he said. The JWB did not bother to mention that. Jesus said, “SEE TO IT THAT YOU BE NOT DECEIVED!” Considering what I just described above, why else would he have said that? We have a clear definition of when Jesus will come back to earth. Scripture tells us that he is coming in the clouds and every eye will see him. He is not sneaking in some back door, and only the Jehovah’s Witness will have knowledge of it. He is not showing up in some Nebraska corn field. He is going to plant his feet upon the Mount of Olives, and that Mount will split in two, as though some great earthquake had hit. This happens very explicitly at the end of the seven years of “Great Tribulation”. That also coincides with the seven-year reign of the beast/Mahdi. That also happens to be three and a half years after the beast breaks the peace treaty with Israel, and the be-headings have continued for some time.

If you were not aware, the Great Tribulation is a time of judgment upon the nations of the earth, so do not expect Christ to be coming with anything but a sword. If you actually read scripture then you should understand that a third of the earths population will be killed by various methods. We are told that if God did not shorten time, no one would survive what is coming.

Why would I tell you any of this?

Because only knowing the truth will set you free. There is only one truth, and his name is Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, the risen one.

2 Peter chapter 2 gives you the precedent. God will save his righteous ones, but as with Noah and Lot, it will be at your doorstep, and on the razors edge.

Righteous is what he makes those that humble themselves and come to him. He is in control, not you, and there is nothing you can do to make yourself righteous.

Having forgiven the world of the sin debt that we owed and could not pay, he made it possible for us to give ourselves freely to the Father. The Father gave his Son to die so that the family relationship could be restored. This is what Adam had in the beginning. If you cannot relate because your image of a family is skewed, then consider this. The earth represents a large adoption agency, and just like a legitimate one here, a price had to be paid. God comes down and takes a look to see if there is someone he wishes to bring home with him. Having looked around he decided that he had to have them all. He pays the price for all, signs the paperwork, and says come on and get in the truck. All anyone has to do is to sign the paperwork indicating that you wish to join him, and go jump in the truck. Here is the good news, He has not pulled away yet. That day will come soon. That does not mean that you are not welcome to come, it merely means that you may now have to sign the paperwork with your own blood as they chop off your head.

Many see this love and run to him, others may see it as something momentarily better than the conditions here, and others, with their bad attitudes sign on, sneering that I will try it out. Matters not, God takes you in. Some will struggle with that concept, but what does scripture say,

Romans 5:8 NIV But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Imagine if you had adopted and older child, set in their ways. They state openly, I will come with you, but don’t expect me to do anything!” Do you understand that love himself gave his life for world that had nothing but a huge chip on their shoulder.

 You really want to know what the sign of his presence is?

It came in the form of a baby in a manger. It was placed upon a cross to die. It rose again from the dead that I might live. It died for a world for a world that did not deserve it, and it promises us a life, beyond imagination, with Him, in Glory. The best part is, anybody is welcome to come.

“..and of the conclusion of the system of things?”

If you are going to throw something at me as scripture, then try using scripture. They did not ask him this, you are only conjecturing when you make a statement like this. Charles Taze Russell was disproved in a court of law as a charlatan that knew no Greek, therefore all his writings and claims were proven to be falsehoods, that he was using to gain monetary means.

On the other hand, scripture has withstood the test of time, and still brings men into knowledge of a loving God, that wishes above all else to restore his relationship with man.

If Jesus disciples asked him what would be the sign of the end of the world, then wouldn’t that be the end of all of us as well, unless of course you actually have a hope, based upon your relationship of Love with him.

Posted in Deception, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Then we should be moving heaven and earth

Posted on 01/05/2012 by remso

I cannot seem to help it. I get so involved in passages of scripture or an intended study that I lose contact with the outside world. That is not necessarily a bad thing as most of world offers me nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I love art, music, a good play, and of nature. But the soap opera of life just drags me down, and I really do not care who won the lousy ball game. That being said I decided to read the book of Acts, again.

There is a background motivation for that. I get information from Chuck Misler’s organization, and he, in describing an aspect found in the book of Acts got me interested once again.

 (Acts 1:1-3 KJV)

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

 Allow me to shorten this, in an effort to get to the point.

….all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up,

…To whom also he shewed himself alive

….by many infallible proofs,

…being seen of them forty days,

…and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

 I want so badly to know what he said to them.

 Proofs:

  • The correctness of operations in mathematics are ascertained by proof.
  • Any effort, process or operation that ascertains truth or fact.
  • That degree of evidence which convinces the mind of the certainty of truth of fact, and produces belief.
  • Proof is derived from personal knowledge, or from the testimony of others, or from conclusive reasoning.

To be infallible is to be beyond dispute. The quality of being incapable of error or mistake. There is no room for argument, at least of a logical nature.

HE IS ALIVE; he is truth; he is coming, just as he said he would; there is a heaven, just as he said, and he is taking us there with him.

See it, feel it, and you can almost taste it, it is so real.

 While he was still with them, he said: Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. (Acts 1:4 CEV)

 And so they stayed. Acts chapter 2:16 finds them being filled with the Holy Spirit of God and speaking with other tongues, tongues that seem to cover the gamut of foreign languages that had come to Jerusalem. Many thought they were drunk. Yeah right!

Peter, is back with a vengeance, and jumps up to speak. Here is a portion of what he said:

 But this is what God had the prophet Joel say,

“When the last days come, I will give my Spirit to everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. In those days I will give my Spirit to my servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy. I will work miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will turn dark, and the moon will be as red as blood before the great and wonderful day of the Lord appears. Then the Lord will save everyone who asks for his help.” (Acts 2:16-21 CEV)

 “it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…”

Dake’s notes state that the Jews understood this term “in the last days” to mean in “the days of the Messiah.”

 Some thoughts about this. This could apply to the time that he was, and will be physically here. – OK, that gets blown out of water quickly, because only a short time before this he ascended. That means he left the earth.

 Perhaps “ the days of the Messiah” is “the day of the Lord”. One could logically make that assumption because Peter associates Joel’s prophecy with that time frame, therefore “the day of Lord” began at that point. There are things that happen around us that might make you believe that.

 Allow me to explore some aspects of Joel’s prophecy.

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand– a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. (Joel 2:1-2 NIV)

 As you can see from this he is talking about the time of judgment.

 The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (Joel 2:11 NIV)

 Now it appears that he speaking of the time at the end of the Great Tribulation, if the army of the Lord is coming. Still we are speaking in terms of judgment.

 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Joel 2:28-31 NIV)

 While this sounds like a glorious time when God will speak through his people, there is still a reference to the dreadful day of the Lord.

 As I read through Joel’s prophecy recently, I was taken by the statement “in the last days”. Throughout scripture this has been associated with the times of judgment and the Lord’s return.

 Here is a problem I have with the timing of Joel’s prophecy.

 If that time began, then it opened the door to the day of the prophet. If that is the case, then we should be moving heaven and earth at the mention of Jesus name.

 A short story.

For a time I rented a room from a friend. As we sat and watched the evening news many years ago, they gave a minute by minute news update about a hurricane about to slam into the Galveston Texas coastline. I turned to him and said, “you know, scripture tells us that the oceans are bound by the coastline and not allowed to cross them.” Puzzled he just looked at me. I said, “ watch this”, and I prayed, out loud there in front of him. “In the name of Jesus I command this hurricane to honor those boundaries and turn back out to sea.” In a matter of minutes the newscaster came back on and said, “we are all puzzled and pleased, as the hurricane has just turned back out to sea.” Several minutes passed and it was reduced to merely a wet wind storm. My friend was visibly shaken by the power of God.

 Don’t you realize that God intended for this to be our lifestyle. It has been religion and fear of failure that has prevented you from living like this.

 I cannot begin to describe what I feel right now. It is like standing out in the most beautiful place ever seen, experiencing a one of kind sunrise, and you are standing there taking it all in as the colors of a new day explode upon the palette of the sky.

 How would your world change if you knew your words were dynamic and alive, charged by the Spirit of the Living God?

 They Are! Those days are upon us. God is drawing Muslims from around the world to him through dreams and visions.

 What is God saying to you? I know that he has spoken to many of you, and he has called you to come to him. He was standing there with arms open wide, motioning for you to come. Run to him, and Jesus Christ the risen one will come into your life if you will ask him. Allow him to have the control in your life and you will gain a freedom that you never thought possible.

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The Millennial kingdom – Who are all these people?

Posted on 01/03/2012 by remso

If you read my blogs then you know that much of what I write is what I grapple with. Here goes another one.

Let’s assume a scenario; I just happen to think (based upon what I see in scripture) this is how it will happen: The rapture – the great snatching away of the church (that is a whole other issue I will dive into later) takes place. The rapture, as I see it, is on the cutting edge of God’s wrath. God’s wrath is an part of the Great Tribulation.

The Great Tribulation – Has two components –

God’s wrath being poured out upon the earth in the form of: 1. The 7 seal judgments; 2. the 7 trumpet judgments; 3. the 7 bowl judgments. This may not look like God’s hand when you look at the players involved, but it certainly is. If nothing else happened, such as be-headings in the name of Allah, I cannot imagine anyone surviving on the earth, and yet they do.

The second is the work of the Beast, (a man driven by a Satanic spirit that has shown up many times, in many people, throughout man’s tenure here on earth.) and the False Prophet.

(Islam fulfills both of these roles in their prophecies. The Mahdi, also known as the 12thImam, and a prophetic person named Isa ben Maryiam. In English, Jesus the son of Mary, not God. I am telling you that if you will find out more about who these characters are that Islam is anxiously awaiting, it will alarm you, and scripture will suddenly make more sense than you ever thought possible. If you are bold enough, find the book “The Islamic Antichrist”, by Joel Richardson and read it.)

Cover of "The Islamic Antichrist: The Sho...

Cover via Amazon

At the rapture the Church, those that are awaiting the return of Jesus Christ, will be removed from the earth.

(An aspect that has caused me some confusion is “the dead in Christ” shall rise first. I suppose I am confused because if you want to analyze it, we are all dead. We were born into death thanks to Adam’s transgression.) If, as scripture states, to absent from the body is to be present with the Lord then there really are no Christian dead, lying around waiting to be caught up. I am really  not sure why any part of the body needs to be recovered, but there you have it. Clearly God made each one of unique in some way, and that body, in better shape than when you left it, will be restored intact. For you skeptics. Was Jesus body found in the grave after the three days? No. This is making my mind swim as I think about bodies and their propensity to decompose. Really, what are we talking about here? Atoms. Apparently God is able to reconstruct an entire body from whatever molecule is left.

If the church is gone, who is left?

  1. OK, so those who God found awaiting him are gone. Who is left? A lot of religious folk who thought they should have gone; the cults who live on the fringe of acknowledging Christ as Lord, but most have no real idea (I hope that I am wrong about many of them. If they learn of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, and anxiously await him, then they should be gone as well), sadly I think that most will still be here. There will be the eastern religions, and a few stray cats mixed in.One of the things that recently caught my attention was Matthew 25:1. Jesus said the last day will be like ten virgins that were coming to the wedding. Jesus Christ is coming on that day to gather us to the wedding. Half of them, though on their way, in their mind, were unprepared, and when the call finally came they started scrambling for oil. A key to understanding what is happening here is Matthew 25:5 which says, “While the bridegroom tarried they slumbered and slept.”

    Even as I write these things, and talk about them with people, this is what I get, “why are you getting all worked up, we have waited for him for over two thousand years. Beside all that, the world is always in turmoil, and people are always in some form of tribulation.” With that being said, they spiritually go back to sleep.

    When you consider that no oil based lamp burns forever and must be refilled, and we are equated to an oil lamp with a limited burn time, then there must be the need to keep replenishing that oil. That would have to be on a daily basis, and multiple times a day.

  2. So we have established that many versions of religious types will be left here, what about the others? While Islam believes in a god, no less than the oriental religions believe in god(s), I did not even, in my mind, include them as I thought about the religious folk that have been left. I suppose you could chalk my attitude up to prejudice. That was a common, and unspoken teaching in church, I cannot remember a colored person in our church growing up. Dear Lord, I hope God can set that tragic problem aside when he comes for us. Islam, though staunchly religious, and appalled at our lack of morality, is entwined in a hatred of the Almighty, and refuses to believe that Jesus Christ, though a good man and a prophet, was the Son of God, or God himself. Bottom line, they are in opposition to everything we believe outside of morality, and yet even that is twisted, for a man can get away with things that a woman cannot.I suppose the bottom line here, on those that are left, are the godless, the unknowing, the scared, and the arrogant. We are not to be naive When Adam committed treason, handing the earth over to Satan, and eating the fruit of the tree that gave knowledge of both good and evil, he passed that knowledge, I suppose genetically, through every generation since. NO MAN will have an excuse, for they know what good is and have chosen not to do it.

    Why do you think that God wreaks such destruction upon the earth’s inhabitants, because having the opportunity to accept the loving act of the one who created you, and paid for your release from the genetic damage that Adam did, with HIS OWN BLOOD, they reject him.

    God out of love, gave man the opportunity to choose for himself, and there in the problem lies.

Alright then, the rapture comes and goes, along with seven years of horrid events culminating in Jesus return to earth (When he returns the first place he plants his feet is the Mount of Olives, NO PLACE ELSE.). The beast, and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. I suspect primarily because they deceived so many people, and Satan is locked up for a thousand years of peace on this earth.

  1. The saints – those who were beheaded for their testimony are brought back to life, and possibly those who refused to take the mark (this may be something that you wear just as the Jews did during the time of the Holocaust.) and / or refused to worship the beast or his image that speaks – will reign with Christ during the following thousand years.
  2. But there are other people.

 Micah 4:1-5 KJV But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. (2) And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (3) And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (4) But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. (5) For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

This is the first time I have ever paid attention to this, but it is not a fluke because other passages substantiate what I am seeing.

Remember, we are considering the millennial reign. Christians taken up in the rapture are stated to be the city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven. Here on earth, during the 1000 years, in one of those references to that city, it is called “the camp of God”.

At the end of the 1000 years Satan is released and rallies the nations, those outside the camp of God, against the camp of God.

Who is Satan deceiving this time? Not those who live in the city, but those that live outside the city. Were they outside because they refuse to acknowledge Jesus Lordship? There are a lot of possibilities, but exclusion is not one of them. Would they have been safe if they had been inside? Certainly.

A quick reassessment. We have people during the millennial reign that are walking in the name of their god, and living outside the city.

Revelation 22:14-15 CEV (14) God will bless all who have washed their robes. They will each have the right to eat fruit from the tree that gives life, and they can enter the gates of the city. (15) But outside the city will be dogs, witches, immoral people, murderers, idol worshipers, and everyone who loves to tell lies and do wrong.

These two verses stun me.
  1. I would have thought that the time of washing of the robes had passed. Perhaps this is a continuing process which implies that Holy Spirit is still alive and active even during the millennial reign.
  2. People are continuing to come to Christ. Sure, Satan is no longer an issue, but man still has the ability to choose. The logical aspect of this is that life continues to go on. Survivors of the Great Tribulation continue to have families and we now have an exponential multiplication of people once again. Everyone of those people will apparently have to choose Jesus over whatever else is being offered to them.
  3. Only those who have washed their robes can enter the gates. Obviously this continues to imply the blood of Christ and salvation. Therefore an acceptance of the price he paid for us is necessary, and continuing to happen.
  4. Verse 15 is the most unnerving part of all. For it implies that sin still runs rampant throughout the earth. Jesus and the millennial saints would seem to be the peace keepers, and I suspect the blatantly sinful indulgences will be dealt with swiftly. But I never in my wildest imagination thought that God, in his mercy, would allow such a thing to happen at this point.

There has to have been survivors of the tribulation that God’s mercy has pulled through. We tend to think of the tribulation as a time of purging, and it is, but of all evil? Apparently not. Man’s ability to make choices has not been taken away, and clearly many have made some form of choice to follow God and not the anti-Christ, therefore he extends his hand of mercy and pulls them into the millennial reign right next to the saints of God.

No evil is allowed in the city. Where is evil coming from if it’s motivation and inspiration is locked up? This can only mean that evil is in the heart of man. Think about it. Adam’s transgression brought us knowledge of good and evil, along with death.

Believers throughout the life of earth have been raised to a new, incorruptible life at the rapture. Tribulation saints are those that were beheaded and resurrected, apparently they too were raised incorruptible.

I am not so sure about those that survived without taking the mark or worshiping the beast. Would not refusal to do take the mark give you an all access pass. We certainly see them here during the millennial reign, but I would not think that the freedom of choice they had and refused, prior to the tribulation, is still on the table merely because they refused the mark, nor worshiped the beast.

But, if, based upon the concept that half the so-called Christian population does not make it in the rapture, this would not necessarily be where such horrible evil comes from.

Others that may not make the rapture are those that are considered the cults, such as the Latter Day Saints and the Mormons. They are on the fringe of the truth, but have been deceived into believing that some other tripe is true, not God’s word. They are fairly decent people, and mind you anyone can go over the edge, but on the whole we do not see that happening with this bunch.

Let’s assume for a moment that intelligent people will suddenly open their eyes, realizing that Islam offers no hope and make a stand against it. Does intelligence make you less evil? No, you are usually just smarter about it. Bernie Madoff who stole millions from investors is no less evil than the murderer.

If there is a point to this oration, it is that my notions have been blown out of the water. Is that a bad thing? No, actually I love that God still chooses to speak to me. What this proves to me, again, is that God’s mercy has exceeded all boundaries and constraints that my mind had.

I am suddenly reminded of a passage that caught my attention as I was eating dinner.

John 9:39 KJV “And Jesus said, For judgment (a sifting) I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

Blinded by ignorance or arrogance, I am not sure, but suddenly things just got a little clearer for me. I do not know why, but God just keeps pointing out his mercy to me, and I love him for it. Having received far more mercy than I deserved, I find myself falling more and more in love with the one who showed me that mercy.

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Not seeing, you believe.

Posted on 01/02/2012 by remso

A continuing look at 1 Peter chapter 1.

 1 Peter 1: 7-9

“….at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (8) Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

(9) Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

 It is oft-times impossible to just jump in without asking what you are jumping into, and diving into this passage at verse 8 is no different, so I have included a portion of verse 7. I had written to you on previous occasions about Jesus Christ, the living one, our savior, and I had talked about the strong, living hope that we are entitled to hold on to. Why say entitled? Because I feel that many will try to beat this out of you, implying that you are not entitled. Peter used some strong words in describing this hope, and lively is one of them. As a recent acquaintance said, lively is something that is fresh, clean, strong, as in a mountain stream that is running without obstruction, and that is how powerful this hope is intended to be in us.

Anyone feel that definite or secure in your hope? Probably not; if not, then ask yourselves why? Did someone dispel that hope in you. The means is irrelevant, it happens too often. There is only one way to support a strong foothold in many aspects of God life he has planned for us, and that is personal knowledge. Even if all you had was an audible word that someone spoke to you. Constantly reminding yourself that the promise of his coming is true keeps that alive in you.

The Dake’s bible notes indicates that this part of verse 7 is where the rewards will be made known in the eternal kingdom. “At the appearing of Jesus Christ:”. On that day, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be caught up to meet him in the air. (1 Corinthians 15:52)

What if any rewards come as a result of some judgment that we are to receive? This of course makes the assumption that there is the potential for punishment as well. Let’s see if we can make sense of this.

We still have local fairs around here, and folks enter the things they make in contests just so that their item can be judged. The winners take home rewards in the form of ribbons and the knowledge that this day they were the best. So, even in judging there can be a reward. Of course the parallel is a criminal case in which you are either guilty or innocent. If found to be guilty then you are judged and sentenced, and this only punishment. I think it is more common for us to think of judgment in this way.

When it comes to our guilt or innocence, we should have been judged for our sins; we were born guilty.

Sin being the debt that we could not pay, but Jesus took all that judgment for the sin upon himself, freeing us from the judgment for sin. I know people who cannot or will not grasp that.

Do I still sin? Absolutely, but I am covered by his blood and I do not make a habit of it, and scripture tells me that I will not be judged for my sins, and neither will you. Having been forgiven by God my sins, no matter how small, I still affect other people as I choose to continue sinning and being selfish. That make things very difficult later when I try to tell them about a God that loves them. Why? Because we all do it, we make judgments about how everyone else is going to treat me based upon the bad example that sin always gives.

What I do know is that in spite of me God still loves me. I am a working example of his grace. I have experienced his mercy first hand and if I know anything, I know God is merciful. NO, I do not take advantage of his mercy by constantly pushing the envelope. Paul spoke of this when he wrote about using your liberty in front of those who are weaker, causing them to stumble. You are not sinning at that point, but you are certainly being selfish, because your liberty is not considering anyone but you, and there are people who will think that what you are doing is sin. Yes, I realize that this internal struggle they are having is all them, but why promote it.

If you knew that a person among you was an alcoholic, and that alcohol was a tremendous and detrimental draw to them. Would you be serving up alcohol with them at the gathering? Taking it a step further, if someone close to you was an alcoholic would you torture them with your freedom to drink, at all?

1 Corinthians 8:9 NIV Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

Look at Romans 3:4 KJV God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, that you might be justified in your sayings, and might overcome when you are judged.

The word judged here is: krino, and means to separate, to pick out or select.

Certainly God has and is going to separate us out, that is the purpose behind the snatching away. Jesus spoke a parable to this effect that describes the angels coming and separating the wheat from the tares; this happens in the last days, and is an example of him judging, as he picks out those that are his. Matthew 13:30

What if this judgment is something else? What if it is based solely upon our actions toward others? That is the scariest part of all, for we might have some good moments, but far to many of us have damned someone to hell for the way they drive. Jesus said, in: Matthew 7:1-2 NIV “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. (2) For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Who was Jesus talking to? Religious Jews that refused, with minor exceptions, to accept who he was. This becomes important because this lifestyle of judgment is what Jesus was describing in Matthew 25 where God separates the sheep, from the goats.

When it comes to judging people I do not think I ever really learned my lesson, but I got a good dose of what the effects of judging is all about.

I had a moment where I was put in charge of the crew, primarily women. To tell you the truth, they were all great, knew how to do their jobs, and did them well. One in particular, a Christian girl, a bit of a whiner, was really going into a tailspin. As I look back on the situation she had bad feet, as I do now, but she integrated that pain into every other aspect of the job. She was having a meltdown on the day that I was in charge, saying that she could do the job anymore.

I really did not understand, but I tried to reason with her, pointing out that she was the one that had taught me how to do what they did. That did not end the rant so I got religious on her, and told her that I was ashamed of her and her lousy Christian example. Those are the words I used. There was a pained look on her face and she shut up. Six months to year went by, and I was working at another site when I learned, first hand, how painful those words could be as I was now the brunt of them. I truly believe that this was an example of Matthew 7 coming back to slap me in the face.

Paul wrote in: 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 NIV (31) But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. (32) Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

Paul had addressed those who came to the Lord’s table in an unworthy manner. If you come, not being a glutton, but one who is giving thanks for the Lord’s sacrifice for you, then I suspect you are doing this act in a worthy manner. This address by Paul came from a time when there was actually something of a shared meal that the early Christian church would gather for. Apparently many would intentionally come hungry and eat everything in sight. Choosing not to gather to remember that Jesus paid a tremendous price for them, but treating God as common, it appears many got ill and paid the price in their physical bodies. In other words they were judged.

Here is the key to all this, hope.

Peter initiates this letter with a solid attempt at establishing or reestablishing hope. Not only hope, but a living hope.

Verse 8 begins with. “whom you have not seen, you love,”

This Jesus Christ, the one in whom we await.

If men were honest they would tell you that they fall in lust with the woman’s looks, and then they fall in love. Love is a growing process of interrelationship based upon trust. The problem with the way we fall in love becomes clear when you contrast it with our relationship with Christ, one whom we have never seen, and with only his Word to go on we must build the trust necessary for love.

So then, what was the thing that drew us to him? It was love, given without measure, and with no demands, merely open arms.

“…even though you do not see him now, you believe in him…”

How peculiar, coming from Peter. He saw him and yet denied Jesus, just to preserve his own skin. After Jesus death on the cross Peter quit and went back to fishing. Jesus, addressing a small group of disciples after the resurrection said, go tell the disciples and Peter. Jesus knew he had quit, and sought him out, just like a good shepherd might.

I can just see that father in the prodigal story, running down the road to greet the son that returned to him, receiving him back into the household.

Peter, witnessed his death and saw him alive after the resurrection, experienced the years of ministry, and had hands on evidence of his love. All I have is his word, and the feeling of love I feel as I bring my brokenness to him. Perhaps Peter is stunned and proud that so many have come to love him, someone they cannot experience in the same way that Peter did.

Can I be honest here. After ten years of relationship with a girlfriend, a woman who I would have wed. I finally called it quits. In almost every way she was wonderful, but she changed. I think that a constant stream of stresses, she acts like they are not there, and the change of life prompted her to turn her frustrations against me. My leaving was not what I meant to do, but in anger I sent a message that I could not retract, and through a combination of actions I brought the relationship to a crashing halt. Now here I am writing about a God that gave his own life for me, and a love I have with him even though I cannot see him. There is a huge incongruity inside me now.

When I made the commitment to marry, I had to make the choice to invest all of me into this. If a person jumps quickly into a relationship without knowing how the other person thinks and functions then you will have to learn. If your wise then this learning curve has to be integrated into the relationship.

Now what would make this easier as time goes by? Both parties consistently striving to love the other one. God loved this world, comparing his actions to entering into a marriage, knowing full well what scum we are.

There was no learning curve for God, he already knows everything about us. Does He overlook sins? He was fully aware that we all sinned and had become masterful at it. So what he did was obliterate that sin, and forgot it; on purpose.

What is left for God to do in relationship to us? He runs to us when we come to him. He puts the cloak of his kingdom upon us to show that we are still his, and he keeps his arms open wide so that we can return easily to him when we turn away.

To be a part of a marriage breakdown you have to work at it. You have to decide that your selfishness is more important than the relationship that God may have actually put together. You have to choose to destroy the team partnership that God may have intended to bring life to other people through. You have to choose to put others first, not God or your mate. You have to choose to degrade and ignore. You have to teach yourself and your children to disrespect the other. Do I need to go on?

And the oddity is that marriage is the relationship that God uses to relate to us. To reject him is to act like this toward him, a choice you make.

1 Peter 1:9 KJV Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

I see hope in this, a lively hope, and yet there is the terminology souls used. I will tell you that I want this body pulled out of here too. I will come back to this thought.

Another version puts it this way. 1 Peter 1:9 CJB And you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your deliverance.

What have we been talking about? Trust and relationship building without being able to see the other person. Without being able to read the others facial expressions as they speak of testing, trials and judgment. Without speaking Greek it is difficult to know that

the word krino used in Romans 3:4 KJV when Paul says, “… when you are judged. “ Means to separate, to pick out, or select.

Because we have this life with him, we have a promise of salvation. Salvation means deliverance and rescue, but from what?

Not from life and brutal people that surround you. Not from life’s steady stream of tribulations, but from the wrath that God is bringing upon the world, the Great Tribulation period.

1 Peter 4:12 NIV Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

2 Peter gives us clarity on this question of what we are being delivered from. Jesus told us that a Great Tribulation is coming upon the earth and that without God shortening time no one would survive it. The great tribulation period is a time of judgment upon the nations of the earth. This would not be the first time that God has destroyed man upon the earth, and Peter gives us Noah and Lot’s scenarios as an example (Look at 2 Peter chapter 2). God rescued those righteous men out of the destruction, but it was right up against the destruction. The destruction itself did not touch them, but the evil that God was eliminating was all around them.

I pointed out that several translations use the word souls. We should not have a problem with that for:

  1. The soul is currently an embedded part of the body. You cannot separate the two, but God can. We were first a soul or spirit, and then we were put into a body.
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed. Changed into what? Jesus said, “Flesh and blood, the body, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore we will be changed into what ever Jesus became after his resurrection, incorruptible. Keep in mind that he was able to cook, eat a meal, and relax with the disciples.

My wish is that we escape the pain and destruction that is to come. I think that would require getting this body out of here. I suppose that I am fortunate and should not be complaining for Christians all over the world are being killed for their faith in Christ. We here in America believe that will not happen to us. I truly think that we are being naive when we espouse that kind of narrow-minded thought. There are very vocal people in America that are calling for Sharia law to govern this nation. When that happens they will come after you.

Don’t think that you are safe because you are a “bible” thumping Mormon or Latter Day Saint. If you adhere to something that looks like a bible then Islam will come after you as well. You are considered an infidel by them and will be beheaded. Apparently Islam is somewhat fair about this in that they will give you the opportunity to convert to Islam, and acknowledge that the only god is Allah and Mohammed, not Jesus Christ, is his prophet. To accept their deal is to take the mark and worship the beast. Trust me, you do not want to do that, for you will have excluded yourselves from any mercy God would have shown you.

Think about this for a moment. Why would taking the mark ( probably a prominently displayed armband, much like the Jews had to wear) be such a big thing? Because there are a couple of things that God absolutely cannot tolerate, idol worship and adultery. To give your “love” to someone else when he paid for your freedom with his own blood would have to be the last insult. Not only did he create, but had to buy you back, and why? To give you the opportunity to live with him in eternity. Therefore to reject him is like pushing every button necessary to bring about a divorce.

Don’t you realize that you have work at destroying a marriage. You have to choose selfishness, fornication, adultery, distrust, cheating, jealousy, lack of communication. These things were not part of a reasonable persons game plan on their wedding day. Why are they part of your game plan, in relationship to the Father, now?

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Proven by fire and ready to be revealed

Posted on 12/25/2011 by remso

A continuing look at the Apostle Peter’s first letter. 1 Peter 1:5-7

 1 Peter 1:5-7 RV (the chosen of God) who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold temptations, (7) that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perishes though it is proved by fire, might be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:

 One of the internal conflicts I have had, was with the concept of tribulation.

I have found myself directing my sarcasm at an imaginary voice which was whining about their tribulations because they could not get a new racing propeller for their boat (I have actually known a person like this).

Let’s set something straight. Tribulation traditionally implies that you are about to be imprisoned or killed, have your home burned to the ground, and your family viciously molested.

Now that we have that clarified you should know that Jesus told us it is going to get worse, much worse!

How is that even possible? In order for it to get worse it has to increase exponentially, globally, and that is exactly what is coming; much like what Noah and Lot’s neighborhoods experienced, judgment. But there is hope, and Peter give us two scriptural reasons for that hope that we are to be rescued from the “great tribulation” that is coming.

1 Peter 2:21 .. Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example..”

2 Peter 2:9 CJB “So the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and how to hold the wicked until the Day of Judgment while continuing to punish them,”

 I have to interject a comment for my detractors. We are not, as a general rule, escaping from the daily idiocy of brutal god haters. I understand that, and I believe that most of you understand that concept as well.

 Mary and Joseph escaped the slaughter that Herod was about to bring, thanks to an angel’s warning (sent by God), by going to Egypt. I would not go there now, but perhaps you get the picture. If I could tell you where there was a safe place to run I would. At the moment the United States is not experiencing the onslaught of brutality against Christians, but we are on the verge, and I do not believe that this country will stay safe for much longer.

 Here is the context of 1 Peter 2:21:

1 Peter 2:19-21 CJB For it is a grace when someone, because he is mindful of God, bears up under the pain of undeserved punishment. (20) For what credit is there in bearing up under a beating you deserve for doing something wrong? But if you bear up under punishment, even though you have done what is right, God looks on it with favor. (21) Indeed, this is what you were called to; because the Messiah too suffered, on your behalf, leaving an example so that you should follow in his steps.

 If you are minding your affairs, and living out your “Christ like” ways, whether verbally, or otherwise, then you are doing right, because, aside from being contrary to religious demands, Jesus did not go about stealing, killing and maiming others with car bombs. He went about doing good and healing all that were afflicted by the devil. To be accosted for doing good is a demonstration of Satan’s hatred for anything that looks like God, and there are plenty of people who thrive on maliciousness to fulfill Satan’s demands.

 If we cannot escape from life’s common and daily brutality then what are we hoping in?

1 Peter 1:3 CJB Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope,

 A hope that is alive, guaranteed, fresh, clean, constant, never running out, AND NOT A FALLACY. I am telling you this because someone has to have a backbone, declaring that God is not a made up fictional story. THIS IS REAL, AND REALITY. Jesus had a backbone, and used it to declare, I am going to prepare a place for you, if it were not so I would have told you. (John 14:2)

 Dear Lord he is real! How can I get you to see that. This is exactly what the writer of Hebrews was telling us when he described:

Hebrews 11:35-38 NIV Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. (36) Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. (37) They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated– (38) the world was not worthy of them.

 How do you face all this abuse, with a mindset that this world is not worthy of you, without having a solid hope that what God said is true.

 Consider what we are reading, 1 Peter. He is trying to re-establish HOPE in us; that said, there is good news.

  1. We have hope!. Why? Because Jesus died and rose, as he said. Granting us a place with him in glory.
  2. We also have the promise of being caught up and rescued. Peter was very clear, using Noah and Lot as examples of God deliverance of righteous men from the destruction was about to happen upon the earth. Lot specifically has the angels tell him we can do nothing until you are out of here. At which point they physically removed his family from the place. (Jesus made you the righteousness of God when you accepted him as yours.)
  3. Nothing can damage or disrupt our destination, heaven. There is the implication here that nothing should be able to damage or cause to fade away, your rightful anticipation of a future glory.
  4. God has an established a track record of faithfulness. To those who scoff: Jonah, the prophet, was told to go to Nineveh and declare their doom. Judgment was coming. But he fought against God, because, if you read the story, Jonah had said “you will show them mercy and not do what you say.” How would Jonah have known that God was willing to show people who deserved judgment, mercy? A proven track record! The people of Nineveh repented and God did just that, showing them mercy, that is, until many years later they reverted back to their godless state and they were turned to powder, just as he said and in the way he said it.

Enough with the introductory speech, let’s get to the meat.

 1 Peter 1:5-7 NIV who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (7) These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

  I almost think it would be more correct to show who the “who” is in verse 5. Peter starts this letter off by addressing the Mediterranean Churches, but he also uses the term “the elect of God”. That term alone takes all of us in, for it means those chosen by God, and we all fit that category. There is no benefit to a social class going on here.

I had the opportunity to stand in as bible study leader on a couple of occasions. On one of those, an educated man, an educator, supposedly a member of our Church, rejected what was being said, by pointing out that the Apostle Paul was writing to a specific body of people, and not intended for us today. While I understand the logic, I also know that all scripture is inspired and useful for building up (2 Timothy 3:16). Is it possible that building up also conveys the giving of hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, therefore the two are intertwined, just as these letters, compiled into what we call a bible, written to Church bodies long since gone, are meant for our benefit too. I had to disagree with the man for he was speaking explicitly about the book of Romans. Dear Lord that book alone is a foundation of who we are in Christ, and how God sees us. It is in the Letter to the Romans that the declaration is made: Jesus, died for a world undeserving, freeing it from the bondage of the sin debt that it owed. How does one support some form of exclusivity with a statement like that?

 “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

 “who through faith are shielded by God’s power” – Let us ponder this for a moment.

Faith is the basis for this, much like a Chef that uses chicken stock as the starting point for they are cooking. It just makes everything taste better. OK, that was overly simplified. It says that we that have come to know God’s love and have a relationship with him, through faith are shielded by God’s power. But is it our faith? Yes, and yet at the same God’s faith.

 Our faith struggles and often falters, while God’s faith is boundless and unfaltering. My faith seems, at times, to be small, barely holding on, while God’s is like the mountain that I am barely holding on to, and that is what makes this concept of being shielded because of faith an odd picture for me, because if God shields me according to my faith, then I am doomed, and doesn’t that put us back into the competitive playing field where some great TV evangelist, who declares his great faith, and has the money to back it, stands a greater chance of being shielded than I do. Not at all.

 My faith toward this: hope/salvation/shielding, and really the outcropping of his love toward us, may have started as a small mustard seed, but has clearly grown. How big? I do not know, but it is definitely bigger. Maybe my faith is now as big as a small seedling that has just emerged from the ground, it does not matter, for this really is about you having applied enough faith to accept God’s love toward you. (That in itself is a mountain if you really think about it, but all you had to do was step on the first rock, on your way up, and trust that it would support you, and it did.)

 God, who is the one with the Lion’s share of faith, has no trouble applying that faith toward you. So it is working from two directions. You receiving and him retrieving.

 What are we shielded from?

That is a great question. Obviously not everyday life, which often includes emotional turmoil, daily stresses, and deathly tribulations.

What! Do not get me wrong, God steps into our lives on a daily basis, shielding us and we did not even know it. I was stupid enough to verbally tangled with some drunk guys who came into the store one late evening. I have no idea what they could have done, most of the people who come in to shop have some sort of knife on them. The point is I may have been shielded. I have also had the annoyance of missing my turn to get on the freeway, only to find that during that time that I was trying to get back on the freeway I missed being involved in a horrific car crash, and I might have been in the middle of it. You have no idea how many times God has shielded you already.

 But everyday affairs is not what we are talking about here. Look again at 1 Peter 1:3,4 “.. he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,…” (4) “..an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,..”

While the NIV translation uses the term shielded, the King James version uses the term kept. The Greek word is: phroureō, and means: to guard, protect by a military guard, and to prevent hostile invasion

This is all about being shielded from what is coming during the Great Tribulation, and if we take the admonition from Peter seriously, then we can say that God is protecting us in a militaristic fashion. In other words, he is very serious about this concept of keeping us safe while awaiting our salvation.

 I just had a small discussion with my mother. I was trying to show her something I noticed in scripture that intrigued me, and she, as usual, developed that into a bizarre, generalized statement about tribulation, noting that people everywhere are going through it. What I noticed about her comment was the same thing I hear most people say, and that is that tribulation is constant and an aspect of God’s coming. While that is true, tribulation is all around us, it is not the Great Tribulation that Jesus, shockingly stated, would be something that no one would survive if God did not shorten time, and he will.

 Tribulations, or afflictions are really quite common.

2Corinthians_6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

1Th_3:3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

2Ti_1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

2Ti_3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

2Ti_4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Heb_10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

Heb_10:33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.

1Pe_5:9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Peter tells us that we are protected “until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” The (CJB) puts it this way, “Meanwhile, through trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a deliverance ready to be revealed at the Last Time.”

Salvation is the Greek word sōtēria and means 1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

1a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies

How many ways can I say this. It is God’s intent to deliver us prior to any judgment coming.

Rejoice in this, even though you have to experience grief through trials.

1 Peter 1:6 CJB Rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials.

If I have any reason to rejoice, it is in the fact that there is a salvation. An obvious fact is that Christians have looked for his coming for two thousand plus years. I do not see that as a negative but an act of living in positive anticipation, which is what we have been called to do. I can tell you what it has done in me just within the past two years. It has changed me and my way of thinking. Everyday is much more exciting to me, for I now watch and wait for him. This anticipation has my changed my approach to prayer. I have become less afraid of what man can do to me, and much more bold in sharing what I now consider a passion of mine. I have gained a greater understanding of what Islam believes, and take their impact on the world very seriously.

 “…even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials…”

I am hoping by now that God’s intent is clear; he is very focused on pulling those that remain, out of here before unleashing his fury upon the earth. Using Lot as an example, I feel confident in saying that he will send his angels and escort you, should you move to slowly.

By the way, God’s desire is that every man come to a knowledge of him, and he is not changing his mind about that, but the world’s choice to blatantly ignore his offers of mercy will not prevent his judgment from coming.

We already touched on Jonah’s angst over this merciful aspect of God. Jonah clearly had a prejudice against these people, and wanted the people of Nineveh gone. Did you ever wonder why? I have heard things put out there as a motivation for Jonah’s hatred of these people, such as offering their children as sacrifices, but history records that they were a violent people.

(Nahum 3:1 Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!); the wall carvings represent the king in the act of putting out his captives’ eyes, and dragging others by a hook through the lips and a cord. Other cities have revived, but Nahum foretells “there is no healing of thy bruise” (From Fausset’s Bible Dictionary)

In spite of depravity, these people repented at the prophetic word from God, and God relented from bringing destruction upon them. (They were eventually wiped off the map.)

…you may have to experience grief in various trials…

While I came off rather hard-core about tribulations, there are certainly things in life that will throw us completely off kilter. I am going through one as I write this.

Vine’s New Testament Words defines grief as “pain,” of body or mind.

Well, I am there, and I, especially with my rants about what tribulations really are, keep thinking that these things that bring me emotionally down, distracting me from daily function, are “light afflictions.”

Look, if the same word for trials is tests then ask yourself who is doing the testing? God? I do not think so. Consider that while the world was messed up and hopeless, unable to even understand love, God sent his own Son to die for us. Why then would he abuse us?

No, I think that the testing comes more from the world and Satan’s direction than God’s. Sure, from a human standpoint I would want to know where your allegiance lies, but God was not concerned about that at all when he gave us life.

Why would Satan be interested in testing us? He probably isn’t, but then there is that Job episode. The whole basis for Satan attacking Job seemed to be in his belief that Job would turn his back on God. Isn’t that what Satan did?

So this brings me to another struggle that we Christians bang our heads into quite often. How far can we go and lose our salvation, our place in the kingdom? Honestly, I do not know. I know how far I have gone, and I can tell you that God was never out of my thinking. Jesus told us that no one can take those that belong to the Father out of his hand. Well I suppose then the question would be, how do I know I am in his hand? If you have accepted that he poured out his grace toward you and has a place for you in his kingdom, then you are his. Plain and simple. Reject that completely and God help you. I do know what the god of this world’s destiny is, and not because of love, he is taking people there with him.

I think the bottom line here is that Satan is attacking anything that looks and acts like God. If he can shut you up or get you to stop responding, as you are focused upon your own pain then he has done what was needed, and taken you out of the fight. What are we fighting for? Souls.

1 Peter 1:7 LITV so that the proving of your faith, much more precious than perishing gold, but having been proved through fire, may be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

 so that the proving of your faith, much more precious than perishing gold, but having been proved through fire

The NIV states that these varied trials have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The Source of Testings

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

Copyright © 1993 by Craig S. Keener

Jas_1:12. James uses the beatitude form common in ancient literature, especially Jewish literature: “How happy is the person who….” Distresses were viewed as temptations, providing opportunities to sin. The term translated “trials” (NASB, TEV; cf. NIV) or “testing” did not necessarily mean “temptation” (KJV, NRSV) in the modern sense, however; the tester could be interested in the distressed person’s perseverance, rather than his or her defeat. Famines, poverty and oppression were among events viewed as testings.

Jas_1:13-16. God clearly “tested” people in the Bible and later Jewish literature (Gen_22:1; Deu_8:2; Deu_13:3; Jdg_2:22), but he never tested them in the sense that is implied here: seeking for them to fail instead of persevere.Jewish texts distinguished between God’s motives in testing people (in love, seeking their good) and Satan’s motives in testing them (to make them fall). In most Jewish texts, Satan (also called Belial and Mastema) fills the role of tempter. Although James does not deny Satan’s indirect role (Jas_4:7), he emphasizes here the human element in succumbing to temptation. He personifies “desire” (NIV, NRSV, TEV) or “lust” (KJV, NASB) as enticing a person, then illegitimately conceiving the child “sin,” which in turn brings forth “death”; Jewish teachers occasionally applied the rhetorical technique of personification to the “evil impulse” all people had.

I so want this aspect to be exclusively testing by Satan. Perhaps because school was not easy for me, and it seems that I have failed so many of life’s tests that have been thrown at me. I would not want to fail God’s test as well. The absurdity of this thought continually takes me back to a God that loved me when I was unlovely, and gave his life for me.

Satan, however might well test us to see if we will collapse under the stresses of battle. I have been reading a book about the battle for Iwo Jima while writing this paper. One of things you see is men conceiving great goals for the day, only to squeak out mere yards in their advance toward the goal. Marines, in the initial attacks died steadily, averaging one about every 50 seconds, and yet they did not give up. Sadly, even the frightened, emotionally stressed, who in one case sat in the bottom of a shell crater sobbing, incapable of attack, had a mortar land between his feet, exploding, and ending his life. The enemy is indiscriminate about who they mark for destruction. In the case of Satan, it would seem that even the representation of God upon a human life is a target.

Considering the volume and quantity of testing we take from him, it is easy to relate it to being proved through fire.

Proving is equal to refining, and though God might certainly want to do that with many of us, me included, there is the possibility that even Satan’s fire has the ability to refine if we will respond appropriately and let it.

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An address to strangers

Posted on 12/10/2011 by remso

 

English: Political map of Asia Minor in 500 BC

Image via Wikipedia

I may not know you, but God does.

A study or perhaps I should say a look at the letters of the Apostle Peter. Apparently, this will be a series.

We will be looking at 1 Peter 1:1-3

Often my writings are based upon some recent sermon or a conversation that has evoked some reaction in me. Not having any recent ammo, I decided it is time to start reading through some of these letters to believers, we refer to as books of the bible. I happen to be looking at Peter, and as my habit, I slowly ponder just about everything I read. So here goes.

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 

Immediately I am struck by the word strangers. It seems that so many of these new testament letters we read were written to a body that the writer had contact with at some point. Peter seemed to know that this letter would be distributed to people he would never know or meet, and I think it conveys the sense that it needed to be.

 To be scattered implies a couple of things to me.

  1. They have run for their lives or,

  2. the gospel is spreading.

No doubt both are happening.

The Apostle Paul moved on from towns where he experienced tremendous persecution on several occasions, and he was run out-of-town as well. There is a piece of me that thinks you are supposed to stand there and take whatever abuse they dish out, as a testimony about the God you serve.

(I honestly believe that many of my broken ideas about how life operates come from the “religious” ideas of my mother. An example of that is turning the other cheek, as I was punished for attempts at defending myself. If mother had her way you would stand there and let someone slap you until you are spinning like a top. The illogical aspect of that might be seen in sending servicemen to war with no bullets, better yet, no guns, as God would not want you to fight back, because it might have been god’s will that you get your face punched in so he could teach you something. Do you know what that creates? Angry monsters.)

You have no idea how bitter life was as a child, nor, unless I tell you, do know what kind of damage religiosity did to me.

I know that Jesus gave the command to Mark 16:15 MKJV .. “Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to all the creation.” I tried that when I was younger, but I was shy and fearful of the world. On one occasion our little youth group, of which I never fit in, went knocking on neighborhood doors, trying to “win the lost”. A hippie answered (that is what we called anyone with long hair back then), and he politely turned us away. That youth group, because of his rejection, accosted him with loud rants of “you are going to hell”. This all seemed to happen fairly quickly and I just stood there saying nothing, intimidated. Those that I had deemed cool and previously wanted to be like, all walked off the porch; he turned to look at me and said, what have you got to say. All that came out of me was, “I am so sorry.” I am now quite positive that Jesus would not have done that.

If you think you are seeing Jesus get angry with people in scripture pay attention to who he is angry with; it is always religious people who think they know everything and really have no place for God or humility. Why would I include the word humility in that? Because the opposite, pride, will not step out-of-the-way and give God his say or control. Jesus stood before learned men. They knew the law, but then so did He; he spoke it into existence. They may have known the law, but they did not know God. He was standing right in front of them.

I get excited about the God I have come to know and I probably project my form of excitement toward those that I get a chance to talk with. I desire to get those that will listen to me excited too. So I am disappointed when Christians have no wish to talk about the living God. There is a young man at work that comes into my department and saw me reacting to the barrage of stress that I deal with daily. He commented to me one day, “I never would have guessed that you were a Christian.” Well, I am, and now that we have this understanding of who we might be, I, thinking that I have someone who I can now talk to about things of God, got disheartened and baffled when he showed no interest. My girlfriend says it’s just you and your style of speaking.

Do you not realize that who you are today is the result of yesterday’s life experiences. God knows that. He knew that before he made the world, brought you salvation, and sent his Son to die for you. If someone thinks that you are unacceptable, they will be judged for that, but God is not judging you, he is the one that actually loves you. Besides that, God has just the right niche for you to fill. Your personality is the perfect match to reach someone who I cannot. God knows exactly what he is doing, regardless of what someone thinks about you.

 1 Samuel 16:7 GNB But the LORD said … I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”

 1 Peter 1:2

I am going to give a couple of versions of this. 1. Because some might read the terminology and say, “that is not me he is talking to.” and 2. I want this to make sense to you.

1 Peter 1:2 KJV Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

1 Peter 1:2 CEV God the Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace!

1 Peter 1:2 NIV (the strangers scattered) who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. [Italics mine]

I have used the King James Version lately because this particular bible has cross-references that I find beneficial. In reading out of the KJV I am particularly aware of the word elect in verse two. I try to keep in mind that even though a word may strike me odd and may make sense standing alone, it is typically part of an entire thought, and often easily explained in light of the overall point the writer was making.

Learning is a daily process, and if you are honest you will agree that you are never done. I learn more about Him every day, and that brings me great joy. The last thing I want is for you to hit a roadblock that causes you to stumble.

Why would you stumble at something that brings your freedom?

I spent a tremendous amount of time growing up inside a church building; that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sadly though, the church also had its share of mean people, and they seriously scarred me; add to that, the teachings I encountered, later in life, in which they conveyed that God demonstrates his love based upon how much money you have. Oh brother!

The most powerful woman who I ever heard of, sits upon a grass mat, gathers enough sticks each day to sell a few, buy a handful of rice to cook and eat, and knows with confidence that God is more than enough. I am in awe of her, for she is the elect that Peter speaks of.

 I submitted other versions 1 Peter 1:2 because in a sense each one of these conveys this message. It is not about what you think you are, but about what God has made you be, His son. You see, whether you know it or not God chose you.

 “..through the sanctification of the spirit.”

Peter explained this himself, but studying these concepts out can do you a world of good. These elect, are so not because of noble birth, the amount of money they have, or election by popular vote, but because God chose them. There was nothing about them that is any better that you. The apostle Paul in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans tells us this. Paul also said in Romans 5:8 .. “that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” God put himself upon that cross at a time when there was NO ONE worthy. We are all on the same playing field.

Sanctification was the terminology used to describe objects used in the temple worship (in the desert journey it was an elaborate tent setup) and meant those things that were specifically set aside for Godly usage (cups, bowls, tables, etc.). This sanctification happened through a process of cleansing, which included the sprinkling of the blood of the slain sacrificial lamb, the only thing that could remove sin. Jesus became that lamb, just for us. Therefore God, through the voluntary actions of Jesus, has done just that for and with us. He has cleansed us and set us apart for restoring relationships with us.

I hope you get it. God wanted someone to share his life with and made the earth and the glory of it all, to show his love. Therefore we can come to know and understand that there really is hope and a future with the creator.

 Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I did not want to oversimplify sanctification but you have the essentials before you here. Part of this process of sanctification conveys obedience. The priests, walking around in the desert, had to be obedient to instructions and so did Jesus. Look at these passages in the letter to the Hebrews with me.

 Hebrews 9:11-14 NIV But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle (some versions say tent) that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. (12) He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. (13) The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. (14) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

 Hebrews 9:21-23 NIV In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. (22) In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. (23) It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

You really need to invest some time reading the ninth chapter of the book of Hebrews. God is telling you precisely what Jesus did on our behalf, how God now sees us, and why. If Jesus had not been obedient, this place would be just as in the days of Noah (read Jesus comment in Matthew 24). When God destroyed the earth the thoughts and intent of man’s heart was only evil, and the earth was filled with violence. This scenario is like a bad scene from your worst nightmare. Only now we all have nuclear weapons. Those that survive a nuclear war will find little left that is usable to enjoy. Fortunately, WE HAVE HOPE, and his name is Jesus Christ.

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