Oswald Chambers

Becoming Entirely His
July 31, 2017
Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:4
   
Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink.
Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives.
We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work….” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To read the Bible according to God’s providential order in your circumstances is the only way to read it, viz., in the blood and passion of personal life. Disciples Indeed, 387 R

Streams in the Desert, with Mrs. Charles CowmanStreams in the Desert – July 31

<< Streams in the Desert, with Mrs. Charles Cowman
Streams in the Desert – July 31
2017Jul 31
David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.  Ps 78:72
When you are doubtful as to your course, submit your judgment absolutely to the Spirit of God, and ask Him to shut against you every door but the right one…Meanwhile keep on as you are, and consider the absence of indication to be the indication of God’s will that you are on His track…As you go down the long corridor, you will find that He has preceded you, and locked many doors which you would fain have entered; but be sure that beyond these there is one which He has left unlocked. Open it and enter, and you will find yourself face to face with a bend of the river of opportunity, broader and deeper than anything you had dared to imagine in your sunniest dreams. Launch forth upon it; it conducts to the open sea.
God guides us, often by circumstances. At one moment the way may seem utterly blocked; and then shortly afterward some trivial incident occurs, which might not seem much to others, but which to the keen eye offaith speaks volumes. Sometimes these things are repeated in various ways, in answer to prayer. They are not haphazard results of chance, but the opening up of circumstances in the direction in which we would walk. And they begin to multiply as we advance toward our goal, just as the lights do as we near a populous town, when darting through the land by night express.

—F. B. Meyer
If you go to Him to be guided, He will guide you; but He will not comfort your distrust or half-trust of Him by showing you the chart of all His purposes concerning you. He will show you only into a way where, if you go cheerfully and trustfully forward, He will show you on still farther.

—Horace Bushnell
As moves my fragile bark across the storm-swept sea,

Great waves beat o’er her side, as north wind blows;

Deep in the darkness hid lie threat’ning rocks and shoals;

But all of these, and more, my Pilot knows.
Sometimes when dark the night, and every light gone out,

I wonder to what port my frail ship goes;

Still though the night be long, and restless all my hours,

My distant goal, I’m sure, my Pilot knows.
—Thomas Curtis Clark

​TOZER DEVOTIONAL

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Mon, July 31, 2017
Soul Enlargement
The size of a man’s soul is likely to determine his success or failure in the rough, competitive world of the twentieth century. And after his conversion to Christ, it will go far to determine his usefulness in the kingdom of God. Undoubtedly there are many genuine Christians who are not doing much for their fellow men nor for the Church into which they were born by the miracle of the Spirit’s regeneration. Such as these need to hear the words of Christ, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). The only hope for a restricted heart is the mighty inworking of the Spirit. He can enlarge the mansion of the soul; but only He can do it.
Verse
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.Acts 1:8
Thought
Are we aware of the indwelling Spirit? Are we utilizing in daily living the power He provides? The answer to these questions determines whether we live in spiritual poverty or in the riches of Christ Jesus.
Prayer
Spirit of God, into my heart You have come to live. Fill me! Rule supreme! Empower me

​J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle

Repentance

Repentance is a thorough change of person’s natural heart, upon the subject of sin. We are all born in sin. We naturally love sin.

We take to sin, as soon as we can act and think—just as the bird takes to flying, and the fish takes to swimming. There never was a child that required schooling or education in order to learn deceitfulness, selfishness, passion, self-will, gluttony, pride and foolishness. These things are not picked up from bad companions, or gradually learned by a long course of tedious instruction. They spring up of themselves, even when boys and girls are brought up alone.

The seeds of them are evidently the natural product of the heart. The aptitude of all children to these evil things is an unanswerable proof of the corruption and fall of man. Now when this heart of ours is changed by the Holy Spirit, when this natural love of sin is cast out, then takes place that change which the Word of God calls “repentance.” The person in whom the change is created is said to “repent.” They may be called, in one word, a repentant person. ~ J.C. Ryle

Voice of the dying Church

A lot of people are feeling discouraged waiting on the Lord. Thinking “what if we’re wrong and hes not coming back soon?”

We are seeing the prophecies, all of them, one after another. The birthpangs are increasing in both intensity and frequency..

The bible tells us when these things BEGIN to take place out redemption is drawing near.

He even goes as far as to say to look up!

That signifies that his return is very very close because we are seeing all these things coming together.

Hallelujah! Trust in his word!

This verse clearly tells us we are going home soon!

Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Lone Ranger

Bible Prophecy WatcherProclaiming Bible Prophecy, Biblical Truth, and the Second Coming of Yeshua HaMashiach
The Lamb’s Book of Life – Is Your Name Written There?
Posted by Lone Ranger
Do not think yourself [eternally] secure in your deeds, your good works, in your church attendance or in trusting in anything or anyone but Jesus Christ. For if this describes your faith – if your faith is built on what you do, you will not inherit eternal life (John 3:16; Rom 10:9; Eph 2:8-9). Each and every day we are to reassess our life in Christ to see if it meets His requirements –“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”-2 Cor 13:5 (ESV). For in this do we know that we will see our Lord and Savior when we pass from this life through the doors of death into eternity.
The world is full of books – large, small, big and tall. From children’s books to highly technical or mathematical books from academia. Books from all venues and sources fill our daily lives. In fact, I don’t think a day goes by that you don’t open at least one book to gaze or refer to its contents. Books spread information about a variety of topics. They educate and help us understand people, things and the world in vast detail. Additionally, books help us determine where we’ll vacation or visit, they help to know destination information, what it’ll be like, who’s there, living accommodations, etc. Books inform us of many things. But books also record information.
“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” -Luke 10:20(KJV)
The greatest book on earth – the Bible – informs us about Almighty God, Israel’s history, Jesus Christ our Savior and His mission (death, burial and resurrection) for us on earth. The Bible also predicts what will happen before Christ’s return to earth in the language of Bible Prophecy. However, there is one heavenly book that stands out singularly as the most important Book in the Universe – in all Creation!
This is the Book of Life and its location is in God’s home in heaven. He is the only record keeper of this Book and He keeps impeccable and highly accurate records of our lives. Our every word is recorded to the point that we will have to give an account for every careless word uttered throughout our lifetime – Matt 12:36. The Book of Life is very special for if your name is not found in it you will not enter heaven.
So how does your name get written in this heavenly book? Call on the name of the Lord – Rom 10:13. Calling on His name means you must also confess Him as your Lord and Savior. You must also believe in your heart that Almighty God raised Him from the dead. Finally, you must repent of your sins and turn away from them in your attitude and ways. This is what calling on the name of the Lord means. But things can change …
You can stumble in this journey through life and sin. But He makes provision for this in that if you ask for forgiveness and again repent you will be forgiven – 1 John 1:9. I call this “spiritual breathing” but we cannot [use this as an excuse and] keep on sinning making it a habit resulting in profaning the name of the Lord – Heb 10:26-31.
Many will claim the “once saved, always saved” doctrine is scriptural. I say absolutely and positively not! It has positively no scriptural foundation and many people use it as an excuse to keep their sinful life going. The people, pastors and scholars that claim this have not read and studied their Bibles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It matters not how famous you are or how many years you have been evangelizing.
Read Rev 3:5, Ex 32-31-33 and Psalm 69:27-28. Friends, looking at this from an academic perspective; if your name was written in the Book it was in pencil and can be blotted out or erased. Remember, the Lord God Almighty said that your name can be blotted out, not me. The interpretation is not complicated, it’s plain and simple.
Hands down, the most important thing that you can do while in this body dwelling on the earth is to ensure your name is written in the Book of Life. And ensure throughout your journey here by faith in Christ – how you live for Him – that your name stays in His Book. Many go to church and claim to be Christians but don’t know the Lord and are not saved. Their names are not written in His book and will not enter His rest. Examine what the Lord says we are to do throughout our lives:
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” -Phil 2:12 (KJV)
Did you read this? Work out your salvation! That means it’s a daily affair with the Lord and with you. In the Greek, “work out” means to bring to an exact and definite conclusion. Fear the Lord with trembling for it will help you keep on track -Prov 9:10. Then how about this verse:
“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ” -Luke 13:24 (KJV)
To get our name written in the Lord’s Book of Life and have it stay there is no easy matter. It’s not just a simple prayer you pray once in your life and poof that’s it. No! You muststrive daily to stay on the narrow road that leads you to eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek, “strive” means to struggle, striving as an athlete in an event or competition; or to contend, as with an enemy or adversary. So then, you must make every effort, be aware of your sin, and examine yourselves to see whether you are still of the faith – 2 Cor 13:5.
Yes, this is tough and living for Christ is not easy. We must take a stand against sin and hold fast to the Lord’s word so as to live an acceptable life before Him – Rom 12:1.
Now don’t be deceived, there is a flip side to this. Here are some types of people that will not be in heaven and their names are not written in His Book.
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and theabominable, and murderers, andwhoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” -Rev 21:8 (KJV)
“… no thieves, greedy people, drunkards,verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.” -1 Cor 6:10 (HCSB)
“Nothing profane will ever enter it: no one who does what is vile or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.” -Rev 21:27 (HCSB)
Today, if you find yourself in any of these categories, take immediate steps to seek the Lord and call on His name. Believe, confess and repent for only then can you be forgiven. Death could call on any of us at anytime – we have no guarantees of even our next breath.
Are you ready to stand before Him? Seek Him while He may be found and do this now. If you have sinned and fallen, get on your knees and ask for forgiveness. Then make a u-turn (I mean a serious, no kidding change of your attitudes and ways) in your life and get back on track with God, He’ll pick you back up. God is love, mercy and kindness but also understand He is also a God of judgment and accountability.
These are highly important topics for you to consider even if you are a claim to be a Christian. The biggest question you will ever face is “Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life“. Is it…?
_________________________________
Grace and peace,
-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman
THE KING IS COMING! ARE YOU READY TO MEET HIM

​Paula Maillet

Paula Maillet

July 30

How To Protect Yourself From Delusion

“A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,

but knowledge is easy to him who understands.”

Proverbs 14:6

Why is that so?

It’s because the scoffer and the righteous are looking for it in different places. The scoffer gets his input from the world, and the Word of God says that the wisdom of the world is FOOLISHNESS.

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”

1 Corinthians 3:19

Foolishness. That’s a pretty strong word. To whom does it apply?

It applies to those who dole out the “wisdom” of this world. Professors: most of the ivy league colleges and universities were founded as seminaries, but today are centers of “New Age” teachings. They are peddlers of foolishness.

Counselors: in order to be a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist he has had to study the teachings of the masters of psychology, Freud, Maslow, Adler, and very many more, almost all of whom were involved in the occult, the realm of the supernatural forbidden to man. Their teachings are foolishness. They will tell you what you want to hear, and how to gain “self esteem,” a psychiatric term that builds the person’s pride, the one thing that is most terrible according to the Word of God.

The media: we all look at the news of the day, without a thought that the news is being “spun.” News anchors are fools. Puppets. It used to be that the newsmen were supposed to bring you the news, but now they shape the news according to the agenda behind whichever news source you’re listening to. It’s carefully covered foolishness.

The television and movie industry: laced with occultism, filled with violence, perversion, and every sin of every kind. How can a person not be a fool when he streams this filth into his mind daily?

The righteous have a barrier around them, for they have immersed themselves in the Word of God, and they are filled with the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God will react when these evils come to the attention of the believer, and he will sense the evil. The Word of God, having been implanted in him through daily immersion, will alert the believer. He will know. But the wicked will not know, nor CAN they.

“…the wicked shall do wickedly,

and none of the wicked shall understand,

but the wise shall understand.”

Daniel 12:10

As the end of the age approaches, take a good look at the input you have taken in from the world. Have you been fooled by the foolishness of the world? Ask the Lord to show you any deception that has deceived you, and be prepared to turn from it once it is made known to you. You might be shocked, because most people have no idea what they’ve taken in and how they’ve fallen for deception.

The Word of God strongly stresses again and again that “the last days” will be characterized by deception.

What is coming is going to deceive all who did not love truth. There will be no way to avoid it, because it is God himself who will send them strong delusion. Don’t be among them.

“And for this reason GOD WILL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION,

that they should believe the lie,

that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth

but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

​TOZER DEVOTIONALSun, July 30, 2017

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Sun, July 30, 2017
On Being Seekers and Servers of God
Sins of great magnitude may indicate an energy of soul which if turned in a right direction can lead far up the way toward spiritual perfection. Conversely, there is a meanness of soul that inhibits and restricts the scope and intensity of even the most common activities. When such a soul is converted, it may be only to mediocrity.
On his own testimony Paul before his conversion was a great sinner (1 Timothy 1:15). He persecuted Christians with great violence and wrought havoc with the followers of Christ. After his spectacular about-face he turned his magnificent equipment over to the Lord and the whole world knows the result. The same energy of soul that had made him a dangerous enemy of the Christian faith made him a powerful advocate of that faith once his eyes had been opened.
From this we may learn that feebleness and timidity are not to be confused with righteousness. To sin but weakly is not the same as to do good. Lack of moral energy may prevent a man from enjoying himself in sin, but he is in sin nevertheless. His weak effort at neutrality does not deceive God who knows the secrets of every man’s heart.
Verse
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.Psalm 119:10
Thought
It takes years for some of us to discover that we can’t seek God as a sometime recreation or low-priority value in life. Seeking Him in order to love and serve Him is the major purpose of life
Prayer
O Lord, show me all that is involved in seeking You with all of my heart. I want to know You and serve You.

Oswald Chambers

The Teaching of Disillusionment
July 30, 2017
Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25
   
Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.
Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them. Shade of His Hand, 1216 L

Voice of the dying Church

Jesus Christ is the everlasting King! There will be no heathens or non-believers in heaven. It’s time you make the right choice today and choose everlasting life!

Streams in the Desert, with Mrs. Charles CowmanStreams in the Desert – July 30

<< Streams in the Desert, with Mrs. Charles Cowman
Streams in the Desert – July 30
2017Jul 30
A cup of cold water only  (Matthew 10:42).
What am I to do? I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good work, therefore, any kindness, or any service I can render to any soul of man or animal let me do it now. Let me not neglect or defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.

–An Old Quaker Saying
It isn’t the thing you do, dear,

It’s the thing you leave undone,

Which gives you the bitter heartache

At the setting of the sun;

The tender word unspoken,

The letter you did not write,

The flower you might have sent, dear,

Are your haunting ghosts at night.

The stone you might have lifted

Out of your brother’s way,

The bit of heartsome counsel

You were hurried too much to say;

The loving touch of the hand, dear,

The gentle and winsome tone,

That you had no time or thought for,

With troubles enough of your own.

These little acts of kindness,

So easily out of mind,

These chances to be angels,

Which even mortals find

They come in night and silence,

Each chill reproachful wraith,

When hope is faint and flagging,

And a blight has dropped on faith.

For life is all too short, dear.

And sorrow is all too great,

To suffer our slow compassion

That tarries until too late.

And it’s not the thing you do, dear,

It’s the thing you leave undone,

Which gives you the bitter heartache,

At the setting of the sun.

–Adelaide Proctor
Give what you have; to someone it may be better than you dare to think.

–Longfellow

Crucified Beyond The Narrow Gate

Crucified Beyond The Narrow Gate

When you allow the world to dictate the standard of living as to what’s “legal” and “socially acceptable” as opposed to allowing God’s Word to expertly define this for you)…you’ll have no standards whatsoever.

You’ll be riddled through and through with such atrocious double standards that you’ll lack the elementary-capability of deciphering a man from a woman.

Don’t believe me? Simply read today’s headlines and see for yourself.

You know you’re in the last days when Noah and Sodom’s sin-laden-history becomes your everyday reality.

When you lack a standard by which to define something as being either true or false…double standards will be the only standard you’re capable of adhering to. And at this juncture: the sky is the limit as to what you’ll approve of as being “acceptable”.

Feast your eyes upon the unacceptable atrocities that this wicked generation proudly flaunt about as “acceptable”.

People have genuinely lost their minds. The irony of it all, is that when you disagree with the status quo mainstream (who have legitimized mental illness as the new normal) they have the audacity to imply that it is YOU who has lost your mind.

When delusional-insanity has become your definition of sound mindedness; truth (that’s firmly rooted in reality) will appear to be a delusion that has no basis in reality.

To the bad guys; the good guys appear to be the bad guys.

To those who hate the truth; the truth appears to be a hateful delusion.

To those who pass off darkness as light: once true light infiltrates their stratosphere…they will hate and vehemently ridicule the object from whence the light has come.

Behold the very reason the world has an irrational hatred for all things Christ-centered and Bible related. For Jesus Christ is THE way, THE truth and THE light.

For 2000 years the world has been trying to unsee what is expertly exposed and brilliantly illuminated by and through Christ. Because they can’t unsee it (namely their sin) they lash out as a means to punish all who bear the name of Christ.

Look up, oh, Child of God…your redemption draweth near. Let not the seething weight of lawlessness and the embittered hatred of God that has enraptured our society, serve as the catalyst to make you grow cold in love and compassion.

Even still; come quickly, Lord Jesus. Your people are burdened down with the intense ferocity of evil and temptation being flaunted in their face.

“…Because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness”. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man”. Matthew 24:37

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold”. Matthew 24:12

​God’s Full ArmourPROPHETIC UPDATE29 July 2017

God’s Full Armour

PROPHETIC UPDATE

29 July 2017

Worldliness

Matt. 24:37-39 warn us that our Lord is coming and this will catch people unawares. They will be busy with their everyday lives, enjoying the things of the world and will not think about heaven.

John 8:23: “And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”

John 12:25: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

John 16:11: “of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” Do you know who the ruler of the world is? It is not our Lord, It is Satan. If you belong to the Lord, your thoughts and desires are not on earth but in heaven.

Phil. 1:23: “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.”

Hebr. 13:14: “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.”

What type of Christian are you? One who collects treasures on earth, or one who collects treasures in heaven? One who thinks faith is positive thinking to overcome obstacles on earth, or one whose faith is preparing him or her for a different world longed for every day. Go ahead and judge the sermons we hear today according to what is written above.

And because churches and pastors and Christians are tied to this earth and hardly ever think or preach about heaven, there is no place for the teaching of the rapture anymore. What is false teaching and deception? There is a greater cancer than the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists and the Israel Vision and the Mormons and those who do not believe in Jesus’ bodily resurrection. This cancer has come much closer to all of us: The massive deception and apostasy (desertion) of the last days is the thing against which our Lord has warned us THE MOST. It is the worldliness of the church in the last days.

The glaring sin is the fact that churches and preachers no longer preach about heaven, they are not preparing people for heaven, and they don’t believe in or preach about the rapture because that is the way we will get to heaven.

There are seven churches in Revelation 2-3. The first one represents the persecuted church in the first years after the time of the apostles, and the last one represents today’s church – shortly before the Lord will come to fetch us. What does our Lord say about that church? “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17.)

This is extremely strong language. Please take this to heart. Here is our Lord’s own judgement of the heart and attitude of the church of today. Today’s church make a beautiful and wonderful outward show, but inside it is empty. Simply because its heart is on earth and it has forgotten the message of heaven. And also because the vehicle the Lord Himself gave us, with which everyone who believes will go to heaven, namely the rapture (harpadzoo) of 1 Thess. 4:16, 17, is despised and never preached about.

Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?

Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?
July 29, 2017
Behold, He is coming with clouds… —Revelation 1:7
   
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearnsomething. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
“…they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus …” (Mark 9:8; also see Mark 2:7).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.  Our Brilliant Heritage, 946 R

​Streams in the Desert – July 29

Streams in the Desert – July 29
2017Jul 29
Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the day of trouble? (Job 38:22-23).
Our trials are great opportunities. Too often we look on them as great obstacles. It would be a haven of rest and an inspiration of unspeakable power if each of us would henceforth recognize every difficult situation as one of God’s chosen ways of proving to us His love and look around for the signals of His glorious manifestations; then, indeed, would every cloud become a rainbow, and every mountain a path of ascension and a scene of transfiguration.
If we will look back upon the past, many of us will find that the very time our Heavenly Father has chosen to do the kindest things for us, and given us the richest blessings, has been the time we were strained and shut in on every side.
God’s jewels are often sent us in rough packages and by dark liveried servants, but within we find the very treasures of the King’s palace and the Bridegroom’s love.

–A. B. Simpson
Trust Him in the dark, honor Him with unwavering confidence even in the midst of mysterious dispensations, and the recompense of such faith will be like the moulting of the eagle’s plumes, which was said to give them a new lease of youth and strength.

–J. R. Macduff
If we could see beyond today

As God can see;

If all the clouds should roll away,

The shadows flee;

O’er present griefs we would not fret.

Each sorrow we would soon forget,

For many joys are waiting yet

For you and me.

If we could know beyond today

As God doth know,

Why dearest treasures pass away

And tears must flow;

And why the darkness leads to light,

Why dreary paths will soon grow bright;

Some day life’s wrongs will be made right,

Faith tells us so.

“If we could see, if we could know,”

We often say,

But God in love a veil doth throw

Across our way;

We cannot see what lies before,

And so we cling to Him the more,

He leads us till this life is o’er;

Trust and obey.

​TOZER DEVOTIONAL

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Sat, July 29, 2017
The Fallacy of “Insignificant Sin”
Persons out of Christ often try to comfort themselves with the remembrance that they have never in their lives committed any really great sin. Little trifling acts of wrongdoing perhaps, but nothing of any consequence, so surely God will overlook their rather insignificant transgressions when He settles their accounts.
In the first place, a man’s status before God is decided not by the number and enormity of his sins but by whether those sins have or have not been forgiven, whether he is on God’s side or the side of the devil.
The soldier who mutinies is held responsible for his mutiny even if he does nothing more than stand up and let himself be counted among the rebels. His crime lies in his break with his superiors and his willingness to go along with the enemies of his country. That he performs no extraordinary feats of violence may mean no more than that he is an ordinary fellow incapable of great deeds of any sort for or against his country.
Verse
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 6:23
Thought
Unforgiven sin is never insignificant. The wages of sin–terrible, awful sin or relatively insignificant–is death, eternal death. It is eternal death we face unless we receive the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Prayer
O Christ, thank You for paying the debt for all of my sin, all of it!

666

Antonio Lydia Gonzalez

This is a copy of a post

Take a moment to ponder this;

The implanted RFID, or the Invisible Tattoo

( already a fad among New Yorkers) are both

downloadable! Introducing them for safety

concerns about our parents and kids, they

will contain all banking and personal

information. To deny this is admitting

ignorance. The dependence on our

government, or the coming New World Order,

as Obama put it, will unite the majority of the

ones here after the rapture….or even before

it, if you might be a post-trib rapture

enthusiast. The tattoo or RFID implant are

both all ready to be accepted as a barcode,

once the banking info has been downloaded

through our own governments records,

needed to purchase our goods..

Also, consider the fact that the “numeric

value”of the letter “w”, which is given to each

letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, is the number

6. …thus making computers which all

persons enter http://www., every time they use their

computer search, they enter 666.

Now, does it not look preplanned to unite the

world through the “world computer” in

Brussels, Belgium, which, from it’s very

existence has been ” coincidently” nicknamed

“The Beast”?

Have a blessed day.

– Zena Morgan

Johan Malan

Samuel 3:38)

It pleased the Lord to take our brother and His servant, Johan Malan, to be with Him on 16 October 2016 at the age of 75.

Having been born of missionary parents, Johan grew up to find Christ as his personal Savior and also a passion for knowing and teaching God’s word. After leaving school he studied and worked as an anthropologist in various parts of southern Africa before finally teaching anthropology at the University of the North for 28 years. His brilliant mind was recognized when the university conferred on him the title of professor (for life) which is the highest rank one can attain in academia.

But it was particularly in ministry that he would make his greatest contribution. Johan had a marvelous combination of attributes which made him ideally suited to become the great defender of the faith he was. His mind was not clouded by the liberalism and false knowledge that comes with a formal theological education. Yet, he was able to apply his training as an academic to his study of the Scriptures in order to produce clear, logically sound, and doctrinally conservative conclusions. But even more importantly he had a heart which was willing to not just believe the Word, but to obey it and to continue to grow in obedience and knowledge.

I never ceased to be blessed by the soundness of his theology, his commitment to truth and his gentle spirit. At a time when harshness and anger seems to mark most in apologetics work, Johan showed that one did not need to sacrifice the fruit of the Spirit in order to be an uncompromising defender of the faith. The attacks he endured from within and without discernment circles and his non-retaliatory approach verified his authenticity as a man of God and of the truth of his message. At the same time his unwavering commitment to a traditional view on eschatology while everyone else was chasing after the latest fads in eschatology cost him many “friends” while acting as an encouragement to the few who have chosen to remain faithful to the traditional view.

His hard work and labor in the Lord served as a constant encouragement and a rebuke to me. For 26 years he wrote and produced “Die Basuin” (The Trumpet), a magazine that reached Afrikaans Christians at a time when there was very little healthy reading for the community. (He produced an English version for two years). He wrote thousands of articles and more than 30 books and was productive until the very last moment when he slipped into a coma at his desk (he would not wake again, until he opened his eyes in glory five days later).

He saw his last book ( Bybelse Profesiee Werp Lig op die Toekoms – “Biblical prophesies shine a light on the future”) in print just two weeks before his departure. The day before he fell asleep he drove for several hours to Cape Town to help load the boxes of the books from the printer on a truck. Indeed he remained faithful to the end and his Master honored him by taking him painlessly, gently and with dignity.

There is no doubt in my mind that Johan was the

most positive influence for truth in southern Africa over the last 30, or more, years. South Africa produced many prominent ministers and authors during Johan’s generation but I do not believe that any other pastor, writer or theologian can match the standard he raised against apostasy and for the truth. Indeed, his influence through his website continues to extend far beyond the borders of South Africa.

Revelation 12

Hagee, Cahn, Stone, etc), but what we are

beginning to see in retrospect is that they

were just precursors pointing to 9/23 and the

Great Sign of Revelation 12 .

The Revelation 12 Sign occurs in two

constellations (Virgo and Leo), but those

constellations only comprise one-sixth of the

ecliptic. There are ten other constellations

along the ecliptic and the sun resides in each

constellation for about one month each year.

With that said, look where the first and third

of the four Blood Moons occurred:

Total Lunar Eclipse on April 15, 2014 –

Passover – Blood Moon #1

Out of twelve different constellations, the very

first of the four Blood Moons just happened

to be in Virgo. The moon was in conjunction

with Spica, “The Branch” ( Jeremiah 23:5 ,

33:15 , Isaiah 4:2 , 11:1 ).

Total Lunar Eclipse on April 4, 2015 –

Passover – Blood Moon #3

Again the moon was in Virgo – this time in

her midsection. Out of twelve constellations

in the Mazzaroth and the third Blood Moon

just happened to occur in Virgo.

Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017 – 1st

Day of Teshuvah (The Season of Repentance)

The Great American Eclipse , which will likely

be the most watched eclipse in human

history, which takes place exactly 33 days

before the Revelation 12 Sign, beginning in

the 33rd state (Oregon) and ending at the

33rd parallel, just happens to occur in Leo

the Lion. On top of that, the solar eclipse is

in conjunction with Regulus, the King Star,

which represents the Messiah and was

involved in the Star of Bethlehem alignments .

The first and third Blood Moons pointed

directly at Virgo and the Great American

Eclipse points directly at Leo – that’s both

constellations involved in the Revelation 12

Sign . And one of our readers discovered that

the sun was in Virgo during the second and

fourth Blood Moons. Uhhh, hellooo, anyone

listening?

But it doesn’t stop there. The second and

fourth Blood Moons, as well as the total solar

eclipse on March 20, 2015 that occurred on

the first day of the biblical calendar, all

occurred in the constellation Pisces, which

universally represents a school of fish. The

Bible repeatedly likens the Church Age and

the present harvest to catching a school of

fish (see Matthew 4:19 and John 21:11 ) and

the original Christian symbol was a fish .

The centerpiece of the Revelation 12 Sign is

the birth of a male offspring , which we

speculate is symbolized by the planet Jupiter.

From the second Blood Moon to the Feast of

Trumpets on September 21st of this year is

exactly 1,079 days. Strong’s 1079 is genete ,

which means “birth” and remember that the

sun was in Virgo during this Blood Moon.

From the second Blood Moon to September

23rd of this year is exactly 1,081 days.

Strong’s 1081 is gennéma , which means

“offspring, child, fruit.” Again, the sun was in

Virgo.

And as we previously mentioned, from the

fourth and final Blood Moon, which was also

a Supermoon , to the Great Sign on

September 23rd is exactly 726 days.

Strong’s 726 is harpazó , which means “to

seize or snatch up”. It is the word used of

the rapture of the Church in 1 Thessalonians

4:17 and Revelation 12:5 .

As I said above, the August 21st eclipse

occurs 33 days before the Revelation 12

Sign.

Strong’s 33 is transliterated “age” and the

Greek word is the imperative of “come”. In

other words “Come!”

The eclipse occurs 31 days before the Feast

of Trumpets. Strong’s 31 is aggelia , which

means “a message”.

So based on simple observation of the Blood

Moons and the interspersed total solar

eclipses we see this easily derived,

chronological message:

Look at Virgo

Virgo gives birth to offspring

Look at Virgo again

Look at Leo

A message: Rapture has come!

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

Abide in Me says Jesus. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be, as it were, rooted and planted in Me. Do this and I will never fail you. I will ever abide in you. – J. C. Ryle

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh dwelling no good thing. – Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-92)

July 26 at 5:

Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to the Bible, to drive us to our knees. – J. C. Ryle

Jul

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

George Whitefield journal entry:

“I was honored today with having a few

stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead

cat thrown at me”

May we in our day learn something of his

passion, zeal, and willingness to suffer for

the Lord.

Char Maine

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

I will tell you the secret: God has had all that

there was of me. There have been men with

greater brains than I, even with greater

opportunities, but from the day I got the poor

of London on my heart and caught a vision

of what Jesus Christ could do with me and

them, on that day I made up my mind that

God should have all of William Booth there

was. And if there is anything of power in the

Salvation Army, it is because God has had all

the adoration of my heart, all the power of

my will, and all the influence of my life.

-William Booth

Char Maine

​Romeo Ben

Romeo Ben

I promise you that you will never make it

through the trial unless you have a strong

prayer life and Jesus is your Lord and

Savior

​TOZER DEVOTIONALFri, July 28, 2017

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Fri, July 28, 2017
From Spiritual Infancy to Maturity
Surely we need a baptism of clear seeing if we are to escape the fate of Israel (and of every other religious body in history that forsook God). If not the greatest need, then surely one of the greatest is for the appearance of Christian leaders with prophetic vision. We desperately need seers who can see through the mist. Unless they come soon, it will be too late for this generation. And if they do come, we will no doubt crucify a few of them in the name of our worldly orthodoxy. But the cross is always the harbinger of the resurrection.
Mere evangelism is not our present need. Evangelism does no more than extend religion, of whatever kind it may be. It gains acceptance for religion among larger numbers of people without giving much thought to the quality of that religion. The tragedy is that present-day evangelism accepts the degenerate form of Christianity now current as the very religion of the apostles and busies itself with making converts to it with no questions asked. And all the time we are moving farther and farther from the New Testament pattern.
We must have a new reformation. There must come a violent break with that irresponsible, amusement-mad, paganized pseudo-religion which passes today for the faith of Christ and which is being spread all over the world by unspiritual men employing unscriptural methods to achieve their ends.
When the Roman church apostatized, God brought about the Reformation. When the Reformation declined, God raised up the Moravians and the Wesleys. When these movements began to die, God raised up fundamentalism and the “deeper life” groups.
Now that these have almost without exception sold out to the world–what next?
Verse
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly–mere infants in Christ.First Corinthians 3:1
Thought
Have we made the church a gigantic nursery full of spiritual infants, some of whom are well into their senior years? May God raise up those who can lead us out of infancy into maturity!
Prayer
O God, open my eyes that I may see clearly what is of You and what is not, that I may grow into maturity. In Jesus’ name.
previous today ne

​Romeo Ben

Romeo Ben

God will be God no matter what you do.

“Men cry for help, but God knows they’re

only crying for RELIEF”

_Chuck Missler

Oswald Chambers

God’s Purpose or Mine?
July 28, 2017
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side… —Mark 6:45
   
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.  The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L
Bible in O

​Streams in the Desert – July 28

Streams in the Desert – July 28
2017Jul 28
The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and storm (Nahum 1:3).
I recollect, when a lad, and while attending a classical institute in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant, sitting on an elevation of that mountain, and watching a storm as it came up the valley. The heavens were filled with blackness, and the earth was shaken by the voice of thunder. It seemed as though that fair landscape was utterly changed, and its beauty gone never to return.
But the storm swept on, and passed out of the valley; and if I had sat in the same place on the following day, and said, “Where is that terrible storm, with all its terrible blackness?” the grass would have said, “Part of it is in me,” and the daisy would have said, “Part of it is in me,” and the fruits and flowers and everything that grows out of the ground would have said, “Part of the storm is incandescent in me.”
Have you asked to be made like your Lord? Have you longed for the fruit of the Spirit, and have you prayed for sweetness and gentleness and love? Then fear not the stormy tempest that is at this moment sweeping through your life. A blessing is in the storm, and there will be the rich fruitage in the “afterward.”

–Henry Ward Beecher
The flowers live by the tears that fall

From the sad face of the skies;

And life would have no joys at all,

Were there no watery eyes.

Love thou thy sorrow: grief shall bring

Its own excuse in after years;

The rainbow!–see how fair a thing

God hath built up from tears.

–Henry S. Sutton 

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

To misunderstand evil and it’s intent in this end times generation opens the door to a level of deception, death and destruction never before seen on planet earth. Most on planet earth do not understand the times in which they live or the only way of redemption ….. Jesus the Christ. Be a message of hope in these darkening times. Blessings saints

Oswald Chambers

God’s Purpose or Mine?

July 28, 2017

He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side… —Mark 6:45

 

 

 

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.  The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

Bible in O

​Steve HammerHateful or Loving?

Steve Hammer

Hateful or Loving?

It would be arrogant to tell someone that if

they don’t believe in Jesus for their

salvation that they would spend an eternity

in hell. That seems pretty narrow-minded,

pretty arrogant, even hateful. And it would

be all those things unless it’s true.

If it’s true, then it’s the most arrogant and

hateful thing to keep this to ourselves. How

much hate does it take to know what will

save them from eternal death and not say

anything to them?

It’s not hateful; it’s the most loving thing to

say, if it’s true.

-D. Platt

Char Maine

​Moses Niwe****Pride and Christian Character****(William Nicholson)

Moses Niwe

****Pride and Christian Character****

(William Nicholson)

“Do not be proud, but fear.” Romans 11:20

Humility and dependence upon God, are

essential to the Christian character. The

opposite, pride and self-sufficiency, are the

traits

in the conduct of the unregenerate, and they

will lead to shame and ruin. By pride and

unbelief the Jews fell, and were cut off from

the favor of God. The Apostle, in the

preceding verses, presents their conduct as a

solemn warning to the Church; and in the text

gives a most emphatic prohibition: “Do not be

proud, but fear.”

I. The Evil to Be Avoided: “Do not be proud!”

The meaning of the text is, do not be elated

in the conception of your privileges, so as to

produce vain self-confidence, boasting, and

presumption; but rather see and feel the

necessity of being continually on your guard,

lest you should fall through unbelief, and be

cast off.

OBSERVE:

1. Those are proud, who boast of the dignity

and wealth of their ancestors, and the

excellency of their birth, and think

themselves, in consequence, superior to

others who have no lofty or distinguished

lineage to boast of. How this idea prevails in

the minds of the great, the noble! etc. And

even some people in indigent condition, are

proud because honorably descended. The

Jews said, “We have Abraham as our father!”

etc. Matthew 3:9; John 8:39.

“Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor.” Proverbs

18:12

2. Those are proud, who have high opinions

of themselves, and are fond of human

applause. Even the wicked proclaim their own

goodness; they tell us they mean well–that

their hearts are good, as if the tree could be

good, and the fruit bad; the fountain pure,

and the streams denied. Then they boast of

their liberality, etc., though we often find this

combined with sensuality, and even made an

excuse for it.

Pride characterized the Pharisees of old.

They dearly loved human applause. If they

fasted, they disfigured their faces, to

convince men that they really fasted. When

they prayed, they stood at the corner of the

streets that they might be seen by people

coming two ways. When they gave alms, they

sounded a trumpet before them. They trusted

in themselves that they were righteous, and

despised others. Just observe one of them,

Luke 18:10-12.

In the days of Solomon, there was a whole

generation of such characters, Proverbs

30:12, 13. The Apostle Paul himself was

once one of them, Romans 7:9; and this

spirit infested the Church at Laodicea,

Revelation 3:17-18.

3. This evil sometimes besets Christians

themselves. Instance Peter when he said,

“Though all men, you–I never will!” Did not

presumption lead to the denial of his Lord,

and bitter repentance? When the seventy

disciples returned from their mission, through

the land of Judea, they said, “Lord, even the

demons are subject to us!” etc, Luke

10:17-20. They acknowledge the agency to

be his, but they were unduly elated at being

the instruments. Christians may talk too

much about themselves. “Let another praise

you, and not your own lips.”

In the Christian, this pride may exhibit itself,

(1.) In the pride of wealth, or superior

circumstances in life. This may lead to the

neglect of the poor of God’s flock. Wealth,

when sanctified, will prove a blessing to the

Redeemer’s cause. Christians are

emphatically cautioned not to pay undue

respect to the rich. See James 2:1, etc.

(2.) In the pride of talent. If a man has

superior knowledge, discernment, eloquent

speech, etc., he is in danger of being puffed

up. The voice of commendation may often

sound in his ears, and Satan will not fail to

insinuate that he is highly gifted, etc. Hence

it requires much grace to avoid pride. See 1

Corinthians 8:1-2.

All gifts come from God, 1 Corinthians 12:4,

etc. Where is boasting then? It is excluded.

Though Paul preached successfully, he had

nothing to glory of, 1 Corinthians 9:16; and

estimated himself as “nothing,” 1 Corinthians

12:11.

(3.) In the pride of usefulness. Here a man is

in danger of attributing too much to himself,

instead of ascribing the whole of his success

to God, who alone can give the increase, 1

Corinthians 3:6-7. Therefore, be not like the

Pharisees of old, boasting of what you are, of

what you do, or of what you give.

II. The Means of Avoiding this Evil: “But

fear.”

This fear implies prudence, vigilance,

watchfulness. As if the Apostle had said,

“You have seen the effects of pride and

unbelief in the case of the Jews–avoid their

conduct, and be continually on your guard,

lest you also come into the same

condemnation.” The fear of the Lord

implanted in the heart will produce such

watchfulness. Hence fear is represented as a

holy affection, or gracious habit produced by

Divine power in the heart, Jeremiah 32:40,

which causes it to hate and flee from evil,

Proverbs 8:13, 16:6.

1. Fear the treachery and natural pride of

your hearts. They are depraved, deceitful, and

fond of applause. “He who trusts his own

heart is a fool.” “Keep your heart with all

vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life!”

Proverbs 4:23. Pride springs from depravity,

and ignorance of that depravity–and from

not feeling dependence upon God as the

source of all good.

2. Fear the awful effects of pride. It is the

forerunner of destruction. It ruined Pharaoh,

Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, etc. “Pride goes

before destruction, and a haughty spirit

before a fall.”

Pride disregards the prudential advice of

experience, and falls into those evils which

wisdom urges to shun.

Pride induces neglect of the means of grace,

etc., etc., by which the soul becomes

unfruitful, like dead branches.

3. This fear may be promoted by regarding

the patterns of humility in the Scriptures:

The humility of Christ, Philippians 2:6, 7.

Abraham called himself “dust and ashes.”

Jacob, “I am unworthy of all the kindness

and faithfulness you have shown your

servant.” Genesis 32:10.

Job, “Behold I am vile!”

Paul; “I know that in me dwells no good

thing.” “I am less than the least of all the

saints”

Humility even characterizes perfected spirits

in glory.

4. As creatures, our insignificance should

make us humble–but as sinners, we have

reason to be still more so. If there is one

flower in our heart’s garden–there may be a

thousand noxious weeds. And if we possess

any degree of goodness–yet there is enough

in us to keep us humble. But if this be not

sufficient, the Lord will find other means to

lay us low. “To keep me from becoming

conceited because of these surpassingly

great revelations, there was given me a thorn

in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment

me!” 2 Corinthians 12:7

5. Fervently pray for humbling grace. God

alone can clothe the heart and life with

humility!

“Pride causes the professor to neglect

studying the Bible and his own heart, and to

despise others. This kind of pride is the more

dangerous, because it is perhaps the most

secret of all sins, and the heart is more

deceitful in this matter than in any other. The

very nature of pride is to work self-

confidence, and to drive away dependence on

God, and humility. Pride appears in many

shapes undiscerned, and takes occasion to

arise even from the exercise of real grace.

Spiritual pride causes us to speak of the

failings of others in a bitter and severe

manner–while we attempt to hide or defend

the greatest improprieties in our own

conduct.” Jonathan Edwards.

“Pride is founded on error and self-ignorance.

Some are proud of what they are–and some

of what they are not. A man may be poor in

purse–yet proud in spirit. Pride may account

the Gospel foolishness–but the Gospel

proves pride to be so. God would rather his

people should fare poorly–than live proudly.

As cankers breed in the sweetest roses–so

pride may arise out of the best duties.” J.

Mason.

​Nancy Hill

Nancy Hill

BLASPHEMOUS BOOK & MOVIE “THE

SHACK” SHOWS “…THAT MILLIONS …

(ARE) OBLIVIOUS TO THE FACT THAT IF

EVERYONE GETS SAVED, THERE IS NO

POINT TO THE GOSPEL”… T.A. MCMAHON

– THE BEREAN CALL…

​Marie B Corn

Marie B Corn

Many will disagree with this post, and some may say I have lost my mind. However, it is how I see the state of affairs in this country, especially in light of the overall world condition.

I was prompted to write this when I saw a meme criticizing AG Jeff Sessions for not bringing indictments against well-known criminals.

It seems all too obvious to me that AG Sessions, along with everyone else in positions of authority are throttled and controlled by the One-world army of agents and spies that Valerie Jarrett strategically put in place during the Obama years. There IS a Deep State undercover government that is dictating everything, and it appears evident that anyone who would not concede/yield/

cooperate would be neutralized.

It is not just the “something” they might “have on him” that guarantees cooperation from a good man – it is the knowledge that he or someone in his family could end up “committing suicide” or dying like SC Justice Scalia.

The Obama years left behind a powerful and separate shadow government that is not affected by elections or appointments. Those things are just what are seen and what distracts and gives false hope that things are going to change.

Actually running the country is a self-perpetuating, self-funded (although the $9 Trillion missing from the Fed is suspect here), seamless system that is impenetrable except by the globalist powers that direct it.

So, what is left before Americans are fully assimilated into the One-World Government – The Kingdom of This World?

There are some who will never be part of it because they are citizens of the Kingdom of God. They are in this world, but they are not of it. They will not bow to the demands of an ungodly world system. Their allegiance is to Jesus Christ alone. They will stand firm until the end – until Jesus appears in the clouds and catches them up with Him.

But, there are tens or even hundreds of millions who will bow to all the world’s demands, but, if the Lord tarries and the Antichrist is not suddenly thrust into power, it will take some time to convince them. They are being conditioned every day to accept as normal things that have repulsed them all their lives. They are being trained as Pavlov’s dogs to respond to the cues and do the expected. They are getting used to being surveilled in every aspect of their lives. But, they still are not aware that they do not have a government restrained by a Constitution or by any laws it does not want to acknowledge

They have not figured out that the people they support financially and work so hard to elect are, or soon will be, just puppets and can never keep their campaign promises.

They, or at least a goodly number of them, are working every day to keep the economy going. The economy that has made the world powers exponentially richer every time the financial system is manipulated so that the market crashes. For this reason, it is in the globalists best interest to keep the masses as ignorant and as busy and as apathetically content as possible. The media must be controlled and charged to say or print nothing that would disturb their global agenda.

The world powers have in place a plan, and it is already at work, to disrupt America with race wars, Islamic Jihad, and the institution of Sharia law. This will bring society into such a chaotic state that a heavy-handed dictator will be required to bring order – police state order.

At some point in time, those who have not already succumbed to receiving the ID of the Beast through their employment or schools or other associations will be forced to take it in order to access money the government allots them, or to access health care, or to engage in business in any capacity.

I pray that anyone, everyone reading this will examine their hearts to be sure they are born again citizens of God’s kingdom and living in harmony with the commands of Jesus Christ and are ready for His appearing which could be at any moment. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus

8 hrs · Public

Oswald Chambers

The Way to Knowledge
July 27, 2017
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine… —John 7:17
   
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First…go….” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R

​TOZER DEVOTIONALThu, July 27, 2017

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Thu, July 27, 2017
Leaders Wo are Spiritual Visionaries
The great deficiency to which I refer is the lack of spiritual discernment, especially among our leaders. How there can be so much Bible knowledge and so little insight, so little moral penetration, is one of the enigmas of the religious world today. I think it is altogether accurate to say that there has never before been a time in the history of the church when so many people were engaged in Bible study as are so engaged today. If the knowledge of Bible doctrine were any guarantee of godliness, this would without doubt be known in history as the age of sanctity. Instead, it may well be known as the age of the church’s Babylonish captivity, or the age of worldliness, when the professed Bride of Christ allowed herself to be successfully courted by the fallen sons of men in unbelievable numbers. The body of evangelical believers, under evil influences, has . . . gone over to the world in complete and abject surrender, avoiding only a few of the grosser sins such as drunkenness and sexual promiscuity.
That this disgraceful betrayal has taken place in broad daylight with full consent of our Bible teachers and evangelists is one of the most terrible affairs in the spiritual history of the world. Yet I for one cannot believe that the great surrender was negotiated by men of evil heart who set out deliberately to destroy the faith of our fathers. Many good and clean-living people have collaborated with the quislings who betrayed us. Why? The answer can only be, from lack of spiritual vision. Something like a mist has settled over the church as “the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations” (Isaiah 25:7). Such a veil once descended upon Israel: “For their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:14-15). That was Israel’s tragic hour. God raised up the church and temporarily disfranchised His ancient people. He could not trust His work to blind men.
Verse
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.First Corinthians 2:4-5
Thought
Our great need in the church today is to see the demonstration of the Spirit’s power. Then our faith can rest on God’s power not on human wisdom, entertaining preaching and worship-team creativity.
Prayer
Lord, raise up leaders who are God seers and grant to Your people once again the clear demonstration of Your Spirit’s power.

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

To misunderstand evil and it’s intent in this end times generation opens the door to a level of deception, death and destruction never before seen on planet earth. Most on planet earth do not understand the times in which they live or the only way of redemption ….. Jesus the Christ. Be a message of hope in these darkening times. Blessings saints

​Streams in the Desert – July 27

Streams in the Desert – July 27
2017Jul 27
Prove me now (Malachi 3:10).
What is God saying here but this: “My child, I still have windows in Heaven. They are yet in service. The bolts slide as easily as of old. The hinges have not grown rusty. I would rather fling them open, and pour forth, than keep them shut, and hold back. I opened them for Moses, and the sea parted. I opened them for Joshua, and Jordan rolled back. I opened them for Gideon, and hosts fled. I will open them for you–if you will only let Me.
On this side of the windows, Heaven is the same rich storehouse as of old. The fountains and streams still overflow. The treasure rooms are still bursting with gifts. The lack is not on my side. It is on yours. I am waiting. Prove Me now. Fulfill the conditions, on your part. Bring in the tithes. Give Me a chance.

–Selected
I can never forget my mother’s very brief paraphrase of Malachi 3:10. The verse begins, “Bring ye the whole tithe in,” and it ends up with “I will pour” the blessing out till you’ll be embarrassed for space. Her paraphrase was this: Give all He asks; take all He promises.”

–S. D. Gordon
The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers! I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times. What have I asked for? I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains! I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides! My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father’s giving: it is beyond that we can ask.

–J. H. Jowett
All the rivers of Thy grace I claim,

Over every promise write my name.

(Ephesians 1:8-19).

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

((( DISEASE REMEDY )))

JESUS IS THE ONLY REMEDY FOR THE

WICKED DISEASE OF SIN. HOWEVER, MOST

PEOPLE BELIEVE THEY’RE GOOD PEOPLE,

AND BELIEVE THEY DON’T NEED THE

REMEDY. UNFORTUNATELY, MOST

CHRISTIANS ARE GIVING THEM FALSE HOPE

BY MAKING THEM FEEL LIKE THEY’RE

ALREADY THE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND IN

RIGHT STANDING WITH HIM.

(((( THE SINNERS PRESENT STATE )))

THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL 1

JOHN 3:10.

THEY ARE THE ENEMIES OF GOD COL 1:21.

THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDES ON THEM

JOHN 3:36.

THEY ARE ALREADY CONDEMNED JOHN

3:18.

GOD IS ANGRY WITH THEM EVERYDAY

PSALMS 7:11.

THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF WRATH EPH

2:3.

DON’T GET ALL EMOTIONAL NOW, FOR I

DIDN’T SAY THAT THERE’S NO HOPE FOR

THE SINNERS, NOR DID I SAY THAT GOD

DOESN’T WANNA SAVE THEM.

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

JESUS IS NOT COMING BACK FOR A

WHORE, BUT FOR A PURE VIRGIN BRIDE

WITHOUT SPOT AND WRINKLE. A HOLY

BRIDE.

EPHESIANS 5:27.

That he might present it to himself a

glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,

or any such thing; but that it should be

holy and without blemish.

666

When an employee

complains about the

‘mark of the beast,’ you

better listen

BY MICHAEL ELKINS

Special to the Miami Herald

JULY 23, 2017 2:00 PM

A recent federal appeals court ruling

has reiterated the rights of employees

when it comes to their religious

beliefs — in this case, the “mark of

the beast.”

Beverly R. Butcher worked for 37

years as a coal miner in West Virginia

at a mine owned by Pittsburgh-based

Consol Energy. In 2012, Consol

installed a biometric hand scanner to

track employees’ comings and goings.

Butcher, a lifelong evangelical

Christian, objected to use of the hand

scanner. His reason? He believed that

using the hand scanner would leave

him branded with the mark of the

beast, allowing him to be manipulated

by the Antichrist.

Consol did not accommodate Butcher.

Instead, the company provided him

with its own interpretation of the

Scriptures. In a letter to Butcher,

Consol explained that because the

mark of the beast is associated only

with the right hand or the forehead,

use of the left hand in the scanner

would leave him “markless,” so to

speak.

Butcher retired under protest,

choosing his religious belief over his

job. The U.S. Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

brought suit on behalf of Butcher. In

2015, a jury awarded Butcher nearly

$600,000 in damages. Consol

appealed. In a unanimous June 2017

decision, which has implications for

employers in Florida and throughout

the U.S., the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court

of Appeals affirmed the jury’s verdict

and issued a terse reminder to

employers about what to do when an

employee raises a religious objection

to an employment practice.

While many would not believe this is

possible, this is what happens when

employers are inconsistent, and take

matters into their own hands. The

court’s decision can be attributed to

several reasons:

First, at the same time Consol was

telling Butcher it couldn’t provide him

an accommodation, it was already

accommodating two other employees

who could not use the hand scanner

due to hand injuries. Those employees

were allowed to enter their personnel

numbers on a keypad attached to the

system. Consol’s own witness even

testified that the accommodation

imposed no additional cost or burden

on the company, and allowing Butcher

to use the keypad procedure would

have been similarly cost-free. Bad

move.

Second, Consol made the mistake of

claiming that Butcher’s understanding

of how the “mark of the beast”

worked was wrong, so its refusal to

accommodate him was not in conflict

with his religious belief. Another

mistake. Through his letter to Consol

and his testimony at trial, Butcher

carefully and clearly laid out his

religious objection to use of the

scanner system, notwithstanding the

fact that it would produce no physical

mark.

The court held that there was ample

evidence from which a jury could

conclude that Butcher sincerely

believed “participation in this

system”— with or without a tangible

mark — “was a showing of allegiance

to the Antichrist,” inconsistent with

his deepest religious convictions. That

is all that is required to establish the

requisite conflict between Butcher’s

religious beliefs and Consol’s

insistence that he use its scanner

system.

Consol’s point was that while

Butcher’s religious beliefs may have

been sincere, they were mistaken.

Consol even went so far as to open up

its oral argument before the appeals

court by quoting Scripture, which it

claimed shows that the “mark of the

beast” can be imprinted only on the

right hand. Yet another mistake.

So how can an employer avoid what

happened to Consol?

Make sure your accommodations are

consistent. If you’re providing injured

persons the same accommodation

sought by someone else, but for

religious reasons, as long as it’s not

an undue burden, the safest course is

to provide the accommodation.

Don’t challenge the correct

interpretation of someone’s religious

belief. As an employer, it is not your

place to question the correctness or

even the plausibility of an employee’s

religious understandings. So long as

there is sufficient evidence that the

beliefs are sincerely held, that’s

generally the end of the matter as to

whether there is a bona fide belief.

Even the most outrageous claim may

have merit. Always make sure to fully

investigate claims; don’t outright

dismiss employee requests; and when

in doubt, always make sure to consult

local labor and employment counsel.

Michael Elkins is a partner and co-

chair of the litigation practice group,

based in Miami, for the national law

firm Bryant Miller Olive P.A. On

Instagram: @melkins1 and on Twitter

@melkins31175.

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

TRUE FRIENDS DON’T GOSSIP

ABOUT YOU BEHIND YOUR

BACK. GET AWAY FROM FAKE

FRIENDS

​Moses Niwe > Bible Prophecy Unfolding****The time is short!****

Moses Niwe > Bible Prophecy Unfolding

****The time is short!****

(Don Fortner)

“The time is short!” 1 Corinthians 7:29

We are living in a world where all things are

temporary. Everything here is perishing. We

are going to a world where all things are

eternal. If we are wise, we will live in this

world with our hearts fixed on eternity. And

when we look at all things in this world with

an eye to eternity, there is one striking fact

that we cannot avoid — The time is short!

The time of your life is short. “What is your

life? It is even a vapor that appears for a

little time, and then vanishes away.” “My

days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.” My

friend, your days are numbered. Soon, you

will have taken your last breath. Be warned!

Blessed be God, the time for suffering is

short. Let us not faint, nor grow weary, “For

our light and momentary troubles are

achieving for us an eternal glory that far

outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on

what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what

is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is

eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Since the time is short, we must be detached

from the things of this world. We must hold

the dearest objects of this life with a loose

hand, and cling only to Christ. Take your

dearest earthly possessions — your money,

your lands, your friends, your family — and

place this brand upon them — PERISHING!

Christ alone and the riches of His grace are

eternal.

What then must we do with the time that we

have? We must redeem the time. Buy up

every opportunity to worship and serve

Christ. Buy up every opportunity to point men

and women to Christ, the Way, the Truth, and

the Life. Much time is gone already, the days

are evil, and the time that remains is short.

Therefore, I say, redeem the time!

~~~~<~~~<<

Our time below is brief and uncertain–and

therefore very precious. Let us employ it, so

as to improve it. Let us live for God and

eternity!

The time is short–oh, who can tell

How short his time below may be;

Today on earth, his soul may dwell,

Tomorrow in eternity!

“So teach us to number our days–that we

may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm

90:12

~~~~~

*And yet upon this short time!*

(Jeremy Taylor)

God has given to man a short time here upon

earth–and yet upon this short time, eternity

depends!

“What I mean, brothers, is that the time is

short!” 1 Corinthians 7:29

“For we are only of yesterday and know

nothing, because our days on earth are as a

shadow!” Job 8:9

“What is your life? You are a mist that

appears for a little while and then vanishes!”

James 4:14

“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the

number of my days; let me know how fleeting

is my life!” Psalm 39:4

“Our days on earth are like a passing

shadow, gone so soon without a trace!” 1

Chronicles 29:15

“We blossom like a flower and then wither.

Like a passing shadow, we quickly

disappear!” Job 14:2

“My life passes as swiftly as the evening

shadows. I am withering away like grass!”

Psalm 102:11

“So teach us to number our days, that we

may gain a heart of wisdom!” Psalm 90:12

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as

unwise men but as wise–making the most of

your time.” Ephesians 5:15-16

~~~~<

*Dear wife, farewell!*

(An excerpt from a letter by Christopher

Love, to his wife, on the morning of his

execution)

My most gracious beloved,

I am now going from a prison to a palace! I

have finished my work. I am now to receive

my wages. I am going to Heaven! Rejoice in

my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O,

let it be yours also!

Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no

more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am

not much troubled–for now I am going to

meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ,

to whom I shall be eternally married!

Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until

death,

Christopher Love, August 22, 1651, the day of

my glorification!

​JoAnn N Alan

JoAnn N Alan

“Oh! child of God, it may seem that all things

are against thee; perhaps all God’s waves

and billows will go over thee; thou mayest

know what hunger, and nakedness, and thirst

do mean; thou mayest be found in this world

houseless, friendless, fatherless, motherless,

but oh! remember, that neither famine, nor

hunger, nor poverty, nor sickness, nor

weakness, nor contempt, can separate thee

from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus

thy Lord. Thou mayest sink ever so low, but

thou canst never sink lower than the arm of

God can reach. Thy poor ship may be drifted

before the gale, but it shall never go so fast

but God can keep her off the rocks. Be of

good cheer, the trials of this mortal life shall

work out for thee “a far more exceeding and

eternal weight of glory.”

C.H. Spurgeon

​Moses Niwe****Self-Denial****(Richard Baxter)

Moses Niwe

****Self-Denial****

(Richard Baxter)

“If anyone would come after Me, he must

deny himself and take up his cross daily and

follow Me.” Luke 9:23

You hear ministers tell you of the odiousness

and danger and sad effects of sin; but of all

the sins that you ever heard of, there is

scarce any more odious and dangerous than

selfishness; and yet most are never troubled

at it, nor sensible of its malignity. My

principal request therefore to you is, that as

ever you would prove Christians indeed, and

be saved from sin and the damnation which

follows it—take heed of this deadly sin of

selfishness, and be sure you are possessed

with true self-denial; and if you have, see

that you use and live upon it.

And for your help herein, I shall tell you how

your self-denial must be tried. I shall only tell

you in a few words, how the least measure of

true self-denial may be known: wherever the

interest of carnal self is stronger and more

predominant habitually than the interest of

God, of Christ, of everlasting life, there is no

true self-denial or saving grace; but where

God’s interest is strongest, there self-denial is

sincere. If you further ask me how this may

be known, briefly thus:

*1. What is it that you live for?* What is that

good which your mind is principally set to

obtain? And what is that end which you

principally design and endeavor to obtain,

and which you set your heart on, and lay out

your hopes upon? Is it the pleasing and

glorifying of God, and the everlasting fruition

of Him? Or is it the pleasing of your fleshly

mind in the fruition of any inferior thing?

Know this, and you may know whether self or

God has the greatest interest in you. For that

is your God which you love most, and please

best, and would do most for.

*2. Which do you most prize*–the means of

your salvation and of the glory of God, or the

means of providing for self and flesh? Do you

more prize Christ and holiness, which are the

way to God—or riches, honor, and pleasures,

which gratify the flesh? Know this, and you

may know whether you have true self-denial.

*3. If you are truly self-denying, you are

ordinarily ruled by God, and His Word and

Spirit, and not by the carnal self.* Which is

the rule and master of your lives? Whose

word and will is it ordinarily that prevails?

When God draws, and self draws—which do

you follow in the tenor of your life? Know

this, and you may know whether you have

true self-denial.

*4. If you have true self-denial, the drift of

your lives is carried on in a successful

opposition to your carnal self, so that you not

only refuse to be ruled by it, and love it as

your god—but you fight against it, and tread

it down as your enemy.* So that you go

armed against self in the course of your

lives, and are striving against self in every

duty. And as others think—it then goes best

with them, when self is highest and pleased

best; so you will know that then it goes best

with you—when self is lowest, and most

effectually subdued.

*5. If you have true self-denial, there is

nothing in this world so dear to you, but on

deliberation you would leave it for God.* He

who has anything which he loves so well that

he cannot spare it for God, is a selfish and

unsanctified wretch. And therefore God has

still put men to it, in the trial of their

sincerity, to part with that which was dearest

to the flesh. Abraham must be tried by

parting with his only son. And Christ makes

it His standing rule, “Any of you who does

not give up everything he has, cannot be my

disciple” (Luke 14:33).

Yet it is true that flesh and blood may make

much resistance in a gracious heart; and

many a striving thought there may be, before

with Abraham we part with a son, or before

we can part with wealth or life; but yet on

deliberation, self-denial will prevail. There is

nothing so dear to a gracious soul, which he

cannot spare at the will of God, and the hope

of everlasting life. If with Peter we would

flinch in a temptation—we should return with

Peter in weeping bitterly, and give Christ

those lives that in a temptation we denied

Him.

*6. In a word, true self-denial is procured by

the knowledge and love of God, advancing

Him in the soul—to debasing of self.* The

illuminated soul is so much taken with the

glory and goodness of the Lord, that it carries

him out of himself to God, and as it were

estranges him from himself, that he may

have communion with God. This makes him

vile in his own eyes, and to abhor himself in

dust and ashes. It is not a stoical resolution,

but the love of God and the hopes of glory—

which make him throw away the world, and

look contemptuously on all below, so far as

they are mere provision for flesh.

Search now, and try your hearts by these

evidences, whether you are possessed of this

necessary grace of self-denial. O make not

light of the matter! For I must tell you that

self is the most treacherous enemy, and the

most insinuating deceiver in the world! It will

be within you when you are not aware of it

and will conquer you when you perceive not

yourselves much troubled with it. Of all other

vices, selfishness is both the hardest to find

out and the hardest to cure. Be sure therefore

in the first place, that you have self-denial;

and then be sure you use it and live in the

practice of it.

C.H. Spurgeon

“If you have lost everything but Christ, yet

if you have Christ left, what have you lost?”

C.H. Spurgeon

The J.C. Ryle Archive

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The J.C. Ryle Archive at 7:45:00 AM 5 Essential Doctrines to Believe In

Show us anything, plainly written, in that Book, we will receive it, believe it, and submit to it. Show us anything contrary to that Book, and however sophisticated, plausible, beautiful and apparently desirable, we will not have it at any price.

Man is radically diseased. I believe that ignorance of the extent of the Fall, and of the whole doctrine of original sin, is one grand reason why many can neither understand, appreciate, nor receive Evangelical Religion.

The eternal Son of God is our Representative and Substitute. We maintain that people ought to be continually warned not to make a Christ of the Church. We hold that nothing whatever is needed between the soul of man the sinner, and Christ the Savior, but simple child-like faith.

We maintain that the things which need most to be pressed on men’s attention are those mighty works of the Holy Spirit–inward repentance, faith, hope, hatred of sin, and love to God’s law. We say that to tell men to take comfort in their baptism or church membership when these all-important graces are unknown, is not merely a mistake, but positive cruelty.

We maintain that to tell a man he is “born of God” or regenerated, while living in carelessness or sin, is a dangerous delusion. It is the position we assign to these five points which is one of the grand characteristics of Evangelical theology. We say boldly that they are first, foremost, chief and principal things in Christianity.

​Streams in the Desert – July 26

Streams in the Desert – July 26
2017Jul 26
For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness (Galatians 5:5, RV).
There are times when things look very dark to me–so dark that I have to wait even for hope. It is bad enough to wait in hope. A long-deferred fulfillment carries its own pain, but to wait for hope, to see no glimmer of a prospect and yet refuse to despair; to have nothing but night before the casement and yet to keep the casement open for possible stars; to have a vacant place in my heart and yet to allow that place to be filled by no inferior presence–that is the grandest patience in the universe. It is Job in the tempest; it is Abraham on the road to Moriah; it is Moses in the desert of Midian; it is the Son of man in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is no patience so hard as that which endures, “as seeing him who is invisible”; it is the waiting for hope.
Thou hast made waiting beautiful; Thou has made patience divine. Thou hast taught us that the Father’s will may be received just because it is His will. Thou hast revealed to us that a soul may see nothing but sorrow in the cup and yet may refuse to let it go, convinced that the eye of the Father sees further than its own.
Give me this Divine power of Thine, the power of Gethsemane. Give me the power to wait for hope itself, to look out from the casement where there are no stars. Give me the power, when the very joy that was set before me is gone, to stand unconquered amid the night, and say, “To the eye of my Father it is perhaps shining still.”
I shall reach the climax of strength when I have learned to wait for hope.

–George Matheson
Strive to be one of those–so few–who walk the earth with ever-present consciousness–all mornings, middays, star-times–that the unknown which men call Heaven is “close behind the visible scene of things.”

​TOZER DEVOTIONAL

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Wed, July 26, 2017
Wanted: God Seers
When viewing the religious scene today, we are tempted to fix on one or another weakness and say, “This is what is wrong with the church. If this were corrected, we could recapture the glory of the early church and have pentecostal times back with us again.”
This tendency to oversimplification is itself a weakness and should be guarded against always, especially when dealing with anything as complex as religion as it occurs in modern times. It takes a very young man to reduce all our present woes to a single disease and cure the whole thing with one simple remedy. Older and wiser heads will be more cautious, having learned that the prescribed nostrum seldom works for the reason that the diagnosis has not been correct. Nothing is that simple. Few spiritual diseases occur alone. Almost all are complicated by the presence of others and are so vitally interrelated as they spread over the whole religious body that it would take the wisdom of a Solomon to find a single cure.
For this reason, I am hesitant to point to any one defect in present-day Christianity and make all our troubles to stem from it alone. That so-called Bible religion in our times is suffering rapid decline is so evident as to need no proof, but just what has brought about this decline is not so easy to discover. I can only say that I have observed one significant lack among evangelical Christians which might turn out to be the real cause of most of our spiritual troubles. Of course, if that were true, then the supplying of that lack would be our most critical need.
The great deficiency to which I refer is the lack of spiritual discernment, especially among our leaders. . . .
Verse
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Turn my eyes from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.Psalm 119:18,37
Thought
Are we sufficiently tuned into God to distinguish spiritual reality from that which falls short of it? Are our spiritual eyes fixed on Him?
Prayer
O Lord, help me to fix my eyes on You and away from worthless things.

Oswald Chambers

The Way to Purity

July 26, 2017

Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart….For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man… —Matthew 15:18-20

 

 

 

Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.

The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The emphasis to-day is placed on the furtherance of an organization; the note is, “We must keep this thing going.” If we are in God’s order the thing will go; if we are not in His order, it won’t.  Conformed to His Image, 357 R

​J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle

We Can Talk With Him

“While Christ is absent believers must ask much in prayer. It is written, ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’

We may well believe that up to this time the disciples had never realized their Master’s full dignity. They had certainly never understood that He was the one Mediator between God and man, in whose name and for whose sake they were to put up their prayers. Here they are distinctly told that henceforward they are to ‘ask in His name.’

Nor can we doubt that our Lord would have all His people, in every age, understand that the secret of comfort during His absence is to be instant in prayer. He would have us know that if we cannot see Him with our bodily eyes any longer, we can talk with Him, and through Him have special access to God.

‘Ask and ye shall receive,’ He proclaims to all His people in every age; ‘and your joy shall be full.’

Let the lesson sink down deeply into our hearts. Of all the list of Christian duties there is none to which there is such abounding encouragement as prayer. It is a duty which concerns all. High and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned,—all must pray. It is a duty for which all are accountable.

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

A moving piece from Richard Wurmbrand’s,

Tortured for Christ, on the starvation for Holy

Scripture by the underground church. Man,

we need a perspective change here!

“Thousands of Christians have not seen

Bibles or Gospels for decades in Communist

nations such as China and North Korea. Two

very dirty villagers came to my home one day

to buy a Bible. They had come from their

village to take the job of shoveling the frozen

earth all winter long to earn money in the

slight hope that they might be able to buy an

old, tattered Bible with it and take it back to

their village. Because I had received Bibles

from America, I was able to hand them a new

Bible, not an old tattered one. They could not

believe their eyes! They tried to pay me with

the money they had earned. I refused their

money. They rushed back to their village with

the Bible. A few days later I received a letter

of unrestrained, ecstatic joy thanking me for

the Scriptures. It was signed by thirty

villagers! They had carefully cut the Bible into

thirty parts and exchanged the parts with one

another!”

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

((( WARNING TO THEM WHO MIND EARTHLY

THINGS )))

THEIR god IS THEIR BELLY ( FLESHLY

APPETITES )

PHIL 3:18 AND 19.

18) For many walk, of whom I have told you

often, and now tell you even weeping, that

they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

19) Whose end is destruction, whose God is

their belly (FLESHLY APPETITES), and whose

glory is in their shame, WHO MIND EARTHLY

THINGS.

SET YOUR AFFECTIONS ON THINGS ABOVE.

COL 3:1-3.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those

things which are above, where Christ sitteth

on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on

things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with

Christ in God.

Marc Roy

Marc Roy

((( EVIL TREE )))

IF I TRIED TO CONVINCE YOU THAT A

TREE FILLED WITH ORANGES IS AN APPLE

TREE, NONE OF YOU WOULD BELIEVE ME,

YET MANY PEOPLE IN YOUR LIVES CLAIM

TO BE CHRISTIANS, AND YET THEIR

WICKED FRUITS REVEAL THEY’RE NOT

CHRISTIANS, AND YET YOU STILL BELIEVE

THEM. WHY ?

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,

neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good

fruit. MAT 7:18.

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

JESUS HIMSELF LEARNED OBEDIENCE BY

THE THINGS THAT HE SUFFERED, WHAT ARE

WE DOING WITH OUR SUFFERING ???

Brad DeFury

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when

he had offered up prayers and supplications

with strong crying and tears unto him that

was able to save him from death, and was

heard in that he feared;

8Though he were a Son, yet learned he

obedience by the things which he suffered;

9And being made perfect, he became the

author of eternal salvation unto all them that

obey him;

a. When He had offered up prayers and

supplications, with vehement cries and tears:

The agony of Jesus in the Garden of

Gesthemane (Matthew 26:36-39, Luke 22:44)

proved He struggled with the difficulty of

obedience, yet He obeyed perfectly.

~This answers the question, “How can this

glorious, enthroned Jesus know what I am

going through down here?” He knows;

obedience did not always come easy for

Jesus.

~ And was heard because of His godly fear:

Jesus asked that the cup be taken away from

Him (Luke 22:42), yet the cup was not taken

away. Nevertheless, His prayer was heard

because His prayer was not to escape His

Father’s will, but to accept it – and that

prayer was definitely heard.

~ He learned obedience by the things which

He suffered: Though Jesus was God and is

God, yet He learned obedience. God,

enthroned in heaven’s glory, can only

experience obedience by casting off the glory

of heaven and humbling Himself as Jesus

did.

~ Jesus did not pass from disobedience to

obedience. He learned obedience by actually

obeying. Jesus did not learn how to obey; He

learned what is involved in obedience.

♡ “Obedience is a trade to which a man

must be apprenticed until he has learned it,

for it is not to be known in any other way.

Even our blessed Lord could not have fully

learned obedience by the observation in

others of such an obedience as he had

personally to render, for there was no one

from whom he could thus learn.” (Spurgeon)

♡ He learned obedience by things which He

suffered: Suffering was used to teach Jesus.

If suffering was good enough to teach the

Son of God, we must never despise it as a

tool of instruction in our life.

~~The Bible never teaches that strong faith

will keep a Christian from all suffering.

Christians are appointed to affliction (1

Thessalonians 3:3). It is through many

tribulations we enter the kingdom of God

(Acts 14:22). Our present suffering is the

prelude to glorification (Romans 8:17).

David Guzik

Christ, in the days of his flesh, offered up

prayers and supplications to his Father, as

an earnest of his intercession in heaven. A

great many instances we have of Christ’s

praying. This refers to his prayer in his agony

(Mt. 26:39, and ch. 27:46), and to that

before his agony (Jn. 17) which he put up for

his disciples, and all who should believe on

his name.

!!The prayers and supplications that Christ

offered up were joined with strong cries and

tears, herein setting us an example not only

to pray, but to be fervent and importunate in

prayer. How many dry prayers, how few wet

ones, do we offer up to God!

~~Christ was heard in that he feared. How?

Why he was answered by present supports in

and under his agonies, and in being carried

well through death, and delivered from it by a

glorious resurrection: {{{He was heard in that

he feared. He had an awful sense of the

wrath of God, of the weight of sin. His human

nature was ready to sink under the heavy

load, and would have sunk, had he been

quite forsaken in point of help and comfort

from God; but he was heard in this, he was

supported under the agonies of death. He

was carried through death; and there is no

real deliverance from death but to be carried

well through it.}}} We may have many

recoveries from sickness, but we are never

saved from death till we are carried well

through it. And those that are thus saved

from death will be fully delivered at last by a

glorious resurrection, of which the

resurrection of Christ was the earnest and

first-fruits.

2. The consequences of this discharge of his

office, v. 8, 9, etc.

~~By these his sufferings he learned

obedience, though he was a Son, v. 8. Here

observe,

[1.] The privilege of Christ: He was a Son;

the only-begotten of the Father. One would

have thought this might have exempted him

from suffering, but it did not. Let none then

who are the children of God by adoption

expect an absolute freedom from suffering.

What Son is he whom the Father chasteneth

not?

[2.] Christ made improvement by his

sufferings. By his passive obedience, he

learned active obedience; that is, he practiced

that great lesson, and made it appear that he

was well and perfectly learned in it; though

he never was disobedient, yet he never

performed such an act of obedience as when

he became obedient to death, even to the

death of the cross. Here he has left us an

example, that we should learn by all our

afflictions a humble obedience to the will of

God. We need affliction, to teach us

submission.

~~ By these his sufferings he was made

perfect, and became the author of eternal

salvation to all who obey him, v. 9.

Matthew Henry

Jer 22:21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity;

but thou saidst, I will not hear.This hath been

thy manner from thy youth, that thou

obeyedst not my voice.

Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went

astray: but now have I kept thy word.

Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I have been

afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Psa 119:75 I know, O LORD, that thy

judgments are right, and that thou in

faithfulness hast afflicted me.

Hos 5:15 I will go and return to my place, till

they acknowledge their offence, and seek my

face: in their affliction they will seek me

early.

Hos 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the

LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us;

he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

Heb 12:10 For they verily for a few days

chastened us after their own pleasure; but he

for our profit, that we might be partakers of

his holiness.

Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present

seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:

nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the

peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them

which are exercised thereby.

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

DO YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND THE COST OF

FOLLOWING CHRIST??? READ BELOW…

Matthew 10:34-39

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace

on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a

sword.35 For I have come to ‘set a man

against his father, a daughter against her

mother, and a daughter-in-law against her

mother-in-law’;36 and ‘a man’s enemies will

be those of his own household.’ 37 He who

loves father or mother more than Me is not

worthy of Me. And he who loves son or

daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38 And he who does not take his cross and

follow after Me is not worthy of Me.39 He

who finds his life will lose it, and he who

loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus shows us that, “loyalty” to CHRIST will

become a sword that will divide our family

relationships. Loyalty means that you will

have to face the reality of ENEMIES, even in

your own HOUSEHOLD… All because your

“loyalty” is for CHRIST first, and foremost.

We see in the scripture above, spiritual

loyalty also means, that you must “take up

your cross and follow after Me or you’re not

worthy of Me.” You must be willing to die to

self. He who has found his life shall lose it,

he who has lost his life for My sake shall find

it.

We’re talking about a commitment at the

most severe level… Loyalty to GOD, loyalty

to CHRIST, loyalty to the gospel, and loyalty

to the TRUTH may bring sepearation to your

most intimate or closest relationships. Your

family, friends, and it MAY EVEN MEAN, the

LOSS OF YOUR VERY OWN LIFE…These are

very strong words from our LORD and Savior.

We are called to such loyalty, and devotion

to CHRIST.

Saints, do you truly understand the cost of

following CHRIST? HE must be first! The love,

loyalty, and devotion MUST be to CHRIST

first, above everything, and everyone.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOREVER!!!

Frank Rojas

So weary of hearing God’s Word,the Holy

Bible,change to sound more acceptable when

we’re sinning [rebelling] against

God…..Recently,I heard someone talk about

their child’s “behavior”…whatever happened

to the proper word “sin”.Ladies and

gentlemen,this is God’s Word and His Word

WILL JUDGE on THAT day.God never uses

the word “behavior” to describe sin.We MUST

remember that what we read in God’s Word

about His wrath on His Son,never,never to be

taken lightly or words changed to make us

‘feel’ better about ourselves and the state in

which we see ourselves compared to that

which God sees us.

Tammy Noel Thomas Smith

1 Cor 5:11But now I have written unto you

not to keep company, if any man that is

called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous,

or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or

an extortioner; with such an one no not to

eat.

But the Corinthian Christians were to expect

Christian behavior from their fellow

Christians, and they were not doing this!

Instead, Paul commands that they were not

even to eat with such a person.

~ In the culture of that day (and in many

cultures today), eating with someone is an

expression of friendship and partnership. In

some cultures, if a man eats at your table,

you are bound to regard him as a friend and

a partner. Paul warns the Corinthian

Christians they cannot continue in Christian

fellowship with a notorious sinner who calls

himself a Christian.

David Guzik

Note, Christians are to avoid the familiar

conversation of fellow-christians that are

wicked, and under just censure for their

flagitious practices. Such disgrace the

Christian name. They may call themselves

brethren in Christ, but they are not Christian

brethren. They are only fit companions for the

brethren in iniquity; and to such company

they should be left, till they mend their ways

and doings.

II. How he limits this advice. He does not

forbid the Christians the like commerce with

scandalously wicked heathens. He does not

forbid their eating nor conversing with the

fornicators of this world, etc. They know no

better. They profess no better. The gods they

serve, and the worship they render to many

of them, countenance such wickedness. “You

must needs go out of the world if you will

have no conversation with such men. Your

Gentile neighbours are generally vicious and

profane; and it is impossible, as long as you

are in the world, and have any worldly

business to do, but you must fall into their

company. This cannot be wholly avoided.’

Note, Christians may and ought to testify

more respect to loose worldlings than to

loose Christians. This seems a paradox. Why

should we shun the company of a profane or

loose Christian, rather than that of a profane

or loose heathen?

III. The reason of this limitation is here

assigned. It is impossible the one should be

avoided. Christians must have gone out of

the world to avoid the company of loose

heathens. But this was impossible, as long as

they had business in the world. While they

are minding their duty, and doing their proper

business, God can and will preserve them

from contagion. Besides, they carry an

antidote against the infection of their bad

example, and are naturally upon their guard.

They are apt to have a horror at their wicked

practices. But the dread of sin wears off by

familiar converse with wicked Christians. Our

own safety and preservation are a reason of

this difference. But, besides, heathens were

such as Christians had nothing to do to

judge and censure, and avoid upon a censure

passed; for they are without (v. 12), and

must be left to God’s judgment, v. 13. But, as

to members of the church, they are within,

are professedly bound by the laws and rules

of Christianity, and not only liable to the

judgment of God, but to the censures of

those who are set over them, and the fellow-

members of the same body, when they

transgress those rules. Every Christian is

bound to judge them unfit for communion

and familiar converse. They are to be

punished, by having this mark of disgrace put

upon them, that they may be shamed, and, if

possible, reclaimed thereby: and the more

because the sins of such much more

dishonour God than the sins of the openly

wicked and profane can do. The church

therefore is obliged to clear herself from all

confederacy with them, or connivance at

them, and to bear testimony against their

wicked practices. Note, Though the church

has nothing to do with those without, it must

endeavour to keep clear of the guilt and

reproach of those within.

Matthew Henry

Many parents ( mothers especially ) will not

forsake eating with unwed (children) family

in sexual or other sin. Many will speak highly

of their calling and office and revelation and

walk but are shallow in their depth of

scripture and when challenged shut down and

run, keeping their excuses as their gaurd.

Steve Hammer

​Henok Esayas Grace

Henok Esayas Grace

Christians are Pilgrims

“For here have we no continuing city, but

we seek one to come.”

(Hebrews 13:14)

Oswald Chambers

Am I Blessed Like This?

July 25, 2017

Blessed are… —Matthew 5:3-11

 

 

 

When we first read the statements of Jesus, they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unnoticed into our subconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes, we say, “What a startling statement that is!” Then we must decide whether or not we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is as easy as child’s play. But the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies our Lord’s statements to our circumstances is the strict and difficult work of a saint.

The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort. We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations— it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray.So Send I You, 1325 L

Streams in the Desert – July 25

• 2017Jul 25

What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter (John 13:7).

We have only a partial view here of God’s dealings, His half-completed, half-developed plan; but all will stand out in fair and graceful proportions in the great finished Temple of Eternity!

Go, in the reign of Israel’s greatest king, to the heights of Lebanon. See that noble cedar, the pride of its compeers, an old wrestler with northern blasts! Summer loves to smile upon it, night spangles its feathery foliage with dewdrops, the birds nestle on its branches, the weary pilgrim or wandering shepherd reposes under its shadows from the midday heat or from the furious storm; but all at once it is marked out to fall; The aged denizen of the forest is doomed to succumb to the woodman’s stroke!

As we see the axe making its first gash on its gnarled trunk, then the noble limbs stripped of their branches, and at last the “Tree of God,” as was its distinctive epithet, coming with a crash to the ground, we exclaim against the wanton destruction, the demolition of this proud pillar in the temple of nature. We are tempted to cry with the prophet, as if inviting the sympathy of every lowlier stem–invoking inanimate things to resent the affront–“Howl, fir tree; for the cedar has fallen!”

But wait a little. Follow that gigantic trunk as the workmen of Hiram launch it down the mountain side; thence conveyed in rafts along the blue waters of the Mediterranean; and last of all, behold it set a glorious polished beam in the Temple of God. As you see its destination, placed in the very Holy of Holies, in the diadem of the Great King–say, can you grudge that “the crown of Lebanon” was despoiled, in order that this jewel might have so noble a setting? That cedar stood as a stately prop in Nature’s sanctuary, but “the glory of the latter house was greater than the glory of the former!”

How many of our souls are like these cedars of old! God’s axes of trial have stripped and bared them. We see no reason for dealings so dark and mysterious, but He has a noble end and object in view; to set them as everlasting pillars and rafters in His Heavenly Zion; to make them a “crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of our God.”
–Macduff

I do not ask my cross to understand,
My way to see–
Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand,
And follow Thee

​TOZER DEVOTIONALTue, July 25, 2017

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Tue, July 25, 2017
Being Who We Are
This need for external support for our sagging faith accounts for the introduction into religious activities of that welter of shoddy claptrap that has become the characteristic mark of modern Christianity. . . .
To guarantee immunity to this disease of the heart, we must cultivate a spirit of faith and humility. This works as an antibody to destroy the moral bacteria that cause bloat and distention.
If we have faith, we will be concerned only with what God thinks of us. We can smile off man’s opinion, whether it be favorable or unfavorable, and go our God-appointed way in complete confidence. The excited devotees of the twin gods Publicity and Reputation will race past us with no more than a pitying glance. The self-acknowledged Great of the kingdom, the Eminent, the Outstanding will ignore us or patronize us or perhaps seek to cultivate us for their ends. We in the meantime will step neither to the right hand nor to the left. We will honor all men, be courteous to everyone, love our Christian brothers, glorify God and fear nobody.
It takes a lot of courage and independence of mind to insist upon being just what we are, and no more. But when the Lord comes, we will not have cause to regret that we did.
Verse
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.Galatians 6:14
Thought
Doingcan never substitute for being. Worthwhile doing flows out of wholesome being.
Prayer
Help me to be realistic, Lord, in understanding who I am in myself and who I am in You!
previous 

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

((( 11 REASONS FOR A PRE-TRIB

RAPTURE )))

THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD.

THE 66-BOOK CANON CALLED THE BIBLE IS

GOD’S INERRANT, INFALLIBLE MESSAGE TO

MANKIND, EXPLAINING HIS PURPOSES AND

PLANS FOR THE AGES (2 TIM. 3:16-17; 2

PETER 1:20-21). NO OTHER DOCUMENT

CAN BE RELIABLY TRUSTED, NOR

REMOTELY REACH THE BAR FOR THE

REQUIREMENTS OF AUTHENTICATION THAT

THE BIBLE ATTAINS TO SO EASILY.

======================

B) THE BIBLE IS TO BE INTERPRETED

LITERALLY.

GOD MEANS WHAT HE SAYS AND SAYS

WHAT HE MEANS. GOD WANTS HIS

CREATIONS TO KNOW HIS WILL PLAINLY.

WHILE GOD DOES INDULGE IN

PICTURESQUE DESCRIPTIONS AND

PARABLES, AN EXPLANATION ALMOST

ALWAYS FOLLOWS OR CONTEXT IS

PROVIDED FOR EXPLANATION.

SPIRITUALIZATION OF TEXT, THEREFORE,

HAS NO PROPER PLACE IN INTERPRETING

SCRIPTURES. ANY ESCHATOLOGICAL

VIEWPOINT MUST THEN BE THROWN OUT IF

IT IS BASED ON THE READER’S DESIRE TO

SPIRITUALIZE THE BIBLE INTO WHATEVER

ETHEREAL MEANING THEY DESIRE. TAKE

THE BIBLE FOR ITS PLAIN SENSE MEANING.

=======================

C) THE CHURCH AND ISRAEL ARE

SEPARATE ENTITIES.

ISRAEL IS NOT THE CHURCH AND THE

CHURCH IS NOT ISRAEL. A BELIEVER IN

CHRIST BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE

CHURCH, WHETHER JEW OR GENTILE (ROM.

1:16), BUT A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH

DOES NOT BECOME A FORM OF SPIRITUAL

ISRAEL. GOD’S PROMISES TO ISRAEL AS A

PEOPLE AND NATION (SEE NEXT TENET)

ARE NOT THE SAME AS FOR THE BRIDE OF

CHRIST, THE CHURCH.

========================

D) A LITERAL 1000 YEAR MILLENNIUM.

THE BIBLE DESCRIBES A FUTURE, LITERAL

1000-YEAR TIME PERIOD. THE GREEK WORD

“CHILIAS” FOR “ONE THOUSAND” APPEARS

SIX TIMES IN REVELATION 20, CLEARLY

MARKING THE TIME PERIOD AS HAVING

1000 LITERAL YEARS. THE PURPOSE OF

THIS TIME PERIOD IS FOR JESUS CHRIST

TO HAVE AN EARTHLY KINGDOM FROM

WHICH TO BASE HIS RULE AND TO FULFILL

HIS PROMISES (GEN. 13:14-17; 15:5,18-21;

2 SAM. 7:16-19; ISA. 10:21-22;11:1-2; JER.

23:5-8; 30:22; 31:31-34; EZEK. 11:18-20;

34:24; 36:24-28; MIC. 7:19-20; HOS. 3:5;

ROM. 11:26-29).

==========================

E) A LITERAL 7 YEAR TRIBULATION.

AN UPCOMING TIME PERIOD HAS BEEN SET

ASIDE FOR GOD TO POUR OUT HIS WRATH

UPON THE EVIL OF THE WORLD, TO

REGATHER ISRAEL BACK INTO ITS LAND, TO

FORCE ISRAEL TO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS AS

THEIR MESSIAH, AND FOR THE MESSIAH TO

RETURN AND FIGHT FOR HIS BELIEVING

REMNANT (DEUT. 4:26-31; ISA. 13:6-13;

17:4-11; JER. 30:4-11; EZEK. 20:33-38;

DAN. 9:27; 12:1; ZECH. 14:1-4; MATT.

24:9-31). THIS TIME PERIOD BEGINS WITH

A COVENANT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE

ANTICHRIST (DAN. 9:27). THE LENGTH OF

THE TRIBULATION IS SEVEN YEARS LONG,

DESCRIBED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS AS “ONE

SEVEN” YEAR BLOCK (DAN. 9:27),

CONSISTING OF TWO “TIMES, TIME AND

HALF A TIME” (TWO YEARS + 1 YEAR +

HALF A YEAR; REV. 12:14), OR TWO “1260

DAYS”PERIODS (REV. 11:3), OR TWO “42

MONTH” PERIODS (REV. 11:2; 13:5).

==========================

F) JESUS WILL RETURN AGAIN TO THE

EARTH.

THE BIBLE SAYS JESUS WILL PHYSICALLY

RETURN AGAIN TO EARTH (ZECH. 14:1-21;

MATT. 24:29-31; MK. 13:24-27; LK.

21:25-27; REV. 19). JESUS RETURNS IS TO

DEFEAT HIS ENEMIES, SET UP HIS THRONE,

RESTORE ISRAEL, RULE WITH “A ROD OF

IRON” AND SHARE HIS AUTHORITY WITH

THOSE WHO OVERCAME IN HIM (MAT.

19:28; 25:31;ACTS 1:3-6; REV. 2:26-27;

3:21).

============================

G) THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT A CLEAR

RAPTURE.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:17 SPEAKS OF AN

EVENT CALLED “THE RAPTURE”, LATIN

“RAPIO,” GREEK “HARPAZO,” WHICH MEANS

“TO CATCH UP, TO SNATCH AWAY, OR TO

TAKE OUT.” “AFTER THAT, WE WHO ARE

STILL ALIVE AND ARE LEFT WILL BE

CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE

CLOUDS TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR.

AND SO WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD

FOREVER.” PAUL STATES THAT THE

CONCEPT OF THE RAPTURE IS MEANT TO

ENCOURAGE BELIEVERS DURING THIS AGE

(1 THES. 4:18). OTHER NEW TESTAMENT

REFERENCES ON THE RAPTURE ARE JN.

14:1-4; I COR. 15:51-58; AND 1 THES.

4:13-18.

=============================

THESE BEDROCK STATEMENTS ABOUT THE

BIBLE AND ITS INTERPRETATION PROVIDE

THE FOUNDATION IN WHICH TO ANALYZE

THE FOLLOWING REASONS FOR WHY I

BELIEVE THE BIBLE TEACHES A CLEAR PRE-

TRIBULATION RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH.

=========================

1) THE BIBLE DESCRIBES THE RAPTURE

AND THE SECOND COMING AS TWO

CLEARLY DIFFERENT EVENTS.

THE BIBLE MUST SEE THE RAPTURE (JN.

14:1-4; I COR. 15:51-58; 1 THES. 4:13-18)

AND THE SECOND COMING (ZECH. 14:1-21;

MATT. 24:29-31; MK. 13:24-27; LK.

21:25-27; REV. 19) AS SEPARATE EVENTS,

BECAUSE WHEN THE VERSES ARE

COMPARED THEY DESCRIBE TWO VERY

DIFFERENT SCENARIOS:

==========================

RAPTURE — BELIEVERS MEET CHRIST IN

THE AIR

SECOND COMING — CHRIST RETURNS TO

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES TO MEET THE

BELIEVERS ON EARTH

===========================

RAPTURE — MOUNT OF OLIVES IS

UNCHANGED

SECOND COMING — MOUNT OF OLIVES IS

DIVIDED, FORMING A VALLEY EAST OF

JERUSALEM

===========================

RAPTURE — LIVING BELIEVERS OBTAIN

GLORIFIED BODIES

SECOND COMING — LIVING BELIEVERS

REMAIN IN SAME BODIES

============================

RAPTURE — BELIEVERS GO TO HEAVEN

SECOND COMING — GLORIFIED BELIEVERS

COME FROM HEAVEN, EARTHLY BELIEVERS

STAY ON EARTH

=============================

RAPTURE — WORLD LEFT UNJUDGED AND

LIVING IN SIN

SECOND COMING — WORLD IS JUDGED AND

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ESTABLISHED

=============================

RAPTURE — DEPICTS DELIVERANCE OF THE

CHURCH FROM WRATH

SECOND COMING — DEPICTS DELIVERANCE

OF BELIEVERS WHO ENDURED WRATH

=============================

RAPTURE — NO SIGNS PRECEDE IT

SECOND COMING — MANY SIGNS PRECEDE

IT

==============================

RAPTURE — REVEALED ONLY IN NEW

TESTAMENT

SECOND COMING — REVEALED IN BOTH

OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

==============================

RAPTURE — DEALS WITH ONLY THE SAVED

SECOND COMING — DEALS WITH BOTH THE

SAVED AND UNSAVED

==============================

RAPTURE — SATAN REMAINS FREE

SECOND COMING — SATAN IS BOUND AND

THROWN INTO THE ABYSS

==============================

SINCE THE RAPTURE AND SECOND COMING

CLEARLY ARE DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT DO

NOT OCCUR AT THE SAME TIME, THIS

WOULD RULE OUT A POST-TRIBULATION

RAPTURE SCENARIO.

=============================

2) THE RAPTURE IS DESCRIBED AS

OCCURRING AT ANY TIME WITHOUT

WARNING.

JESUS STATED IN MATTHEW 24:42,44 TO

“THEREFORE KEEP WATCH, BECAUSE YOU

DO NOT KNOW ON WHAT DAY YOUR LORD

WILL COME… SO YOU ALSO MUST BE

READY, BECAUSE THE SON OF MAN WILL

COME AT AN HOUR WHEN YOU DO NOT

EXPECT HIM.” NOT ONLY DO BELIEVERS IN

CHRIST NOT KNOW WHEN TO EXPECT HIM,

BUT THE FATHER HIMSELF SEEMS TO HAVE

LEFT JESUS OUT ON THE EXACT TIME HIS

SON IS TO RETURN. AS JESUS STATED

INMATTHEW 24:36, “NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT

THAT DAY OR HOUR, NOT EVEN THE

ANGELS IN HEAVEN, NOR THE SON, BUT

ONLY THE FATHER.” THESE AND OTHER

VERSES (MAT. 24:36,42,44,50; 25:13; 1

THES. 4:18; TIT. 2:13; 1 JN. 2:28; 3:2-3)

INDICATE THAT JESUS’ ARRIVAL WILL COME

WHEN NOBODY EXPECTS IT.

THE SECOND COMING, ON THE OTHER

HAND, IS PRECEDED BY MANY EVENTS,

SUCH AS THE RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST

(REV. 12:13-17; ZECH; 13:7-9), A TREATY

WITH ISRAEL (DAN. 9:27), THE REBUILDING

OF THE JEWISH TEMPLE (MAT. 24:15; 2

THESS. 2:3-4; REV. 11:1-2), AS WELL AS

PLAGUES AND JUDGMENTS AND

PERSECUTIONS DESTROYING MOST OF THE

WORLD’S POPULATION (REV. 6-18). THE

BOOK OF REVELATION REPORTS THESE

EVENTS AS OCCURRING DURING THE 7-

YEAR TRIBULATION, WHICH REVELATION

REVEALS PRECEDE THE SECOND COMING.

BECAUSE THE RAPTURE COULD HAPPEN AT

ANY MOMENT AND WITHOUT WARNING AND

THE SECOND COMING IS PRECEDED BY SO

MANY SIGNS, THEN THE RAPTURE AND

SECOND COMING MUST BE DIFFERENT

EVENTS. THE RAPTURE HAS TO OCCUR

BEFORE THE SEVEN YEARS’ WORTH OF

SIGNS, BECAUSE CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED

TO LOOK FOR THE LORD’S RETURN RATHER

THAN SIGNS SUCH AS THE ANTICHRIST’S

ARRIVAL. ONCE THE SIGNS BEGIN, THEN

THE SEVEN YEAR COUNTDOWN BEGINS

TOWARDS ITS END WITH CHRIST’S RETURN

AT THE SECOND COMING.

JESUS’ IMMINENT RETURN DISMISSES ANY

OF THE OTHER VIEWPOINTS RELATED TO A

RAPTURE THAT OCCUR WITHIN OR AT THE

END OF THE TRIBULATION.

=========================

3) THE RAPTURE AND THE REMOVAL OF

THE “RESTRAINER” OCCUR AT THE SAME

TIME.

IN 2 THESSALONIANS, THE CHURCH AT

THESSALONICA WAS AFRAID DUE TO A

FALSE REPORT THAT THEY HAD ENTERED

THE DAY OF THE LORD (TRIBULATION) AND

HAD SOMEHOW MISSED THE RAPTURE. THE

APOSTLE PAUL ASSURED THEM THAT THE

ANTICHRIST WOULD NOT BE REVEALED

UNTIL A RESTRAINING FORCE WOULD BE

TAKEN AWAY SO THAT THE MAN OF

LAWLESSNESS COULD BE REVEALED.

BECAUSE THE REVEALING OF THE

ANTICHRIST COINCIDES WITH THE

BEGINNING OF THE 7-YEAR TRIBULATION

STARTING WITH HIS PEACE TREATY WITH

ISRAEL (DAN. 9:27), THEN THE RESTRAINER

HAS TO BE REMOVED BEFORE THE

TRIBULATION. AS THE HOLY SPIRIT ALSO

WORKS IN SALVATION (JN. 16:8-11; 1 JN.

5:7) DURING THE TRIBULATION, THEN IT IS

THE CHURCH THAT MUST BE THE

RESTRAINER THAT IS REMOVED.

THEREFORE, THE RAPTURE AND THE

REMOVAL OF THE CHURCH MUST COINCIDE,

AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVEN

YEARS.

==========================

4) THE TRIBULATION IS FOR ISRAEL’S

REDEMPTION.

JEREMIAH 30:7 DESCRIBES THE

TRIBULATION AS THE “TIME OF JACOB’S

TROUBLE” — “HOW AWFUL THAT DAY WILL

BE! NONE WILL BE LIKE IT. IT WILL BE A

TIME OF TROUBLE FOR JACOB, BUT HE

WILL BE SAVED OUT OF IT.”

IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW, WHOSE

PRIMARY AUDIENCE IS THE JEWS, JESUS

EXPLAINS TO HIS JEWISH FOLLOWERS

WHAT LIFE WILL BE LIKE DURING THE

TRIBULATION. ALSO, REVELATION 12

DESCRIBES PICTURESQUELY A WOMAN

WHO GIVES BIRTH AND HAS TO FLEE DUE

TO PERSECUTION DURING THE

TRIBULATION. THE CONTEXT SHOWS THE

WOMAN IS ISRAEL. AND AGAIN, THE BATTLE

OF ARMAGEDDON IS THE WORLD AGAINST

ISRAEL. TWO-THIRDS OF THE JEWISH

PEOPLE WILL BE KILLED FROM THESE

BATTLES. THESE TEXTS AND OTHERS SHOW

THAT THE TRIBULATION IS MEANT FOR THE

REDEMPTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

WHY ARE THE JEWS THE OBJECT OF

PERSECUTION DURING THE TRIBULATION?

FOR ONE, SATAN HATES THE JEWISH

PEOPLE FOR GIVING THE WORLD THE

SCRIPTURES AND THE MESSIAH, AS WELL

AS HE WISHES TO THWART GOD’S

PROMISES TO THE JEWS (SEE BEDROCK

#4). SECONDLY, THE JEWS HAVE TO BE SO

DESPERATELY BROUGHT LOW THAT THEY

FINALLY CALL OUT TO THEIR MESSIAH

“BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME

OF THE LORD” (MAT. 23:39; LK. 13:35). THE

TRIBULATION, THEN, IS USED FOR ISRAEL’S

REDEMPTION WHICH ALSO RESULTS IN THE

PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. THE

CHURCH DOES NOT FIT INTO THIS

SCENARIO, AND ARE LEFT OUT OF THE

PURPOSES OF THE TRIBULATION. THEY

WOULD NEED TO BE REMOVED — CAUGHT

UP — BEFORE THE TRIBULATION BEGINS.

============================

5) THE TRIBULATION IS NOT FOR THE

CHURCH.

THE TRIBULATION IS GOD’S WRATH UPON

THE UNBELIEVING WORLD, AND NOT FOR

THOSE WHO ARE SAVED FROM CHRIST’S

RESURRECTION TO THE RAPTURE —

CALLED THE CHURCH. YES BELIEVERS HAVE

SUFFERED ALL THROUGHOUT HUMAN

HISTORY, BUT THERE IS A SPECIAL TIME

(JUST LIKE THE FLOOD) SET APART CALLED

THE DAY OF THE LORD FOR GOD’S WRATH.

CHRISTIANS SUFFERING AND THE

TRIBULATION/DAY OF THE LORD ARE

DIFFERENT.

TRUE BELIEVERS IN CHRIST DURING THE

CHURCH AGE, REPRESENTED BY THE

CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA, ARE PROMISED

IN REVELATION 3:10, “SINCE YOU HAVE

KEPT MY COMMAND TO ENDURE

PATIENTLY, I WILL ALSO KEEP YOU FROM

THE HOUR OF TRIAL THAT IS GOING TO

COME UPON THE WHOLE WORLD TO TEST

THOSE WHO LIVE ON THE EARTH.”PAUL

STATES IN 1 THESSALONIANS 1:10, “AND

TO WAIT FOR HIS SON FROM HEAVEN,

WHOM HE RAISED FROM THE DEAD—JESUS,

WHO RESCUES US FROM THE COMING

WRATH.” HE ALSO STATES IN 1

THESSALONIANS 5:9, “FOR GOD DID NOT

APPOINT US TO SUFFER WRATH BUT TO

RECEIVE SALVATION THROUGH OUR LORD

JESUS CHRIST.” ROMANS 5:9STATES,

“SINCE WE HAVE NOW BEEN JUSTIFIED BY

HIS BLOOD, HOW MUCH MORE SHALL WE

BE SAVED FROM GOD’S WRATH THROUGH

HIM!” EPHESIANS 5:6 STATES, “LET NO ONE

DECEIVE YOU WITH EMPTY WORDS, FOR

BECAUSE OF SUCH THINGS GOD’S WRATH

COMES ON THOSE WHO ARE DISOBEDIENT.”

COLOSSIANS 3:4 STATES, “WHEN CHRIST,

WHO IS YOUR LIFE, APPEARS, THEN YOU

ALSO WILL APPEAR WITH HIM IN GLORY.”

AGAIN AND AGAIN, SCRIPTURE STATES THE

CHURCH IS NOT MEANT TO ENDURE GOD’S

WRATH.

=============================

6) GOD’S WRATH INVOLVES THE WHOLE 7

YEAR TRIBULATION.

THE VIEW THAT THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR

AT THE MID-POINT OF THE TRIBULATION IS

BASED UPON 1 CORINTHIANS 15:52 WHICH

STATES THAT THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR

AT THE BLOWING OF “THE LAST TRUMPET.”

THIS MID-TRIBULATION RAPTURE VIEW

THEN DECLARES THIS TRUMPET TO BE THE

LAST OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS IN

REVELATION 11 THAT IS BLOWN AT THE

MID-POINT OF THE TRIBULATION. WHY OF

THE 114 REFERENCES TO TRUMPETS IN THE

BIBLE THESE TWO ARE IDENTIFIED AS ONE

AND THE SAME ONLY DEFIES SOUND BIBLE

STUDY. THE CONTEXT CLEARLY SHOWS

THE LAST TRUMPET OF 1 CORINTHIANS 15

IS BLOWN FOR BELIEVERS WHEREAS THE

SEVEN TRUMPETS OF REVELATION 8, 9 AND

11 ARE SOUNDED FOR UNBELIEVERS. THE

REVELATION TRUMPETS THEREFORE CAN

HAVE NO RELEVANCE FOR THE CHURCH.

THE PRE-WRATH RAPTURE VIEW HAS THE

CHURCH RAPTURED JUST BEFORE THE

BOWL JUDGMENTS (REVELATION 16) THAT

OCCUR DURING THE LAST QUARTER OF THE

TRIBULATION. THE BOWL JUDGMENTS ARE

THE ONLY JUDGMENTS THIS VIEW

CONSIDERS TO BE THE WRATH OF GOD,

LEAVING THE SEAL AND TRUMPET

JUDGMENTS AS WRATH FROM MAN AND

SATAN. BUT, ISN’T IT JESUS HIMSELF WHO

BREAKS THE SEALS THAT LAUNCH EACH OF

THE REVELATION 6 SEAL JUDGMENTS

WHICH OCCUR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE

TRIBULATION? ALSO, THE SEVEN ANGELS

WHO BLOW THE TRUMPETS THAT INITIATE

EACH OF THE TRUMPET JUDGMENTS ARE

GIVEN THEIR TRUMPETS AT THE THRONE

OF GOD (REVELATION 8:2). AND,

REVELATION 15:1 STATES THAT THE BOWL

JUDGMENTS AT THE END OF THE

TRIBULATION FINISH THE WRATH OF GOD,

NOT BEGIN HIS WRATH.

BECAUSE THESE JUDGMENTS ARE

INITIATED BY JESUS HIMSELF AT THE

BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION, THE

WHOLE TRIBULATION MUST BE GOD’S

WRATH, WHICH THE CHURCH IS EXEMPT

FROM.

===========================

7) THE OLD TESTAMENT AND REVELATION

LEAVE THE CHURCH OUT OF THE

TRIBULATION.

THE FOCUS OF THE TRIBULATION — TO

POUR OUT GOD’S WRATH ON THE EARTH

JUST LIKE THE FLOOD (ISA. 24:22;ZEPH.

3:8; 1 THES. 5:3; 2 THES. 2:12) AND TO

BRING THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO ACCEPT

JESUS AS MESSIAH (MAT. 23:39; LK. 13:35)

— IS ADDRESSED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT

AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION TO THE

UNBELIEVERS AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE. IN

ANY BIBLICAL CONTENT CONCERNING THE

TRIBULATION/DAY OF THE LORD, THE

CHURCH CANNOT BE FOUND.

THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF THE CHURCH

WAS A MYSTERY TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

PROPHETS. THEY FOCUSED ON THE NATION

OF ISRAEL. THE BOOK OF MATTHEW IS

WRITTEN TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE, WHOM

JESUS IS ADDRESSING IN MATTHEW 24. IN

THE BOOK OF REVELATION, CHAPTERS 2

AND 3 COVER THE CHURCH AGE, BUT THEN

THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE CHURCH

UNTIL AFTER THE TRIBULATION/DAY OF

THE LORD CHAPTERS 6-18. IN CHAPTER 19,

THE CHURCH RETURNS TO THE TEXTS AND

CAN BE FOUND, NOT SUFFERING, BUT

CELEBRATING WITH CHRIST AT THE

MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB AND

PREPARING TO RETURN WITH JESUS TO

EARTH.

============================

8) THE CHURCH IS BUSY ELSEWHERE

DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION.

WHILE THE 7-YEAR TRIBULATION IS

OCCURRING, THE BIBLE RECORDS THE

CHURCH WILL BE BUSY WITH THREE

EVENTS. NONE OF THE THREE HAVE TO DO

WITH SUFFERING ON A WORLD BEING

DESTROYED.

THE FIRST EVENT THE RAPTURED CHURCH

WILL PARTICIPATE IN IS A JUDGMENT BY

GOD — THE JUDGMENT OF THE JUST. THIS

JUDGMENT ON WORKS IS NOT TO

DETERMINE ETERNAL DESTINY, BUT TO

DETERMINE DEGREES OF REWARD (2 COR.

5:10; REV. 19:6-9).

THE SECOND EVENT IS THE MARRIAGE

SUPPER OF THE LAMB. THIS FEAST

CELEBRATES THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE OF

CHRIST’S BRIDE — THE CHURCH — TO HER

SAVIOR. REVELATION 19:7-9 SHARES THIS

WONDERFUL CELEBRATION,”LET US

REJOICE AND BE GLAD AND GIVE HIM

GLORY! FOR THE WEDDING OF THE LAMB

HAS COME, AND HIS BRIDE HAS MADE

HERSELF READY. FINE LINEN, BRIGHT AND

CLEAN, WAS GIVEN HER TO WEAR. (FINE

LINEN STANDS FOR THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS

OF THE SAINTS.) THEN THE ANGEL SAID TO

ME, ‘WRITE: ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE

INVITED TO THE WEDDING SUPPER OF THE

LAMB!’ AND HE ADDED, ‘THESE ARE THE

TRUE WORDS OF GOD.'”

THE THIRD EVENT FOLLOWS THE MARRIAGE

SUPPER OF THE LAMB AND IS THE

CHURCH’S PREPARATION TO FOLLOW THE

KING OF KINGS INTO THE BATTLE OF

ARMAGEDDON AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE

TRIBULATION. THIS EVENT IS THE SECOND

COMING OF JESUS CHRIST (ZECH. 14:1-21;

MATT. 24:29-31; MK. 13:24-27; LK.

21:25-27; REV. 19:11-21). REVELATION

19:14 IDENTIFIES THE CHURCH IN THEIR

“FINE LINEN, WHITE AND CLEAN,” WHICH

WAS GIVEN TO THEM DURING THE FIRST

EVENT — THE JUDGMENT OF THE JUST.

THE CHURCH AND ANGELIC FORCES

FOLLOW THE KING OF KINGS INTO HIS

SECOND COMING TO THE EARTH, BUT ONLY

JESUS HIMSELF WILL ENGAGE IN BATTLE

AND WITH MERE WORDS DEFEATS THE

NATIONS IN SIEGE AGAINST JERUSALEM.

============================

9) THERE NEEDS TO BE SHEEP TO

SEPARATE FROM THE GOATS.

IF THE CHURCH IS RAPTURED AT THE END

OF THE TRIBULATION, RECEIVES THEIR

GLORIFIED BODIES, AND THEN

IMMEDIATELY U-TURNS BACK WITH CHRIST

FOR THE SECOND COMING AS THE POST-

TRIBULATION RAPTURE VIEW HOLDS, THEN

WHAT BELIEVER IN CHRIST WILL BE

AVAILABLE FOR THE SHEEP AND GOATS

JUDGMENT OF MATTHEW 25? THE ONLY

PEOPLE LEFT ON EARTH WOULD BE

UNBELIEVERS, CALLED GOATS. NO

BELIEVER — SHEEP — WOULD BE

AVAILABLE FOR GOD TO PUT INTO THE

SHEEP CATEGORY.

SINCE THOSE WHO ARE IN GLORIFIED

BODIES WILL BE LIKE THE ANGELS IN THAT

THEY AREN’T GIVEN IN MARRIAGE OR

REPRODUCE (MATT. 22:30; MK. 12:25),

THEN A BELIEVING, UNGLORIFIED, HUMAN

REMNANT MUST MAKE IT INTO THE SHEEP

CATEGORY AND GO ON TO PRODUCE THE

NATIONS DURING THE MILLENNIAL REIGN

OF CHRIST (EZEK. 43:13-27; ISA. 19:21;

ISA. 65:20-22; REV. 20:7-10). THIS WOULD

MEAN THAT PEOPLE WOULD NEED TO

COME TO CHRIST DURING THE

TRIBULATION YET AFTER THE RAPTURE TO

PRODUCE THIS MILLENNIAL POPULATION.

=============================

10) THE BIBLE SHOWS GOD RESCUES THE

RIGHTEOUS FROM HIS WRATH.

BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS HAVING TO

ENDURE SUFFERING AND TRIALS AT THE

HAND OF MAN (JN. 16:33; PHIL. 1:27; 1

THES. 3:3; 1 PET. 4:12-13). BUT, THE BIBLE

HAS MANY EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO PUT

THEIR FAITH IN GOD ARE EXEMPT FROM

GOD’S WRATH. NOAH AND HIS FAMILY

WERE REMOVED FROM THE FLOOD WATERS

THAT IN GOD’S WRATH WERE USED TO

JUDGE AND CLEANSE THE EARTH. LOT AND

HIS WIFE AND TWO DAUGHTERS WERE

MADE TO LEAVE SODOM AND GOMORRAH

BEFORE GOD BURNED THE TOWNS UP WITH

FIRE AND SULFUR. RAHAB’S FAMILY WAS

SET APART WHEN JOSHUA’S ARMY

INVADED JERICHO.

COULD BELIEVERS BE MIRACULOUSLY

PROTECTED DURING THE TRIBULATION,

LIKE THE ISRAELITES WERE DURING THE

PLAGUES ON EGYPT? YES, THE 144,000

JEWISH EVANGELISTS FROM REVELATION 7

AND 14, FOR INSTANCE, WILL BE DIVINELY

PROTECTED. BUT, THE SLAUGHTER OF

BELIEVERS DURING THE TRIBULATION WILL

BE SO MASSIVE THAT THEY ARE CERTAINLY

NOT UNDER ANY SPECIAL PROTECTION

(REV. 7:9-17; 20:4).

===============================

11) THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE VIEW

IS NOT A NEW TEACHING.

SOME WILL ARGUE THAT THE PRE-

TRIBULATION RAPTURE VIEW IS JUST “TOO

NEW” TO BE CONSIDERED VIABLE. CRITICS

WILL POINT TO THE ORIGIN OF THE

MODERN PRE-TRIBULATION VIEW AND

CREDIT JOHN NELSON DARBY (1800-1882)

WITH ITS FOUNDING. BUT, IS THAT

ASSESSMENT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE?

INDEED, IT IS NOT.

THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS’ SUCH AS

BARNABAS (CA.100-105), PAPIAS (CA.

60-130), JUSTIN MARTYR (110-195),

IRENAEUS (120-202), TERTULLIAN

(145-220), HIPPOLYTUS (CA. 185-236),

CYPRIAN (200-250), AND LACTANTIUS

(260-330) WROTE ON THE IMMINENT

RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST, THE CENTRAL

ARGUMENT FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION

RAPTURE VIEW.

BIBLICAL TRUTH IS DETERMINED BY

SCRIPTURE, AND NOT HOW THAT TEACHING

HAS BEEN PERCEIVED AT DIFFERENT TIMES

DURING HISTORY. WHEN AUGUSTINE

BEGAN SPIRITUALIZING THE BIBLE, HIS

VIEW OF A NON-LITERAL INTERPRETATION

TOOK HOLD OF THE CHURCH UNTIL THE

RENAISSANCE, OBLITERATING THE

PREMILLENNIAL AND PRE-TRIBULATION

RAPTURE VIEWS IN FAVOR OF

AMILLENNIALISM. BUT, SOME MEDIEVAL

WRITERS SUCH AS EPHRAEM OF NISIBIS

(306-373), ABBOT CEOLFRID’S LATIN

CODEX AMIATINUS (CA. 690-716), AND

BROTHER DOLCINO WROTE STATEMENTS

THAT DISTINGUISH THE RAPTURE FROM

THE SECOND COMING.

WHEN THE CHAINS OF ALLEGORICAL

INTERPRETATION BEGAN TO FALL OFF

BEGINNING WITH THE REFORMATION IN THE

1400 AND 1500S, WRITERS SUCH AS

JOSEPH MEDE (1586-1638), INCREASE

MATHER (1639-1723), PETER JURIEU

(1687), PHILIP DODDRIDGE (1738), JOHN

GILL (1748), JAMES MACKNIGHT (1763),

THOMAS SCOTT (1792) AND MORGAN

EDWARDS (1722-1795) ALL WROTE

CONCERNING THE RAPTURE OCCURRING

SEPARATE FROM THE SECOND COMING.

EVEN IN THE MORE MODERN CHURCH,

THOSE LIKE WILLIAM WITHERBY (1818)

WERE PRECURSORS TO JOHN DARBY IN

SUPPORT OF THE VIEW. THE PRE-

TRIBULATION RAPTURE VIEW IS INDEED

THEN NOT ONLY BIBLICAL, BUT

SUPPORTED THROUGHOUT CHURCH

HISTORY.

​Jean LongSlow Dance

Jean Long

Slow Dance

This is a poem written by a teenager with

cancer.

She wants to see how many

people get her poem.

It is quite a poem, please pass it on.

This poem was written by a terminally ill

young girl in a

New York Hospital.

It was sent by a medical doctor Make sure to

read what is in the closing statement AFTER

THE POEM. SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-

round?

Or listened to the rain slapping on the

ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?

When you ask, “How are you?”

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,

with the next hundred chores running through

your head?

You’d better slow down

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short

The music won’t last.

Ever told your child,

We’ll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say,’Hi’

You’d better slow down.

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last..

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift….

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

FORWARDED E-MAILS ARE TRACKED TO

OBTAIN THE TOTAL COUNT.

Dear All:

PLEASE pass this mail on to everyone you

know –

even to those you don’t know!

It is the request of a special girl, who will

soon leave this world due to cancer.

This young girl has 6 months left to live, and

as her dying wish, she wanted to send a

letter telling everyone to live their life to the

fullest, since she never will.

She’ll never make it to prom, graduate from

high school,

or get married and have a family of her own.

​By Pete Garcia – The Omega Letter

By Pete Garcia – The Omega Letter

Growing up, I used to listen to a Christian pop-rock band called ‘Crumbacher’, who released an album in the mid-80‘s called ‘Escape from the Fallen Planet’. It was a little campy, full of keyboard riffs and cheesy 80‘s outfits, but looking back on it, I’ve grown quite fond of the concept of it as in regards to the Rapture.

So, it’s not that I’m a fan of escapism, but of one day being reconciled to my Creator and becoming what I was intended to become. Not a tent of flesh, prone to sin and the fallenness of this planet, but a building from God in whom we long to be clothed with. (2 Cor 5:1-5)

As Christians, our hope, our reason for drudging on day after day lies in the reality, that Jesus is God, and He promised that one day He would return for us so that we could be where He is.

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3

So where are we?

I’ve often wondered how long exactly the Lord would tarry. We know His return is imminent in the sense that it could happen at any moment, but would He stay His hand another few decades or come before the end of the month? Has the 2000 years been enough? Or does the increasing population on planet earth necessitate a longer time needed to fulfill the final harvest of men and womens’ souls? No one currently alive can peak into the future, and we are explicitly told by Jesus Himself that ‘no one will know the day or hour’ of His coming.

So how do we gauge were exactly we are in history?

Aside from scriptures, that leaves only looking around at our current state, and looking into the past to see where we’ve come from. We also know, that certain prophetic events that are currently in motion, have if you will, a shelf life. They just can’t continue to go on and on without some sort of finality to them.

I have a personal theory that men like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Ludwig van Beethoven, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein weren’t really gifted with supernatural intelligence. God just allowed them to use ALL of their brains, unlike most of us who only use a small percentage at any given moment.

These men were sprinkled throughout history to allow mankind to progress at a set pace, but not too quickly. As we have progressed through time, more and more of these men (and women) appear on the scene to quicken the pace in which we progress.

But those times have changed, in large part due to the invention of the computer and the internet (thanks Al Gore!). The amount of information available to anyone with access to it is mind boggling. Today’s average person has more information at their fingertips than the smartest men of ages past had their whole lives, which is why we keep leap frogging (technology wise) at an incredible pace. So based on that, we have a long, long, long period of time when man was limited as far as ability goes, and only just recently (last 100 years or so) have we exponentially exploded with a technological race unmatched in all our short 6,000 year history.

The questions are these; if we are physically and biologically the same people we were 500, 1000, 2,000 years ago, why did it take so long for us to get to where we are today? Why was man limited to the speed of horse up until the early 20th century? How could we go from building the Great Pyramid before the Noahic Flood to living in mud huts for the better part of 4,000 years following? What do these have to do with the Rapture of the Church?

Dispensations and Creation

Looking at the big picture, it would appear that God has allowed mankind a set amount of time. From Adam until the 2nd Coming, there is a predetermined number of years that mankind will be able to remain in a fallen state and populate this world, conducting what he/she thinks is their affairs in this realm of reality. Based solely on the history we do have written for us in scriptures, we can know generally how much time has gone by. So let’s do some simple calculations and see how much time man roughly has:

If the Age of Man is divided up into Seven parts, matching the order of Creation, and the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation marking the age of the Church, it would appear like this:

Day 1: Age of Innocence: Adam’s creation to Fall (unknown time)

Day 2: Age of Conscience: Fall to Flood (1656 years roughly)

Day 3: Age of Human Government: Flood-Abraham (427 years???)

Day 4: Age of Promise: Abraham till the Law (430 years)

Day 5: Age of Law: Moses until the Cross (1500 years)

Day 6: Age of Grace (Church): From Pentecost till today (1979 years)

1 Ephesus (30-100 AD)

2 Smyrna (100-300 AD)

3 Pergamos (300-606 AD)

4 Thyatira (606 AD- Tribulation)

5 Sardis (15th Century-Tribulation)

6 Philedelphia (19th Century-Rapture)

7 Laodecia (20th Century-Tribulation)

Day 7: Kingdom Age: From 2nd Coming until Great White Throne Judgment (1000 years)

The total brings you to about 5,592 years, give or take a few.

*I’m not dogmatically holding to these numbers, just throwing these out there to give the general idea

So based on the numbers, IF Creation were represented by one thousand years for each day, mankind would have 7000 years. But we know that the times do not line themselves up all nice and neat, and some periods are longer than others, but in the end, they would total 7,000 years. Seven, scripturally signifies perfection and completion. Since man was created on the 6th day of Creation, it signifies man’s imperfection (compared to God) but also may show something else.

Man, created in the image of God, was the pinnacle of Creation. He was the highest order created within the 6 days of Creation, and the world was given unto him to have dominion over (Genesis 1:28).

We currently inhabit (somewhere near) the 6,000th year of mankind’s existence here on earth that we know of, by recorded history.

At the present moment, mankind is at the pinnacle of his existence, having mastered space flight, instantaneous information, and supersonic travel. We have explored the known and unknown world, mapped the oceans, discovered the complex DNA double helix, and sent our cameras deep into space to explore the rest of the universe. We have within the past century, created weapons so devastating that we could destroy our world many times over.

We have created a level of luxury attainable by the average person that only the wealthiest royalties of ages past, could only dream of. (think ice cubes, instant meals, automobile travel, television, etc). It would seem, that man has finally reached again that time when he has dominion over the earth. Granted, man has coexisted with nature throughout our short time here, but it’s only been in the last 100 years that we’ve harnessed electricity, divided the atom, pulled oil from the depths of the earth, etc. Man has not conquered natural catastrophes, but we have learned how to forewarn ourselves of everything from hurricanes and tornados, to earthquakes and solar storms.

If for nothing else, based on our level of achievement alone, we should realize that we are the well toward the end of the timeline, on the very trailing edge of our time left in this day and age we live in. With prophetic scriptures pinpointing exact events that would transpire coming to the forefront of the news daily showing without a doubt, both the validity and accuracy of the Bible telling us where we are.

But the earth itself is in revolt, groaning with birth pangs, awaiting it’s liberation, as are we Christians.

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:22-23

Maybe not the best analogy, but the only thing that comes close is in the same lines that animals can sense an earthquake before an earthquakes strikes, we (Christians) can sense that our deliverance from this fallen planet is very close at hand. We can feel it in our bones, that our time here is about done, and it makes us all the more excited. Unlike our unbelieving friends and neighbors who trudge along thinking that this life is all there is, we have something glorious and grand that we look forward to with great anticipation:

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:13-14

There is an escape off this fallen planet, and it is only attainable by the forgiveness of sins, through the shed blood of God Himself on Calvary’s cross, some 2,000 years ago. Jesus died so that man could inhabit eternity with Himself in perfect harmony.

He endured allowing His creation to beat Him, spit on Him, pull His beard out of His face, and curse Him so that you and I could become the ‘righteousness of God’ through His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

It is only natural that we ‘groan’ within ourselves, longing for the redemption of our fallen bodies we inhabit, to finally attain that perfect body, which does not sin (nor wants too) to match that ‘new creation’ we became when we first believed (2 Corinthians 5:17, Eph 1:13-14) because of our sealing by the Holy Spirit.

If only God the Father knows, and we have received salvation through God the Son, and are currently being indwelt by God the Holy Spirit, and they all belong to the same Tripartite Godhead, it is no wonder so many of us believers sense that are redemption draws nigh.

From the beginning, Satan has been seeking to undo the Promise God made in Genesis 3:15, beginning with the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. Six thousand years is about the end of the line for man on this earth, and if for nothing else, written history can only trace back about that long, it would seem that the shelf life for fallen man is about to expire.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3

Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed. – J. C. Ryle

​Montana Carrington

Montana Carrington

The less that you pray, the tougher it get.

The more that you pray, the easier it gets.

Case closed!

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

A trial is an instrument by which our Father in heaven makes Christians more holy.

J. C. Ryle

7 hrs · Public

​Pastor Bill Randles Blog

Pastor Bill Randles Blog
July 22, 2017  8 Replies

The Temple Mount; Why It took So

long…

But if ye shall at all turn from following me,

ye or your children, and will not keep my

commandments and my statutes which I

have set before you, but go and serve other

gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off

Israel out of the land which I have given

them; and this house, which I have hallowed

for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and

Israel shall be a proverb and a byword

among all people: And at this house, which is

high, every one that passeth by it shall be

astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall

say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this

land, and to this house? And they shall

answer, Because they forsook the Lordtheir

God, who brought forth their fathers out of

the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon

other gods, and have worshipped them, and

served them: therefore hath the Lordbrought

upon them all this evil.( I Kings 9:6-9)

Those of us who have eyes to see have

witnessed an unprecedented event in the past

week. The world rushes by, oblivious to the

significance of the event but for those waiting

the arrival of King Messiah, a mixture of Joy,

Dread and Awe accompany the events of

recent history.

Let me be direct and succinct; for the first

time in two thousand years, the Jews

themselves have control of their Holiest site,

the temple Mount in Jerusalem, and have

been gathering there to pray openly.

This article is an exploration of the

implications of this event.

When three ‘Palestinian Terrorists attacked

two Druze policemen last week, and engaged

in a fatal shootout on the Temple Mount, The

Police Department of Jerusalem took control

of the Holy Mountain, and installed metal

detectors at it’s entrances. Muslims have

been boycotting the temple Mount, ever since,

and predictably, staging deadly riots and

demonstrations.

This change of hands of custody of the

Temple Mount, would mark the first time in

two thousand years, Jews have been in

control of it.

Solomon warned Israel by the Holy Spirit

that if she were ever to turn from serving

God, Israel would be cut off from the Land,

and God himself would cast the temple, the

visible symbol of Israel’s relationship with

God, out of His sight!

He also warned that the site of the temple,

would be a public testimony to all of the

world, of the Holiness and Righteous

Judgment of God, who wouldn’t even spare

his covenant people the consequences of

their sin and hardness of heart.

Daniel predicted that an “Abomination which

makes desolate ” the holy Mountain, would be

erected. Something which occurred in the

days of Antiochus Epiphanes, as well as in

the Roman Period, and eventually which

stands today in the form of the “Mosque of

Omar”, and “The Dome of the Rock”

desecrating the Holy Place. The blasphemous

statement, “God has no Son” , is inscribed on

Mosque which was erected on the Holiest site

to the Jews, in the seventh century and which

stands prominently today on that Mountain.

Interestingly enough, Solomon’s prediction of

the destruction of the Temple was fulfilled

twice, once in the year 587 bc , and then a

second time in 70 Ad. Ironically both of those

occurred on the same calendar date, Tisha

B’Av, the ninth of the month of Av , roughly

corresponding to late July or early August.

The three weeks preceding the destruction of

the Temple in 70 Ad, are considered a period

of mourning by Israel, They commemorate

the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by

the Romans, which would lead to the utter

destruction of the the Second Temple,

commencing on the 17th of Tammuz. (It was

on the 20th of Tammuz, 2017, that the

shootout occurred which led to the new

status of custody, which we now see in

Jerusalem).

It was fifty years ago, in June of 1967, when

the newly reborn nation of Israel retook

Jerusalem for the first time in centuries. We

all saw battle hardened jewish paratroopers

weeping at the wailing wall, and fulfilling

partially the wistful prayers of Jews

worldwide and for centuries through their

long night of exile,”Next year in Jerusalem!”.

But we stand dismayed at what happened

next, because it didn’t seem to fit our

narrative. We thought Israel would fully

occupy Jerusalem, and possibly sanctify the

Temple grounds, and perhaps re-instate

Temple worship and thus fulfill the

prophecies of events of the last days.

Instead General Moshe Dayan turned the

custody of the Temple Mount over to the

Jordanian Waqf, (Waqf, in Arabic means’

Cease’!).The Waqf would determine who

would “ascend the Holy Hill”, and who could

pray or not pray (Muslims only), they would

be in control of what went on , at the Holiest

site of the Jews. The Waqf would be allowed

to hollow out the Holy mountain, to destroy

priceless artifacts from Jewish antiquity,

including the first Temple,and even to

desecrate the Holy site at will.

Muslims have been seen urinating on the

platform which once housed the temple, and

ancient , petrified Cedar beams, possibly

from Solomon’s original temple, have been

removed from beneath the site and burned as

firewood!

Why has it taken so long for Jews to retake

the temple Mount ? Since it is the Holiest site

to all of Judaism, why didn’t it immediately

become Jewish controlled since 1967? How

could even secular Jewish leaders turn such

a sacred site over to Muslim control?

The only sense I can make of it, is found in

the Words of Jesus himself, in Luke 21.

…Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the

Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be

fulfilled.(Luke 21:24b)

Jesus warned that Jerusalem would be

ceremonially defiled… “Trodden underfoot of

the Gentiles” , is a ritualistic technical term,

which of necessity refers to the Temple

Mount itself. For How Long would Jerusalem

endure this defilement by Gentile occupation

of it’s most sacred spot? Until the time of

the Gentiles be fulfilled…

Perhaps in our next article we should explain

that phrase, ‘the time of the Gentiles…”.

​L. A. Marzulli

L. A. Marzulli

Think about this. If we were to

go back 200 years and go to

Jerusalem what would we

find? A sleepy dusty town,

with Jews and Arabs living

together and no suicide

bombers, acts of terror and

knife stabbing crazies. There

is no modern state of Israel

and the Temple Mount is a

non-issue. In fact I have a

reproduction from the 1920’s

penned by the Grand Mufti of

Jerusalem who states the

Temple was and always will

be a Jewish Temple and he

even mentions Solomon.

Fast forward to modernity

where the Temple Mount is

now a hot-button issue.

Remember when Ariel Sharon

stepped onto the Temple

Mount years ago? Yassar

Arafat, who was the head of

the PLO called for an

immediate, intifada. Nothing

has changed and we see that

the Abbas has stepped away

from any modicum of trying to

“get along” with Israel with his

latest antics.

In fact what we see is the

payment given out by Abbas

and his party to suicide

bombers and terrorist who kill

Jews. Nothing changes.

In the midst of all this is the

prophecy, yet to be fulfilled,

which states that the Anti-

Christ—the one who is instead

of Christ—cuts a deal with the

Jews to rebuild their Temple

on the much-disputed Temple

Mount.

Do you know what? Not many

Christians are even aware of

this prophecy, yet it’s in our

Bibles and points to the end

of days.

I would posit that we are in

the window of time where this

will happen. Are we near a

tipping point? Will the

situation on the Temple

escalate?

​Vanashree David > Gods Corner

Vanashree David > Gods Corner

A lady went to her Pastor and said “Pastor, I

won’t be going to your church anymore.” The

Pastor responded “But why?” The lady said

“Ah! I saw a woman gossiping about another

member; a man that is a hypocrite; the

worship team living wrong; people looking at

their phone during service; among so many

other things wrong in your church.”

The Pastor replied “OK. But before you go,

do me a favor: take a full glass of water and

walk around the church three times without

spilling a drop on the ground. Afterwards,

leave the church if you desire.” The lady

thought: too easy! She walked three times

around the church as the Pastor had asked.

When she finished she told the Pastor she

was ready to leave.

The Pastor said, “Before you leave I want to

ask you one more question. When you were

walking around the church, did you see

anyone gossiping?” The lady replied “No.”

“Did you see any hypocrites?” The lady said

“No.” “Anyone looking at their phone?” “No.”

“You know why?” “No.”

You were focused on the glass, to make sure

you didn’t stumble and spill any water. It’s

the same with our life. When we keep our

eyes on Jesus, we don’t have time to see the

mistakes of others. We will reach out a

helping hand to them and concentrate on our

own walk with the Lord

​They’re About To Fake An AlienInvasion – After 100 Years ofPlanning

They’re About To Fake An Alien

Invasion – After 100 Years of

Planning

Vatic Note: Well, we knew this was

coming. The 1966 Iron Mountain report

recommended this if the “ecodisaster” they

recommended, did not work toward

globalizing. Neither the Gulf blow out or the

bogus false flag Fukishima was able to get

the American people into a mental mind set

that was necessary to accept globalizing as

a solution to problems the Zionists created.

They felt certain this below, would work.

Don ‘t forget, those doing all this first

suggested deceiving and lying to us in the

1897 protocols, about both an ecodisaster

and the invasion of aliens. Bill Cooper

spent the end of his life exposing all this to

us.

I believe that is why they felt he had to die.

Ironically, his death and exposure are the

two things that made sure we never believed

the evil ones when they tried to blame

everything on American patriots and

Constituionalist Christians.

They’re About To Fake An Alien Invasion –

After 100 Years of Planning

h ttp://beforeitsnews.com/

alternative/2014/01/theyre-about-to-fake-

an-alien-invasion-after-100-years-of-

planning-2865786.html

by Pete Santilli , Before Its News, January 5,

2014

Since Paul Krugman’s public disclosure of

what the Communists are getting ready to

do, there have been many disturbing trends

and reports lately which should cause

alarm.

Be discerning. Be critical. Be suspicious.

Never submit to their designed scheme of

causing such great fear that we will all run

to their FEMA camps for food; water; shelter

and security.

The end game for the elite is to ripple horror

and fear through the populous so that we’ll

see no other alternative than to submit to

the all-powerful; all-knowing and secure

New World Order.

The only economy which can flourish under

their regime is a fabricated one. Their

methods of governance is not condusive to a

free market economy. They depend upon

our surrender of independence, and our

reliance on their communist system.

Promote “one-ness” and globalism, but what

they are in fact offering the world population

is total enslavement through fear. An

enslavement by which we will voluntarily beg

for in order to satisfy our desire for security

and safety from the evil circumstances they

fabricate.

Look up the term “higelian dialectic”. It’s a

method by which the elite create a massive

problem, create the desired affect & reaction

of fear, horror and desparation, and they

postion themselve on the other side of the

problem/recovery to offer us a solution.

Here’s a great example:

They sit down and say, “how can we

get the entire population to come

running to us begging to save them

from economic destruction? “

Let’s create a scenario whereby we

crush the mortage industry and

banking industry — let’s pop the

unsustainable bubble. Then, let’s

paint a picture of global collapse

which can only be resolved by having

Congress vote to give us 100′s of

billions of dollars in bailout money.

The public will accept the resolution

in fear of a collapse of their

prosperity, and threat of martial law.

Althoug we create the entire

“financial crisis”, they will throw

billions at us to save them. We will

pretend we are the government which

will take care of them, and they will

have no other alternative than to

voluntarily continue to make us

richer.

The communist regime believes in this

dialectic as a catalyst for rejuvenating the

economy. In 2011, Krugman went on CNN

to suggest a fake alien invasion:

Now, let’s roll the tape fast forward to 2014.

Susan Duclos of BeforeItsNews.com

published a report titled CIA “Bombshell!

Satan, Demons & Fallen Angel Alien

Invasion” Read her article and watch the

video attached. You will realize what they

are getting ready to stage and, in fact, the

plan is in full swing.

It’s a very disturbing trend that we all need

to recognize and become very aware of.

Don’t let them win you over with fear.

For those of you who don’t believe that our

leaders would ever do such a thing, take a

peak into the past:

War of the Worlds – The plan to create an

artificial extraterrestrial threat to the Earth

was first mentioned by the Marxist, John

Dewey.

“Some one remarked that the best

way to unite all the nations on this

globe would be an attack from some

other planet. In the face of such an

alien enemy, people would respond

with a sense of their unity of interest

and purpose.” John Dewey, New York

1917.

70th Anniversary of Orson Welles’ 1938 War

of the Worlds Radio Broadcast – Theories

Still Abound That the Broadcast was a

Covert Test to See How People Would React

to a Real Alien Invasion

“In our obsession with antagonisms

of the moment, we often forget how

much unites all the members of

humanity. Perhaps we need some

outside, universal threat to make us

realize this common bond. I

occasionally think how quickly our

differences would vanish if we were

facing an alien threat from outside

this world.” – President Ronald

Reagan, in a speech made to the

42nd General Assembly of the United

Nations, Sept. 21, 1987

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

Too many have taken what little they know,

and are running with it, losing sight of

remaining teachable. You have more

Christians out there trying to prove

themselves, with what they think they already

know, that they don’t even see they have

begun resisting further growth in HIM.

But that seems the difference of why some

bear 30- some 60- and some 100-fold.

Thank YAH for our trust in HIM finishing HIS

good work in us! Abide in the VINE. Abide in

perfect LOVE. for in perfect LOVE, there is

obedience.

​Believing is Seeing – Streams in the Desert – July 24

Believing is Seeing – Streams in the Desert – July 24
2017Jul 24
Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul (Psalms 106:12-15).
We read of Moses, that “he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Exactly the opposite was true of the children of Israel in this record. They endured only when the circumstances were favorable; they were largely governed by the things that appealed to their senses, in place of resting in the invisible and eternal God.
In the present day there are those who live intermittent Christian lives because they have become occupied with the outward, and center in circumstances, in place of centering in God. God wants us more and more to see Him in everything, and to call nothing small if it bears us His message.
Here we read of the children of Israel, “Then they believed his words.” They did not believe till after they saw–when they saw Him work, then they believed. They really doubted God when they came to the Red Sea; but when God opened the way and led them across and they saw Pharaoh and his host drowned–“then they believed.” They led an up and down life because of this kind of faith; it was a faith that depended upon circumstances. This is not the kind of faith God wants us to have.
The world says “seeing is believing,” but God wants us to believe in order to see. The Psalmist said, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
Do you believe God only when the circumstances are favorable, or do you believe no matter what the circumstances may be?

–C. H. P.
Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.

–St. Augustine

​TOZER DEVOTIONAL

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Mon, July 24, 2017
Strength in Weakness
We may need to look closely to discover the relation between inflation and unbelief, but such a relation does nevertheless exist. The man of faith is so sure of his position before God that he can quietly allow himself to be overlooked, discredited, deflated, without a tremor of anxiety. He is willing to wait out God’s own good time and let the wisdom of the future judgment reveal his true size and worth. The man of unbelief dare not do this. He is so unsure of himself that he demands immediate and visible proof of his success. His deep unbelief must have the support of present judgment. He looks eagerly for evidence to assure him that he is indeed somebody. And of course this hunger for present approval throws him open to the temptation to inflate his work for the sake of appearances.
This need for external support for our sagging faith accounts for the introduction into religious activities of that welter of shoddy claptrap that has become the characteristic mark of modern Christianity. The church and the minister must make a showing, and nothing would seem to be ruled out that will add to the illusion of success. At the root of this is plain unbelief. Religious people are simply not willing to wait till the Lord comes to receive their reward. They demand it now, and they get it, a circumstance over which they will shed bitter tears in the day of Christ.
Verse
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.Second Corinthians 12:10
Thought
Paul delighted in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties. Delighted in them! Why? Because he knew that when he was weak, precisely then he was strong.
Prayer
May I desire Your approval and Your strength, Lord, only Yours.

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

((( EXPOSING FALSE TEACHERS )))

WHEN EXPOSING A WICKED WOLF AND

FALSE TEACHER LIKE JOYCE MEYER, JOEL

OSTEEN, TD FAKES, CASHFLOW DOLLAR,

RICK WARREN, JOSEPH PRINCE, BETH

MOORE, AND THE COUNTLESS OTHERS

FROM HELLEVISION, OUR GOAL IS NOT TO

ATTACK THE WOLF, BUT TO PROTECT THE

INNOCENT SHEEP WHO IS BEING DECEIVED

BY THEM.

THEREFORE, PLEASE DO NOT TWIST

SCRIPTURE BY SAYING THAT IF WE HAVE

AN ISSUE WITH A BROTHER, WE SHOULD

FIRST GO TO THEM PRIVATELY, FOR I

CERTAINLY DO NOT CONSIDER ANY OF

THESE WOLVES MY BROTHERS AND

SISTERS. FURTHERMORE, DO YOU REALLY

BELIEVE THAT THESE SUPERSTAR

DECEIVERS WOULD EVEN TAKE MY PHONE

CALL? GET REAL.

IF YOU’RE MAD AT THIS POST I

UNDERSTAND, FOR I WAS ONCE DECEIVED

BY THESE WOLVES ALSO. WHEN WE DON’T

KNOW JESUS AND HIS WORD ENOUGH, WE

WILL NOT SPOT THE COUNTERFEIT. PLEASE

DO YOUR HOMEWORK AS A GOOD BEREAN

ACTS 17:11. AS I’VE DONE.

((( NAMING THE NAMES OF FALSE

TEACHERS )))

MANY OF TODAY’S COWARDLY ”

CHRISTIANS ” WOULD NEVER EXPOSE A

FALSE TEACHER TO PROTECT THE SHEEP,

FOR THEY ARE LED BY THEIR FEELINGS,

EMOTIONS AND OPINIONS, INSTEAD OF THE

WORD OF GOD.

THE APOSTLE PAUL NAMES THE NAMES OF

8 DECEIVERS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE

SAINTS, HERE ARE THE 8 DECEIVERS.

1 – Phygellus – 2 Tim 1:15

2 – Hermogenes – 2 Tim 1:15

3 – Hymenaeus 2 Tim 2:17

4 – Philetus – 2 Tim 2:17

5 – Jannes – 2 Tim 3:8

6 – Jambres – 2 Tim 3:8

7 – Demas – 2 Tim 4:10

8 – Alexander the Coppersmith – 2 Tim 4:14.

HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE

UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, BUT

RATHER EXPOSE THEM EPHESIANS 5:11.

——————————

———————

MOST PASTORS WILL TELL YOU THAT

THERE ARE MANY FALSE TEACHERS AMONG

US IN THESE LAST DAYS. HOWEVER, VERY

FEW HAVE ENOUGH COURAGE TO TELL YOU

WHO THEY ARE.

JOHN 10:12 AND 13.

12) BUT HE THAT IS AN HIRELING, AND NOT

THE SHEPHERD, WHOSE OWN THE SHEEP

ARE NOT, SEES THE WOLF COMING, AND

LEAVES THE SHEEP, AND FLEES, AND THE

WOLF CATCHES THEM, AND SCATTERS THE

SHEEP.

13) THE HIRELING FLEES, BECAUSE HE IS

AN HIRELING, AND CARES NOT FOR THE

SHEEP.

HIRELINGS AND COWARDS.

——————————

——————-

ISAIAH 56:10-11.

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant,

they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark;

sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

11Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never

have enough, and they are shepherds that

cannot understand: they all look to their own

way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

==============================

===================

((( ADDICTED TO FALSE TEACHERS )))

SOME OF YOU ARE SO ADDICTED TO YOUR

FAVORITE FALSE TEACHERS, THAT EVEN

THOUGH SOMEONE PRESENTED CLEAR

EVIDENCE FROM GOD’S WORD THAT

THEY’RE PREACHING HERESY, YOU’D STILL

KEEP LISTENING TO THEM.

TRUE CHRISTIANS LOVE THE TRUTH SO

MUCH, THAT THEY’RE READY TO BE

DIVIDED FROM ANYONE WHO OPPOSE IT.

GOD’S WORD TELLS US THAT IN THE LAST

DAY’S MEN WILL (( NOT )) ENDURE SOUND

DOCTRINE 2 TIM 4:3, AND THAT TIME HAS

ARRIVED SAINTS.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:6.

Love Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in

the truth;

Birth pangs

The first part of this page includes daily headlines that relate to the “birth pangs” of the end times. The last part of this page includes a list of links and news sources related to biblical prophecy. We can expect to see an increase in frequency and intensity of catastrophes and disasters, both natural and man-made, as we come closer to the Lord’s return:

Luke 21:25-28 – “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Jesus told us to watch for specific signs leading up to his return. These signs are “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:6-7, Mark 13:7-8, and Luke 21:9-11 ). When these signs “begin” to happen, we know our redemption is near. While this redemption is ultimately speaking of Israel at the 2nd Coming of Jesus, the “birth pangs” have already begun. In other words, as the “birth pangs” increase in frequency and intensity, we know that the Church’s redemption in the rapture is that much sooner. As an interesting side note, someone suggested to me that the “fear” spoken of in the passage above might be enhanced from the sensationalized news media.

Below, I post headlines daily related to the “birth pangs.” This list will generally include headlines that relate to the Middle East, particularly news that concerns Israel and their neighbors, followed by global geopolitical turmoil, the volatile global economy, earth convulsions, technology and legislation leading to the “mark of the beast” system, and headlines that relate to the increasing depravity of man, like in the “days of Noah.” Each headline below is a click-able link to the news article. A link to a two-year archive of “birth pang” headlines is found at the end of the daily list.

“Tracking Bible Prophecy” headlines can also be found on Facebook

Tracking Bible Prophecy Headlines – 7/23/2017

UN Security Council to discuss escalation in violence Monday

Middle East Quartet condemns terror and violence, calls to work toward de-escalation

EU urges Israel, Jordan to cooperate on security in Jerusalem

Erdogan condemns Israel’s ‘excessive’ use of force in Jerusalem

UN deplores Palestinians deaths in Jerusalem

Palestinians are leading themselves to a new ‘catastrophe,’ minister warns

Terror at Halamish: When a family’s Shabbat celebration turned into a bloody massacre

Netanyahu on Halamish killings: ‘An act of terror by a human animal filled with hatred’

Liberman: Abbas must immediately condemn Halamish ‘slaughter’

Israel demands UN condemn Halamish attack, Palestinian incitement

Rivlin vows Israel will fight terror ‘without compromise’ after Halamish attack

Entry of Palestinian workers into West Bank communities restricted following terror attack

25 Hamas operatives, including senior figures, arrested in West Bank

Palestinians throw stones at IDF troops surrounding terrorist’s village

New outpost built outside Halamish after deadly terror attack

Police clashes with rioters in several locations in east Jerusalem

Fresh Jerusalem clashes as Israeli official asks Arab nations for holy site security solution

More Jerusalem clashes feared as Israel searches for way to secure holy site

Israel said set to replace Temple Mount metal detectors with fenced access paths

Police install hi-tech security cameras outside Temple Mount

Muslims reject security cameras installed as alternative to metal detectors on Temple Mount

In first, Abbas halts security cooperation meetings with Israel

Liberman: Israel can manage without Palestinian security cooperation

Commentary: The Temple Mount charade

Rocket fired from Gaza, explodes en route to Israel

U.S. Army sergeant indicted in Hawaii on charges of trying to help Islamic State

ISIS bodies piling up in Libyan morgue, report says

How ISIS nearly stumbled on the ingredients for a ‘dirty bomb’

Syrian army declares cessation of hostilities east of capital

Russia: ‘Safe zone’ in Syria’s Ghouta demarcated

Hezbollah, Syria army launch offensive at Syrian-Lebanese border

Hungary’s leader: EU and Soros seek to “Muslimize” Europe

Tehran seeks release of detained Iranian citizens in US

North Korean Defectors Are Using Google Earth to Identify Killing Sites and Mass Graves in Kim Jong Un’s Totalitarian State

US lawmakers reach deal on sanctions bill for Russia, Iran, N.Korea

Congress Reaches Deal on Russia Sanctions, Setting Up Tough Choice for Trump

EU sounds alarm, urges U.S. to coordinate on Russia sanctions

Justice Department hits back at report citing anonymous sources that Sessions may have lied about Russia contacts

In tweet storm, Trump decries ‘illegal leaks’ and asserts ‘all agree’ he has complete power to pardon

Trump suggests he’s not considering pardons

Billions Of Lives At Stake As China Threatens India With War After “Blatant Sovereignty Infringement”

Could a war break out between India and China – again?

Why is the India-China border stand-off escalating?

Reduce tension through direct dialogue: Pentagon to India, China

Trump: USS Ford is ‘100,000-ton message to the world’

Trump, on New Aircraft Carrier, Urges Military Funds Boost

The Meltdown in Venezuela’s Currency Is Deepening

Mexico’s bloody drug war is killing more people than ever

Mexico murders up with deadliest month in at least 20 years

Protesters across Poland warn of impending dictatorship

Popularity tumbles for France’s Macron: poll

Why ‘every person on the planet’ will need a digital ID

Kuna outdoor smart security camera and light can stop burglars in their tracks

Cleanup Time: Russia Launches Satellite to Remove Space Junk from Orbit

Fukushima robot finds potential fuel debris hanging like icicles in reactor 3

Mammoth Lakes area hit by swarm of hundreds of tiny earthquakes

Strong Aftershocks Test Nerves on Greek Island After Quake

Aegean earthquake: Two aftershocks spark panic on Greek island of Kos after two killed and 500 injured

5.5 magnitude earthquake hits near Tinabogan, Indonesia

5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Attu Station, Alaska

Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 28,000ft

Klyuchevskoy volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 17,000ft

Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 13,000ft

Rome risks water rationing as drought-hit lake set to go offline

Papayas Sicken 47 in 12 States with Salmonella – 1 Death

At Least 90 Hospitalized, 50 Charged With Underage Drinking At Hartford ‘Hot Jam’ Concert

AIDS deaths are on the decline thanks to medications. But increasing drug resistance poses a danger

Kentucky taxpayers on hook for clerk Kim Davis’ fight against gay marriage

Church of England to vote on ‘welcoming’ transgender people with special services

ABC, NBC under fire after smearing Christian organization as a “hate group”

​Paula MailletJuly 23The Secret To Happiness

Paula Maillet

July 23

The Secret To Happiness

“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath…”

Proverbs 11:4

When the wrath of God comes upon someone, there is no escaping it for him. He has spent his life storing up wealth, but he will not stand when judgment comes, and his wealth will not save him. He has depended on his own abilities to lead him to riches thinking he has hedged himself up on every side, but he has not yet met the wrath of God, nor does he know that when it falls he will be helpless. He has kept himself from God, not wanting to surrender to him, and instead he has operated in the pride of his own heart. In the end, his pride will bring him down.

vs 2:

“When pride comes, then comes shame;”

And that will always be the result, because there is a principle in the spiritual laws of God that pride will always lead to destruction.

The upright, on the other hand, will walk in the wisdom of God and his integrity will be his foundation. While pride brings a man down, the integrity of the righteous will uphold him because the Lord will direct his ways. Through the ups and downs of life, the Lord will keep him and lead and guide him. Lust for money will not be what drives him, he is content with whatever the Lord provides.

“…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content;

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.”

philippians 4:11-12

Let us therefore pursue an attitude of gratitude and be content with our lot in this brief lifetime. Let us not strive for riches which inevitably lead to pride, but let us strive to be content and thankful for all that God has provided, for if one would take stock and bring to mind a count of all that he has, he would be surprised at how blessed he really is.

One day in my prayer time the Lord showed me the secret to happiness. “FOCUS on what you have, not on what you don’t have,” he said. This is the secret to happiness 

​J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle

Being Convinced of Your Sinful Heart

“What is the reason that men are so half-hearted in seeking Christ? Why are they so soon deterred, and checked, and discouraged in drawing near to God? The answer is short and simple. They do not feel sufficiently their own sins. They are not thoroughly convinced of the plague of their own hearts, and the disease of their own souls. Once let a man see his own guilt, as it really is, and he will never rest till he has found pardon and peace in Christ.” ~ J.C. Ryle

The truth about signs and gifts

Why can’t all believers do signs and wonders
today just like the apostles did in the early

church?

First of all we are NOT to listen to those who

promote their opinion that we can do

anything the apostles or Jesus did. And

neither should we listen to those who claim

that miracles no longer take place. What we

need to hear is the word of God, the apostles

teaching on this and what took place in the

early church history.

Any Scripture we may find has to agree with

the actual events otherwise it must mean

something other than what you may think it

means. We are to believe it as it is written to

be in the truth. What the apostles did is seen

in the book of Acts as recorded history and

doctrine. What the apostles taught the church

is in the epistles. Believers are not given the

supernatural ability cart blanche like the

apostles to do miracles at the drop of hat.

Otherwise they would not have had to call

Peter to raise Tabitha – they would have

done it themselves.

Acts 9:36-10:1: “ At Joppa there was a

certain disciple named Tabitha, which is

translated Dorcas. This woman was full of

good works and charitable deeds which she

did. But it happened in those days that she

became sick and died. When they had

washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the

disciples had heard that Peter was there, they

sent two men to him, imploring him not to

delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose

and went with them. When he had come, they

brought him to the upper room. And all the

widows stood by him weeping, showing the

tunics and garments which Dorcas had made

while she was with them. But Peter put them

all out, and knelt down and prayed. And

turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.”

And she opened her eyes, and when she saw

Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand

and lifted her up; and when he had called the

saints and widows, he presented her alive.

And it became known throughout all Joppa,

and many believed on the Lord.”

Acts 6:5-8: “ And they chose Stephen, a man

full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip,

Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and

Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they

set before the apostles; and when they had

prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the

word of God spread, and the number of the

disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and

a great many of the priests were obedient to

the faith.”

We also see Acts 6:8-9 “ And Stephen, full of

faith and power, did great wonders and signs

among the people.”

Stephen was specifically chosen by the

apostles , again this proves the point of what

is called an apostolic legate, a chosen

representative of the apostles. If we go back

a few verses we can understand what took

place and see that Stephen and Philip also

did a miracle are a specific group chosen out

of the church to be evangelists especially to

the Jews.

Acts 8:5-7: “ Then Philip went down to the

city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

And the multitudes with one accord heeded

the things spoken by Philip, hearing and

seeing the miracles which he did . For unclean

spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of

many who were possessed; and many who

were paralyzed and lame were healed.”

He was able to deliver people from demons

and heal the sick. What we notice is that

there were just a few not the many, not the

majority of believers.

Acts 2:43 “… and many wonders and signs

were done through the apostles ”

Acts 5:12: “ And through the hands of the

apostles many signs and wonders were done

among the people. And they were all with

one accord in Solomon’s Porch.

Acts 14:3: “ therefore they stayed there a long

time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was

bearing witness to the word of His grace,

granting signs and wonders to be done by

their hands .”

If all the church could do it miracles like the

apostles and this was normal, then this

would be meaningless for Paul say in 2

Corinthians 12:13 “ Truly the signs of an

apostle were accomplished among you with

all perseverance, in signs and wonders and

mighty deeds .”

Throughout the book of Acts (actually called

the Acts of the Apostles) we see the apostles

doing the signs and wonders. There are only

two specifically mentioned that did these

miracles and they were appointed by the

apostles.

The writer of Hebrews 2:3-4: “ how shall we

escape if we neglect so great a salvation,

which at the first began to be spoken by the

Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who

heard Him, God also bearing witness both

with signs and wonders , with various

miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit,

according to His own will?”

I believe in God’s power and we can pray and

he can still do mighty things, heal and do

miracles. He can do beyond all that we ask

(Eph.3:20) but to promise an absolute

recovery by supernatural healing, or

resurrection of dead people is not faith but

presumption, God does not have to obey

what you ask or command, instead we are to obey him.

​Paula MailletJuly 22

Paula Maillet

July 22

What NOT To Do Toward An Unbeliever

“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,

and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;”

Proverbs 9:7-8

Many alienations could be prevented by heeding this advice. It’s hard for a believer who has been born again to believe that those not born again do not want to hear it. The things of the Lord are so deep and so precious to the believer, that he can’t imagine how anyone wouldn’t want the same. But he does wrong by harping on it to one who doesn’t want to hear it, and indeed, it can cause alienation.

“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ

among those who are being saved

and among those who are perishing.

To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death,

and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.”

2 Corinthians 2:15-16

In the 19th chapter of Matthew, a rich young ruler who kept all the commandments of God came to Jesus and asked him what he must do to be perfected. Jesus told him to go sell what he has and give it to the poor, then come follow him.

vs 22:

“But when the young man heard that saying,

he went away sorrowful,

for he had great possessions.”

One of the most notable parts of this conversation is that when the man chose not to do as Jesus said and turned and went away, that Jesus did not go after him. Most of us would have run after that young man saying, “wait, you don’t understand, you can’t lose out with God, what you give will be multiplied back to you, you’re so close to the truth…” and on and on we’d plead, trying to convince the young man that there could be no greater calling than to follow Jesus. But …Jesus let him go. He didn’t run after him to reason with him.

HE LET HIM GO.

It will profit nothing to try to convince a person who has made up his mind that he doesn’t want to follow the Lord. You can argue till you’re blue in the face, you can present your greatest points, but if the person doesn’t want to hear it, you’re not only wasting your time but you might be causing an alienation between that person and yourself. To those who don’t want to hear it, you are “the aroma of death leading to death.” Don’t keep pushing. It can only cause harm.

So what can one do then? Is there nothing one can do?

Oh yes, there surely is something, and that something is prayer. We tend to downplay in our minds the importance of prayer, but prayer is a very, very powerful tool in our arsenal. STOP striving with an unbeliever, but intensely pray for him. That can turn the tide forever.

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man AVAILS MUCH.”

James 5:16

The most important part of prayer is persistence, because usually the answers don’t come immediately and many become discouraged because of that fact. I heard the true story of a great man of God who was on his deathbed, and a nurse heard him giving thanks to God for the grace to pray for those on his prayer list all these years and not give up. When he died, NOT ONE of those on his prayer list was saved. Can you imagine the strength and wisdom of this man to not give up but to continue his intercession even while seeing no hint whatsoever of an answer to his prayers? Oh, but wait! Later …every single person on his prayer list eventually came to the Lord!!!

Don’t give up. Pray without ceasing. Believe that your prayers will be answered, and they WILL be. The day will come when you will rejoice over the fruit of your persistence!

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

The world’s idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving.

J. C. Ryle

​Stephen ThomasWords to Ponder

Stephen Thomas

Words to Ponder

A Christian is nothing more than a sinner who has found out their sinfulness, and has learned the blessed secret of living by faith in Christ. – J. C. Ryle

​TOZER DEVOTIONAL

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Sun, July 23, 2017
Ego Obesity
The Bible warns against inflation, only it says it another way; it calls it being “puffed up.”
There are two ways to increase size: one is to grow normally, the other to become artificially distended. The first indicates health, the second, disease. The well-fed child grows larger each year; only the abdomen of the tiny famine victim grows, and that by a pathological distention that tells of approaching death.
In the realm of the spiritual, there is real danger that we may mistake unhealthy bloat for true growth. Paul dealt frankly with this danger and pointed out that being puffed up and being built up are two different things.
We all know how prone we are to find what we are looking for in the Scriptures and in our own lives. When appraising ourselves, we sometimes unconsciously adopt the technique of the defense attorney, that of playing up everything favorable to us and conversely playing down whatever would put us in an unfavorable light. While considering my own ministry, I have often caught myself magnifying every small victory out of all fair proportion and at the same time alibiing my failures and weaknesses. It is the old trick of seeing what we want to see and closing our eyes to the things we would rather forget. This is inflation, and unless it is judged and forsaken, it can result in a completely false estimate of our life and work.
Verse
. . . We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.First Corinthians 8:1
Thought
Knowledge puffs up. Love builds up. Knowledge puffs us up. Love builds others up. Knowledge, unless tempered by love and understanding, can produce ego obesity.
Prayer
Deliver me, Lord, from ego inflation. But please don’t show me all at oncehow weak and unloving I really am.

Oswald Chambers

Sanctification (2)
July 23, 2017
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us…sanctification… —1 Corinthians 1:30
   
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me]…sanctification….” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you…” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification— imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “…kept by the power of God…” (1 Peter 1:5).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….”  So Send I You, 1325 R

Streams in the Desert – July 23

<< Streams in the Desert, with Mrs. Charles Cowman
Giving Thanks – Streams in the Desert – July 23
2017Jul 23
Giving thanks always for all things unto God(Ephesians 5:20).
No matter what the source of the evil, if you are in God and surrounded by Him as by an atmosphere, all evil has to pass through Him before it comes to you. Therefore you can thank God for everything that comes, not for the sin of it, but for what God will bring out of it and through it. May God make our lives thanksgiving and perpetual praise, then He will make everything a blessing.
We once saw a man draw some black dots. We looked and could make nothing of them but an irregular assemblage of black dots. Then he drew a few lines, put in a few rests, then a clef at the beginning, and we saw these black dots were musical notes. On sounding them we were singing,
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below.”
There are many black dots and black spots in our lives, and we cannot understand why they are there or why God permitted them to come. But if we let God come into our lives, and adjust the dots in the proper way, and draw the lines He wants, and separate this from that, and put in the rests at the proper places; out of the black dots and spots in our lives He will make a glorious harmony.
Let us not hinder Him in this glorious work!

–C. H. P.
Would we know that the major chords were sweet,

If there were no minor key?

Would the painter’s work be fair to our eyes,

Without shade on land or sea?

Would we know the meaning of happiness,

Would we feel that the day was bright,

If we’d never known what it was to grieve,

Nor gazed on the dark of night?
Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.

–C. H. Spurgeon
When the musician presses the black keys on the great organ, the music is as sweet as when he touches the white ones, but to get the capacity of the instrument he must touch them all.

–Selected

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

(( DO NOT SUPPORT EVIL )))

ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS EVIL IN ANY WAY,

WHETHER THEY’RE AWARE OF IT OR NOT,

ARE AN ABOMINATION TO GOD. ANYONE

WHO CONDEMNS THE JUST IN ANYWAY,

ARE AN ABOMINATION TO GOD.

IF YOU APPROVE OF ANYTHING THAT GOD

CONDEMNS IN HIS WORD. WHETHER IT BE

ABORTION, SAME SEX MARRIAGE,

HOLLYWOOD MOVIES, VIOLENT TV OR

SPORTS ETC…

——————————

———————————-

PROVERBS 17:15.

HE THAT JUSTIFIES THE WICKED, AND HE

THAT CONDEMNS THE JUST, EVEN THEY

ARE BOTH AN ABOMINATION UNTO THE

LORD.

——————————

————————————

ISAIAH 5:20.

WOE UNTO THEM WHO CALL EVIL GOOD,

OR GOOD EVIL, WHO MAKE DARKNESS FOR

LIGHT, AND LIGHT FOR DARKNESS.

​John Hannan

John Hannan

THE DEVIL CAN MAKE MANY LOCKS TO

KEEP YOU IN BONDAGE BUT JESUS HAS

THE KEY TO ALL THESE LOCKS

Oswald Chambers

Sanctification (1)
July 22, 2017
This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3
   
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate…his own life…he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it isHimself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.

Disciples Indeed

​Streams in the Desert – July 22

Streams in the Desert – July 22
2017Jul 22
And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you… blessed are all they that wait for him (Isaiah 30:18).
We must not only think of our waiting upon God, but also of what is more wonderful still, of God’s waiting upon us. The vision of Him waiting on us, will give new impulse and inspiration to our waiting upon Him. It will give us unspeakable confidence that our waiting cannot be in vain. Let us seek even now, at this moment, in the spirit of waiting on God, to find out something of what it means.
He has inconceivably glorious purposes concerning every one of His children. And you ask, “How is it, if He waits to be gracious, that even after I come and wait upon Him, He does not give the. help I seek, but waits on longer and longer?” God is a wise husbandman, “who waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.” He cannot gather the fruit till it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessings, is as needful.
Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands; He will avenge His elect speedily; He will make haste for our help, and not delay one hour too long.

–Andrew Murray

​TOZER DEVOTIONALSat, July 22, 2017

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Sat, July 22, 2017
From Failure to Radical Transformation
For all his faults, or perhaps because of them, Peter could do one thing superbly: he could shed tears of grief when he had offended his Savior. The ability to repent is a sweet treasure, and one that is rare among us these days. If we had Peter’s penitent heart, we might go on to have his purity and his power. Should the contemplation of Peter’s faults give aid and comfort to an impenitent heart, then that heart has only itself to blame. God never intended that we should hide our unconfessed sins behind the confessed faults of a saint. Peter’s contrary nature drove him to God. Unless ours does the same, Peter will have lived in vain for us.
Anyway, we are glad Peter lived, and we are glad Christ found him. He is so much like so many of us, at least in his weaknesses. It only remains for us to learn also the secret of his strength.
Verse
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered . . . And he went outside and wept bitterly.Luke 22:61-62
Thought
Judas Iscariot and Peter tragically failed their Lord. They staggered in dark Saturday and in that darkness Judas sank. Peter stumbled through it to the brightness of Resurrection morning and beyond to the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. So can we!
Prayer
Thank You, Lord. I don’t have to sink endlessly in failure. There is forgiveness and enablement in You.

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

PEOPLE WHO REJECT THE BIBLE,

ACTUALLY REJECT GOD. YOU CANNOT

CLAIM TO LOVE GOD, WHILE REJECTING

HIS HOLY WORD.

666

Your body is no longer yours:

Australia has become the

first country to microchip its

citizens

JUL 05, 2017 by JEWS NEWS

in SCIENCE&TECH

Previous post Next post

by Taboola

Previous post Next post

(NaturalNews) You may not have noticed,

but there are two kinds of countries in the

world these days: Dictatorships led by

authoritarians and democracies that are

slowly being taken over by authoritarians.

Put Australia into the latter.

Organic & Healthy reports that the land

Down Under has become the first nation to

begin microchipping its citizens, though NBC

News predicted some years ago that, by

2017, Americans would all be microchipped.

Australia’s drive to implant citizens with

what many believe is the Biblical “mark of

the beast” is “a clever propaganda

campaign that equates RFID microchipping

with becoming superhuman, and people are

begging for it,” News.com.au noted.

It’s all about ‘convenience’

One Australian woman, Shanti Korporaal,

from Sydney, is at the center of a

controversy after having implants inserted in

both hands. “You could set up your life so

you never have to worry about any

passwords or PINs,” she told News.com.au.

The idea is that microchip implants give you

a unique identifier, so your implant can be

used to get into locked doors, transfer

personal information to smart phones and

other personal devices – and, of course,

allow you to be tracked everywhere you go

by government.

Why would anyone voluntarily want to do

that? One word, says one microchipping

recipient: “Convenience.”

As bad as it is to carry cards around that

transfer personal and financial data to

massive (hackable) databases and

smartphones that serve as personal tracking

devices – again, out of convenience – you at

least have the option (for now) of leaving

them behind when you go somewhere.

You don’t have to take a smartphone with

you, or at minimum you can learn some

ways to better protect your information. With

cards, if you must carry them, there are

devices you can use to essentially shield

them from ID thieves and tracking devices.

But once you put a tracking device under

your skin, the only way to get rid of it is to

have it surgically removed, or hack off your

limb.

Would authorities actually track you for no

reason? It’s already being done.

As we reported in April 2012 that police

departments were tracking cell phones

without first getting a warrant, as required

by the Fourth Amendment to the

Constitution. In fact, the American Civil

Liberties Union found that “many” of nearly

200 departments surveyed did so sans

warrant. While some departments were

getting the required warrant first, others

“said they use varying legal standards, such

as a warrant or a less-strict subpoena.”

Why make it easier to track you?

The practice has continued. In July the

Boston Globe reported that the city’s police

department had used “a controversial

cellphone technology 11 times over the past

seven years without once obtaining a search

warrant…”

​Marc Roy

Marc Roy

((( FALSE BELIEF EXPOSED )))

——————————————

ALL THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON.

——————————————

MUCH OF THE THINGS WE GO THROUGH IN

LIFE IS AS A RESULT OF OUR OWN

DECISIONS, OUR SINS, REBELLION,

DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD, AND OUR

OWN FOOLISH CHOICES. THEREFORE, LET

US NOT ASSUME THAT IT WAS GOD

LEADING US TO THESE FOOLISH DECISIONS,

AND THAT ALL THESE THINGS HAPPENED

TO US FOR A DIVINE REASON.

MANY CHRISTIANS WRONGLY USE ROMANS

8:28, WHICH SAYS, AND WE KNOW THAT

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD

TO THEM WHO LOVE GOD, TO THEM WHO

ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.

THESE PEOPLE ARE DECEIVED INTO

BELIEVING THAT NO MATTER WHAT WICKED

LIFESTYLES THEY MAY HAVE LIVED BEFORE

COMING TO CHRIST, OR STILL PERHAPS

LIVING PRESENTLY, IT WAS ALL BY GOD’S

LEAD AND DIRECTION.

GOD WILL USE WHAT THE devil MEANT FOR

EVIL, AND TURN IT FOR YOUR GOOD GEN

50:20. HOWEVER, GOD WILL NEVER LEAD A

PERSON INTO SIN AND REBELLION, WHICH

CONTRADICT HIS HOLY WORD.

FOR EXAMPLE, GOD MAY USE THE FACT

THAT I WAS ONCE A DRUG ADDICT FOR HIS

PURPOSES, BUT HE’S NOT THE ONE WHO

LED ME INTO THAT SINFUL PATH.

QUIT SAYING THINGS LIKE GOD BROUGHT

ME TO IT, HE WILL BRING ME THROUGH IT,

FOR GOD DID NOT BRING YOU TO IT, FOR

IT WAS YOUR OWN POOR CHOICES THAT

BROUGHT YOU TO IT.

THESE PEOPLE ARE BASICALLY SAYING

THAT GOD LED THEM INTO SIN, IN ORDER

TO USE THEM FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE

LATER ON, AND ALTHOUGH GOD CAN AND

WILL CERTAINLY USE YOUR PAST

EXPERIENCES, HE CERTAINLY DIDN’T LEAD

YOU INTO SIN.

JESUS SAID “FOLLOW ME, AND YOU SHALL

NOT WALK IN DARKNESS” JOHN 8:12.

​Elliot Straus > Gleaning from the Past &Present

Elliot Straus > Gleaning from the Past &

Present

People do not seek God. They seek after the

‘benefits that only God can give them.’

The sin of fallen man is this: Man seeks the

benefits of God while at the same time

fleeing from God himself. We are, by nature,

fugitives. Seeking is something that

unbelievers do not do on their own steam.

The unbeliever will not seek. The unbeliever

will not knock. Seeking is the business of

believers. Jonathan Edwards said, “The

seeking of the kingdom of God is the chief

business of the Christian life.”

Seeking is the result of faith, not the cause of

it.

When we are converted to Christ, we use

language of discovery to express our

conversion. The irony is this: Once we have

found Christ is not the end of our seeking,

but the beginning. Usually, when we find what

we are looking for, signals the end of our

searching. But when we “find” Christ, it is the

beginning of our search. The Christian life

begins at conversion; it does not end where it

begins. It grows; it moves from faith to faith,

from grace to grace, from life to life. This

movement of growth is prodded by a

continual seeking after God.

R.C. Sproul,

​Romeo Ben

Romeo Ben

“If God calls you to be a mechanic and you

decided to be a preacher you have failed

God’s plan for your life.”

(Dr. A. Rogers)

​Steve Hammer

Steve Hammer

The wiser we get the quieter we get. The

foolishness in us has many words.

~Matthew Clary

Paul Washer

Jim Lauber > Paul Washer -Followers of

Christ

Easy believism is a view that one needs only

to believe in Jesus in order to be saved…

True faith in Christ will always lead to a

changed life!

easy believism let’s those who believe they’re

saved because they prayed a prayer—with no

real conviction of sin and no real faith in

Christ. Praying a prayer is easy—thus the

term easy believism—but there is more to

salvation than mouthing words.

The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace

alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Faith given as a gift by God, is what saves

us.

“For we are his workmanship, created in

Christ Jesus unto good works, which God

hath before ordained that we should walk in

them.”

Rather than being saved by some easy act of

our own wills, we are saved by the hand of

God Almighty, by His will and for His use!

We are His servants, embarking on a journey

of pre-ordained good works that are the

evidence of that’s salvation. If there is no

evidence of growth and good works, we have

reason to doubt that salvation ever truly took

place.

“Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20),

and a dead faith is not a saving faith.

Salvation is certainly free, but, at the same

time, it costs us everything. We are to die to

ourselves as we change into the likeness of

Christ….

easy believism fails to recognize that a

person with faith in Jesus will lead a

progressively changed life…

Salvation is a free gift from God to those who

believe, but discipleship and obedience are

the response that will no doubt occur when

one truly comes to Christ in faith.