Isaiah 52:13-15
"See, my servant (Jesus) will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at Him - His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness - so will He sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For what they were told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand."
Isaiah 53
"He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed...and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth..For He was cut off form the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will hear their iniquities. Therefore, I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
So tonight I thought about Jesus undergoing the "suffering of His soul" and I am now undone. Scenes from the Passion of the Christ gripped my heart and I wept. I wept because a man who knew no sin became sin on MY behalf, so that I could become the righteousness of God. Jesus bore the wrath of God instead of me; me who totally deserves to be stricken and smitten by God because I am the worst of sinners and I have fallen short of the glory of God. Before His flesh was ripped open, before a crown of thorns was placed on His head, before the nails were driven into His hands and feet, before blood dripped from every inch of His body, before He was lifted high on a cross to endure THE most painful and excruciating death known to man, Jesus thought of me. Jesus withstood all of that...for me....and for you. I am undone. A good heaviness overwhelmed me and my heart rate rose as images of the perfect light of the world was silent before His torturers. And what for? He desperately wants to be with me and He desperately wants me to be with Him and His Father. I am undone.
From the fall of man in the Garden of Eden we see the story of God's redemption being played out. There has to be sacrifice and shedding of blood for forgiveness. But, no more bulls and no more lambs...Jesus' ultimate and perfect sacrifice tore down the veils and made a way for me to enter the Holy Place. He did it once and for all and will not do it again. I am undone. He suffered and died...for me...and for you.
Before the truly despicable and horrendous acts were done to Him, Jesus said to His Father, "I am Your servant, my heart is ready...not my will, but Your will be done." Wow, His heart was ready. His heart is for you Beloved! His desire is to be married to you; forever betrothed to you! I am undone.
Hebrews 12:2
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
I find it one of the most difficult things to comprehend; that there was joy in Jesus' heart as He endured so much pain and so much suffering. The joy was in Him paying the way for our eternal pleasures, which are at His right hand. His joy was in the justification of us all who would believe. His joy was an eternal marriage. His joy was me. His joy was you.
So let us remember Him; let us remember the cross. The cross is where we find everything we will ever need or want...love, joy, peace, comfort, freedom, deliverance, healing, our very life. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and on the cross. I want to be found hidden behind that rugged cross.
I am undone.
Grace and peace.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Must Read, Trust Me
In today’s world, especially in the Western world, a massive strategy of the enemy that keeps us in torment, in sickness and affliction is the mirror we look in. We come into agreement with the lies of the enemy in front of the mirrors in our bedroom and our bathrooms. We build altars to devils and come into agreement with the evil one.
You see, the enemy hates us because we are made in the likeness of God. There is no other creature that Jesus Christ joined Himself to forever. There is no other creature in heaven or on earth that is like you.
A 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God and He did nothing. However, 100% of humanity rebelled and God said, “No! Not my prized creation!” Not the ones He fearfully and wonderfully made. “No! I’m going after them!” He joined Himself to us in a human body forever, Beloved. In Isaiah 53 it says that Jesus had no beauty at all, that nothing about Him would catch our eye. He was just like us. The enemy hates our physical frame.
Most people believe God wants to save your soul but very few of us believe He loves your body. We begin to hate and despise ourselves by saying; “I hate this or that about my body.” This is too big or that is too small, or I wish I didn’t have this quality or that quality. In James 3 it says that with the same mouth we praise God we curse ourselves and we judge ourselves. By doing so, we build altars to the devil and allow him entry to torment and to inflict sickness. The Lord does NOT want us to open ground for the enemy to bring depression, anger, self-hatred, cutting, starving ourselves, throwing up, sickness, etc.
A majority of people, especially Believers, lives with the torment of what our future spouse is going to think about our body. For those of you who are married, you live in torment about what you think your spouse thinks about your body. If your spouse thinks anything different than what the King of the Universe thinks, then they are idiots! Your spouse is going to love you one day!
In Isaiah 62 verses 6-7, the Lord is releasing night and day prayer. However, prior to that, He releases a voice and a declaration over His people; He declares over us a NEW NAME:
- Hephzibah – The Lord delights in you. This includes your soul and your body. BUT, with your mouth you curse yourself who is made in HIS likeness
- Beulah – He’s married to you. You are fit to be married to the King of kings, the King of the Universe, but you are wondering what your spouse thinks or will think about you.
Beloved, you were made to be filled with His glory and not any foul thoughts. If we are to live in freedom, we must tear down the altars in our bedrooms and bathrooms. You must never worship another demon at a toilet again by throwing up!! Do not build an altar there. You must never come into agreement with a demonic thought again, but instead come into agreement with what the Lord thinks about you. You are beautiful, you are fit for a King, you are Hephzibah and you are Beulah!
I imagine some of you have sickness or infirmity in your body because of this issue. When you get set free from self-hatred, your body will be healed. When you come into agreement that you are lovely to Him, physical healing will occur.
God did not join Himself to angels, but to you. You are the aristocracy of the Kingdom to come Beloved! You will reign with Christ forever. You are co-heirs with Him, and you are co-heirs with Him in your body and your spirit. Do you realize what is to come? You are destined for resurrected bodies!
The enemy hates your body, no matter the body type. Some want to look like the skinny supermodels, but you know what, they are probably some of the most tormented people out there. He hates your body. Why do you think FOUL spirits want to come and possess or oppress a human body? He doesn’t care if you are skinny, overweight, have a big this or small that! The enemy hates you.
Now I do not have kids, but just imagine a father’s heart and thoughts when his son or daughter says they hate something about themselves. An earthly father’s heart is broken when they hear these words because he took part in making them. Imagine the Heavenly Father’s, the One who knitted you together in your mother’s womb, sorrow when His son or daughter looks in the mirror in self-hatred.
An earthly father cannot get into his children’s heads, but God can. He can get into your head and He will speak Hephzibah and Beulah over you, and you will stop listening to the demonic thoughts inside your head.
Today He is raising up a worship and prayer movement. We will worship Him in purity, not worrying about what the guy or girl next to us thinks about our bodies. We will worship Him in the truth of who we are to Him.
Beloved, tear down the altars and hear the voice of the Father and Son in your head. Tear down those idols; burn those mirrors (not literally unless you want to!)! You may want to write "Hephzibah" and "Beulah" on your mirrors to remind you of how the Lord feels about you. You are lovely just the way you are. He has your future, trust Him and trust His leadership. Do not worry about what your spouse thinks or will think. He delights in you; you are beautiful to Him. Oh if you only knew what He thought!! You are Hephzibah! You are Beulah! You are fit for a King and He is going to join Himself to you forever!
Grace and peace.
*Reference: Allen Hood
You see, the enemy hates us because we are made in the likeness of God. There is no other creature that Jesus Christ joined Himself to forever. There is no other creature in heaven or on earth that is like you.
A 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God and He did nothing. However, 100% of humanity rebelled and God said, “No! Not my prized creation!” Not the ones He fearfully and wonderfully made. “No! I’m going after them!” He joined Himself to us in a human body forever, Beloved. In Isaiah 53 it says that Jesus had no beauty at all, that nothing about Him would catch our eye. He was just like us. The enemy hates our physical frame.
Most people believe God wants to save your soul but very few of us believe He loves your body. We begin to hate and despise ourselves by saying; “I hate this or that about my body.” This is too big or that is too small, or I wish I didn’t have this quality or that quality. In James 3 it says that with the same mouth we praise God we curse ourselves and we judge ourselves. By doing so, we build altars to the devil and allow him entry to torment and to inflict sickness. The Lord does NOT want us to open ground for the enemy to bring depression, anger, self-hatred, cutting, starving ourselves, throwing up, sickness, etc.
A majority of people, especially Believers, lives with the torment of what our future spouse is going to think about our body. For those of you who are married, you live in torment about what you think your spouse thinks about your body. If your spouse thinks anything different than what the King of the Universe thinks, then they are idiots! Your spouse is going to love you one day!
In Isaiah 62 verses 6-7, the Lord is releasing night and day prayer. However, prior to that, He releases a voice and a declaration over His people; He declares over us a NEW NAME:
- Hephzibah – The Lord delights in you. This includes your soul and your body. BUT, with your mouth you curse yourself who is made in HIS likeness
- Beulah – He’s married to you. You are fit to be married to the King of kings, the King of the Universe, but you are wondering what your spouse thinks or will think about you.
Beloved, you were made to be filled with His glory and not any foul thoughts. If we are to live in freedom, we must tear down the altars in our bedrooms and bathrooms. You must never worship another demon at a toilet again by throwing up!! Do not build an altar there. You must never come into agreement with a demonic thought again, but instead come into agreement with what the Lord thinks about you. You are beautiful, you are fit for a King, you are Hephzibah and you are Beulah!
I imagine some of you have sickness or infirmity in your body because of this issue. When you get set free from self-hatred, your body will be healed. When you come into agreement that you are lovely to Him, physical healing will occur.
God did not join Himself to angels, but to you. You are the aristocracy of the Kingdom to come Beloved! You will reign with Christ forever. You are co-heirs with Him, and you are co-heirs with Him in your body and your spirit. Do you realize what is to come? You are destined for resurrected bodies!
The enemy hates your body, no matter the body type. Some want to look like the skinny supermodels, but you know what, they are probably some of the most tormented people out there. He hates your body. Why do you think FOUL spirits want to come and possess or oppress a human body? He doesn’t care if you are skinny, overweight, have a big this or small that! The enemy hates you.
Now I do not have kids, but just imagine a father’s heart and thoughts when his son or daughter says they hate something about themselves. An earthly father’s heart is broken when they hear these words because he took part in making them. Imagine the Heavenly Father’s, the One who knitted you together in your mother’s womb, sorrow when His son or daughter looks in the mirror in self-hatred.
An earthly father cannot get into his children’s heads, but God can. He can get into your head and He will speak Hephzibah and Beulah over you, and you will stop listening to the demonic thoughts inside your head.
Today He is raising up a worship and prayer movement. We will worship Him in purity, not worrying about what the guy or girl next to us thinks about our bodies. We will worship Him in the truth of who we are to Him.
Beloved, tear down the altars and hear the voice of the Father and Son in your head. Tear down those idols; burn those mirrors (not literally unless you want to!)! You may want to write "Hephzibah" and "Beulah" on your mirrors to remind you of how the Lord feels about you. You are lovely just the way you are. He has your future, trust Him and trust His leadership. Do not worry about what your spouse thinks or will think. He delights in you; you are beautiful to Him. Oh if you only knew what He thought!! You are Hephzibah! You are Beulah! You are fit for a King and He is going to join Himself to you forever!
Grace and peace.
*Reference: Allen Hood
Sunday, January 10, 2010
What I'm listening to...
I just wanted to write a post about what worship artists/bands/etc I'm listening to now. I will give you my top ten and they are in no particular order...they are all #1 to me. And I must say that these are all "must-haves"!
Ok, so here it goes...
1) United Pursuit Band - They are a worship team out of Knoxville, Tenn and they are incredible. I strongly encourage everyone to check out their stuff.
2) Christian Lewis - IHOP - Atlanta worship leader. I've had his cd on repeat for a long time now...
3) Cory Asbury - IHOP Kansas City worship leader = so good
4) Matt Gilman - Another IHOP KC worship leader. And also his stuff = so good
5) Bethel Live - This is a live worship cd from Bethel Church out in Redding, California. Amazing.
6) Hillsong/Hillsong United - You CANNOT go wrong with any of their cds. I just saw United at the Passion 2010 Conference and I was overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord. Kind of made me want to up and move to Sydney, Australia! Seriously...
7) Jesus Culture - Another worship group out of Bethel Church in California. They have 4 cds out and each one is anointed. Worship leaders are Kim Walker Smith, Chris Quilala and Melissa Wise How.
8) Jake Hamilton - Woah! Man is he anointed!! I get so fired up listening to his stuff...
9) Johnathan David Helser - I've been listening to his cd "The Reward" lately and I'm loving it. The prophetic anointing on his songs is incredible! The song "You're Never Giving Up" has become one of my new fav's...
10) Phil Wickham - Enough said...
Ok, I'm going to add a few more because each one of these worship leaders/groups are inspiring and encouraging me to new heights and spurring me to new levels in worship leading...
11) Daniel Bashta - The past year of having him as our church's worship leader has been instrumental for my walk with the Lord and cultivating the worship heart inside me. His full-length cd should be out in the spring...
12) Tim Hughes - In a way he is a worship leader mentor of mine. He has his finger on the pulse of the worship movement the Lord is raising up all over the world. The worship leader training conference I went to a few years ago still resonates in my spirit!
I realize there are so many more worship leaders/artists out there...so I would love to hear who is influencing and moving your hearts right now. Please respond with their names so I can check them out!
Grace and peace.
Ok, so here it goes...
1) United Pursuit Band - They are a worship team out of Knoxville, Tenn and they are incredible. I strongly encourage everyone to check out their stuff.
2) Christian Lewis - IHOP - Atlanta worship leader. I've had his cd on repeat for a long time now...
3) Cory Asbury - IHOP Kansas City worship leader = so good
4) Matt Gilman - Another IHOP KC worship leader. And also his stuff = so good
5) Bethel Live - This is a live worship cd from Bethel Church out in Redding, California. Amazing.
6) Hillsong/Hillsong United - You CANNOT go wrong with any of their cds. I just saw United at the Passion 2010 Conference and I was overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord. Kind of made me want to up and move to Sydney, Australia! Seriously...
7) Jesus Culture - Another worship group out of Bethel Church in California. They have 4 cds out and each one is anointed. Worship leaders are Kim Walker Smith, Chris Quilala and Melissa Wise How.
8) Jake Hamilton - Woah! Man is he anointed!! I get so fired up listening to his stuff...
9) Johnathan David Helser - I've been listening to his cd "The Reward" lately and I'm loving it. The prophetic anointing on his songs is incredible! The song "You're Never Giving Up" has become one of my new fav's...
10) Phil Wickham - Enough said...
Ok, I'm going to add a few more because each one of these worship leaders/groups are inspiring and encouraging me to new heights and spurring me to new levels in worship leading...
11) Daniel Bashta - The past year of having him as our church's worship leader has been instrumental for my walk with the Lord and cultivating the worship heart inside me. His full-length cd should be out in the spring...
12) Tim Hughes - In a way he is a worship leader mentor of mine. He has his finger on the pulse of the worship movement the Lord is raising up all over the world. The worship leader training conference I went to a few years ago still resonates in my spirit!
I realize there are so many more worship leaders/artists out there...so I would love to hear who is influencing and moving your hearts right now. Please respond with their names so I can check them out!
Grace and peace.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Extravagant worship
I was listening through a old podcast by Mike Pilavachi today and after spending an incredible night at RiverStone where extravagant worship erupted, I felt led to share a little from the podcast. I'm not going to add anything to it. It should speak for itself:
In Matthew chapter 2, we read of the extravagant worship of the Magi. They came to bring the new king of the jews extravagant worship with extravagant gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. When they arrived in Jerusalem they asked King Herod, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." This was a BAD mistake...telling the current king of a coming king that will replace him. The king's response was, "As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." But he wanted to kill him, not worship him.
Extravagant worship also has an equal and opposite reaction in some hearts. Those that cannot call Him king because they want to stay king of their own lives, sometimes under the guise of worship, they want to kill.
Then we read at the end of Matthew's gospel the story of the sinful woman pouring the expensive perfume on Jesus' head. She was showing extravagant worship of Jesus. What happens when she does this? The very next scene is Jesus eating with the 12 disciples [the Lord's Supper]. While they were eating, Jesus says that "one of you will betray me." Then the disciples were in disbelief saying one by one, "Surely not I, Lord" (v. 22). Each disciple said this until Judas. Judas says, "Surely not I, Rabbi" (v. 25). Why does Matthew put this in? To tell us a story. The story is, 11 disciples knew Him as Lord and one didn't. That is why Judas betrayed Jesus. At the beginning of Matthew, the extravagant worship of the Magi led to Herod, under the guise of worship, to try and kill Jesus because he didn't know Him as King. At the end of Matthew, the extravagant worship of the sinful woman led to the Judas' betrayal of Jesus to have Him killed because He did not know Him as Lord.
How does Judas betray Jesus? With a kiss, an act of homage, an act of intimacy, an act of worship [but it wasn't]. So Jesus goes to the cross and on the cross He offers the Father perfect worship. Why? Because the worship of the Old Testament, central to the worship of the old Tabernacle and Temple, was sacrifice. Jesus offered the one, ultimate and perfect sacrifice. Through Jesus' perfect act of worship of the Father on the cross, we too can come to worship and we too can come boldly before the throne. And as we do, as we gaze into His presence, we touch the Holy of Holies.
In Exodus 29 it says, "If anything touches the holy things that are not holy, it defiles the holy things. But if anything unholy touches the Holy of Holies, it becomes holy."
The woman who was bleeding for years, who was ceremonially unclean, touched Jesus, she was made clean because she touched the Holy of Holies. When we come to worship, we touch the Holy of Holies. We are cleansed, we are made whole and we become the people of His presence. And that is THE hope for a broken and hurting world...the ONLY hope. We don't need to get smarter, or more equipment, or better looking, we need more of Jesus! And then, we will be a light to the Gentiles.
Worship is the best evangelism and our greatest example of worship is Jesus. I long to have the aroma that comes with extravagant worship; that comes with spending loads of time with Him in His presence. When alone, or in congregational worship, or when we are out amongst the poor, feeding them and praying for healing. The call is to engage in extravagant worship without considering the cost. There is nothing more useful than spending time in His presence. Because if we don't, when we go out, all the people will be touching is us...and us isn't good enough. If all people touch is me, then they are in big trouble. We long they touch Jesus in us. We long they touch the Treasure that is in our little jars of clay.
If we love Him, then it will come out of every part of our being. We will not be able to shut up about Him. We will bore the world to death [in the best possible way!] talking about the One we love. THAT is what worship is all about!
Worship is the best evangelism.
Grace and peace. Merry Christmas to all!
In Matthew chapter 2, we read of the extravagant worship of the Magi. They came to bring the new king of the jews extravagant worship with extravagant gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. When they arrived in Jerusalem they asked King Herod, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." This was a BAD mistake...telling the current king of a coming king that will replace him. The king's response was, "As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." But he wanted to kill him, not worship him.
Extravagant worship also has an equal and opposite reaction in some hearts. Those that cannot call Him king because they want to stay king of their own lives, sometimes under the guise of worship, they want to kill.
Then we read at the end of Matthew's gospel the story of the sinful woman pouring the expensive perfume on Jesus' head. She was showing extravagant worship of Jesus. What happens when she does this? The very next scene is Jesus eating with the 12 disciples [the Lord's Supper]. While they were eating, Jesus says that "one of you will betray me." Then the disciples were in disbelief saying one by one, "Surely not I, Lord" (v. 22). Each disciple said this until Judas. Judas says, "Surely not I, Rabbi" (v. 25). Why does Matthew put this in? To tell us a story. The story is, 11 disciples knew Him as Lord and one didn't. That is why Judas betrayed Jesus. At the beginning of Matthew, the extravagant worship of the Magi led to Herod, under the guise of worship, to try and kill Jesus because he didn't know Him as King. At the end of Matthew, the extravagant worship of the sinful woman led to the Judas' betrayal of Jesus to have Him killed because He did not know Him as Lord.
How does Judas betray Jesus? With a kiss, an act of homage, an act of intimacy, an act of worship [but it wasn't]. So Jesus goes to the cross and on the cross He offers the Father perfect worship. Why? Because the worship of the Old Testament, central to the worship of the old Tabernacle and Temple, was sacrifice. Jesus offered the one, ultimate and perfect sacrifice. Through Jesus' perfect act of worship of the Father on the cross, we too can come to worship and we too can come boldly before the throne. And as we do, as we gaze into His presence, we touch the Holy of Holies.
In Exodus 29 it says, "If anything touches the holy things that are not holy, it defiles the holy things. But if anything unholy touches the Holy of Holies, it becomes holy."
The woman who was bleeding for years, who was ceremonially unclean, touched Jesus, she was made clean because she touched the Holy of Holies. When we come to worship, we touch the Holy of Holies. We are cleansed, we are made whole and we become the people of His presence. And that is THE hope for a broken and hurting world...the ONLY hope. We don't need to get smarter, or more equipment, or better looking, we need more of Jesus! And then, we will be a light to the Gentiles.
Worship is the best evangelism and our greatest example of worship is Jesus. I long to have the aroma that comes with extravagant worship; that comes with spending loads of time with Him in His presence. When alone, or in congregational worship, or when we are out amongst the poor, feeding them and praying for healing. The call is to engage in extravagant worship without considering the cost. There is nothing more useful than spending time in His presence. Because if we don't, when we go out, all the people will be touching is us...and us isn't good enough. If all people touch is me, then they are in big trouble. We long they touch Jesus in us. We long they touch the Treasure that is in our little jars of clay.
If we love Him, then it will come out of every part of our being. We will not be able to shut up about Him. We will bore the world to death [in the best possible way!] talking about the One we love. THAT is what worship is all about!
Worship is the best evangelism.
Grace and peace. Merry Christmas to all!
Friday, November 27, 2009
A Head Scratcher
So I have been pondering something for a few weeks now of an encounter me and Biddle (my roommate) had a few weeks back. We were at the As Tall As Lions and Mute Math concert (which was stinkin' awesome by the way!) and as we were trying to decide what to eat, a homeless man name Derrick came up to us to help us out. We knew right away what his motives were. He wanted to show us a good place to eat so that we would give him a few dollar bills. Well, as we were walking behind him, we noticed that he walked with a significant limp. I immediately felt that the Lord wanted to heal him...because God is good like that! Amen?!
Anyway, we reached our destination (some diner down by the Tabernacle) and Derrick asked for some change so he could go down to Hooters and eat some wings. We approached him and asked what happened to his leg. He proceeded to tell us that when he was younger he got shot in the leg and has walked with a limp ever since. Biddle and I both shared the Gospel with him and that God, in His vast goodness, grace and mercy, wanted to heal him. We asked if we could pray for him because the Lord WANTED to heal him right then and there. Then, much to my surprise, he said no, but repeatedly asked us for some money so he could go down to Hooters! What?! We said that what the Lord wanted to do that very moment was SO much better than a few dollars; yet, he still said no! He would rather go to a restaurant full of debauchery instead of having the power of God rush over his body and be able to walk normally without any pain! I just don't get it?! Maybe some of you can offer some insight...my only guess is that the enemy has a hold over him and has blinded his eyes to God's goodness and mercy. The Word says that the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Or maybe it was just too foolish for him to imagine that he could be healed that very instant? Because the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). The cross, where everything was purchased (our salvation, our healing, our power, our lifeline, our reconciliation to God, etc), was foolishness to him...
So again, I just don't get it...thoughts? So we prayed for him as we continued to walk to the restaurant that the Lord would heal his leg. And again I ask right now, Lord, for Your glory and for Your fame, will you heal Derrick now in the Name of Jesus. Lord move in power right now in his life, bring healing, bring restoration and I ask that salvation would spring up from the ground so that his name may be written in the Book of Life! In Jesus Name...
Grace and peace
Anyway, we reached our destination (some diner down by the Tabernacle) and Derrick asked for some change so he could go down to Hooters and eat some wings. We approached him and asked what happened to his leg. He proceeded to tell us that when he was younger he got shot in the leg and has walked with a limp ever since. Biddle and I both shared the Gospel with him and that God, in His vast goodness, grace and mercy, wanted to heal him. We asked if we could pray for him because the Lord WANTED to heal him right then and there. Then, much to my surprise, he said no, but repeatedly asked us for some money so he could go down to Hooters! What?! We said that what the Lord wanted to do that very moment was SO much better than a few dollars; yet, he still said no! He would rather go to a restaurant full of debauchery instead of having the power of God rush over his body and be able to walk normally without any pain! I just don't get it?! Maybe some of you can offer some insight...my only guess is that the enemy has a hold over him and has blinded his eyes to God's goodness and mercy. The Word says that the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Or maybe it was just too foolish for him to imagine that he could be healed that very instant? Because the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). The cross, where everything was purchased (our salvation, our healing, our power, our lifeline, our reconciliation to God, etc), was foolishness to him...
So again, I just don't get it...thoughts? So we prayed for him as we continued to walk to the restaurant that the Lord would heal his leg. And again I ask right now, Lord, for Your glory and for Your fame, will you heal Derrick now in the Name of Jesus. Lord move in power right now in his life, bring healing, bring restoration and I ask that salvation would spring up from the ground so that his name may be written in the Book of Life! In Jesus Name...
Grace and peace
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Long overdue
Hello all (or all 2). I feel like I am a broken record when I say that it has been a long time since I last blogged. So kill me. A lot has been going on, but I will start off with the mission trip to Scotland. I've had several people ask me to post a synopsis. I will do my best to summarize and hit the key points without being too long-winded!
Where to start?? Ok, let's start with some of the miracles that happened while we were there. A young man, let's call him Thad (random I know but go with me) hurt his back during the obstacle course on Wednesday where he could barely stand up, walk, his ribs hurt and he could barely breathe. Leading up to this, the Lord was definitely moving in his heart. Anyway, we stopped the obstacle course and prayed for Thad. Immediately his ribs stopped hurting and he could get a full breath of air, but his back was still hurting and he couldn't walk. We pressed in harder in prayer and I had my hand on his back. As we prayed, I literally felt his back move, almost as if the Lord was realigning his back. When we finished, he was able to walk back to his room and the next morning had ZERO pain. Praise the Lord! The next story is about a girl named, we'll call her Lucy. She had been dealing with an injured leg for several years, so much so she could not run or do the activities she was used to doing (sports, etc). One night during worship (Tuesday I believe), some of our team prayed for her and took her outside to test her leg. Before then she could only run a very small distance before her leg would start hurting. After they prayed, she was able to run all over the grounds there without any pain or discomfort! She even ran the obstacle course the next night! Praise be! The other miracle that happened during the week was that several of the youth there gave their lives to the Lord. They realized that God was real and He loves them with an unending, unrelenting love! All of heaven was rejoicing (having a party) in heaven over these youth!
Worship. Was. Intense! Every year the Lord blows me away in His goodness when it comes to how He is so faithful to show up during worship! He completely honors His promise that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. Before we left, a very good friend of mine prayed over me and prophesied that the songs that we will sing will be songs directly from His heart. Fast forward to Tuesday of camp. That day I was taking a walk with Lord, talking and listening to see what He wanted to do during worship. As I walked, the Lord laid on my heart several songs He wanted me to do. Excellent, right? Well...not so much. You see, the songs HE wanted me to do were very intense songs. These songs had full bands...we had me on a guitar, 2 BV vocals and a beginner percussionist (who did great for being thrown into the fire so to speak! - Way to go Walker!). So how was I going to pull off a set list consisting of songs that almost have to have a full band. The set list included You Never Let Go by Matt Redman, Awakening and Like a Lion by Daniel Bashta and The Anthem by Jake Hamilton. Intense, huh? I was talking with Tom Tanner before the service started and I told him that the worship was either going to be amazing or it was going to be a complete bust! I prayed and pleaded for Him to show up because if He doesn't, it was going to be really bad. Well I'm sure you know how the story ends...the Lord definitely showed up! It was as if the Holy Spirit provided the energy a full band would provide. We worshipped in complete unity how God has not forgotten Scotland (more specifically, the youth of Scotland) and how a light is definitely coming! Then we joined together and sang prophetically how God was bringing an awakening to that nation and how heaven is roaring over Scotland and revival is going to fall! Then came the most intense song of the night. Here are some of the words:
"Wake up child, it's your time to shine. You were born for such a time as this."
"This is the anthem of our generation! Here we are God, shake our nation!"
"I am royalty, I have destiny, I have been set free, I'm gonna shape history!"
Can I get an amen??!!
Then, after Tom spoke we had some great ministry time. After a few songs into it, heaven came even closer. The time was around 11:30 pm and "lights out" was supposed to be at midnight. I asked the leaders what they wanted to do...keep going or end it. Then some of the youth started yelling out "worship!" For the next hour and a half or so, we worshipped and danced all over the meeting hall, crying out for this generation!! It was beautiful!!!
Afterwards, the pastor of the church we partner with came up to me with tears in his eyes. Listen to this...he tells me that when I started singing "wake up child, it's your time to shine" the Holy Spirit overwhelmed him. He said it was as if we were singing the heart of God!! That was word for word what my friend prophesied over me before I left! Man how the Lord is faithful!
Worship the rest of the week was equally as amazing. I hit just some of the highlights. Scotland is near and dear to my heart. Even more so to the Lord! Revival is coming to Scotland (again) and it will be a burning flame engulfing the hearts of both young and old alike. I believe it with all of my heart. I love those youth and cannot wait to see them again. Greater things are still to be done in their hearts and in Scotland!!
Grace and peace.
Where to start?? Ok, let's start with some of the miracles that happened while we were there. A young man, let's call him Thad (random I know but go with me) hurt his back during the obstacle course on Wednesday where he could barely stand up, walk, his ribs hurt and he could barely breathe. Leading up to this, the Lord was definitely moving in his heart. Anyway, we stopped the obstacle course and prayed for Thad. Immediately his ribs stopped hurting and he could get a full breath of air, but his back was still hurting and he couldn't walk. We pressed in harder in prayer and I had my hand on his back. As we prayed, I literally felt his back move, almost as if the Lord was realigning his back. When we finished, he was able to walk back to his room and the next morning had ZERO pain. Praise the Lord! The next story is about a girl named, we'll call her Lucy. She had been dealing with an injured leg for several years, so much so she could not run or do the activities she was used to doing (sports, etc). One night during worship (Tuesday I believe), some of our team prayed for her and took her outside to test her leg. Before then she could only run a very small distance before her leg would start hurting. After they prayed, she was able to run all over the grounds there without any pain or discomfort! She even ran the obstacle course the next night! Praise be! The other miracle that happened during the week was that several of the youth there gave their lives to the Lord. They realized that God was real and He loves them with an unending, unrelenting love! All of heaven was rejoicing (having a party) in heaven over these youth!
Worship. Was. Intense! Every year the Lord blows me away in His goodness when it comes to how He is so faithful to show up during worship! He completely honors His promise that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. Before we left, a very good friend of mine prayed over me and prophesied that the songs that we will sing will be songs directly from His heart. Fast forward to Tuesday of camp. That day I was taking a walk with Lord, talking and listening to see what He wanted to do during worship. As I walked, the Lord laid on my heart several songs He wanted me to do. Excellent, right? Well...not so much. You see, the songs HE wanted me to do were very intense songs. These songs had full bands...we had me on a guitar, 2 BV vocals and a beginner percussionist (who did great for being thrown into the fire so to speak! - Way to go Walker!). So how was I going to pull off a set list consisting of songs that almost have to have a full band. The set list included You Never Let Go by Matt Redman, Awakening and Like a Lion by Daniel Bashta and The Anthem by Jake Hamilton. Intense, huh? I was talking with Tom Tanner before the service started and I told him that the worship was either going to be amazing or it was going to be a complete bust! I prayed and pleaded for Him to show up because if He doesn't, it was going to be really bad. Well I'm sure you know how the story ends...the Lord definitely showed up! It was as if the Holy Spirit provided the energy a full band would provide. We worshipped in complete unity how God has not forgotten Scotland (more specifically, the youth of Scotland) and how a light is definitely coming! Then we joined together and sang prophetically how God was bringing an awakening to that nation and how heaven is roaring over Scotland and revival is going to fall! Then came the most intense song of the night. Here are some of the words:
"Wake up child, it's your time to shine. You were born for such a time as this."
"This is the anthem of our generation! Here we are God, shake our nation!"
"I am royalty, I have destiny, I have been set free, I'm gonna shape history!"
Can I get an amen??!!
Then, after Tom spoke we had some great ministry time. After a few songs into it, heaven came even closer. The time was around 11:30 pm and "lights out" was supposed to be at midnight. I asked the leaders what they wanted to do...keep going or end it. Then some of the youth started yelling out "worship!" For the next hour and a half or so, we worshipped and danced all over the meeting hall, crying out for this generation!! It was beautiful!!!
Afterwards, the pastor of the church we partner with came up to me with tears in his eyes. Listen to this...he tells me that when I started singing "wake up child, it's your time to shine" the Holy Spirit overwhelmed him. He said it was as if we were singing the heart of God!! That was word for word what my friend prophesied over me before I left! Man how the Lord is faithful!
Worship the rest of the week was equally as amazing. I hit just some of the highlights. Scotland is near and dear to my heart. Even more so to the Lord! Revival is coming to Scotland (again) and it will be a burning flame engulfing the hearts of both young and old alike. I believe it with all of my heart. I love those youth and cannot wait to see them again. Greater things are still to be done in their hearts and in Scotland!!
Grace and peace.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Scotland here I come...
So in a few short hours (9 to be exact) I will be leaving with a team of 20 others to Paisley, Scotland to put on a youth camp. This will be year number 3 that we have done this. I am super excited about going back! Seeing old faces and meeting new ones. The Lord has BIG things in store for this camp. This youth. This country. Be praying for us as we go overseas and partner with God's heart to bring revival (again) to Scotland. We believe (like truly believe) it is coming and it is coming through the youth of Scotland.
If you want to check out more of what we are doing in Scotland (more importantly what the Lord is doing in Scotland), then check out the BLOG.
You will also be able to watch the services online through the blog. So hopefully everyone will tune in!
Alrighty folks, can't wait to share what the Lord is going to do over the next couple weeks! Until then....
Grace and peace.
If you want to check out more of what we are doing in Scotland (more importantly what the Lord is doing in Scotland), then check out the BLOG.
You will also be able to watch the services online through the blog. So hopefully everyone will tune in!
Alrighty folks, can't wait to share what the Lord is going to do over the next couple weeks! Until then....
Grace and peace.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Potential
The Lord has been doing some pretty interesting and sweet things in my life recently. I'm not going to bore you with all of them but I do want to share some thoughts that I've had recently [or that the Lord has given me].
The word potential has been a key word lately. This word has both positive and negative connotations attached to it. The positive side is usually associated with younger children or teenagers. "Bobby Sue has so much potential...". On the flip side, the negative aspect of the word potential typically is used when talking about older folks. "Stan had all of that potential but blew it when he did...(fill in the blank)".
I will add a third category of potential...Kingdom potential. This goes much farther than your Kingdom destiny or calling. Here's how: In Genesis 1 and 2, God gave Adam the authority over everything on earth. Genesis 1:26: "...let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." God then put the man in charge of the Garden of Eden [2:15], which to me is a HUGE responsibility. Man was in charge of the grounds where God walked and talked! Anyway, in chapter 3 we read where Adam and Eve are deceived and the fall of man occurs. Adam had all of the potential yet he blew it! He had authority over everything and in one decision he brought a curse to mankind.
Now the rest of the Old Testament was God setting up the coming of His One and Only Son [the "Second Adam" - read 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5] to come and fulfill all of the potential the first Adam had and lost. Jesus walked with the authority of heaven...perhaps the same authority Adam could have had. Read all through the Gospels and you read where Jesus healed every sickness and disease, cast out demons, set the captives free, made blind eyes see, made deaf ears hear, turned water into wine, walked on water and so on and so on.
Now we, as co-heirs with Christ [Romans 8:17] and who walk with the same power and authority Jesus did, are called to fulfill all of the potential the first Adam had [just like Jesus]. It is in my opinion that God is raising up a generation that are to be known as "fulfillers of the Kingdom potential." A generation that will encompass believers walking down the streets performing signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit. Some will be preaching the Gospel with the fire of heaven in their bones and unction in their words. To some, the gift of worship and prophetic singing is released. To others, prophetic utterances and words of knowledge. And some, because of their unquenchable love for Jesus, will become martyrs for their faith.
However, this is not just for some. Every Believer is called to fulfill this potential. But to do so, we need to live by the culture of the Kingdom, not by the culture of this world. No longer can we tolerate the things of this world [abortion, murder, slander, gossip, fornication, idolatry, etc]. We must live by the culture and value system of the Kingdom of God that is soon coming. This value system is found in chapters 5-7 in Matthew's Gospel. Billy Humphrey of IHOP-Atlanta says that these chapters not only describe what Jesus is like, but they also describe what Jesus likes! These chapters unveil God's heart.
There are 8 core values of the Kingdom which are described in the Beatitudes. We must be poor in spirit knowing that Jesus is all that we need and that He alone provides for us. We must be ones who mourn [or long and ache] for His return just as Jesus longs and aches to be reunited with His Bride. We must be a humble people. We must hunger and thirst for righteousness, holiness and the pleasures of God. We must be a forgiving people full of mercy. We must live lives of purity and not condone the acts of this world. We have to be a people that bring peace and live a life full of peace because this world is about to get a little hairy during the end of this age. And beloved, we must be prepared to be persecuted. A time is coming [and has already come] where many are ridiculed, beaten and put to death for their belief in Christ. In fact, more people have died because of their faith in the past 100 years than have died in the previous 1900 combined!
We must be cheerful givers and lovers of the secret place with God. We must be a people that bow our hearts and bend our knees to seek the face of God in prayer, fasting and supplication. In doing so, we will undoubtedly hear the voice of God and learn what is burning on His heart for today.
So I encourage each and everyone of you to study chapters 5-7 of Matthew. Take it slow. Digest it. I also recommend Billy Humphrey's book, "The Culture of the Kingdom." It is a valuable resource and study guide for the value system of the Kingdom of God.
Grace and peace.
The word potential has been a key word lately. This word has both positive and negative connotations attached to it. The positive side is usually associated with younger children or teenagers. "Bobby Sue has so much potential...". On the flip side, the negative aspect of the word potential typically is used when talking about older folks. "Stan had all of that potential but blew it when he did...(fill in the blank)".
I will add a third category of potential...Kingdom potential. This goes much farther than your Kingdom destiny or calling. Here's how: In Genesis 1 and 2, God gave Adam the authority over everything on earth. Genesis 1:26: "...let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." God then put the man in charge of the Garden of Eden [2:15], which to me is a HUGE responsibility. Man was in charge of the grounds where God walked and talked! Anyway, in chapter 3 we read where Adam and Eve are deceived and the fall of man occurs. Adam had all of the potential yet he blew it! He had authority over everything and in one decision he brought a curse to mankind.
Now the rest of the Old Testament was God setting up the coming of His One and Only Son [the "Second Adam" - read 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5] to come and fulfill all of the potential the first Adam had and lost. Jesus walked with the authority of heaven...perhaps the same authority Adam could have had. Read all through the Gospels and you read where Jesus healed every sickness and disease, cast out demons, set the captives free, made blind eyes see, made deaf ears hear, turned water into wine, walked on water and so on and so on.
Now we, as co-heirs with Christ [Romans 8:17] and who walk with the same power and authority Jesus did, are called to fulfill all of the potential the first Adam had [just like Jesus]. It is in my opinion that God is raising up a generation that are to be known as "fulfillers of the Kingdom potential." A generation that will encompass believers walking down the streets performing signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit. Some will be preaching the Gospel with the fire of heaven in their bones and unction in their words. To some, the gift of worship and prophetic singing is released. To others, prophetic utterances and words of knowledge. And some, because of their unquenchable love for Jesus, will become martyrs for their faith.
However, this is not just for some. Every Believer is called to fulfill this potential. But to do so, we need to live by the culture of the Kingdom, not by the culture of this world. No longer can we tolerate the things of this world [abortion, murder, slander, gossip, fornication, idolatry, etc]. We must live by the culture and value system of the Kingdom of God that is soon coming. This value system is found in chapters 5-7 in Matthew's Gospel. Billy Humphrey of IHOP-Atlanta says that these chapters not only describe what Jesus is like, but they also describe what Jesus likes! These chapters unveil God's heart.
There are 8 core values of the Kingdom which are described in the Beatitudes. We must be poor in spirit knowing that Jesus is all that we need and that He alone provides for us. We must be ones who mourn [or long and ache] for His return just as Jesus longs and aches to be reunited with His Bride. We must be a humble people. We must hunger and thirst for righteousness, holiness and the pleasures of God. We must be a forgiving people full of mercy. We must live lives of purity and not condone the acts of this world. We have to be a people that bring peace and live a life full of peace because this world is about to get a little hairy during the end of this age. And beloved, we must be prepared to be persecuted. A time is coming [and has already come] where many are ridiculed, beaten and put to death for their belief in Christ. In fact, more people have died because of their faith in the past 100 years than have died in the previous 1900 combined!
We must be cheerful givers and lovers of the secret place with God. We must be a people that bow our hearts and bend our knees to seek the face of God in prayer, fasting and supplication. In doing so, we will undoubtedly hear the voice of God and learn what is burning on His heart for today.
So I encourage each and everyone of you to study chapters 5-7 of Matthew. Take it slow. Digest it. I also recommend Billy Humphrey's book, "The Culture of the Kingdom." It is a valuable resource and study guide for the value system of the Kingdom of God.
Grace and peace.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Hilarious!!!
As a little comedic interlude between Revelation discussions, check out this amazingly funny bit from a comedian named Brian Regan. If you haven't heard of him, do yourself a favor and search him on youtube and watch some of his clips. You might have to change your underwear....
Grace and peace.
Grace and peace.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Conclusion of Revelation 1
Alright, so we are down to the final 2 verses of Revelation 1:
"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
Growing up, or I guess I should say, in my early years of being a Believer, I always avoided reading the book of Revelation. I avoided it because I thought there was way too much symbolism for me to understand. But as I've studied it recently, I've realized that yes, there are a bunch of symbolic figures and visions, BUT I've found that most of them are explained right in the text. And we are seeing that here. In these 2 verses, Jesus is explaining to John what the vision of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands are. A few verses earlier John sees "someone 'like a son of man'" walking among the lampstands and having seven stars "in his right hand."
The seven stars, according to Jesus, are the "angels of the seven churches." The word angels could also mean "messengers." Now there are 2 explanations for the word "angels" [or messengers]: It could be taken literally and that these seven churches actually had angels assigned [I guess that's the right word?] to their churches. Then I guess you can assume that there could be angels assigned to churches in today's time? The other possible explanation is that the word messenger refers to the pastors/preachers that are over the churches. I tend to go more with this explanation, but that's just me...
One of the most encouraging parts of this vision is Jesus ["son of man" - which is how Daniel described the person in his vision recorded in Daniel 7] walking among the lampstands. Here we can imagine Jesus walking between each lampstand, probably stopping by each one with a smile on His face. Maybe He reaches out and places His hand on the lampstand. You see, Jesus longs to be with His church, loves to reach out and touch His church, and for sure He loves it when His church welcomes Him in. The sad part is that there are many churches out there that have four walls, but Jesus is not found in them. The Holy Spirit is not taught on and He is certainly not allowed to minister. These churches are dead. They have the appearance of being alive, but in fact are quite dead. The Spirit is not living and dwelling within them! These churches have the fluff and flattery [ie. seeker-friendly] but lack the truth. It makes me so thankful to belong to a church where the Lord is free to do what He wants, when He wants and how He wants. I pray that the Lord would grab ahold of the messengers of these dead churches and put a fire in their bones to preach the Word, and to preach it boldly! If not, then it is my opinion that these will be the ones to fall away during the End Times that Jesus talks about in Matthew 24 [see also 2 Thess 2, Revelation 17]. Wake up churches!!
So I pray that wherever you are at, that Jesus would walk near you and reach out His mighty hand to touch your life exactly where you need/want Him to. I pray that you would see Him smile at you! There's nothing better...
Grace and peace.
"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
Growing up, or I guess I should say, in my early years of being a Believer, I always avoided reading the book of Revelation. I avoided it because I thought there was way too much symbolism for me to understand. But as I've studied it recently, I've realized that yes, there are a bunch of symbolic figures and visions, BUT I've found that most of them are explained right in the text. And we are seeing that here. In these 2 verses, Jesus is explaining to John what the vision of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands are. A few verses earlier John sees "someone 'like a son of man'" walking among the lampstands and having seven stars "in his right hand."
The seven stars, according to Jesus, are the "angels of the seven churches." The word angels could also mean "messengers." Now there are 2 explanations for the word "angels" [or messengers]: It could be taken literally and that these seven churches actually had angels assigned [I guess that's the right word?] to their churches. Then I guess you can assume that there could be angels assigned to churches in today's time? The other possible explanation is that the word messenger refers to the pastors/preachers that are over the churches. I tend to go more with this explanation, but that's just me...
One of the most encouraging parts of this vision is Jesus ["son of man" - which is how Daniel described the person in his vision recorded in Daniel 7] walking among the lampstands. Here we can imagine Jesus walking between each lampstand, probably stopping by each one with a smile on His face. Maybe He reaches out and places His hand on the lampstand. You see, Jesus longs to be with His church, loves to reach out and touch His church, and for sure He loves it when His church welcomes Him in. The sad part is that there are many churches out there that have four walls, but Jesus is not found in them. The Holy Spirit is not taught on and He is certainly not allowed to minister. These churches are dead. They have the appearance of being alive, but in fact are quite dead. The Spirit is not living and dwelling within them! These churches have the fluff and flattery [ie. seeker-friendly] but lack the truth. It makes me so thankful to belong to a church where the Lord is free to do what He wants, when He wants and how He wants. I pray that the Lord would grab ahold of the messengers of these dead churches and put a fire in their bones to preach the Word, and to preach it boldly! If not, then it is my opinion that these will be the ones to fall away during the End Times that Jesus talks about in Matthew 24 [see also 2 Thess 2, Revelation 17]. Wake up churches!!
So I pray that wherever you are at, that Jesus would walk near you and reach out His mighty hand to touch your life exactly where you need/want Him to. I pray that you would see Him smile at you! There's nothing better...
Grace and peace.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Musings and Revelation 1 continued...
As I have been sitting by the ocean the past several days, I've been in awe of how amazing my God is! He is so infinitely huge yet comes down to man to speak to him, to encourage him and to love him...speechless! I look out into the expanse which is the Atlantic Ocean and I can't help but imagine God holding all of the water on earth in the palms of His hands...ok, that's crazy BIG!! The second thought that comes to mind is the overwhelming knowledge that God thinks about me; that He has engraved my name on the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and His heart is ravished when He sees my name and when our eyes meet. Psalm 139 comes to mind as I sit on the beach:
"How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."
Ok, I'm not always good at math, but that is a LOT of thoughts. So today I did a little experiment. I picked up a handful of sand on the beach and I tried to count the grains (I wouldn't call that being bored, just taking a break from reading and trying to bring this Scripture to life!). The key word here is "tried." I was about 1/500th of the way through the sand in my hand and I was already higher than I've ever counted before, plus I'm not accounting for all the grains of sand that sifted through my fingers! And the Lord just quietly and gently encouraged me, "I love you, my thoughts for you and only you outnumber the grains of sand on every beach on earth...and each one is good and makes me smile!" The unfathomable beauty of it all is that He can say that about each and every person...and that includes you!!
The third thought that came rushing through my mind happened yesterday while I was out surfing. I sat out there watching wave after wave come in, some I rode while others I just floated over and watched as the white water refreshed the seashore. The Lord said, "A wave is coming. A wave that has never been seen before in history. It is going to be big and powerful, but if you love me and rest in me, you are going to see it coming and building. But, will you ride it with me or will you just watch? You can't control the wave. You must surrender to its power and let it take you." Wow! As we study Revelation, we see that a new, fresh, never-seen-before wave is coming (and is coming soon!). Many are going to see this wave and either just sit and watch or they are going to get out of the water altogether. A few are going to see this wave coming and are going to get excited about the possibilities. Just as a wave breaks and refreshes the seashore with new grains of sand, in the same way this Wave is bringing with it restoration and renewal. The Wave is bringing with it the Kingdom of heaven to earth!! It is going to be powerful and it is going to be scary, but I can promise you it is going to be exhilarating and for lack of a better word, good.
So how does this relate to Revelation 1? Well in verses 12-18 John vividly describes his vision of Jesus. It is the same vision Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1), Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and Daniel (Daniel 10) had. This Wave that is coming is bringing with it a clear Revelation of who Jesus is! A Jesus that is "dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest." A Jesus whose "head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire...feet like burning bronze in a furnace." And this last description brings it back full circle, "And His voice was like the sound of rushing waters." A voice that is so thunderous and full of power that every other noise is drowned out. Imagine Niagara Falls multiplied by I don't know, some high number! : )
One of my blog posts would not be complete if I didn't mention something that relates to worship. This vision and portrayal of Jesus is one that most of us don't regularly think of. Let's be honest, when I think of Jesus, I see a caucasian male with a beard, wearing sandals and a smile. This may be true and all, but when we come into a worship setting, we need to have the same picture of Jesus that John (and others) describes. A picture of royalty and majesty; of power and of someone that shines brilliantly with glory and light! We need to focus on Him majestically walking throughout the aisles of your church with a double-edged sword bursting forth from His mouth ready to pierce our very beings and change us for eternity! I'll wager a bet and say that our worship experience will be completely altered once we have this image etched into our minds and hearts. Agree?
Anyway, thanks for reading my random musings...until next time...
Grace and peace.
"How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."
Ok, I'm not always good at math, but that is a LOT of thoughts. So today I did a little experiment. I picked up a handful of sand on the beach and I tried to count the grains (I wouldn't call that being bored, just taking a break from reading and trying to bring this Scripture to life!). The key word here is "tried." I was about 1/500th of the way through the sand in my hand and I was already higher than I've ever counted before, plus I'm not accounting for all the grains of sand that sifted through my fingers! And the Lord just quietly and gently encouraged me, "I love you, my thoughts for you and only you outnumber the grains of sand on every beach on earth...and each one is good and makes me smile!" The unfathomable beauty of it all is that He can say that about each and every person...and that includes you!!
The third thought that came rushing through my mind happened yesterday while I was out surfing. I sat out there watching wave after wave come in, some I rode while others I just floated over and watched as the white water refreshed the seashore. The Lord said, "A wave is coming. A wave that has never been seen before in history. It is going to be big and powerful, but if you love me and rest in me, you are going to see it coming and building. But, will you ride it with me or will you just watch? You can't control the wave. You must surrender to its power and let it take you." Wow! As we study Revelation, we see that a new, fresh, never-seen-before wave is coming (and is coming soon!). Many are going to see this wave and either just sit and watch or they are going to get out of the water altogether. A few are going to see this wave coming and are going to get excited about the possibilities. Just as a wave breaks and refreshes the seashore with new grains of sand, in the same way this Wave is bringing with it restoration and renewal. The Wave is bringing with it the Kingdom of heaven to earth!! It is going to be powerful and it is going to be scary, but I can promise you it is going to be exhilarating and for lack of a better word, good.
So how does this relate to Revelation 1? Well in verses 12-18 John vividly describes his vision of Jesus. It is the same vision Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1), Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and Daniel (Daniel 10) had. This Wave that is coming is bringing with it a clear Revelation of who Jesus is! A Jesus that is "dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest." A Jesus whose "head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire...feet like burning bronze in a furnace." And this last description brings it back full circle, "And His voice was like the sound of rushing waters." A voice that is so thunderous and full of power that every other noise is drowned out. Imagine Niagara Falls multiplied by I don't know, some high number! : )
One of my blog posts would not be complete if I didn't mention something that relates to worship. This vision and portrayal of Jesus is one that most of us don't regularly think of. Let's be honest, when I think of Jesus, I see a caucasian male with a beard, wearing sandals and a smile. This may be true and all, but when we come into a worship setting, we need to have the same picture of Jesus that John (and others) describes. A picture of royalty and majesty; of power and of someone that shines brilliantly with glory and light! We need to focus on Him majestically walking throughout the aisles of your church with a double-edged sword bursting forth from His mouth ready to pierce our very beings and change us for eternity! I'll wager a bet and say that our worship experience will be completely altered once we have this image etched into our minds and hearts. Agree?
Anyway, thanks for reading my random musings...until next time...
Grace and peace.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Revelation 1
Ok I'm back and we are on a mission. We are going to go through the book of Revelation, starting from the beginning. Well...at least I hope to go through every chapter. I may skip around a little bit...don't hate me!
We are going to start by looking at the first half of chapter 1...
It is important to understand first that the book of Revelation was written about things present and about the things to come...both in the near future and in the distant future. The first 3 chapters are written about the things present.
In verse 1 John addresses one of the things I cannot stand right off the bat..."The revelation of Jesus Christ...". Like I've said before, this book is about only ONE revelation...the Revelation of Jesus Christ! This is not the book of RevelationS. That's one of my pet-peeves (spelling?). I literally cringe when someone says Revelations instead of Revelation. The main focus of this book is to reveal the Father's heart for the Bridegroom (Jesus) to be reunited with His bride (us, the church), and for us to come to the realization that we must fall deeply in love with Jesus!
Verse 3: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
There are 3 crucial things a Believer MUST do when it comes to this book: 1) Read it; 2) Hear it; and 3) Take it to heart. The last imperative there means that this book must alter how we live our lives. Believers have to take this book to heart and change the way they live. We must live as love-sick brides longing for the return of our Bridegroom!
Verse 4: "...Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne." The "seven spirits" is also translated "sevenfold Spirit." So what is the "seven spirits?" We find the answer in Isaiah 11:2, which states, "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him (Jesus) - the Spirit of wisdom (1) and of understanding (2), the Spirit of counsel (3) and of power (4), the Spirit of knowledge (5) and of the fear of the Lord (6) - and He will delight in the fear of the Lord (7)."
Verse 5: "...and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." The firstborn of the dead refers to Jesus being the first One ever to be resurrected from the dead and who is the King of Kings. He will soon rule over the entire earth with His iron sceptor and every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord of heaven and of earth.
We will skip down to verse 7 which describes Jesus' descension and earthly procession:
"Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen." The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to return the same way He left. After He was resurrected and walk the earth with His disciples, it says that Jesus ascended up into the clouds. So, we know that this is the same way He is going to return...with the clouds. When He does this, every eye is going to see Him. To me this is crazy to even think about and there are opinions being tossed back and forth as to how this is going to actually look. Some say that every person on earth is going to see Jesus at the same time. I know that He is God in the flesh, but this seems rather hard to process. It is hard to imagine that every living person on planet earth is going to see Him at the same time.
I have a thought of my own here (well maybe not my own but it's backed by Scripture). In Malachi 1, verse 11 it says, "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun." It is the rising and setting of the sun that serves as a symbol of how Jesus' triumphal procession is going to look!
Want another reference? Psalm 19:4-6
"In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat." The bold there is to emphasize my point. This basically says that the sun is our day-to-day example of how the bridegroom is going to run his course when He comes again! To maybe try and make more sense of this, take for example the sun rising. Nowadays, the sun rises around say 6:30 in the morning here in Georgia. In California, the sun rises at around the same time; and the same goes for people in Hawaii, Australia, India, etc. So in essence, we will all see Jesus at the same time, but not at the exact same time. Make sense?! I hope it does.
And I would love to hear your thoughts!!
In that same verse it says that "all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him." This may have several meanings. One may be the type of mourning described in Matthew 5. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We as Believers must mourn (ie. long or ache) for His return, and we will be comforted when we see Him coming on the clouds because we would have just gone through the worst time period in history...the Great Tribulation. Also, people are going to mourn because they know their names are not written in the book of life and they are now going to spend eternity in hell, apart from Jesus.
Can I just say here that I cannot imagine how crazy unbelievable His return or procession is going to be. Imagine now the Son of Man, riding on the clouds in all of His glory with all of the resurrected bodies with Him, cruising around the earth! Man, it gives me chill bumps even thinking about it now. Since Jesus is fully man (and fully God), one would have to think that the cloud He is riding on will have to be close enough to the ground in order for us to recognize Him...maybe? Thoughts?
Jesus then is quoted in verse 8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega...who is, and who was, and who is to come, THE Almighty." We all know that Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the alphabet. So Jesus is saying here that He was the first (He was there WITH God before the creation of the universe - John 1) and He is the last (He is coming back to reign forever). Jesus then sums it all up by saying that He is THE ALMIGHTY! There is none like Him; none past, present or future. He is above ALL! He is so completely other!
So there you go, the start of our study of the book of Revelation. Again, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments as we proceed.
Until next time...
Grace and peace.
We are going to start by looking at the first half of chapter 1...
It is important to understand first that the book of Revelation was written about things present and about the things to come...both in the near future and in the distant future. The first 3 chapters are written about the things present.
In verse 1 John addresses one of the things I cannot stand right off the bat..."The revelation of Jesus Christ...". Like I've said before, this book is about only ONE revelation...the Revelation of Jesus Christ! This is not the book of RevelationS. That's one of my pet-peeves (spelling?). I literally cringe when someone says Revelations instead of Revelation. The main focus of this book is to reveal the Father's heart for the Bridegroom (Jesus) to be reunited with His bride (us, the church), and for us to come to the realization that we must fall deeply in love with Jesus!
Verse 3: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
There are 3 crucial things a Believer MUST do when it comes to this book: 1) Read it; 2) Hear it; and 3) Take it to heart. The last imperative there means that this book must alter how we live our lives. Believers have to take this book to heart and change the way they live. We must live as love-sick brides longing for the return of our Bridegroom!
Verse 4: "...Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne." The "seven spirits" is also translated "sevenfold Spirit." So what is the "seven spirits?" We find the answer in Isaiah 11:2, which states, "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him (Jesus) - the Spirit of wisdom (1) and of understanding (2), the Spirit of counsel (3) and of power (4), the Spirit of knowledge (5) and of the fear of the Lord (6) - and He will delight in the fear of the Lord (7)."
Verse 5: "...and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." The firstborn of the dead refers to Jesus being the first One ever to be resurrected from the dead and who is the King of Kings. He will soon rule over the entire earth with His iron sceptor and every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord of heaven and of earth.
We will skip down to verse 7 which describes Jesus' descension and earthly procession:
"Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen." The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to return the same way He left. After He was resurrected and walk the earth with His disciples, it says that Jesus ascended up into the clouds. So, we know that this is the same way He is going to return...with the clouds. When He does this, every eye is going to see Him. To me this is crazy to even think about and there are opinions being tossed back and forth as to how this is going to actually look. Some say that every person on earth is going to see Jesus at the same time. I know that He is God in the flesh, but this seems rather hard to process. It is hard to imagine that every living person on planet earth is going to see Him at the same time.
I have a thought of my own here (well maybe not my own but it's backed by Scripture). In Malachi 1, verse 11 it says, "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun." It is the rising and setting of the sun that serves as a symbol of how Jesus' triumphal procession is going to look!
Want another reference? Psalm 19:4-6
"In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat." The bold there is to emphasize my point. This basically says that the sun is our day-to-day example of how the bridegroom is going to run his course when He comes again! To maybe try and make more sense of this, take for example the sun rising. Nowadays, the sun rises around say 6:30 in the morning here in Georgia. In California, the sun rises at around the same time; and the same goes for people in Hawaii, Australia, India, etc. So in essence, we will all see Jesus at the same time, but not at the exact same time. Make sense?! I hope it does.
And I would love to hear your thoughts!!
In that same verse it says that "all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him." This may have several meanings. One may be the type of mourning described in Matthew 5. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We as Believers must mourn (ie. long or ache) for His return, and we will be comforted when we see Him coming on the clouds because we would have just gone through the worst time period in history...the Great Tribulation. Also, people are going to mourn because they know their names are not written in the book of life and they are now going to spend eternity in hell, apart from Jesus.
Can I just say here that I cannot imagine how crazy unbelievable His return or procession is going to be. Imagine now the Son of Man, riding on the clouds in all of His glory with all of the resurrected bodies with Him, cruising around the earth! Man, it gives me chill bumps even thinking about it now. Since Jesus is fully man (and fully God), one would have to think that the cloud He is riding on will have to be close enough to the ground in order for us to recognize Him...maybe? Thoughts?
Jesus then is quoted in verse 8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega...who is, and who was, and who is to come, THE Almighty." We all know that Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the alphabet. So Jesus is saying here that He was the first (He was there WITH God before the creation of the universe - John 1) and He is the last (He is coming back to reign forever). Jesus then sums it all up by saying that He is THE ALMIGHTY! There is none like Him; none past, present or future. He is above ALL! He is so completely other!
So there you go, the start of our study of the book of Revelation. Again, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments as we proceed.
Until next time...
Grace and peace.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A must needed "pause"
I've been out of the blogging world for the past week or so, but it has been such a needed and sweet time for me. During my time away, I've dealt with...no actually, the Lord has gotten rid of...a lot of misconceptions [and lies] I've had about life and myself. I must say here how refreshing, joyous and life-giving it is to hear the Lord speak to you and speak encouragement and truth over you!! There is nothing better in this world...His love is better than life! How many of us can honestly say this; that deep within our very being we know and walk in this very truth? For a while I knew it in my head but there was a big chasm between my head and my heart. Anybody out there feeling me on this?! BUT, the Lord totally mended a secretly broken heart...man, I feel alive again!
So I will give a huge shout-out to the SOZO ministry and to the amazing leaders and ministers of His truth and grace at Riverstone! If you don't know what SOZO is, then check it out at Bethel Church's website [from Redding, California -- Bill Johnson's church] or at Riverstone's website [www.riverstoneonline.org]. Every believer needs to do this! If you have baggage, and let's be honest...we all do, then you definitely need to check this out and sign up for a session. You will leave there hearing the Father's heart for you. Who wouldn't want that?! Doors of lies that the enemy has opened in your heart will be shut and walls that are keeping you from the fullness of all that God is will be torn down!! Enough said...
Alrighty then, well I will be picking back up with some discussions on the End Times. We will go over some chapters in Revelation and maybe hit Daniel up another time or two. So stay tuned...all of the 3 readers out there!
Grace and peace.
So I will give a huge shout-out to the SOZO ministry and to the amazing leaders and ministers of His truth and grace at Riverstone! If you don't know what SOZO is, then check it out at Bethel Church's website [from Redding, California -- Bill Johnson's church] or at Riverstone's website [www.riverstoneonline.org]. Every believer needs to do this! If you have baggage, and let's be honest...we all do, then you definitely need to check this out and sign up for a session. You will leave there hearing the Father's heart for you. Who wouldn't want that?! Doors of lies that the enemy has opened in your heart will be shut and walls that are keeping you from the fullness of all that God is will be torn down!! Enough said...
Alrighty then, well I will be picking back up with some discussions on the End Times. We will go over some chapters in Revelation and maybe hit Daniel up another time or two. So stay tuned...all of the 3 readers out there!
Grace and peace.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Honesty is the best policy...so I've heard...
James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
I'm just going to be honest with y'all right now...I need some wisdom seriously. The past month or so has been one of the weirdest and toughest seasons of my life! I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel of apparent darkness (or maybe cloudiness is the best word) and I know that I will look back at this one day and say, "Oh so that's what You were doing!" However, in midst of the mire and muck, I find myself easily discouraged and easily frustrated and maybe I'm not so fun to be around (I don't know, you will have to ask those that hang out with me...). But seriously, it has been a season where a lot of the things I felt so sure about and so confident in, have been in a way taken from me. Or I guess the best way to put it is that things are not working out how I thought they would. Yes, yes I know what I just said and I am not claiming that I run my own life. Nor am I saying that I don't trust God's sovereignty or His leadership...I'm just being real.
Right now (and maybe some of you out there) I am struggling to find my role in a number of different situations (church, worship, relationships, etc). I'm the kind of personality that thrives on feeling value. I need affirmation. Lately, that has been lacking. Maybe it's just a season where I'm taught to find my true value in Him, or maybe it's an attack from the enemy. Whatever the root, I'm constantly trying to remind myself that God likes me! God likes me! Hey in case you forgot, God likes you!
There are moments where I wish it could be like the movie Click where Adam Sandler fast forwarded through all of the bad stuff and only lived out the good stuff. But where would the lesson be? And where would the refining and purification be? It would be just a thing that happened with no deep-rooted, heart transforming revelation. I don't want that! I need a revelation. I need wisdom from the Lord.
Ephesians 1:17 - "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better."
So God, that is my prayer. I'm asking for wisdom and revelation. I want to know You better. I want to know the purpose behind this season better. I need wisdom that can only come from You. You promised to give it to us IF we ask for it. Your move.
(Note: I'm not angry or bitter)
Grace and peace.
I'm just going to be honest with y'all right now...I need some wisdom seriously. The past month or so has been one of the weirdest and toughest seasons of my life! I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel of apparent darkness (or maybe cloudiness is the best word) and I know that I will look back at this one day and say, "Oh so that's what You were doing!" However, in midst of the mire and muck, I find myself easily discouraged and easily frustrated and maybe I'm not so fun to be around (I don't know, you will have to ask those that hang out with me...). But seriously, it has been a season where a lot of the things I felt so sure about and so confident in, have been in a way taken from me. Or I guess the best way to put it is that things are not working out how I thought they would. Yes, yes I know what I just said and I am not claiming that I run my own life. Nor am I saying that I don't trust God's sovereignty or His leadership...I'm just being real.
Right now (and maybe some of you out there) I am struggling to find my role in a number of different situations (church, worship, relationships, etc). I'm the kind of personality that thrives on feeling value. I need affirmation. Lately, that has been lacking. Maybe it's just a season where I'm taught to find my true value in Him, or maybe it's an attack from the enemy. Whatever the root, I'm constantly trying to remind myself that God likes me! God likes me! Hey in case you forgot, God likes you!
There are moments where I wish it could be like the movie Click where Adam Sandler fast forwarded through all of the bad stuff and only lived out the good stuff. But where would the lesson be? And where would the refining and purification be? It would be just a thing that happened with no deep-rooted, heart transforming revelation. I don't want that! I need a revelation. I need wisdom from the Lord.
Ephesians 1:17 - "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better."
So God, that is my prayer. I'm asking for wisdom and revelation. I want to know You better. I want to know the purpose behind this season better. I need wisdom that can only come from You. You promised to give it to us IF we ask for it. Your move.
(Note: I'm not angry or bitter)
Grace and peace.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Seventy "Sevens"
A good friend of mine posted a comment on one of my last blogs about explaining what the "Seventy 'Sevens'" are that Daniel mentions in Daniel chapter 9. So I will do my best to offer some insight into this prediction that was inspired by a prophetic word given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel.
To best explain this portion of Daniel 9, we are going to take it a verse at a time...
To start off it is necessary to clarify that the term "weeks" in this passage actually means "years." So if you do the math, then Seventy "sevens" equals 490 years...roughly. I say roughly because the actual number depends on what calendar you use, even though the difference in years with the two different calendars is miniscule. The Babylonian calendar is 365 and a 1/4 days, whereas the Jewish calendar is 360 days. Therefore, you can see where the number of years will only be off by a few years in the grand scheme of things.
In verse 24 Daniel is told that "seventy sevens" are decreed for Israel in order "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy."
Then in the very next verse the angel Gabriel broke down 69 of the 70 "sevens." He says, "From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One [Jesus], the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens' [7 + 62]
It is not sure which "decree" Gabriel is talking about but most believe it was the decree made by Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah which allowed the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Other decrees that it could refer to is the decree made by Cyrus that began the return of the exiles in 536 B.C. or the decree made by Darius, which allowed more of the exiles to go back. So most believe that the first seven "sevens" mentioned is the actual rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.
To take this a little further and boggle your mind even more, if you fast forward 483 years [which is the 69 - sevens], then you land on the time period around either Jesus' birth or His baptism. Note, some say it could be His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. To me, it doesn't matter. It's just simply amazing to think that Daniel, through the words spoken by Gabriel, was able to predict the coming of Jesus some 500-odd years before it was to happen!!
You might be asking, "Then why didn't he just say 69 'sevens' instead of breaking it down as he did?" I believe [and others] that the answer lies in that same verse [25]. "It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, in times of trouble." The time period for Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt and function as a city, according to Nehemiah and Ezra, was 49 years. Also, it was built after the Babylonian captivity [troublesome times].
Verse 26: "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [again, Jesus] will be cut off and will have nothing [or, but not for Himself]. Now stick with me, my hope and goal is not to confuse you with too many numbers! If you remember, the end of the sixty-two 'sevens' will end with either Jesus' birth, baptism or triumphal entry. Again, it is in my opinion and others that what Daniel is referring to here is the CROSS! Jesus will be cut off, but "not for Himself." It was the Father's will for Jesus to be crucified for the sins of the world. Look at the words of Daniel again...."AFTER the sixty-two 'sevens'...". It was AFTER Jesus' birth, baptism and/or triumphal entry when He was crucified!
The latter part of verse 26 talks about the "city and sanctuary" being destroyed. This is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. It also talks about the "end" coming like a "flood." It has been described that the Romans "flooded" the city with soldiers and destroyed it!
It is also worth mentioning here that Daniel says, "The people of the ruler...". The "ruler" here is referring to the Antichrist. So, some believe that the Antichrist will be of the same people, or in this case, of Roman descent. Interesting stuff!
Daniel then writes, "War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." Here he is describing the interim period between the 69th 'seven' and the 70th 'seven.' I believe we are living in this interim period now due to the amount of wars that are occurring now and that have occurred in our recent past.
Another question you might be asking is why is the Lord waiting on this last seven year period? One possibility is that the Lord is giving us humans time to repent and accept Him as their Lord and Savior [hello? He is gracious and compassionate!]. Another possibility is that He is giving time for us the saints to hasten the day of His return because we, and I mean all Believers here, will be partnering WITH God in bringing about His judgements.
Therefore, we are still awaiting this final 'seven.' In the next verse, verse 27, Daniel describes this final 'seven.' He writes, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
The "he" mentioned here refers to the Antichrist. As discussed in previous posts, there is going to be a universal peace treaty that is established on the earth which will put an end to wars for the first time in history. Also, along with this universal peace treaty, there will be the establishment of a one-world religion based on no absolutes [see last post]. The signing of this peace treaty will mark the beginning of the final 'seven' [or the final 7 years of this age]. Right smack dab in the middle of the 7 year peace treaty the Antichrist will put an end to the treaty AND put an end to this universal religion. No longer will there be the idea that it doesn't matter what religion you declare or what god [or God] you serve as long as you focus on being a good humanitarian and feed the poor. Instead, the Antichrist will force people to worship Him and will set up the "abomination that causes desolation" in a wing of the temple in Jerusalem.
From this point, we know that we are starting the final 3.5 years, or "42 months" or "time, times, and half a time" as described in Revelation [aka the Great Tribulation].
"...until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." To me this coincides with the final 7 bowls of wrath being poured out on the Antichrist's empire and his followers you can read about in Revelation 16.
The end result is the defeat of the Antichrist and Jesus reigning forever! Praise be!!
Alright, I know that was a lot of information to digest, but read it, pray and ask God for clarity because you know He WANTS to tell you about the things to come. See Amos 3:7; Matthew 24:6, 25; John 13:19; John 15:15
Grace and peace.
To best explain this portion of Daniel 9, we are going to take it a verse at a time...
To start off it is necessary to clarify that the term "weeks" in this passage actually means "years." So if you do the math, then Seventy "sevens" equals 490 years...roughly. I say roughly because the actual number depends on what calendar you use, even though the difference in years with the two different calendars is miniscule. The Babylonian calendar is 365 and a 1/4 days, whereas the Jewish calendar is 360 days. Therefore, you can see where the number of years will only be off by a few years in the grand scheme of things.
In verse 24 Daniel is told that "seventy sevens" are decreed for Israel in order "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy."
Then in the very next verse the angel Gabriel broke down 69 of the 70 "sevens." He says, "From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One [Jesus], the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens' [7 + 62]
It is not sure which "decree" Gabriel is talking about but most believe it was the decree made by Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah which allowed the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Other decrees that it could refer to is the decree made by Cyrus that began the return of the exiles in 536 B.C. or the decree made by Darius, which allowed more of the exiles to go back. So most believe that the first seven "sevens" mentioned is the actual rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.
To take this a little further and boggle your mind even more, if you fast forward 483 years [which is the 69 - sevens], then you land on the time period around either Jesus' birth or His baptism. Note, some say it could be His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. To me, it doesn't matter. It's just simply amazing to think that Daniel, through the words spoken by Gabriel, was able to predict the coming of Jesus some 500-odd years before it was to happen!!
You might be asking, "Then why didn't he just say 69 'sevens' instead of breaking it down as he did?" I believe [and others] that the answer lies in that same verse [25]. "It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, in times of trouble." The time period for Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt and function as a city, according to Nehemiah and Ezra, was 49 years. Also, it was built after the Babylonian captivity [troublesome times].
Verse 26: "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [again, Jesus] will be cut off and will have nothing [or, but not for Himself]. Now stick with me, my hope and goal is not to confuse you with too many numbers! If you remember, the end of the sixty-two 'sevens' will end with either Jesus' birth, baptism or triumphal entry. Again, it is in my opinion and others that what Daniel is referring to here is the CROSS! Jesus will be cut off, but "not for Himself." It was the Father's will for Jesus to be crucified for the sins of the world. Look at the words of Daniel again...."AFTER the sixty-two 'sevens'...". It was AFTER Jesus' birth, baptism and/or triumphal entry when He was crucified!
The latter part of verse 26 talks about the "city and sanctuary" being destroyed. This is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. It also talks about the "end" coming like a "flood." It has been described that the Romans "flooded" the city with soldiers and destroyed it!
It is also worth mentioning here that Daniel says, "The people of the ruler...". The "ruler" here is referring to the Antichrist. So, some believe that the Antichrist will be of the same people, or in this case, of Roman descent. Interesting stuff!
Daniel then writes, "War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." Here he is describing the interim period between the 69th 'seven' and the 70th 'seven.' I believe we are living in this interim period now due to the amount of wars that are occurring now and that have occurred in our recent past.
Another question you might be asking is why is the Lord waiting on this last seven year period? One possibility is that the Lord is giving us humans time to repent and accept Him as their Lord and Savior [hello? He is gracious and compassionate!]. Another possibility is that He is giving time for us the saints to hasten the day of His return because we, and I mean all Believers here, will be partnering WITH God in bringing about His judgements.
Therefore, we are still awaiting this final 'seven.' In the next verse, verse 27, Daniel describes this final 'seven.' He writes, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
The "he" mentioned here refers to the Antichrist. As discussed in previous posts, there is going to be a universal peace treaty that is established on the earth which will put an end to wars for the first time in history. Also, along with this universal peace treaty, there will be the establishment of a one-world religion based on no absolutes [see last post]. The signing of this peace treaty will mark the beginning of the final 'seven' [or the final 7 years of this age]. Right smack dab in the middle of the 7 year peace treaty the Antichrist will put an end to the treaty AND put an end to this universal religion. No longer will there be the idea that it doesn't matter what religion you declare or what god [or God] you serve as long as you focus on being a good humanitarian and feed the poor. Instead, the Antichrist will force people to worship Him and will set up the "abomination that causes desolation" in a wing of the temple in Jerusalem.
From this point, we know that we are starting the final 3.5 years, or "42 months" or "time, times, and half a time" as described in Revelation [aka the Great Tribulation].
"...until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." To me this coincides with the final 7 bowls of wrath being poured out on the Antichrist's empire and his followers you can read about in Revelation 16.
The end result is the defeat of the Antichrist and Jesus reigning forever! Praise be!!
Alright, I know that was a lot of information to digest, but read it, pray and ask God for clarity because you know He WANTS to tell you about the things to come. See Amos 3:7; Matthew 24:6, 25; John 13:19; John 15:15
Grace and peace.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Addendum...
After reading my post a few times I feel like I need to go into a little more detail regarding the "woman" to bring everything together...and hopefully it will make more sense.
This "woman", or Harlot Babylon, will have one purpose: establishment of a one-world religion that focuses on peace and humanitarian aid, but all for the wrong reasons. There will be false peace and wars will cease for the first time in history. She will have incredible influence (albeit Satanic influence) that many will become "drunk on her fornication"...even her worship will be seductive and captivating, but it will be demonic in origin. Leaders all over the world will give money to support what she is misleading them with. At the same time, she will be given support by the Antichrist, which is represented by him carrying her [which we talked about last time].
This woman will be carrying a golden cup of abomination and filth. Filth means moral perversion and abomination is idolatry (hence the term "abomination of desolation" which will be an idol the Antichrist sets up in the temple).
But the Antichrist is only using her for his gain. This false religion that she promotes revolves around no absolutes. The driving theme will be to throw off any denomination, religious belief, etc and focus on feeding the poor and offering humanitarian aid. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, etc will be deceived by her because a big focus of religions, especially Christianity, is to feed the poor. The Antichrist is using her and this false religion to set up his own world religion, which is worship him or die [Revelation 13].
The woman is a forerunner for Satan's influence on the earth. The Harlot Babylon will open up hearts to tolerance and no absolutes [or truth], and then the Antichrist will then set up a religion with zero tolerance and will kill anyone who doesn't worship him.
II Timothy 4:3-4 : For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables…
If we are to "stand firm" then we need to be lovers of Truth! Enough said...
Finally, once the "woman" has served her purpose, she will be killed by the 10 kings who become jealous of her. According to the end of Revelation 17, these 10 kings will "burn her flesh". This will occur 3 1/2 years into the false peace time period. Her murder, along with the establishment of Antichrist's religion of intolerance and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation and God's judgements are released.
I hoped this addendum helped. I read the previous post and realized the "woman" needed more explanation.
Grace and peace.
This "woman", or Harlot Babylon, will have one purpose: establishment of a one-world religion that focuses on peace and humanitarian aid, but all for the wrong reasons. There will be false peace and wars will cease for the first time in history. She will have incredible influence (albeit Satanic influence) that many will become "drunk on her fornication"...even her worship will be seductive and captivating, but it will be demonic in origin. Leaders all over the world will give money to support what she is misleading them with. At the same time, she will be given support by the Antichrist, which is represented by him carrying her [which we talked about last time].
This woman will be carrying a golden cup of abomination and filth. Filth means moral perversion and abomination is idolatry (hence the term "abomination of desolation" which will be an idol the Antichrist sets up in the temple).
But the Antichrist is only using her for his gain. This false religion that she promotes revolves around no absolutes. The driving theme will be to throw off any denomination, religious belief, etc and focus on feeding the poor and offering humanitarian aid. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, etc will be deceived by her because a big focus of religions, especially Christianity, is to feed the poor. The Antichrist is using her and this false religion to set up his own world religion, which is worship him or die [Revelation 13].
The woman is a forerunner for Satan's influence on the earth. The Harlot Babylon will open up hearts to tolerance and no absolutes [or truth], and then the Antichrist will then set up a religion with zero tolerance and will kill anyone who doesn't worship him.
II Timothy 4:3-4 : For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables…
If we are to "stand firm" then we need to be lovers of Truth! Enough said...
Finally, once the "woman" has served her purpose, she will be killed by the 10 kings who become jealous of her. According to the end of Revelation 17, these 10 kings will "burn her flesh". This will occur 3 1/2 years into the false peace time period. Her murder, along with the establishment of Antichrist's religion of intolerance and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation and God's judgements are released.
I hoped this addendum helped. I read the previous post and realized the "woman" needed more explanation.
Grace and peace.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The vote is in...
Well, just as I suspected, I had one person offer their opinion as to where to go next on our journey through the End Times [thanks Kurtitos!!]. So the plan for the next however many posts will be to take some Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, and relate them to the Last Days.
With that being said, we are going to start with a portion out of II Thessalonians 2...verses 1-12:
Paul starts off by correcting a report that was floating around then that the "day of the Lord has already come." From what I have researched, at that time, the people of Thessalonica were undergoing some intense persecution. And since Paul had taught them that the last days were to involve intense trouble and persecution, they were convinced by others [and evidently by a false letter supposedly written by Paul] that the Lord's second coming had already happened.
Paul corrected them by saying "that day will not come, until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [the Antichrist, 'the man doomed to destruction'] is revealed...". Paul goes on to say a few verses later that the lawless one will revealed when the "one that is holding him back...is taken away."
So what is Paul talking about?
Well first off, the "rebellion" Paul talks about is the massive falling away that occurs during the last days [which we read about in Matthew 24]. This falling away is termed, apostasy. The word apostasy is defined as "departure, an abandoning of a position formerly held."
The next major event Paul describes is the unveiling of the "man of lawlessness." This person is the Antichrist. This person [and it will actually be a person] will "oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped." He will set up an idol of himself in the temple, which we know is the "abomination of desolation." Paul says that the "coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." He will make everyone worship him and will claim to be God [Revelation 13]. The prophet Daniel [which we will go into greater detail later] describes this Antichrist in very intense detail. In Daniel 9 it says that this lawless one will sign a counterfeit universal peace treaty and 3 1/2 years into the false peace he will break the treaty. This, and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
Now what about this restrainer Paul talks about in verses 6-7? Some say that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit; that the Holy Spirit is the One who is holding the Antichrist back and then one day He will step out of the way and let the Antichrist do his thing. Now this may be the case, but I have a different idea.
I will pause here and say that these are MY thoughts. Please get into the Word, pray and ask questions as to the validity of what I am writing. If you have a contradiction, post a comment and we will discuss. I like discussion!!
I believe the one that is "holding him back" comes out of Revelation 17. The woman described here is a False Prophet that the Antichrist will use to gain his stronghold on earth. Another label this woman has is the "Harlot Babylon." This woman, or "prostitute", "sits on many waters." The angel that is showing John these visions says that the waters here are "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages" [Revelation 17:15]. It says that the prostitute "sits" on the waters and that the "inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." To me this means that this woman is going to be very influential on earth. In verse 4, it describes her appearance: dressed in purple and covered in precious jewels. The color purple indicates royalty and the fact she had a lot gold and precious jewels on her could mean that she is very rich as well.
Also, it says in this chapter that the prostitute was riding on a "scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns." The beast once was and "will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction", which Paul writes about back in II Thessalonians 2. The beast will be "overthrown with the breath of His mouth and destroyed by the splendor of His coming." Anyway, back to Revelation 17, the fact that she was riding on the beast means that they will be partnering together during the first 3 1/2 years of the final 7 years of this age. They will be partnering together in bringing about this false peace.
The ten horns on the beast's head are 10 earthly kings who will eventually give the beast all of their power and authority in order to "make war against the Lamb." These 10 kings will hate the prostitute and together with the beast/Antichrist will kill the prostitute [verse 16].
So, now with the prostitute out of the way, the Antichrist and all of his evil are revealed and unleashed. The false peace on earth is over and the Great Tribulation begins.
Comments are encouraged!
Grace and peace.
With that being said, we are going to start with a portion out of II Thessalonians 2...verses 1-12:
Paul starts off by correcting a report that was floating around then that the "day of the Lord has already come." From what I have researched, at that time, the people of Thessalonica were undergoing some intense persecution. And since Paul had taught them that the last days were to involve intense trouble and persecution, they were convinced by others [and evidently by a false letter supposedly written by Paul] that the Lord's second coming had already happened.
Paul corrected them by saying "that day will not come, until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [the Antichrist, 'the man doomed to destruction'] is revealed...". Paul goes on to say a few verses later that the lawless one will revealed when the "one that is holding him back...is taken away."
So what is Paul talking about?
Well first off, the "rebellion" Paul talks about is the massive falling away that occurs during the last days [which we read about in Matthew 24]. This falling away is termed, apostasy. The word apostasy is defined as "departure, an abandoning of a position formerly held."
The next major event Paul describes is the unveiling of the "man of lawlessness." This person is the Antichrist. This person [and it will actually be a person] will "oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped." He will set up an idol of himself in the temple, which we know is the "abomination of desolation." Paul says that the "coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." He will make everyone worship him and will claim to be God [Revelation 13]. The prophet Daniel [which we will go into greater detail later] describes this Antichrist in very intense detail. In Daniel 9 it says that this lawless one will sign a counterfeit universal peace treaty and 3 1/2 years into the false peace he will break the treaty. This, and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
Now what about this restrainer Paul talks about in verses 6-7? Some say that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit; that the Holy Spirit is the One who is holding the Antichrist back and then one day He will step out of the way and let the Antichrist do his thing. Now this may be the case, but I have a different idea.
I will pause here and say that these are MY thoughts. Please get into the Word, pray and ask questions as to the validity of what I am writing. If you have a contradiction, post a comment and we will discuss. I like discussion!!
I believe the one that is "holding him back" comes out of Revelation 17. The woman described here is a False Prophet that the Antichrist will use to gain his stronghold on earth. Another label this woman has is the "Harlot Babylon." This woman, or "prostitute", "sits on many waters." The angel that is showing John these visions says that the waters here are "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages" [Revelation 17:15]. It says that the prostitute "sits" on the waters and that the "inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." To me this means that this woman is going to be very influential on earth. In verse 4, it describes her appearance: dressed in purple and covered in precious jewels. The color purple indicates royalty and the fact she had a lot gold and precious jewels on her could mean that she is very rich as well.
Also, it says in this chapter that the prostitute was riding on a "scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns." The beast once was and "will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction", which Paul writes about back in II Thessalonians 2. The beast will be "overthrown with the breath of His mouth and destroyed by the splendor of His coming." Anyway, back to Revelation 17, the fact that she was riding on the beast means that they will be partnering together during the first 3 1/2 years of the final 7 years of this age. They will be partnering together in bringing about this false peace.
The ten horns on the beast's head are 10 earthly kings who will eventually give the beast all of their power and authority in order to "make war against the Lamb." These 10 kings will hate the prostitute and together with the beast/Antichrist will kill the prostitute [verse 16].
So, now with the prostitute out of the way, the Antichrist and all of his evil are revealed and unleashed. The false peace on earth is over and the Great Tribulation begins.
Comments are encouraged!
Grace and peace.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Vote
Since I have gone through Matthew 24 in regards to End Times, I need some help from my 2-3 readers as to where to go from here. There is an incredible amount of information to cover and if you want me to, then I want to. We could do this a number of ways: I could go through some important chapters in the Bible that are about the End Times (non-Revelation books) and discuss those, or I could start going to through parts of the Book of Revelation or I can open up this blog to questions and then answer them one at a time?
So there you go, it is in your hands now. And if I don't get any responses (which is highly likely), then I'll just quit blogging altogether!! Haha...I'm just kidding...or am I?!
Let me know what would be most beneficial for those who want to know more about the Final Days and the Father's heart (because that's what it all boils down to!).
Grace and peace.
So there you go, it is in your hands now. And if I don't get any responses (which is highly likely), then I'll just quit blogging altogether!! Haha...I'm just kidding...or am I?!
Let me know what would be most beneficial for those who want to know more about the Final Days and the Father's heart (because that's what it all boils down to!).
Grace and peace.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Matthew 24 continued
Ok, so we are back on track of walking through a little bit of some End Times Bible studying. Sorry for the break in action, but someone decided to leave a car in the middle of the interstate for me to hit. Anyway, so here we go...
I believe the last thing we/I talked about was some of the signs of the end of the age (false christs, famines, earthquakes, Global timing indicators, etc - click HERE to read the previous post). Then Jesus begins to answer the disciples 2nd question: "What will be the sign of your coming?" There is a statement floating around most churches and maybe even houses that we will not know the exact hour or day Jesus will return. To this I would say that you might be right and/or that you might be wrong. It does say in verse 36 of Matthew 24 that "no one knows the day or hour...only the Father." So obviously, that would be the argument in favor of that statement. However, Jesus did not say that the Church would not know the day and hour in the generation the Lord returns and neither did He say that we could not know the season or conditions surrounding His return. We all agree that only the Father knows when Jesus will return. But as we learned in Amos 3, "surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret" to us His friends. The Lord revealed a very specific number of days to both Daniel and the Apostle John as to when Jesus will come again.
Please read Daniel 7:25 and 12:7; also read Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6, 13:5, 14
The Lord made it clear that the Messiah would come EXACTLY 1,260 days after the abomination of desolation. So Jesus answered the disciples question as to what will be the sign (and the when) of His coming by reminding them what was written by the prophet Daniel. Once the abomination of desolation has been set up, then we can flip ahead 1,260 days on our calender (roughly 3.5 years) and circle that day as THE DAY!
But what is the "abomination of desolation?" I will hopefully get into this more in the future, but basically it is an idol that the Antichrist sets up in the temple in Jerusalem and it has the power to "speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed" (Revelation 13:15). This occurs right in the middle of the final 7 years before Jesus' return where a false universal peace will be over the earth, and this will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation (final 3.5 years of this age). This is also when the 7 seals will be opened, the sounding of the 7 trumpets will occur (Revelation 6, 8-9), and the 7 bowls of wrath being poured out on the Antichrist's empire happen (Revelation 15-16). All of this I again hope to cover soon...there's just so much!
Scripture references: Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4, Revelation 13:11-18
Starting in verse 21 of Matthew 24, Jesus begins to describe the Great Tribulation, which he describes as "great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again." Jesus goes on to say in verse 22 that if these days were not cut short, then "no one would survive." But there is a blessed hope Beloved! Daniel 12:1 says, "But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book (is yours?) - will be delivered." Hallelujah!
Jesus next says that "immediately after the distress of those days," everything will go dark, the stars will fall out of the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken (verse 29). THEN!!! the Son of Man will appear in the sky with "power and great glory!" The rapture then begins and the final battle ensues. We will take a more detailed look at what this will look like later! So hang in there!!
Just as back then they knew when summer was near by the fig leaves coming out, we will also know that His return is near when the above things take place. Jesus tells us that we will know the hour and the season and He also tells us that the days of Noah will be like the days when He returns. What does that mean? Well Noah was told 120 years before judgement was coming to the earth in the form of a great flood, and then the Lord reminded Noah 7 days before the impending judgement on the earth (Genesis 6 and 7). Again I refer to Amos 3:7...read it, pray it, live it!
Paul taught that the Church should know the times and seasons related to the Lord's coming:
"Concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. But you, brethren, are NOT in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. Therefore...let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. 5:1-6).
So what was Jesus' concluding command? "Keep watch." We need to keep our lamp stands filled with oil!
Grace and peace.
I believe the last thing we/I talked about was some of the signs of the end of the age (false christs, famines, earthquakes, Global timing indicators, etc - click HERE to read the previous post). Then Jesus begins to answer the disciples 2nd question: "What will be the sign of your coming?" There is a statement floating around most churches and maybe even houses that we will not know the exact hour or day Jesus will return. To this I would say that you might be right and/or that you might be wrong. It does say in verse 36 of Matthew 24 that "no one knows the day or hour...only the Father." So obviously, that would be the argument in favor of that statement. However, Jesus did not say that the Church would not know the day and hour in the generation the Lord returns and neither did He say that we could not know the season or conditions surrounding His return. We all agree that only the Father knows when Jesus will return. But as we learned in Amos 3, "surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret" to us His friends. The Lord revealed a very specific number of days to both Daniel and the Apostle John as to when Jesus will come again.
Please read Daniel 7:25 and 12:7; also read Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6, 13:5, 14
The Lord made it clear that the Messiah would come EXACTLY 1,260 days after the abomination of desolation. So Jesus answered the disciples question as to what will be the sign (and the when) of His coming by reminding them what was written by the prophet Daniel. Once the abomination of desolation has been set up, then we can flip ahead 1,260 days on our calender (roughly 3.5 years) and circle that day as THE DAY!
But what is the "abomination of desolation?" I will hopefully get into this more in the future, but basically it is an idol that the Antichrist sets up in the temple in Jerusalem and it has the power to "speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed" (Revelation 13:15). This occurs right in the middle of the final 7 years before Jesus' return where a false universal peace will be over the earth, and this will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation (final 3.5 years of this age). This is also when the 7 seals will be opened, the sounding of the 7 trumpets will occur (Revelation 6, 8-9), and the 7 bowls of wrath being poured out on the Antichrist's empire happen (Revelation 15-16). All of this I again hope to cover soon...there's just so much!
Scripture references: Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4, Revelation 13:11-18
Starting in verse 21 of Matthew 24, Jesus begins to describe the Great Tribulation, which he describes as "great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again." Jesus goes on to say in verse 22 that if these days were not cut short, then "no one would survive." But there is a blessed hope Beloved! Daniel 12:1 says, "But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book (is yours?) - will be delivered." Hallelujah!
Jesus next says that "immediately after the distress of those days," everything will go dark, the stars will fall out of the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken (verse 29). THEN!!! the Son of Man will appear in the sky with "power and great glory!" The rapture then begins and the final battle ensues. We will take a more detailed look at what this will look like later! So hang in there!!
Just as back then they knew when summer was near by the fig leaves coming out, we will also know that His return is near when the above things take place. Jesus tells us that we will know the hour and the season and He also tells us that the days of Noah will be like the days when He returns. What does that mean? Well Noah was told 120 years before judgement was coming to the earth in the form of a great flood, and then the Lord reminded Noah 7 days before the impending judgement on the earth (Genesis 6 and 7). Again I refer to Amos 3:7...read it, pray it, live it!
Paul taught that the Church should know the times and seasons related to the Lord's coming:
"Concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. But you, brethren, are NOT in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. Therefore...let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. 5:1-6).
So what was Jesus' concluding command? "Keep watch." We need to keep our lamp stands filled with oil!
Grace and peace.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thank you Francis...
Here is a recent article by Francis Frangipane that encouraged and challenged me. If you want to read more of his articles (I suggest you do), then check out his website, Francis Frangipane Ministries.
The Cup
Part Two: Christ Living in Us
by Francis Frangipane
Having a true vision is not the same thing as having a godly motive. A person could have a vision directly from God, yet be driven by self-promotion and ambition in seeking to fulfill it.
Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This is vision. But He also taught: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross" (Matt. 16:24).
If we will follow Jesus, notice we each have been given our own unique cross: "let him take up his cross." God has a cross specifically designed to crucify our fleshly ambitions en route to reaching our vision.
Consider Joseph: God had given him a dream of his future, but rather than quietly ponder the divine experience, he exalted himself to his ten older brothers. He assured them that one day they would each bow, like stacks of wheat, in subservience before him. His fleshly immaturity awakened a fleshly, even diabolical plot among his brothers: they sought to kill him. Joseph's vision was from God, but his motives lacked character, and his actions nearly cost him his life (see Gen. 37).
Yet, God was with Joseph, even in his lack of spiritual knowledge. And, we should rejoice for God is with us as well, even in our immaturity and ambition. Yet we should also understand: A true vision will kill you before it will fulfill you. Joseph had to learn to trust God in whatever circumstance or injustice he found himself; he had to become patient, serving others until the time arrived when his dream bloomed into reality.
"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him" (Ps. 105:19).
Consider: the Almighty could have certainly brought Joseph to Egypt by a less threatening route. Joseph could have grown to maturity among his family without being sold into slavery. Since he was given the gift of dreams and interpretation, the Holy Spirit could have simply given him a dream and told him to move to Egypt (as He did another Joseph centuries later). Once safely there, Joseph's fame at dream interpretation would have reached the ears of Pharaoh at precisely the right time, say the morning after the king's night of ominous dreams. Joseph, the "dream merchant," would have been positioned in the right place at exactly the right time.
Instead, God brought him to Egypt thirteen years earlier than needed. The young man had to face and overcome repeated experiences with dying inwardly to self. He faced betrayal and abandonment; he was enslaved, tempted sexually, slandered and imprisoned. How hopeless could his situation be? Yet, he then faced the challenges of being forgotten. In spite of all these things, Joseph trusted God and grew in both wisdom and spiritual integrity.
God didn't merely want a man to interpret dreams, but a man who could rule his heart when it suffered abandonment, injustice, slander and rejection and betrayal, and still remain the man of God regardless.
Joseph kept his heart free from the bitterness that overwhelms the soul when one suffers repeated heartache. Yet, Joseph never let his wounding cause his heart to harden or keep him from trusting God. He was a man who wept when he finally saw his brothers. These were the men who laughed while he cried to them from the pit, then would have left him to die a long, agonizingly slow death had not a caravan passed by and Joseph been sold to traders. Joseph could have had his revenge - off with their heads! But the scriptures record that five times Joseph turned away and wept in the discourses with his family; once he "wept so loudly that the Eyptians heard, and the household of Pharaoh heard" (Gen. 45:2).
Joseph was a man of character, a man whose ambitions died but whose vision lived. He drank the cup given him by God, and his dream became a reality. Jesus drank the cup given Him, and we experienced salvation. But each of us has a cup to drink en route to our destiny. There will be no shortcuts to power. We will swallow the full dregs and though it kills us, we shall live. Yet, it shall not be us, but Christ living in us.
Grace and peace.
The Cup
Part Two: Christ Living in Us
by Francis Frangipane
Having a true vision is not the same thing as having a godly motive. A person could have a vision directly from God, yet be driven by self-promotion and ambition in seeking to fulfill it.
Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This is vision. But He also taught: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross" (Matt. 16:24).
If we will follow Jesus, notice we each have been given our own unique cross: "let him take up his cross." God has a cross specifically designed to crucify our fleshly ambitions en route to reaching our vision.
Consider Joseph: God had given him a dream of his future, but rather than quietly ponder the divine experience, he exalted himself to his ten older brothers. He assured them that one day they would each bow, like stacks of wheat, in subservience before him. His fleshly immaturity awakened a fleshly, even diabolical plot among his brothers: they sought to kill him. Joseph's vision was from God, but his motives lacked character, and his actions nearly cost him his life (see Gen. 37).
Yet, God was with Joseph, even in his lack of spiritual knowledge. And, we should rejoice for God is with us as well, even in our immaturity and ambition. Yet we should also understand: A true vision will kill you before it will fulfill you. Joseph had to learn to trust God in whatever circumstance or injustice he found himself; he had to become patient, serving others until the time arrived when his dream bloomed into reality.
"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him" (Ps. 105:19).
Consider: the Almighty could have certainly brought Joseph to Egypt by a less threatening route. Joseph could have grown to maturity among his family without being sold into slavery. Since he was given the gift of dreams and interpretation, the Holy Spirit could have simply given him a dream and told him to move to Egypt (as He did another Joseph centuries later). Once safely there, Joseph's fame at dream interpretation would have reached the ears of Pharaoh at precisely the right time, say the morning after the king's night of ominous dreams. Joseph, the "dream merchant," would have been positioned in the right place at exactly the right time.
Instead, God brought him to Egypt thirteen years earlier than needed. The young man had to face and overcome repeated experiences with dying inwardly to self. He faced betrayal and abandonment; he was enslaved, tempted sexually, slandered and imprisoned. How hopeless could his situation be? Yet, he then faced the challenges of being forgotten. In spite of all these things, Joseph trusted God and grew in both wisdom and spiritual integrity.
God didn't merely want a man to interpret dreams, but a man who could rule his heart when it suffered abandonment, injustice, slander and rejection and betrayal, and still remain the man of God regardless.
Joseph kept his heart free from the bitterness that overwhelms the soul when one suffers repeated heartache. Yet, Joseph never let his wounding cause his heart to harden or keep him from trusting God. He was a man who wept when he finally saw his brothers. These were the men who laughed while he cried to them from the pit, then would have left him to die a long, agonizingly slow death had not a caravan passed by and Joseph been sold to traders. Joseph could have had his revenge - off with their heads! But the scriptures record that five times Joseph turned away and wept in the discourses with his family; once he "wept so loudly that the Eyptians heard, and the household of Pharaoh heard" (Gen. 45:2).
Joseph was a man of character, a man whose ambitions died but whose vision lived. He drank the cup given him by God, and his dream became a reality. Jesus drank the cup given Him, and we experienced salvation. But each of us has a cup to drink en route to our destiny. There will be no shortcuts to power. We will swallow the full dregs and though it kills us, we shall live. Yet, it shall not be us, but Christ living in us.
Grace and peace.
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