NEW LIFE: A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 29, 2017

VERSE: "Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:15b-16).

EQUATION: Teachings of the New Testament from Apostle Paul = Authentic Scriptures from God.

ACTION: For the first time in the Bible, the great Apostle Peter, tells us as plain as day, that the letters from the brilliant Apostle Paul are not only full of truth but are as much Scriptures as the Words of the Torah (first five books of the Bible) or the Prophets. Jesus Himself revealed them to His servant Paul when He trained him for three years in the Arabian desert. The required action for those who have not yet done so, is to start with reading the Book of Romans, this year and then read all the way through the Book of James - very slowly, very methodically, while praying for the Holy Spirit to make the embedded truths here, easy to comprehend. Scripture immersion is required, at in this current age.

PRAYER: Our Heavenly Father and great God of Heaven Who has revealed Himself to sinful mankind, first through Moses and the Prophets and in these last days, through Your great Son the Savior Jesus, we praise Thee, worship Thee and bless Your Holy Name for giving us the Word of Truth - the Bible. Through this, Father, we cannot be deceived by those on earth who twist Your words to suit their own personal ends and misrepresent You, misleading others and making them just as much a candidate for destruction as they are. Father, give us, through Your revealed word- the Rhema of God and the Powerful Spirit of the Living God, the discernment to immediately recognize false teaching and error so that we may alert the unsuspecting and teach those who need to know You better. Grant us the courage to stand for revealed Truth so that we may proclaim it righteously, with humility and love, but with uncompromising accuracy, so that we may stand before You, holy and blameless, in the Presence of the Angels and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to whom all praise is due, in His Name, the Name above ALL the other names, we ask all these things, amen and amen.

(Clip Art Credit Here)

AMERICA GONE WILD, PART 4 - ACCURATE1964 PROPHESY FROM PAUL HARVEY

"If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?"....Psalm 11:3

America is in a deep spiral into a pit of its own digging, allowed to slide into the spiritual wasteland it has become, by the same God Whom the country has rejected. Scripture warned, but no one listened. 
Romans 1:18: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness"
Romans 1:21-22: "because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools "
Romans 1:24a: "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness."
Romans 1:26a: "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions".
Romans 1:28b-29: "God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness."

Here is the result of people without the Hand of God directing them, in a land with the biggest and richest churches in the world:
- the spread of violent islam across America.
- the spread of deadly viruses and unknown diseases.
- the endless drought in California where the culture spits in the Eyes of Holy God.
- the rise of violent swings in unpredictable and extreme weather patterns.
- the wars and rumors of wars.
- the rise of false religions and promotion of it by America's leaders in society and politics
- the eternally dangerous compromises of the Church, which undermine the Power, Purity and Position of the Gospel in daily life.
- the corruption of the education system by godless liberals, atheists and pagans.
- the lack of any leadership from the corner house to the church house to the state house and beyond,

Because God's undershepherds and His people have abandoned their posts to Sheol, we are left with the horrid panorama of direction less youth and listless adults. Fifty years ago, the great and late American radio host, Paul Harvey had a prophetic statement on his radio show, which has stood the test of time.

Paul Harvey spoke of things in this 50 year old audio clip, which did not even exist at that time in 1964, yet he was more than prescient, he was prophetic, as if the Lord Himself gave Paul those words. Listen to it and you will find motivation to try and effect transformation, rather conformity, in our own corner of our world. Good day!

READ:

America Gone Wild Part 1

America Gone Wild Part 2

America Gone Wild Part 3

KEYS TO A GODLY LIFE PART 12/12 - JUDGMENT DAY COMING

THE DAWN OF GLORY SERIES:

PLEASE READ THE PASSAGE, THEN - WATCH THE BRIEF EXPOSITION FROM THE PLUMBLINE VIDEO:

2 Peter 3:1-16

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away bythe error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

ALL SCRIPTURE FOR PARTS 1-12 OF THIS SERIES FROM BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

DOES GOD CARE?

YES HE DOES CARE!

“But what about the following….?”

 (READ ON---------------

CASE IN POINT:

Over three dozen people have been killed and many more injured, across five US states in the some extremely devastating tornadoes over the past week (March 2012).

From Indiana and Ohio, to Alabama again and Tennessee, homes are being wiped out and lives seemingly destroyed. The worst of the damage, along the Appalachian way seems to be in Kentucky. To make things even more unbearable, more snow is starting to fall in the Midwest and upper southern states than in the winter month of February.

A seeming miracle of the fifteen-month-old Angel Babcock of New Pekin, Indiana, found after her family's mobile home was destroyed in Friday's storms ended tragically. Angel was thrown 100 yards into a field after her entire family was picked up by the tornado there and flung across Creation. Her father, mother and two siblings were killed.

The stories are coming fast and furious over this and more as each week brings more heartache to another group of our fellow citizens.

CASE IN POINT:

Twelve year old Megan goes to a friend’s house for the night here in town. On the way to the Pancake House next morning, a drunk driver comes flying down Dirksen Parkway, runs the red light and plows into the minivan driven by the sleep-over friend’s mom. Megan, though wearing a seat belt, is killed instantly.

CASE IN POINT:

Last April 2011, the worst tornados ever, drove through central Alabama. It was a mile wide and sure death in its wake. Over 5000 buildings in the town, which is home to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, were destroyed. Over 300 persons lost their lives. Some of them lived in poverty in apartments.  Rosedale Court, a public housing complex, was destroyed, and thousands of apartments and homes in Alberta and Holt and in Forest Lake, Cedar Crest and other neighborhoods were heavily damaged and/or destroyed.

Of course, over in Joplin, Missouri, folks are yet to recover any semblance of normalcy, after the town was destroyed ten months ago…by yet another tornado. To make things worse, tornado season is right around the corner!

IS THIS GOD?

What do all of this have in common with each other? – Extreme Personal and Corporate Tragedy!

It is unimaginable to lose a young child forever…to a drunk driver or fatal disease.

It is unthinkable to watch a mile wide fast moving shroud of death, carrying the sound of 15 loud freight train engines at full roar…and there is no way to escape, hide or run from it.

It is unnerving to watch a wall of water, from all sides, heading for your home and livelihood, as you evacuate minutes before it happens.

It is stomach churning to approach your church in Joplin, find some of your congregants, whom you had seen hours before, dead in the tornado’s wake, while you yourself are suddenly trapped by debris in follow up winds.

Is this God?

America and the world watches these videos and photos from all these different tragic sites and are unable to process their thoughts accurately…and according to scripture.

From the Tsunami we watched LIVE in Japan a few months ago to this horrible and extended Tornado season, everyone from national network news anchor to the surviving victim themselves ask – “where was God?....How could He let this happen?....

I once heard ABC News Diane Sawyer, who is representative of most,  ask on ABC’s World News Tonight: “How can a loving God allow this”

THE ANSWER:

The answer is:  God is still loving, kind, compassionate and merciful. He is Holy God by Whose full Grace and mercy we are able to breathe in and out, for more than today. However, we have to go beyond just saying those words, to understanding its foundational truths…..and it all comes back to the Person of God. To do that, we look at the Attributes of God.

The Dictionary describes an “Attribute” is a special quality or characteristic of a person.

The Attributes of God are timely to attempt to comprehend, in these perilous times, where one could never know who will be next. I have always taught and promoted this – in order to claim, believe and fully appreciate the God Who offers these things, we have to know how credible He is!

This is not blasphemy! This is actually using the Word of God, guided by the Spirit of God to explain to a lost evolution-believing world, a process they would rather ignore.

The great Illinois preacher A.W. Tozer’s most famous book was “The Attributes of God”. He listed the following as God’s Attributes:
God is Infinite.  

God is Good.

God is Just.

God is Merciful.

God is Grace.

God is Omnipresent (everywhere at all times).

God is Immanent.

God is Holy.

God is Perfect.

While Tozer’s accurate description are tremendous and powerful, Judaism, from whence comes Christianity has such an elevated view of YahWeh or Holy God that I must share it here! It is completely Biblically based and in fact, since it is based on the Torah or the First Five books of the Bible, I believe it comes directly from the Lord as He imparted it to Moses!

Here are the 13 Attributes of Yahweh:

He is:

1.      God of mercy (before a man commits a sin);

2.      God of mercy (after a man commits a sin);

3.      Almighty Lord of the universe, Ruler of Nature, and Mankind;

4.      Full of affectionate sympathy for the suffering and miseries of human frailty;

5.      Assisting, helping and consoling the afflicted and raising up the oppressed;

6.      Long suffering and slow to anger;

7.      Abundant in goodness i.e. granting His gifts beyond the deserts of man;

8.      True to Himself and speaking the Truth in love;

9.      Remembering the good deeds of the ancestors for a thousand generations;

10.  Bearing with indulgence the failings of Man; and also

11.  Man’s evil deeds springing from malice and rebellion against God; and also

12.  Man’s shortcomings due to heedlessness and error;

13.  He will not allow the guilty to pass unpunished but visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him.

These are more in tune with what comes next – ORIGINAL SIN.

ORIGINAL SIN:

It is obvious Satan fell from grace and heaven BEFORE God created the Heavens and earth in Genesis 1.  When sin entered the world, the serpent was already at work to destroy perfection created by Holy God.

As a result of Original sin in Genesis 3 by Eve, all Creation move from peace and perfect joy to being cursed.  Because of the Attribute of God of the Old Testament (and New) He has to judge sin.  Therefore Adam’s physical environment had to change to suit his new fallen status where he would have to struggle to even make a meal or survive!

Since then, mankind has not only gotten more evil and rebellious but has followed the gods of this world in all its demonic activity, leading billions into the fiery pit of hell!

Creation has to continue to reflect this vile reality…and it does.  The Flood (Noah and the Ark); earthquakes, tsunamis, more floods, extreme climate and yes, tornados!

Jesus Himself warned in Matthew 24: 6-8 of these things! He said “⁶ And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. ⁷ Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. ⁸ But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come”.

This is the biblical background and the underlying reason we have, what we have as far as natural disasters! It had its roots in Original Sin!

Now many can choose not to believe this reasoning, but it is in the Word and I can defend it. However a better day is coming!

Just as we – those who have Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior and Lord – look forward to His Glorious Appearing, so does ALL CREATION!!! Yes, indeed!

The Apostle Paul was commissioned to bring Gentiles into the Kingdom of Heaven. He was PERSONALLY sent by the Lord Jesus after the Road to Damascus and three years in Arabia, learning directly from Christ.

Paul wrote the following prophesy in Romans 8:18-21” ¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. ¹⁹ For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. ²⁰ Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay!!!!”

There is coming a day with NO Tornados, Tsunamis, Floods earthquake and death! And the same created universe itself, which the world worships (instead of the CREATOR), literally can’t wait!!

THE FINAL ANALYSIS:

We mortals will never understand any or much of this until we get to Heaven. Remember God says in Isaiah 55:8 “"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD.”And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine”.

We can never understand all those “CASE IN POINTS” at the beginning of this essay, but we have to Trust HIM….unless you have another way!

When you are wondering why God does not answer your prayers – Trust Him.

When you are asking “did I do something wrong” - Trust Him.

When you are thinking that God hates you – Trust Him.

When you are wondering if you really have any Faith at all – Trust Him.

When you pray and pray and beg and petition and cry out and you or a loved one is not healed or delivered ….

When you pour out everything you’ve got and there is total silence from Heaven……

When your spouse runs out on you and has an affair or decides they “don’t love you anymore”…….and THEY are the ones who seem to prosper……

When your ungodly conduct of a live-in boy- or girl- friend leads this person to refuse to commit and want only a civil union……

When you try to quit smoking or drinking beer…and only end up drinking and smoking more….

When your life appears to be going to a place you never planned for, but circumstances or the economy or…..

When all this adversity happens…..When the entire world seems to fall down on you…..Look in the mirror first.

Search your own heart to see what sin you have committed to keep God from blessing you. Seek counsel for those things you may not be able to understand from Scripture.

God will not hear the prayer of a sinner who wants Him to bless unbiblical conduct, or at least say it is okay. The Bible says in John 9:31: We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but He is ready to hear those who worship Him and do His will.

Life is not a box of chocolates, as Forrest Gump says….the old 1970’s song said “I beg your pardon…I never promise you a rose garden”…and on and on. Many Christians – real or professing – think that because they are doing X or Y “for God”, everything will always turn out right. It will in Heaven. But while we are here on earth, when bad things happen, we may get hit by them too!

The Bible says that the rain falls equally on the Righteous (the Saved) and the Unrighteous (the majority) of the world (Matthew 5:45).

None of us love to see people hurting or killed and their lives and property completely destroyed, LIVE ON TV, by these tornados or massive waves coming off the ocean. But we can seek comfort in knowing that our Heavenly Father has prepared a place for us, if we are READY to meet Him.

Tomorrow is promised to nobody. The rest of today is NOT either. If a person is not right with God, has not made peace with Him and therefore, does not have her/his sins forgiven….and if an earthquake destroys us right now, there is NO second chance or “oops…give me a mulligan, Jesus”.

Be ready to be called home at any time.

Be right with God.

Be reasonable when trying to figure out all this devastation in the natural world.  Mourn with those who mourn and rejoice when miracles happen.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” says the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:4…let us, who know Truth, then do the same when the rest of us believe “God does not care”.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

(Images courtesy Google Images from recent tornado damage in Indiana)

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 23

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 23
GOD IS WRATHFUL


Think about this for a second - Holy Father, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit are up in heaven looking down on the unformed mass called planet Earth. Jesus speaks our world into existence and then all Three say "Let Us  make man in Our Image".

Adam the perfect man is breathed into existence, given everything and a beautiful woman....except one thing - Do not eat from that Tree! Sure enough, Adam broke covenant with the Maker and all hell has since broken loose! It got so bad around the time of Noah that God Himself regretted publicly that He even made mankind (Read Genesis 6).


There was not just vile and evil acts of men - murder, mayhem, greed, pride, idolatry, devil-worship etc.. - but the fallen angels were committing a no- no! Angels, who were created before man, began having sexual relations with women, because they saw how beautiful women were. This created the Nephillim as well as a breed of giants. 


In His Wrath, God destroyed the earth once by the Great Flood, when only Noah and his family were spared.
In His Wrath, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, not just for sexual perversion, but for the sins of pride, greed and idolatry.
In His Wrath, God destroyed the northern Kingdom of Israel, after they abandoned Him and committed the worst acts any human can devise.
In His Wrath, God destroyed Judah and Jerusalem by sending the Babylonians, after they did the same and both ignored prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah.


This is God's Corporate Wrath, where He judges an entire people. But what mortal men and women should be concerned about is His Personal Wrath! For 2000 years, the world has ignored the plain-as-day Message of Reconciliation brought from Heaven by Holy God, in the form of the Lord Jesus. The Ancient of Days, stepped off His Throne, gave up all His Rights to be born a baby in Bethlehem and lived for 33 years as a lowly man.


He showed us the Father in Heaven. 
He showed us the Love of God.
He showed us the Salvation of God.
He showed us the Way to God.
He showed us the Grace of God.


He was beaten. He was humiliated. He was persecuted and then killed by religious men. Yet He said not a word except "IT IS FINISHED". For that living Sacrifice of God, Who gave the explicit way back to Him, so that Adam's sin can be paid for, through all time, has been trivialized by evil men and women until today.


The majority will continue to rebel against Him. While they see no judgment coming, they live in perpetual sin and degradation. They mock God. They blaspheme God. They spit in His Eye. They curse Him. They deny Jesus Christ and more. They have no idea they are storing up Wrath for themselves. But a day is coming, declares the Lord. Read the following two distinctive passages from the prophet Nahum and then pray with me:

The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
(Nahum 1:2-3 ESV)

Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
The LORD is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
(Nahum 1:6-8 ESV)


Father in the Name of Jesus, I thank You that You are patient with us. I thank You that You did not destroy us again, after the Great Flood, where You gave Your rainbow as a covenant You will never flood the earth like that again to wipe out evil man and his sin.


I thank You that You gave a way of escape from the coming Wrath and Judgment through the Passover Lamb, Who died on the Cross for my sins.  I thank You that You gave us the church age so that we may be saved, before the Day comes when it is no longer available.


Lord, day after day, night after night, many of all ages, including those who call themselves Christians die in their sins because, for their own stupid personal reasons, they refuse to come to You, to seek forgiveness and make their peace with You. Countless billions will spend eternity in Hell and the Lake of Fire, away from You, because they believed the Lie from the Pit.

They believed the Lie that it's okay to believe what they want.
They believed the Lie that they can say what they wish against the Lord Jesus.
They believed the Lie that there are other ways to You and Heaven apart from Jesus.
They believed they Lie that they can live as they wish, with no cost..."because in the end, it will all work out"!
They believed the Lie that a "Loving God won't send me to hell", while rebelling against You all the days of their lives. 

While they believe all those Lies, Father, they stored up Wrath for themselves, which they will realize on the moment of their death, means eternal separation from You. Still, while they stored all of that up, You gave them the way of escape through Belief and Forgiveness through the Son, Jesus...and they continue to ignore it. You could wipe all that away, if they would just come to the Cross!!!!

Father, in these last days, I pray many will open their eyes and hearts, before it is too late for them...and I pray many will see the signs of the Times and confess with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord....and BE SAVED through His Blood and His Name, amen and amen! Oh God, let it be so, in Jesus' Holy and Precious Name, amen!

TOMORROW: GOD IS FULL OF GRACE

(image by google images)