UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER, PART 3 - PASSION FOR THE MISSION

What are your motives for ministry? A good friend of mine was telling me recently how he went from unsaved skeptic to fired up leader for Jesus Christ, being now, on a variety of media just going full bore with the Gospel of Life. When he was in college, a well-known fire and brimstone evangelist at the time visited the church, to which my friend was invited. 

At this time, my good brother was close to giving his life to Christ, but if he was not at the very door of salvation, he would have walked away from the Church. This preacher proceed to hit him over the head with the Bible, telling him he would be going to hell now, if he didn't say "the Prayer". Obviously, if the preacher's tactics had worked, he would have a good story to tell at this next stop, to make HIMSELF look good to the people listening.

This is absolutely not biblical and wrong way for the surrendered Christian to evangelize and make disciples. Unconditional Surrender to the Will and Ways of God extend even to this aspect of our lives. When Christ rescued us from the pit and brings us into the right relationship with the King of Heaven, we want to tell someone....or a whole bunch of people. However we have to do according to Biblical principles, to be an effective witness for the Gospel, which would be pleasing to the Lord. Pride is an abomination to Him.

This is how the Lord teaches, through Paul. This is how it works, remembering at all times, to be mindful to Whom we belong and to WHOM we owe everything. Before reading this passage, please pray for the Lord to open our minds, give us wisdom and then give someone to whom to share the Gospel. 

1 Thessalonians 1:3-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB):

3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.

As we pray and commit current and future opportunities to witness to others for Jesus Christ, not the following methods God's Agent of Change the Apostle Paul used:

  -  In verse #3 always be aware of your surroundings and the people to whom we are ministering, or potentially reaching. Take nothing for granted. What worked in one place, may not work in another. Then pray this opportunity up to the Lord, give it to Him, and then go do the work in Love. 

 -  Reread verses 3 and 4 above and it will become evident to us, that the Power and Presence of God MUST be in present in our evangelistic opportunity for conviction of sin and turning to Christ to be the result. 

  -  Be not like that self-absorbed evangelist I mentioned at the beginning of this post who was just trying to get another notch in his belt. Be like the sold-out apostle of Christ here - Paul - who bore his burden for the people of God, with love.

  -  As we surrender the opportunity before us, into the Hands of the Holy Spirit of God, any pushback we get (and we may most likely get more pushback in the beginning, than a welcome sign). Verse 6 talks about tribulation. This world hates us, hates our Faith and are enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be more obstacles than welcome signs. But remember, this is not about us, but the One Who has rescued us. At the same time, be aware of the joy of being counted as one who is worthy to be persecuted for Jesus, just as all twelve of Jesus' real disciples were.

Wisdom, Godly wisdom, is allowing God to do His Work, through the Holy Spirit and His Word, rather than us attempting things in our own power, for our own satisfaction. Trust God with our evangelistic opportunities and watch Him work, for His own glory. This is the only pathway to pure Godly passion for the mission.

(Image Credit Here)

WORD OF LIFE, PART 11: "WINESKIN IN THE SMOKE"

Smoke is generally a good thing when used to cook tasty, well-seasoned meat or even cure those meats as is still done in homes and countries around the world. However we all know that most times oft, where there is smoke, there is fire….and some fires destroy. 

In ancient days, most fires burned inside of tents – whether large or medium or in the courtyards of a collection of homes, where families resided together. And so it was, during bible times. In those days, as well, the means of transporting water (or wine) were in wineskins. These were pouches made of leather which held the beverage in, perfectly, for as long as they were maintained in good condition. That is, until smoke got a hold of these wineskins.

Think of all the bible-based movies you have seen on television or the movie screen, or even the free billion copy giveaway classic – “The Jesus Film” – and you will see the kind of tent or courtyard of which we speak. It was also a habit of the holders of these wineskins, usually mostly men, to hang their wineskins on poles to the entrance of their tents. Over time, this habit actually led to the smoke from inside of the tent or even the middle of the small family courtyards finding its way into the very fabric of the wineskin. The result over a fairly short period of time is the breakdown of the leather, which forms the “skin”. It becomes brittle and eventually cracks. Here to forth, the wineskin is destroyed.
Psalm 119:81-88
Kaph.
81   My soul languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.
82   My eyes fail with longing for Your word, while I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83   Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
84   How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85   The arrogant have dug pits for me,  men who are not in accord with Your law.
86   All Your commandments are faithful; they have persecuted me with a lie; help me!
87   They almost destroyed me on earth, but as for me, I did not forsake Your precepts.
88   Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
In Psalm 119:83 we read of our true and faithful servant of the Lord beginning to feel like that wineskin which seemingly absorbs all this smoke – day after day, night after night. Like any real wineskin, this can only go on for so long before there is a crack up. This is precisely what appears to have happened to “Christian” as he (or she) journeys through life.

It brings to mind Paul’s famous quote in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 "we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." Like Paul, Psalm 119:81-88 shows us a fellow believer in God who similarly, realizes where his lies – IN GOD!

This is the encouragement of us modern day Christians – men, women, teenagers, millennials and anyone without hope.  Life in the 21st century is not easy for those of single-minded faith in the one True God of the Bible, the Maker of heaven and earth.  Regardless of how easy, thoughtful and scientific our faith is, the forces arrayed against the person in this psalm, whom I call “Christian” (a la Pilgrim’s Progress), were the same forces aligned Jesus Christ during His trial and crucifixion. 

Like Paul, we can also feel under attack by the steady, pungent and often dense smoke of unwanted trials, tribulation and persecution.  Like Paul, we can rest assured that our hope is in the Lord (verse 81).  Sometimes our eyes are made dim by the smoke of unrighteousness and we strain to see the promised better day (verse 82), but it does not mean, that day of redemption is not coming,

Even while we wonder “oh how long shall the wicked reign and the people of God suffer loss” (verses 84 and 85), we know that the Justice and Goodness of Almighty God lie in His Word, His Statues, His Precepts and all of His commands. While we may not see immediate justice from above, we know that certain terrible day IS coming. What is more achievable and desirable, is to ask for the Lord’s Mighty Hand of protection (verse 86).

Just like our Christian brethren in several difficult parts of the world, most authentic believers will never abandon the Lord and His Word.  It is not because we have been deceived or promised some mysterious “pie in the sky”. The bottom line is  women and men of the Cross (or the Book, as some call us) know with every fiber of our being that all of this is absolutely true! We possess something (or Someone) which the world cannot see, take or deny and this is the Holy Spirit of God.

He is the same Holy Spirit to whom we can pray for the Lord to spare our lives, from those who hate us (verse 88), so that we may continue to serve Him. Most time oft, He does. However, if perchance, God has another plan, in His unfailing love He allows us to come on home,  our broken and smoke damaged wineskin, will be filled with new and more divine supernatural "wine" which only the redeemed can taste. Amen.

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF BIBLE TRUTHS - DAY 20 (DRIVEN)

BIBLE VERSE: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13)

TRUTH: Christians who are tuned in to the work of God and the persecution facing His saints worldwide have been aware for years now about a young American pastor named Saeed Abedini. Pastor Saeed was captured by Iranian authorities when he was visiting his Iranian relatives just for being a Christian. Put in one of the worse prisons in that islamic dictatorship, Saeed was brutalized constantly for many years by the Persians to get him to deny Christ. Reports came out that they denied him medical treatment; beat on his vital organs and put him in sub-human conditions. Still he would not deny Christ and quite the opposite, his wife (who lives in Wyoming) reports that he was actually leading other prisoners to a saving knowledge of Christ! 

As of last fall, Saeed had already led 30 men to Christ in the midst of torture by the islamic authorities. Saeed was released in January 2016. However, he was driven by the Gospel of Jesus, just as the Apostle Paul was he and Silas were jailed in Philippi for preaching Christ. Paul and Silas were so full of the Holy Spirit that they sang psalms and hymns while in chains. The Philippian jailor eventually responded to them after it all came down, "sirs, what must I do to be saved"? Most Christians will never experience these extreme forms of persecution, but we should ask ourselves: "Are we as driven to live the Joy of Jesus so we can share the Truth of Jesus to a lost and perishing world, regardless the circumstance?"

(Image Credit Here)

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH - NOVEMBER 8 & EVERYDAY

Indonesian church torched by extremists (Open Doors photo)

Two days have been set aside recently for as International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church in 2015 - November 1 and November 8. As mentioned last Sunday, the main request of persecuted Christians is to "please pray for us". Most western Christians completely ignore their own lost neighbors and friends, to begin with, and therefore, have no thought for those who are under the gun or the desert sword of another religion.  

It is imperative that we go to the Scriptures for them in prayer and supplication today and for the rest of this week....not to mention everyday or as much as we can. Please read these short devotionals, at your convenience as to the importance. One in particular should be read above all (halfway down the web-page) called "DON'T STAND IN SILENCE". God will hold us accountable for our actions one day, one of this is the sin of omission, when the cost was just a prayer in the comfort of our homes.

To that effect, here are some more prayer points to add on to those supplied last week to consider and prayer for our persecuted brethren, around the world. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE VOICE OF THE MARTYRS PERSECUTION PRAYER ACTION POINTS.

1. That God would give them the right words and that they would fearlessly make Christ known. Here Paul tells how to pray for him when he was suffering for Christ in jail -- notice his prayer was not for release. Ephesians 6:19-20 "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Colossians 4:2-4 "Devote yourselves to prayer... praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." 

2. That they will see God's grace as sufficient and God's power perfected in their weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Many of the pastors, evangelists and workers who are beaten and imprisoned for their bold witness leave behind sons, daughters and spouses to fend for themselves. Pray for wives of those imprisoned. With the absence of the breadwinner, the responsibility for caring and feeding of the family falls on the wife. Sometimes the wife is also forced to provide for her husband in prison (often the case in Vietnam). If she is also arrested, then together they have to bear the anguish of leaving often quite young children to fend for themselves. Pray for them. 

3. That they would love Christ's appearing all the more. 2 Timothy 4:5-8 "I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." Hebrews 11:35 "...others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection". 

4. That they will rejoice in sharing the sufferings of Jesus so that they will rejoice even more when Christ is revealed. Hebrews 10:34 "...accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one." Matthew 5:12 "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." I Peter 4:13 "but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation." 

5. That they will endure. Hebrews 10:36 "For you have need of endurance". Hebrews 5:8 "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered." Pray for Christian work among refugees. Pray that as the refugees are led to Christ, they will be willing to return to their countries to take the Gospel back with them. 

6. That they will love Christ far more than life itself. Revelation 12:10-11 "they overcame (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death." Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." 

(Prayer points supplied by Voice of the Martyrs. Visit for more information)

THE SITUATION DEMANDS THE SOLUTION - BE STRONG, BE COURAGEOUS

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:8-9
THE SITUATION:

Every Sunday morning as I drive by the lake on the way to church, even in the winter, there are always guys out on their boats fishing for fish they can't eat (because of mercury in the water), and most often, so small they have to throw it back into the water anyway. If there ever was a pointless exercise, this is it.

From Spring to Fall, the brand new sports complex, with its six baseball/soccer fields, are packed with children and their minivan-driving parents playing the town version of little league baseball, or some community soccer thing. Sunday mornings are their favorite time to be overflowing with humanity. Afterwards, they may go through the Steak and Shake drive-thru for burgers and shakes and head home to relax for the next week's activities. 

Golf courses are full on Sunday mornings. The over-priced Starbucks and others like it are packed with brunch-eaters and their electronics. The upscale set visit their favorite brunch or lunch place at the Crowne Plaza or the local Eatery or Bistro. Some just sleep in from the Saturday night hangover, or the late night movie watching so they can watch sports all day, cuss at the TV and eat nachos.

This is Western "Civilization". There is the alternate universe- people who are saying for all the world to hear, that their islam is NOT "the religion of peace", are systematically wiping out God's Elect - Christians - across the Middle East and Africa, Asia and Southeast Asia. This is happening in full brutal color while the turban-clad sad excuses for humans persecute the "people of the Cross", thinking they are getting back at the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The two parallels do not sync in the human consciousness. Most westerners, including presidents, prime ministers and kings, pretend the one thing (anti-Christian bigotry) does not exist and therefore, the residents of the west do not care either, about the barbarism from a violent 1400 year old religion. That includes the majority of celebrity American and other western church leaders, from Jakes to Osteen to Warren to Stanley to Brian Houston in Australia...none are even asking for prayer for the persecuted! They WILL be held accountable (by God) for that more than any secular politician, who calls themselves a Christian because "Christian" is a respectable title.

But for the people of the Book in persecuted Third World, Arabic and other nations and increasingly here in the west where the United States Supreme Court may soon legalize the persecution of Christ's church, God has the final word. He also has the same word He had because He never changes. The Words of God are written forever in the Heavens. They are written down in 66 Books of the Bible. They are real. They are powerful. They are real powerful and they are the Truth.

When Yahweh (I Am Who I Am, the real name of Jesus Christ) brought His people (Israel) out of slavery and captivity and into the Promised Land after a long time in the wilderness, He gave them this encouragement from Joshua Chapter 1 (see the two verses at the top of this post). This, as is emphasized by Paul, is NOT just for Joshua, but for all peoples of all times who are released from the bondage of sin, despair, death and hell by repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Messiah, Lord and ruler of our lives. This promise above stands firm, true and in effect for the following:
- The saints who are being murdered for being Christians since 2003 in Iraq and across the entire Middle East.
- The saints, from little kids in Christian schools in Nigeria and Kenya to entire villages in India and Pakistan, who are being tortured and burned alive by "men" of the "religion of peace".
- The saints who are slandered and worse in Ireland, England, Canada and increasingly in the United States, which was actually founded on Christian principles. 
- The saints of the coming Tribulation. These are those who will be left behind when the "harpazo" or "taking up" or the "rapture" (from the Latin word for "taking up") happens before Revelation Chapter 6. There will be several million saved during the Tribulation but they will not survive after their conversion as the anti-Christ will be in charge of the world, when Christ takes His Elect home.
THE SOLUTION:
These words can be relied upon. The takeaways from His Promises in Joshua 1:8-9
**This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth - If you are truly born-again and know it and Christ lives in you, through the Holy Spirit, you instinctively know that this is true, that the Bible is true and His Promises are REAL!
** You shall meditate on it day and night - Because all His Words/Promises are true, embed it in every fiber of your being and it cannot help but shine through you as you live, walk, talk and operate as He would. There is NO other way to do this than through Prayer, Pleading, Pondering on and Proclaiming His Word.

** Be careful to do according to all that is written in it - This is not a passive, mindless  religion with fictional benefits if you do "x, y or z". This is REAL....and really interactive. Be careful means - be obedient. The man or woman or child of God, through Christ, will automatically want to do what He said....and even when we fall short (sin), our consciences bring us back to the Cross in repentance and liberating joy! Only Jesus can do that!
** Be strong and courageous - this is a difficult one for real Christians in the west, when we see what is coming to our own countries. We see what it has cost people in China, North Korea and all the islamic and Hindu countries. But the most subtle persecution will be coming from those who call themselves Christians in the west, but are actually working against God. The only way to stand in this and be strong and full of courage is Radical Faith in the Son of God. Surrender to Christ equals standing in the face of danger and modern evil.
** Do not tremble or be dismayed - it is natural to tremble and shake in the face of rampant evil in the world today. But we are in the realm of the Supernatural. The Spirit Who raised Christ from the Dead on Resurrection morning, lives in every truly born-again believer. This is a cause for calm, contentment, certainty and courage in the face of what is happening now and the worse, which is yet to come.

God gives the bottom line to all of this in the final phrase of Joshua 1:9 and it is the reason for our Hope, Our Faith and our Standing. Yahweh says (in light of all of what He said previously in Verses 8 and 9), "for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go'.

I believe Him. 

As for the Sunday morning do-nothing crowds in restaurants, ball-games and lakes, they have a relatively short time to wake up and see what is ahead of them, if they refuse to recognize Jesus, in this life, is their Lord and Messiah. Eternity is a long time to be separated from Him.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TODAY - DAY 5 of 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;

He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:8-12)

Oh Most Heavenly, Kind, Gracious and ever-loving Father, we have lost our fear of You, no longer stand in awe of You and disrespect You at every turn. In fact, Great God of Heaven, we are more in awe of ourselves and who we think we are, how good and powerful we are when we are nothing but dust dressed in filthy rags, on our way to perdition as a people, who have completely lost our minds and our ways.

Father, our Families have failed You. We have become just like the world inside as well as outside. We have allowed garbage into our homes via the television sets instead of turning it off. We get caught up in the latest crazes and waste money on them. We have let family hour go where we cease to communicate with our children about what is going on in our schools and their lives. We no longer train up a child in the way he or she should go, so they will not depart from it. We don't do those things because we are lax in our personal prayer and devotional lives to You, Almighty God. We now longer make the Bible the cornerstone on which we build the foundation of our homes, still we call ourselves Christians and drive up to Starbucks on the way to church so we can put on a nice show on Sunday mornings. There is no shame anymore as the inside of some of these youth groups are no different than what goes on inside a secular malt shop or drive-in movie. Lord have mercy on our families! Christ and His Righteousness no longer seems to be the Master of our Homes. We repent of that and it stops today. We return to our first love and the original mission of the family, which is to be united in Christ and Godly, missional and focused on You, in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

Sovereign God, King of the Universe, why do these nations rage and the corrupt evil people of this world imagine a vain thing. Like Lucifer in Isaiah 14, they have assumed unto themselves at the United Nations, in presidential palaces and houses of power, in media halls and colleges, the vain deception that it is NOT YOU Who are in control but man. This is the same deception which led to the evil one's fall with one third of the angels that You are not sovereign over anything at all, in fact they shove the lie of evolution and climate change into the minds of children, turning them from you, hour after hour, day after day until our young people can find no purpose in their lives and seek it in the man-made systems and pleasures which leadeth to destruction. We know You said it would be better if a millstone were put around the necks of those miscreants and they be cast to the bottom of the sea for misleading Your little ones, but they have no respect for You as they blaspheme Your Name and in fact, worship other pagan non-existent gods, protect those idols and then persecute and kill Your saints in the Middle East and everywhere else. They brainwash even small children now, with sensual matters of the flesh which Thou hast ordained for married adults. Lord, have mercy on our children and the generations to come, if You tarry.

Lord, this nation was built on religious freedom by authentic women and men of God who risked their lives in their former homes, to sail the deep blue and create the greatest country which ever was. America was synonymous with Christianity for a century, and was blessed with untold riches in resources, people and ingenuity. But now, we have lost our way, as our religious leaders are hiding in their posh caves, behind their BMW's and $65 million dollar aircraft and ministries, pretending to speak for You, while the nation is heading straight into hell. Father, oh Most Powerful and Great God, we repent and submit to the Judgment of drought, famine and disease which are coming our way, and is already here in California and elsewhere, and seek to return to You. On behalf of the remnant of our fellow believers, we ask forgiveness for turning away from You and following after this seedy culture when Christ is all we need, and all sufficient for us. Even if they say we cannot say His Name in public, He lives in our hearts and the hearts of all who are saved by Him, so let us live in such a manner than they will know we are Christians by our love, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Lord Your bride the church has failed You. We let others do what you called us to do, and they made slaves to men for their meager bread and row paneled houses instead of making servants for the King. We have developed programs to feed our egos and grow men's kingdoms instead of telling of the Kingdom of God. We have preached fell good messages so people giving money won't go to the other "tickle-your-ears" church with the fancy coffee and pastry down the street and then put it on TV for other people to be misled. We have ceased making disciples and holding prayer services to instead have fancy conferences and seminars to tell ourselves how smart we are. We have ceased from proclaiming the urgency and evil of the times and instead are telling people, who sit in comfortable pew chairs, that Jesus is coming any minute, so we can just keep sitting there. There is no love for the lost, no passion or hunger to help the hurting and the hopeless and most times not even a prayer for the persecuted. Lord, we are completely ashamed and embarassed to even look to Heaven  and cry out to you, because we are part of churches who do all of the above and more. We repent, right now, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, for all our short-comings. May this insane and purposeful failure to obey You, cease this day and may we according to Your Will, Word and Statutes, now and always remain, abide and walk with You, surrendering our lives to You, in the Name of the Messiah, Jesus the King, amen. 

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY THIRTEEN:

VERSE:

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world....John 16:33

PRAYER:

Father, oh Most Merciful and Compassionate God, Your children in far away lands are united in one thing - their love for Christ. This Love compels them to stand strong as their persecutors in the lands of the pagan religions of the Middle East, Asia, the Far East and the atheist countries of socialism oppress them. Lord our spiritual hearts and minds grieve for our brothers and sisters who are in constant tribulation and trials, sometimes by literal fire, but You are removing the dross now even as we pray.

Lord, even as they cry out in their pain and suffering, even as they plead for mercy and some human decency from the hoards of hell, let loose for over 1400 years now by those who follow moon gods, 300 millions non-existent idol "gods" or no god, You constantly hear their cries around Your Throne. You hear them because their pleadings and prayers have come before You rising as bowls of incense, as our High Priest Jesus intercedes for them and us.

We pray for Your saints persecuted in Nigeria as their schools and villages are burned down, and the world stays silent in the face of this evil. We pray for Christians in the old Bible lands of Nineveh (Mosul), Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and others in between the land of the Levant, that You deal with those who abuse Your people, in Your own way, in Your own time. We pray for those in the lands of India where You sent the Apostle Thomas and the millions there are told to convert to the hinduism and its idolatry or else. We pray for our brethren in China, whose millions now outnumber the godless and evil communist party in power there for over 60 years. 

May their tears become like a river of life to those of us in the west who pray for them who pray for their courage and boldness to hold up in the face of this rampaging evil. Lord, on behalf of these tribulation saints, we claim Your promise and Your exhortation, Lord Jesus that You have not only overcome the world, the god of this world, the systems of this world and the persecutors of this world who are unknowingly storing up wrath for themselves, but You give freely to those who seek favor, courage, mercy, love, hope, conviction and faith. We pray this day for all of that, from the Throne of Grace to those being constantly refined in the fire and for those of us, who have it within our power to pray and help, and yet stay silent or worse. We pray and ask and bow down before Your Throne, in Jesus' Strong and Mighty Name, amen.

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWELVE:

VERSE:

As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him....(1 John 2:27)

PRAYER:

Most gracious, kind merciful Heavenly Father, Who gives all things to all all people, we thank You for the special "chrisma" (gift of anointing) You have given Your anointed and those upon whom You have placed a special calling to reach, teach, preach and outreach to a lost and dying world. These are those who are truly called by Your Name, those who have been reborn and brought into the Kingdom of Your Son.

Because You have given us Your Spirit, we cannot be deceived by the god of this world and even if distracted, we shall soon learn the errors of our ways. There are some things which bible colleges, Sunday School teachers and preachers cannot teach and that is how to listen to You, how to respond to You and how to obey the promptings and directions which Your Holy Spirit, Who is our true friend in the Faith imparts and inputes into us. He infuses more oil and blessing daily from our first calling on our lives and the Truth can only be found in Him.

So most compassionate, gracious and long-suffering God, we lift up on this special day of recognition of Your anointing on the lives of your true followers, those who take this Word across the globe. We lift up Your missionaries who abide and rest more on You for their moment by moment nourishment, guidance, protection and direction than the rest of us. Lord, not only are Your true missionaries, i.e., those whom You have actually sent out to dangerous and seemingly unproductive lands, not only are they solely dependent on You, but sometimes they lose courage in the face of evil persecution as seen with Your servants the Burnhams when Martin was killed by islamic guerrillas in the Philippines in 2002. Lord as the flesh told Gracia, his dear wife to see revenge, Your Grace and Your Love encouraged her to show love, mercy and compassion. Because of that, she "learned to fly again" and won many more souls to Christ, a testimony for us not to give up and even in the pain and suffering in her own family, to see the bigger picture of the Love You have, which put Christ on the Cross.

Father, we also pray for those of us who are missionaries in our own "Jerusalem"- namely outside our own front doors. May we never tire of the hard work that it is to reach on and teach and care for the lost when their hearts are so hard and they literally hate You, while professing to love and know You at Christmas and Easter time. Father, we pray for those of us that we persevere, never give in, never give up and in fact live up to the standards and the call with which You have have called. We do this because Your Call is True, Your Word is True, Your Love is True and Your Promises are Yes and Amen....and we believe it, because of Jesus Christ, our soon coming Lord and Savior, in His Name, amen.

THE GREATEAST SHOUT-OUT EVER (OR RAPTURE READY!)

This is the main reason why Christians should not be caught up in the culture, corruption and condition of society and why we are called to Holiness, being set apart for a latter day of Glory.  This concept also demands a direct and complete comprehension of General Grace and Goodness of God as well as the Saving Grace He dispenses to those who repent and accept Jesus as Lord.  Just briefly, General Grace is what God gives to all – air to breathe; rain for the crops; a home and a job and even all kinds of wisdom and wealth. 

As for the latter, think of men like Einstein (atheist); or even a libertine like Hugh Hefner: or all those Hollywood and tech billionaires; or the oil sheiks in the Middle East with the golf faucets and private jets. Their fame, wealth and extravagant, immoral living are only for a fleeting time in this life, for which they will be held accountable before the Holy One on the Great Day of the Lord. Now, they may not believe this is coming, but it is. In fact the majority of people in the western world think that those of us who believe in the so-called “Rapture” are touched in the head and off our collective rockers. They even say the word “rapture” is not even in the Bible! They are correct! The word is NOT. Rapture is the English word for the Latin translation the Bible (Jerome’s Vulgate) for being "caught up". 

We read, directly from the LORD to His messenger Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord". 

So there IS going to be a taking out of God's True People.  That also means there is going to be a leaving behind of fake Christians, cultural Christians, professing with their mouths-not-their-hearts "Christians", in fact anyone who does not have sins forgiven and have possession of Jesus Christ as LORD of their lives will be left behind. This is not some extremist wishful thinking or made up story. This is literally - Gospel! Here is the Creator Himself: "....and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.… (Matthew 24:39-41).

People in the mainline liberal protestant and other eastern churches disbelieve that at their own risk.  The main reasons for the declining mainlines churches and the Eastern Orthodox churches for not fully engaged in this Truth revolve around a total lack of knowledge of Full Counsel of God through Scripture, the Deity of Christ and the lack of understanding of what being "born-again"/rejuvenation really means.

This is the church. What about the many billions who refuse the free offer of Grace and the Gospel? What about those from the other "religions" and cults? Surely a Good God would not send them to hell, would He? Surely, some of these people passed laws giving people free housing in projects and public assistance to survive and do so for social justice. Surely, God (if He exists according to the atheists) would give all these and the atheists, and the blasphemers, and the persecutors a pass? 

There is no foundation for that wishful thinking, anywhere and in any theology. We fully expect the unredeemed to speak like that, but increasingly, more and more evangelicals are lining up with the rest of the perishing world and buying that "everybody gets in" fiction. In fact, more and more of them in today's mega-churches - almost 60% according to George Barna - are saying there are other ways to the Jesus Who said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life...no one comes to the Father but through Me".

There is much more to this event of the ages, which is one day closer each day. More qualified people than I have addressed this fully and more in-depth, but this brief analysis is just to give hope to those who feel alienated from their hometowns and states and even the various countries, who read this blog on a regular basis. Whether you are under the boot of the resurgent communist party of Cuba, Russia or China....or secularist persecution in Europe/North America...or those of the moon-god religions of the east, there IS coming a day when the Midnight Cry will ring out from the Holy Angels. 

There is coming a day when the Master and the Commander in Chief of Heaven's Armies - Jesus - will say to His legions: "Go get my children". That day, will be the day, when all this insidious political correctness; all this evil; all this hatred against Christians in Nigeria, Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, Pakistan, India, China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and even in so-called "enlightened" countries of the West....that will be the day when Jesus will separate His sheep (us in the church) from the rest and we will be in a state of eternal bliss, all together in the Presence of His Royal Majesty, forever and ever, amen.

(Photo and more on the Rapture @ Now The End Begins)

LOOKING FOR A CITY .....(OUTSIDE THE CAMP)

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:12-14
(Bible Gateway- NASB)

Any study of the history of Christianity will reveal the sheer brutality which the persecutors of the Lord Jesus visited on those who followed His teachings, His Truth and His Way. The first three centuries were highlighted by the blood of the martyrs, who laid the cornerstone for the Faith we enjoy today. The first to shed His Blood was the Master Himself - the Ancient of Days, the Great I Am - YHWH - Who descended to reconcile man back to God. He was nailed to a Cross, suffered and died by evil men - Romans and Jews. 

Stephen was the first martyr of the modern church, led outside the gates (outside the camp as verse 13 above says) to be stoned by priests. Present was one zealot by the name of Saul. When Christ saved Saul on the Road to Damascus and changed his name to Paul, the latter spent and give his life in hot pursuit of souls to make up for what he had done to followers of the Way in the past. Every disciple of Jesus Christ was martyred except John. He wrote the Books of John, 1/2/3 John and the Revelation of Jesus Christ and died of natural causes at the ripe old age of 95.

The protective valley of Pella, Jordan,  where God sent the first

Christians from Jerusalem to save them from Titus (AD 70)

Photo Credit: www.bibleistrue.com

CHRISTIANS SAVED FROM ROMAN DESTRUCTION IN AD 70
When Jerusalem fell to the Roman General Titus in 70 AD as prophesied by Jesus Himself in detail in Matthew 24, not one Jewish Christian was killed because the Lord had removed His remnant and hidden them in a place called Pella. The Book of Hebrews was written, before this crucial event, to some of these same brethren to encourage them as they were persecuted by the Pharisees. The Lord knew this was coming down and wanted His elect to be fully aware of what they believed. The majority heeded the advice of the Apostle Paul in this Book and while the Romans killed millions at Masada and by starvation etc. in Jerusalem, King Herod Aggripa II welcomed the Elect to Pella. Pella is a city in the Decapolis which is just beyond the Jordan River.

To the Jew of the period, Jerusalem was the sacred and eternal City of God. The Good News is - Jerusalem STILL IS and will always be! But verse 14 above instructs those of us who are now in a spiritual "Pella" that this city is still to come. It is known in Scripture as the "NEW JERUSALEM".  This is a part of our history, as believers, to which scant attention is paid. 

We can look at End Times prophesy, as pre-Wrath/pre-tribulation believers, and

Petra, Jordan, future hiding
place of the Jewish Remnant
Photo: www.gomadnomad.com

are certain as to the taking out (rapture) of the church. Scripture tells of the hiding of the Jewish remnant which will be saved during the Tribulation, in the protected city of Petra. Just as the Lord saved the first Jewish Christians from the rampaging Romans in AD 70 by sending them to Pella, the one third of modern Israel which will be saved (during the Great Tribulation) will be housed in Petra - both being in the area of Jordan...both being "outside the camp"!

OUTSIDE THE CAMP
But what does this "outside the camp" really mean? Well, the answer is actually in the brief passage above! Followers of Jesus Christ know His Word and His Word dwelleth within. Therefore, we instinctively know that Scripture explains Scripture, because the Same Holy Spirit Who inspired the writers of the Bible to physically write down these words, lives inside everyone who is truly born again and rejuvenated, as adopted son or daughter of Abba.

Verse 12 (Hebrews 13) says Jesus suffered outside the gate...that He may continue to mold us into His Image (sanctify). We know He was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem and died for the sins of all mankind, for all time. Therefore we are to "remain outside the gates" of the world as well, so that we remain worthy of being continually cleansed into spiritual growth, by His Precious Cleansing Supernatural Blood.
This means while we live in this world, our entire being - body/mind/soul - are to be set apart OUTSIDE of this corrupt system of the evil one in order to be aligned with His Holiness, His Truth, His Cleansing Power and His Righteousness. Anything else is anathema. Any other doctrine is the doctrine of demons. Any compromise to co-exist outside of the Will of God is idolatry and all three of these will be punished in the Judgment. We must NOT defile the sacrifice He made outside the Gate on Calvary, by running back into the City of Sin and its closed walls of death.

Verse 13 (Hebrews 13) gives us the road map of where we are to land, once we have made the conscious and intellectual decision to allow His Sanctification into His Image and Likeness. There is a work to be done. This work is not for the purpose of salvation but for the principle of submission. Here is where the majority of professing Christians in the western hemisphere (mostly North America and even Australia/the UK) have a problem. The verse says "let us go to Him outside the camp BEARING HIS REPROACH"!
There is a cost to this. We are not going to be loved and tolerated, even by those who like to talk about "love and tolerance". The biggest enemy of the true church is, get this - the apostate church! We already know who the atheists are and their modus operandi. We already see what false religions are doing to God's people in the Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa and Asia. But it is those who claim the Name of Jesus and constantly select out of context phrases from the Sermon on the Mount, while rejecting the Diety of Christ and the Inerrancy of the Word, are stumbling blocks. You and I will lose many of these as friends. Some of them walked with us, ate with us, and even went to church with us....but when the rubber met the road and then it came to the point of going outside the Culture and the demands of the Corrupt modern societal norms, they walked from Jesus just like those "disciples" of John 6:66. Are you ready to bear the reproach...which in today's definition means - the insults, mocking and cursing by the lost because you and I have Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior? Only those to whom Jesus is LORD will persevere to the end.

Verse 14 (Hebrews 13) is the reward as well as the exhortation to not look back on the door that just slammed behind us as we walked away from the perishing of this evil world (in spirit and in truth). He says "we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come". Therefore what He (the Spirit) means is what the old baseball legend, Satchel Paige from the old Negro Leagues of 100 years ago once said "Don't look back, something mighty be gaining on you"!
This word specifically implies that the former abode from which Christ rescues us - IS NOT GOING TO LAST! Thus, He wants us, because we are now being molded and shaped into what Christ wants ....and because we have gone outside the gates, and turned from the fleeting/useless love and praise of mortal men into the growing in grace and maturity of the True Worshipper by taking the heat as a Disciple, we can now keep our eyes up to the skies, from whence cometh our help!

That help is the home which He first promised us in John 14:1 ("in My Father's House there are many rooms"). Those "rooms" reside in the Eternal City of the New Jerusalem! This eternal and everlasting city, where none of the filth, corruption, political correctness, distractions and diabolical plans of this current system exist, is the 100% REAL hope of the Believer. 
This will be the home of Stephen, stoned outside Jerusalem while the future Apostle Paul held the coats of his murderers. 
This will be the home of Paul, beheaded in Rome by Nero. 
This will be the home of Polycarp who refused to bow and burn incense to an evil one like Caesar. 
This will be the home of Athanasius, St. Nicholas, John Hus, Tyndale, Wightman, Jim Elliott, Pastor Saeed and the millions and millions of Christians from 100 AD until now whose names are only known to our Great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This will be the home of those of us, who take up our Crosses daily, live outside their gates, knowing Who bought us with His Life, and is now maturing us into the men and women of God, that He wishes all could be. Amen

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