THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 6

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh (Psalm 90:7-9)
Fortunately, Moses was not speaking of himself personally here, even though his sin in striking the Rock for water, when God told him specifically to SPEAK to the Rock here in Numbers 20. Moses was punished for this and never got to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land - Joshua did. 

Moses saw firsthand the terrible anger of the Lord. From the Ten Plagues of Egypt, which were directly right at each of the ten pagan demonic gods of the Egyptians to fiery serpents which killed thousands of rebellious Israelites in the desert, and everything in between – Moses knew it was a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God. Nothing could shake the image in his head of God’s discipline of the grumbling ungrateful elders of Israel who were led out of Egyptian bondage and wanted to go back under it. Moses knew how swift and fierce the Judgment of God against evil doers could be.

Secondly, as the author of the Book  of Genesis, Moses was given the historical record of the early days of mankind directly from God. He knew exactly what he wrote in Genesis 6 which led up to Great Flood of Genesis chapters 6-9. All of corrupt mankind except Noah and his family and two of each kinds of animal, were wiped off the face of the earth, by a God Who said He regretted making man. That scroll he wrote must have stuck in his mind until the day he died at age 120.

So we know the Mighty Power of God to destroy evil. He will do so again. John 3:17 said that ( in the First Coming) Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. This is true.  However later on, Romans 1:18-32 describes the filthy condition of mankind today, from the highest to the lowest level across the entire world. The coming Judgment of Jesus in the Book of Revelation, and as described in detail in Isaiah and Ezekiel 38 and onwards, is not a picnic. The opportunity for humankind to be saved will also be over. The armies of the United Nations and the antichrist will be no match on that day for the Commander in Chief of Heaven’s armies as He reclaims His creation and sets up His 1000 year Throne in Jerusalem. 

Psalm 90:8 mentions our iniquities – the worse of the three levels of sin.  Sin, Transgression and Iniquity are ascending in their offense against Holy God. Romans 1:18-32 contain the indictment against all evil men and women; the corrupt culture, massive pagan religions which destroy people and deny God and a synagogue of Satan which claims the Name of Christ for respectability but is a wolf clothed as one of Jesus’ sheep. Those iniquities of Psalm 90 precipitate the Wrath of the Lamb.

When the Books of all mankind are opened before the Great White Throne of God, all secret sin will be revealed and judged of those who were not sealed as truly born-again Christians. (see Psalm 90:8b).  They – the majority of all human kind- will be eternally separated from God and depart with more than a sigh. However when Moses wrote this part of the prayer in Psalm 90:9b, he did not know of the Redemption plan of Yahweh, His best Friend in the desert for 40 years, to step off the Throne 1500 years later and sacrifice Himself on a Cross for the Hope of all who believed! It was not revealed to Him.

Our takeaway (and/or Action Point) from this portion of the Prayer of Moses (Psalm 90:6-9) is that we do not have to pass from this life to the next with a dissatisfied or scared sigh! We should check out of here with all flags flying, dirty boots and torn jeans from fighting for one more soul with the Gospel of Christ –whether through prayer or evangelism!  At the very least, it is the easiest thing in the world to have all our sins, transgressions and iniquities forgiven so we can march under the Banner of the Christ, with Jesus as our Lord and Master right into eternity, where He has prepared a place for us with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

                                                                                                              (Photo Credit Here)

OLD SCHOOL TENT REVIVAL SUNDAY JUNE 19 – SUNDAY JUNE 26, 2016. MEETING STARTS AT 6:30 PM NIGHTLY, SPRINGFIELD, IL

Old Fashioned Tent Revival kicks off from Sunday June 19 nightly until Sunday June 26, 2016 at the corner of North 5th and Enos Streets, Springfield Illinois(right next to the building seen in this photo). We are usually done around 8:15 pm – 8:30 pm.

Seating is available in the tent and off street parking is available all long both 5th and 6th Streets. Personal prayer or counseling (all free) are available each night on request. Please bring your bible. Jesus Christ is in the House and He is Lord! This is your REAL summer time refreshment!

ROSTER:

SUNDAY JUNE 19: Preacher: Bernie Lutchman (BMIC President & Sonshine Ministries)

MONDAY June 20:  Preacher: Pastor Daniel Yielding (Bind Up the Wounded Church, Oakford, Il.)

TUESDAY June 21: Preacher: Pastor Daniel Yielding (BUTW Church)

WEDNESDAY June 22: Preacher: Dr, Earl Powell (BMIC Chaplain)

THURSDAY June 23: Preacher: Pastor Daniel Yielding (BUTW Church)

FRIDAY June 24: Preacher: Bernie Lutchman (BMIC President & Sonshine Ministries)

SATURDAY June 25: Preacher: Faith Outreach Christian Center led by Pastors Paul and Zach Ayappa

SUNDAY June 26: Preacher: Faith Outreach Christian Center led by Pastors Paul and Zach Ayappa

Music all week led by Pastor Daniel Wilson (Clementine Church);  Terry Lynn Gaddis (BUTW Church); Bernie Lutchman (BMIC & Sonshine Ministries); Zach Ayappa (MB); Brandon Austin.

THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 5

You carry them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; toward evening it fades and withers away. (Psalm 90:5-6)

At times, this prescient prayer by the servant of the Living God – Moses – sounds like the Book of Ecclesiastes, which was written by the repentant “preacher” King Solomon.  In the previous verse of the prayer,  Moses spoke of the eternal self-existent attitude of Almighty God and His firm control over Time. Here, Moses prayer shows the quality of his close relationship with the Creator – Yahweh.

Moses, under the Authority of the Spirit, basically speaks stark truth about the uncertain nature of every breath of life in these two verses. Solomon goes into a unique discourse on death in Ecclesiastes 9:1-10. In both cases – Moses and Solomon – we confirm and it is affirmed that death is no respecter or persons. It affects the wealth and the poor; the good and the bad; the righteous and the rest of this world.  

It basically comes down to the “DASH” on our tombstone. This marking, which separates the year of our birth on the tombstone to the year of our departure from mortal life, is our entire life time.  The Tombstone is the record, our legacy is how we built that record.  Solomon, the preacher exhorts to live well.  As he writes in Ecclesiastes 9, we must live well with what God has given us : from our wives or spouses to the food we eat.  He says we should live the best we can since there is not enjoyment in the grave.  Since the New Testament though, written 1000 years after Solomon wrote this, we know there IS joy in the grave. We know this because of the Gospel - the birth, life, Death, Sacrifice and Payment on the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ the Only Son of God. The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 1:21 that to live is Christ BUT to die is gain!

The Savior, Jesus Himself – Who met with Moses on Mt. Sinai and travelled with Him in the desert for forty years, said in Matthew 6:30 as He speaks about the splendor and majesty of the beautiful flowers of the field and Solomon’s fine expensive royal garments. Jesus said "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?".

Jesus speaks what the Spirit, who gave this prayer to Moses speaks. It syncs perfectly with Moses' inspired verses above in Psalm 90:5-6, where the bottom line from the Full Counsel of Scripture is this - behold what seems beautiful and oh-so-good and perfect today, because it will be gone by tomorrow, like the sands of time. This life is fleeting and the only thing left behind is that dash on the tombstone and a legacy with our families and the work we may have done. This dash could be empty vanity of vanities or it can be fruitful and full of divine work for the Lord, through those we have helped along the way. 

What is your journey going to be classified as, when you have arrived at your destination...at the end? Would it be carried away like a flood and cast into the sea with no trace of having lived or would life happen so wonderfully in the lives transformed in our wake, because we have served Jesus Christ and His church and people here on earth....giving it our all? The choice is free and all yours.

(Photo Credit Here)

THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 4

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4)

Time and Timing are of the Lord. Time on earth, in our world, began at the Creation of the planet around 6000 years ago. However, our Timeless and Eternal God has not only always existed but time is no consequence to Him. Humankind will discover on Judgment day when all the books will be open….along with the Book of Life (notice that there is only ONE Book of Life, and many books of the deeds of everyone else who ever lived!).

The vastness and fathomless depth of the Universe is incomprehensible. This is confirmed by Commander Scott Altman, the great American astronaut who was sent up by NASA in the STS-125 Atlantis space shuttle to fix the Hubble telescope in May 2009. After watching a private presentation where he explored the sheer size of the discovery of over 3000 plus galaxies picked up by our amazing Hubble telescope, Commander Altman stood in awe of the majesty and power of God as He read from Genesis 1 about the “real big bang” – that is – when God spoke the world into existence. The word of a man who has seen the universe close up as opposed to a 19th century failed seminary student who hated God – Charles Darwin, naturally is more credible.

The self-existent God not only gets to determine the time of a person’s life, but the timing of every event in that person’s life. It has always been so.  Daniel reported in Daniel 7, as he saw a vision of God as He really is - who holds 10,000 years the same as we would a week-long vacation. Daniel said in Chapter 7:9-10 "

9 “I watched till thrones were put in place,

And the Ancient of Days was seated;

His garment was white as snow,

And the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was a fiery flame,

Its wheels a burning fire;

10 A fiery stream issued

And came forth from before Him.

A thousand thousands ministered to Him;

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

The court was seated,

And the books were opened....Daniel 7:9-10

Daniel's incredible vision is a perfect representation of not just what the One True God looks like but what is going to happen on Judgment Day when the "books were opened". The brief experiment with man, which God came up with but which also cost Him the Life of His Son - the Creator of all things - is over, when Daniel recorded this, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. At this, the God of Eternity, to Whom six or seven thousand years are about seven hours in Eternity.

When we were young, many years ago, time seemed so slow. The summers felt as if they would never end. Time seemed to drag. But now in the approach to senior years, time flies. A year feels like a thousand minutes to us. It feels thus, because That Day, when the Books are open, is fast approaching. Our lifetimes may appear to like one night watch to the Ancient of Days. However, if we approach life with an eternal perspective and understand the Power, Majesty and Richness of His Glory, we will spend Eternity with the One Who holds Time in His Hands- our Time. It's an amazingly incredible thing!

(Photo Credit Here)

THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 3

"You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” (Psalm 90:3)
The fragility of human life is even more evident by worldwide events in the past decade.  The thing is – it has always been so, ever since sin entered the world, via Adam and Eve. It was not meant to be so, man was created to live forever. 

The Book of Ecclesiastes tell us about not just the brevity of life, but its precariousness.  Ecclesiastes 9, verse 2 tells us who will die – everybody, whether Christian or not – born-again believer or not. Psalm 90:3 reminds us that we are literally on borrowed time, not knowing when the gig is up, the bill is due or it’s over.  This is a stark reminder that everything we are, as a human being, is literally hangs on the mercy, grace, compassion and love of God. Whether people believe that or not does not change timeless truths.

Luke 13:1-5 is stunning in its stark horror of those who do not live with the end in mind, in a constant state of readiness to “meet thy Maker”. Jesus was just informed of the evil execution of some of God’s people as they worshipped in the synagogue by the brutal Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. Then He Himself volunteered another tragedy which occurred with 18 people who died when the Tower of Siloam collapsed. His Words should shake every person alive today….even solid long time mature Christian believers. 

These people killed by Pilate while offering religious sacrifices to the Priests in the Synagogue, as prescribed by the Torah were not only described as sinners but as lost! Jesus said in verse 3: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish". This Truth is a wake-up call to the church. The people who died in the Temple, even as they brought their offerings, tithes and sacrifices to God, were dispatched to be separated from God! Jesus knew they had not repented in their hearts, they were just doing religious rituals....just like all these fake Christians today who sing all the songs, raise their hands in the air...even go on Missions trips or preach. Yet they never had a true born-again conversion from darkness to light; from sin and death and hell to heaven; from a child of the devil to a saint destined for eternal glory.

Today, we have a lot of folks losing lives in train, construction and other accidents. Many other lives are lost in natural disasters and terrorist attacks as in the one committed by Pilate.  Jesus, the Judge of the Universe, had the same answer as to those in the temple in verse 5, when telling of the 18 people accidentally and tragically killed when the Tower of Siloam fell. He said in verse 5 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

How does this pertain to verse 3 of Moses’ Prayer? Truth! From Dust we were created; to dust we shall return and God makes the call! 

Jesus shows us very clearly that we have to be ready to meet our Creator. Moses prayer shows the end of the process of physical like when God calls the ticket in and says "Return (to Me), o children of man". However the state in which a person returns to our Creator and God is determined right here on earth. The question remains: are those whose souls are demanded by the Father tonight prepared to meet Him or not?"

The problem is more and more and more people in this world, filled with billions of people, are not taking the warning from Christ - sent by His preachers and the worldwide church - and are returning to the Father to cast away forever, into outer darkness.

The Lord has said that He prefers not one to perish and be sent away from Him, but that all comes to Repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus said Himself in Luke 13, verses 3 and 5 that people will not make it, unless they repent and turn to God. This is the only way for Moses prayer here, in verse 3, to be meaningful to anyone alive today - because this is going to happen. 

(Photo Credit Here)

THE PRAYER OF MOSES, PART 2

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. (Psalm 90:2)
The heart of a truly Godly person could not be more evident than in this second verse of Moses' Prayer of Praise and Pronouncement. Each previous time, when Moses prayed, it was to beg the Hand of God to refrain from judgment against the Israelites. This time, Moses' prayer was worship based on Truth with the prophetic integrated into the prayer!

Verse 1 reassures us, through the Holy Spirit moving Moses to write down Psalm 90, that we have a safe and sure refuge in God, through Christ. Verse 2 UNDERSCORES this Truth by the Spirit talking about the immortality and self-existence of God. There was no "Big Bang" and something cannot come from nothing as lost scientists and others who believe in Evolution teach. God was and is always God. He is the Ancient of Days. He is the Creator of ALL things and He is God.

Moses asked the Lord on Mt. Sinai "Whom shall I say sent me?". Jesus told him "Tell them I am Who I am sent you" (Exodus 3:14).  This is the best the English can translate what Christ actually said. He said "tell them YHWH sent you" - the Self-Existent God Who is Spirit. The (Hebrew letter) H -Hey- represents the Spirit of God. When God changed Abram and Sarai's name to AbraHam and SaraH, He put His "H(hey) or Spirit in them to seal them. This is what He does for us at the point of Salvation until we go to be with Him, either through death or the coming Rapture.

We learn several things about God through this powerful verse (Psalm 90:2) of one man's Spirit inspired prayer:
Mountains - they are firm, foundational and never move - like God Who is Invincible!
Creation of the Earth - He is Incredible in the sheer biological, geological and beauty of what He created.
Everlasting to Everlasting - He is INFINITE ...no beginning, no end...and the God Who is FOREVER. He is the God of Eternity Past AND Eternity Future.
You are God - He is IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, God only wise. He just IS!

Proverbs 8:22 tells us that "The LORD made me at the beginning of His creation, before His works of long ago" (Holman)- proving He knew us before the Foundation of the World.

1 Chronicles 16:11 gives comfort, reassurance and sheer hope for the woman, man or son and daughter of God...that because of all the Attributes and Amazing characteristics of the Awesome God of Heaven. This verse tells us "Search for the LORD and for His strength; seek His face always". 

Trust in God, through Christ now, before it is too late. He is Invincible, Incredible, Infinite, Immortal, Invisible and God - Yahweh - just IS...in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

THE PRAYER OF MOSES, PART 1

 Psalm 90 verse 1: “You have been our dwelling place in all generations”.

Moses the most humble man on the world here in Numbers 12:3 "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth". It is my humble opinion that this statement still stands over 3500 years later because there is no one alive today who fits this description....or can come close to the Face to face relationship the great prophet Moses had with the Lord Yahweh!

Many in the Bible, and now - from personal experiences - have had brief life-changing encounters with the great God of Heaven, but Moses was different. Jesus met so many times with Moses in the Tabernacle and for those extended periods on Mt. Sinai where He not only instructed Moses, but gave him the Law and the direction to lead his people to the point where Joshua could cross them into the Promised Land.

As great and humble as He was, God never forgave the last big sin Moses committed- pride in striking the Rock when he was told specifically to speak to the Rock (which was Christ). This is a perfect example of the extremely high standard God has for those who are His leaders- then AND now!

To understand the final recorded prayer of Moses, please grasp the full meaning of what he actually did! Yahweh, through the Holy Spirit, had Moses physically write down the ENTIRE first five books of the Bible – the Torah/Pentateuch. These greatest ever writings include the COMPLETE revealed knowledge of human history for its very beginning!! Moses was and is the only person in the entire history of mankind, who KNOWS what happened at Creation and in those early days. While he was not there at the moment of Creation, Moses heard it  directly from the One Who actually created the earth- Jesus! No matter how many big named preachers who ever lived preach or no matter how many times we read the Bible cover to cover, we will  never have the original intent and insight that Moses had because of this – never in this world!

Therefore, when Moses writes in verse 1: “You have been our dwelling place in all generations, he is speaking from the position of Authority of one who spent more than 40 years in the Sinai desert.

As Christians, we are not in the Heavenly Realm as yet, since the plans and purposes of God are still in place, until the completion of time. What the Holy Spirit is saying through Moses’ prayer is that just as He – God – was within a breath and a prayer’s reach of Moses at all times after he was called at the Burning Bush, He (the Spirit and Person of Yahweh) is there for us as well!  This is SOP – Standard Operating Procedure – for ALL the people of God who have put their Faith and Trust in Him from Adam and Enoch to the last person under the wire before Jesus shuts it down for good! This is for ALL Generations – Old AND New Testament saints, Jew, Gentile and every configuration in between.

God Himself provides the proof in the very next Psalm – Psalm 91:1  where He says “He who dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High, shall ABIDE (dwell, live, set up camp, settle down) in the shadow of the Almighty”.

How can a person dwell and live in God, when he or she currently lives among the most disgustingly corrupt times in all humanity – by Faith! By Faith!  Read John 15:1-11 and marvel and love and be blessed by the Savior – Jesus Christ/Yahweh – who said in Verse 7 “If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done”.

This is the good, kind, loving, and wonderful merciful Savior, Savior Redeemer and friend who rescued the souls of all who seek to follow Him, love Him, obey Him…..and turn from all sin, repent and trust/obey/accept Him as Lord of all. 

Moses knew this Jesus personally and relationally. Hebrews 11:26 tells us that Moses “esteemed (held high and dear to his soul) the Reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward”! How did Moses know Jesus Christ 1500 years before He was born in Bethlehem Ephratah in a cold damp cave? Moses knew Him from the Burning Bush, the Mountain, the Pillar of Cloud, the Pillar of Fire, Face to face, in the Tabernacle and in the Voice of the Spirit dictating the Oracles of God. We, who are called by the Name of the King – Christians – have no idea who fortunate and blessed beyond measure we are heirs to the Kingdom of Yahweh, the same Jesus Who walked and talked with Moses!. Meditate upon this, and fall on your knees in gratitude. 

THE WORLD TODAY .....WORSE THAN SODOM & GOMORRAH!

48"As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.49"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50"Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it (Ezekiel 16:48-50).
The Great Billy Graham recounted that his wife Ruth had just gone through the draft of one of his books when the revelation of the enormity of our sin - as a people - hit her and Ruth told Billy the following: "“If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” This quote was made in 1965!

If you look at the events of the early 1960's we see that the United States Supreme Court had just done the unthinkable - removed any mention of God from schools and banned official school prayer. In less than two years since that occurred (1963), the filth and degradation of the 1960's sexual and moral decline of America and the rest of the world begun to accelerate.

We are at a point in human history at the present time, where the will and wanton lust of mankind are speeding towards a collision with the Holiness and Hands of God, Who will always bring sin into Judgment. In fact the sin of this modern age, in the 21st century, parallels that of Genesis 6 when God regretted creating man and proceeded to send the Great Flood to cleanse the earth. However, in some sense, the sin of the West and the pagan religions of the East is even more vile. This is so since we have the Record of the Truth as recorded in the New Testament, and the Knowledge of the Sacrifice of the Son of God - the Lord Jesus, at the Cross.

Jesus Himself warned against what will happen to those in the modern era, who rejects Him, the Truth and the Gospel. There is a harsher penalty and judgment coming for those in the modern era - since the Resurrection in 33 AD - who reject the Gospel and Christ than the final judgment STILL awaiting Sodom and Gomorrah and its residents who await the second death in the Lake of Fire!

Jesus said in Matthew 10:14-16 "And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Jesus was NOT talking about tolerance or hospitality but about the acceptance of the Preaching of the Gospel! Read all of Matthew 10 here. But why would the Lord warn about a harsher judgment against the most corrupt and evil cities in ancient history? To comprehend this we must look at the underlying cause of man's sinfulness - PRIDE.

We know from Genesis 18 part of the story of the destruction of Sodom where Jesus told Abraham that the "sin...and outcry against Sodom was grave". Sexual perversion and the attempted gang rape of two Heavenly Angels by morally degenerate men was only a symptom of that area's evil! We know from Scripture, there were actually five cities involved in total, in addition to Sodom and Gomorrah, which lay by the Dead Sea. The five cities "on the plain" are fleshed out in Archaeology here.

God revealed in the Ezekiel 16 passage and verse 49 that their sins were the following in order of magnitude: Arrogance; Abundant Food and Abhorrent Apathy and comfort. Arrogance is the original sin of Lucifer, Satan or the devil - the fallen worship leader of Heaven, who introduced evil and death into the world. The description of his sin in Isaiah 14:12-17 is identical to the Arrogance of 21st Century man. Nothing has changed except the year.

Man has not just shaken his collective fists at and spit in the Righteous Eyes of God, but modern corrupt man has taken on to him and herself, the mantle of committing the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit! How so, you ask? The Holy Spirit is the Author, Interpreter and Restrainer of Scripture or the Bible. There are explicit warnings about rewriting, reconfiguring and changing the Word of God to fit the political and societal agendas of a violent world, which is diametrically opposed to the Will and Word of God.

It is not just the rewriting of the definition of Biblical Marriage which God ordained in Genesis 2:24 and which Jesus reaffirmed in Matthew 19:4-6. It is the corruption of the Moral Code and Natural Law, where wrong is now right; the Gospel is being corrupted by huckters and prosperity gospel purveyors and worse! The unborn and innocent are being sacrificed to Molech as "unviable tissue masses" and under the banner of "reproductive rights" while children are being horribly misled/corrupted/brainwashed as early as Kindergarten by evil in the name of sexual identity or whatever the phrase is these days. There is no thought to the Judgment coming to these adults who are corrupting and misleading God's children with their own ungodly agendas in schools across the west and the culture. 

There is a specific warning against those kinds of people here from Matthew 18:6-7 "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!"

So in the final analysis, what does this all mean? How is this relevant to a Christian in the 21st century or just anyone who is concerned about these things? It matters a whole lot because God will bring every single action and more into Judgment on this day.  We know what caused the divine destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and it was not just sexual perversion. It was supreme arrogance, wealth and corruption which led a large sector of this forever demolished cities to think they could violate God’s Holy Angels when they came to rescue Lot.  

There is a strain of thought among secularists and so-called bible scholars and theologians that all of this is allegory.  As an aside here – whenever we hear the word “scholar”, think skeptic…in most cases. There have been amazing archaeological finds under 4000 years of silt and dirt where Sodom and Gomorrah existed by the Dead Sea, and the finds are even worse than the nuclear fallout of Hiroshima! There is no weapon on Planet Earth that can equal the Wrath of a Holy, Righteous and Angry God…as the unsaved world will discover during the Tribulation period which precedes the White Horse of Christ cutting through the Eastern Sky!

With all of this doom and gloom and scary news daily of some unholy outrage against God and His Holy Word and the coming Judgment against the world, what can the righteous, the saved, the redeemed and the good people who are seeking rescue do? 
- First of all, we must examine ourselves with the stark light of the Truth to see if there is anything in us which is not in alignment with God.  
- Secondly if there is some hidden sin, it HAS to be corrected immediately and dealt with through repentance, reconciliation and restoration. 
- Third, we must be fully aware of not just what the Bible says and means, but how God wants us to apply it to every aspect of our lives. If we have no clue on the Application of Scripture, we will not comprehend the times, the timeline of events and the events themselves….thereby knowing that these are the signs of a rapid advance to the end of days. 
- Fourth, in these times of approaching armageddon, significant natural disasters and a universe clamoring for the Savior, we have to be God’s alarm clock. If we do not spread the Gospel, the Road to Salvation and heaven and the Love of God to as many people as possible, we would have failed as Christians.
- Finally, we must trust fully in the Sovereignty of God. He is in charge of all things. He is the Judge of all things. He rules forever. He is merciful, longsuffering and compassionate. But His tolerance for evil and the stench of sin has an expiration date, which is quickly approaching. He will do as He says in the Book of Revelation and if we do not wish to be caught up in fire and brimstone 100 times worse than the nuclear-type blast which hit Sodom and Gomorrah, at the Second  Coming, repent now, believe the Gospel and put your complete Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of your life.

MUST SEE VIDEOS ON THE RUINS OF SODOM & GOMORRAH

(Photo Credit Here)

WOMEN OF FAITH: FROM PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER TO CHILD OF GOD

BITHIA:

THE CHILD SHE RESCUED, RESCUED HER

17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 (His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took (1 Chronicles 4:17-18)
Some of the greatest women in history came out of Bible history had phenomenal impact, yet they were the unlikeliest heroines of all time! We have looked at some of the main ones in the recent past – Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, Anna and Mary. (Click on names to read the articles).  One such heroine of the Bible is Pharaoh’s daughter! All through 3500 years of history, she is always a footnote. She is well thought of, but always sidelined in the light of the greater story of one of the greatest men who ever lived – Moses!

Still, it was this young woman – Pharaoh’s daughter (Merri, according to tradition) who actually called the baby Moses. Merri called him Moses, derived from the words “Mo” (meaning Son) and “Sheh” (meaning ‘to draw out’). Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and called him Moses (Moshe in Hebrew) because she draw him out of the water, in the  wicker basket. He became her son,  and was most likely childless since her bath in the river Nile was a ritual to the pagan Egyptian god of fertility. As a princess, she already had her own private quarters and exquisite private rooms to be attended to, for matters of hygiene. Also, as a sidebar, the River Nile ran red with blood during the Ten Plagues as a punishment from God for that same pagan idolatry. Each one of the plagues was a specific punishment against that specific pagan idol, which the Egyptians worshiped.

Merri, most likely in her late teens or early 20’s when she “found”, named and raised Moses as her own, obviously fulfilled a role selected for her by the Mighty Hand of God. After Moses was banished to the Midian wilderness when he was 40 years old, Merri would have been around 60 years old at the time. So when Moses returned at age 80, after being sent by God to tell Merri’s father to “Let My people go”, she would have been close to or at 100 years of age!

Here is the reason God kept her alive – to reward her! Merri was constantly in the presence of Moses’ birth mother. A Hebrew woman, Yochabed nursed her own son and cared for him in favor and safety, in the very house of the ruler of the greatest country on earth at the time!  Merri undoubtedly heard about and witnessed first-hand, what a true and amazing God, the God of the Jews was! Scripture never tells us how or when, but Pharaoh’s daughter Merri later became known as Bithia, according to the ancient Rabbis! Bithia is the Hebrew word for “daughter of Yahweh”! At some point,  she ceased being the daughter of the Egyptian ruler, and became a Child of the Living God!

Then comes the surprise overlooked Scripture which almost nobody reads, outside of a seminary. 1 Chronicles 4:17-18 (see above) records some of the most incredible turn of events ever. Here is what it says:
- Bithiah (Pharaoh’s Daughter who rescued Moses) married Mered, a Hebrew man.
- Bithiah had three children: Miriam (named after Moses’ sister); Shammai  and Ishbah.
- Bithiah left her Egypt behind and all its pagan ungodliness and crossed into deliverance across the Red Sea, with the people of God!

This incredible revelation that Pharaoh’s Daughter left Egypt during the Exodus with the Israelites is instructive to us in the 21st century, for the following reasons:
1. The circumstances of your birth means nothing to the Plans, Purposes and Power of God. We have no choice where we were born, who our parents were or the environment in which we grew up. We do have a choice whether to obey God and reach out in human kindness and decency. By so doing, we could be altering the course of history, as Bithiah did!
2. Not only is our lifestyle of Faith observed, but the more authentic we are in following and serving God, people notice. This can lead to many things, namely either a rejection of our straight and narrow morality or an embrace of True Truth/True Faith by the unsaved because they know us by our love.
3. Lifestyle evangelism is important as it demonstrates WHO and WHOSE we are, but we must share the Truth of God, so others can know WHO HE IS! This is really the crux of the matter. If we do not share the Gospel and the road to Salvation, by explaining as best as we can, what God has done for us through Christ, then all we will be is nice and harmless Christians. In this case, the devil has nothing to fear from us, and has us right where he wants us. 
4. Following the God of heaven brings untold blessings.  When she was the Egyptian princess Merri, she dipped into the pagan ritual bath of the River Nile to “enhance fertility”, but it was only when she became Bithiah – the daughter of Yahweh, and married a Hebrew man (Mered) that God gave her three children. This is reminiscent of Abraham’s barren wife Sarah, who erred in forcing Hagar on her husband, while God had a huge blessing for her to bear Isaac at age 90. We cannot know the Ways of the Lord but we can surely worship because of the Wonder of our Great God.
5. Do not neglect humble beginnings. Self-pity is never an admirable attribute at any time. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Wisdom comes from an acknowledgement of the awesome Power and Sovereignty of God and His rule over the affairs of mankind. Once we, as mere mortals, come to an awakening of this Truth, the sky is the limit as to the potential in our lives. In times of trials and tribulations, circumstances dictate certain responses, but we do not have to stay there. The greatest men and women of Faith were delivered from UNDER the circumstances and their own personal Egypts, but the God Who sees the end from the beginning. Where there is life, there is hope to those who submit to the direction and Lordship of the Master, the Creator, the Lord of all things - Jesus Christ.

Bithiah, Pharaoh's daughter, married a man from the Tribe of Judah - the same tribe from whence cometh the Lion of Judah - the Lord Jesus!
"For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM (from Isaiah 40:13)? But we have the mind of Christ..." (1 Corinthians 2:16)

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