God is Not Asleep!

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2 (NIV)

The Bible tells us that we do not always know how to pray.  Sometimes our prayers remain unanswered.  Sometimes they are not answered in the way we expected. Most of this is out of our control—God is the one who sees and knows best how to give us what we need.  But we do have control over whether or not we are living a holy life. According to Isaiah 59:1-2, unconfessed sin will keep God from even hearing our prayers.  It’s not God that has the problem, it’s us.  How can we be humble if we are unwilling to confess our sin? How can we seek God’s face if our sin causes Him to hide his face from us?  How can He hear from heaven and heal our land if our sin makes it impossible for him to hear us?

James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Don’t Give Up Hope

“Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘I am the LORD, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for me?’” Jeremiah 32:26-27 (NIV)

Do you feel discouraged about the condition of America?  Do you sometimes feel you are the only person that is praying for revival?  Check out this website and be encouraged!  Maybe God will use you to bring revival to your church, your community, your nation!

http://www.onecry.com/conversations/dont-give-hope/

A Safe Place to Hide

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”  Psalm 32:9 (NIV)

There is a lot of talk about safety in recent days.  How do we keep our children safe in school? How do we protect ourselves against violence?  The truth is, there is no safety in this world.  We are in danger everywhere—restaurants, shopping malls, churches—even in the best of neighborhoods.  The idea of being safe is really an illusion.  We think if we can just control our environment, nothing bad will happen.  There’s just one problem—we cannot control evil. Man is not evolving into a sinless creature.  Evil has existed from the time man was first created and it clearly is still with us today. 

The Bible tells us that God is our “hiding place”.  Does this mean we will never encounter evil or suffer at the hands of a madman?  The answer is “No”.  But it does mean that we will be kept in His peace, in every circumstance, knowing that whatever happens in our life has passed through His hands for a purpose. God doesn’t waste anything—He can use even the most tragic circumstances for good. Sometimes this can be impossible to understand, but God reminds us in Isaiah 55:8 that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”. It all goes back to having that child-like faith. He is a trustworthy Father and we need not fear. We live with the knowledge that life is fragile and can end at any time. For that reason, we make the most of each day God gives us, knowing that when those days are over, we will spend eternity with Him in a place where there are no tears or sorrow.

Peace on Earth

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'” 

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'”  Luke 2:8-14 (NIV)

Jesus is the only one who can bring peace on earth. 

Merry Christmas and God’s blessings to you all!

The E-Word

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.” Luke 6:45 (NIV)

There is an 800 pound elephant in the room, and everyone is pretending like it isn’t there.  It’s a little word—only four letters, but people hate, even refuse, to speak it.  The word is spelled E-V-I-L.  In today’s world, most would like to have it erased from the dictionary.  But it’s there—whether you acknowledge it or not.  The Bible says it’s all about what is in our heart: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.” (Mark 7:21-22 NIV)  We all have the capacity for evil—not everyone is controlled by it.  God is the one who can help us with this problem—all of our attempts to change these heart issues ourselves usually fall flat. Only He can change a heart. But most people don’t want His help.  They prefer to think that man, and the world he lives in, can be perfected by the wisdom of man.  I don’t see much progress, do you?

Major Surgery or a Bandaid?

America is desperately sick.  As I listen to the news commentators and their experts discuss how to keep our children safe at school, I feel sad.  The patient is dying and they are trying to figure out just where to apply the bandaid.  All the mental heath professionals, armed security guards, and metal detectors in the world will not keep our children safe, because they only address the symptoms of America’s illness.  No one is talking about the root cause of this terrible violence that threatens to destroy our society.  I think people are too proud to admit that America has a spiritual disease.  What has happened to this once healthy nation?  God and His commandments have been banished from our country—and the Church has stood silently by and watched it happen.  The moral compass of our nation no longer exists.  The family, as God designed it, has been declared irrelevant. Technology has overtaken good, old-fashioned conversation, leaving our relationships shallow and disposable.  There is no common belief that unites us—everyone does what is right in his own eyes.  Where is God? I think he has been trying to get our attention for some time, with little success.  Now--I think He has left the building.  We think we can get along without Him, so that is exactly what He is allowing to happen.  How is that working for us?  Not so well.

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD.’”  Jeremiah 17:5 (NLT)

A Cry For Help

“How long, O LORD, must I call for help?But you do not listen!‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry,But you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds?Why must I watch all this misery?Wherever I look,I see destruction and violence,I am surrounded by peopleWho love to argue and fight.The law has become paralyzed,And there is no justice in the courts.The wicked far outnumber the righteous,
So that justice has become perverted.
Habakkuk 1:1-4 (NIV)    

This Plea to God was written by the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. It describes the condition of God’s chosen people in the 7^th century B.C.  Does this sound familiar?  God was well aware of their sin and took strong action to correct it.  Do we really think America can escape God’s judgment without repentance?

Where Is God?

“I trust in the LORD for protection. 

So why do you say to me,

‘Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! 

The wicked are stringing their bows

and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. 

They shoot from the shadows

at those whose hearts are right. 

The foundations of law and order have collapsed. 

What can the righteous do?’

But the LORD is in his holy Temple;

The LORD still rules from heaven.

He watches everyone closely,

examining every person on earth.

The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked.

He hates those who love violence.

He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked.

punishing them with scorching winds.

For the righteous LORD loves justice.

The virtuous will see his face.”

Psalm 11 (NLT)  

Message to My Family

As I study the Bible, and as I watch events that are happening in the world, I can’t help but come to the conclusion that difficult times lie ahead.  The world that we grew up in no longer exists.  Changes in the way people view marriage and family, the acceptance of abortion, sex and violence in movies, television and the internet, and legalization of drugs are not changes for our good.  I realize that some of you may not agree with that opinion, but I ask you to consider this: What lies ahead for your children or grandchildren?  What values do you hold sacred? What will our world look like in 10 years?  20 years?

God says that there will be an end to the world as we know it, when Jesus returns to judge the earth.  How will we know when that will be and what are the implications for us and our loved ones?  This is what the Bible says, “There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2Timothy 3:1-4)  I think that these things are evident in our world today and will only get worse as the time of Christ’s return approaches. When we see these signs, along with others mentioned in the Bible, we will know that the end is near.  God is a loving and forgiving God, but He is also a God of judgment—there will be serious consequences for those who reject Him, and great suffering lies ahead for those who do not acknowledge Him in those last days.

When you see the ultrasound of your unborn child or grandchild, the beauty of a sunset, the uniqueness of every animal, plant or person, the majestic mountains or the rhythm of the ocean, the sun, moon and millions of stars and galaxies,  can you really question the existence of an amazing, creative, all-powerful God?    

The God who created these things is the author of the Bible.  Maybe you find that hard to believe.  God says it takes a child-like faith to believe in Him—like a child trusts his or her father.  This is one case where our education and intelligence can hinder us rather than help us. But, that doesn’t mean we have to abandon our intellect—many brilliant men and women have set out to prove the Bible false and ended up knowing it was true.  We are human, He is God—what makes us think we can explain everything He is and does? 

My beliefs have absolutely nothing to do with the Mayan calendar and the prediction of the end of the world on December 21, 2012.  The Bible explicitly states that no one but God knows the time of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:36).  If you haven’t read my blog, I hope that you will. I love every one of you and want you to be ready for the difficult times that are coming.  “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

My Confession

“When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)

God speaks.  He tells me what to write for this blog, and He gives me the words to say.  Some are encouraging, but some are hard.  When I write what God tells me, it is not just for those of you who are reading the blog—it’s for me. He wants to change me, too.  Some of the very things I write about are hard for me to do. As I have been writing about the last days and having a burden for those that don’t know Christ, God has been speaking to me about my family.  Some of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren do not know Jesus.  I confess to you, as I have to God that, when it comes to my family, I fear man more than I fear Him.  I love them all and want them to know God’s love for them more than anything in this world.  But I hold back, because I fear their rejection.  In my mind, I know that it is God that I should fear—He is the one I should want to please.  But as Paul says, there is another law at work in my body, waging war against the law of my mind.  I know, in my flesh, I can’t change this. But I also know that Jesus, living in me, is able.  Please pray for me, as I pray for you

Scoffers

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.  They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again?  From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”  2 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)

“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.  No, he is being patient for your sake.  He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.  Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.” 2Peter 3:8-10 (NLT)

The Day of the Lord

“For see, the day of the LORD is coming—the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger.  The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it.  The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light.  The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.  I the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin.  I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.” Isaiah 13:9-11 (NLT) 

“Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD!  Why do you long for the day of the LORD?  That day will be darkness, not light.  It will be as though a man fled from a lion, only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.  Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?”  Amos 5:18-20 NIV)

Have you ever heard someone say, “I just wish Jesus would come back!”  Maybe you’ve said it yourself or at least thought it.  In the book of Amos, God rebukes us for such thoughts or statements.  Although Christ’s return will bring an end to the things we despise about this godless world, what does it mean to those who do not know Jesus? They will be judged and sentenced to an eternity in hell. That day will bring unmatched grief and anguish to an already hurting world. I believe God wants us to stop thinking of ourselves and have compassion on those that face a perilous future.  The evidence that we are in the last days should give us a sense of urgency to reach as many as possible before it is too late.

The Last Days—Part Two

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:  As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it (the time of Jesus’ return) is near, right at the door.”  Matthew 24:32-33 (NIV)

Just as the tree shows signs of the approaching season, so there will be signs of Jesus’ return.  In his book, IMPLOSION, Joel Rosenberg lists the following twenty signs that can be found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21:

·        Wars and rumors of wars

·        Uprisings and revolutions and kingdoms being shaken

·        Famines

·        Earthquakes

·        Pestilences and plagues

·        Terrors and growing fears

·        Great signs in the heavens and bloodred moons

·        The roaring of the sea and the waves

·        Persecution of the church

·        Apostasy of the church

·        Betrayal

·        Lawlessness

·        False prophets and false teachers

·        False messiahs

·        Increase in knowledge and travel

·        The State of Israel being reborn and increasingly becoming the epicenter of international attention

·        The gospel being preached to every nation

·        A spiritual awakening in Israel and among the Jewish people

·        A spiritual awakening in Iran

·        An increase in mockery of Bible prophecy

Are there any of these signs that have not occurred?  These signs will not only be evident, but will intensify like birth pains as the time draws near. When the last person on earth has heard the gospel, Jesus will return.  But the time leading up to His return will be a horrifying time of suffering for those who do not believe—many will not survive.  Pray fervently for revival of the church—it’s not programs or outreaches that will change the hearts of unbelievers, it’s repentance in the church.  When God’s people are living according to His Word, His light will shine in this very dark world.

The Last Days

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”  Acts 2:17

The “last days” referred to in this verse are the days leading up to the day of the LORD, when Jesus returns to rule over the earth.  On that day, every person who has rejected Christ will be judged.  Those who are not born again will spend eternity in hell.  Although no one knows exactly when that day will be, Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:32-34 that, just as you can predict the coming of summer by observing the fig tree, so you can know that Jesus’ return is close by observing certain signs and the fulfillment of prophecies.  Watch this video and see just one way that God is fulfilling the prophecy that originated in the book of Joel and is referred to by Peter in Acts 2:17.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoyayndwXQ4&feature=related

The God of the Whole World

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Sometimes we forget that there is a great, big world out there beyond the boundaries of America.  What He is doing in other parts of the world, He can do here.  Watch these videos to see what God is up to in other parts of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=nDqY29Fbu8M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=6BMQm_XY6FQ