Month: February 2016

As it was in the days of Noah…

Jesus warned us that when He comes again, to take His church home, that the condition of the world would be like it was in the days of Noah (see Matthew 24:37-41). 

This passage, which is frequently cited by Biblical scholars, tells us that this will be one of several prophetic indicators to alert us to the Second Coming of our Lord.

This is what Peter said our world would be like in the last days:

2 Peter 3:2-10
New Living Translation (NLT)

2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.

3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 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.”

5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.

6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.

7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

8 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.

9 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.

10 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.

Peter had just told us in the previous chapter (2 Pet 2:5), that God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, “a preacher of righteousness,” with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.

So we are told here that “Noah was a preacher of righteousness,” indicating that he was a preacher who warned the people of his day of God’s coming judgment.

We can also assume from this verse that since Noah was a preacher of righteousness, that he was proclaiming God’s truth in some form to the people of his day; and given his godly character, we can assume Noah preached about the approaching flood and the need for them to repent.

Furthermore, offering the world such a warning would be in keeping with God’s character, since God typically gives opportunity for repentance prior to His judgments.

If Noah did warn the world, the world obviously chose to ignore that warnings, because the Bible teaches that the world was taken by surprise (as a thief in the night) when the flood came; and we know from the record of scriptures that of the entire world population, of that time, only eight souls we’re saved, of Noah’s immediate family.

The fact that the world was caught off guard by the flood does not prove that Noah never preached concerning the coming judgment. It only tells us that the world paid no attention to his warnings.

Obviously we can see that this is the same situation that we see all around us today, among our friends, our neighbors, co-workers and family, who also have a blasé attitude about all of this, and do not take it seriously.

Whereas Jesus said that “no man can know the day nor the hour of His return (Mat 24:36), He did admonish His disciples that they were responsible to know the prophetic times and seasons, for He said that the generation that would see all of these things come to pass, as outlined in the Bible – the first being the rebirth of the nation of Israel – that that generation would not pass away before He returned.

Matthew 24:33-34

32 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.

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

When I saw this video, this interview with this Jewish rabbi, I was literally blown away!

Torah Codes Shocking Evidence About Obama & Asteroid for 2015 2016

And then right after that, I received a link to this video, that I found equally amazing:

Asteroids, Meteors, Nibiru/Planet X & End of America 2015-2016 ? SHOCKING info:

One thing is for sure, truly we are living in the last days, just before our Lord returns to set up His kingdom in the earth.

Time is short and there should be a sense of urgency for everyone who has not yet obeyed the Gospel message, because when this happens, you don’t want to be caught on the outside.

Don’t continue to put off until tomorrow, what you should have done yesterday, because tomorrow is guaranteed to know man!

Today is your time to come and join this Grand Adventure!

God has a purpose and a calling on every individual…

If you are alive today, then that alone is the evidence that God has a reason for your being here.

However here’s the deal, if we aren’t willing to count the cost, in order that we may become a disciple (follower)
of Christ (Luke 14:28), to pursue after God, with all of our heart mind and strength (Deut 4:29, Deut 6:5, Jer 29:13, Luke 10:27); after having first obeyed the Gospel’s message, to have our sins forgiven and be born-again, then as per Jesus’ own words, nothing else will matter, because we will never even be able to see God, let alone achieve our destiny (John 3:3, 10:9, 14:6, Acts 4:12).

As born-again Christians, we must make it our mission and goal in lIfe to learn of God, by our total immersion in both God’s Word and Spirit.

We are now to become intimately acquainted with the person of the Holy Spirit, whom the Bible says is now our “Comforter.

The Greek word translated “Comforter” or “Counselor” – as found in John 14:16, 26; 15:26 and 16:7 – is parakletos or paraclete – meaning  the Holy Spirit is our lifelong Guide and Director from now on.

It is the Holy Spirit who gives us illumination and understanding in God’s Word and helps us to apply that Word to our lives, that we may gain wisdom, counsel and direction for our lives (John 16:13).

It is also through the Holy Spirit that we receive power from on high, that enables us to go out into the world and do the job that God is calling us to do (Acts 1:8).

All of this however requires that we have a teachable spirit and that we are willing to submit to God’s directions and instructions, as found in His Word (which is our “Operations Manual” for life and ministry); but should we choose rather to exercise our free will and go another way, in a different direction, apart from God, then He will find someone else to take our place; and we will have no connection with Him in eternity.

God has given to each of us the free will to choose, to say yes or no to Him; and so the choice as to whether we will ever fulfill our destiny and purpose in life is entirely ours.

In the following video, Daniel Kolenda and Reinhard Bonnke deliver a powerful and sobering message about the call of God upon our lives.

God’s purposes will come to pass one way or another. If we won’t do what God has called us to do, then He will find someone else who will do it, and do it with joy.

There isn’t a manufacture on the earth who ever created something, be it a product, a machine or anything else for that matter, and then afterwards tried to decide how to use it or what it’s for.

The beginning of every product is first cast as a vision or dream in the mine of its creator;

And before any drawings or engineering blueprints are drawn up, in the mind of its creator there is already a vision or dream, and a purpose for that product’s existence – be it a problem that needs to be solved, or some sort of remedy or a solution in order to meet a need.

As our Creator, God is no different.

Psalm 139:13-17
New Living Translation (NLT)

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!

Romans 8:29

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

1 John 2:6

He who says he abides in Him (Jesus) ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Ephesians 1:11

In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.

Come join the adventure while you still can!

God says to Joshua,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Every day of our life we ALL are having to make decisions that will affect our future.

From the Hebrew biblical point of view, as they view the Scriptures, those decisions will either be leading us towards the light or towards the darkness; meaning they will lead us either closer to God, or away from Him.

It’s our choice which direction we go; either we follow our flesh, or we allow God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to rule in our life.

The Book of Joshua 
by Max Lucado

Introduction
May I describe a few battles?

Let’s say that you have a problem with a person—a rotten person.

A scoundrel who has taken advantage of your kindness.

Because of him you have less money, more headaches, and a bitter heart.

Let’s also say that you’ve got the goods on this guy. Caught him. Aha! Red-handed.

You can turn him in. Make a spectacle. Get even and get out.

Give him what he deserves.  But something won’t let you.

A verse from your past tethers your heart. “Vengeance is Mine,” says the Lord. “I will repay.”

Within you the battle rages. Let vengeance be mine, Lord, you pray.

Just once. Let me get even. But the Word won’t let you. And with time, you drop your fists to your side and just trust.

Here’s another battle.  Let’s say you have a problem with money.

Every month you just barely make it. Each paycheck is spent before it’s cashed.

If just one month you could get a break. Just some cushion. That’s all you need.

Poof, your prayer is answered. Unexpected bonus. An extra month’s salary.

Finally, some breathing room. First, pay off the credit card, next repay my sister, then get the bumper fixed and . . . uh-oh—my giving.

“Surely God doesn’t want me to give 10 percent of the bonus? I mean, I give every month. . . . Surely, He’ll understand if I use this for something else. . . . ”

But the words challenge faintly yet firmly, “Honor the Lord . . . with the firstfruits of all your increase.”

Within you the battle rages. One side says, “Believe.” The other, “Be real.”

Finally, a truce is called and a white flag is waved and a check is written and placed in the plate.

But even as you give, you confess, “Doesn’t make sense, but because you say so . . .”

Let’s go one more. This time let’s really stretch it. Let’s say you are a general. A general in the Israeli army.

Moses is dead, the Jordan has been crossed, the mantle passed, and you are wearing it.

God has promised that you will take Jericho. But as you look at the city, you have to wonder . . . the walls are high.

The people are armed. The challenge is great.  But God has a plan.

You can’t wait to hear it. “Surely, He’ll give us more soldiers, stronger weapons, mightier swords.

His plan must include this and more.”  So you sit and listen as God explains.

As He talks you are stunned, “What? Walk around the city seven times, blow some trumpets, and . . . . Wait a minute, God, this doesn’t make sense.”

The Book of Joshua is a book of battles. A book for soldiers. A book for people who would dare to win God’s way.

What applied then, applies today. It is the faithful who conquer. Those who follow the strategy win, those who don’t—don’t.
—

Certainly God’s ways are not our ways!

To follow God requires our absolute trust, that we willingly hang the total of our individual lives and our life’s circumstances upon His trustworthiness and reliability.

It also requires our absolute obedience and that we trust Him with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding.

It requires that we let go and let God in every situation we face in life!

Come join the Adventure!
 

Jesus is inviting you to come follow Him… 

What does it mean to be a Christian?

This is where it starts for all of us:

Psalms 100:3
JPS Tanakh 1917

Know ye that the LORD He is God; It is He that hath made us, and we are His, His people, and the flock of His pasture.

Everything comes from God

Colossians 1:16

For in Jesus all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.

1 Corinthians 8:6

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.

Who is Jesus the Christ (Messiah– Anointed One)?

The original plans, purposes and designs began with God the Father.

It was Yeshua (a.k.a. Jesus, whose name means Saviour), whom the Bible calls the “Living Word” (John 1:1,14) and the “Light of the World” (John 8:12), who is also the second person of the Godhead, who goes out and implements ALL that God the Father desires (Col 1:16), and it is the Holy Spirit, who is the Power Source, that makes it happen and then holds it all together (Gen 1:1–2; Job 26:13).

Everything the Father desires happens  through Jesus

He is the Aleph and Tav, the beginning and end of all creation.

Romans 11:36

For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

So what does it mean that Jesus “saves?”

He presented Himself, in our stead, as a propitious sacrifice, on Calvary’s cross, to provide a covering and forgiveness for our sins, that we may be reconciled back into God’s family.

Jesus humbled Himself to become a part of His own creation, then He voluntarily out of His love for the sons and daughters of Adam, presented Himself for this sacrificial death; and He did so when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to help ourselves.

And the truth is, even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway.

We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice.

But God put his love on the line for us by offering His only begotten Son in sacrificial death, while we were of no use whatsoever to Him.

So why did He do this, you ask?

John 3:16-18

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotton Son of God.”

Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, by this consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of our being at odds with God in any way.

If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of His Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of His resurrection life! (Romans 5: 6-10)

What’s behind all this, and where is it going?

God knew what He was doing from the very beginning, when He purposed from the outset to shape the lives of ALL those who would, through faith, accept and love Jesus; who would also be willing to be conformed to God’s purposes, to be shaped and molded into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29).

Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, the source of our creation, stands first, at the head of the line of all people everywhere; of all those He restored, who also have received Him, by faith, and have made Him Lord over their lives.

Through Jesus, whom the Bible calls the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45), we can now see the original intent and purpose which God the Father had for all of our lives, that we ALL should be can conformed into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29).

God then, through Jesus, fulfill His original purpose, in creating Adam, and He made the decision of what His children should be like, and then He followed it up by calling His children by name (Isa 43:1, Rom 10:3).

After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself; and then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. (Mat 28:20, Rom 8: 29-30, Php 1:6)

How do you not love a God like this, who has given so much for us?

Don’t you understand that it is because God is the Source of ALL creation that He gets to make the rules?

People often will get offended, when Christians proclaim the Gospel message.

They call us narrowminded because we say “Jesus is the ONLY way!”

We’re just the messenger’s folks, don’t shoot us, the message did not originate with us.

Access into heaven does not come by the will of man, for the Bible says, “For by grace you are saved and that not of yourself it is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9).

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no man may can come unto the Father, except through Me!”

In John 10:9 He said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

What God is trying to tell us here is that our access into heaven is not multiple-choice.

As men and women of God’s creation, we don’t call the shots and we don’t make the rules; God does not bend to our wishes, but we must learn to bend to His.

Being a Christian is all about our learning to follow Jesus by faith, and our learning to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6).

Come join the Adventure!