Incredible!!!!! Look within: eternity is in your heart

I'm on Ecclesiastes 3 now in my study time and it's just incredible! I just love how Wiersbe explains it, so of course I just have to share it with you! I'll post excerpts rather then the entire thing though so it won't be too long... (hopefully lol)

Look within: eternity is in your heart (Ecc. 3:9–14)

The Preacher adjusted his sights and no longer looked at life only “under the sun.” He brought God into the picture and this gave him a new perspective. In verse 9, he repeated the opening question of 1:3, “Is all this labor really worth it?” In the light of “new evidence,” Solomon gave three answers to the question.

First, man’s life is a gift from God (v. 10). If we believingly accept life as a gift, and thank God for it, we will have a better attitude toward the burdens that come our way. If we grudgingly accept life as a burden, then we will miss the gifts that come our way. Outlook helps to determine outcome.

Second, man’s life is linked to eternity. (v. 11). Man was created in the image of God, and was given dominion over creation (Gen. 1:26–28); therefore, he is different from the rest of creation. He has “eternity [“the world,” KJV] in his heart” and is linked to heaven. This explains why nobody (including Solomon) can be satisfied with his or her endeavors and achievements, or is able to explain the enigmas of life (1:12–2:11). God accomplishes His purposes in His time, but it will not be until we enter eternity that we will begin to comprehend His total plan.

Third, man’s life can be enjoyable now (vv. 12–14). The Preacher hinted at this in Ecclesiastes 2:24 and was careful to say that this enjoyment of life is the gift of God. “The enjoyment of life” is an important theme in Ecclesiastes and is mentioned in each of the four sections of chapters 3–10. Solomon is encouraging not pagan hedonism, but rather the practice of enjoying God’s gifts as the fruit of one’s labor, no matter how difficult life may be. Life appears to be transitory, but whatever God does is forever, so when we live for Him and let Him have His way, life is meaningful and manageable. Instead of complaining about what we don’t have, let’s enjoy what we do have and thank God for it.

When the well-known British Methodist preacher William Sangster learned that he had progressive muscular atrophy and could not get well, he made four resolutions and kept them to the end: (1) I will never complain; (2) I will keep the home bright; (3) I will count my blessings; (4) I will try to turn it to gain. This is the approach to life that Solomon wants us to take.

However, we must note that Solomon is not saying, “Don’t worry—be happy!” He is promoting faith in God, not “faith in faith” or “pie in the sky by and by.” Faith is only as good as the object of faith, and the greatest object of faith is the Lord. He can be trusted.

How can life be meaningless and monotonous for you when God has made you a part of His eternal plan? You are not an insignificant insect, crawling from one sad annihilation to another. If you have trusted Jesus Christ, you are a child of God being prepared for an eternal home (John 14:1–6; 2 Cor. 4). The Puritan pastor Thomas Watson said, “Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.”

The proper attitude for us is the fear of the Lord (v. 14), which is not the cringing of a slave before a cruel master, but the submission of an obedient child to a loving parent. If we fear God, we need not fear anything else for He is in control.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Satisfied. “Be” Commentary Series

Isn't God's Word just incredible? I love the way the Lord has given Wiersbe the gift of being able to explain God's Word in a way that makes it easy for us to see how to apply it to our lives.

Talk about an eye opener!!!!

I'm reading a Christian fiction series that starts with a book called "Prophet, by R.J. Larson. It's fantastic but that's not why I'm posting this. In this first book, the girl that God has called to be His prophet is shown what it's like to be without Him....and ultimately what the second death is like. It blew me away so of course, I have to share it with you. I'm not going to include what led up to this experience and it may sound like God was being cruel to her, but I assure you that He wasn't. You'll have to take my word for that, or else get the book yourself as I just want to share the experience she had: (I'm going to put God's words in dark blue italics)

"Do you understand what My Presence truly means?" He had perceived Ela’s lingering doubts, she knew. ...

She felt His presence sucked from her body like air - saw it leave in a whirlwind rising above her. He was gone. No! Ela staggered, fighting to breathe. The mimicry of breath she finally managed was a searing torrent of agony. She tried to raise her hands to her throat, then comprehended that even the dust the Creator had used to sculpt her kind was incapable of holding form without His Presence. She crumbled into the ground itself. Bereft of a body, her soul collapsed in fiery torment, screaming for death and for Him. The world around Ela vanished amid flames, leaving her writhing in agony. Without His sustaining Spirit, she could not endure this measureless cauldron of fire. Where was its end? Where was He? Why couldn't she die? Infinite! Let me die!

A touch drew her soul from the fire and her body from the dust. Alive, she ly helpless, her face resting against ash tainted desert sand. Clawing the parched ground, which was cold in comparison to what she had just felt, she whimpered, "Please, let me die." He seemed so near that Ela imagined she felt His breath restoring her senses, her sanity.

She was trembling, unable to even lift her head. How was it possible she still lived? Who could exist without Him? "Not even those who deny Me can live on this world if I withdraw My Spirit," the Creator murmured into her thoughts. Infinite? Was that like death? "No. That was life without Me. Death without My Presence is immeasurably worse, for it brings eternity in torment, without hope of release." What gives us hope? What gives us eternity with You? "Fath in Me."

Intellectuals Who Found God

Intellectuals Who Found God

by Chad Owen Brand


C. S. Lewis (1898–1963)

Lewis’s parents taught him the proper faith and religious life of an Englishman, but troubles awaited the young man. His mother died when he was a boy, after which his father sent him to boarding schools. Though early on he tried to be a good Christian, he came to resent religion and developed instead a fascination with myth and fantasy literature. His great concerns were with whether Christianity was unique and how it could solve (or not solve) the problem of evil. When he entered Oxford in 1917, Lewis was a convinced agnostic. He had sought through logic to debunk religion in general and Christianity in particular. Yet his favorite authors—Dante, MacDonald, Herbert, Plato, Milton, and Virgil—were all people who held some sort of religious understanding of the world. In reading George MacDonald, and through personal acquaintance with J. R. R. Tolkien and Owen Barfield, Lewis eventually abandoned his nontheistic view of the world. In 1929 he threw in the towel, conceding that “God was God,” and he knelt and prayed—perhaps the “most reluctant convert in all England.”


Aurelius Augustine (354–430)

Augustine was born at a time when Christianity was just beginning to become a dominant faith in the Roman empire. Though his mother was a strong Christian, she did not have him baptized as an infant. By age 15, Augustine had abandoned the faith of his childhood and had adopted the cult known as Manicheeism as his own.
His biggest problem with Christianity was its failure to deal adequately with the problem of evil. If God is all powerful and all good, how can evil exist—and exist so prevalently and powerfully in the world? The Manichees taught that two spirit beings exist, the one good and the other evil. They believed this explains how one can find a mixture of both good and evil in the world. For a decade or so, the young Augustine, eventually a professor of rhetoric at several Roman universities, believed this to be a better solution. But eventually the young intellectual came to realize that this “solution” was unsatisfactory.
Augustine despaired and began reading skeptical philosophers, such as Cicero and Porphyry, who taught that everything is a matter of doubt. Perhaps there is no solution, he thought. Yet here, at the end of hope, Augustine was transformed. He heard the preaching of the famous Ambrose and began reading Scripture. Ambrose’s apologetics helped Augustine understand that the Bible really does present the solution to the problem of evil.
Though his intellect was satisfied, his heart, filled with sin and with no answer to the problem of sin, was still empty. One day Augustine read Paul’s words in Romans 13:14: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.” The key to life lay not in trying to live the moral life but in putting on Christ, who satisfies both the intellectual and existential dilemmas humans face. Augustine’s writings went on to lay the foundation for the political and intellectual developments of the next 1,500 years in the Western church.


Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918–)

Solzhenitsyn was born into the new Russian Revolutionary system. In 1945 he was arrested for writing disparaging comments about Stalin in his letters and was sentenced to a “mild” eight years in the Soviet Gulags (labor camps). Upon his release, he was exiled to the desert in Kazakhstan and then in 1974 was exiled to the West. During this period, Solzhenitsyn became an orthodox Christian. He came to recognize that only Christianity provides both a realistic understanding of the human condition of sin and the one solution to the human condition that makes any sense. His works on the Soviet Gulags and on Russian history have become classics that have given the West a clear picture of life in the repressive Soviet system.


Francis Schaeffer (1912–84)

Schaeffer grew up in a liberal Protestant home. As a teenager, he began to read the Bible and was surprised to find that it contained answers to life’s greatest problems. He gave his life to Christ and, contrary to his family’s wishes, determined to enter Christian ministry. In 1948 he and his wife, Edith, moved to Switzerland. There they gave their lives to talking to and witnessing to young people, mostly disaffected youth from America and Western Europe.
Schaeffer was never afraid to confront modernity and postmodernity on their own grounds. His writings demonstrate a dialogue with the key intellectual and cultural developments of the last two centuries. If there is one important thing to be learned from Schaeffer, it is that a person can face the best (and worst) that the nontheistic world can offer and still have confidence that God is there and that He is not silent.


J. S. Bach (1685–1750)

Bach entered the world as one of the most gifted musicians of all time. The sheer amount of work he turned out is almost unbelievable, amounting to nearly a thousand compositions, many of which have since been lost. He set the Christian faith to music in a way that no one before or since has done. He read the Bible faithfully and sought to give accurate presentations of its truths not only in lyrics but in musical composition as well. Bach also demonstrated that one could serve God by producing music that was not specifically Christian in orientation, such as his Brandenburg Concerti, but which, by their very structure, still demonstrate a conviction that God has made a well-ordered universe. Bach’s commitment to Christ can be seen in his telling his students that unless they committed their talents to Jesus they would never become great musicians.


Lewis Wallace (1827–1905)

Wallace was a Union general during the Civil War. Later he sat on the court-martial that dealt with the Lincoln assassination conspirators, then became governor of the territory of New Mexico. His life began to change when he had an extensive conversation with the well-known infidel scholar Robert Ingersoll. In the conversation he was unable to refute Ingersoll’s arguments. So he set himself to learn everything he could about the life, setting, and historical context of Jesus Christ. Wallace was not overawed by the reputation of Ingersoll, but he believed that investigation of the facts of the gospel message could lead one to the truth about Jesus. Wallace’s investigations led to his writing the novel Ben-Hur.
In the novel a Jewish man named Judah Ben-Hur encounters Jesus and hears him say, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Later Ben-Hur returns to Rome and gives all his wealth to promote the Christian faith.

The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith

Atheists and Agnostics like to tell people that intelligent people don't believe in God, but the opposite is actually the truth. The more intelligent a person is, the more likely they are to believe in God! I was looking to see if I could find a list of scientists that believe in God. I remember seeing a very long one quite some time ago but I can't remember where I saw it. I couldn't find that one, though I wish I had as I've never seen a better one, but these will do for a start:

SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES ESTABLISHED BY CREATIONIST SCIENTISTS

DISCIPLINE SCIENTIST

ANTISEPTIC SURGERY JOSEPH LISTER (1827-1912) BACTERIOLOGY LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)

CALCULUS ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727)

CELESTIAL MECHANICS JOHANN KEPLER (1571-1630)

CHEMISTRY ROBERT BOYLE (1627-1691)

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY GEORGES CUVIER (1769-1832)

COMPUTER SCIENCE CHARLES BABBAGE (1792-1871)

DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS LORD RAYLEIGH (1842-1919)

DYNAMICS ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727)

ELECTRONICS JOHN AMBROSE FLEMING (1849-1945)

ELECTRODYNAMICS JAMES CLERK MAXWELL (1831-1879)

ELECTRO-MAGNETICS MICHAEL FARADAY (1791-1867)

ENERGETICS LORD KELVIN (1824-1907)

ENTOMOLOGY OF LIVING INSECTS HENRI FABRE (1823-1915)

FIELD THEORY MICHAEL FARADAY (1791-1867)

FLUID MECHANICS GEORGE STOKES (1819-1903)

GALACTIC ASTRONOMY WILLIAM HERSCHEL (1738-1822)

GAS DYNAMICS ROBERT BOYLE (1627-1691)

GENETICS GREGOR MENDEL (1822-1884)

GLACIAL GEOLOGY LOUIS AGASSIZ (1807-1873)

GYNECOLOGY JAMES SIMPSON (1811-1870)

HYDRAULICS LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519)

HYDROGRAPHY MATTHEW MAURY (1806-1873)

HYDROSTATICS BLAISE PASCAL (1623-1662)

ICHTHYOLOGY LOUIS AGASSIZ (1807-1873)

ISOTOPIC CHEMISTRY WILLIAM RAMSAY (1852-1916)

MODEL ANALYSIS LORD RAYLEIGH (1842-1919)

NATURAL HISTORY JOHN RAY (1627-1705)

NON-EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY BERNHARD RIEMANN (1826- 1866)

OCEANOGRAPHY MATTHEW MAURY (1806-1873)

OPTICAL MINERALOGY DAVID BREWSTER (1781-1868)

PALEONTOLOGY JOHN WOODWARD (1665-1728)

PATHOLOGY RUDOLPH VIRCHOW (1821-1902)

PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY JOHANN KEPLER (1571-1630)

REVERSIBLE THERMODYNAMICS JAMES JOULE (1818-1889)

STATISTICAL THERMODYNAMICS JAMES CLERK MAXWELL (1831-1879)

STRATIGRAPHY NICHOLAS STENO (1631-1686)

SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY CAROLUS LINNAEUS (1707-1778)

THERMODYNAMICS LORD KELVIN (1824-1907)

THERMOKINETICS HUMPHREY DAVY (1778-1829)

VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY GEORGES CUVIER (1769-1832)

NOTABLE INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES OR DEVELOPMENTS BY CREATIONIST SCIENTISTS

CONTRIBUTION SCIENTIST

ABSOLUTE TEMPERATURE SCALE LORD KELVIN (1824-1907)

ACTUARIAL TABLES CHARLES BABBAGE (1792-1871)

BAROMETER BLAISE PASCAL (1623-1662)

BIOGENESIS LAW LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)

CALCULATING MACHINE CHARLES BABBAGE (1792-1871)

CHLOROFORM JAMES SIMPSON (1811-1870)

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CAROLUS LINNAEUS (1707-1778)

DOUBLE STARS WILLIAM HERSCHEL (1738-1822)

ELECTRIC GENERATOR MICHAEL FARADAY (1791-1867)

ELECTRIC MOTOR JOSEPH HENRY (1797-1878)

EPHEMERIS TABLES JOHANN KEPLER (1571-1630)

FERMENTATION CONTROL LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)

GALVANOMETER JOSEPH HENRY (1797-1878)

GLOBAL STAR CATALOG JOHN HERSCHEL (1792-1871)

INERT GASES WILLIAM RAMSAY (1852-1916)

KALEIDOSCOPE DAVID BREWSTER (1781-1868)

LAW OF GRAVITY ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727)

MINE SAFETY LAMP HUMPHREY DAVY (1778-1829)

PASTEURIZATION LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)

REFLECTING TELESCOPE ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727)

SCIENTIFIC METHOD FRANCIS BACON (1561-1626)

SELF-INDUCTION JOSEPH HENRY (1797-1878)

TELEGRAPH SAMUEL F.B. MORSE (1791-1872)

THERMIONIC VALVE AMBROSE FLEMING (1849-1945)

TRANS-ATLANTIC CABLE LORD KELVIN (1824-1907)

VACCINATION & IMMUNIZATION LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)
http://www.icr.org/article/bible-believing-scientists-past/

Seven Scientists Who Believe in God
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Gottfried W. Leibnitz (1646-1716)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Charles B. Thaxton (living)

http://www.biblequery.org/Science/Scientists.htm

Famous Scientists Who Believed in God:

• Francis Collins (A more recent scientist who helped crack the human genome (genetics/DNA)).
• Sir Isaac Newton- He believed very strongly in God, and loved viewing science as God’s creation. He remains one of the most prolific scientists remembered in history. He actually wrote and studied the Bible as much as he experimented, and believed the universe was designed by God.
• Louis Pasteur- Another famous scientist who also believed in God.
• Robert Boyle- Known for his contributions in chemistry, philosophy, and more, he believed in God
• Gregor Mendel-Known for his contributions in genetics and inheritance studies.
• Albert Einstein- Albert Einstein didn’t believe (according to most accounts) in the tradition Judeo-Christian God of the Bible. However, he did believe in a God that could have started the universe.
• and many more

Other Famous People Who Believe in God:

• John D. Rockefeller- A business genius and the world’s first “billionaire” was a devout Christian who believed strongly in God and attended church regularly and tithed 10% of his income.
• Famous Rapper “Mase” – Had a vision of leading people to hell, so he gave up his rapidly growing hip-hop career and became a minister.
• Chuck Norris- The guy who no one wants to fight- is also known for his faith in God.
• George Foreman- Former boxing heavyweight and the guy sold the cool grill on TV, is also a devout Christian.
• Zig Ziglar- Motivational speaking guru that became a born-again Christian and has a strong faith in God.
• Johnny Cash- This country legend was also known for his belief in God. He recorded several gospel songs over his career, and turned to God for strength during his struggles.
• Abraham Lincoln- Always at the top of the list for the world’s greatest presidents of all time, had a strong faith in God. He often made references to God during his speeches, and lived a very moral life by standing up against the cruel practice of slavery.
• and the list goes on and on and on.

http://www.revelation.co/2009/01/05/are-there-any-famous-scientists-philosophers-or-celebrities-that-believe-in-god/

How Christians view their faith

I heard a young mother say that she thinks children should be exposed to church and Christianity, so that when they're grown up they can make their own decision as to whether they want to be a Christian or not. She made it sound like trying to decide what kind of car to buy.

She obviously didn't see it as a life or death decision, because if she did, she'd have desperately wanted her children to choose Christ, no matter what it took. She thought of herself as a Christian and yet, like so many, doesn't have a clue what it really means.

I long for the day to come when the situation is reversed and the vast majority of Christians (including me) really know what being a Christian is all about; when they know that choosing Christ is a life or death decision and not something that can or should be put off. When parents feel desperate to be assured that each of their children is saved and living for Christ by the time they've reached the age of accountability... I long for the day when we wake up each morning with the thought of being given one more chance to teach our children just a little more about the Lord. When we wake up and realize that each day is a precious opportunity not to be squandered, that should be used to get that spouse or other loved one to submit to the Lord and accept His gift of salvation because they may not have another day.

I guess mostly, I long for the day when we will no longer allow ourselves to be stopped because we're afraid we'll be rejected, disliked, or will upset the person; when we'll realize that it would be much more acceptable to have them angry at us and saved, then not angry and still unsaved. When we'd rather lose the affections of someone here in this life, if it means a chance of enjoying their affection for eternity. I have a feeling though that we won't see any of this until the Millennium. But, at least we'll see it then, and until then, I can continue to pray that the Lord will give me this attitude and help me to serve Him better.

Come Lord Jesus!

Who is Lord of Your Life today?

So often I hear myself and others saying things like, "I want to", "I'm going to", "I have to", "I need to" do whatever... and for years now, I've had to stop myself and remind myself that "I" don't have any say about my life anymore. The "I have to do whatever because" was one that I used to say a lot before I was saved. I particularly remember saying it about work. I'd say that I "had" to go to work and couldn't take time off because I was sick, (even when I had pneumonia or should have been in the hospital, like my boss begged me to allow him to take me several different times!) because I couldn't afford the time off. Logical, isn't it? Not when we're saved it's not! The Lord showed me that right quick! He pointed out that I was to do what He told me to do, not what I thought I was "supposed" to do. He also pointed out that He was my provision, not my job or my boss or anything else. Then, not knowing the Lord was working with me on this, the elder who was discipling me gave me an assignment saying she didn't want me to come to work unless the Lord told me to. That I was to ask Him every morning and then do what He said. Talk about being under pressure! This was my job!!!! 

I was terrified! What if I got it wrong??? What if it was my voice and not the Lord's I heard???  Well that certainly got me to pray and pray really hard for extended periods every day, let me tell you! I felt like I'd suddenly been dropped off a cliff and told to fly  But with the Lord's help, through His Word and prayer, I began to learn to discern His voice and His Will, and began to really understand that it wasn't my life anymore, it was His to do with as He pleased. Don't get me wrong, I'm nowhere near perfect in this, even after all these years. I wish I was and with the Lord's help, I'm working on it though.

I think there's a huge lack of understanding about this though for many Christians because many churches don't bother to teach what the Bible says. They teach about Salvation being a "free gift", as though there was no cost to us, as though we can continue to live as before and still be saved. At least that's how most seem to view it. That's just not true though. While we can't earn our salvation, there IS a cost to us and Jesus tells us to count the cost before we make our decision about belonging to Him or not. That cost is making Jesus the Lord of our lives - no longer doing or saying what we want to do or say, but instead, doing and saying what He wants us to do and say. Even our thoughts are to be what He desires, not what we want. Not just on Sunday's either, but every day of the week, and every decision of every day.

Look at all the times we're told in His Word that the disciples and apostles were servants of Christ, and all the times we're told that we are to be His servants too. Like in 1 Peter 2:16 where we're told: "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." Jesus humbled Himself and came here and served us. Now He asks us to humble ourselves and serve Him by allowing Him to be the Master of our lives.

One thing I've seen many do instead of asking the Lord what He wants them to do and waiting for an answer, (and did myself at first) is deciding that if something happens, then it's what God wants us to do. But that's really just a cop out. God wants us to talk to Him, and He really wants us to listen to Him. It's the listening part that we tend to have the most trouble with though, and that's what the elder who discipled me helped me learn to do. We listen to Him the same way we'd listen to anyone else, only we have an added advantage which is His Word. He will often reply to us through His Word, so the better we know it, the better we will become at hearing what He has to say to us and doing His Will each day. No, there's no verse in the bible that says, "go to work today" or "buy a car" or "get a job" , but you'd be surprised at just how God can answer those very kind of questions through His Word! Of course, He also answers by His Voice. That's usually the hardest thing for us to get used to. What helped me was remembering that Jesus said that we (His sheep) would hear His Voice, not that we would try and that we might get it right sometimes. It also helped me to remember that in relation to hearing Him, the Lord often says throughout His Word that we need to "be still", "be patient" and "wait on Him".

When we give Him control over our lives, He changes us and we will find ourselves serving others for His sake. We'll find ourselves forgiving the unforgivable, and loving the unlovable, over and over and over again, just like He did. We'll find our anger replaced with compassion, our fear replaced with Trust in Him, and our hate replaced with love. We'll find the Joy of the Lord, even in the midst of great sorrow or trials. We'll find we need a lot less then we thought we did and that we can give a lot more then we thought we could. So while there's a cost to us, the rewards of choosing to pay that cost are so high, and bring so much joy, that no other choice makes any sense.

My prayer for all of us is that He will help us all to live lives worthy of His calling, and that others will see Jesus in each one of us.

Matthew 16:24–25 —Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. *For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. *

Are we living up to God's reason for choosing us?

God chose us for a reason. Eph 1:4 tells us that the reason is for us to be holy and blameless in His sight. Are we living up to that? I know I don't live up to it as much as I want to. In 2 Cor 13:5 He tells us that we're to examine ourselves regularly to see if we're in the faith, and to test ourselves. Do you examine yourself and test yourself?

On those few occasions when I get out of the house, I see people that I know are Christians, and see them speaking, acting, singing, playing, and working, just like the world of unbelievers do. And yes, I know that at times I do so myself. But what I don't see in them, is any remorse or repentance. Nor do I see any changes a month or a year later, and this just breaks my heart. It breaks my heart because I know it breaks my Father's heart, and I know that if they realized what they were doing, it would break their hearts too....only apparently no one tells them. I guess I would prefer to think that it's because no one has warned them, rather then believe that they have been told and chose to ignore the warning.

I see the world falling apart around me, and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who should be standing with me, warning others of what's to come, are often instead going along with the world! Even if they don't believe the rapture is going to happen soon, surely they know that at death there are no more chances. Unbelievers will go to hell, period and believers will also be judged on what they have done since they were saved. That judgment doesn't affect their salvation, but it does affect their eternity as to whether or not they'll receive a rich welcome or if they'll be ashamed of themselves; as to what rewards they will or won't get and how much treasure they'll have stored up for themselves for eternity, among other things. So both believers and unbelievers have something to be very concerned about. I would think that concern would take precedence over everything else, especially since no one knows if they're going to be alive tomorrow or even later today! For those of us who know that the world is quickly headed for the Tribulation and that the rapture could happen at any moment, we have yet another reason for that concern to take precedence over everything else.

I want to ask others the same questions I ask myself: Is what you're thinking, saying, doing, looking at, watching, singing, playing, working at, something that you would be proud to have the Lord hear and see? Because He does hear you, and He does see you. And He tells us that we will all have to account for even every careless word that comes out of our mouths! (Matthew 12:36)

If you know your bible, then you know too that God has always been more concerned about what's in our hearts then what we do, because what's in our hearts - our thoughts - is what determines our feelings and actions. That's why every careless word will be accounted for, because the Lord says that those words come out of our mouths because of what our thoughts and beliefs are. It may confuse some, but in the bible, the word that's translated "heart" means what we call our minds, the seat of our thoughts, will, beliefs, etc. The word also includes our feelings in that the bible teaches that our thoughts determine our feelings as well as our words and actions. So in Matthew 6, when Jesus says that our hearts will be where our treasure is, He means that's what we will dwell on in our thoughts, our minds.

Please, join me and pray that the Lord will reveal anything offensive to Him that's in us and help us apply His Word to our life so that others will be able to tell that we belong to Him. Nor should we leave it at praying and wishing. We are also told to work at it (Phil 2:12). Obviously, we can't do any of this if we don't know His Word, and His Word tells us that we're to keep ourselves in His Word as it's what will nurture us and change us to be like Him; it's our daily food and drink - more then that, we're told it's actually our life! (Deut 32:47) My words mean nothing, but His Word does! His Word is powerful! It's living, not dead like my words. It's active and works within us. It's sharper then a two edged sword, and penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. My words can't do that, but His can and do! Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:12–13) And that day is fast approaching! So please, read the scriptures at the end of this post. Don't skip them because if you do, then this will have been for nothing, because my words won't help you. Only God can.

Are you really ready???? Could you stand before Him right now, unashamed, knowing that you've done all you could to know Him and His Word, to know His Will for you and to live a life worthy of His calling? When others see you or hear you or read something you've written, do they see Jesus or do they see more of the world? Are your children ready? Once we are saved, we are told to bring our children up in the love and knowledge of the Lord.

Ephesians 1:4 —For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. *

Ephesians 1:11–13 —In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, *in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. *And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, *

Ephesians 2:10 —For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. *

John 15:16 —You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. *

Romans 8:29 —For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. *

Titus 2:14 —who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. *

Romans 7:4 —So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. *

1 Peter 2:5 —you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. *

Philippians 1:27 —Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. *

Philippians 2:12 —Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, *

Colossians 3:1–17 —Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. *Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. *For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. *When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. *Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. *Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. *You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. *But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. *Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices *and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. *Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. *Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. *Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. *And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. *Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. *Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. *And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. *

Luke 21:34–36 —“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. *For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. *Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” *

1 John 2:28 —And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. *

For how we are to live, read: Ephesians 4:17-5:21

Your Boss or Friend is God's agent to carry out His will in your life.

Your Boss or friend is God's agent to carry out His will in your life. It doesn't matter how they feel about you or what their worldview is, or even if they've ever heard of the Lord. Our Father is in complete control of all things and one of them is how other people respond to us, including our bosses at work. There are of course many scriptures that show this, but this is the one I happened to read this morning, and next to it was a note from one of my books:

Psalm 75:6–7 —No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. *But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. *

Your promotion, or lack of it, is in the hand of God. Your superiors are simply His agents to carry out His will. They are not conscious of doing His will and never intended to (unless, of course, they are Christians prayerfully seeking to do the will of God), but that does not alter the result in your life. You can trust God in all the areas of your life where you are dependent upon the favor or frown of another person. God will move in that person’s heart to carry out His will for you. Bridges, J. (1988). Trusting God

Through His Word, God teaches us that He is able to move people's hearts and minds to do His Will and do so without violating or coercing their own wills. How He does it, we're not told. That's a mystery. We are simply told that He does do it, and we're told and shown examples of it over and over again. I didn't understand this though, until the Lord pointed out examples of how the ancients understood this. One of my favorite ones is in 2 Samuel 16. As King David and some of his leaders approached a city in Israel, a relative of Saul's came out and began throwing stones at David and cursing him. When we read that, we expect to see David get angry like we most certainly would, but he doesn't! Instead the captain of his guard gets angry and David basically tells him to chill out. That's surprising in itself, but what's really surprising is David's reason for doing so. Listen to what David says to him: 2 Samuel 16:10–12 —But the king said, “What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’ ” *David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. *It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.” *

Making what the man did even worse, and giving David every reason He could need to punish this person, remember that God's law says in Exodus 22:28 —“Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people. * One I'm afraid that we often forget ourselves. But the point is that David understood that what had happened wasn't just between him and this man. He knew that God was involved too.

This is what we usually don't realize or if we do, then we forget about it. If we truly realized this, then nothing anyone did or said to us could possibly get to us, because, like Jesus, we'd realize that the only power they had was given to them from above. Instead though, we generally get angry, put down the person who's hurt us or done wrong by us. Instead, we need to remember that not only is God behind what's happening, but also that God uses everything for our good. So we should be asking the Lord what we need to learn from what happened to us, and of course, like Jesus told us, forgive the person who hurt us. Besides, when we don't cooperate with the Lord, it usually brings yet more negative consequences into our lives.

We often try to forget about the bad things that happen to us as they don't fit in with our view of God. In reality though, it's those things that cause us to grow in our faith, and it's those things that often turn out in the long run to either be a tremendous blessing in disguise or lead to a tremendous blessing that wouldn't have happened otherwise. Again, look at Joseph. If he hadn't been sold as a slave, he never would have been put in charge of Egypt.

The lesson I got from it was that I needed to trust God with my life enough that I no longer needed to know "why". I try to think of myself now like a private in the Army. He's given orders and expected to obey them, and never told why. Only the officers at the top know the reasons for those orders. I often remind myself of that old hymn, "Trust and Obey." We don't have all the information we'd need in order to understand it all anyway, only God does, and He operates on a "need to know" basis, and privates don't need to know.

I use this to remind me of how God operates because too often we tend to think that He thinks just like we do, and He doesn't. (Isaiah 55:8–9) We like to believe that we know what's best for ourselves and everyone else in our lives, but again, we really don't. We also like to believe that we can figure God out, and again, we can't. If we could figure Him out, then we'd be God, and He wouldn't. God is much bigger then our finite minds can wrap themselves around. When He does give us answers, He "stoops down" to show us why, (Psalm 18:35) the way we'd do in order to answer a young child's question about a serious subject. We really are just little children, only we have this huge inflated ego that thinks we're all grown up when we're not. He uses the circumstances and people in our lives, to put us in situations where we will grow in faith and grow up to be responsible adults in His Kingdom. If we'd but recognize this and trust Him, we wouldn't have to deal with so much stress, worry, anger and anxiety in our lives.

I thought I'd share a story of something that happened to me that illustrates this for those interested.

I remember years ago when I was fighting with workers comp to get them to OK a surgery I desperately wanted to rid me of the pain I live with. I had the surgery before and knew it would have rid me of the pain for at least 7 months, which would be like heaven to me, but they weren't cooperating with me or my doctor at all. I had prayed and prayed, but it seemed like the Lord hadn't heard me. In other words, God wasn't doing what I wanted Him to do and was quite sure was His Will - after all, it would help me and that had to be in His Will, right? Wrong. I literally fought them for over a year, even getting a lawyer, and still they wouldn't budge! You think I'd have recognized that God was behind this, but I was so focused on myself and what I wanted, that it didn't occur to me until close to the end.

Workers Comp had told me that for them to consider it, I had to have a certain procedure done; a procedure I'd had before and that to me was no more then legal torture. It was the last thing I wanted to do for sure, but in order to get that surgery, I finally agreed. My first news after the procedure was again from workers comp saying they wouldn't pay for the surgery, and again I was very angry and felt betrayed by God. Then my doctor emailed me and gave me the results of that procedure. I was shocked! He told me that my back had deteriorated so much since the first surgery that I wasn't even a candidate for it anymore since they'd have to do 3 times as much as they'd done the first time, which was basically impossible. It just wouldn't work. That's when I realized that God had been behind the insurances answer the whole time.

The Lord was merciful to me because He did show me "why" that time, but He doesn't always tell us why. In fact most of the time He doesn't. He never told Joseph why his brothers had sold him into slavery, or why he'd later been put in prison. He didn't tell David why he had to spend years running from Saul when He'd already told him that he'd been chosen to be the King of Israel. I'm sure you can think of many other examples too. He doesn't usually tell us because He expects us to live by faith and once we know why, it's no longer living by faith. Why did He tell me? I don't know. Maybe it was the thousands of prayers where I begged Him to tell me why the surgery wasn't being allowed. Or maybe it was because my daily habit was to be in His Word and always try to apply it to my life and He felt I needed to know this so I could better apply it next time. If workers comp had allowed that surgery and not fought me on it, I probably wouldn't be able to walk at all today. And the outcome would have still been the same, whether or not I knew "why".

Fear Based Advertising?

"Fear Based Advertising." A book I'm reading suggested I google that phrase, and so I did, as I was curious, never having heard it before. I have to admit that I was shocked....and then again, I wasn't considering how sinful man is. I knew that advertisers used sex and other sins to sell things, but I'd never considered that they used the sin of fear as well. Check out what one of the first things that popped up on the search says about it:

Quote:

Sex doesn't sell, it's fear. In the first episode of Mad Men (Smoke gets in your eyes) Don Draper outlines the appeal of fear as a tool for selling with chilling clarity. "Advertising is based on one thing: happiness," he calmly tells his clients. "And do you know what happiness is? … It's freedom from fear." This has been the simple quest of consumerism for the past half-century: to pinpoint with laser-like accuracy the anxieties of the consumer at any given moment, from the nebulous (economic insecurity) to the specific (bird flu). One former marketing executive from a soft drinks multinational even told me how they would brainstorm these anxieties on a "whiteboard of worry". The purpose? To brilliantly, cunningly hone a product that offers temporary "freedom from fear", temporary because a new fear and a new product will be on their way soon. Here are some of the ways it is done. http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...y-concept-fear

You might want to check out some of the ways it's done too...pretty interesting! And maybe by knowing about it, it will help us remember that God is in control, not man, nature, the world, or Satan. I mentioned Satan on purpose though as this is surely another of his schemes. He's the master liar, and he most certainly attempts to keep us afraid. He wants us to fear that we're not really saved, that God doesn't really love us, that He doesn't hear our prayers when we're hurting, and that we'll be left behind to face His Wrath in the tribulation, among other things. He wants us to fear that God won't provide for us when we can't pay our bills, when we're sick and need healing, or when we're in pain and can't take it anymore. He wants us to fear that we're on our own with no one to help us, whatever our situation is, when that's obviously not true according to God's Word. Right now, he wants us to fear that if we don't store up a bunch of food and any money we can, that we'll never make it through the economic crash that's coming...as though we had no Father who loves us and will take care of us. Then of course there's the biggest fear of all that Satan throws at us, and I see this through advertising a lot: the fear of death. Amazing when you think of it because we're told that one of the reasons Jesus came was to set us free from the fear of death! (Hebrews 2:15)

Now that it's been brought to my attention, the more I think about it, the more I see fear based advertising everywhere. That's good, because now when I see it, I can laugh at it and be victorious over the mastermind behind it!

Psychology and the Church

Psychology and the Church (Pt. 2/6) 

 Psychology and the Church (Pt. 3/6)

 Psychology and the Church (Pt. 4/6) 

 Psychology and the Church (Pt. 5/6)

 Psychology and the Church (Pt. 6/6)

Psychology, Just Another Broken Cistern That Cannot Hold Water

"Psychology is no more 'science' than the atheistic evolutionary theory upon which it is based. Like theistic evolution, 'Christian psychology' is an attempt to harmonize two inherently contradictory systems of thought. Modern psychology
and the Bible cannot be blended without serious compromise to, or utter
abandonment of, the principle of Scripture's sufficiency." -John MacArthur

There is a wonderful Christian movement today dedicated to reclaiming area that has been ceded in past generations to psychology.
My family growing up was deeply "psychologized" - always running off to
therapy for this or that childhood wound - or talking endlessly with
psychiatrists about supposed problems. But nobody ever had relief from
any of these issues. If anything, psychology
just seemed to give permission for us to be (sinfully) self-absorbed,
and also seemed to give permission to call sin by another name (as in,
"Oh, he's just a Type A, so he has permission to be high-strung and
obnoxious.")

"My people have committed two sins: They have
forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own
cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:13)

This new movement is called Nouthetic Biblical Counseling - and it is
truly biblically based. By that I mean that it is not just
psycho-babble with Bible verses sprinkled on top. I can give an amazing
testimony of someone very close to me who was disagnosed as a
narcissistic personality disorder. In psychology,
"narcissistic personality types" are notoriously hard to treat, and are
typically considered incurable (similar to sociopathic/psychopathic
personality disorders in severity). Yet through the power of God's word,
this person was radically transformed from being a hostile, angry,
manipulative 'narcissistic' into a loving, gentle, humble, giving
person.

Psychology has no ability from within its framework to explain such a radical transformation happening to a person with a supposedly "incurable" personality disorder. But Christianity does...it's called being born again:"Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new." (2 Cor 5:17)

See also:
Institute for Nouthetic Studies

NANC - National Association of Nouthetic Counselors

Psycho Babble - by Dr. Richard Ganz

Dr. Richard Ganz

The Psychologized Man

posted with permission
http://solasisters.blogspot.com/2010/11/psychology-just-another-broken-cistern.html

here's some great books about it:
Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology by Ed Rulkley, PhD
Our Sufficiency in Christ by John F. MacArthur
Competent To Counsel by Jay E. Adams
The Christian Counselor's Manuel By Jay E. Adams
Introduction To Biblical Counseling by John F. MacArthur Jr. and Wayne A. Mack and The Master's College Faculty

Worried about what’s happening in the world

More than ever I hear believers say, “We’re worried about what’s happening in the world. If things don’t change in our country real fast, we’re finished.” Christians shouldn’t live that way. We don’t live by the news; we live by faith in God. When Bulstrode Whitelock was preparing to embark as Oliver Cromwell’s envoy to Sweden in 1653, he was feeling anxious about the tumultuous state of his nation. England had recently gone through civil war, and—for the first and only time in its history—it executed its own king (Charles I). The army and the government were at odds with each other. So were the Presbyterians and Cromwell’s Independents, two branches of Puritans (spiritual heirs of the Reformers from the previous century). It was difficult enough figuring out which direction the country was headed, let alone representing it to another country. The night before his journey, Whitelock nervously paced about. A trusted servant, noticing his employer was unable to sleep, approached him after a while. This exchange took place:

“Pray, sir, will you give me leave to ask you a question?”
“Certainly.”
“Pray, sir, do you not think that God governed the world very well before you came into it?”
“Undoubtedly.”
“And pray, sir, do you not think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone out of it?”
“Certainly.”
“Then, sir, pray excuse me, but do not you think you may trust Him to govern it quite as well as long as you live?”

The question left Whitelock speechless. He headed for bed and soon was fast asleep. Likewise, we do well to ask ourselves those same questions when fearing what will befall us in today’s world, then rest easy when realizing the obvious answer.

The author of Hebrews was keenly aware that many such concerns in running the Christian marathon would plague us. Therefore, this is what he said to do: “Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (vv. 3–4). In other words, “I don’t see any of you bleeding. It may be a little rough at the water cooler, you may get hassled in class, and you probably won’t get preferential treatment by the government or anyone else, but you haven’t been crucified like Someone I know.”

When you start thinking it’s too tough to live the Christian life, consider One who endured such hostility that He went as far as death—and realize you haven’t gone that far yet. Having that in mind has a way of keeping your anxieties in check. When you grow weary in the race, focus that much more on Jesus. Remember that His life of faith led to joy and triumph, and yours will too.
MacArthur, J. (1993). Anxiety Attacked. MacArthur Study Series (57–59).

God asks us to make a clear mental choice to unburden ourselves.
Sometimes we are so caught up in our feelings and our misfortunes, we need to put them aside and as the Bible says “consider Him … so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb. 12:3).
Redman, B. (2010). God knows my name: Never forgotten, forever loved.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1–3)

I thought this addressed what many of us have or are feeling about how things are going in our country and in the world today, so thought it would be good to share with everyone. It's a short excerpt from a book called, Anxiety Attacked" by John MacArthur and a short quote from God knows my name by Redman. Hope it was encouraging for all.

The Downfall of Babylon & The World Today

1. I've been studying Revelation again and began studying about Babylon and it's destruction in Rev 18, and why God destroyed it. I wanted to know what the sins were that God hated so much, because I knew that those same sins must be present in our time too. I'm sure they've always been present, but felt they must be even worse in our time since everything seems to be so much worse now and we've been seeing so many previews of all the judgments that will be coming during the tribulation.
   
   What I found both did and didn't surprise me. I guess the part that surprised me was because it's something the Lord has been teaching me about lately anyway. (He often seems to point out things He's teaching me personally during my study time lol) This time one of the main things was about idolatry. The Lord's been teaching me about the sin of idolatry for almost 2 years now, and I've discovered that it's much much more then just bowing down to some statue.
   
   I think it would be safe to say that most of us would never think idolatry would be a problem for any of us. After all, we do worship the one true God, so we're safe, right? Wrong. The Lord's shown me so much about this sin, that it's mind boggling to me. I've learned since I wrote that first piece that idolatry is very much a sin that's familiar to all of us. This is the sin that's going to continue to grow until it's so ugly and monstrous that it should be obvious to all what a horrid sin it is.
   
   One of the first ways I learned to define idolatry, besides bowing to a statue, was that it means putting anything before God and His Word. Most of us would instantly say that we would never do that, and we'd mean it too. But the Lord's shown me how insidious this sin is, and that in fact, most of us are guilty of it and not just once in a while. Yet another definition of idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn't true or trying to make Him something He isn't. It's something God also calls Spiritual adultery. If you think about it, God often accuses Israel of spiritual adultery in the OT, and He warns us from that in the NT too. But what is spiritual adultery? It's when we become involved in false teachings and things like that. It is NOT when we mistakenly believe something that's not true, because we haven't gotten to that truth yet in our daily studies with Him. But, if we hold to a false teaching, and do not study His Word with Him daily, then He does hold us responsible and does call it spiritual adultery and idolatry, because if we had, we would have known the truth.
   
   Knowing this then, and knowing the state of the Church right now, seeing the direction it's going, it's easy to see how this sin is going to continue to grow. There will be no great revival to bring people back to the truth, like the false teachers say, before the rapture. So this is just going to get worse and worse. Then, after the rapture, although there will be a tremendous and great soul harvest during the tribulation, with many saved who know and live the Truth, this sin will continue to grow in the majority of mankind as they basically worship themselves as god, and/or the god they create in their one world religion.
   
   This is one part of the sin of idolatry that will be practiced by the harlot, the woman riding the beast. Remember that she's dressed in purple, and gold and precious gems and jewels, showing luxury. This shows us the other part of the sin of idolatry practiced by her and all who follow her. (the one world religion). Remember how Jesus told us that the love of money was the root of all evil? This is another aspect of idolatry. It's when the love of pleasures or possessions becomes the most important thing in our lives. And this will be very true of the people during the tribulation.
   
   In fact though, it's already true of the majority of the world, even of Christians. This was the hard one for me to learn about. At first I denied that I could possibly be guilty of this. After all, I don't have much money anyway! Think though of how Satan, the prince of the air, has used the media to encourage this sin in our lives. People were much more content with their lives (like God tells us to be) before radio and especially before TV! They weren't being constantly barraged with pictures and sounds of the "new, improved, and better" things they could have like we are. No matter what we own, we constantly see commercials for the same thing only the next model up that's newer, prettier, improved, better, etc. And of course, everyone wants it! Somehow, you lose your desire for the one you've got, and find that you just have to have the newer, better kind.
   
   I think back to my parents childhood, then mine, my children's and now my grandchildren's and it's so very different! Now days, kids have things that many people didn't get until they were adults, if then! The US prides itself on being so prosperous, but what we are is idolatrous, not prosperous and it's getting worse every day.
   
   Let me quote something from one of the commentaries about the verses describing the downfall of Babylon and the sins she's judged for, and see if it doesn't sound an awful lot like how it is today:
   
   A third sin is Babylon’s worship of pleasures and luxury. To “live deliciously” (Rev. 18:7) is to live proudly in luxury while others go without. It means to make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life, and to ignore the needs of others. John summarized this attitude as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The world system satisfies the desires of the earth-dwellers who follow “the beast” and reject the Lamb. But worldly things never permanently satisfy or last. The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. The Bible exposition commentary.
   
   Babylon’s sins ‎(18:3). The verse links spiritual adultery (idolatry) with “excessive luxuries.” A focus on material things leads not only to self-indulgence but also to an arrogance which denies any need for God. The worldly person puts his or her hope in possessions and in this sense puts things in the place rightly occupied by God. Idolatry is not just bowing down to images; it is also relying on wealth or power rather than on the Lord. The Bible reader’s companion
   
   When we need something, how often is our first thought of how much money we have...do we have enough to buy what we need or want? Do we have enough to see the doctor or pay for those tests? Do we think of things like that or think of how we might be able to make the money before we ever think of God who is our real provider?
   
   I've found that the twin to this is the sin of self idolatry because we often rely on ourselves long before we turn to God. We save God for the things we can't do for ourselves. At least most of us do until we learn better. When I first heard the term, "self idolatry", I thought it meant worshiping myself, and again figured I was safe. But that's not quite it is it? It's when we rely on ourselves instead of God, and that's already something just about everyone's guilty of in our time, and again is only going to get worse.
   
   Note too how idolatry is linked to Satan and the demonic. It's easy to see in God's Word how the love of pleasure and possessions soon draws demons into our lives. So many warnings against getting caught up in it, both in the old and new testaments. Now we know why. And look how all these forms of idolatry are growing tremendously, and right along side them, so is the occult and new age trash, and the false teachings like the prosperity gospel! It's all nothing more then idolatry.
   
   Suddenly, Babylon was looking awfully familiar! I wrote about it when God first started teaching me about idolatry and what it really was, I used to think that I couldn't ever be an idolater... thinking I'd learned my lesson. I had no idea there was so much more to learn!  I see now that much of what we consider normal in life is nothing more then idolatry. God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be a constant part of our lives... of every thought, every action. He's not interested in being a part time God or a genie when we want something. That was one of the things that impressed me in studying Leviticus. His laws were made so that the Israelites were forced to make him part of everything they did, and that was the point. When I think back to the first Christians, that's how they lived too, especially since they knew that at any moment they could be arrested and/or killed for their faith, and also believed that at any moment Jesus could return. In reading Revelation, I realized that's how the tribulation saints will also live, except they'll know almost exactly when Jesus will be returning. Neither group makes us look very good does it? I have to admit it really makes me ashamed of myself. It makes me want desperately to live only for Him, to make Him proud of me. I want to heed His call to come out of her, don't you? I'd like to end with what one of my commentaries says about Rev 18:
   
   Our American society increasingly has traits in common with Babylon: materialism, a passion for luxury, and growing immorality especially reflected in movies, literature, and contemporary music. Our society too will share Babylon’s judgment—perhaps before Christ comes. Let’s make sure our allegiance to Christ is so strong that when our Babylon crumbles we will have grace to rejoice. The Bible reader’s companion

An End Times Lesson from Ezekiel

An End Times Lesson from Ezekiel

In Ezekiel 8 God actually seems to give us a thumbnail view of the end times, the rapture and the tribulation!

In this chapter, Ezekiel is having a vision and God shows him how evil the people and even the priests have become and how they're misleading the people and encouraging them to sin. He showed him people that "everyone thought were godly" but who in reality were quite wicked and misleading the people. Even in the Temple itself, the priests had literally turned their backs on God. Oh they still did all the rituals they were supposed to, but when they weren't doing those things, they were worshiping false gods and doing other detestable things. It reminds me of this verse:

‘they have no shame at all, they do not even know how to blush.’ Jer. 6:15.

Sounds like our society now doesn't it? Not only do people not feel shame about their sins, they promote them and advertise them as entertainment! I don't know how many times that thought goes through my mind each evening when we see the commercials for current programs on TV. It's like each program or movie is based on one or more sins and how great it is. Let's see if I can remember a few of the current ones I've seen the ads for: "sex in the city" or something like that, but then most of them have something to do with one kind or another of illegitimate sex. Then there's one in particular that's all about "revenge" and it's commercial is all about how we all want to get revenge on those that have hurt us. I don't think they miss a single sin. On any day of the week, you can turn on the TV and get your fill of adultery, homosexuality, porn, premarital sex, greed, coveting, gossiping, lying, stealing, murder, hate, revenge, disrespect of parents, teachers, pastors, government officials, etc. There's also plenty of idolatry and paganism available for any who want it, as well as taking God's Name in vain and using vulgar language etc. All dressed up as entertainment. Don't even get me started about false teachers! We all know how bad that situation is now!

People don't repent of sin anymore. Instead they either label it as an Illness or they legalize it and tell us we need to be tolerant of it. People today delight in their sins and the sins of others, instead of repenting of them and praying for mercy. Like Judah in Ezekiel 8, we seem to think that God doesn't see it or us, and/or doesn't care.

After God has shown him all the evil the priests and the people are doing in the land, God says this to him:

Ezekiel 8:17–18 —He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! *18 * Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” *

That's the end of chapter 8, and in the next chapter God calls in Angelic guards and look at what He orders them to do:

Ezekiel 9:4 — and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” *

He makes sure that all those who love Him are marked on their foreheads--very much like He does in Revelation with the 144,000 witnesses. Then, just like in Revelation, He commands that they be protected from harm and orders that His judgment is to go out on the rest of the people in Judah.

Ezekiel 9:5–6 —As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. *6 * Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. *

I was thinking that the way the Lord first marked those who belonged to Him and then kept them safe from the destruction is a lot like what will happen at the rapture. We've all been marked/sealed with the Holy Spirit and when the rapture happens, the judgments to come on the earth won't touch us.

Just as this judgment began with the elders in the temple, so after the rapture, the first to realize what happened and what their own fate is now, will be those false teachers that have so polluted God's Word and taught heresy.

Just as the priests of Judah polluted God's temple with their idolatry, so that God's presence then left the temple (Ezekiel 10) for He will not share His glory with idols, so the false teachers of today have polluted His temple--the body of Christ with idolatry and other sin. Therefore the true body of Christ will be removed from this earth just as God removed Himself from the Temple then, and next the judgment begins.

Please don't misunderstand me...I'm not suggesting that this is what God is teaching us from these chapters, or that their main purpose is to point toward the rapture and tribulation to come. I don't think that's true at all. But I do think it's one of the things that we can see in these chapters.

I also think that His main message in these chapters are just as desperately needed today as they were then:

That those who turn their backs on God and His Word are leaving themselves wide open for judgment, for judgment will come. It might be delayed but eventually all will pay for their sins. When that time comes, it will then be too late for them to "repent" and escape judgment. What I mean is that they can repent, but they will still be judged for it will be late for them to escape that as God won't listen to their cries. (again like it will be at the rapture...those who do instantly realize what happened and repent will still have to go through the trib.) Those who don't repent at all will perish in their sin, just as these people did when the angel slaughtered them. These chapters also teach that God will never abandon those who do belong to Him and have given Him their hearts. They will always be safe in Him.

To me, the message for our world today is the same it's always been: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near! And His message to those who belong to Him is

Hebrews 10:35–38— So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. *36 * You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. *37 * For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. *38 * But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” *

Revelation 3:11 —I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. *

Even so, Come Lord Jesus!!!!

God's Sufficient Grace

God's Sufficient Grace

by John MacArthur

A certain poor man spent many years saving money to realize his dream of going on a cruise. When he finally saved the required sum, he bought a ticket. Knowing he could not afford the extravagant food on board, he took what he could afford—crackers and peanut butter.

After a few days of observing the other passengers eating luxurious meals, his peanut butter crackers became stale and tasteless. Desperately hungry, he begged a porter to allow him to work for food.

“Why, sir, didn’t you realize meals are included with your ticket? You may eat as much as you like!”

Lots of Christians live like that man. Not realizing the unlimited provisions that are theirs in Christ, they munch on stale scraps. There’s no need to live like that! Everything we could ever want or need is included in the cost of admission—and the Savior has already paid it for us!

There’s a single word that encompasses all the riches we find in Christ: grace. What a magnificent word it is! It is used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor bestowed on undeserving people. It is the means by which we receive every physical and spiritual benefit.

To some measure even unbelievers benefit from God’s grace. Theologians call that “common grace” because it is common to all mankind. Common grace is God’s continual care for all creation, providing for his creatures’ needs. Through common grace God restrains humanity from utter debauchery and maintains order and some sense of beauty, morality, and goodness in society’s consciousness.

Christians, however, receive a greater grace (James 4:6). To us God’s grace is inexhaustible and boundless, including all that we have talked in earlier posts about regarding the all-sufficient provisions of Jesus Christ.

We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8) and in grace we stand (Romans 5:2). Grace upholds our salvation, gives us victory in temptation, and helps us endure suffering and pain. It helps us understand the Word and wisely apply it to our lives. It draws us into communion and prayer and enables us to serve the Lord effectively. In short, we exist and are firmly fixed in an environment of all-sufficient grace.

Grace upon Grace

One of the most wonderful statements about our Lord is that He was “full of grace” (John 1:14) and “of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). “Grace upon grace” speaks of accumulated grace—one grace following upon another. Such grace is ours each day. It is unlimited and sufficient for every need.

Paul called it “the abundance of grace” (Romans 5:17), “the riches of [God’s] grace” (Ephesians 2:7), and “surpassing grace” (2 Corinthians 9:14). Peter called it the “manifold” (in Greek, poikilos, “multifaceted” or “multicolored”) grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). He used the same Greek word in 1 Peter 1:6 with reference to the various trials believers face. That’s a wonderful parallel: God’s multifaceted grace is sufficient for our multifaceted trials.

Super-Abounding Grace

Perhaps nowhere is the magnificence of grace more wonderfully stated than in 2 Corinthians 9:8–11. The superlatives here are staggering: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.… You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God” (emphasis added).

In a sense, those two verses sum up everything that could ever be said about our sufficiency in Christ. Set in a context describing God’s material provision, they have meaning that obviously extends to limitless proportions. Surpassing grace indwells every believer (v. 14). Is it any wonder Paul could not restrain his praise to God for such an indescribable gift (v. 15)?

All-Sufficient Grace

Paul experienced God’s grace as few others have because he endured suffering as few others have. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord gave him one of the most profound truths in all revelation: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” That wonderful promise extends to every believer, but its context is one of severe difficulties, distresses, persecutions, and human weaknesses (v. 10).

In chapter 11 Paul chronicles many of the hardships and life-threatening situations he had endured. Included in his list are great physical trials—imprisonments, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, dangerous rivers, robbers, Jewish and Gentile persecutions, sleepless nights, inclement weather, and lack of food and drink (vv. 23–27). More painful than all that was the daily concern he had for all the churches (v. 28). God’s people and His church were Paul’s greatest passion (Colossians 1:28–29) and presented the highest potential for pain and disappointment.

The greatest pain he ever knew came from some of the people he loved the most—those to whom he had given his soul and his gospel, but who now had turned against him. Their rejection, betrayal, criticism, false accusations, and even hatred cut deep into his heart. In 2 Corinthians he wrote as a man who was unloved, unappreciated, distrusted, and deeply troubled in his soul.

The Lessons of Grace

Paul’s distressing circumstances put him in a position to learn some marvelous lessons about God’s grace, which he passes on to us in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10:

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave from me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

There is so much to be drawn from this marvelous text. For the purpose of this post I’ll simply make brief mention of the lessons we can draw regarding God’s grace.

Humility. God knows that men are prone toward pride, especially when they are in positions of spiritual privilege. Therefore He often uses opposition and suffering to teach them humility. That God places trials in our lives to restrain our sin and produce godliness is an act of grace.

Dependence. Often other believers are channels of God’s grace, but He alone is its source. We tend to turn to people with our hurts, but God wants us to look to Him first of all in times of trouble.

Three times Paul appealed to God to remove the thorn—three times the Lord said no. He prayed persistently and faithfully, yet he learned that God’s purposes could be better accomplished by the answer no.

Sufficiency. Paul was content with God’s decision because he knew that God would supply sufficient grace for his trial. “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ ” (v. 9). “He has said” is in the perfect tense in the Greek text, implying that every time Paul prayed, God said the same thing and kept on saying it. “My grace is sufficient for you” was his standing answer. After three times, Paul dropped the request. This was not a sign that Paul gave up on God, but that he rested in God’s sufficient grace.

Power. The same suffering that reveals our weaknesses reveals God’s strength, “for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). When we are least effective in our human strength and have only God’s power to sustain us, then we are suitable channels through which His power flows. And so we should praise God for adversity because that’s when His power is most evident in our lives. There is no one too weak to be powerful, but there are many too strong.

Contentment. Paul gives us a key principle in verse 10: “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul embraced his deepest trouble as a friend to lead him to greater spiritual usefulness.

Conclusion

God’s grace is more than sufficient for your every need. Is your relationship with Him deep and trusting enough to draw you to Him during times of difficulty? Are you content to endure weaknesses, insults, distresses, and persecutions for Christ’s sake so that you can be spiritually strong even amid physical and emotional weakness?

The story is told of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who was riding home one evening after a heavy day’s work, feeling weary and depressed, when the verse came to mind, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

In his mind he immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames River, apprehensive lest drinking so many pints of water in the river each day he might drink the Thames dry. Then Father Thames says to him, “Drink away, little fish. My stream is sufficient for you.”

Next he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, afraid lest its daily nibbles exhaust the supplies and cause it to starve to death. Then Joseph comes along and says, “Cheer up, little mouse. My granaries are sufficient for you.”

Then he thought of a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit and dreading lest his breathing there might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere. The Creator booms His voice out of heaven, saying, “Breathe away, oh man, and fill your lungs. My atmosphere is sufficient for you!”

Let us rest in the abundance of God’s wonderful grace and the total sufficiency of all His spiritual resources. That’s the all-sufficient Savior’s legacy to His people.

“May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure” (1 Peter 1:2)!

See previous parts of this series: Contaminated Cures for Soul Care;

 Insufficient Help, Part 1;  Insufficient Help, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Word, Part 1; God's Sufficient Word, Part 2;

God's Sufficient Spirit;

Posted with permission:

http://www.gty.org/blog/B140919/gods-sufficient-grace