An All or Nothing Game

Today while I was out running, the Lord deposited this entire article in my head to deliver to you. It's a short article but a big, no huge idea....One of the foundational questions that the Lord used to get me to start this blog was the question of why will so few people be saved?

Matt 7:13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The vast majority or "pastors" preachers and teachers in this world won't touch this subject with a 10 foot pole, but Jesus said it and we need to consider it... WHY will FEW be saved? You can ignore that Jesus ever said it and find out the hard way later, I guess that's always an option too. Unfortunately for most its the most frequently chosen option. Anyway, today the Lord answered that question for me with what is contained in this post.

1. Few will be saved

We just covered that in Matt 7:13-14. We also see over and over again throughout the history of Israel that most were destroyed and only a few, a remnant were saved. This is not a new idea.

2. The bell curve
I don't know how to get that picture of the bell curve down into this section or I would put it here. Simply put, most people fall into the middle, or "normal" part of the bell curve. On either end of the bell curve you have the "few." In the context of what Jesus said about only a "few" making it into the narrow gate that leads to life, where should we be looking for people in the world who will truly be saved? We should look for them among the FEW, not among the many, or the "normal" or the middle, they are out on the edges, you might say they are found among the extremes.

Ever notice how today the really "bad" people are labeled "extremists?" "Extreme" is a really bad title to have today, its better (according to this world) to be found in the middle of the bell curve amongst the many, the "normal," but according to what Jesus said, being there is the broad path that leads to destruction, the path that the "many" take is one I do not want to be found on.

3. Hot or cold or I will spit you out

Running hand in hand with this idea that few will be saved, and the few are found on the edges, not the middle of the bell curve, we have these words from our Lord:

Rev 3:15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Did you read that? Jesus said that because these people are not "extreme," neither hot nor cold, but only "lukewarm" normal, in the middle, the masses, among the most, he is going to spit them out of his mouth. Other translations say vomit them out. In other words, he doesn't want them. Jesus wants hot or cold, one or the other. Most people are neither. Most people think that if they are on the broad path, the popular path surrounded by the masses then they will be safe and in the end their belief for staying in the normal/mass/popular/lukewarm area will be vindicated. Jesus tells us that's a lie and it will get you killed...eternally.

4. "Games" Aren't always for pleasure or trivial or juvenile, they can be deadly serious.

To put it simply, this is an all or nothing game. The "games" that gladiators fought in were deadly. Game theory is what the military uses to predict the deadly consequences of war. All "games" are not created equally, and the game of life is an all or nothing game. We need to be found on the extreme edges of that bell curve we saw above. We need to be hot or cold, on one side or the other, but not in the middle, not with the masses. We need to be found among the few.

Most people don't know where they are going in life, what they really want, who they really are, or what they really believe. They just kind of float along like a rudderless ship allowing the winds of the "masses" to direct their course. Most people have chosen a "lukewarm" path because to be out on the "extremes" where the "hot" and "cold" live just isn't comfortable for them. Most people care more about what the masses say and think than what the Creator thinks, so they end up getting spit out. Do you know what happens to people who get caught in the middle of a war without choosing sides? They get shot at from both sides. That's certainly not a good place to be.

What you have read here was given to me in its entirety by the Lord today. The message is clear, you need to choose sides. Do not be caught with the masses, the "most" that walk the broad path to destruction. We have no idea how much time is left before our Lord shows up for us so while we wait lets decide exactly what we believe, what we want, what we are asking the Lord for, where we are going in this life and the next. Don't spend another day as a "lukewarm" member of the masses who gets vomited out in the end.

grace and peace

A Preview of The Future: Haiti

Have you ever wondered what the future looks like? Look at Haiti right now. That's a preview of the future. While the media rolls camera 24/7 on the second to second happenings in Haiti, I think it would be wise to pan the camera out for a moment to ponder the bigger picture of what we actually see before us.

What do we see in Haiti? Extreme natural disaster? Yes. Death? Yes. Famine? Yes. Disease? Yes. War (people running around with machetes chopping each other down for food)? Yes. Despair? Yes. Okay, so with all these questions answered can we conclude that its not too overly dramatic to say that what we see in Haiti actually is a pre-view of the future? According to the bible, the answer is ....YES.

Matt 24:4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,a’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

and

Rev 6:1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

3When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

5When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages,b and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages,c and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

7When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

15Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

As I was watching images of what's going on in Haiti right now, the Lord impressed upon me that its just a preview of what is coming. It's hard to detach our thinking from what's on the screen but really think about it. What is going to be happening on some day during the tribulation/time of Jacob's trouble when millions/billions are dying from the seals being opened/trumpet/bowl judgements etc? What's going to be happening will be worse that what we see on TV in Haiti right now. What will the news crews be saying about it all? Will they admit that what is happening is an act of judgement for man's wickedness and rebellion against God? NEVER. Just like now, anyone who suggests that what happened to Haiti might have something to do with the Lord is labeled a kook/idiot/freak etc.

What do you think they will be saying on brain drain TV during the days of judgement that are coming on the world? It will be very similar to what they say today. 50,000-100,000 and counting people died as a result of the earthquake in Haiti this week. Is that grievous? YES. Does that break my heart? YES. Is more coming???? YES Over 2 Billion people will be killed in the opening salvo of the time of Jacob's trouble:

Rev 6:8 .....They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

What will they be saying on the propaganda tube in those days? Anything BUT, "hey guys, maybe this is the wrath of God... maybe we should repent and get our act together...."

We still live in the age of Grace. Our Lord's hands are still outstretched in mercy to this world, but the days of that mercy grow short. Terrible events like what has happened in Haiti should cause everyone who sees it to take a hard look at their own life. If it happened in Haiti, it can happen where you live too. The Lord is loving and kind, full of mercy and compassion, but he is NOT a one dimensional God as so many portray him in today's "churches." Our God is ALSO a God of WRATH and JUDGEMENT and VENGEANCE and WAR and RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Isaiah 42:13 ... ... The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal:he shall shout and cry: he shall prevail against his enemies.

Romans 2:5 ... But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment ...

Nahum 1:2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes ... The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes

....and there are tons of other examples you can go look up for yourselves to prove the point. People like to see the pleasant side of our God and they dig holes in the ground to hide their eyes from all the rest. Is that wise?

What I am hearing from the Lord today is not a message of condemnation of the Haitian people, its a call for everyone else to WAKE UP. If a person's heart is not broken to the point of tears over the Haitian people's plight, I'd have to wonder if they really know the Lord. Things like what we are seeing in Haiti work for destruction, but also for GOOD for those whose eyes and ears and hearts are OPEN to the Lord's voice.

The Lord is speaking today. He is speaking all the time. We are the ones who are not listening. We are the ones who are not "seeing." Our God is a God of miracles and turnarounds. A person who sees what happened in Haiti, and sees what is coming in the books of Daniel, Mark 14, Luke 17, Matt 24, and the entire book of Revelation, and turns in repentance, can be spared much of the horror that still awaits the world in the days ahead. That's not a scare tactic, its a statement of fact.

What happened in Haiti is a preview of the future. Terrible times are coming for most of the people who live on the face of the earth. But not everyone is going to go through the horrors of the days ahead. There is a promise of escape we find in Luke 21:36. There is a promise of being kept in Rev 3:10. There are promises in Luke 17 and Matt 24 that some of us will experience the future exactly the way Noah and Lot did in their days. Lot did not put on a fire retardant suit to "endure the flames" of fire and brimstone that fell on Sodom. Noah did not put on a duck floatie to keep his head above the floodwaters in the days of the flood. Nope, they were both physically removed/separated spatially from the fire/bromstone and flood. The bible guarantees us that some people will ehave an experience exactly like Noah and Lot.

Many people argue with the bible. They think that there will be no escape from all. They think that men will go through some or all of the horrors of the time of Jacob's trouble. I believe that as far as those people themselves are concerned..THEY ARE RIGHT. Chances are, most people will not escape from all, be spared in the way that Noah and Lot were. Luke 21:36 tells us there is a worthiness factor involved in the escape from all. The story of Lot tells us that out of an entire city, only Lot and his family made it out alive. Out of the entire world that Noah lived in, only Noah and his family escaped the flood. So most people are RIGHT when they believe they will not escape all..... They are right...but only about their own destiny. According to our faith things are done to us, and their faith places them in the thick of the tribulation/time of Jacob's trouble. Who am I to argue with them?

Matt 9:27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”“Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

I see the terrible times coming. I have faith that every word of the Lord is true and there is an escape from all just as the Lord says there is in Luke 21:36, Luke 17, Matt 24, and Rev 3:10. We are told to pray that we will be counted worthy to escape all that's about to happen, question is, are you praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all that's about to happen? If not, why not? It is an act of direct and willful disobedience not to pray that prayer, especially now that you know you should pray that prayer. But I'm not here to beat you down, I just want to share my thinking with you.

The word of God tells us in Matt 7:13-28 that only a FEW will be saved. FEW will make it through the narrow gate that leads to life, and the many will go down the broad path that leads to destruction. This blog was started in a large part because of that one scripture. My question was, why? Why will only a FEW make it in? That question and the Lord's answers to thousands of questions I asked him opened my eyes to the apostasy that calls itself "christianity" today. Everything about "christianity" from the pastoral system, to worship "services" to "tithing" and every other foundational issue I can think of within today's babylonian form of churchianity is rotten from the ground up.

I have many proofs that this thinking is not false but I only need one proof to prove it all. There are "pastors" and "churches" on every corner of every street in America today and yet DARKNESS, not light is growing by the day over America and the world. Light ALWAYS drives out darkness, no exceptions, every time. So how can all these "pastors" and "churches" be full of light AND darkness also be growing thicker and darker over our country by the day? The only way darkness can triumph is by the complete ABSENCE of light in the land. The absence of light and the advance of darkness only proof I need to offer to prove the point that whatever the so called christian church claims itself to be, it is NOT light because it is NOT driving out darkness. I rest my case.

Consider carefully what is happening in Haiti today. Pray for the people, offer what other help you can, but remember that if it happened in Haiti this week, it could happen here next week. If it did, what would you do? Are you right with the Lord? That's really the only thing that matters.

Grace and peace

Earthquake Haiti

Today on CNN the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake was broadcast. One clip they showed had a woman standing in the hills above port au prince screaming "its the end of the world" as smoke rose from the city. I can tell you that the Lord prodded my spirit everytime I saw that clip.

What happened to Haiti is a foreshadow of what's coming to cities all around the world. It wasn't four days ago that another major quake struck off the coast of California. When cities shake and cities are destroyed, we should pay attention. This time it was the Haitian capital, what happens when next time its our capital?

Why Haiti? Why now? If you've ever heard the saying "Haiti is 95% catholic but 100% voodoo" you might be getting warm. A people who worship voodoo gods cannot be at peace with our God at the same time. I believe that a warning was delivered to all of us through Haiti.

What's the point? The point is that thousands of people who woke up yesterday thinking it was going to be an ordinary day, never lived out the entire day. If it happened there it could happen here. Again, so what? The so what is...we must be at peace with the Lord today. We must be ready to stand face to face with him without shame today. It is only by the grace and patience of God and the few remaining true believers in this country that we've been spared today.

Matt 24:4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,a’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Here in America, many people are still living the days of Noah and Lot. Today all around us people know not until the destruction falls upon their own heads:

Matt 24:36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,f but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

When the flood comes to take people away it will be a little too late to wake up won't it? I grieve for the people of Haiti today, voodoo or no voodoo. I grieve for them more because I see people all around the world who will likely end up the same way. They are so busy with the world that they don't see our Lord's hand in anything, even in paradigm shaking events like what we see in Haiti today.

I believe the Lord stirred my spirit about what happened in Haiti. He didn't comment at all, not a single word, he just kind of tapped me on the shoulder then pointed his finger at Haiti and left the matter for my consideration. What I see I consider to be grievous and I think we should consider ourselves warned. There is a price for wickedness, in this life and in the next. There are benefits to righteousness, in this life and the next.

The people of America need to stop for a moment and examine themselves. The sins of America are stacked high into the heavens. Let's be sure we are right with the Creator.

Grace and peace

1/11/2010

I wanted to write something short to you today to let you know what the Lord has impressed on me.

#1
It is incredibly important that above all else we worship the Lord, in spirit and truth. Worship is what the spiritual war going on around us is all about. Satan wants people to worship him, our God wants the same thing, and here we are in the middle.

We must worship and we must be positioned to worship. What I mean by that is, there are many people in the world today who worship our God in vain...

Matthew 15:9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

#2

Don't give up hope. If you can, be aggressive in your faith and belief. Expect to see great things from the Lord in the days that remain. I personally am believing for something great. I have the faith and I believe that a mountain that I am speaking to right now will move exactly according to my belief. This mountain that I expect to move will alleviate some human misery in the world and once again validate my faith and belief. I write this to you today to encourage you to lay your faith on the line. Believe.....and watch what happens.

There is coming a day when those of us standing in heaven will look back and marvel at how little we actually did with what was available to us. I do not want to be one of those people who wished it would have been different. I want to be one of those people who tapped into the forces and power of heaven to move mountains on this earth just as our Lord said we would. I hope that you too can stretch your faith and belief a little bit more today and search your heart for what the Lord would have you do with it.

Conclusion

Make personal worship of the Lord your first priority. Who and what we worship is at the heart of the war raging around us. Exercise your faith for great things, be aggresive. Expect to see moutains moved. It does not take amazing faith to move a mountain, it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed. Do you think you can summon up enough faith to compare with a mustard seed? If you can, you should expect to move mountains. How AWESOME. These are the things the Lord has on my mind today.

We are dearly loved children, grace and peace

2010

I asked the Lord before new years, what should we expect this year? I asked him to give me something to give you. What I believe he has spoken to me are:

1. Endure patiently
2. Watch always

I asked him today as I often do, "Lord, please speak to me," and he responded immediately saying "I AM ALWAYS SPEAKING....THROUGH MY WORD."

All I could say was "Amen." The word of God is living and active, sharp as a double edged sword. Our Lord gave us a book full of living words. If we want to know the mind of God today, we need to read what has already been written and let it speak to us.

People on the internet are slinging around all kinds of ideas for 2010 to include alien invasion, world war, the tribulation, the anti-christ revealing himself and about everything else you can think of. Any of that can happen, but I hear the Lord saying to be at peace, wait patiently and keep watching. I find it interesting that these ideas of watching and patient endurance are at the heart of the Pre-tribulation/pre-time of Jacob's trouble/pre-time of 7 years of hell on earth etc etc.

Consider:

Rev 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

and

Luke 21:36 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.”

There is an event coming that people can call whatever they want. That event will see some people escape ALL that's about to happen. This group that will 100% guaranteed escape all that's about to happen will be those who are watching and ready like the 5 wise virgins of Matt 25. They will be those who have prayed to be kept from all.

There are many foolish virgins in the world today who will get right in your face and shout you down about being "kept from all" that's about to happen. They will tell you that "escaping from all" is just a feel good escapist fairytale. They will wear your eyes and ears out trying to prove to you how much hell on earth we are all going to go through before anyone sees any "escape." These foolish people argue not with us, but with God himself. God's word, not brother D tell's us there is an escape from all coming.

I am more convinced than ever before that the Spirit is telling us to hold on to what we have until Jesus shows up. Satan is a thief and a liar, if he can steal your "escape from all" then he will try to steal it. That explains the fiery opposition we have been witnessing against the pre-trib/time of Jacob's trouble rapture. Satan wants you on earth to take both barrels of the shotgun blast this world has coming to the face. Our Lord tells us that there is a test coming but not for everyone. The test is for "the whole world to test those who live on the earth." Test who? Those who live on the earth. Are people who have been caught up in the clouds "on the earth?"

Rev 4 shows us an open door in heaven and redeemed men in heaven (the 24 elders). How did redeemed men get into heaven? How about through that open door..Speaking of open doors, I think I've seen that before, maybe here:

Matt 25:1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
12“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

A door was open for those who were ready, you know, the people who were watching and praying to escape all that's about to happen like they were commanded to in Luke 21:36? Those people, also known as wise virgins went in through the open door. When the other virgins figured out "OOPS, I guess we were wrong and the bible was right, there WAS an escape from all!" by then the door will be shut. 5 were wise, 5 were foolish and only the wise went through the open door. Rev 3 , 4 and 5 are shown to us before even a single seal has been opened in Rev 6. Redeemed men are in heaven before Rev 6. The "other tribbers" have no explanation for how their theories can be right and some of us can escape ALL as we are told in Luke 21:36. The "other tribbers" have no explanation for how redeemed men can be in heaven before Rev 6 and their theories and opinions can be right too.

The point of all this is to tell you that the bible means what it says. If Jesus commanded you to pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all, then you better do it.

If Jesus told us there is an escape from all then there is one, period. The debate ends where the Lord's commands and words start.

Those of us who hold onto the hope of escaping all that's about to happen will not be dissapointed. We are told that according to our faith things are done to us:

Matthew 9:29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to ... Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you";

People who are have no faith for an escape from all will likely not experience an escape from all. There is a worthiness factor for experiencing this escape from all, its not for everyone. Part of the worthiness is "praying" as we were commanded that we may be counted worthy. To both escape all and stand before the Son of Man.

Terrible times are ahead somewhere. Who knows how long we have to wait. When Jesus shows up for us its going to be with no warning. No warning is the sign...no sign. Just like the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17, Matt 24).

I don't read many religious websites anymore, but when I do and I see anything about the pre-time of Jacob's trouble, escape from all rapture, something inside of me leaps. I believe that's the witness of the Spirit of God confirming in me not to let go of this hope. Satan has stolen enough from you in this lifetime, don't let him steal your escape too. If you are "in Christ" today you are part of the church. The church is not "Jacob." The time of "Jacob's trouble" is not the time of the church's trouble. Yes, there will be believers on earth during the tribulation that will suffer. The 24 elders who are redeemed men in heaven are an example of a small number who will not be on earth during that time.

If you are still debating when the escape from all will happen, you really need to answer how redeemed men are found in heaven in Rev 4 and 5 before any of Rev 6 takes place. The "other tribbers" have no answer for this just like they cannot answer how some of us will escape all.

Remember, according to your faith it will be done to you so you really need to figure out for yourself what you believe. Forget what I've written to you and everything you've seen and heard from anyone else and go to the Lord in prayer and meditation on his word to figure it out. What you decide on will have tremendous impact on your future.

grace and peace