And Now These Three Remain....

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I've been peppering the Lord with questions over the past weeks. I've been asking Him, what are your thoughts on the BP oil spill? What should we/I be doing? Where is your Spirit today, what is the Spirit saying to us today? Etc, etc.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord responds. In the bible people would ask Jesus questions, and He would seemingly answer in a way that was "out in left field." The Lord does not think the way we think....

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Apparently our answers to prayer come the same way today as they did in Daniels day, by angelic messenger:

Daniel 10:12Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

I say this because I ask, and ask the Lord lots of questions, and He responds, and responds, over a period of days. Very rarely do I get an instant response. Remember this the next time you don't think the Lord speaks to you. Our God is constantly speaking in various ways, and at various times. Be patient...

Now, to the point. I ask the Lord about the BP oil spill and what He's saying today, I ask "how do you see what's going on in the Gulf Lord?" How does He respond?

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

So.., what does this ^^ have to do with the oil spill and the world coming unraveled at the seams? If you are watching as we are commanded to do..

Mark 13:37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"

You will see people putting guns to their face and pulling the trigger (in the news of course), you will see that people are jumping in front of trains and off buildings. Why, would someone do these things?

Lack of faith, hope and love....

As the world comes unraveled, things will apparently go from bad to worse.

Luke 21:26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth....

The economy has been and continues to be in the tank. We've got natural and unnatural disasters everywhere we look. People's sense of being "in control" is quickly slipping away, which brings us squarely to the point that I believe the Lord was making to me in response to prayer.

The world is spinning out of control and our witness to the world is these three things that remain...faith, hope, and love. We can point out that the book of Revelation is being fulfilled before their very eyes, and people will shrug it off. It's unbelievable but its true. "Christians" the world over are being taught by their hired hand spiritual gurus "pastors" that the book of Revelation cannot be taken literally, therefore nobody can be sure at any time that the Lord's Word is being fulfilled to the letter.

People may be able to shrug off literal fulfillment of every Word written in the bible, but what they will not be able to shrug off is that when all of humanity is staring hell on earth in the face, there will be some....FEW....who will stare the hopelessness, faithlessness, and lack of love down. These few will be full of faith, hope and love in a world that is in a flat spin, out of control. They will ask "how can this person be so full of life and joy in the midst of the world being destroyed?" They will ask "where does their peace come from?"

It will not be some guy handing out tracts on a street corner, or someone going door to door,or some guy standing above you, looking down at you while pontificating in a one way conversation (pastors, sermons, church "services")that witnesses to this lost and dying world. People want peace, not the absence of war type, but the inner tranquility and power type. Every single thing a person does in this life is in some way or another a way to make themself happy. Ask why a person does something, and keep asking "why do you do that?" and follow up with "and why do you do that?" And eventually at the end you'll get to "...I just want to be happy."

The Word of the Lord does not speak to us of being "happy" but it speaks alot on peace, and joy, and hope, and faith. What does a person look like that is overflowing with peace, joy, hope and faith? The wicked despise such people because such people have a treasure that cannot be bought with filthy mammon. Such people have a treasure that is stored and secured in a kingdom that is not of this world.

The Lord spoke clearly to me, these things remain, faith, hope and love. As the world spins out of control, we who are salt and light must continue to preserve (salt) and cast light or "illuminate" (as in the true God's light, not the luciferian lie). What the Lord tells us to do is not overwhelming, it is not complex, it is not hard to understand. We grasp the things we are to do like little children, not like the so called "scholars" of this age who are coming to nothing. We must focus on the few things that are necessary, and discard the many things that are unnecessary. Hold on to your faith, hope and love. Be a light that is set up on a hill for all to see:

Luke 8:16 No man, when the light is lighted, puts a cover over it, or puts it under a bed,but he puts it on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.

You don't have to beat people over the head with your bible today to get their attention. They will probably not say anything to you, but your hope and love will (in some cases) be the tools that open a person to asking about your faith. Don't try to figure it all out, just be open to the Lord and keep your thinking simple, like a child. Ask the Lord every day, "where is your Spirit today and what is your Spirit doing and saying today?"

Why should we care about where the Spirit is operating today, and what He is doing and saying?

Romans 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

In order for the Spirit to lead, you have to follow. A people should inquire of their God. We who are the people of God should be praying continously with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Bottom line? What we have to do today, and in the days ahead is simple....These things remain, faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Keep your walk simple, few things are required. Focus on the vital few and discard the trivial many. Bless the name of the Lord, praise Him and rejoice.

These are the things I hear the Spirit saying today.

Keep the faith, grace and peace

"I Just Want My Life Back"

The CEO of BP was recently quoted as saying something like he wants the oil spill to be over with so he can "have his life back," or something to that effect.

The Lord dropped a bunch of things into my heart rapid fire this morning as I was driving home, and a good way to start off is with that quote.

People have been saying for years now, as the world has steadily deteriorated "I just want my life back." It's been housing, the stock market, jobs, floods, earthquakes, war, now this oil mess. This is what the Lord shed light on with me:

A different perspective on:
Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

What I believe the Lord impressed upon me about this "eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage" text is that I always took it as days of business as usual, and that's it. What I see now is that in spite of the world deteriorating all around them, people don't want to hear about prophesy,the end times or the true God. People could care less, what they want is....drum roll please............"their life back.." You know, back when they were not constantly confronted with these "end times problems." People are trying so hard to just focus on "eating and drinking, planting and building, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage." They are trying so hard to act like everything is okay and things will get back to "normal" if they just wait it all out.

Sadly, the bible does not predict people "getting their life back." It predicts "losing your life to save it." Again, 180 degrees out of sync with the thinking of this world. There's a way to deal with the end times and its not anxiety or fear or worry. There's a way to stare everything that is coming on this world straight in the face and retain our joy and peace, but its not by thinking or acting or believing like the world does.

We are told here:

Luke 21:34“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. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be 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 escape from all coming, that's a stated biblical fact. We are to pray for escape, thats another stated biblical fact. Those who choose not to pray for escape from all, have an obedience issue with God that if left uncorrected, could cost them DEARLY in the days ahead.

Luke 21 appears to be ripe with meaning for us today, for those who have the eyes to see. Rewind back from Luke 21:36 a few paragraphs to this:

Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Signs in the sun?

How about this for a headline out of this week's news:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627640.800-whats-wrong-with-the-sun.html?full=true

What's wrong with the sun?

and a quote from the article:

"This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Haven't seen this kind of activity from the sun in living memory huh? NASA scientist said this....interesting. The bible tells us there will be signs in the sun moon and stars, but they will all be easily dismissable by those who have explanations for everything! Just like the way the oil disaster is unfolding before our eyes, everything is so explanable. We can see bibilical prophesy happen word for word right down to the nitty gritty details and people will still roll their eyes and try desperately to get back to "getting their life back."

Even when the events prophesied thousands of years ago are kicking people in the teeth over and over and over again. When objective and verifiable evidence is flashing across newscreens daily screaming at people, they'll roll their eyes and get back to "getting their life back."

Part of the problem with people admitting that the Word of God is coming true before their eyes is that they will then have to come to terms with the God who wrote and is the Word. That is something that people have had a problem with for a long long time. People like their religion, they like their social clubs, they even enjoy playing church, but when it comes to standing face to face with the consuming fire, the Holy One who will expose all their pet sins, well, that can wait for another day.....as we see here:

Isaiah 30:8Go now, write it on a tablet for them,

inscribe it on a scroll,

that for the days to come

it may be an everlasting witness.

9These are rebellious people, deceitful children,

children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.

10They say to the seers,

“See no more visions!”

and to the prophets,

“Give us no more visions of what is right!

Tell us pleasant things,

prophesy illusions.

11Leave this way,

get off this path,

and stop confronting us

with the Holy One of Israel!”

All appearances are that these people who are doggedly determined to wait things out to "get their life back," are in for a long wait. The things I've read about whats happening in the Gulf of Mexico scream out that whatever is happening, it is going to be on a biblical scale. There are scenarios that experts who will never be mentioned by the media say could be apocalyptic.

We recently looked at Revelation 8:

8The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Here's our checklist so far:
and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea->complete (oil rig before sinking).

A third of the sea turned into blood-> in progress, the oil in the water looks like what? Blood...

9a third of the living creatures in the sea died-> in progress, give it time..

, and a third of the ships were destroyed.-> This was the one I thought, I just can't imagine how this whole oil leak thing could destroy a third of the ships? Lo and behold, each day new articles are shedding light on what's going on in the gulf. I seem to remember BP didn't want to bring their own ships in right after the rig blew and I wondered why? Possibly the same reason all the fisherman are getting sick? Still, that would just be dead sailors, what about the ships? Now we read about possible radioactive oil coming out of the depths? We read about methane blowouts from the well that could cause a 600 mph wall of water death across the ocean? Are we getting any traction here on possible loss of ships? Yep, its possible.

As we continue in Rev 8, what do we find?

10The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11the name of the star is Wormwood.a A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

Bitter waters huh? A great star? What does the bible call angels? STARS
We don't have to leave the book of Revelation for this proof:

Rev 1:19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

And Wormwood? Remember Chernobyl? Nuclear? Radioactive oil? Food for thought.

The last thing the Lord impressed on me was this, again from Luke 21:

Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

One of the things the Holy Spirit does is bring to our mind remembrance of what has been written.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father ... But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Back to Luke 21:25....“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. As we see the maritime drama playing out in our news daily, it should bring into focus for us what has been written. We can expect more drama from the sea, the Holy Word says its coming. It's going to be really hard for all the people who "just want their life back" to do so when men are "fainting from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world.."

The talking heads of TV will try to explain it all away for you. They have an endless supply of meaningless drivel to spoon feed you every day while the bible unfolds, word for precious word before the eyes of mankind.

My disclaimer in all of this is I am not predicting anything. I have eyes, and a God given mind, and I too have the Spirit of God living within me, as was promised to all true believers. I have a bible in one hand and eyes that are going back and forth from the Word of God to the events around me. What I am seeing is hitting "center mass" as we liked to say in the military with what the Word says would happen. All this, predicted thousands of years ago. Someone please compute the Vegas odds on that....

The Word of God is true, and it is vindicating itself before the eyes of man each and every day now. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus.

grace and peace

The Small Gate and Narrow Path

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.

Only a few find the narrow gate that leads to life...Not my words, His Word. Many years ago, the Lord burdened me with these words which is why you see them come up here over and over again. I have asked the Lord repeatedly, "Why Lord?"

Today in prayer I asked the Lord for a word for you. This is what I was given:

How do we get into and through the narrow gate that leads to life? Here, at least in part is an answer: 2 Peter 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I find it interesting that within this portion of scripture where we are told how to get into the kingdom of heaven, we are also given words that directly conflict with the doctrine of demons known as "once saved always saved." We are told here to "make our calling and election sure." If our calling and election was made sure 10 years ago during some 5 second teary eyed "decision for Jesus" then why are we told to continually "make our calling and election sure?" And we are told to be "eager" to do this. We are also told "IF" you do these things....If? Yea, you know, that conditional word IF....you do these things then you will never fall...

If YOU DO these things.....THEN you will never fall. The Lord is clearly telling us here that there are things we do (or not) that have a direct connection to us "never falling."

So why is it that many go through the broad gate that leads to destruction and only a few make it through the small gate on the narrow path that leads to life? The obvious reason is, that people are not eagerly making their calling and election sure. They are taking for granted that the doctrine of demons known as OSAS will be enough, because some "pastor" corporate church CEO told them it was the truth.

The Lord told us that few are going to make it, should we not ask why? WHY? Or is that a question we would rather have answered on judgement day? We are told to eagerly make our calling and election sure by: adding to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

What are we told next? 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, this lines us up perfectly with another theme the Lord weighs upon me, the parable of the talents, Matt 25. That parable which you can read for yourself tells us that we are expected to do something with what we have been given. We are to be fruitful with the fruit of the Spirit, which is: Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The parable of the talents tell us that we are to produce based on what was given. Some have been given more, some less, but we are all told to produce, in increasing measure with what we have been given. In this way we do make our calling and election sure, because we do so purposefully and eagerly. The comfort I see in the parable of the talents is, everyone who did something with what they were given were told "well done." It was only the person who buried their talent in the ground, did nothing with it that was punished.

Why should we be concerned with the answer to why so few will be saved? Because at all costs, we MUST be found worthy of being part of the few. What else on earth is more important than being found worthy of Christ Jesus' kingdom? Nothing is more important. Todays corporate church CEO's (pastors) sing the people a lullaby. "Don't worry," they say...."Just be a good person, continue to pay your tithe (as if a "pastor" was a levitical priest and entitled to a "tithe"), and continue to "go to church" (instead of being the church, "and everything will be A-ok!"

WHY did all of the Israelites who fled Egypt in glory, die in the desert and only two adults (Numbers 32:10-12) were counted worthy to enter the promised land? WHY was Israel scattered to the nations again and again as punishment for their thoughts and deeds? WHY were the prophets sent again and again to the people and the people killed them? WHY are only a FEW told in Rev 2 that they are worthy to walk with Jesus clothed in white? WHY are we told in Matt 7:13-14 that only a few will make it through the small gate that leads to life. Why will many stand before the Lord on "that day" and be told Matt 7:21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Or do we not care about the answers to these questions? "Oh," they say "but brother D, that would give me a "spirit of fear" if I stopped to think about such things!" Such people indict themselves because they have not love enough to drive out such fear so they may know the truth:

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out ... There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to
do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

and this ^^^^ brings us full circle right back to where we started today...which was here:

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

The end of all this is LOVE. Not as the world loves, but a love that was born in God, exists in God and is God. A perfect love that drives out fear, enabling us to know and love the truth, and that truth sets us free and that truth saves us:

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

2 Thessalonians 2:10 They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

This one is a real hammer ^^^^ notice the words "love" "truth" and "saved" all in the same sentence? Think there's something to this? I do.

These were the thoughts I believe the Lord impressed upon me today. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and may He grant us all peace. Blessed be His name.

An Amazing Conversation

I was speaking with a lady at work recently and I was absolutely stunned by her thoughts. A preface to this is she attends a large non-denominational "christian" church. We were dicussing the BP oil spill and I was mentioning how the oil looks like blood in the water, the increasing death of sea life etc when she said "oh, the book of Revelation cannot be read literally!" At which time I asked her, "ok, so even if you see a literal mountain all ablaze fall into the sea, if the sea literally turns into blood, when a third of the sea life literally dies, when a third of the ships in the sea are destroyed, when you have objective, empirical, measurable, verifiable EVIDENCE that matches one for one exactly with what the bible says, you still won't believe?" Her answer? "No."

This lady and her large "church" just finished going through the entire book of Revelation so "she knows" what the Lord means now.....The awesome part of this is that apparently for people like this lady, there is no evidence, nothing that would convince her now or at any point in the future that the events of Revelation are unfolding before her very eyes. When I asked her "what's the use of the Lord giving us any prophesy then if only God knows what and when things are happening in the world and the words mean nothing for us?" She replied "we don't need to know, it doesn't matter even if the book of Revelation is unfolding before us, we just need to do good things and be good people..." WOWWWWWWW. She went on to say that if we are living a good life, the entire book of Revelation is "meaningless" for us as Christians today. Meaningless? That's a quote word for word from her mouth and she was serious. I almost had to wet the tip of my finger and stick it in an electrical socket to snap out of that tailspin...

So now we have "church people" who propose to represent Christianity to the world who deny that literal fulfillment of anything that was written means anything. That's awesome. Let me tell you why I believe the Lord's Word coming to pass means something......the word is called vindication.

From Merriam-Webster: Main Entry: vin·di·ca·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌvin-də-ˈkā-shən\ Function: noun date: 1613
: an act of vindicating : the state of being vindicated; specifically : justification against denial or censure : defense

This thought has been simmering in my mind for weeks now. The Lord has fully vindicated his Word in my life. That means his Word has been proven true and faithful to the point where I consider it absolute fact. He has vindicated his Word to me, and I believe that the events unfolding all around us in the world today give us more vindication, or proof that the Word of the Lord is true. The fact that we see literal fulfillment of the Word of God does matter.

When the Word of God is being literally fulfilled before our eyes, should we not say something (as the Spirit leads us to) to the lost and dying in this world? Like "hey, gosh, all this stuff happening around us was written in this book, you might want to pick it up and read it sometime." We need not say these things in a harsh or sarcastic way, but in a way that may just inspire them to investigate the narrow path that leads to life (Matt 7:13-14).

It was mentioned here recently that the BP oil spill looks alot like the unfolding of Revelation 8:

8The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

A great mountain burning with fire thrown into the sea: did you see the oil rig before it sank?

A third of the sea became blood: have you seen what that oil looks like floating around in the Gulf?

A third of the creatures in the sea died: have you seen what's been happening to the sea life as a result of this spill?

Granted, I haven't seen any ships destroyed and I am not saying that we are seeing the fulfillment of Revelation 8. What I am saying is, the wording matches closely with what we are seeing. I also believe this is a time to learn. We are seeing how the world reacts to events that mirror those that will occur during the time of Jacob's trouble. Notice that in all the coverage, all the press conferences, all the finger pointing, all the hardships, no mention of God or his word....anywhere. Very instructive.

Based on what we are seeing, a disaster on a global scale and the attendant response, the Lord and his Holy Word will not be mentioned when angels are flying through the earth proclaiming the gospel, when the two witnesses are standing in Jerusalem calling down plagues on the world, and when the anti-christ is literally fulfilling the bible word for word.

Back to literal interpretations...

We are told that those who will not accept the kingdom of heaven like little children will never enter it. Children know literal. If I tell my son that when it rains outside he gets a piece of candy, then after the first drop of rain falls he'll be tugging on my shirt with that look in his eyes "where's my candy daddy?" He doesn't look outside and think "the falling rain is really symbolic of the tears of all the sad and weary in the world and my hypothesis of the way the wind blows the rain, causing it to fall this way is blah blah blah blah blah therefore my dad is not going to give me a piece of candy because although I see with my own eyes that it is raining, he didn't really mean what he said when he said I'd get a piece of candy when it started to rain..." How blind people can be. If it looks like moutain all ablaze falling into the sea, and a third of the sea turns as blood, and a third of the sealife dies, and a third of the ships is destroyed, people might be wise to disregard their "symbolic" interpretations of the bible and get ready for Revelation 9, 10, 11 etc. Call me crazy...

Only the Lord knows how this oil spill is going to pan out for the world. Not one "expert" knows in the entire world, not one has stepped forward to tell us what the years ahead will look like with the Gulf tarred over. Even if what we are seeing is not Revelation, it is "revelation" to the world that without our Lord this place is in big trouble. That leads me to the last point that I believe the Spirit of God impressed on me recently. The Lord protects and guards those who love him. The Lord has protected nations and individuals in the past. It appears that what has been allowed to happen (oil spill) may not have been allowed to happen (the Lord's restraining power might have prevented it) had we the people of the United States been faithful. As things stand, the United States is a filthy cesspool of every unclean thing, the major exporter of war and porn and death and moral degradation (think Hollywood) in the world today. People's faith is in government and BP's response, the stock market, their 401k and who is going to win the Superbowl this year.

It takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. Matthew 17:20 I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Faith the size of a mustard seed....when is the last time you saw a mountain moved in your own life? Is Jesus being literal or symbolic when he says we can move mountains? I can tell you from first hand experience, he meant what he said. I have seen mountains moved, the Lord's Word has been vindicated and will be vindicated in the days ahead.

I wonder how much time the world has left. Although I am 100% certain that we will see a pre-tribulation rapture/escape from all/harpazo of the true church, when that will happen is a mystery. As I read the writings of Christian men going back hundreds of years, I see the same thoughts on paper that we are thinking to ourselves now. The world has gone apostate and the end must be near. Well, for those thinking those thoughts in the 1800's, they were off by a couple hundred years....what's the lesson for us? Patience.

The stage appears to be set for the end times to play out, yet alot of what we are seeing in Satan rattling his cage wanting to get out to do his end times act. His problem is that the Lord determines the timing of things and Satan can only guess at the Lord's timing. I have been convinced for years that what we are seeing play out in the world can only go on for a short time then the end will have to come, but today is just like yesterday. The economy is tanking and it has been for years. The world is wicked and getting more wicked as it has for years. What should we conclude from these things?

Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

2 Thessalonians 1:4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about ... ... So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and
faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: ...

2 Peter 1:6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control ... ... and in your knowledge self-control; and in your'self-control patience; and in your patience godliness; ...

Luke 21:19 By standing firm you will gain life. ... In your patience possess ye your souls. ... In your patience possess you your souls. ...

Revelation 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your ... ... I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you can not bear them which are evil: and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and

We need to be ready tonight for the Lord to come back for us. We also need to be ready to wait patiently for years....In our patience we posses our souls. We have no need to be alarmed by what the media is saying, what the government is doing, how corrupt the corporations of the world are, how UFO's are being spotted all over the world. These things have gone on for years and will go on for years unless the Lord steps in soon to start the clock on Jacob's time of trouble.

One day, it will be abundantly clear to those who doubted what the Lord meant when He said things in His Word. I'm sure some things written in the bible are symbolic, but there are many many many things that were written to us to take at face value. We ignore literal interpretations of the bible at our own peril. We interpret the Word of God with the assistance of the SPIRIT OF GOD, not through "christian" scholarship. We enter the kingdom of God like little children, not like Th. D, ABCD degree holding clergy members. When the world is heading a certain direction, we of the kingdom not of this world should 9 times out of 10 be headed in the exact opposite direction.

grace, peace and love

Thoughts About the BP Oil Spill

A ship's wake cuts through a pattern of oil near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, May 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Here are just 2 of the many photos we can find on the net showing us the oil in the Gulf. We also know from news reports that once this oil hits the fast moving ocean currents it can and will spread throughout the the world. Which leads me to this:

Revelation 8:8-9
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died;

Now think hard about this...how would John (who saw the visions of Revelation) describe 1. The oil rig sitting above water before it sunk while it was an inferno after the initial blast? A mountain burning with fire? Do we really have to be creative to link the two or are the similarities right in our face? I'm just asking....

How about "the sea became blood?" Have you looked at what that oil looks like in the seawater? Blood? Almost exactly like blood...I'm just observing here. Again, little creativity needed for a 1:1 likeness.

I'm also interested at the fact of how this disaster is being reported in the media. Today is a foreshadowing of how all the disasters we see coming in the book of Revelation will be reported and presented to the people of the world. No way "God" or the bible will be mentioned, even when the exact matches to the Word of God are slapping people across the face. CNN and MSN and FAUX news will be reporting everything but the exact match between what's happening and what the Word of God predicted would happen thousands of years ago.

Am I saying that we are witnessing Revelation 8 before our eyes? Nope. What I'm saying is its an exact dead on match and you decide what it means or doesn't mean. We all decide for ourselves.

What else do we see today in the news? Dead fish and birds and everything else that used to live in the water? Yep. Wow, what a coincidence huh? And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died....so as the dead sealife mounts and mounts and mounts, will we EVER hear anyone admit that "hey, did that old book predict this thousands of years ago? Yea, what's that book called again? Oh yea, the bible..." Oh yea....

The Word of God is accurate, down to the letter. Since no man has been found to stop the flow of oil into the gulf, and there are hundreds of millions of gallons left to come out of that great cavern in the earth into the sea, would it really be such a great mental leap to say that maybe a third of the life in the seas may die before our very eyes, like.....soon. Not a big stretch at all, but I'm not saying this will happen, again, I'm just observing. You can decide for yourself.

Watch this video and keep in mind the exact wording of Rev 8:8-9.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iSTpxkaGWM

Another thought is that if we are seeing Rev 8 play out, what does that say about the book of Revelation itself? Accurate? Yea, but another insight would be..its not written chronologically...That leads us down an entire slew of questions and answers in itself. I'm not going there now.

I'm tired, the Lord is good and His Word, which is Jesus Christ, can be trusted to the uttermost. Keep the faith. Grace, peace and love.

Few Will Be Saved, Fear, Faith, Love

I was thinking about the post yesterday regarding Matt 7:13-14:

Matt 7:13“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

For those who say you can't determine meanings from one piece of scripture, I would agree which is why yesterday we discussed only 2 out of all Israel who left Egypt went into the promised land, Israel over and over wiped out by the Lord and only a remnant saved, Matt 7:13-14 and the related texts in Mark, Luke and John, as well as the place we quoted in Rev 3 saying that out of an entire geographic church (Sardis) only a few were found worthy. The theme is as consistent as it is solid in the Bible.

But that ^^ is not what this writer needs to convey today. I believe the Lord spoke to me today (again) about this issue. What came across to me is that people willfully turn away from the truths in the Word of God that they don't like for a number of reasons. People choose to not love the whole truth in favor of a partial truth that is no truth at all. These are the people spoken about here:

2 Thessalonians 2:10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those ... ... He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction,
because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.

People say "well that piece of scripture would give me a "spirit of fear" if I really thought on it, so it cant be the truth." To that I would say, no, it does not give you a spirit of fear, God's Word never gives a spirit of fear. Its not what they have (a spirit of fear) that causes their fear, its what they do not have (a spirit of love) that causes the fear. The lack of love is what causes people to shy away from the whole counsel of God. These people would not be afraid of the full counsel of God if their love was made perfect. How can we say that?:

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out ... There is no fear in love. ... Rather, perfect love banishes fear, for fear involves
punishment, and the person who lives in fear has not been perfected in love.

When our love is what it should be, we no longer need buffet style babylonian churchianity, we can embrace true christianity, which is all about love. Yes, there will be judgement, and wrath and all kinds of other things that proceed from our loving God in the future, because He is not a one dimensional God as so many today would paint him. For us though, who are "in Christ," we should have the fear of God. The fear of God is not like the fear in the world. We have a healthy awe and respect for our God because He is awesome.

Another companion of our love, is our faith. We love and believe and these things enable us to embrace the full counsel of God, which is by definition the truth. And it is the truth that 1. sets us free, and 2. saves us:

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

2 Thessalonians 2:10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those ... ... They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

From the things we see here today, we understand that there are some harsh truths in the bible, like few will be saved, but these truths which are hard for the unbelievers, the backslidden and the apostate, are not hard for us who love and believe "in Christ."

We must embrace the whole counsel of God, the full truth so we can be free and be saved. These thoughts were on my mind today. Blessed be the name of the Lord, AMEN.

grace, peace, truth and love~brother d

The Called Out Ones

In the bible the word for church is ekklēsia, which comes from the word "ek" and the word "kaleo." Those words put together mean "call out of" or "called out from." Interesting words the Lord uses for the church don't you think? We are "called out from" the masses of humanity to be His, but the story doesn't stop there.

Among the "called out" ones, there is a sub-group that is "called out" amongst the "called out ones." That is, among the church, or ek-klesia, there is a smaller group....a few....that are called out. I believe another word for this group is The Bride of Christ. Where has this been said? Let's find out.

A perpetual question I raise with the Lord is WHY Lord? Why will only a few be saved (Matt 7:13-28)? I'm not sure that what you are reading here is an answer to that question, but it is part of the "how" it has worked itself out through the ages. The Lord destroyed Israel over and over and over again, each time saving a remnanat..a few. We read in Matt, Mark and Luke that a few will find there way through the small gate that leads to life.

The "church" may be counted as many, just as Israel blanketed the land when they left Egypt, but how many out of the massive throng that left Egypt entered the promised land? Two.

When we read the book of Revelation we see words like these:

To the Church in Sardis

1“To the angela of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spiritsb of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

4Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Out of the entire church in Sardis, few had not soiled their clothes, meaning few were found worthy to walk with Jesus dressed in white, for they are worthy...

Worthiness? Yep, an important word also found here:

Luke 21:34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The church is called out of the world, and out of the church. Apparently few are accounted worthy of salvation, the rapture etc. Make of this what you will, but we ignore these things at our own peril. The Lord gave me these thoughts as I was sitting in an airplane flying at 36,000 feet flying coast to coast today.

Grace and peace