Success

Have you ever heard the idea that success is when preparation meets opportunity? I like that thinking because its true. I bring this to your attention today as a way of encouraging you. Think about the situation in the world today. Everyone, or at a minimum the vast majority of people in "high places" whether it be religion, politics, social organizations etc etc are black in the heart corrupt. The powers that be have corrupted everything, and they now have most people by the throat. Many people see the current situation as helpless. "What do we do" they say, thinking their only options are the voting booth or physical confrontation. All of their options are wordly options. This is how you can spot the so called christians from a mile away. "Get involved" they say, "get out and vote" they say. In their mind, if John McBush would have been (s)elected, we would be sooooo much better off now....

Here's where your encouragement comes in...success is where preparation...meets opportunity. Your options are different from their options. Your prayers can accomplish much..if you believe. You can prepare through prayer. You can prepare through moment by moment taking control of your thoughts and bringing them into obedience with the word of God. You can moment by moment refuse to entertain any idea or thoughts that pollute you. You can choose to rededicate your life to the Master every morning. In other words, you can prepare for "the escape." Our Lord tells us to be watching and ready. He gives us many examples to illustrate what he's talking about. Most notably, the ten virgins come to mind. Some were ready, some were not. What did the "ready" virgins do that the foolish ones did not? They prepared in advance for the masters arrival.

How did they prepare, they brought extra oil. Why? They planned in advance to wait. They made preparations to do whatever was necessary to be ready when the bridegroom showed up. Realize this, if you do not prepare to succeed, you then default automatically over to preparation to fail. You can be proactive today, while the rest of the world has an iron fist around their throats. One size does not fit all today, and it will not fit all in the future. You can work on exercising and building your faith today. Yes, I realize that all of this sounds like utter non-sense to those who have told you to "get involved" with the world to make a difference. If I'm not mistaken, these people have been telling you to "get involved" with the world for years and years and years now, and look at the world. Does it appear to you that their method for "getting involved" is working? People are more enslaved and oppressed in every way today than they were a year ago, five years ago, ten years ago etc etc. They tell you the same things year after year and the world has gone from bad to utterly wicked.

Our Father's ways are not the ways of this world..period. He does'nt think like them, he does'nt love like them, he does'nt act like them, and we are his children. One of our highest goals must be to be just like our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. That means we do not proceed like the world does. Everything they do is futile, spinning their wheels with illusions of progress that keep them snared and walking down that broad road that leads to destruction. The OSAS (once saved always saved) people are fond of telling you "all you have to do is believe" to be saved. Well, I agree to some extent, but what does that mean "believe?" It takes FAITH to believe, no faith=no belief. Your faith is the currency that is worth more than all the worthless dollars the fat cat bankers are gorging themselves on at your expense today.

Today, we are still in the days before the flood...re-read Genesis 7, it says because of the flood, Noah and his family entered the ark (that and our God told him to get in :-). Genesis 7: 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. There it is. We can argue about pre,mid,post trib until we are blue in the face, but try arguing ^^^that. Bottom line, Noah went in because of the waters of the flood, the Lord told him to get in because of the waters of the flood.

There's another flood coming to this earth very soon. Because of this new "flood," once again the righteous will be told to "get in" to the "ark," which is the escape from all we are told to pray for in Luke 21:36. Rev 3:10 tells us that a church will be kept from the hour of trial, just as Noah and Lot were kept from their trials. You can do something today. You don't have to dangle off the ground with an iron fist around your throat like the rest of the world. We are not them. I don't say that in any kind of superior way, I say it in a way of someone who is climbing the ramp into the ark while telling the people on the ground, "come on, its going to be bad out there" all the while they mock and spit on me. That's how I'm saying it. Soon, the Lord will shut the door behind us, and its going to get ugly here on earth.

A part of me grieves for what this world is going to go through. I believe the Lord when he says that there is an escape and I pray that I and you may be counted worthy of it, but many won't. I tremble and I am very sobered by the thought of how many won't make it. This isn't a game, its eternal destiny we are talking about here. How many won't make it through the tribulation, then go to hell as a consolation prize? Many. There is no rejoicing in that, its beyond sad and grievous. I would not wish what is coming on my worst enemy. Without the grace and patience of our God, I know that I myself would be one of the clueless many. My heart is in the house of mourning these days, although I expect to be rejoicing on a day coming soon.

Today, so far, its been a pre-flood day. Today some virgins are filling jars with oil to take out and wait for the bridegroom, while other virgins play with the world and mess around till the last second, taking no thought for preparing while they can prepare. This world will chew you up and spit you out, no mercy. Many are those today who will try to convince you of worldly solutions to the spiritual problems this world faces, turn off your mind and ears to them.

Time is short guys. This year just started and already its looking quite wicked. I think there's a great possibility that the escape and the day of the Lord could start this year. The Lord can create and place on your front lawn a sun black as sackcloth and moon red as blood in a hearbeat. Do not be deceived by those who say "but this needs to happen" and "that needs to happen" when your God told you to watch and be ready TODAY. Please....wake up.

grace and peace

Noah Again

Gen 7:1 And the Lord God said to Noe, Enter thou and all thy family into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2 And of the clean cattle take in to thee sevens, male and female, and of the unclean cattle pairs male and female. 3 And of clean flying creatures of the sky sevens, male and female, and of all unclean flying creatures pairs, male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth. 4 For yet seven days having passed I bring rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every offspring which I have made from the face of all the earth. 5 And Noe did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him. 6 And Noe was six hundred years old when the flood of water was upon the earth. 7 And then went in Noe and his sons and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him into the ark, because of the water of the flood.

Some things to mention today on the above Noah scripture. There are people who say "whoa there cowboy, you see that "for yet seven days" part up there? That means after 7 days, and after 7 days means after the 7 years of tribulation, then the flood comes. Chalk one up for post-tribulationism!" Uhhhh, not so fast there cowboy.

It continues in verse 10 And it came to pass after the seven days that the water of the flood came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the abyss were broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On that very day entered Noe, Sem, Cham, Japheth, the sons of Noe, and the wife of Noe, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.

After 7 days...got it, but what about "And then went in Noe and his sons and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him into the ark, because of the water of the flood.?" Noah and company entered the ark because of the flood. Stated more clearly, the flood did'nt touch them. So, we could argue, go round and round about what the 7 days mean, but whatever we ended up agreeing on, we also have to agree that Noah was untouched by the flood. Because of the flood, Noah and family entered the ark.

If we are going to take something away from this Noah story, which will be our story, then it will be this....because of the "flood" we will enter our ark. We will be untouched by the parallel "flood" of our day. We could argue about "times and seasons" but why should we?

1 Thessalonians 5 >>King James Bible
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

^^And they shall not escape.....they.....what about you? Luke 21:36 Watch 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. Noah was counted worthy of escape, Lot was counted worthy of escape, we are told to pray that we may be counted worthy of escape. As it was in the days of Noah and Lot, so shall it be in the days of the son of Man. It will be exactly the same. Eating, drinking, planting, building, marrying and giving in marriage, right up till the day that destruction falls. Over and over again we read "the same day" that destruction fell, Lot and Noah were out of harms way. So whatever anyone wants to debate about "times and seasons" I argue back so what? Whenever it happens, it will absolutely, positively happen during a time of eating, drinking, planting, building, marrying and giving in marriage, which ties in perfectly with "when they say "peace and safety" then sudden destruction comes upon them." and they shall not escape....

They shall not escape, but you, brothers, are not in darkness...Here's a bottom line question that the mid-trib,pre-wrath,post-trib folks cannot answer, and refuse to answer:

How much of the flood did Noah have to endure before he entered the ark?
How much fire and brimstone did Lot have to endure before he left Sodom?

Answer to both questions...............NONE

There's a one stop shopping way to shutdown all the arguments. Here's something to realize though, many will go through the tribulation...they shall not escape...but you brothers....pray that you may be counted worthy to not experience the flood of Noah's day, or the fire and brimstone of Lot's day. If the days of the son of Man are going to be exactly the same, then they will be exactly the same.

Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Let's look at something else about these "days of the Son of man."

Luke 17:22 And He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

You will long to see one of the days of the Son of man? Obviously the days of the Son of man are good days, or at least tolerable days. This world is approaching a time that will seem unreal, but it will be very real. What's coming is beyond bad, its mind numbing, surreal terrible. What's coming is Mad max and the thunderdome, its escape from New York, movie bad. Just imagine the effect of the break down of law and order? What happens when governments are so broke they don't pay the police anymore? Think Somalia with warlords running things in regional areas, but here in America instead. Don't think it can happen? Wait and see. The Army is already gaming these scenarios out. Are they insane too? If I talk about it, I'm a nutcase, but when the government spends billions preparing for it, it's perfectly sane? That's the game we are playing today.

Look around you, read the lame stream media, what's happening? The end of the days of the Son of man. The end of eating and drinking, instead there will be famine. The end of marriage and giving in marriage, instead there will be death by pestilence. The end of planting and building, instead there will be war and destruction. The Lord could have said that the day he comes back for us will be a day of famine, and sword, and death and hell walking the earth...BUT HE DID'NT. He told us what the day would be like, but people are'nt listening.

The day that Lot left Sodom...the day that Noah entered the ark....the day that we leave this earth...THEN destruction falls. It's a 100% sure bet, because our God told us that would be how it happens. We will not experience a drop of rain on the head, nor a stich of clothing burnt from the brimstone. Why? Noah and Lot, how it happened for them, it happens for us who believe. Those who argue they will be going through the tribulation, likely will go through it, all of part of it. Statistics, few...a remnant is what's saved. Noah and his family....Lot and his family...a FEW out of many. The odds are against most people, but it does'nt have to be that way. Love the truth, and so be saved. Be pure in heart, remove the wickedness from your tent, purge the deceit from your heart, and walk in humility with this awesome, mighty God.

We have been called to the same thing from the beginning. Repent, do what pleases the King of Kings. Time is short, it takes faith to walk outside the boat with Jesus. If you don't have enough, ask him for more, and do not doubt that you will receive it. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Keep the faith, pray for the brothers. You are dearly loved. grace and peace.

Our Escape: A Noah Experience

The Lord does not leave us in the dark on what's coming. He tells us:

Matt 24: 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

I know there are many out there who insist that everyone is going through the tribulation. They think that because they are going through it, everyone is going through it. Big mistake. There are some people who will escape all thats about to happen. There are some people who will go partway through the tribulation then get killed. There are some people who will make it all the way through the tribulation alive. I believe that today, already our hearts are being prepared for what's coming. The future will not be a "one size fits all" event. Different people have different destinies.

Those who argue that there will be no "escape from all" are correct, but only as far as their future is concerned. Those people who believe they need to go build a bunker and hide in it from the anti-christ, they may be correct too....as far as their future is concerned. Isn't it a no brainer that we all don't end up the same way, we all don't go through the same things?

Sinners who do not repent, end up in a lake of fire. Those who are "in Christ" till the end, end up in heaven. Jesus told the centurian "as you believed, so it will be done unto you." In other words, your faith has everything to do with your future. When Jesus tells men to "pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all thats about to happen and stand before the son of man," and men refuse to do it, what do you think happens to them? They don't believe the promise, do you think they have a part in its fulfillment?

Those who argue that they will go through the tribulation probably will. Either that or this isn't true:

Matt 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

I want to point out some things from Matt 24 today.

1. Jesus said "of that day and hour knoweth no man." Which day and hour is he talking about? The unknown day and hour. There is a known day, that is 3.5 years from the abomination that causes desolation that can be counted on to the day, when Jesus shows up, also known as the second coming. There is also an unknown day. It's obvious here, he's referring not to the second coming, but to the "unknown day" of his appearance. A "secret" day, which is another thing the pre-wrath, post-trib crowd mocks to their own shame. Coming like a thief is done in secret. An unknown day is a secret day.

The Lord does'nt stop there, he goes on to explain more about this secret, unknown day by telling us it will be just like the days of Noah. Immediately after telling us that, he gives us a very specific time marker for this secret/unknown day when he tells us this:

the days that were before the flood

So lets put this together, Jesus tells us an unknown secret day is coming that will be just like the days of Noah and he points to the days before the flood is when Noah entered the Ark. Noah did'nt enter the ark halfway through the flood, not at the end of the flood, but when? Before the flood. Could it be said any plainer than that? Is there any more basic language that could be used to indicate when this secret, unknown day would occur? Before the flood.

Jesus goes on to clarify what the days look like "before the flood." Here's the description he gives:

"eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark"

and in Luke 17

"they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven"

Here's where the pre-wrath folks take a bullet. They claim that nobody gets out before Rev 6. Apparently the crowned (rewarded), redeemed men in Rev 4 and 5 must be exempt from pre-wrath teaching, because they did get out before Rev 6. How? Hmm, I seem to remember an open door in heaven in Rev 4.....

That's not the only problem, apparently "escape from all" which happens "before the flood" has references to "they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded." Look carefully at the words the Holy Spirit uses here. Now look at what happens during the opening waves of the tribulation, the opening of the seals:

1-anti-christ
2-war
3-famine
4-death and hell on earth

Now, lets put on our thinking caps. Does the anti-christ, war, famine, death and hell on earth sound the same as "eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting or building?" No, it does'nt. Famine is a lack of food. War is the opposite of building, its destroying. So when does this future "Noah experience", which happens during an unknown, secret day, which is before the flood, which is during a time of eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting and building happen?

Look around at the world today. Look at what's dissapearing. Food, drink, buying and selling, planting and building, all of those things are dissapearing before our eyes. Those were the words the Holy Spirit used to time mark the general vicinity of the "unknown day." That general vicinity is today, either that or its on the far side of the disaster staring this world in the face today.

Conclusion:

Either this unknown day is in close proximity to today, or we have a nice wait ahead of us until days of eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building show up again. As things stand everything one of those indicators is under pressure and in rapid decline. Scarcity of everything is the hallmark of today and the trend looks to continue until......the man of sin shows up (the first seal, the removal of the restrainer) to "fix" everything and be hailed as god.

The stage is set..today. The table has all the plates and silverware on it, and appetizers have already been served. How close are we to the "unknown" secret day, the day when Jesus comes like a thief? All appearances are, that this day may be upon us. It could be today. How many people actually expect it today? Jesus said he would come at a time when we would not be expecting him. A day like today when people are overcome with the anxieties of life fits the bill would'nt you say? Take nothing for granted. Give thanks for everything today. Guard your faith and examine what you believe carefully, it may determine where you end up and when you get there.

Time is short, your faith is your treasure, grace and peace.