The Final Act!

Click here to listen to blog

After this, I looked at the sky and saw something else that was strange and important. Seven angels were bringing the last seven terrible troubles. When these are ended, God will no longer be angry.  Then I saw something that looked like a glass sea mixed with fire, and people were standing on it. They were the ones who had defeated the beast and the idol and the number that tells the name of the beast. God had given them harps, and they were singing the song that his servant Moses and the Lamb had sung. They were singing, "Lord God All-Powerful, you have done great and marvelous things. You are the ruler of all nations, and you do what is right and fair.  Lord, who doesn't honor and praise your name? You alone are holy, and all nations will come and worship you, because you have shown that you judge with fairness."

Revelation 15: 1 - 4

The Power of Almighty God is beyond the imagination of man!  You cannot think of something that God cannot do!  The final act to the Play called Humanity will be when everyone will bow down and worship before Him!  You will have no choice in the End.  You will prostrate yourself before God Almighty.  It is now that you have a choice.  You can choose to let Him have His way with your life or you can choose to ignore the pleadings of the Holy Spirit and walk the way of your flesh!  

Even though evil is now running free in this world, in the End it will lose.  As you see violence and injustice all around, let your heart be at peace because of the Word that God has lovingly made available to all who trust Him!  There is no doubt about how the contest between Righteousness and Evil will end.  Good wins and bad looses.  You can bank on it!

“Lord Jesus, may the Good News of Your life overwhelm my heart and mind today, even as the world seems to spin out of control.  May You Jesus be praised now and forever.  Amen.” 

Obedience and Prayer!

Click here to listen to blog

"Do you really love life? Do you want to be happy? Then stop saying cruel things and quit telling lies.  Give up your evil ways and do right, as you find and follow the road that leads to peace.  The Lord watches over everyone who obeys him, and he listens to their prayers. But he opposes everyone who does evil."

1 Peter 3: 10 - 12

One of the blessings of obedience to God is that He has promised to listen to your prayers!  I suppose that means that the prayers of the disobedient are not heard by God.  So if you are walking in disobedience to God, you may say “God didn’t answer my prayer,” when the truth is that God didn’t hear your prayer!  

It is not how much you pray, but how much you obey that makes the difference.  When you set your hands to do the Will of God, He sets His ears to listen to your pleas!  So instead of trying to be a better “pray-er,” devote yourself to becoming a better “obey-er.”   Then you will find the ears of God always turned toward you and His hands working in response to your prayers!

“Lord Jesus, teach me to pray, but even more importantly, teach me to obey Your every desire!  Give me a heart that is ready to respond to every Word You utter!  And may You Jesus be praised forever.  Amen.”

Substitute Savior!

Click here to listen to blog

I, the LORD, have put a curse on those who turn from me and trust in human strength.  They will dry up like a bush in salty desert soil, where nothing can grow.  But I will bless those who trust me.  They will be like trees growing beside a stream-- trees with roots that reach down to the water, and with leaves that are always green. They bear fruit every year and are never worried by a lack of rain.

Jeremiah 17: 5 - 9

When men turn away from God they almost always begin to trust in human strength.  They trust in their own strength or in the strength of another man who becomes a substitute savior!  I have never heard someone proclaim that they trust in Satan to help them, heal them, or provide for their needs.  We turn to ourselves or another man to do that.

So, if you examine your heart and find that you are trusting in yourself or another human being about anything in your life, that is a place where you need to repent.  The first place repentance is needed in the lives of most followers of Jesus is where they have stopped trusting God and started trusting themselves or some other man instead of God!

“Lord Jesus, show me today where I am not trusting You and give me the courage to confess my sin and repent!  May You, Jesus be praised forever.  Amen.” 

What Makes a Nation Great?

Click here to listen to blog

The LORD says: Don't brag about your wisdom or strength or wealth.  If you feel you must brag, then have enough sense to brag about worshiping me, the LORD. What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth.  Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert. The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.

Jeremiah 9: 23 - 26

What makes a nation, any nation great?  Is it wisdom?  Is the nation whose people have the most education the greatest?  What about military strength?  Is the greatest nation the one that has the most nuclear bombs and the biggest armed forces?  Is it money?  If you are the wealthiest nation on earth are you by default the greatest?  The answer to those questions is that wisdom, strength and wealth, in and of themselves do not make a nation great!  A great nation may have those things, but they are not the essence of the nation’s greatness.

A truly great nation is one that worships the Lord, God and shows kindness, justice and mercy to everyone on earth!   A nation with many religions cannot please God.  As Joshua told the people of Israel, “Choose this day who you will serve!”  If you are a nation “under God” then serve and worship Him.  If your choice is other than God Almighty, you can look to other gods for help and blessings.

“Lord Jesus, I pray that You will give me the courage to worship only You!  And Lord help me to show kindness, justice and mercy to everyone on earth.  May You, Jesus be praised forever.  Amen.”  

Heavenly Minded!

Click here to listen to blog

The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated.  Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.  God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God and will see him face to face. God's name will be written on the foreheads of the people.  Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.

Revelation 22: 1 - 5

These words come from the very last chapter in the Bible.  They give a keyhole glimpse of the eternal dwelling place for those who turn their hearts to Jesus while living on this earth.  

It is a place of life and wellness.  There will be no death there and the future will be one of total joy and peace for those who come to that place! 

The curse that came to the earth after the sin of Adam and Eve will not touch Heaven!  If you are a follower of Jesus, you may be saying, “I have heard all that before!”  And I am sure you have, but I just want to encourage you to think about it again!  In fact, you should think about Heaven as much as you can!  

Someone once said that: “Some Christians are so Heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good!”  Really, that is truthful and in every way accurate.  And, my friend it is a good thing to be so Heavenly minded that you are of “No earthly good.”  A heart focused on Heaven will draw many men to Jesus, but a heart only looking at the things of this earth will not!  If you could choose between a guaranteed 100 years on this earth or an Eternity in Heaven what would your choice be? 

Of course, the Holy Spirit will lead you to do good to all men, but Jesus didn’t come to make this earth into a wonderful utopia.  Jesus came to save the souls of men and gather them to Himself in Heaven for Eternity!  

“Lord Jesus, help me today to be Heavenly Minded about everything!  And may You, Jesus be praised now and forever.  Amen.” 

Not Everyone Gets the Same Trophy!

Click here to listen to blog

God's people must learn to endure. They must also obey his commands and have faith in Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Put this in writing. From now on, the Lord will bless everyone who has faith in him when they die." The Spirit answered, "Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and they will be rewarded for what they have done."

Revelation 14: 12 - 13

It is a wonderful thing that we are not saved because of our own works!  If our salvation was based on our own efforts, then no one would be saved.  The debt that you owe because of your sin, to the bank of Justice is greater than anyone, other than Jesus could ever pay!  

Even though we are not saved by our works, as followers of Jesus, He gives us tasks for every day, and even every moment of every day!  Some think that since we are not saved by our works, that we don’t have to work.  That is totally opposite from the truth!  A man or woman saved by the Blood of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit will be constantly engaged in doing the Will of God!    

He or she will work more than anyone else!  And yes, these verses in Revelation say that they will be rewarded for what they have done!  Heaven is not an “Everyone gets the same trophy” place!  What you do here will make an difference in Heaven.  Your work here will not get you in to Heaven, but you will be rewarded for what you did here, when you get there!

“Lord Jesus, thank You for making it possible for me to live with You forever in Heaven!  Show me today the things that You have planned for me to do.  And may You Jesus be praised forever.  Amen.”

When God is Silent!

Click here to listen to blog

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.  I noticed that the seven angels who stood before God were each given a trumpet.  Another angel, who had a gold container for incense, came and stood at the altar. This one was given a lot of incense to offer with the prayers of God's people on the gold altar in front of the throne.  Then the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up to God from the hand of the angel.

Revelation 8: 1 - 4

If a day is the same as a thousand years, then half an hour in Heaven could feel like 21 years here on earth!  

Sometimes it does seem like Heaven is silent.  You hear nothing from God even though you know, by faith that He is and has not forsaken you.  You can be certain, however that silence in Heaven only lasts for a short time, and then the thunder of God’s voice will roll across the earth again as the prayers of God’s people go up before the Throne!

Treasure the times of silence, because it is then that you can live every moment by the faith that God has given you.  During times of God’s silence you will see that the greatest evidence of God will be the love He has put in your heart!

When God is silent His eyes are focused on you to watch your faith at work!  You can rest assured that the times of miracles will return as Heaven speaks again to the things of earth!

“Lord Jesus, I do want to hear Your voice, but I know by faith that You are working even when You are silent.  May You, Jesus be praised forever.  Amen.”