Month: February 2015

LOST AND DYING WORLD: Believers are Just Passing Through

IrmMa

End Times Prophecy Report

JUST PASSING THROUGH: This Lost and Dying WorldJUST PASSING THROUGH: This Lost and Dying World

THE WORLD IS LOST AND DYING

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
—Romans 5:12

For the most part, the world is full of people who have had a death sentence passed on them for their sin. Through the grace of God, believers in Jesus Christ have had that death sentence lifted because of their belief.

Believers are in the world, but they are not of the world; they are merely passing through this world on their journey to the next. Believers are not to be yoked with unbelievers. They are to be separate from the world.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord…

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Touching the Heart of God “Who touched my clothes?”

IrmMa

“And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said,

Who touched my clothes?

And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (Mat. 5:24-34)” 

Most believers are familiar with the story of the bleeding woman. Her story is recorded as a testimony to the power of faith and healing in Christ Jesus. As we read…the multitudes gathered, people surrounded Jesus, all wanting to see Him, touch Him, many pleading for something, or some type of healing for themself, or for another. The crowd was thick, no doubt everyone was trying to push their way next to Jesus. Then, here comes this woman barely able to walk, in pain, desperate to touch only the hem of His garment. She knew that alone would heal her. How could she know that unless God revealed it to her…that’s my thought.

These last days, more than ever it seems, the church has become like that, the crowds want to draw near to Jesus, everyone pleading for something, usually material blessings, at least from the stuff that gets posted on Facebook. Most want the goodness of God, not the persecutions. But as in the case above, where only one woman touched the heart of God, today, I am convinced that very few Christians touch the heart of God. These days, empty platitudes and positive thinking seem to be the staple of Christian living. Some Christians do not tolerate any negativity, any constructive criticism, and certainly will not accept anything that even remotely sounds like judgment. First response by most Christians is scripture…remove the plank from your own eye, before trying to correct me (Mat.7:3-5). Now, I speak only of self-proclaiming Christians. As Christians we are in the world, but we are not of this world, so we should not live as those that still wear a veil, but many do. The scriptures tell us that not all that say Lord, Lord (Mat. 7:21-23) will enter into the Kingdom of God. In the blink of an eye, the Lord will separate the wheat from the tares. That’s what He said. As believers, we have to be like that woman, completely convinced that we will be made whole.

As believers God expects us to hold each other accountable. And our desire should be as much. Gal. 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

But we don’t do it, because most of the time, we too are caught up in our own mire and don’t wish to be found out.

Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

Nevertheless, many proclaim their faith and closeness to God. Seems everyone is close to God, but their heart…well…only God knows the heart of any man, but one look at the life of any Christian and the condition of the heart becomes obvious. It either good or bad, albeit some Christians are quite clever at hiding their indiscretions. That’s one lesson I was forced to learn early in my walk with God. Love is patient and kind, but few know this.

The condition of the heart speaks volumes. It is long-winded and boastful. It pats itself on the back all the time. It seeks constant attention. It is easily provoked to thoughts of evil and iniquity. It’s desire is for deceit, in all things, will tolerate nothing but its own selfish needs. The heart never fails to disappoint.

God alone knows the heart of any man and when anyone touches His heart, He knows it. And that believer is never the same again. Amen.

As Paul wrote to Timothy…(2 Tim. 3:10-17)

“But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Be blessed.

When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

IrmMa

“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

A couple of nights ago I was reading in Luke and this particular scripture, Luke 18:8, jumped out at me. It troubled me that Jesus – knowing all that the Father would and could do for His children, He nevertheless asked…

“Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

It got me to thinking, believe it or not, about Rich Mullins and something he once said.

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It’s been a while since I’ve had a lesson to share. Well, the last few weeks have been filled with one lesson after another, but as usual…life’s distractions have left me with little time to blog. I read posts as time allows. I have also been busy working on another writing project that has taken precedence. Still, for me blogging is a mission that must be accomplished, so here I am. As always I hope readers will glean what they can from my experiences and lessons from God. As it says in…

Ephesians (4:1-3), “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” 

God has always used His chosen people to pass on the message of hope, love and eternal life, that has not changed. Hebrews 13:8 tells us as much. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” 

In this last hour God is using His obedient and faithful servants to fulfill His purpose.

As in Joel 2:28…

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

And as the world turns, like everyone, I get caught up with daily living and sometimes a cold, cedar allergies and the flu strip me of energy and desire to do anything, let alone write. I was down with allergies, and a bad cold for a couple of weeks and I have not been able to get my writing groove back. Any other time, well like most… I go through life surrendering to the demands of this world, relinquishing time, and my peace of mind for a lot of worry. The things of God wind up taking a backseat, because unlike God, the world has no patience, no compassion and short on forgiveness. It is cold and heartless and ready to strike fear in the heart of man. Grandkids, keeping house, errands, doctor visits, bills, work, car problems…all take a small piece of my peace of mind. Nothing ever runs as smooth as I would like, but when you live in a multi-generational household the smallest of things can be problematic.

As a believer, the smallest of challenges always seem to turn into major trials. The enemy knows it, and uses it to steal my peace and joy and strip me of faith and hope, but I thank God Almighty that regardless… “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim 2:13).” A few years ago, the enemy could steal my hope, my joy, make me lose faith and I would let him. Even though I knew the scriptures and even repeated them during trying times I hadn’t realized the power behind them, so any victory was short-lived. It was a constant roller coaster ride with me and my faith.

Since I started on this spiritual journey the Lord has taught me so much about Himself, the power of prayer and the two-edged sword in every scripture. This year the goal is to read through the words of Jesus, in different versions of the bible. It seems meaning is lost in translation. I few years ago, I would not have given that notion a second thought. The times are such that as believers we need to be cautious in all areas when it comes to the things of God…even what version of the bible we choose to read.

So, back to faith. Will Jesus find faith on the earth? I think I can confidently say “we” believers get caught up in the affairs of the world, more than we should, or is necessary, and lose sight of our purpose on this planet. Even when we focus on the things of God we want attention for the things we do. I’ve heard Christians talk about the people they blessed, the wonderful things they did. And I am just amazed at how quickly these people will surrender their treasure in heaven for 15 minutes of glory on earth. And I remembered Luke 17:10 where Jesus talked about duty…

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

It’s like the employee who wants to be recognized for his hard work when he’s only doing what he was hired for. The Lord prepared works for all of us to perform. Yet, our desire is to be recognized and rewarded for our work and the world will happily comply. The world loves to put people on pedestals. That’s what was so different about Rich Mullins. All the glory belonged to God. For Rich Mullins it was all about faith. He always shifted any attention to his heavenly Father.

Rich Mullins also said…

“Most Protestants have no problem saying ‘The Lord told me this’ and ‘the Lord told me that, but they won’t believe that the Lord speaks through the pope. At least the guy has some credentials”

Focus: the Lord told me…and the guy has some credentials. 

The notion of credentials piqued my curiosity – for a lot of reasons. Christian believers and credentials, do we need any when we speak of the things of God? Schools of theology are everywhere. Are they producing men and woman of God sufficiently trained to rightly divide the word of God? These schools are like any other college or university offering education in a specific discipline. Are they necessarily teaching truth?

There are many Christians that truly believe “the Lord told me” and they run with it. And when it never comes to pass, well they just find a way to rationalize their statements. I hear it a lot from fellow believers. Sometimes it’s a simple message, sometimes it’s an elaborate message. Who should we believe? Should anyone who delivers a message from God be required to show his credentials? Well, the only credential we should recognize is the Holy Spirit. Whether a layman theologian, or highly educated one, it is the Spirit of the Lord that reveals truth to those that seek it. Hence, why all believers should read the bible and learn the scriptures, so they can identify truth when they hear it.

Beware of the scribes Luke 20:4547

“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

Will the Son of man find faith when He returns?

Luke 21:34-38

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Faith is like water, we need it to live. Whether it’s faith in ourselves, others, or faith in the living God, we all exercise some form of faith, but only faith in the living God produces righteousness…

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Rom. 4:2-3.

Faith, during trying times…like tonight where a young man was shot and killed and another injured…in our back alley of all places…is what we need to have. Because the first thing that wants to take over is fear. Fear must not reign in our mind. When things like this happen in our communities and so close to home it is challenging to not express fear and doubt, especially when you witness some part of the incident. Please pray for us, especially for my two daughters that may have seen the culprit before he did the ultimate deed of taking another man’s life. Pray that the culprit be identified and apprehended quickly. Pray for our safety and protection. Pray for peace of mind for my grandkids. As SAPD collects the evidence, the coroner picks up the body, as they clean up the crime scene, please pray for the family of the young man. I don’t know why this young man’s life ended. My daughter and I can make no sense of the violence. We are just trusting God to work things out.

In faith, be blessed.

Thank you reading.

No Help Wanted

IrmMa

Redbird's Roost

“Behold, I will pour our my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof.” Proverbs 1:23b-25 (NASB)
Generally speaking, God’s kingdom is a synonym for God’s rule. Those who choose to live in His kingdom (though still very much alive on Planet Earth) choose to live under His authority. . .
The kingdom is the invisible realm where God rules as supreme authority. That’s helpful news. The bad news is that we, by nature, don’t want Him to rule over us; we much prefer to please ourselves. . .
To put it bluntly, we don’t want anybody other than ourselves ruling over us! Much like those people in a story Jesus once told, “We do not want this man…

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The True Believer Waits

IrmMa

It is disheartening to read stories about mass suicides, or about families that took their own life and that of their children for fear of some impending doom. The unbelieving public comes out quickly, enraged, to judge and condemn religious fanatics for their beliefs, for brainwashing children into believing their lies, truly believing that their belief in God is what led them to their demise. They (the public) tend to feel badly for the children who were cut down so young. It’s OK for an adult to take his, or her own life, but neither has the right to take the life of another, especially a child. Gosh, who hasn’t been shocked by the numerous stories of mass suicides led by a cult leader? And regardless if we understand such actions were those of “fanatics” God, the living God (a.k.a. religion as some do not distinguish) often takes the brunt of the blame.

I love to read the comments on various articles, especially on articles where families are involved. They always provide insight into people’s world view. A couple of days ago, I was reading an article about the family in Utah that committed suicide. It was troubling to say the least. Even more troubling was the comments from people who obviously had no need for the saving grace of the living God. Nevertheless, I too wanted to share my thoughts on the matter, but for whatever reason I held back. I just couldn’t find the right words to explain that this tragedy was not provoked in any way by the living God. Later that evening, still pondering this article, I recalled what Jesus said about Jonah. Specifically “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas…”

Then I thought about Jonah and his mission from God. Jonah ran, because he knew God. He knew God was a gracious and forgiving God. Then I thought about Abraham and God, right before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God told Abraham what He was about to do and Abraham could not believe it, so he pleads with God for the righteous. After much pleading, God finally tells Abraham, that for 10 righteous people He would spare Sodom. I thought, God is always willing to save, to relent, to forgive, to show grace, to have no one be destroyed, that’s what Jonah knew about God and what Abraham learned. Both thought God was unfair. One thought it unfair for God to save a rebellious people, the other thought it was unfair for God to destroy the righteous with the unrighteous. If anyone is more misunderstood, it’s God…and He knows it.

Then I thought, true believers are not waiting in fear. Jesus told us all the signs we should look out for, the false prophet, the abomination, and even warned us that we would be persecuted for His sake. And he told of other signs to look for in Mathew 24.

We wait anxiously for His return, in reverent fear, because He promised to return to gather His church, His bride and He who promised is faithful.

Finally, a friend called me up with a word for me. Hebrew 13: 1-7 he said, read it. It will change your outlook. So, I read it, and I read it, again, and again. Then it hit me.

“Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say:

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct…

As believers, that’s what we are doing. We are living and learning… through trial and tribulation to become more like Christ. He suffered for sinful man.

John 15:20  “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”

We do not live in fear of an apocalypse, or tribulation, or any other impending doom. We wait patiently for His return, because He who promised is faithful.

Ps. 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

The true believer waits…Isaiah 41:28-31

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

But the veil…keeps people blind and bound and forever blaming God.

Just a few random thoughts. Be blessed.