Light on the Rock Blogs

Note from the host PShields: Much of this blog below comes from a writing I loved from Evelyn Ortiz Cabigting in the Philippines with just a few edits. I hope you enjoy it and that it makes you think as much as it did me. Here’s what she writes:

I believe we are in the last generation before the return of Christ. If so, it will be the most exciting time on earth and also the most volatile time on earth.

Six thousand years ago Adam and Eve walked the earth. They – and every human since then, have planted seeds of their actions and lives. With every human since then also planting seed, there’s like a multiplying effect. Can it be that every seed planted from then until now – both good seed and evil seed – will be reaped in abundance in this last generation?

Consider this: The evil that has been sown in mankind will reach its culmination in the “Man of Sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).  But conversely, the good that has been sown will also reach its fullness in this generation in the form of Christ in us in all his fullness. [You may wish to check out the sermon on this website “God’s Perfection for us – God’s Way” – 2 part].

Colossians 1:25-28

“to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. “

Both good and evil are maturing together and are shaping up for the final clash. Satan will even attack God’s throne in heaven (Revelation 12). Satan will be cast back down to earth, but then he will empower the diabolic Beast power and False Prophet. But we’ve read the end of God’s book – and so we know how it ends: God wins. We know the children of God will possess the earth and we will experience the reign of Jesus Christ on this literal earth.

You have been born in this hour, this time and place, the greatest hour, the greatest climax of all world events in history! Be excited about it. Your children’s children will ask you someday what it was like in 2022 or 2030.  You’re living and making history.  It reminds me of what Mordecai said to Esther and really says to us in Esther 4:12b—“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

A time like this is NOT a time for God’s children to get distracted or lose heart. It’s the time to seek God more diligently than ever before, and he will be found of you. It’s the time to seek to come to know Jesus as never before. Spend your time on these things and cut out time wasters. We have no time to waste.

History is “HIS story” which will culminate in this world coming under the complete rule and control of our Lord Jesus Christ. We preach the gospel of the kingdom of God and the good news of Jesus Christ -- a gospel of peace, of salvation, the gospel of the grace of God. But in the end, it’s the good news of the complete rule and leadership of the Lord Jesus as he puts down all evil, all rebellion and Satan is put away and is no longer the god of this world.

All of this could happen in the lifetime of most of us, I believe – perhaps even in the coming years, within this next decade.

The good news of the kingdom is the good news of the TRUE new world order which Yeshua/Jesus will usher in – and the age of the literal kingdom of God on earth. It’s the gospel of hope and expectancy of a new world of peace with no more war, no more famine, no more bloodshed. It will be a world where nature and mankind will dwell together harmoniously.

It’s the good news about the KING of that new kingdom – Jesus the Son of God and everything he has done for us. He is the Lamb of God, our Passover Lamb. HE is the Door and the Way into Father’s kingdom, which Father in heaven grants and shares with Jesus and to us as co-heirs. Jesus – will come as King of kings, Lord of lords, the Lion of Judah, the Prince of Peace and you are being called to be His Bride with him! How exciting that is for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

It’s the gospel of being born again with our high calling and destiny to usher in Christ’s brand new world where evil, sickness and poverty are forever banished.

THIS is what we must be focused on and be getting very excited about! It will seem to you many times in the next few years that evil is winning, but don’t believe it. God – and good – will prevail. And you have been called to be a part of that winning family of God! We’ve been called to be zealous, to fix our gaze upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and to be holy for God’s use. Introduce more and more people to their Savior. Disciple the nations.

The fields are ripening for that massive harvest. Get ready for the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever seen. Revelation 7 speaks of a great innumerable multitude who will come to salvation out of the Great Tribulation. They are pictured as having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. My point is – there are so many of them that they’re impossible to count or estimate. Yes, the greatest harvest of souls anyone has ever seen will happen relatively soon. Your personal life, your example, your sharing of the good news is undoubtedly planting seed in people’s lives that will spring up much later, though we don’t see all that growth yet.

This is not a time to be sidetracked, sidelined or to lose heart. Those who endure to the end will be saved. You will be tempted to lose interest and drop away from the select Body of Christ. DON’T listen to those temptations. Become more zealous for God than you ever have been before. Those with Christ are described as the “Called, chosen AND faithful” (Revelation 17:14).

Get ready for the greatest harvest of souls ever! 

BE there for the most exciting final generation years just ahead. Be sure you’re part of the right team and part of God’s family and Household and the Bride of Christ. Never ever forget who you are – and who Jesus Christ and our Father are.

Shalom and good day!!!  And praise God.

He was driving behind me, impatiently honking because I hadn’t immediately made a right turn when he thought the way was clear.  What he didn’t know was that there was a little old lady crossing right in front of me.  When he honked the second time, I looked in my mirror and told him he was an ‘Idiot’!  Of course he couldn’t hear me and eventually saw the pedestrian, so likely realized that, yes, he had been an idiot.  But that doesn’t excuse me for calling him names, I know.  

Our day-to-day interaction with people is going to result in times of annoyance, frustration and anger.  Road rage is rampant and sometimes escalates into horrible accidents and even deaths from something as simple as someone not making a move fast enough for another driver’s agenda.  The news is filled with murders committed in moments of anger and frustration.  Strangers and family alike may find fault with us over many of our ‘mistakes’—real or imagined—and say or do nasty things they may later regret. 

How we react at that very moment is all-important!  Letting anyone else’s wrong actions cause us to react in kind, is certainly not the Christian way!  But stopping ourselves from immediate anger, self-justification and a nasty retort, is not easy!  However, there is a way of thinking that might help!  When you can feel that someone’s behavior is causing your ire to rise, say to yourself, “He will one day know just who I am!”  After all, those in the world have no idea that we—the Firstfruits—will one day be servant-rulers over them.  And not only will we then be leaders to them as Spirit beings and Christ’s Bride, but God makes it clear that He will require an answer of them for ‘every idle word’!  

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36) 

So, we could feel very smug, because the day is coming when every single person on earth will know Christ and His Bride.  However, being smug and complacent because of our soon-to-be exalted position is not at all why we should remind ourselves of who we are!  When the rude, impatient, angry, backstabbing, foul-mouthed men and women in this evil world have their eyes opened in the Kingdom and finally realize who they were dealing with in this life, what will they remember about us?!  Are we showing them a Christ-like response now that they will one day look back on with respect?  Or are we acting just like them and proving time and again that we have no control over our anger and annoyance?  And don’t forget, we are being judged now! (I Peter 4:17) 

Called Now to Set a Godly Example 

When those we interact with in this life meet us in the next, we want them to recognize that our light was shining brightly because, either we did not even answer—as Christ often did not—or responded with kindness and patience.  We don’t want their first thought to be: “Fine Christian you were!  You gave as good as you got!  And you knew all along exactly who you were!”   

How much better to hear them say, “You were always so patient and kind, so uplifting and encouraging.  I secretly admired you and wanted to be just like you and now I understand how you were able to always be that way because you never forgot that you were the Bride of Christ!  It all makes sense now!  Wow!  Well done!” 

To hear these words from Christ Himself, “Well done thou good and faithful servant,” we must AT ALL TIMES remember who we are.  (Matt 25:21) 

Christ said many times, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).  Neither is ours!  We must never forget who we are and where we are headed—for all eternity!  Many of the very people who today are irritating, obscene, foolish, hard-hearted, mean and evil, will one day be like our own children to us!  We need to rise above the hatred and stupidity of this world and act on our future.  NOW is our time to shine and show the world what the coming Bride of Christ will be like.   

Christ said to a young man who wanted to take care of his father and mother, instead of following Him, “Let the dead bury the dead.”  It sounds rather harsh until you realize that—except for the Elect, who have eternity now dwelling within them—every person on earth is potentially dead forever! And are presently dead, spiritually. Those with God’s Holy Spirit are the only truly ‘alive’ people on earth!  Look at these amazing statements: 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”  (John 5:24) 

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions…” (Colossians 2:13) 

The debt incurred from sin is not just physical death but eternal death, which is why God told Adam and Eve that the moment they sinned, they would die.  While their physical death was not imminent, their Spiritual death was immediate.  Every person has sinned and is therefore facing eternal damnation, which is why Christ had to give His life as a ransom for all.   

Those who follow Him are no longer facing eternal damnation.  The rest of the world still IS!  We were once in the same category as the world, as Paul told the Ephesians: “And you weredead in your trespasses and sins…” (Ephesians 2:1)  We were dead, as the world is now ‘dead’ but are now very much alive through God’s eternal Spirit! 

We know what’s ahead, we know we are the Elect, we know we are already God’s very children (I John 3:2) and the world doesn’t have any idea of our exalted eternal position.  We should always be in awe of the incredible honor of being chosen now!  And not because of anything we have done or will do, but because God, in His mercy, has picked us—for whatever His reasons are.  Unlike the world, the devil has no power over us (unless we allow it). (James 4:7), while the world has little power to resist him (John 8:55).  We have knowledge, understanding, the ear of God and His power at our fingertips, while the world flounders in a morass of religious and pagan nonsense and will die in their ignorance.  So how much better should we behave than those who have no understanding of God’s great plan? 

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Peter 3:11-12 ESV) 

Whenever you come across nasty, rude, impatient, snide, sarcastic, hateful, vindictive, evil people, remember who you are—a representative of God’s Family!  Act as you want them to remember you! Let’s show by our actions that we are, and live like, talk like true children of the Highest.  

The question came up recently about children being involved and participating in the Passover service in one’s home, so I thought we could address it. What follows is what we do at Passover, which we normally keep to 2-3 families in our home; keeping it intimate and family-like.

One’s children were definitely expected to be present at the Passover in the time of Moses.  Let’s read some scriptures and then I will cover what WE do in our home on Passover. In the scripture below, focus on verses 26-28:

Exodus 12:21-28 -- Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.  22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For YHVH will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, YHVH will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 

24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which YHVH will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.

26 And it shall be, when your CHILDREN say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27 that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of YHVH, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.'"   So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as YHVH had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”

So children were obviously present, and still are present in the Jewish Pesach (Passover). There’s more in Exodus 13:7-10 and then again in verses 11-16, about redeeming the firstborn, going back to the Passover.

Exodus 13:7-10   “Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8 And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what YHVH did for me when I came up from Egypt.' 9 It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that YHVH's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand YHVH has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.”

So it’s clear that children were present at the Exodus 12 Passover and beyond.  In the Jewish celebrations of Pesach (Passover), children are also present. Jews take to heart the scripture – it’s a Mitzvah or law to them -- to be sure to explain to the children present what is going on. But keep in mind that Jews keep 2 Seders on what they call “the first 2 days of Passover”. In many sabbath-keeping Christian groups, children are not present and I think that is unfortunate and let me explain why in a minute. If you aren’t planning on your children being in the service, I hope you’ll reconsider after reading all of this article.

The Jewish Passover is more like what many of us would call the “night to be much observed”, at the end of Passover day and beginning the first day of Unleavened Bread -- where we have a big meal celebration of the freedom we now have after Christ’s death frees us from Satan’s grasp.

In a nutshell, we try to do what Jesus did, regardless of calendar issues. He kept his Passover meal plus the footwashing and bread/wine service the EVE of Passover day, then died on Passover day at 3 pm and was put into the tomb just before sundown, still Passover day. The next day, starting at sundown, was a “high day” (John 19:31-32) – not a regular sabbath but a holyday sabbath, one of the annual “feasts of the LORD” (Leviticus 23:1-2), where God calls them “MY feasts”.   

But I want to stay on topic – children at Passover.

Our own practice is to personally always welcome well-behaved children to be present, as scripture says, as long as they have been prepared ahead of time to be respectful, quiet, observant and obedient. So at our Passover services, our grandchildren and any other children of other participants are welcome and present – and just quietly watch. Maybe 1-2 older teens can sit among them to be sure they aren’t talking and are respectful during the service. Rowdy and untrained children should be left at home with a babysitter.  

Why do we welcome children? Because as I’ve shown, children were present at the original Passover. And I want them to feel included in this deeply spiritual, meaningful, and solemn service. One of my most cherished photos in my old photo album is a picture that shows me at age 6 with my brother and sisters watching our mom during a Passover bread/wine service. So I hope this is going to be something our children also realize is part of their practice as they grow older too. We keep the bread and wine and footwashing on the eve of Passover day, then have a meal the following night, after sundown.

We personally do not keep an official Seder, as some of it is unscriptural and is wrapped in traditions that come out of Babylon (like the egg) and can tend to become too much of a ritual and focused on Judaism, which I won’t do. It also seems to take forever to go through!  I’m familiar with the Haggadah and Seder. Jews often don’t even eat a lamb anymore but chicken instead! Plus in the New Covenant – we copy what Yeshua did. He added the footwashing service and focused on the bread and wine, which pointed to him.

But let me hasten to add, that in the New Covenant, our answers to the children’s questions will include the story of the deliverance from Egypt of course – but then we need to pivot, and turn our focus to point to what the lambs depicted: the sacrifice of our Savior, Yeshua.

Yeshua made clear – Passover needs to be focused on HIM, the intent of all those lambs. In Yeshua’s last Passover supper with his disciples, he is never once recorded as talking about coming out of Egypt, the 10 plagues, etc. – but said this, and this is what we need to teach our children too: the OBJECT LESSON of the Passover Lamb dinner was the bread and body of our Lord Jesus Christ and the cup of wine, picturing his shed blood for us. Life is in the blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22).

Luke 22:17-20   Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;  18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of ME.”

20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

Notice how Passover is primarily in remembrance of the Messiah—and not in remembrance of coming out of Egypt. Once the POINT of the service is here (and that is Messiah!), we do not emphasize the “shadow” of the service as much now that we’re in the new covenant. I want children to know and learn about Yeshua too. I want them to see how we grownups love him and our heavenly Father. We are so thankful to be delivered from the enslavement of sin and Satan’s world.

1 Corinthians 11:23-25   “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,  "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of ME."  25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of ME."

So be sure to teach the children that Passover is really about Messiah and his sacrifice, even more then it is about those lambs sacrificed in Exodus 12, as they POINTED TO our Messiah and the liberty he gives us by his life’s blood shed for us as the Lamb of God.

I’m sometimes asked if children can wash feet and take part in the bread and wine service. I know some of you allow them to participate in the footwashing.

In our service and our home, we absolutely love having children watch the footwashing and the bread and wine service, but they do not partake of any of that portion. We explain the footwashing as the humble act of serving one another AND to remember, as we wash someone’s feet, that Yeshua already has washed them (John 13:12-17). We’re just acknowledging that fact and it’s saying to the one we’re serving as we wash his/her feet, that we see him or her as washed by Christ. It is saying that “we’re not going to see you in any way but washed by Christ, and so you’re cleansed, my brother/sister.”  All that in in context of course, of serving one another as well.

Whether you wish children, especially older children perhaps, to participate in footwashing is your call decision. We reserve all that to baptized members.

Partaking of the bread and wine of Christ is so deep, so special, so spiritual, and one we must be prepared for, so that we are ready to take it in a worthy manner, as Paul says.

So no, we absolutely do not risk this with children not old enough or mature enough to understand. We are severely warned by Paul not to take Passover unworthily, and so let’s let the children grow up more, come to repentance and baptism as adults –and  then by all means at that point let them partake of the bread and the wine.

1 Corinthians 11:27-31    “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

Don’t put that burden on yourself as the parent, and don’t put that burden on your children. Let them watch – but no more than that, is my advice. At least that seems to be the clear direction of scripture for me and my household. 

And I personally see no example of children participating in footwashing or partaking of the new covenant very deep symbols of the bread and wine. So at our Passover services, children are welcome to politely and quietly observe, without talking or playing, while baptized adults wash feet and partake of the bread and wine of the body of Christ. Of course the presiding host or minister should be explaining all aspects of footwashing, and the bread and wine – so the children hear all that as well. 

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Short but vital blog today. Passover.  For most of us it is coming in April 2022 this year. There are various calendars being used out there, so be sure you know when you’ll be keeping the footwashing and partaking of the bread and wine service. For most of you, the Passover service will be kept sometime between April 14-16, 2022, depending on your calendar you use.

For those keeping Jewish or rabbinic calendar, Passover day is April 15, 2022, and the bread and wine and footwashing kept the eve of the 15^th – end of April 14. The first holyday of Unleavened Bread for many will be April 16, sabbath.  For those following the conjunction method and sighting of the new moon in Israel, it will be a day or so later.

Remember scripture is clear that Passover day is Nisan or Abib 14, the daytime portion when our Messiah was crucified. The first Hebrew month is called Abib or Nisan.

Leviticus 23:5-6   “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.”

Yeshua’s own example for us was that he did the footwashing and bread and wine service the eve of Abib 14, and then died in the daytime portion of Abib 14. Remember Biblical days start and end sundown to sundown. The 15^th of Nisan/Abib starts the Feast of Unleavened Bread, again starting at sundown and ending at sundown.

Do also be aware though, that traditionally the whole time – Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread were sometimes all lumped together, and simply called “Passover”, just as we might today call the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles and 8^th day Festival – “the Feast of Tabernacles”, though they are technically 2 separate festivals.  

Ezekiel 45:21  "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.”

But back to my topic: Have you given much thought to Passover this year?  Are you ready to take the bread and the wine?  Or did you find Passover rapidly coming up – and you haven’t given it much thought?  If that is what has happened, resolve to make changes so it never happens again. It’s our own fault if that’s happening. But frankly it’s also a reflection on your ministers if that happened. Pastors should have been discussing Passover-type topics for the past few sabbaths.

So here’s my point:  If you’re among those keeping it in April, and you realize it has come up so quickly and you feel caught off guard, this blog is for you! 

God’s people must NOT, must NOT, let the pivotal event in all human history since Adam and Eve were created to “sneak up” on you, to catch you off guard.

When we get new wall calendars each year, I make a point to mark up the calendars with the Passover and the holy days of God, as well as our personal anniversaries or plans we have.  Some of you may have dispensed with wall calendars ages ago. But however you track time, be sure you do. Then I do the same in my cell phone calendar and even make a note 2-3 weeks before Passover, to start thinking heavily about God’s love for me and for you.

Remember that Passover pictures the Son of God, called “the Lamb of God”, who himself was God (John 1:1-3, 14), who gave his life to pay the penalty for your sins and mine and of the world (John 1:29) so that humanity would not all have to die for all of our sins. 

This event, this spilled holy blood of the Lamb, broke the back of Satan’s tyranny, pictured by the death of the first born in Egypt that broke Pharaoh’s hold on Israel. The Passover paid the ransom for sin, paid the penalty for sin, soothed God’s wrath over all our sins, and cleansed each of us of all of our sins. ALL of them, bar none.  ALL of them, no matter how horrendous they were (1 John 1:7, 9).  If you and I deeply repented of each of our sins and our failings and then came humbly before our Maker and confessed our sins and accepted Yeshua of Nazareth as the promised Messiah (Anointed One), then ALL of our sins are washed away in his blood.

Upon baptism we were baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. 
“For by one spirit were all baptized into one body…and have all been made to drink into one spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). 

Whose body was that?  Of course, it’s HIS body.  “We, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:5).  So now we are seen as “members of HIS body, of his flesh and of his bones” (Eph 5:30).  “His body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24)—and us individually as members of that body. 

We are part of HIM, folks. The Bible speaks repeatedly of how we are IN HIM.  So if you think of your own body and your own blood, our blood is coursing through our whole body, giving nourishment, and cleansing the body from head to toe, literally.  

Well we are now part of His body and so His blood continues to cleanse us. Just like YOUR own blood cleanses YOUR body when you cut yourself and infection begins.  Your blood immediately sends out white blood cells and attacks the infection, protecting and cleansing your body.  God’s blood does the same for the parts or members of HIS own body – you and me.  His blood at Calvary forgave us of all our past sins.  Now as we live in him, He continues to cleanse us as long as we continue to stay attached to him, to abide in him as John 15 tells us.  Remember life is in the blood. He spilled his blood for me and for you.

When God looks down upon his children, does He see all of us coming under His son’s blood?  Remember what God said in Exodus 12 – “When I see the blood [splashed on the door posts and lintels of the houses], I will PASS OVER you” – and the people in that household were spared (Exodus 12:13). 

WE – when we repented and answered our Creator’s call – also came under the blood.  God must see us as people who take this all very seriously.

SO, are you ready for Passover?  You do NOT want to be taking it in an unworthy manner or unworthily.  We need to give it careful thought.  We need to be sure we especially in the days before Passover are not taking any ongoing sins in our lives lightly. 

You’re ready if you are very soberly thanking and praising Yeshua for his great work in your behalf. You’re ready if you’ve been giving thought to Passover the last so many days or even weeks.  You’re ready if you have examined yourself and realize – “Boy do I EVER need the washing and cleansing of his blood over me”.  We’re told that after we have examined ourselves, “so LET him drink of the cup” and eat of the broken bread. 

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and SO LET HIM EAT of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment on himself, no discerning the Lord’s body.”  (1 Cor. 11:27-29). 

We don’t examine and then decide we are unworthy.  No, no, no. Ultimately just the Lamb is worthy. But when we are IN him, as we are – by His Spirit – we too become worthy because we are a part of Him, his holiness, HIS perfection, HIS righteousness.   But we never, never take this lightly. 

We diligently put out leaven – but be sure you are even more diligent in fighting sin and temptations in your life.  The most effective way is NOT to focus on your sins and weaknesses, but keep your mind and eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, who conquers it all. We become what we think about. Focus on Messiah and become more and more like him in so doing.  

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 -- “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 – “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Be sure you are cleaning out the crevices of your heart.  Be sure your focus is on the spiritual elements of this season way more than the physical parts of it. 

We were washed at our repentant baptism, but we also still do the foot washing each Passover to remember to be humble and to serve one another, as well as to keep the spiritual dirt of sin off of us as we walk our walk of life day by day. And as you wash feet this year, don’t miss this:  recognize that Yeshua has ALREADY WASHED this person and we accept that person as a brother or sister in the body washed of any sins, of any gossip about his/her sins, and just love one another in the love of Christ.

So please – be sure to be taking time to focus on Passover and that means focusing on Messiah! I suggest you hear my sermon on “Do this in remembrance of ME!” (Christ speaking). 

I would also recommend this: if you can --before Passover, spend a day in fasting as you examine yourself, your life, your commitment to the Way to which you’ve been called.

But even if you don’t fast, at least spend some time in the days preceding Passover and even after Passover—to recommit to a life attached to Jesus Christ and to express your thanks and gratitude daily to our truly amazing Father in heaven and the Son of God who gave himself for you, because of his love for you.

Are you bold when you make requests to God? Is being bold with God -- a good thing, or a bad thing?  Remember our Father is all powerful, all knowing and loves to bless his children. But sometimes I wonder if we’re too “small” in our thinking? God enjoys going above and beyond anything we can hope for and ask for. So many verses tell us that. He won’t give us a rock if we ask for bread. He loves pouring out his holy spirit.

So let’s be bold when we ask Father for some blessings. For example, in terms of healing, sure – we can pray God guide the surgeon or speed up the healing. But why not be bolder?  Why not ask, “Father, when they examine my cancer tumor again before surgery, please – in Jesus’ mighty name, command the entire cancer to just be gone, totally healed. Leave them wondering what happened, but I’ll explain it to them to your glory, dear Father. And I thank you right now, in advance! May your will be done, Father, and I submit to your will.”   (I don’t have cancer right now, but I have been healed of cancer twice.)

Or, if you’re struggling with a chronic sin and temptation, be bold:  “Yeshua, my king and my Savior, I’m struggling with coveting [or whatever your issues are]. I hate it when I do. I know you want us to be content with whatsoever we have and not to covet anything out there. Yeshua, I’m repenting of this and I’m opening the door of my heart to you and I invite you to come into my life. BE my life, Lord. Please Lord, come live in me – obediently as you did 2000 years ago. Please BE my life, BE my thoughts and deeds… I want to say victoriously with Paul, that I no longer live, but the life I live is really Christ living in me, as Paul says in Gal. 2:20. Please show me how to blast this covetousness out of my heart and soul. I hate coveting, Lord, and please let me always be pleasing you. Thank you, Master.”

If you’re struggling with anything, you can ask God through Christ to create and live a new life in you, the very life of Jesus Christ, in complete victory over any sin. This applies to lacking God’s love in your life, asking for help in living your life in JOY and peace, no matter what.  It can apply to impatience, lust, porn, being too loose on sabbath observance, alcoholism, gluttony, being unkind and unloving – and the thousands of other sins people struggle with.  

Perhaps you struggle with forgiving someone from your heart. Talk to God humbly – but boldly – that you’re tired of this struggle and want to claim the victory. You realize if we don’t forgive others who have sinned against us, neither will Father forgive us of our sins against him (Matthew 6:12, 14 and many others). So this could be a very serious problem! Check out my sermon on it, coming out in March 2022.

Without God’s forgiveness, we have no future. On your knees, declare your problem with this, and how bitter and hurt you feel over someone’s sin against you.  Confess how hard it is for you to feel forgiveness and love for that person. Ask God’s forgiveness, ask God to change your heart to be like HIS. And then when you have forgiven, declare to God that you have forgiven this person whom you once claimed to surely be “unforgivable”. Or, if you haven’t and just can’t seem to be able to forgive him/her, boldly again ask Yeshua to come live in you and share with you his gentle and forgiving spirit. 

I remember doing that some time ago. Someone was a terrible thorn in my side, had gossiped badly about me and it was hard for me to like her or care about her. But when I had finally totally forgiven her while praying, the phone rang as I was ending my prayer. I can’t go into details, but it was about this very issue I had been praying about and God turned around my bitterness to a heart of compassion, forgiveness and asking God to bless her. But it wasn’t easy for me. I had to ask Yeshua to rule in my heart.  It took a while.

If you need financial help, remember we are to be content Paul says – if we have food and clothing (1 Timothy 6:8)! But if you truly need a financial blessing, ask boldly – and declare you intend to share it with the needy as well. Have you heard of the Prayer of Jabez?  Be bold, ask God to bless your work, your employment, your income, and thank him in advance, as if you have already received it – and then be sure to share it with others.

Jabez had caused his mother much pain in childbirth, so she named him Jabez – “He will cause pain.”  Imagine that. You could feel cursed! But note what Jabez did and prayed.  This is called “the prayer of Jabez”. It’s a great model for us and God granted his request.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 -- Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested.

Read the scripture above several times. I call it a very bold prayer. Are we limiting what the living God would do in our lives – if we would but ask, and ask boldly?  Do we fall into the category of “you have not, for you ask not” (James 4:2b). So ask! And be sure to ask in a way that is not just selfish, as James tells us. Be sure to ask it be in God’s will.

Look how bold Jabez’ prayer was! And God granted him what he requested! God does not change. He wants to grant you powerful answers too

Matthew 7:7-8 --"ASK, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Even in the Lord’s Prayer – “give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Deliver us from evil (or the evil one)…”   Pretty bold. 

There’s an old, lesser known story in the Scriptures about Elisha and one of the kings, which has intrigued me for years. Elisha was old and about to die. Joash, one of the righteous kings of the northern ten tribes of Israel, had come to pay his last respects apparently. Elisha asked King Joash to shoot an arrow out of an east window, and then explained that arrow symbolized victory over Syria at a future battle. Now let’s read what happened.

2 Kings 13:14-19

Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, "O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!"

15 And Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and some arrows." So he took himself a bow and some arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, "Open the east window"; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot"; and he shot. And he said, "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them."

     [So Elisha had explained what the arrow symbolized.]

18 Then he [Elisha] said, "Take the arrows"; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground"; so he struck three times and stopped. 19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times."

We can’t get into Joash’s head and see what he was thinking. Perhaps he didn’t understand what his action was depicting. Perhaps he lacked faith and wondered how he could crush Syria. We just don’t know. We do know this: instead of vanquishing Syria once and for all, he limited himself to three victories.

The point of this blog is simple: when Almighty God opens a door for us, let’s not be timid or small-minded in our thinking. Let’s not limit our true God who knows no limits. We can all fall into that trap at various times of our lives. We are His children, who are part of His HOUSE. My children are bold about claiming what I have, what I offer. So should we be.

Are we limiting the one Living God and what He wants to do in us, through us, with us? Remember even Yeshua could do virtually no mighty work in Nazareth, his home town, because of their unbelief (Mark 6:4-6).  God works through faith, trust and belief. He often holds Himself back if we don’t believe mightily in His power (see Hebrews 4:2).

When you ask for something from Yahweh – especially when it’s for someone else and your request is being totally selfless – do we ask in a small way?  For example:

• If we’re asking Father to open up a job for an unemployed brother or sister, do we just ask for a job, or do we ask for a fabulous career job with wonderful benefits and a great group of people to work with?

• If we’re asking God our Healer to deliver someone from the bonds of illness, are we just asking for that specific condition? Do we ask boldly, or fall back to “whatever your will is”—and keep ourselves from a bold request? Remember when Jesus spoke those words “Thy will be done” in Gethsemane, He knew the divine purpose and will was that He be the sacrifice for all sin. Why not ask Father to heal anything else that isn’t quite right in that person’s body, to imbue him/her with untiring energy, a bright spirit and powerful health that could bring glory to our Father? Be bold, ask big.

I’m sure you can think of many more examples. Don’t limit God. He is limitless. Evaluate where you ARE limiting God.

Go back and read the account of how bold Abraham’s servant’s prayer was when he was tasked to find a bride for Isaac. It’s a great example for us. Read Genesis 24:10-28.

In Psalm 78:12-16, we read of some of the most astounding miracles ever seen by mankind, such as the waters of the Red Sea standing in a heap on either side, providing water from a split rock, providing shade and light in the pillar overhead.  But Israel still questioned Almighty God’s ability to provide, and this angered God.  In Ps. 78:17-20, they got into the “yeah, buts”.  “Yeah, he parted the Red Sea, but can He provide food for this many people?”.  This was limiting the Eternal God. You can read all about it as you continue in Ps. 17:21-32. 

It came down to limiting God, not having faith in His power or in His desire to use His power in our behalf. Do we ever see a miracle and then go into the “yeah buts”?  We know He can work wonders and did do miracles here and there, but then doubt, limit and wonder if Our God would intervene in the same way for us? Doubting and limiting God go hand in hand.

Psalm 78:40-42 – “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!  41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy.”

That’s what I mean by limiting God.

When we have our open window of opportunity as King Joash had, don’t just strike the earth three times. Let’s not limit our request to three arrows or three strikes. Let’s use all our arrows. Let’s think large.  Let’s ask for big things. Believe Father really does want to do beyond what you can even imagine or conceive. Yes, even for you and me.

Can you imagine what God’s children could be involved in, if all of us would learn not to limit God – and watch Him work powerfully, to HIS glory? Ponder your prayer requests. Are they bold, and big – or timid and just going through the motions? Beware we’re not limiting our Maker, who knows no limits!

Why not even declare out loud in prayer – “Father, blast through my petty small-mindedness. Work your glory in your children’s lives – to your glory. Help me think big, and not limit you, and accept whatever you send as well. Thank you so much.”

WILL I, TOO, BE BEAUTIFUL?

Psalms 149:4 “…He will beautify the humble with salvation.”

I read this in my morning readings—another verse that jumped off the page at me from the book of Psalms.  (I love the book of Psalms!)   Let me tell you what I think it might mean—in part.  But first I think it will be fun to share some descriptions of Jesus Christ (the Lamb, the Word, the Lord…) in His eternal form:

Revelation 1:13-15 “and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire.  His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace and His voice as the sound of many waters.”

Our Lord is pictured here as a figure of unimaginable power (and with bright white hair)!

 Continuing in verse 16” …His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”

Because He radiates such power, the author here (John) couldn’t even stare directly at Him for too long even in his dream state (or “in the spirit” as he calls it Rev. 1:10) or whatever experience God was having him go through so he could record this book for humanity— The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1).

Jesus Christ (who was the Lord and the Word of the Old Testament) loved beauty!  He didn’t make himself as attractive as the world’s most recognized models when he came in human form but there was a good reason for this.  He wasn’t trying to attract attention to himself in his physical form.  He came to teach us about His Father (also our Father). 

John 17 (whole chapter) is Jesus’ prayer to God the Father about how he came to accomplish this.  He hid himself from public and religious authorities several times during his ministry so that he would not be arrested and crucified before his preassigned three- and one-half year work was finished.  If He had been too attractive, He would have stood out in a crowd.

Yet while in physical, human form, Jesus spoke of the beauties of His creation itself.  He talked about the beauty of the lilies and how gorgeous were some of the birds of the air.  Ironically, He included this in a promise to us to care for us (while on this earth) in a similar fashion as we practice living in faith.  Luke 12:27 “Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” 

Jesus also loved quality, attractive clothing to the degree that the soldiers at the stake where he was crucified bartered over which one of them would take home his coat.  (A side note—this was also prophesied in Psalms 22:18 “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”)

These are but a few of the scriptures that can be found speaking of the beauty of God.  As quoted at the start, we too will be given his beauty. (If we remain humble.)

This EXCITES ME!  I am a woman, so my desire to be beautiful comes naturally in my human form!  I truly appreciate the natural beauty which comparatively few people on this planet have inherited. Biblical history also records some MEN ALSO who had handsome and masculine features.  These traits became part of why they were selected for certain duties. 

Daniel was one of these:

Daniel 1: 4-6 “young men in whom there was no blemish, but good looking . . . who had the ability to serve in the king’s palace . . .Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azzzariah, Abed-Nego.”

I remember a trip to Switzerland that my husband and I took a few years ago.  I wonder why someone didn’t volunteer to tape my mouth shut because it was open much too OFTEN when viewing the stunning vistas that were beyond anything I had ever seen in a photo or on film!  We’ve all seen animals (or, at least photos of animals) that left us aghast at such beauty that we could hardly turn our eyes away.

 Someday, our God (our loving Creator) is planning to share that genetic beauty with me!!!  Someday I get to share in (Look like Him!) “the beauty of the Lord”!  The time is coming when “we shall see him as he is, for we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).  Psalms 27:4 “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek:  That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.”

Absalom is argued by some scholars to be the most handsome man in the Bible.  He was the son of King David.  2 Samuel 14:25 says in all Israel there was nobody as handsome as he.

See 2 Samuel 14:25 “Now in all of Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks.  From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.”

Among the beautiful women of scripture is Sarah, who was so beautiful that her husband, Abraham feared they might kill him so the king could steal her to become a wife of the king as he passed through that ruler’s land.  In fact, this happened on two different occasions by two different kings!

Genesis 12:10-15 “Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there…And it came to pass when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai, his wife, ‘Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.  Therefore it will happen when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live…”  This event happened and she was taken to Pharaoh.  You will enjoy reading this chapter in your Bible.

Later another king, Abimelech, also tried to steal Sarah from Abraham because of her great beauty.  (She was called Sarah by this time.)  Read Genesis 20:1-18. 

And I must add this: God sees his obedient and zealous children and servants as already beautiful in spirit. He even speaks in Romans 10:15 and Isaiah 52:7 of the beautiful feet of those who bring good tidings, the good news. Beautiful feet. We want beautiful feet, as God sees beautiful feet.

God also tells us that even right now he sees the hearts of those who have a meek and quiet spirit as being beautiful in heart, right now. In our present life, our God is more impressed with those beautiful in heart more than those in expensive clothing, fancy hairdos and fine jewelry.

1 Peter 3:3-4  “Do not let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel —  4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

Having said that, I do believe that someday, our God (our loving Creator) is planning to share HIS PERFECT genetic beauty with me!  And not just me—but with all His Spirit born children! God loves living amid beautiful things.  All things created by Him reflect His glory! God loves variety, evident as we look over his creation. So we will all be beautiful, but in many different ways. We won’t all look the same.

Psalms 27:4 “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek:  That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His Temple.”

MAY GOD SPEED THAT DAY!

As many of you are aware there is a couple in Kenya who have taken such compassion on the orphans in their town that they now care, feed, and educate 28  orphans. Most of them were only 4-5-6-7 years old when they were first brought to the Cup of Water Home for children. Most of them are now in their mid-teens. Thanks to those of you who materially support them they now have a hope and a future. They went from being hungry, homeless and without any family to having a food, clothing, a home, an education, and a family. Two so far have become certified mechanics and one is almost ready to graduate as a nurse. Another wants training as an electrician when he’s older. Thanks again to all of you who have made that possible.

They are so happy. Compared to the kind of lifestyle most, if not all, of you live, they still live in poverty. But they are rich compared to where they came from. Above all, they have hope that they can be more. They adore their adoptive parents. And they are very, very grateful.

On the other hand when I was a child one of my relatives adopted a 9-year-old boy. He was not happy to be in his new home, even though his adoptive family gave him all the love and material things he could want. He didn’t appreciate what they were trying to do for him. I realize it must be very confusing to be in a new home. He kept his own name, his own identity and he kept contact with his birth mother. He never assimilated into the family. As he grew older, he became more belligerent and began stealing from them. As soon as he was old enough, he left to join the army and they never saw or heard from him again, thus abandoning any rights he may have had as their child. He was ungrateful and didn’t want to be adopted.

WE also have been adopted – by God-- but will be full legal children of our Father in heaven, of God Most High.

Ephesians 1: 3-7 NIV “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us”.

Who do you identify with? Are you happy to be adopted by GOD and appreciate the wonder of what your heavenly father has done for you and what he has in store for you in the future? Or do you resist him? Do you choose to keep contact with your former life? Do you hanker after the leeks of Egypt as Israel did, when God took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt and fed them with daily manna? See Numbers 11:4-6.

So many want badly to have a child to adopt and go to great lengths to adopt a child. And for newborns or private adoptions it can cost tens of thousands of dollars. They really want that child to be part of their family. (And may God bless those who do it.)

Do you know how much God wanted you to be part of his family? He desired you. He wants to lavish his love and blessings on you. He wants YOU in his family. Do you realize and think about the great price God paid to be able to adopt us into his family?

1 Peter 1:18-19  “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

The adopted child in return not only receives the love and resources of his/her adoptive parents, but also a new identity. He/she is now identified with the adoptive family rather than the birth family. Here’s what Abba, our new heavenly Father says to us:

2 Corinthians 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters”, says the Lord Almighty.”

A legally adopted child has all the rights and privileges as a natural child and inherits an equal portion upon the death of the parents.

So do we. We are co-heirs with Christ. Imagine being an heir of God!

Romans 8:17 “and if children, then heirs—heirs of GOD and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together”

Here’s how the NLT puts it:

Romans 8:14-17 NLT  “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children! 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

Those of you who are parents or have adopted a child, do you remember how excited you were and how you prepared a nursery and decorated it and bought cuddly toys and sweet little outfits. God has prepared a place for you too and he can’t wait to show it to you.

John 14:3   “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

God wants you. He really longs for you.

Jeremiah 31:3  “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

God is so thrilled to have you in his family, that Zephaniah says God actually sings to us! How beautiful is that?

Zephaniah 3:17  “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,  He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

God longs for you. In fact we’re told all creation is yearning for it all to happen – when we’ll be revealed to the whole world as God’s children (Romans 8:18-22).

The question is do you long for HIS love and affection? Do you tell him so? Do you tell others about this wonderful family God our Father has placed you into?

Many of us have probably looked at ourselves and wondered how God could possibly work with “someone like me” when we look at our slip ups, sins and mess ups.  Check out the new AUDIO sermon “When you really MESS UP” to help you, if you feel this way at times.

I just wanted in this blog to add a couple more examples to the ones I have in the sermon, on how our Father has such a powerful and beautiful way of taking even our SINS, our serious life issues and failures, and if we commit it all to him, will work even all those out for good.

Romans 8:28 does say, after all, “ALL things work together for good, for those who love God and are the called according to his purpose.”

I believe “ALL” means “all”.  Everything. Even our worst, horrible SINS. The lineage of the Messiah came through, after all, the prior adulterous couple we know as David and Bathsheba – where David murdered Bathsheba’s husband in an attempted cover up for getting her pregnant! But God chose them to produce the Messianic line to Jesus Christ in Bethlehem!  That’s astonishing to me. But that’s our loving Father for us! 

Father in heaven, God Most High, has a plan for every single human being ever conceived. I believe, somehow, even for those sacrificed in abortion. He has a plan for you. No matter what you’ve been and no matter what you’ve done, as long as you deeply repent and turn back to him – you will be amazed at his lovingkindness to you and ways he can still use you for His Kingdom’s sake. So DON’T give up on God! Or on yourself.

Here are some other examples:

**  The first person who ever saw the risen Messiah was a woman named Mary of Magdala who had SEVEN demons cast out of her sometime before all that.  She was the “crazy woman” in town. Women in that day could not be witnesses in court, as they were deemed “unreliable”. But this was the first person GOD chose to see the risen Son of God. So don’t decide for God that you are unusable because your past is simply too weird, and you had evil personified going on – as Mary Magdalene did. Mary witnessed anyway.  John 20:17-23.  And God gave her that honor and role anyway.

** the first person in Samaria to “see” that Yeshua (Jesus) was the promised Messiah was also a “bad” woman, who had had FIVE failed marriages and was once again shacking up. God selected HER to spread the good news that the Messiah had come. He stayed there a couple days  and many believed on him based on this “bad woman’s” heartfelt testimony and witness. The story is in John 4. So if your marriage failed, and the present one is atrocious – don’t give up on God being able to still have a plan for you.

**  Two super strong examples are of God still showing grace even to the 2 most wicked kings ever. God did not just cast them aside.

Ahab. And King Manasseh. In Ahab’s case, after God had declared Ahab would die a vicious death soon for killing the innocent Naboth, whose vineyard Ahab coveted – but God reversed himself when Ahab humbled himself. See 1 Kings 21, especially verses 25-29.

In King Manasseh’s case, he is called the worst king ever. Please read his story in 2 Chronicles 33, and his repentance in verses 10-17.  God sent him to Babylon – dragged by meat hooks it seems – but when Manasseh repented, God restored him to his throne, though probably as a vassal king. Believe me, you’ve never been down as low as Manasseh, and God still heard from heaven and delivered him. So don’t give up on God or yourself. He is perfectly aware of you and what you’re doing and what your concerns are.

** Paul, who wrote half or more of the New Testament, was initially a very mean, cruel, death-dealing persecutor of the Way he eventually embraced. (Acts 22:4 “I persecuted this Way to the death…”). 

Look at Paul’s own testimony of what he did and how God was still able to use him.

1 Timothy 1:12-16   “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”

Let’s humble ourselves as Paul did, admitting we are sinners, maybe even “chief sinner” as Paul said. Let God use your redeemed past to also be a pattern of hope for others who will come and see how you surrendered to God, and how he was able to use you too.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10   “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

YOU can also look back someday and say, when you see what God can and will do through Christ in you – if you surrender to Christ fully – “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain…”

Acts 9:1-2  “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

In the sermon about really “messing up” I just gave, a big key is for us to truly turn to God now, abide in Christ and stick to him like glue! John 15:4-5. If we do, we are promised that God in us will bear much fruit. The fruit comes from the vine or tree (Christ) as we’re staying firmly attached. We don’t glue fruit on to the tree by our efforts. Fruit is the natural consequence of being part of the Vine, which produces fruit through the branches (us) in due season. We DISPLAY the fruit that the Vine (Christ) produces in us.

Philippians 1:11 – “be filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

 But back to the point of this blog: don’t give up on yourself no matter what you’ve been, or what you’ve done, so far. Yes, repent! Of course.  And going forward, trust in God, don’t give up on your amazing Father in heaven or in Christ, in whom we belong now.

Failed marriage(s)? Failed childrearing, and kids who won't talk to you? Have you been “disgraced” by society?  Turn back to God and watch what He does.

And hear the new Audio sermon – “When we really, really mess up!” for further encouragement.

And Possible origin of “April Fools.”

Many go around this time of year proclaiming “Happy new year” to everyone they see whom they know. So in the dead of winter, we find people proclaiming the new year. You might be interested to learn that it wasn’t always that way.

First of all, our Creator specified when the “new year” would be – and it was to be in the spring – with new leaves bursting on to branches and bushes. Flowers like crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths popping up were always a welcome sight and delighted us.

The first of Abib, the first month of the Hebrew calendar, in the springtime of the year, was the first of the year. Not Rosh Hashanah in the 7^th month of Hebrew months. New year may have originally been in the Fall of the year when God created Adam and Eve, but God changed it to the spring in the time of Moses -- typically late March or even as late as early April, in our Roman-named months.

Exodus 12:1-2   “Now YHVH (the LORD) spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.”

That first month was called ABIB (Exodus 13:4), when they came out of Egypt and kept Passover. During the Babylonian captivity, Jews accepted the name given while in Babylon – which was Nisan. See Esther 3:7.

My point is this: God’s “new year” is Abib 1 (or Nisan 1). I prefer the name Abib. Usually it falls at the end of March. Some years, like 2022, it can be later, in early April. So April 1 was the approximate date people used to keep in their heads as being around the time of the new year.

I looked up “April Fools” on a Google search and the History Channel came back with this. Here’s their link, but this quoted section below is the essential part.

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day  

“Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1. 

 “People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.”  (emphasis mine) 

So a lot of early believers – who kept God’s holy days, were aware of the true new year being at the time of new spring growth. Since they kept it around April 1, they were often ridiculed and called “April Fools”.

So which makes more sense? Having new year begin in the spring exactly when our Maker says it begins – or the dead of winter, to confirm to a Pope Gregory XIII’s “Gregorian calendar” orchestrated through the Catholic church?

The Gregorian calendar did correct some calendar issues, such as instituting a leap year when necessary to keep the calendar on track. It also shortened the number of days in a year from 365.25 days (Julian) down a tad to 365.2425 days in the Gregorian calendar. It also changed the new year from the spring to January 1.

I personally don’t “keep”, participate in, or celebrate New Year’s day because it isn’t God’s new year’s. We don’t go banging pots and pans or lighting fireworks or go dancing and celebrating as others do. We just stay home. It’s just another night. We don’t watch the new year’s celebrations on TV either. Why should we? It’s not God’s new year, so that’s reason enough.

So if anyone wishes to call me “April Fools” – I’ll accept it with a smile. God our Father knows best.

 - By "Sister of Theophilus”

Bet you never gave much thought about our Heavenly God being a teaser, have you?! But He is!!! And I hope no one thinks I am being disrespectful because I am not! You’ll find God’s humor frequently in scripture if you look for it. Even in his creation, God’s humor is evident. Just watch a monkey. And God has fun with me quite often. Today was one of those days:

Lately (I'm not sure why. It may be because of my eyes or my reflexes) I have become a nervous driver. Seattle area traffic, the persistent rain, slick roads, a car that doesn't respond as well as it used to--all these things have contributed. I am sure. So, following a pattern taught me by a much younger friend years ago, I ask God for help with EVERYTHING these days--in detail. I think God likes us giving details when we pray.

See Philippians 4:6 NKJV “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.;”  

Revelations 8:3-4 shows that incense in the temple represented out prayers to God “Then another angel having a golden censor came and stood at the altar and he was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God…”

And Leviticus 16:12-13 shows the incense was to be beaten fine before burning it and presenting it to God, picturing our prayers being broken down into detail, I believe. “Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of incense beaten fine…And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord…”

Today, I had to drive to a nearby town and I was expecting (according to our dependable weatherman) snowy slush mixed with rain.   I didn't want to cancel my appointment so, once again, I asked God for specific things: dry road top where I am at the time, if He doesn't want to provide dry, then make sure my car doesn't slide. I asked for plenty of space between cars for merging onto some busy highways in our area. (I've told Him how important this one is to me. Space between cars is often rare.)

I asked for overall safety and protection for me and drivers in the cars around me. Well folks, He gave me ALL THIS--both coming and going. It didn't surprise me. However, IN ONE SPOT He did surprise me. I was entering one of the Interstate Highways (and I had mentioned this area to God) and He gave me almost 1,000 feet of merging space in front and behind me. I started laughing and said out loud, "AWWW, come on now! You know I'm not THAT bad of a driver!!!"

Does God tease? Well, He certainly did with me. And what about the account of Balaam’s donkey?

See Numbers 22:27 – 30 NKJV “And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ …” The conversation continues with Balaam conversing with the donkey! Check out the rest of the story. Don’t you find this funny and revealing of God’s humor?

Another story comes to mind from many years ago. A friend of ours, in his young adult years, was on his way from Shreveport, LA to an east coast destination to observe the fall festivals assigned by God, the Feast of Tabernacles. He was making good time until he pulled into a highway rest stop but then his older automobile refused to restart. Frustrated he began pacing up and down the rest area searching for a bumper sticker with our church group’s name on it—knowing a fellow church member would be willing to help.

As he paced, he prayed, “Dear God. Please let me find a bumper sticker. Please help me find a bumper sticker!” After a few minutes, he looked down at the ground beneath his feet—THERE was a BUMPER STICKER! I guess he forgot to ask God to make sure it was attached to a car. It was a fun story for years to come. Need I say that, in very short order, a car did pull into the rest stop with that style of bumper sticker attached and, of course, he got the help he needed. God does like to have fun with us from time to time, just like the loving Father that He is.

I am always excited by the way God answers prayers! I tell Him "THANK YOU!" constantly!

You’ve heard the song “Awesome God” by Michael W Smith. It has only four short lines for lyrics but it summarizes much of the book of Psalms:

“Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power and love

Our God is an awesome God"

Walking around our neighborhood, I see small creches – depictions of the birth of the Christ child with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and maybe a few sheep or cows nearby. Sometimes depictions of shepherds or kings kneeling are also shown. So Mary and child and Joseph are clearly there. 

But how do YOU feel about Mary? If you are Catholic, you adore her. But all of you reading this who are not Catholic, how do YOU feel about her? Do you ever speak of her? Does your pastor ever give a sermon about her? And should he?

I am writing on this because I know there’s a proclivity among conservative  7^th day sabbath keepers and Hebrew roots folks to just dismiss Mary. Check your own heart on this. After all, she’s been idolized by the world’s largest Christian faction, the Catholics. You may know  -- or not  -- about the Catholic doctrines of the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption of Mary to heaven, and that Catholics call her “the Queen of Heaven” (compare Jeremiah 44) and on and on. There are also many reported visions of Mary by young girls and others.

My point is, for many sabbath keeping folks, there’s a bias against having anything to do with Mary. Again, am I right? Check your own heart.

But folks, we’re talking about the very special, specific young woman God Most High in heaven personally selected to be the woman to be the mother of his own and only son. He picked Mary to give birth to his son and raise him in a good home, good environment and do all they could to help him not ever sin. We’re talking about a woman to whom God sent his special messenger angel Gabriel with this stunning news. And we’re talking about a very humble and gracious woman – and therefore one God could magnify and bring out her greatness. I think it’s time we honor this great woman and learn from her life.

So I have a new sermon about Mary. I hope you’ll watch the video or hear it and review the notes. It’s time we stopped dismissing this great woman, if we do. I personally believe her to be the greatest of all the women of the Bible and in the top 5 or top 10 of all the people in the Bible – men or women! Mary has a lot to teach us by her life example of humility, grace, submission to God and obedience, and so I hope you enjoy the message.

Imagine realizing as you listen to Gabriel, God’s special messenger angel tell you that you’ve been hand-picked by God himself to carry His very son to term  -- conceived of the Holy Spirit – and what all that could entail. She must have thought of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 where God said this to Satan the serpent after Satan deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, and who then urged her husband to also eat of it, though Adam was not deceived:

Genesis 3:15 -- “And I will put enmity between you and the woman,  And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

This was a prophecy about the Messiah and Jews understood that. Mary would have understood that. That future seed of Eve would vanquish Satan. As one song says, “the child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you.”  At what point did it really sink in to Mary that she was giving birth to the Deliverer of humanity, and her OWN Deliverer!? In my teaching I discuss how Mary herself needed to be delivered. Imagine the thoughts racing through Mary’s mind to realize it was to be HER seed, HER son, to face combat with Satan.

I don’t know if Mary immediately connected Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 prophecies – to her son. But surely after the resurrection she must have. She knew, her son would be suffering a great deal while fulfilling this calling.

It wasn’t long before she was realizing SHE was the one hand-picked to fulfill the prophecy of a VIRGIN conceiving and bearing a son who was going to be “GOD with us” – or Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14 -- “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

The angel Gabriel told her that the father of this, her first child, would be God himself, and the Holy Spirit would be the means, the seed by which she would become pregnant. The Father of her baby to come, was God himself. The thoughts must have been overwhelming.

So Mary was very, very special. In my sermon, I make plain that we definitely should not ignore her. But on the other hand, what does scripture say about worshiping Mary or praying to her? All that and more is in the sermon.

In the popular song “Mary, did you know?” – I found the lyrics to be surprisingly praising of Christ. It was not about Christmas, but lauding Yeshua! I don’t keep Christmas. Christ was not born on December 25, and Christmas today is rarely even about Jesus anymore. I have many sermons and blogs about why I don’t keep Christmas.

But I do love and worship my Savior, God’s son, Mary’s son. I’m so glad God did send him to us to save us all from our sins. The song “Mary did you know” praises Jesus. It’s not really about Mary but asking her if she realized just how GREAT her son was going to be! Here is part of the lyrics.

“Did  you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you… 

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you’re holding …is the great I Am?”

Nothing wrong with those lyrics at all. Mary was very special to be the one hand-picked to raise such a child.

In the sermon I also discuss – was she immaculately conceived? What does the Bible say about that? Was she assumed body and soul to heaven? All that and more.

I hope you’ll enjoy the sermon.

We’re all interested, and some are anxiously wondering – who are the 2 Witnesses of Revelation 11? Who is the False Prophet?  Who/what is the whore called “Babylon” in Revelation 17-18?  

Today let’s zero in a bit on the two witnesses. I plan to eventually give a full sermon on this, but felt one issue needs to be handled first:  Are the 2 Witnesses 2 individuals, or 2 groups? 

MOST Bible students believe they are two individuals, who perform similar miracles as Moses and Elijah did. In fact God promises to send “Elijah” before his great and dreadful day of the LORD (Malachi 4:5-6).  John the Baptist fulfilled that partially, and yet he clearly was not the actual Elijah preaching just before the terrifying Day of the LORD, which is yet to come.

Malachi 4:5-6  “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,

And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

Yeshua also clearly implied there would yet be another “Elijah” to come in the future, when he says in Matthew 17:11 that Elijah IS COMING first and “shall restore all things” – and then he added that Elijah HAS come, referring to John the Baptist.

Matthew 17:11-13  NKJV --  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah IS COMING first and WILL restore all things.  12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”

John the Baptizer also came as an Elijah-type, but there is still one more time we’ll see an end-time Elijah prophesying in Jerusalem.

But John the baptizer did not restore all things or reunite fathers and sons as Malachi 4:5-6 says. Plus, John the baptizer had died some years before Yeshua said all these things. Again, the Elijah to come will come just before the awesome and terrifying Day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5-6). 

But there are also a persistent few who promote the notion that these 2 Witnesses in the future actually represent groups of people and not just two individuals. Let’s tackle that today. Sometime later I will go in depth in a sermon about the two witnesses. Some believe these represent Old and New covenants. Or Jews and Gentiles. Or the Philadelphian and Laodicean churches of Revelation 3.  Or representatives of the Law and the Prophets. And on and on and on. 

When we read about the 2 Witnesses, the description of them and their work cannot, surely cannot, apply to groups. The account is fully discussed in Revelation 11:1-14.  I recommend we all read it carefully.  I’ll post the entire scripture text at the end of this blog.

Revelation 11:3 says these two witnesses prophecy for 1260 days (3.5 years) and are clothed in sackcloth.  Are we expected to believe that two GROUPS of people will all be clothed in sackcloth?

Rev 11:4-6-- The descriptions in verses 4-6 clearly apply to individuals and not groups. Are groups going to devour their enemies by fire coming out of each individual in those two GROUPS?  Will two GROUPS, dressed in sackcloth be turning water to blood? No, the idea of these two individuals actually being two groups is not making any sense. Water to blood points to Moses’ miracles.  Destroying enemies by fire and calling for famine points to Elijah’s miracles.

Revelation 11:7-13:  Can we expect the dead bodies of GROUPS to be in the city and then GROUPS of people be resurrected 3-1/2 days later? That just would not make sense and the wording here seems to clearly point to two individuals.

Revelation 11:10 clearly says these are TWO PROPHETS, not groups, who are to be tormenting the world with their plagues. The world will not like them at all.   

So I won’t be preaching or teaching that the two witnesses represent two groups, when I prepare the full sermon on the topic.

For those of you without your own Bibles in parts of the world, here is what Scripture says, using the New King James Version:  

Revelation 11:1-14

Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.

3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two PROPHETS tormented those who dwell on the earth.

11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

If this teaching has helped you, please be sure to comment and to let others know about our free website. Thank you.  

We may be in for a tough winter. Are you ready? If there is a severe cold snap like Texas experienced last winter, will you be caught off guard and unprepared? If your power grid shuts down for a few days, what will happen to you? If your source of electricity and heating in a cold winter is cut off, what will you do?

God watches over us, but He expects his children to be wise and prepared. Even ants prepare by storing up food in summer – Proverbs 6:6-8. God gave Joseph understanding of seven years of plenty followed by seven calamitous years. And what did Joseph advise the Pharaoh to do? Store up extra food and supplies in the plentiful times, and they did, so Egypt was ready and able to help the rest of the world.

When you are prepared for times of trouble and difficulty, you also will be able to help those around you, as well as your immediate loved ones.

WHY do I say get ready and be ready for a rough winter? MAJOR weather changes could happen. Though the media trumpets “global warming,” it is entirely possible we could go through a deep freeze this winter. But there could also be disruptions to the supply chain caused by covid. There could be major disasters like earthquakes that interrupt flow of goods, food, and water. We watch our gas gauge on our cars to be sure we keep them above half full – again, in case unexpected fuel shortages hit us.

We know the very end times will be tough times, and it would be prudent to do what you can to get through these times as best as we can. In the end, yes, we will all have to trust in God to supply our needs but I’m sure he expects us to prepare as much as we can. We certainly should do our best to keep ample supply of food and water on hand at LEAST.

In our home we keep at least 5-6 five-gallon bottles of purified WATER ready at all times. Before any projected hurricanes, we even fill up a bathtub of water in case our water supply fails for a time. We also have a water purifier that takes out 99% of all contaminants and water pollutants. Be sure you can get through at least a month or more without having to shop for FOOD. Stock up now with as much food as you can – and of course be using your cans or boxes of food up as well over time and replenish as needed. Many have even bought three months or more of emergency food from MyPatriotsupply.com, and other vendors. These have to be kept in a relatively room temperature environment though. You can’t expect it to stay edible if stored in a hot garage attic. Check your supply of batteries of all sizes to be sure you can power up lanterns, flashlights and more.

We also bought a propane outdoor barbecue stove and extra bottles of propane – again, in  case of electrical failure. That way we can still cook. A couple years ago we bought a large enough generator to keep lights on in much of the house, plus keep key appliances like fridge and stove powered up. That also means having some backup fuel for the generator too.

OK, in the end, these steps won’t supply your need in extended emergencies of several months or years. Worldwide famines and plagues ARE coming. Jesus said so (Matthew 24:7). Even to America. Do your best to be as prepared as possible  -- and then still also totally trust and rely on God.

Be willing to share. This is KEY. I know many of you just naturally would. When Elijah showed up at a widow’s home during a famine he had called, the widow had enough for one last meal. Elijah asked her to share it with him. She did  -- and God blessed her with miraculous food supply for the duration of the famine. Her jars of oil never got used up! Her supply of flour never dwindled. Read the story in 1 Kings 17:8-16. And remember, in the 7-year famine of Joseph’s day, Egypt shared as well, though at a price. 

Plus this: remember the miracle of feeding the 5,000 plus? The story begins with the young boy who had 5 loaves and 2 fish but was willing to give them up to Jesus! And boy did he ever end up sharing to thousands! John 6:1-14, see verse 8-9 about the youth.

 The greatest preparation we can all make is to be seeking God diligently more than you ever have in your life. Seek him. Get as close to your Father and your Savior as you can. It’s really wonderful that our father is God Most High – king of the universe! Be sure you’re getting to know Him, then He will take care of his children if you do that.

And watch world trends, and “pray that you be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come upon the earth” (Luke 21:36). 

 Please feel free to add comments and give further suggestions below this blog that you may have that can prove helpful. Let’s get through these rough times with God’s blessings and the support from God’s children.

What would you say would be the hardest time for you to say, “thank you”?  

I can think of a few specific examples where my “thank you” could be difficult and perhaps insincere. 

It’s easy to say “thank you” when we’re lavished with wonderful gifts, or after receiving someone’s much needed help, or anytime we receive something we like and appreciate from someone else – including, of course, from God.

But what about when what you’ve just gone through has been incredibly painful to your spirit, emotions, or body? This is the challenge of this blog today for you. Can we be thankful – at least to God -- no matter what is going on?

A while back I gave a sermon on being thankful IN all things and FOR all things.  I’m learning to practice this better and better as time goes along, but I can still find this difficult at times, at least in the beginning, until I remember I belong to God and trust what He is doing in me. Here are several verses about being thankful at all times, in all things, for all things:

Philippians 4:4-7 NIV:  “Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but IN everything, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I think thanking God IN everything we go through, is hard at first, but it does get easier to do the more we practice it. And the peace – oh, the PEACE – one gets from doing this – is beyond description! Just as Paul says. We can sorrow, and still also rejoice in the broader bigger picture. Look how Peter puts this juxtaposition of peace/joy and sorrow:

Ephesians 5:20-21 – “giving THANKS ALWAYS for ALL THINGS to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.”

I REALIZE thanking God FOR ANYTHING, and EVERYTHING sounds crazy when you’re in a terrible situation. But no matter what, the more we practice this, the more peace in the trial we will experience! This includes accidents, health issues, your diabetes, loss of loved ones, pain you’re going through – everything! For ALL things, IN ALL things – means just that! Everything.

It's hard to thank God in some circumstances, but please start doing it. In the beginning, you’ll hop back and forth from submissive gratitude for even a painful event or condition—to feeling God is unaware of you and not hearing your prayers. Submit to his edicts on what we go through. It will pay big dividends.

When our son died when I was 29 years old, I remember kneeling beside my bed and saying, “Even in this, I’m supposed to thank you, Father. I’m finding that so hard to do. But I trust you, that you have a reason and purpose for this, so accept my struggling ‘thank you’ to you. But Father, I still don’t know why you allowed it. I’m hurting, a lot. And Carole my wife is devastated too. We need your comfort and peace and reassurance….”   And I went on from there. It was hard, very hard, to thank God for the death of our son, but at his burial the man from the funeral home with us commented that he had never seen a couple with so much peace at such a painful moment. I remarked, “oh, it’s because I know God has a purpose in this. But really, I feel like getting in that grave with him right now…”   So it’s a mix of rejoicing and grieving as Peter says below.

1 Peter 1:6-9 – “In this you greatly REJOICE, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been GRIEVED by various TRIALS, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith — the salvation of your souls.”

So many things God puts us through are painful: the death of your spouse or child would top the list for a lot of people, pain involving deaths. Or from prolonged pain from illness and physical afflictions like we’d suffer with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, bone-on-bone joint pain, end-stage cancers and more. Some of our brothers and sisters around the world are being terribly persecuted, tortured and killed for believing in Christ. Others have their children taken away and sold into slavery.

All of that would be terribly painful.  Why would anyone thank God for all of those?

Scripture is clear that once we die to the self, and let Messiah redeem us, pay  our sins’ debts – that we now belong to Him. God is now “calling the shots”. 

Once we belong to Yeshua, we have to trust the scriptures that say things like “EVERYTHING – ALL THINGS -- work together for GOOD – to those who love God and are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 -  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were BOUGHT at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

This means we have to trust God and Messiah that no matter what we go through, they’re aware of it, allowing it and working in it. God is aware of the number of hairs on your head. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows our worries, concerns and pains. And we have to trust the Bible when God tells us He IS love.

After all, He sent his eternal companion – the Word – to become mere flesh and die for us. This Word became His own SON… and look what he put Jesus through, for us, so we would not have to die or suffer God’s wrath for our sins. THAT is proof, surely, of his love for you and me.

Paul sought God’s intervention several times for what he referred to as “the thorn in my flesh”.  God finally told Paul that it was through that ordeal that Paul would see God’s grace and grow into the spiritual maturity God wanted for him. I explore this in more depth in the 2-part sermons on “God’s Perfection for us – God’s way”. I hope you’ll watch the videos. 

Here's what Paul says about God’s answer to him on his “thorn in the flesh” trial:

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 – “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In spite of the pain and suffering, GOD’S strength is coming to us during and because of the suffering we go through. We are being perfected… all brought out in the new sermons on Perfection.

God used pain and suffering to finish Yeshua’s preparation to be high priest.  He uses pain and suffering to perfect, mature and finish us as well.

Hebrews 2:10  – “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

He was being prepared to be the best possible High Priest he could be. That required understanding the weaknesses and trials of those you serve – and so that’s one reason why Yeshua had to suffer so much – certainly with his crucifixion.  This allowed him to understand pain at so many levels. The physical pain of crucifixion is beyond description. Plus the pain of rejection, of being alone, even realizing Father in heaven would not take his pain and suffering away but had to let him die painfully.

We also are being prepared to be priests in God’s kingdom – helping others.  We’re called a “royal priesthood”, remember. So that is why we have to also be tested and tempted in all points as Jesus was (Hebrews 4:15), so we understand sin and its consequences. That’s also why we have to suffer the death of loved ones or endure incredible pain – so we can be empathetic with others.  Of course God sometimes heals our pains and suffering, though he did not take away Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” and did require Yeshua’s suffering and death.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4  -- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

No one knows the pain of losing their child unless you’ve also lost your child. No one knows the pain of losing a beloved husband or wife, unless you’ve been through it. And the pain of losing a spouse is different from the pain of losing a child. So God lets a number of us go through all that so we can better understand what others go through when they also lose their spouse or child. That process matures us, deepens our understanding and ability to be a great priest in the future and even to help in this life. 

WHEN we understand and ACCEPT that all things do work together for God’s good for us, and that HE is allowing or sometimes even sending the trials to BUILD US (edification) – then we can understand how we can thank God in and for all things.

Even, especially, the annoying, painful, stressful, “horrible” times of our lives. God is with us, at all times and is working His plan in us, at all times, for all things, in all things – and that is how and why we can say “thank you, Father, that I have you here even when it seems like you’re not answering my prayers, even though the pain is not subsiding, even though there has been death in my family – I know you’re here with me. And knowing that, I have peace and gratitude. And I trust whatever you’re doing, because I know you love me, and you ARE love personified. And as I go through all this, I will be a more effective priest and comforter for others. So thank you, dear Father. Help me, strengthen me and others going through pain, and help us see you in all of this.”

A hard time to say thank you – but we do, and we always must – for it’s working out a great plan beyond our wildest dreams.  And the PEACE of mind we receive when we say “thank you” even in our most painful times, is just amazing. It boils down to absolutely trusting our Creator. It means having FAITH in him, no matter what we go through.

In the months and years ahead, and in times of tribulation, we will need to have this honed down real well. There’s more in the sermons on God’s Perfection that he’s building in us. 

We’ve just come back home from the Feast of Tabernacles and eighth day.  In these lawless times, it may be tempting to decide not to go to the Feast due to the risk of someone breaking into our home and stealing everything we have. Or perhaps you dislike flying or driving anymore – because of all “those crazy drivers on the road.”

I am very aware that there have been mishaps and accidents going to and coming back from the feast in the past. So what I’m writing today is not an ironclad promise I can offer to everyone in the world – because I believe God’s protection on people will often be somewhat commensurate to the depth of their relationship with him and their trust in him.

If we flout God’s laws, if sin often and flagrantly, if we are careless in our actions or inaction, then there may be lessons God needs us to learn.  In those cases, what I’m about to write may not apply to those people to the same degree it would apply to others.

Notice this:

Exodus 34:23-24 – “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before Yehovah, YHVH God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.”

This statement  from God was given to the nation of 12-tribed Israel, with national laws. But the principle is surely there. God will take steps to protect us while we are at His Feasts, especially if:

• We are sure we are close to our Maker and love him with all our being, soul and might and heart. IF we love him, we will obey his commandments (John 14:15). And we also understand our righteousness must really be from him, from his credited or imputed righteousness, so he gets all the glory.

• We ASK him to watch over our trip and watch over our home and property while we are away. “You have not, for you ask not” (James 4:2b).  “Ask and you shall receive…” (Matthew 7:7-8).  SO ASK.  Don’t be shy or hesitant. God’s Son TELLS us to ask. Let’s obey him. Ask in his name, believing (John 16:24).

• All DURING the Feast we continue to ask for protection for our health and well-being. Not a single person from our Feast site got Covid19 during or immediately after the Feast to the best of my knowledge. We asked God in public prayer to place a spiritual “iron dome” around the whole community and rebuke the covid, rebuke Satan, and let us worship in good health.

• We take careful steps to protect our property – by being sure we lock the doors, leave a light on, cancel any deliveries and mail, and you know the drill. And one thing I learned: don’t tell too many that you’ll be away. That includes NOT posting pictures of where you are DURING the feast. What an easy way for people to figure out they can break into your home. So I normally don’t post pictures when I’m away, or pics of our flight or drive out.  It’s a calling card for thieves. 

So, did God protect US?  He sure did.

God will put a hedge around you and your children and property if He wants to protect you. Satan knew that about Job. Satan could do to Job – or to us – only what God allowed for HIS reasons.  Here’s Satan speaking to God:

Job 1:10 -- Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

At our Feast site, God certainly kept disease, accident and death away. Nobody to my knowledge got or left with any Covid19, praise to God.

Divine protection

On our return home from the Feast, while we were driving at freeway speeds headed for the airport, I was in the center lane with my wife, right behind a truck thirty feet ahead of us. The freeway was packed. Cars were on both sides, and many behind us and the truck and more ahead of us.  Suddenly something huge and heavy, seemed to be metal, clunked off the back end of the truck thirty feet in front of us. The item was about 5’ wide, 3’ deep, and almost 5’ high. It was huge. Right in front of me.

Quick check in the rear view and I could see a car close to me.  I HAD to brake and did – but then quickly found myself going around it and missing somehow the car on my right.  Then back into my own lane without hitting this massive object now behind me. Carole said, “Wow, great driving, hon…” but I was sure something more had happened. I’m certain that for 3-4 seconds an angel took over the wheel and the car and spared us from what could easily have been a fatal accident for us.  I didn’t believe that my “great driving” was what happened. Once again, God spared me.

Then later I found that our Webmaster for our site had a similar intervention. His wife Brandie, on the freeway during the Feast, had a loud bang total tire explosion. She also felt some help getting her car to the side without incident. 

My wife feels that God lets us have these near disasters so we’re aware of his angelic protection over us. They probably have spared you and me many times we’re not even aware of. So I remember now to thank God for his protection, including all the ones I never become aware of, knowing he cares for me more than he does sparrows, which he cares for all the time.

Then it gets even better.

When we got home, we found our garage side door had been tinkered with – as someone had tried to break in. But for some reason, they quit, just when they could have entered with one more minute of trying. We could have lost everything of value.

Afterwards I sent a note to our “village”  of homes asking for everyone to keep a strong lookout for each other’s homes. One of my nearby neighbors said that one night, when he let his dog out to “go”, the dog suddenly turned towards our house, barking like crazy. The neighbor then opened his garage door and then the dog stopped – and he feels that was the time the thief decided to quit and left. I think God made that dog bark a lot. That dog never barks, at least any time I’ve seen him.

Again, thank you God, and thank you guardian angels. We love you Father and our Beloved Jesus for all your protection. Be sure to ask for it, thank him for it, and expect God will watch over us.

Also remember Luke 21:36 and be praying that you be counted worthy to escape the atrocities that are definitely coming on this planet, sooner probably than later.  It will be the worst time this planet has EVER seen. Revelation 12 shows the Woman will be supernaturally taken to her place of safety in “the wilderness” (that’s not heaven) for the final 3-1/2 years before Yeshua returns in glory. But some – the remnant who do not go to the place of safety – will be tried in the fire of testing. I mean the Laodiceans of Rev. 3.

We ESPECIALLY will want God’s protection in these end times. SO pray and fast and be counted worthy. Those with Christ (Rev. 17:14) will be the Called, the CHOSEN AND the faithful. For the rest of your time alive on this earth, please double your prayer time, Bible study time, more time doing good works helping people and face sins and bad habits that simply must be given up. Seek the deepest relationship with God and Jesus that you can possibly develop.

Don’t be Laodicean. Don’t be lukewarm.  Don’t think you’re all OK. But repent, seek our God with all your might. But neither should the place of safety be your main goal. Let a closeness to God be your main goal. Some great men and women will be tasked with being tested viciously for their witness. That will include the Two Witnesses, who will be stoned to death at the end of their ministry.  I will give a sermon soon on the Two Witnesses. Be watching for it.

We praise you dear Abba our dear Father, for all you have done to protect us. May we be always thankful. We love you, dear Abba and our Beloved Messiah Yeshua. 

The day of Atonement is a most solemn holyday, and we should be prepared for it. In here I will address the fasting we do.

I’ve written on this before, so I’ll get to the point. There are probably a lot of us who will be fasting who – at the end of the day – are hungry and wondered what we accomplished by fasting and only have a headache to show for it. That will happen IF… IF we don’t prepare for Atonement spiritually and mentally.

Don’t just go without food or water on Atonement. We are told to afflict our souls (Leviticus 23:27 and Lev 16:29,31). David said he humbled and afflicted his soul with fasting (Psalm 35:13; 69:10). “Afflicting your soul” was commonly understood to mean fasting. Fasting with deep repentant prayer often went hand in hand – as In Daniel 9:3, when Daniel sought his God and was repenting frankly not just for himself, but also for the whole nation of Judah, which was in captivity.

I urge all of you reading this to study Isaiah 58, which is all about effective fasting from God’s viewpoint, before Atonement. Let’s use Atonement as a day of repenting of areas in our lives that we know fall short of God’s will. I mean habits that aren’t Christ-like like movies, entertainment, and any activities we participate in – that we know Yeshua would not be participating in. We renew our determination to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Maybe we’re too stingy with our funds instead of supporting widows and orphans in their time of need.

Those last 2 sentences above are actually a definition of “pure religion” – see James 1:27.

Use this day to come before God Most High and ask him – by faith through Yeshua -- to cover you with HIS righteousness, to atone for our sins we still fall into, and let us be there with Yeshua when he returns to this earth. I have many sermons on this website about how we must have the righteousness of God himself gifted to us through faith (Romans 5:17; Philippians 3:9-11).

Don’t just use the day to listen to the sermon and just go hungry. Have a purpose for being hungry, besides the automatic reason that “God told us to fast”. Let’s read Isaiah 58 together now and I hope this year’s fasting on Atonement will result in our decisions to make some definite changes in our lives – which makes it an effective fast.

In Isaiah 58:3-5 God tells us fasting without change in our lives gets nowhere with God. We dress up and go to church on this day, say the prayers, sing the songs of praise, listen to the sermons -- but God’s not impressed. Why? So let’s pick up in Isaiah 58:6, God speaking:

Isaiah 58:6-10 New Living Translation: "No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free and remove the chains that bind people.

“ (v.7) Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.   [Can you point to specific times recently when you’ve done these?] 

God implies in verse 8 that we’re not seeing more HEALINGS partly because we’re not using fasts to create changes in our lives. If we wonder where God is, and he doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers – maybe we’re not praying and fasting with changes in our lives. Verse 9 – God WANTS to answer our prayers. If he doesn’t seem to be, the issue is not with God, but with us. 

Continuing Isa 58:8-10 :   "Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, YHVH will answer. 'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply. "Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!10 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

In verse 9 He asks us to stop the gossip about others. Stop “pointing the finger” as we criticize everyone else for falling so far short. I have women neighbors I can hear, who walk together in the morning, and I can hear them as they pass by our home. Sometimes they talk loudly on their cell phones. It’s almost always about someone and what horrible thing that someone did, can you imagine that? God says stop gossiping, pointing the finger, especially when identities can be known.

Let’s read and re-read Isaiah 58 until we know what changes we’ll make. Certainly let’s do pray much more and seek our God with all our being as we worship and seek Him on this Day of Atonement. Let’s not just go a day with a no-caffeine headache while feeling hungry and wondering why we were fasting.

Of course we fast on the Day of Atonement for other reasons as well. Some few (initially) from around the world will be seeking this new ruler who came through space – visible to all – and his name is Yeshua, the Son of God. With all the plagues, war, hail, earthquakes and heavenly fearsome sights before he lands on Mount of Olives – He’ll have the world’s attention. After landing on the Mount of Olives, he will start to judge the world and - - best of all--- offer them atonement for their sins and reconciliation with God, if they would just “come under his wing”. They will come with fasting and prayer as they seek this new world ruler – coming soon!

Be sure to hear my sermon about the Day of Atonement.

Let’s talk about the coming Beast system, where it could be, the coming Great False Prophet and how God is continuing to bring America down to fulfill prophecy.

A friend of mine just sent me a copy of a quote from the “EU Observer”. Has our recent debacle in Afghanistan just motivated Europe to not want to rely on the USA anymore militarily?

You should find what my friend just sent me very interesting. For years, many of us have believed that the “Beast” of Revelation who allies with a great False Prophet (Revelation 13, etc.) will be a military/economic power based in Europe, as a final “resurrection” of the Holy Roman empire – which is not “holy” and not obviously Roman to most eyes. But it will be powerful and have worldwide influence.

"The EU needed to become the world's third-largest military superpower, the debacle in Afghanistan has shown, French defense minister Bruno Le Maire said at a business congress near Lake Como in Italy Saturday, Reuters reports. "Europe has to become the number three super-power besides China and the United States. Let's open our eyes, we're facing threats and we cannot rely anymore on the protection of the United States’, he said."

By EUOBSERVER

Keep an eye on this, as we will. I had heard that French President Emmanuel Macron had voiced something like this but didn’t have the quote. His name is interesting – meaning “God with us”. So he may be at least the start of motivating Europe to become far more powerful militarily and not reliant on the USA.

The Beast power (interesting, isn’t it, that God compares the world ruling empires to animals) will be allied with a world religious leader, we call the great False Prophet – a la 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13, as well as mentions in Daniel.

So who will be this great false prophet – the man of Sin – who will declare he is god and will rule from inside the temple of God – which I believe could be constructed in soon-coming years in Jerusalem?

Others believe all we need is to re-start sacrifices, without the building. But scripture is clear that this coming man of Sin, who will be able to do great wonders, takes residence inside the temple of God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). But read all of 2 Thess 2, a scripture I’ve referenced several times in recent sermons.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of GOD, showing himself that he is God.”

Read all of 2 Thess 2.

That sounds to me like there will be a real, physical 3^rd temple not just an outdoor place of animal sacrifices. Certainly just about all the pieces of “furniture” and items for the third temple in Jerusalem are ready. I’ve seen with my own eyes the golden menorah for the 3^rd temple – already built. We saw the priestly crown to be worn by the high priest, their garments, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, various shofars and much more.

There’s some discussion on where the temple should be located – and God will determine that and will have to let world politics be such that a temple CAN be built. Some believe it will be in the old city of David area, south of the present “temple mount”. I studied personally under Dr. Ernest Martin in 1973 at the Jerusalem Dig. His ideas will require a change of mind and heart from God for present Jewish leaders and archaeologists to build near the Gihon springs, considerably below the present “Temple mount”.

Right now, most Jewish rabbis, historians and archaeologists are adamant that the 1^st and 2^nd temples were very close or directly at the location of the Dome of the Rock. They would need convincing. To build the 3^rd temple in the ancient city of David – just a 12-acre site south of the present southern walls --will require a miracle.

So watch -- and keep watching and praying.

Will the man of sin who rules from the temple of God – be a pope? Or could it be someone outside the Roman Catholic church who is able to unite the whole world in one religion – but likely at the expense of announcing we can’t say Jesus/Yeshua any longer?

I’m not prophesying anything. Just saying – keep your eyes open. Watch and pray, that you be counted worthy to escape these things which shall come to pass (Luke 21:36).

Are the pieces of the puzzle coming together? Did President Biden just give Europe and the EU the impetus, the push, to come together as a powerhouse no longer reliant on America? Even President Trump was urging EU /NATO to be able and willing to defend themselves. So we may see a split coming between the USA and Europe if we continue to no longer keep our treaties and commitments abroad.

The next test of American resolve and their power could be Taiwan. Will the USA give up on Taiwan – or be willing to go to war against China to defend Taiwan? If the USA gives up on Taiwan and the Ukraine, you’ll see Europe come together militarily with real power – FAST – I believe.

You might want to listen to the sermon I recently gave on how God is breaking the pride of our power. Also check out my sermon on “When will Christ return”—which lists the various steps enumerated in scripture before Yeshua lands on the Mount of Olives to rule this world.

“Thy kingdom come.”

Many claim to believe in the resurrection of the dead. That’s great, for “if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we’re of all men most miserable” – someone famous said (1 Cor. 15:19).

Do good people go to heaven when they die? Yeshua said “NO ONE has ascended to heaven or come down from heaven except the Son of man” (John 3:13). NO one. Peter confirmed that even righteous King David “did not ascend into the heavens” (Acts 2:34). If King David is not in heaven, then who is? After listing so many men and women of enormous faith, Hebrews 11:13 says ALL, everyone, before us – even Enoch and Elijah – DIED, not having received the promises.

Just enter into the Search bar “Enoch and Elijah” for more details on what really happened to them.

And our destiny is not to sit on fluffy clouds in heaven while we strum on harps forever and ever. Neither is it “the beatific vision”, as in Catholic theology. It’s so much more. So what will our bodies be like when we’re resurrected?

Since you’re not zoomed up to heaven when you die, a resurrection from the dead is necessary if we are ever to live again after we die. And that’s what the Bible teaches. In fact I’ve often wondered, if “good” people go to heaven when they die and are having a beatific vision of God already, what’s the NEED for a resurrection?

The Bible also speaks of those who will be punished with death for their unrepented sins, and they will be part of the “second death” (see Revelation 20:6, 14). To have a 2^nd death, those people would need to have a 2^nd LIFE – the resurrection for those not in the first resurrection, but a later one.

So everything else I will write about in this blog is about the first resurrection only, OK?

Keep reading, it will get clearer.

The First Resurrection is for the righteous. Saying “first resurrection” implies other resurrections, does it not? That’s a different topic for a different time, so let’s keep to this topic of the kind of body we’ll have if we’re in the first resurrection.

WHO will be in the first resurrection? According to Revelation 20:4-6, those who are in the first resurrection will reign with Christ. So they are believers who were baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ – into Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:13) and never partook of the dreaded mark of the Beast on their forehead or on their hands. They are God’s saints!

Revelation 20:4-6

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

No doubt this first resurrection is also the one described in Hebrews 11:35 as “a better resurrection” – in the famous chapter often called “The FAITH Hall of Fame”. It’s the one called “the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14) and it is “the resurrection from the dead” – Philippians 3:11. Other verses call it the “resurrection of the just” and the “resurrection of life for those who have done good” – John 5:28-29.

So the first resurrection if made up of God’s children being resurrected with new bodies unlike any bodies you’re familiar with.

So OK, that’s great, but what kind of body WILL we have in that first resurrection? Note: what I describe now applies only to those in the first resurrection.

WHEN does it happen: At Christ’s return. There will be 7 trumpet blasts and it’s at the last trump when He returns and receives his resurrected and changed Bride in the clouds.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

1 Corinthians 15:22-25

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.

24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.”

Paul is on a roll. After stating that celestial bodies have differing brilliances – like comparing the sun, moon and stars –he says so it is in the first resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:42-45

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.

44 It is sown a NATURAL body; it is raised a SPIRITUAL body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Did you get that? Those in the first resurrection are brought back to life with a SPIRIT body, not a flesh and blood body.

1 Corinthians 15:50-53

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Read verse 50 again: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. So we must be SPIRIT. This is a very KEY point in understanding our body at the resurrection.

 Yeshua said “that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit IS spirit” (John 3:6). So we will be spirit beings. “GOD is spirit” – John 4:34.

Angels are also spirit beings so Yeshua says we’ll be like the angels, in as much as they are spirits, or spirit beings, as we shall be (Mark 12:25). We’ll be higher than angels, as they will be our servants and they’re not really considered “sons” of God literally, like we are. (Hebrews 1:13-14).

Another thing: those in the first resurrection to spirit, will shine like the sun! See Daniel 12:3.

Matthew 13:43

“Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

So at the last trump, the dead in Christ rise first with their new spirit, shining, immortal, perfect, powerful bodies that can never die again. Those of us who are still alive, will then be changed to spirit as well. I have 2 sermons on “Life as a Spirit Being” if you care to learn more about what the Bible says about living as a spirit.

But can you imagine all who have died – whether in battle, or car accident or cancer – coming back to life with a brand new, immortal, perfect, healed, powerful Spirit body raised in glory and power? All the wounds and pain and illness and aging – all gone. Just a brand-new powerful spirit immortal body now. Hallelujah. I can’t wait.

The deaf will hear the birds chirping and frogs croaking and the sound of their grandchildren playing. The lame will leap like a deer. The mute will sing God’s praises in perfect tune and harmony. It’s clear from scripture that spirit beings can appear and disappear at will. They can pass through solid walls – and then disappear again, as Yeshua did after his resurrection. They can eat and drink and fly. That’s what our bodies will be like! We’ll never age again. We’ll never die again (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14).

And - no – we’re not just going to while away our time on a cloud strumming harps. Here’s what God says we’ll be doing:

Revelation 20:6

“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

In fact, we’re told once we’re changed to spirit – as angels and God are spirit beings – we shall see God as he is. Here’s one of my favorite scriptures:

1 John 3:2-3

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Let me remind you: all this pertains to those in the First Resurrection. Those who come up in the 2^nd Resurrection … that’s a different story. Maybe we’ll continue another time. Hint: the “rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years are finished” – Rev. 20:5

But if you remain faithful and true and endure to the end after accepting Yeshua as your Savior and your new life, you will get a brand-new immortal and glorious SPIRIT body when Christ returns. Hallelujah.

Most people believe it took Noah 120 years to build the ark. Today’s blog may surprise some of you. And many people think Noah’s 3 sons helped him build the ark, right from the get go. Keep reading. More surprises are in store for many of you.

One point of this blog is to encourage everyone to read the scriptures more carefully. The other point is how incredibly patient God is, even in the face of violence and sin and perversions that were so bad that God decided to end all land life on the earth except what could be placed inside that huge ark.

People lived a long, long time back then. Adam and Eve were still in their midlife when Enoch was actively preaching. Adam was there when Methuselah was born – and lived such a long time.

If you haven’t seen the Ark life-size replica in Kentucky, USA, I recommend you do. The single biggest impression you’ll be left with will probably be how huge that ship was. Plus, what an undertaking it had to be to build such a huge ship without all the modern tools and machinery and equipment we have today. Check out: https://arkencounter.com/about/         

I only wish they had shown more animals in their ark like the ones we see today – and less of the dinosaur type, but other than that, it is a “must see”.

Genesis 6:3   “And YHVH said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

Notice it does not say, “…yet I’m giving my man Noah one hundred and twenty years to build the Ark.” But that’s the assumption so many make!

And it’s not clearly said here whether this 120-year time period was stated to Noah or anyone – or just a conclusion God had made for himself. It’s true that God gave mankind another 120 years before the rains would fall – but that period of 120 years is not necessarily the same as the years Noah was building. The world’s doomsday clock was well underway into those 120 years by the time Noah was even clearly told to start building the Ark, as we’ll see.

Here’s what we’re clearly told. Keep these numbers in mind. 

** We’re told God had decided there would be a final 120 years for mankind. (Genesis 6:3). It is NOT clearly stated that this timetable was said to, or given to anyone. It seems to be a private conclusion God had decided. If God told Noah of the 120-year deadline, then Noah would have been 480 years old – but we’re not told that. And his first son is still 20 years away from even being born yet!

** We ARE clearly told that Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth (Genesis 7:6). 

** We’re also told Noah was 500 years old when his first son Japheth was born to him (Genesis 5:32), and now only 100 years separate the birth of Noah’s oldest son and the time of the Flood, when Noah was 600 years old.

So, had you realized before that at the start of the 120-year timeline, Noah and Mrs. Noah had no children born to them yet?

** We also know that Shem – Noah’s second son – was 100 years old when he had his first son Arphaxad (Genesis 11:10). This means Shem was 98 years old when the flood came. It also means Noah was 502 years old when Shem was born.

Genesis 11:10 “This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.”

** The first time we actually have God CLEARLY telling Noah there would be a worldwide destruction by flood that would kill all living things on the earth, is in Genesis 6:13-18. God is – by that time -- mentioning Noah, his wife and Noah’s sons and their wives (verse 18) – which mathematically means Noah was at least 525 years old by this time, to allow 3 sons to be born to him and for them to be old enough to be married. That’s if that was indeed the first time God mentions it to Noah himself. That leaves a maximum of 75 years left in the 120-year countdown, for the Flood came when Noah was 600 years old (Gen. 7:6). So based on the statement GOD makes that includes Noah’s entire family and daughters-in-law (Gen. 3:18), the actual building of the ark could have been 35-75 years.

There is of course also the possibility that God was saying all that to Noah when he was still childless – as a matter of faith, just as God told Abraham he would be the father of multitudes of children, when he also was still childless.

BIRTH ORDER: By the time Noah had his firstborn – who was Japheth, Noah was 500 years old, according to Genesis 5:32. I realize, Shem is listed first in Genesis 6:10 and 7:13, but in the Bible, the most important one in Biblical history, or who had the most impact – or sometimes the most righteous one through whom God worked the most, ends up being listed first a lot of times. For example, Abraham was not the firstborn among his siblings either, but is also listed first.

So the real order of births of Noah’s children was this: Japheth, Shem and Ham – and yes, I know, we’re all used to saying “Shem, Ham and Japheth”, as the Bible itself does that as well (Genesis 6:10; 7:13) multiple times.

Again, Noah was 500 years old when Japheth was born – Genesis 5:32. The flood waters came when Noah was 600 years old. Genesis 7:6. Already you see less than 120 years right there. 

I suspect Noah had to have a LOT of hired help to cut down the trees, prepare the boards and build such a huge ship – whether he had sons or not.

How big was Noah’s ARK? Read Genesis 6:14-15 in a modern translation so you get it in feet. Go see the replica in Kentucky. A FOOTBALL field and a half long! Now imagine that. Picture that next time you see an American football field. That, and half again as long added to that. 450 feet long. 75 feet wide. Over four stories high – or 45 feet high. OK, modern cruise ships are much bigger, but still – this Ark was one huge ship! Imagine having to build all that!

Genesis 6:14-16 NLT   -- "Build a large boat from cypress wood [gopher wood, teak] and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15 Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.”

I also believe that God may have tested Noah and all mankind by having a completed ark sitting there for some months or even years, without any sign of flooding or rain. Then when the time for the flood came, Noah had a one-week warning. That was it. (Read Genesis 7:1-20).

Here's a photo of my wife and I standing in front of the Ark replica. Go see it.

The ark by the end of that week had to be full of food and water for all the animals and Noah’s family, plus they had to get all the wildlife God was sending them into the ark and get them all settled in and organized, before the rains, floods and break-out of waters from the deep began to happen. Then God himself shut them in. God locked the doors (Genesis 7:16). Imagine that.

Where did all the water come from?

Besides torrential rains for 40 days and 40 nights, where else did all the water come from? Some scientists have said that under the crust of the earth there is more water than we see in all the oceans today. Scripture speaks of it as “the fountains of the deep”. God broke those open to flood the world, in addition to the enormous amount of rainfall he sent. No doubt this was a very, very scary time to go through – whether inside or outside the ark.

When God stopped the flooding, and began to order the waters to recede, he sent a lot of wind to dry things out (Genesis 8:1). And look how it’s worded (notice “fountains of the deep”).

Genesis 8:2 “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.”

It took many more months before even the tops of the mountains could be seen – let alone before they could safely leave the ark.

There’s a lot of evidence of a worldwide Flood visible in the earth’s strata of rocks. Lots of it. Every culture around the world has some epic tale of the saving of a few people and animals. The best known one is the Epic of Gilgamesh.

I admit: whether it took Noah just 40-75 years to build the ark – or if he took all 120 years, that’s not a huge spiritual point. But it IS important to read and study the scriptures carefully enough to realize when we’ve been told something over and over that simply may not be true.

And, I’ve got to say this: the most recent Hollywood movies about Noah and the Flood are simply rubbish. They don’t follow the Bible’s descriptions at all. Don’t even waste any time watching them. They’ll put totally wrong concepts in your head and much of what they show are simply untrue, if you go by God’s word.

One of the best known “Bible stories” is David and Goliath, the giant from Gath, of the Philistines. When we were at “the Jerusalem Dig” in Israel in 1973, our group made a trip to the Valley of Elah, where the David vs. Goliath battle happened. I was surprised by how far it was between the 2 sides, the 2 hills where each army had gathered, opposing each other.

You probably know this story well. David carefully selected five smooth stones from a brook. As a watcher over his flock, David knew which stones would “fly” the best and have the greatest impact. He knew God would guide this, but he did his part.

But why FIVE stones? Did he think he’d miss? I’ll post the story of the battle later from 1 Samuel 17:1-11 so you can re-read the account if you wish or need to.

The Bible does not tell us why David took five stones with him. Let’s start with that. So whatever the full reason is, any answer is an educated guess, but you will find it interesting.

There are normally two theories for explaining why David selected 5 stones. First of all, remember that five is the number of God’s grace – and even that is significant to me.

--- The First Theory is David was just being prepared for whatever could happen. David gives no hint of fearing he would miss or that God wouldn’t give him success. So I don’t think he took five stones in case he missed. But what if the Philistines sent more soldiers out to fight David? So the first theory is that David simply wanted to be prepared for other contingencies that could happen. Besides, though he knew God would fight his battle for him, neither had God said that one stone would be enough. So David took 4 additional stones just in case he needed more.

Remember that God wants us to be prepared. Proverbs 27:12 says, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

So if a hurricane is heading our way, long before it’s too late – we’ve prepared. You trust in God, yes, but you also prepare. You see danger coming and you take prudent steps. So you have spare batteries, spare gas (petrol), food, water, pet food, medicines are ready, first aid kits, and more. You might even board up the windows. This means buying plywood well ahead of time and cut to the proper sizes ahead of time. It always amazes me how so many people wait until it’s too late to “be ready” or seem unaware of other contingencies.

BUT… watch for my upcoming sermon on whether we should speak up and act in times of apostasy and danger against God’s children – or whether we should remain silent and be “invisible”. In this particular case, David showed up in the face of danger, DID speak up, and did face the giant danger head on! But he did take precautions and carefully selected FIVE stones. 

--- The Second Theory is that 2 Samuel 21:15-21 shows that there could have been a literal giant in Philistia named “Rapha” who had four giant sons besides Goliath. FOUR more giants!

The name “Rapha” can actually be translated “the giant” as well, or Rephaim – plural for “giants”. Some translations even translate Rapha as “giants” – or “a son of the giants” – plural.

So whether this was the name of one man who had 4 fearsome giant sons or whether they were simply descendants of the giants generally – the point is: there were FOUR additional giants. Some translations read this as these four were either sons of Goliath himself or a brother of Goliath. Without getting into the nitty-gritty on this, just know there were FOUR additional giants who were fearsome combatants.

So the second theory is that David was not just eager to fight Goliath from Gath – but ALL the giants at that time, all FIVE giant warriors. This theory is plausible, though we have no indication that David was even aware there were an additional four other giants besides Goliath. But it’s an interesting possible explanation for 5 stones, or is this just coincidence?

You can read 2 Samuel 21:15-22 that explains all about the four other giant warriors – but let’s read the summary for now in verse 22:

2 SAMUEL 21:22 –“These FOUR were born to the giant [Hebrew: Rapha] in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.”

So if you ask me why David took 5 stones, I’d say he was being prepared for any contingency, whether he needed more than one, or whether the Philistines sent others to help Goliath, or whether the giant’s 4 other warrior sons would show up.

I’ll end the blog with the scriptures of the fight and also about the additional 4 giants, but first this: David’s trust was not in his sling and stone – but in YHVH to fight for him and win.

Here’s the battle scene:

1 Samuel 17:40-51 NCV – (David) He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his shepherd's bag and grabbed his sling. Then he went to meet the Philistine. 

41 At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. 42 When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on David with disgust. 43 He said, "Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?" He used his gods' names to curse David. 44 He said to David, "Come here. I'll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!"

45 But David said to him, "You come to me using a sword and two spears. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken against him. 46 Today the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll kill you and cut off your head. Today I'll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel!

47 Everyone gathered here will know YHVH does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him, and he will hand you over to us."

48 As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. 49 He took a stone from his bag, put it into his sling, and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine and went deep into his forehead, and Goliath fell face down on the ground.

50 So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. 51 Then David ran and stood beside him. He took Goliath's sword out of its holder and killed him by cutting off his head.” 

Now here’s the account of the additional four giant warriors:

2 Samuel 21:15-22 “When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant [Rapha}, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel." 

18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant. 21 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him.

22 These FOUR were born to the giant [Hebrew: Rapha] in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.”

The main thing: David trusted in Yehovah to fight for him, to guide him, and give him the victory. But he certainly was willing to face additional issues – whether from other giants or other soldiers from the Philistines. A great example of faith from such a young man, probably no older than 17 at this point (1 Samuel 17:42).