BE ALERT TO THE SIGNS OF OUR TIMES!
"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." Revelation 1:2-4
America has been blessed with unusual freedom for more than two centuries. But now -- as multitudes reject God's Word, justify immorality, laugh at evil, and embrace depravity -- the protective walls of justice and integrity are fast eroding. In their place, we see a rising tower of global tyranny.
Americans are no longer safe from the persecution that has tested the faith of Christians through the centuries. In fact, God warns us that the global battle against Biblical Truth will surely intensify. While we don't know His timing, He tells us to be alert -- always ready to follow His way, trust His grace, and demonstrate His strength -- no matter how fierce the foe.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12-18
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Are You Clothed in Jesus?
By: A Fellow Believer
The storms began to hit hard at the end of my first year as a Christian
They took me by surprise.
After a delightful year of learning to know Jesus and discovering the marvelous resources of His Kingdom, I thought I had a handle on the Christian life. Ignorant of spiritual warfare, I didn't guard against the perversity of my flesh (the old human nature) nor against Satan.
Suddenly neither my outward circumstances nor my inner struggles fit my vision of the Christian life.
Disappointment, failure, and loss happens to everyone, but in me they opened the door to doubts and despair.
The questions in my mind reflected the confusion in my heart: If Jesus is my Shepherd, why doesn't He take better care of me? If God is my sovereign King, where is His power to provide strength and peace? If He is my Father, why isn't He gentler with me?
Of course, the problem was me, not God. I just hadn't seen all that He offered me, nor had I applied all that He had shown me. My royal wardrobe hung unused in the closet.
I had pictured both a vertical love-relationship with my LORD (His hand and heart reaching down to me) and a horizontal friendship with Him (walking and working side by side). Both became real and precious to me, but I had missed the very best -- the intimate union in which He joins me to Himself. He remains my LORD and Savior, but we are always together.
Jesus said: "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" John 14:20). In other words;
Jesus is in the Father - I am hidden in Jesus - and Jesus is in me.
Thus, whatever touches me must first pass through both the Father and the Son. Not only does Jesus the Christ cover me with Himself, He and I become one. In His garments, I am not only protected, but I am also united with Him.
Are you ready and willing to put on Jesus the Christ?
By: A Fellow Believer
The storms began to hit hard at the end of my first year as a Christian
They took me by surprise.
After a delightful year of learning to know Jesus and discovering the marvelous resources of His Kingdom, I thought I had a handle on the Christian life. Ignorant of spiritual warfare, I didn't guard against the perversity of my flesh (the old human nature) nor against Satan.
Suddenly neither my outward circumstances nor my inner struggles fit my vision of the Christian life.
Disappointment, failure, and loss happens to everyone, but in me they opened the door to doubts and despair.
The questions in my mind reflected the confusion in my heart: If Jesus is my Shepherd, why doesn't He take better care of me? If God is my sovereign King, where is His power to provide strength and peace? If He is my Father, why isn't He gentler with me?
Of course, the problem was me, not God. I just hadn't seen all that He offered me, nor had I applied all that He had shown me. My royal wardrobe hung unused in the closet.
I had pictured both a vertical love-relationship with my LORD (His hand and heart reaching down to me) and a horizontal friendship with Him (walking and working side by side). Both became real and precious to me, but I had missed the very best -- the intimate union in which He joins me to Himself. He remains my LORD and Savior, but we are always together.
Jesus said: "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" John 14:20). In other words;
Jesus is in the Father - I am hidden in Jesus - and Jesus is in me.
Thus, whatever touches me must first pass through both the Father and the Son. Not only does Jesus the Christ cover me with Himself, He and I become one. In His garments, I am not only protected, but I am also united with Him.
Are you ready and willing to put on Jesus the Christ?
Monday, September 7, 2009
"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. --1 Chronicles 29:11
Evangelism: Man-centered Christianity
by A. W. Tozer
Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable.
This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7
Evangelism: Man-centered Christianity
by A. W. Tozer
Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable.
This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7
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