People are not fish and we don't bait them.

photo used by permission johnnyberg on rgbstock.com

I recently read a short article on evangelism that began like this...

If you want to be a successful fisherman, you don't look for the most comfortable spot on the lake. Instead, you go to where the fish are, and you make it as easy and attractive as possible for the fish to swallow your hook.

Since we are called to be "fishers of men," I get the fishing analogy and I agree with not just looking for a place that's comfortable.  Sometimes we have to go into the dark and uncomfortable situations in order to share Christ's gospel with those who don't know him.

They lost me, however when they suggest that we make it "as easy and attractive as possible for the fish to swallow the hook." First, I don't like thinking of people as fish to be baited, then hooked and second, I'm not sure that we should make it as easy and attractive as possible for people to receive Christ.  I don't see that in the Bible..not from Jesus and not from the disciples.  They didn't water down the message just to make it attractive.

In fact, Jesus was often so forthright with the cost of following him that many people turned away and I don't read anywhere that he chased after them trying to make the gospel more palatable.

I'm not saying that we need to be rude or pushy.  We don't need to make it difficult to understand what it means to follow Christ.  But we do owe it to people to respect them enough to help them make a fully informed decision to follow Jesus.  Too many churches and Christians mislead people by telling them that once they accept Jesus as Lord, their lives will be just hunky-dory.  When trouble hits, and it always hits, new believers think that God should jump right in and fix everything for them.

He never promised that.  Truth is, Jesus said "...in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, because I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33)

He also warned people to count the cost of following him in Luke 14:25-33.


So, let's be careful to do what it says in 2 Timothy 2:15..."Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."


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God Longs to Re-Connect with You

I miss my family.

Just a small portion of my family in Ohio

 Sixteen years ago, I moved from Ohio to Arizona to be near my daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, leaving behind many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins that I love dearly.  While I love sharing the lives of the ones I love here, I miss my great big wonderful family in Ohio. They're crazy...in the most fun way you can imagine.  They're loud and loving and loyal. There's always someone ready to share a meal, go shopping, listen to your troubles or get together for a fun evening of playing games or a backyard bbq.  I miss them.

I haven't been able to go home for a visit for 10 years. I long to see the faces I love, to hug them, to catch up with all that's going on in their lives.

Today I found this verse in the book of James 4:5

 "...do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?"

...and I found myself amazed that God longs for time spent with us. He planted his Spirit with is at the point of our salvation so that we would be able to share sweet communion with Him. Through the Spirit, God communicates with us, he comforts us, leads us, reveals more of himself to us, but it's not a one-way street. The Spirit also conveys to God, our great love for him, the Spirit helps us pray when we don't know how to pray. the Spirit communicates the deepest cry of our hearts to the Father.

On those days when we get too busy to spend some Quiet Time with God in prayer and in the Word, God jealously longs to connect with us through the Spirit that he planted in us. Jealousy - now that's a word that I don't readily associate with God, but that's just what the verse says. What would God have to be jealous about, concerning me?  

The verses just before verse 5 tell us that when we get too distracted by the world and all it has to offer - when we get too busy to sit with God - when other things occupy our thoughts and heart, he gets jealous. Jealousy doesn't occur without love. God loves us. He longs to spend time with his children and when that doesn't happen - He misses his family.

When was the last time you sat with God? 
Do you have a regular appointment to meet with Him?  

Remember, God's Spirit dwells in your if you belong to Him and God longs to connect with you through the Spirit.  You are dearly loved, to the point of making God jealous when other things become more important to you than he is.

Spend some time with Him today - reconnect your heart to His. He's longing for you.


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Out of the Rocking Chair and Back in the Game

Ready for my next big adventure with God.
photo by lusi, rgbstock.com

Everybody's dealing with something. Chronic illness or disease, aging body, depleted energy, on-going pain...something. Me? I'm dealing with all of those things, and I've got to admit that 10 years of dealing with this had pretty much put me on the sidelines of life. I found myself spending more and more time in the house. I withdrew from a lot of my activities and had made up my mind to just sort-of coast through the rest of my days, but today I realized that God is not okay with that plan.  He led me directly to this passage of scripture this morning...

"So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day.  We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles.  We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I can't give up!  I woke up this morning and I'm still breathing, so God isn't finished with me yet. There's more to my story, more that He wants me to accomplish here. More people to love. A difference I can make. He wants to do more here, and he wants to do it through me.

Yes, I'm tired, but if I lean on Him, he will give me strength for each day...not just to "make it through," but to face the day with energetic, anticipation of the adventure we're on together.

The enemy just about neutralized me. His plan was to plant me in my rocking chair for the rest of my days, whining about my condition, but I refuse to give in!  Anything I am suffering here on earth will quickly fade away when my days are over. Until then, you'll find me doing everything I can with every moment I have left to be fully engaged in this phase of my journey.

What we see and experience on this side of eternity will last only for a short time, but  what we cannot see from this side (Heaven and the souls that will be there because we allowed God to use us) will last forever. The promise of a joy-filled, pain-free forever far outweighs this temporary suffering.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for this wake-up call. For the reminder that it's not over until it's over and that each day you will refresh me for the next leg of the journey. Thank you for your promise to walk each step of the way with me. Lead on, Lord. I'm ready.
 
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Sweet Jesus Peace

One of the first albums I bought after coming to Christ in 1977 was Lady by Reba Rambo and I wore that cassette tape out! (Dating myself here.)

I recently found the whole album on YouTube and have been playing those songs for days. One, in particular soothes my heart every time I hear it. The title is Sweet Jesus Peace and starts like this...

 

WHAT DO YOU SING WHEN YOUR WORLD’S DRAPED IN SADNESS
AND THERE’S NO MUSIC IN YOUR SONG
HOW DO YOU SMILE WHEN YOUR HEART’S LOST ITS GLADNESS
AND THE SOUND OF LAUGHTER IS ALL GONE

WHEN ALL THOUGHTS INSIDE YOUR MIND
LIKE A CIRCLE KEEP A-SPINNING ROUND
WHEN ALL THE FRIENDS YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD
SUDDENLY THEY’VE LET YOU DOWN

WHERE DO YOU GO

I KNOW A HAVEN INSIDE YOUR MIND
A COOL, RUSHING RIVER
REFRESHING NEW WINE
IT CAN SPLASH THOUGH THE CANYONS
LIKE THE WAVES ON THE SEA

THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE IT
THIS SWEET JESUS PEACE

Haven't we all been there? When life and your thoughts have you in such a whirlwind of turmoil that the harder you fight to break out of the storm, the more you are sucked under.  I've learned the secret to finding peace and it's not in trying to break out of the turmoil, it's going deep. Deep within your own spirit to the place where God dwells. Connecting with the Holy Spirit, who lives inside you. It's whispering His name and listening for his whispered response.  It's feeling that sweet, Jesus peace, flowing in and pushing the turmoil aside.

Have you discovered it?

Here's a link to the song. It's an oldie, but the message is timeless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFKozmdc0aQ

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Upward Falling

I heard a song this morning (Touch the Sky by Hillsong United) and these words grabbed my attention...

photo courtesy lusi on rgbstock.com

Upward falling
Spirit soaring
I touch the sky when
my knees hit the ground.

This is what prayer does for me.  When I'm bogged down by life, by the evening news of horrendous things mankind is doing to each other. When I hear a friend is hurting or moving away. When the doctor says something I didn't want to hear. When someone I love is heading down a path that can only lead to destruction.

When I feel my spirit tanking, my knees hit the ground and after a while, I'm falling...UPWARD. 

My spirit soars above the quagmire into the realm of faith and the assurance that God is there. God makes a difference. Praying for others changes things. Not instantly, but definitely. I am lifted up, when I am on my knees.

The situation may not have changed, but God has changed something in me so that when I rise, I am no longer bogged down. I am walking on clouds of faith and trust in God, who is good, who is for me and who is with me in all circumstances.


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Will Satan be in Heaven with You?

 "I'm going to Heaven."

"How do you know?"

"Because I believe in God and I believe that Jesus is the Son of God."

"That's great, but that doesn't mean you're going to Heaven."

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." James 2:19

Satan believes in God. Satan knows that Jesus is the Son of God. Do you believe that Satan will be in Heaven?

It's not enough to believe in (acknowledge) God's existence. You must "believe" in the biblical sense of the word.

The Greek word used in the Bible for "believe" is "pisteuó".

pisteuó - to rely on, cling to, trust in, commit to

It's intimacy with, not just head knowledge.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Are you relying on Him?

Clinging to Him? 

Trusting in Him?

Committed to Him?

Romans 10:9 says...

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

The word "Lord" means master, owner...
He calls the shots.
Everything is done to His liking.
His is in charge, not me.
I do things His way.

Is Jesus LORD of your life?

Do you dare to really believe?

How do you become a child of God?

The Bible answers that question clearly...

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—John 1:12

Two things - You must believe that Jesus is God and receive Him as LORD.

If you have never done that and you would like to become a Christ follower - a child of God, forgiven and going to Heaven, then take a moment right now to pray. Confess your sins and your need for a savior. Ask God to forgive you. Ask Jesus to be LORD over all your life.

If you did that - you have not stepped into the most incredible relationship of your life. I would love to hear about your decision. Please leave a comment below.


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When the Holy Spirit is Stirring

Is it just me, or is there a stirring of the Spirit in the body of Christ, right now?

I sense it. Like something just under the surface, something not quite clear in the fog. I know it's Him. It's a foreshadowing of something to come. God whispering, "Pay attention, daughter, I'm getting ready to move and I want you to be ready to move with me."

The feeling I'm feeling brings to mind this verse...

 "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."  1 Corinthian 13:12

I strain to understand, to know what He is telling me, but as always, this is a walk of faith, so even if I don't fully grasp, I trust that as I hold tightly to His hand and keep my ears and eyes wide open, when the time is right, He will reveal to me, my part.

I'm standing by, Lord.



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Fear crept up and jumped on my head!

A simple trip to the doctor to see why I was experiencing hearing loss turned into a biopsy of a suspicious spot on my nose, with positive results for basal cell carcinoma, a consult with a Mohs surgeon and a plastic surgeon and an upcoming surgery to remove the cancer.

The worst part? I learned that I have to be awake for the surgery that will take several hours to perform, followed by another surgery to close the wound with a skin flap.  The more I thought about it, the more apprehensive I became. How much of my nose would they have to take? How bad would it hurt? How long would it take to heal? How bad will I look afterward?  As I mulled things over and insidious spirit of fear slithered it's way into my mind and took over. I was afraid - really afraid!

I thought if I Googled Mohs surgery it might give me a better understanding of the surgical process and calm my fears. WRONG!  

Before I could even find the facts, I was inundated with frightening pictures of noses post surgery. Big gaping wounds, disfiguring faces bruised and stitched. Horrible pictures that scared the wits out of me. I turned off the computer, jumped in bed and pulled the covers over my head. I spent the night in fits of sleep, interspersed with scary images, imaginings and unsettling dreams. I prayed, but peace didn't come.

The next day was worse. Fear had a strangle-hold on me.  I recalled this verse....

 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3

I repeated it over and over, declaring my trust in the Lord. He'd never let me down in the past and I knew he wouldn't let me down this time, but...

fear wouldn't give up that easily. 

So, I initiated my secret weapon. I contacted prayer warriors around the country. Friends and family who love me and know how to hit their knees in intercession and spiritual warfare, because I believe in the power of prayer and the loving counsel of godly people.

The fear lifted. I said... 

THE FEAR LIFTED!

That just makes me want to sing and shout! God is awesome and His people are kind, supportive and caring.

How do people go through these kinds of things without God and Christian brothers & sisters?

I still have to face the surgery in several weeks, but now I have peace. I'm sure fear will try to weasel his way in again, but I'm on guard, now and I know just what to do.

Joshua 1:9 says...

"Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Today, I met 3 of my friends for our weekly coffee, chat and blogging session. One of them, Joy, walked in and sang a little ditty she'd made up...

God will never forsake you. He'll never ever leave you.
No, never,  no, never, never never, no, never no, never, never, never, never, never, NO!

So, there, Fear - take that!

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UPDATE: It's been a year since I had surgery. The doctor was amazed that the spot of basal cell carcinoma was very small. He said he had been sure that it would be a large area of my nose. The removal took about 10 minutes.  A couple of days later, I went for the closing surgery. They didn't have to do a flap, just a smaller skin graft.  Today, the scars are relatively small. They look big to me, but others say they don't even notice them. 

Bottom line: God is good and prayer works!
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Time to get back in the game!

It's been 5 months since I last posted here on Refreshed by the Word. Yikes!

Where have I been? Drifting. 

James Tissot [Public domain], via wikimedia

Drifting is not a good thing. Wandering around aimlessly, not really accomplishing anything. Filling my time with Facebook, Games on my Kindle, Thrift store shopping...you know, just killing time.  Why? I think it was a knee-jerk reaction to schedule overload. As you could probably tell from my last few posts back in September, 2014, my calendar was full and overflowing, because I have a hard time saying that little two letter word - NO.

Since then, I have whittled my schedule down. Maybe too much. I find myself looking for things to do.  The last couple of weeks, I've been asking God what he wants me to do. A familiar verse from the book of Timothy floated to mind...

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands."   2 Timothy 1:6

 So, here I am - back at the keyboard, refreshed and ready to share again, the story of God's love for you, his amazing way of bringing us back to who we are - who we were meant to be - our purpose - our calling.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Ephesians 2:10

We were created with purpose. Drifting along, not using the gifts God gave us to fulfill our purpose is unacceptable.  We are meant to change our world. To be light in a dark place, to bring hope to the hopeless, to encourage, to inspire...to shake things up. We were not meant to drift along, withdrawn, getting by - salt that has lost it's saltiness - good for nothing.

So, if you've been drifting along aimlessly, like I have, it's time for us to get back in the game. Time is short. We have a message that will change peoples lives. If you woke up this morning, then God's not finished with you yet. He wants to see you grow. He wants you to bring his message of love, forgiveness and restoration to those around you.

How about it? Have you been drifting, too?

 
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Have you ever felt like running away?

Photo courtesy RichardSweet, rgbstock.com

Running away. 

That's what I want to do when I allow my life to get too busy. When I'm juggling so much that things start falling through the cracks. When the pace I'm keeping causes my body to rebel and I find myself fighting stress-induced maladies. When I have so much on my mind that I can't remember important stuff. 

I tend to keep going until I hit the wall. I crash and burn. I get all ugly with everyone in my life. Everything they do irritates me.  I don't even like the face I see looking back at me in the mirror.  I rant, I grouse, I snap. You don't want to be around me. I don't even want to be around me.

That's the state I've been in for a while, now. This weekend, it all came to a head and I just wanted to run away. Unfortunately, that's not an option, so I turned to my old stand-by stress reliever - food.  I headed to the grocery store with every intention of filling my cart with junk and then eating myself into oblivion. 

I started through the aisles with a lump in my throat and tears threatening to bust loose. I had just placed the first item in my cart when I got a text from a friend.

"Come have breakfast with me in the morning."

My response - "I'm pretty toxic right now and I'm probably contagious."

I told her where I was and what I was about to do. Fortunately, she loves me enough to risk making me mad. The next few texts back and forth made me face the truth, made me realize that was a stupid way to handle my feelings, made me admit that gorging myself on junk food would only make things worse.

I already knew that, but at the time, I didn't care. Thank God, she did!

I left the store without buying anything. Knowing she was praying for me at that very moment. We met the next morning for breakfast and then spent the day together.  We talked through what was bothering me.  We laughed together.  She listened. She gave good, godly advise. She understood.

I didn't want to run away anymore.

Thank you, Lord, for seeing me right were I was - in the middle of the grocery store about to indulge in sinful gluttony - my drug of choice. You loved me enough to prompt a friend to contact me at that very moment. Thank you.

It's true, when you are tempted, God will provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

It's up to us to take the way out or to continue on our path of destruction.

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Brokenhearted and Crushed in Spirit

Sometimes life can be overwhelming. We’re tired and worn, discouraged and disheartened by the problems of life in this world.  The good news is that when we cry out to God for help, he hears and delivers us from our troubles.

That doesn’t always mean he takes away the circumstances. Often he does a greater work by strengthening us and changing us as he walks through those circumstances with us.

We are never alone and we never leave one of our own to struggle through their own difficulties. We gather around them, pray for them, encourage them and support them.  That’s what the family of God does.

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It's all in Your Mind

Sandra, Jeanette and I sat around the small table going over our sermon notes from this past Sunday and answering our discussion questions. The discussion took us to what goes on in our minds when we let them wander...like when you're busy with some monotonous task and you let your mind slip into neutral gear.

Me? I confess...if I let my mind wander it goes places that it should never go. I will have a running argument with someone, supplying both sides of the conversation. Or I will find myself listing all the things that are wrong in my life/church/family and who is to blame, which eventually leads to wondering why God isn't taking better care of me.

When we allow our thoughts to run free, they are like wayward children, rushing headlong into dangerous areas. That's because when our minds are idle, they are susceptible to input from the world, the flesh and the devil and those things pull us in a downward spiral.

We need to be on guard against those idle moments by actively keeping our minds focused on God and godly thoughts. 

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8 NIV

When we allow (or force) our minds to dwell on these things, an amazing thing happens...

 "You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You." Isaiah 26:3 AMP

So, let's reign those thoughts in. No, for all the damage they do to our spirits, let's take this thing seriously and wage all out warfare on stinkin' thinkin'.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." NIV

Are you in?

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From Terrorist to Evangelist - It Can Happen

Once upon a time, there was a man named Saul who thought himself quite religious. He was zealous about his faith and abhorred anyone who thought differently.  He felt it his righteous duty to seek out, persecute, imprison and even have put to death others who followed the Christian faith.

We're seeing that very same scenario played out today in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. Men, who are so zealous about their faith that they think they are doing their god a favor by putting to death men, women and children who follow the Christian faith.

Our response - kill them - kill them all - is the cry on many hearts today, but if that cry had been the same back in Saul's day and if Saul had been killed for his atrocities, we wouldn't have several books of the Bible, penned by the Apostle Paul as Saul became known after his conversion.

How did his conversion happen?  It went like this...

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength." Acts 9:1-19

After this experience, Saul became the Apostle Paul, evangelist to the Gentiles, converting thousands upon thousands to Christianity, both in his day and down through the ages as the author of several books in the New Testament. He spent the rest of his life telling people about the love of God and salvation through Jesus Christ. From terrorist to evangelist. Only God can do something like that.

As we hear about the atrocities taking place in the Middle East today, about children being beheaded, Christians forced to renounce their faith or die. Forced to leave their homeland on foot across the hot desert, forced to flee into the mountains where they are starving to death, the first inclination of our hearts is to wipe out those evil men who are committing such crimes, but there is a better way.

We can pray - earnestly, forcefully, on our faces for God to save the very people who are doing these horrible things. That God will stop them in their tracks, just as He did with Saul and bring them face to face with Himself. Not just to save them, but convert them so completely that they will give themselves to serve Him and spread the Gospel through out the Muslim world for the rest of their lives.

God can do that. God would prefer to do that, rather than slay them, sending them to Hell. He loves his creation and His plan has always been to bring man to Himself through Jesus' death on the cross. Satan's plan is to destroy every man, woman and child before they can receive Christ and in the event that they do receive Christ, then his rage is heightened as he influences evil men to carry out his evil vendetta against God by destroying his children.

One of the hardest, yet most God-honoring thing we could do at this point is pray - pray for the safety and deliverance of those who are under such great persecution and pray for those who are perpetrating this evil to be stopped in their tracks by the Lord God Almighty and brought to their knees in repentance and conversion.

This is how I will pray. 
 
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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 22 Final

Revelation 11-22
The Rest of the Story

I began this study in Revelation as my daughter and I were reading through the book together. I thought it would be cool to post each chapter with my thoughts on it. Now, I find myself knee-deep in the realization that I'm not equipped for this mission.

I'm sure I'll take some flack for this, but I'm going to leave reading the rest of the book of Revelation to you.

I find myself inadequate to explain what's written there - as is everyone else.  I fully believe it, even if I don't understand how it will all play out. I know that it is God's plan. He has revealed as much of our future as he intended to reveal, so trying to figure it all out is futile.  If we will just heed the parts we do understand, it will be enough to cause us to hit our knees and ask God to forgive our sins and accept us into His family.

If you can read Revelation and not want a relationship with Him, then nothing I can say will sway you in that direction.  

I pray that you will want to continue reading on your own. I pray that the Holy Spirit will not let you rest until you do and I pray, above all things, that you will surrender your life to God so that you can experience first-hand an amazing relationship with Him and second, so that you will not have to experience any of the horrors of Revelation.

Amen

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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 21

Revelation 10 
The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. ² He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. ⁴ And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

⁵ Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
⁹ So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’^[a]” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

In verses 1-2, we see an "angel" who seems a lot like Jesus - when he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. John was about to write down what then said, when he was told to "seal it up and not write it down".

Seal it up where? I think he was meant to think about it. Mull it over. Consider the ramification of what was said. Because what was about to unfold needed to be felt and absorbed by the prophet in order for him to proclaim the events to come with clarity.

Next, he was told to take the little scroll from the angel's hand and eat it. At first it was sweet, but then it turned his stomach sour. This little scroll was a look into the upcoming events - a look into the future. Who doesn't wish they could look into the future a bit? It seems like that would be a good thing - sweet, but if we really saw the future, it just might sour our stomach.  The events about to unfold were going to happen with unrelenting speed, ushering the world to the end of time as we know it.  I'm sure what John saw was enough to set his head spinning.

Having experienced the future by absorbing it first, prepared John to pour out the coming prophecies with an urgency that all but begs people to wake up and see what's coming...and repent.

That's exactly what reading through Revelations has done to me. It makes me want to beg people to seriously consider the reality of God and the future of man. Each person must choose for himself whether to follow God or to reject Him. I pray you will make the right choice.

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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 20

Revelation 9:13-21
The Sixth Trumpet

What would it take
for you to cry out to God?

¹³ The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the golden altar that stands before the throne of God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel, “Release the four mighty demons^[c] held bound at the great River Euphrates.” ¹⁵ They had been kept in readiness for that year and month and day and hour, and now they were turned loose to kill a third of all mankind. ¹⁶ They led an army of 200,000,000 warriors^[d]—I heard an announcement of how many there were.
^17-18 I saw their horses spread out before me in my vision; their riders wore fiery-red breastplates, though some were sky-blue and others yellow. The horses’ heads looked much like lions’, and smoke and fire and flaming sulphur billowed from their mouths, killing one-third of all mankind. ¹⁹ Their power of death was not only in their mouths, but in their tails as well, for their tails were similar to serpents’ heads that struck and bit with fatal wounds.
²⁰ But the men left alive after these plagues still refused to worship God! They would not renounce their demon-worship, nor their idols made of gold and silver, brass, stone, and wood—which neither see nor hear nor walk! ²¹ Neither did they change their mind and attitude about all their murders and witchcraft, their immorality and theft.

As God's judgement continues on the inhabitants of earth, we see demonic forces unleashed and a mighty army marching out to destroy mankind. Their power to anhilate man is limited to 1/3 of the population, but the devastation is horrendous.

The most interesting portion of this passage for me is that in the face of all this, people still refused to worship God.  The world is coming to an end. Plagues, death and destruction surround them. Their one hope is God, who, should they call out to Him, would quickly forgive their sins and accept them as His own, but they refuse to do so. Instead, they cling to their idols, their wealth, their security. They continue in their wicked ways, still believing that they don't need God.

It's hard to believe that people would refuse to turn to God in the midsts of all this, but isn't that just what's happening today? We are hearing of increasing horrors across the globe. Our financial security is fading fast. Every foundation we've built our lives on is shaking.  This is the beginning of the end, my friends. God is trying to get our attention. He wants us for His own...and if that means allowing or bringing tragedy into our lives in order for us to recognize our need for Him and His love for us, that's what He's willing to do. 

It's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. God has a timeline. There is a "year and month and day and hour" appointed for the events of the end times to occur.

My heart's cry is for each of you to know God. To enjoy the incredible joy that comes from having a personal relationship with Him...now. Not sometime in the future when your life is crumbling all around you.  Reach out to Him, now and invite Him to come in...to be the Lord of your life. Surrender your all to Him.  You don't need fancy words. You don't need words at all, really. What you need is a heart that cries out to Him. He will meet you where you are.  You can do that right now.

I pray you will.


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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 19

Revelation 9:1-12
The Fifth Trumpet

¹ The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. ² When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. ³ And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. ⁶ During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

⁷ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. ⁸ Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. ¹¹ They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
¹² The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

woe -great sorrow or distress.

synonyms:

misery, sorrow, distress, wretchedness, sadness, unhappiness, heartache, heartbreak, despondency, despair, depression, regret, gloom, melancholy;

What horrors will befall mankind as a supernatural plague of demonic spirits is unleashed upon those who reject God. I can't imagine what John thought and experienced when he saw this vision of future events. It's terrifying to even think about!

There's nothing I can add to this passage of scripture, except to say that we don't know when these events will take place. It could be 1000 years from now, or it could be today. Either way, it would be foolish to ignore (or reject) God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. You'll not only spare yourself from these horrors, you'll experience a wonderful and intimate relationship with your Creator from this minute on until you meet with Him in Heaven.

How do you enter into this relationship? Find the answer here.

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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 18

Revelation 8:6-13 (NIV)

The Trumpets

⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
⁷ The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
⁸ The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
¹⁰ The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— ¹¹ the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
¹² The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
¹³ As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

Ok, now we know why there was complete and utter silence in Heaven for about a half an hour when the seventh seal was opened and those watching got a glimpse of what was to come. Seven angels were given seven trumpets - trumpets used to herald in horrifying, catastrophic events that destroy parts of the earth.

At this point, I, too, feel the need to fall silent. I have no words to explain what I just read. I believe it. I know it will happen, but I am overwhelmed at the thought of it. It seems cruel and I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the loving God that I know doing these things. Why? Why?

Ok, I confess - I had to keep reading and long about the end of chapter 9, I found the reason. Believe it or not, these destructive acts are perpetrated for a loving reason.  We'll get there, but before we do, we'll take a look at the fifth and sixth trumpet effects.

On a side note - did you notice the in verse 11 that the star was named Wormwood? It reminded me of a book I once read - The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. One of the characters was named Wormwood.  The short story is a series of letters between Wormwood (a novice demon) and his Uncle Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service. Wormwood's mission is to assure that his assigned "patient" (an ordinary man) never received salvation through Christ. When he fails at this task, he is given instructions for tempting and distracting the new Believer.

The Screwtape Letters is a timeless classic on spiritual conflict and the psychology of temptation which are part of our daily Christian experience.

I know this kind of book is not for everyone, but I found that it really opened my eyes to the schemes used by Satan to pull us away from a vibrant walk with Christ.  The writer of 2 Corinthians mentions being alert and aware of Satan's schemes.

 ...in order that Satan might not outwit us.
For we are not unaware of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:11

While I don't focus on Satan, because he has been defeated by Christ, I am aware that his goal is to destroy God's people or at the very least, draw their hearts away from God and lure them into temptation. Knowing this keeps me on my guard against any thing he might try to disrupt my close relationship with my Savior.

If you would like to read it, you can pick up a copy at almost any Christian bookstore, order it online, or read a free copy in your browser or download an epub copy here - http://www.epubbud.com/book.php?g=DLJWXYQK .  You can also download a free discussion guide for the book here - https://www.cslewis.com/images/ckfinder/642/pdfs/TheScrewtapeLetters.pdf

 Next post, we'll look at the 5th & 6th angels and what happens when they blow their trumpets.

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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 17

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

Revelation 8:1-5
Shock & Awe!

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
³ Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

We've finally come to the opening of the seventh seal. In previous seals, Jesus opened them and all the inhabitants of Heaven, along with the Apostle John, who was just visiting saw what was contained in the seal. Something's different about this one. When it's opened, there is absolute silence for about a half an hour.

They were in shock & awe. Why? I read ahead in the chapter and the events that are about to unfold upon the earth next nearly took my breath away!

Seven angels are given seven trumpets. One might think that they're about to give a lovely concert, but one would be very wrong! Just before the angels step up to blow their trumpets, another angel comes forward and offers burning incense before the throne, which is mixed with the prayers of all God's people. We've seen this before - our prayers coming up before the Lord. Does that thrill you the way it does me?  Sometimes we wonder if our prayers are going anywhere. They just seem to bounce off the ceiling, but that's not how it is. Each whispered prayer, each cry of the heart, goes up before God. He hears them, He sees them, He is touched by them.  Keep praying, my friend. We have no idea what has been changed because we prayed.

Then the angel fills the censer with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth, setting off peals of thunder, rumblings and flashes of lightning and an earthquake to end all earthquakes.  The first angel steps up and prepares to blow their trumpet. You won't believe what happens next.

Now, don't read ahead...ah, go ahead if you want, but come back here for the next post so we can walk through these seven trumpets together.


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A Walk Through Revelation - Part 16

Revelation 7:1-8
Salvation during the Tribulation

a creative commons image

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

⁵ From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

⁶ from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

⁷ from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’^[a]
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’^[b]
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’^[c]”

When I first started reading this chapter, I got hung up on trying to figure out who the 144,000 people are, and here's the answer - I don't know.

What I do know is that they are Jewish, they received a seal that marked them for God. Further on in Revelation 14, they are mentioned again...

Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. ³ And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.  Revelation 14:1-4

 So, if these precious souls are the firstfruits, who follows after them?

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. 

A great multitude follows them. Where did this multitude come from?

 “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So, there's the answer to the question, "Can people be saved during the tribulation?"

Yes, they can, but...

If a person has a hard time believing in God because of the trouble and injustices in the world today, how much harder will it be to have faith in God during the tribulation?

If a believer struggles with temptation and sin now, how much harder will it be to live a holy life during the tribulation?

If you have a hard time standing up for your faith now, how will you remain faithful in the face of persecution to the point of death if you won't deny the name of Christ?

If you've "heard the old, old story," but thought you have plenty of time to start a relationship with Jesus Christ after you've had your fun, got married, had kids, raised those kids, reached your career goals...you might want to rethink your thinking.




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