We as christians are caught up on the "claiming the promise" philosophy. There has been a doctrine floating around for many years concerning the "name it and claim it " promise. Simply put, whether you are living holy in God's word or not, the promises of God still work for you. All you have to do is name it, say it out loud like some magical incantation, and then claim that promise will come to life for you.
Many use this for claiming financial prosperity, advancing up the corporate ladder and claiming all the goodies life has to offer. although I would really love to tear this false doctrine down, telling you if you are not living in faith, 100 percent, the book of James says " ..... let that man realize he shall recieve NOTHING from the Lord". I would tear this lie down by telling you living in faith means not only believing the promise to be true, but living Holy and blameless from sin before the Lord. I would love to get into this, maybe in another devotional, but I want to talk about one promise, like it or not, that will come true for you whether you live holy, walk blameless, name it and claim it or not. This promise is yours and you can bet your bottom dollar God will give it to you. Are you excited? Get ready!
This promise is given to young and old, to rich and poor, to the high class and to the peasant. This promise was pronounced by God himself, and he has been faithful to perform this promise since time began. Oddly enough some people have tried everything in the world to escape getting this promise from God! imagine that! Even the "name it and claim it" folks try to escape this promise, for some strange reason, they just don't seem to want this one promise from God! The funny thing about this particular promise is this; it seems to hunt you down, like a hunter does his prey. And this promise allows nothing for children, sick or well. Have you figured it out yet?
Okay, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Here it is.....................
" AND AS IT IS APPOINTED UNTO MEN ONCE TO DIE, BUT AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT". (Hebrews 9:27)
Oh, I know you want to talk about the nice promises. We don't want to talk about this depressing thing called death. But my friend, all the health insurance you have will not save you. All your money, all your friends, all your political power in government will not save you. You can travel to see the best doctors in the world, and a day will come when they will say, "I can't help you". You can travel to any place on earth, and this promise will hunt you down one day, and take you. TV and radio personalities joke and mock this thing called death. Big thinkers tell you death is no big deal, you will simply come back as someone else. Some people even believe their is nothing after the grave, you simply wink out of existence.
"Oh thou fool, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". We have been talking about the end times, and the coming persecution. But what if you never make it to this tribulation? What if, whether you believe in a god or not, death comes knocking at your door tonight? Are you really sure enough to gamble that there is no god? Are you willing to gamble that there is no judgement of Heaven and Hell? Christian, are you really prepared right now to meet your God, or are you gambling on a prayer you said when you were 9 years old?
Death is coming for all of us, there is no escape. We will stand one day and face the Reaper of our souls, how will it be for you? I ask you this; if there is no god and I am wrong, what have I got to lose? If there is a God, and I am right, you will lose your soul for eternity in Hell. Which one would you place your money on? Get ready, Jesus is coming, in the clouds or by way of death.
Will you be ready to meet him?
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
THE COLLAPSE OF MAINSTREAM CHRISTIANITY
I want to share my thoughts with you today. It concerns what I see coming on the horizon like a bad thunderstorm in summer. I can see all the Black clouds that are gathering to bring a very bad storm. And each one of these clouds are different, each bringing their own brand of rain. I wonder today how many "Christians" are aware of this? I wonder how many sense something coming in their bones? Sadly, the ratio of sensetive believers are not good numbers.
I want you to focus on something today. I want you to drop all the "big prophecies" you have heard all your life concerning the return of Christ. Something you must understand is this: IT TAKES THE FULLFILLMENT OF THE SMALL, BEHIND THE SCENES PROPHECIES TO BRING ABOUT THE BIG ONES. Simply put, before all the big end time prophecies of fire and brimestone and 666 marks and horsemen come about, the little unseen things have to happen first to make them come to pass. And these little small things can ONLY be caught by sensetive, Holy Ghost filled Bible believers. All others will never see what hit them till it is too late.
And at the risk of trying to sound like a prophet, which I don't claim to be, I am going to share some "little prophecies" that are happening right now before your very eyes.
I want you to focus on something today. I want you to drop all the "big prophecies" you have heard all your life concerning the return of Christ. Something you must understand is this: IT TAKES THE FULLFILLMENT OF THE SMALL, BEHIND THE SCENES PROPHECIES TO BRING ABOUT THE BIG ONES. Simply put, before all the big end time prophecies of fire and brimestone and 666 marks and horsemen come about, the little unseen things have to happen first to make them come to pass. And these little small things can ONLY be caught by sensetive, Holy Ghost filled Bible believers. All others will never see what hit them till it is too late.
And at the risk of trying to sound like a prophet, which I don't claim to be, I am going to share some "little prophecies" that are happening right now before your very eyes.
- I see a time coming when mainstream christian radio and TV broadcasts will be shut down.
- I see a time coming when christian bookstores will be forced to close their doors
- I see the fall of "Mega churches", churches that proudly proclaim they are big enough to have their own zip code will crumble under the weight of persecution and financial calamity
- I see our government producing laws that will strip away the rights of the "conservative traditional Christian" and begin a militant assault legally against such believers.
- I see thousands falling away from God, as pastors who have preached "no believer will ever see the tribulation" weep behind the pulpit crying; " I was wrong, God help me!" while their congregation leaves him to be alone.
Beloved, are you preparing yourself? Is your relationship with Jesus Christ only a trip on sunday morning and what your pastor or "mamma" told you about him? Do you read his word with desire and hear his voice speak to you intimately? Do you find time to seek him hours on end thru a work week, just wanting to talk to him, or are you gambling your very soul on what someone has told you? For many people, the only fellowship they have with God is what their pastor has said, their parents or some preacher on TV has taught them. God help these decieved believers.
I can only beg you to prepare. The storm is coming. It is closer now than it has ever been in history, and the end of this storm is the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, to gather his faithful lovers. Dear saint, please get ready before he comes again, you will not have another chance when he appears. Don't be fooled.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
WAKE UP! SOMEBODY'S AT THE DOOR!
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11)
I wanted to take time in this devotional today to express my feelings on this particular scripture. I know time and space here will constrain me to not be able to convey what I feel in my heart to you. It will not allow me to shake you and wake you from the daze you are in. Jesus is coming again!
His return is just as real as death and taxes. You must realize, everything that is happening in the world and in your personal life is bringing about the coming of Jesus Christ again. The economic upheaval, the rise in school shootings, murders, sex crimes, homosexuality, and abortions are all part of what Jesus said would happen as his return comes closer. I wish I knew what it would take to shake you, make you live today like he could return at any second! There is a parable (in Luke chapter 12) that records what I believe is happening to the church today. It states a servant of the Lord was told to wait and tarry till he would return. As time went by, that servant began to run out of concern and patience. And, after a long period of time, he gave up!
This servant stopped looking, stopped being concerned with his lord’s imminent return to the house. The bible states he began to drink alcohol, get drunk, and abuse and hurt the ones around him in his life. Then the terrible happens. The lord of the house returns, when he was not looking and not prepared. The bible states his punishment was being cut off, and winding up where the hypocrites and unbelievers go, (this would be Hell). What a horrible thing to happen, you say? But this is the state the church in general is coming too! Jesus said as his coming draws closer, a great falling away would happen (2 Thessalonians chapter 2). We can see this as we go to church and look at the ever increasing numbers of empty seats, and people we know who have quit on God.
I ask you, does his return still enter your mind every day? Are you concerned with your walk with God? What about your family? Do you live like today could be it? Dear saint, wake up, Jesus is soon coming. Walk soberly, and be diligent (looking) for his return. Don’t let it catch you like that servant who no longer cared to wait.
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11)
I wanted to take time in this devotional today to express my feelings on this particular scripture. I know time and space here will constrain me to not be able to convey what I feel in my heart to you. It will not allow me to shake you and wake you from the daze you are in. Jesus is coming again!
His return is just as real as death and taxes. You must realize, everything that is happening in the world and in your personal life is bringing about the coming of Jesus Christ again. The economic upheaval, the rise in school shootings, murders, sex crimes, homosexuality, and abortions are all part of what Jesus said would happen as his return comes closer. I wish I knew what it would take to shake you, make you live today like he could return at any second! There is a parable (in Luke chapter 12) that records what I believe is happening to the church today. It states a servant of the Lord was told to wait and tarry till he would return. As time went by, that servant began to run out of concern and patience. And, after a long period of time, he gave up!
This servant stopped looking, stopped being concerned with his lord’s imminent return to the house. The bible states he began to drink alcohol, get drunk, and abuse and hurt the ones around him in his life. Then the terrible happens. The lord of the house returns, when he was not looking and not prepared. The bible states his punishment was being cut off, and winding up where the hypocrites and unbelievers go, (this would be Hell). What a horrible thing to happen, you say? But this is the state the church in general is coming too! Jesus said as his coming draws closer, a great falling away would happen (2 Thessalonians chapter 2). We can see this as we go to church and look at the ever increasing numbers of empty seats, and people we know who have quit on God.
I ask you, does his return still enter your mind every day? Are you concerned with your walk with God? What about your family? Do you live like today could be it? Dear saint, wake up, Jesus is soon coming. Walk soberly, and be diligent (looking) for his return. Don’t let it catch you like that servant who no longer cared to wait.
Monday, June 22, 2009
CAN YOU SEE IT?
We are living in the most exciting time ever in history!
Well, I guess that depends on what side of the fence you are on. if you are a born again, spirit filled, living everday for Christ believer, then you are finding yourself a little excited about the world events. I say this with all the authority vested in me........
WE ARE LIVING RIGHT NOW, AT THE VERY RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST!
For hundreds of years, evangelists and pastors have warned of the second return of Jesus Christ. They have pulled out the prophecies and preached to the masses as though he would return at any moment. I don't mock these people, they truly believed Jesus could return at any time, and there is nothing stopping him if he wanted to come right now. But I believe we are a generation that is seeing the very things the Bible said must come to pass, happen before our very eyes!
Never before has christian values and moral standards come under attack the way they are now. Even when we look back at the persecution that believers suffered under the hands of leaders like Rameses, Nero and Hitler, it still doesn't come close to what is looming on the horizon. The Bible declares there will be trouble and persecution like has never been on the face of this earth, and never will be again! Are you ready?
There is coming a time when going to church will cost you your life! Are you ready?
There is coming a time when having a Bible in your house will cost you jail time! Are you ready?
There is coming a time when your children will be beaten for your faith! Are you ready?
What about when you can't buy food or clothes unless you deny Christ! Are you ready?
Throw away your man made doctrines and church creeds! Get rid of your safety nets that your preacher tells you, saying; "we will never see persecution, Jesus will take us out of here first" - LIES! LIES! LIES! Let me ask you, are you willing to gamble your christian walk and seat in Heaven based on what some man made belief says? Do you not, when going to invest your money in something, begin to investigate, ask questions and find out just how sound this investment is?
The same is true with doctrines that cater to our flesh, and tell us we will pay no price for our stand with Jesus! I challenge you, find one instance in your Bible where God stopped one of his saints from entering into persecution, you will not find it! God delivered them out AFTER they entered into trouble, and only if they were FAITHFUL to him all thru it, never giving up. There is a Gospel being preached today that gives people a "get out of jail free" card. Telling them they will never see this coming tribulation. I tell you today in love, THAT IS A LIE STRAIGHT FROM THE PITS OF HELL! Satan wants you to believe this, and not be ready.
Can you see it? The end is coming! This generation can say this with more truth to it than any that has lived since Noah's day. Are you ready? Have you prepared yourself for the coming persecution? Will you say yes to Jesus and no to Satan when your hungry, when your family is being killed? When there is no reason to believe, will you still Believe?
I pray for you today. I beg you reader, ready or not, Jesus is coming. Prepare now, while you still can.
Well, I guess that depends on what side of the fence you are on. if you are a born again, spirit filled, living everday for Christ believer, then you are finding yourself a little excited about the world events. I say this with all the authority vested in me........
WE ARE LIVING RIGHT NOW, AT THE VERY RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST!
For hundreds of years, evangelists and pastors have warned of the second return of Jesus Christ. They have pulled out the prophecies and preached to the masses as though he would return at any moment. I don't mock these people, they truly believed Jesus could return at any time, and there is nothing stopping him if he wanted to come right now. But I believe we are a generation that is seeing the very things the Bible said must come to pass, happen before our very eyes!
Never before has christian values and moral standards come under attack the way they are now. Even when we look back at the persecution that believers suffered under the hands of leaders like Rameses, Nero and Hitler, it still doesn't come close to what is looming on the horizon. The Bible declares there will be trouble and persecution like has never been on the face of this earth, and never will be again! Are you ready?
There is coming a time when going to church will cost you your life! Are you ready?
There is coming a time when having a Bible in your house will cost you jail time! Are you ready?
There is coming a time when your children will be beaten for your faith! Are you ready?
What about when you can't buy food or clothes unless you deny Christ! Are you ready?
Throw away your man made doctrines and church creeds! Get rid of your safety nets that your preacher tells you, saying; "we will never see persecution, Jesus will take us out of here first" - LIES! LIES! LIES! Let me ask you, are you willing to gamble your christian walk and seat in Heaven based on what some man made belief says? Do you not, when going to invest your money in something, begin to investigate, ask questions and find out just how sound this investment is?
The same is true with doctrines that cater to our flesh, and tell us we will pay no price for our stand with Jesus! I challenge you, find one instance in your Bible where God stopped one of his saints from entering into persecution, you will not find it! God delivered them out AFTER they entered into trouble, and only if they were FAITHFUL to him all thru it, never giving up. There is a Gospel being preached today that gives people a "get out of jail free" card. Telling them they will never see this coming tribulation. I tell you today in love, THAT IS A LIE STRAIGHT FROM THE PITS OF HELL! Satan wants you to believe this, and not be ready.
Can you see it? The end is coming! This generation can say this with more truth to it than any that has lived since Noah's day. Are you ready? Have you prepared yourself for the coming persecution? Will you say yes to Jesus and no to Satan when your hungry, when your family is being killed? When there is no reason to believe, will you still Believe?
I pray for you today. I beg you reader, ready or not, Jesus is coming. Prepare now, while you still can.
ARE YOU READY TO BE OFFERED?
"Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Philippians 2:17
Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful - to pour out your life blood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say - "I am not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying, 'Well done.'
It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a door-mat under other people's feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased" - are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket - to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work and remain saints because it is beneath their dignity.
"I am already being poured out as a drink offering." 2 Timothy 4:6
"I am ready to be offered." It is a transaction of will, not of sentiment. Tell God you are ready to be offered; then let the consequences be what they may, there is no strand of complaint now, no matter what God chooses. God puts you through the crisis in private, no one person can help an other. Externally the life may be the same; the difference is in will. Go through the crisis in will, then when it comes externally there will be no thought of the cost. If you do not transact in will with God along this line, you will end in awakening sympathy for yourself.
"Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." The altar means fire - burning and purification and insulation for one purpose only, the destruction of every affinity that God has not started and of every attachment that is not an attachment in God. You do not destroy it, God does; you bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar; and see that you do not give way to self-pity when the fire begins. After this way of fire, there is nothing that oppresses or depresses. When the crisis arises, you realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What is your way of fire?
Tell God you are ready to be offered, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.
Written By: Oswald Chambers
"Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Philippians 2:17
Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful - to pour out your life blood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say - "I am not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying, 'Well done.'
It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a door-mat under other people's feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased" - are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket - to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work and remain saints because it is beneath their dignity.
"I am already being poured out as a drink offering." 2 Timothy 4:6
"I am ready to be offered." It is a transaction of will, not of sentiment. Tell God you are ready to be offered; then let the consequences be what they may, there is no strand of complaint now, no matter what God chooses. God puts you through the crisis in private, no one person can help an other. Externally the life may be the same; the difference is in will. Go through the crisis in will, then when it comes externally there will be no thought of the cost. If you do not transact in will with God along this line, you will end in awakening sympathy for yourself.
"Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." The altar means fire - burning and purification and insulation for one purpose only, the destruction of every affinity that God has not started and of every attachment that is not an attachment in God. You do not destroy it, God does; you bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar; and see that you do not give way to self-pity when the fire begins. After this way of fire, there is nothing that oppresses or depresses. When the crisis arises, you realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What is your way of fire?
Tell God you are ready to be offered, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.
Written By: Oswald Chambers
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