Covenant

Did you see the news story about the San Francisco Giants pitching staff? They got into a little bit of trouble with Major League Baseball during the league's "Pride Month" celebration.

The team had modified the logo on their baseball caps with wonderful, happy rainbow colors.

But then the Giants pitchers wrote something on the cap. "Genesis 9:13-16." What is that?

"And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” - Genesis 9:12-16

The rainbow was created by God and therefore belongs to God (v13). Humans have taken God's symbol of a covenant and used it to symbolize something else. Something that God calls sinful and "an abomination."

Back in the Old Testament there is a verse that is repeated a few times. Because of our society's desire to please everyone, it has made obvious its straying from God's Word.

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." - Judges 21:25

And that's the problem with this "anything goes" culture we are living in. It has no king. If it did, if it truly knew Jesus, I would not be writing this story today. We would not be in danger of incurring God's wrath.

There are churches that embrace sin and do so in the name of social justice. This is wrong. As a prominent pastor once said, "There is no such thing as SOCIAL justice. Only JUSTICE."

When we decide to embrace things that are outside of God's commands for us, we enter into the danger zone. And that never ends well.

"Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁹How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." - Hebrews 10:28-31

 

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Jesus, Matthew 10:34

Go To Your Room!

"But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise - let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy - your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.

²⁰Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by.

²¹See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer." - Isaiah 26:19-21

What did we just read? Yes, it was the prophet Isaiah. But what was he talking about? It sounds like he is describing God's wrath (v20), but he also has God telling his people to "enter your rooms" until God's wrath has passed. 

And in verse 19 Isaiah prophesied about the dead rising. This is the Resurrection!

Two verses immediately come to mind.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.” - John 14:4

And also . . .

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

And previously, in Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonica, we find this . . .

"Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. ¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

¹⁵By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. ¹⁷After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

Why is this not preached from every pulpit, every Sunday?! This is incredible news!!

I encourage you to watch the following video (from which the inspiration for this story came). It's an hour plus, but fast forward to the 30-minute mark. Interesting discussion!

Live Free - Josh Howerton w/ John Bevere

Big House - Audio Adrenaline

The Undiscerning

We Christians go to church and believe in Jesus so therefore we should be a shoo-in for getting into heaven, right? Today we will read a verse that may cause us to reconsider what we say and do. It might also challenge our very belief system. Are you ready?

The Apostle Paul laid out a very clear path that members of the church in Rome could take to salvation (ie. The Romans Road).

In the last part of Romans 1, Paul lists a bunch of sins that are detestable to God. But then, in the very last verse, Paul offers up something else for us to consider.

"Though they (Roman church members) know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." - Romans 1:32

Paul is writing to a church! Some people in the church in Rome were approving of the sinful acts that a portion of its members were committing!

Romans 1, Galatians 5, and Leviticus 18 clearly state that same sex sin is abomination to The Lord. Remember, these are people IN the church that Paul is writing about. For example, based on Romans 1:32, a lesbian pastor or bishop would REALLY be on God's naughty list. Instead of prayer meetings, are we holding gossip sessions?

The text also makes it sound like any church members who allow these things to go on in their churches also face the same wrath.

And what happens to an entire denomination under church leadership that practices or condones these things? This seems like a rather big deal. Will millions of members in these churches face God's wrath instead of heaven by approving / allowing sin? It kind of sounds like it.

There is a word that we Christians need to become very familiar with - "discerning." We must discern ALL things that come into our eyes, ears, heart, and mind. The undiscerning face an eternity FAR different than what they are expecting.

We need to be filtering everything we take into our Spirit-filled bodies through the Word of God. If it doesn't line up with scripture, discard it. Paul is a New Testament teacher. Wake up church!

When Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery, what did he tell her to do? "Go and sin no more." - John 8:11

We must first examine ourselves and then come alongside those we see living contrary to what the Bible says, and then lovingly point out these things. God wishes that none would perish.

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9

The Last Olympics?

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." - Galatians 6:7

Now that the dust has settled after the Paris Olympics, let's assess the damage.

Everyone has seen the picture of the transvestite "Lord's Supper." I refuse to show it here. Why do such things surprise us? Wouldn't Satan do something like this on the world stage with everybody watching? Of course he would. His end is coming. And I wouldn't want to be in HIS shoes when it does.

"It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God." - Hebrews 10:31

Did you see where there was a power outage within 24 hours after that very same opening ceremony at the Olympics? Classic. The only building lit in the area was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

And then there was the boxing debacle. A "man" (if you can call him that) against a woman. Oh, but he "feels" like a woman, so we must consider his feelings. No! Take a look in your pants, dude. See anything? Get in the men's locker room and man up.

Let's talk swimming in the Seine River. Several swimmers became sick after taking a dip in the filth. Belgium withdrew from the mixed triathlon when one of their swimmers, Claire Michel, was hospitalized with an E. coli infection. From the river!

Several other athletes fell seriously ill as well after spending time in the Paris river. Nice. Or was it Nice (as in France)? Small joke. Just like the Olympics.

Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was forced to remove the image of Jesus from his surfboard or face disqualification.

As Paris elites laugh in the face of Almighty God, He is not one bit amused. Nor will their misdeeds go unpunished.

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen." - Romans 1:21-25 - Romans 1:21-25

We are living in the last days. The world has quite possibly seen its last Olympic games before His return. And to that I say, "Good!" The athletes are great but the woke elites suck big time. God will not tolerate their shameful deeds much longer.

Olympic Surfer Forced to Remove Christ Image From Board

Olympic Triathletes Sick With E Coli

The 9th of Av

Here in the United States we have certain dates that we have set aside to remember our history. The 4th of July is one of them. We declared our independence from England on that day.

The Jewish people have many such days as well. The 9th of Av is one of them. Av is the 6th month on the Jewish calendar.

So what's so significant about Av 9? You will be amazed at this list (from RaptureReady.com).

Av 9, 1312 BC – Only two of the twelve spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan, Joshua and Caleb, returned with a positive report. The ten-spy report caused the Hebrews to cry, panic, and despair of ever entering their Promised Land. For this, they were punished, and God decreed that their generation would not enter the land and that for all future generations, this date would become one of crying and misfortune for their descendants, the Jewish people (Numbers 13:25-14:12, Zechariah 7:3-5, 8:19).

"The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?" - Numbers 13:11

Then there is the First and Second Temple Destructions . . .

Av 9, 586 BC – The First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Judeans were sent into Babylonian exile. About 100,000 Jews were killed during the invasion. The remaining tribes in the southern kingdom were exiled to Babylon and Persia.

Av 9, 70 AD – The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans on August 4, 70 AD. Over 2,500,000 Jews died as a result of war, famine and disease. Over 1,000,000 Jews were exiled to all parts of the Roman Empire. Over 100,000 Jews were sold as slaves by Romans or were killed and tortured in gladiatorial “games” and pagan celebrations.

[For a complete list, including events in our lifetime, check out this link.]

The reason I am mentioning this now is that August 12th-13th is the 9th of Av this year (it begins today at sundown). With all of the trouble brewing in the Middle East right now, do not be surprised if something significant happens. I'm not saying that it will, but let's just call it a "high-watch" day.

Will Iran retaliate against Israel on the 9th of Av? Sundown in Israel will be around 12:50 Central time. Pray for Israel.

"It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God." - Hebrews 10:31

Foreshadowing

The exact timing of the rapture of the church seems to be in doubt. Is it a pre-tribulation rapture? Mid-tribulation? Or post-tribulation? God has already shown us the future. He and His prophets have already told us these things. It's called 'foreshadowing' to a writer. Here's some examples:

Noah and the Ark - wasn't this a foreshadowing of Christ and His church? In order to be saved from the flood you had to get in the ark, right? Well, in order to be saved from your sins you have to be IN Christ. The ark was a foreshadowing of Jesus.

Joseph - he suffered much at the hands of his brothers in the Book of Genesis. But later Joseph saved the entire nation of Israel through that suffering and sacrifice. It was through Joseph that an entire nation was saved. Speaking to his brothers, he said this:

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." - Genesis 37:20 

Moses - another Christ-like figure from the Book of Genesis. Wasn't the entire nation of Israel saved through Moses when he led them out of Egypt?

"Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me." - Exodus 9:1

God's Wrath - Do you remember all the plagues that God sent down upon Egypt and pharaoh in order to make him let his people go? How many of those plagues affected the Israelites? None of them.

"There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt - worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel." - Exodus 11:6-7

"Egypt" are all of the unbelieving people who did not know God. "Israel" are God's chosen people.

God's Wrath did not touch his chosen ones back then and it will not touch his church today. "God did not appoint us to wrath," it says in the Bible. He protected his people in the Old Testament and He protected them in the New Testament.

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

God is consistent.  He never changes. He has told us from the beginning what it is that He will do in the future. Why don't we believe Him?

"The Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17

"I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.'" - Isaiah 46:10

It will not be long before God removes His people from what He is about to do, and He will do it quickly - "In the twinkling of an eye."

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

The Untold Story

There is something about the Baltimore bridge collapse on Tuesday that no one is talking about. It's rather significant but nobody sees it. It is the symbolism of what happened on that dark, tragic morning.

First, the word allegory is defined this way - The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.

On the surface this event seems like a horrible accident. There are questions about the ship's owner (Singapore) and if it was an act of terrorism. Who knows? Not me. But here is what I found interesting.

The name of the bridge. It's the Francis Scott Key Bridge. And who is Francis Scott Key? He is the writer of our national anthem. He was born in Maryland, where the collapsed bridge is located.

The Star Spangled Banner is a song written out of pride for our great nation. It is a symbol of American patriotism, sung at sporting events and other major happenings.

The allegory is that a bridge named after the writer of our nation's anthem was destroyed by a foreign merchant ship. Isn't 'America's economy' being destroyed by those of the rest of the world? Or are we destroying our OWN economy?

Could God have allowed this event to happen as a warning to our country for the direction it is taking on just about everything?

Our nation is led by corrupt politicians, of both parties. Corruption trickles down through federal, to state, to local officials. We all have lost our way.

In the Bible, God uses allegory in the Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and other places. But nowhere is it as prevalent as it is in the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 12 says, "I will bless those who bless you (Israel) and curse those who curse you." Hasn't our government turned its back on Israel?

I think it's about time for a change. If we don't repent of our ways we will soon be facing the wrath of Almighty God. It is written . . .

"It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God." - Hebrews 10:31

Why did the ship loose power? Why did it strike that particular bridge? We may never know. But regardless, it's time for a change of heart in this country, and around the world. A time is coming when things will get much worse.

"The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

Whoever has ears, let them hear." - Revelation 13:5-9

Innocent Blood

Do you remember this image? It was created for the 1968 movie 2001: A space Odyssey. Little did they know that 55 years later it would be a perfect fit for a pivotal issue of our time.

My wife and I have two kids and two grandkids. We love them all dearly. We remember when each one of them was born and holding them in our arms. There is nothing more beautiful and innocent than a newborn baby. God agrees.

"Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." - Psalm 127:3-5

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." - Matthew 19:14

If God loves the little children, why do the majority of Americans (62%) support the killing of them?

This is not a political issue. It is a moral and spiritual one. God's will is to not shed innocent blood, yet we are disobedient. As a result, it will not go well for us.

God's first and greatest commandment is to love, not to kill. There are no qualifiers to His command. Old, young, black, white, male female. We are to love EVERYBODY. Even those in the womb.

"Do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked." - Exodus 23:7

"They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death." - Psalm 94:21

"He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord." - Proverbs 17:15

"Let us love one another for love comes from God." - 1 John 4:7

Turnovers

No, this story isn't about tasty treats or fumbles and interceptions, or changing jobs. It's about something God often does to us whenever we are disobedient. And it's not good.

I was scrolling through Facebook the other day and I came across a picture of someone who had decided to become a surrogate mom for a couple who couldn't have kids.

She delivered the baby this week and shared some pictures - her, her husband, the baby, and the two parents to be - two men.

My initial reaction was, "Well, that's kind of disgusting." But then that quickly changed to, "How sad. How sad we've become."

Think about that newborn baby, growing up without a mom - a female mom, that is. I'm no psychological expert but it seems to me that that would be extremely detrimental to the child's mental health.

And surrogacy - if the surrogate is already married, isn't she committing a form of adultery by receiving another man's sperm into herself? Just wondering.

If we look at same-sex couples from a Christian perspective, the first verse that comes to mind is from the Book of Genesis.

"God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them." - Genesis 1:27

And then, in the New Testament, Jesus expands on this:

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh." - Mark 10:7-8

I suppose one could say, "Well, Jesus says 'wife,' not woman," so as long as one of the men says he's the wife....

Let's go back to Moses and the law that God dictated to him in the Book of Leviticus, remembering that Jesus 'came to fulfill the law, not abolish it' (Matthew 5:17)

"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." - Leviticus 18:22

'Yeah, but, that's the Old Testament. We are no longer under the law but under grace, right?'

Then what about this New Testament text from the Apostle Paul:

"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." - Romans 1:26-27

As much as same-sex couples might seem to be an affront against God, let me assure you of this: Yes, they are. Whether you like it or not. But also notice in verse 26 where it says that "God gave them over.' What does THAT mean? He let them continue in their sin. He turned them over to Satan and their shameful acts. And that was 2,000 years ago!

God has done this before. In the Book of Job we read where God allowed Satan to torment Job. In other words, God 'turned Job over to Satan.' But that was slightly different. Same-sex couples desire to sin. Job did not sin. But it shows that God CAN and DOES turn people over to Satan.

Surely God's wrath is building up against the 'shameful lusts' of us humans. In my estimation, He will return very soon and begin the last seven years of His patient endurance, called the Tribulation.

Thankfully, you and I will not be here to see it. I don't even want to think about what it will be like for those who are left behind.

One thing is for sure - we all must pray. And keep praying.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23

Note: We all sin. "No one is good" as Jesus said. That is why we repent of our sins and place our hope and faith in Jesus. He is our only hope.

Grace and Love

There are many stories in the Old Testament that foreshadow future events.  Some are a foretaste of the coming Messiah, Jesus, while others speak of the End Times and a new heaven and a new earth.

Examples of some of these stories are those of Jonah, Moses, and Noah. They all reflect Jesus, a deliverer, who was yet to come.

The prophets Daniel and Ezekiel spoke warnings about wars and a tribulation period filled with God's wrath against a sinful people. Kind of like us now.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis is an example of God's wrath. It tells us that, although God is patient, He is not tolerant of sin.

When the two angels came to take Lot and his family out of Sodom, before God rained down death and destruction on the city, was this not a foreshadowing of God rapturing His church before the great tribulation?

The angels were in a hurry to get the righteous out of harm's way.

"With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” - Genesis 19: 15-17

God will take us out of this place BEFORE the tribulation begins. But it's not going to get any better between now and then. It will get worse. Trust in the Lord! On Him you can depend.

God has given the believer a ticket out of Sodom. The Holy Spirit. Jesus has paid for that ticket with His very life. We don't even have to flee from the coming wrath. Why?

Because God will graciously and lovingly 'deliver us from evil.' Because we trust in Him He will safely take us out of harm's way. All we have to do is believe in Him with all our hearts.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Sodom and Gomorrah Story

The Parable of The Train Whistle

Usually it's early in the morning that I hear it - a distant warning that something is coming. It is a lonely sound. Almost other-worldly. Like "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness."

It's a train whistle. Or more appropriately, a horn. Trains sound their horns whenever they are approaching an intersection with vehicular traffic.

Trains take a long time to stop. Why? Inertia. They also take a long time to get up to speed. But once they're moving, not much can stop them. Trains are a lot like God in that way.

God can be slow to get angry, but once He gets mad, you don't want to be in His way.

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." - Psalm 103:8

Did you ever see the movie Unstoppable? It's a movie about a runaway train. Lots of train whistles blowing on THAT movie!

So it will be at the time of God's coming. There will be a warning sounded. Unfortunately, when the ram's horn is blown, it will be too late to get out of the way of God's wrath.

The best way to be prepared for an on-coming train is to get off the track. And the best way to be prepared for God's coming is to make Him your Lord and Savior today.

Unstoppable Trailer

Seventy Times Seven

It's hard not to feel ashamed and disgusted as we watched the news unfolding from Afghanistan this past week. Suicide bombings killing American soldiers and Afghani people.

We watched as our country's leader failed to lead. It seems as if his priorities are all screwed up. Why is this happening? Where is God in all of this?

Have you read your Bible lately? No one seems to be reporting what the Bible says about all of this.

“Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.

He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” - Genesis 16:10-12

The Taliban are descendants  of Ismael. The United States is an ally of Israel.

Keep that Biblical truth in mind as you watch the news.

The Taliban have been at war for 31 years against the two most powerful nations on earth and have prevailed. How could that happen? That's simple. God is change of nation building, not man.

In president Biden's speech following the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport he said, "We will not forgive. We will not forget." This is contrary to God's will. We are CALLED to forgive others.

"Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." - Matthew 18:21-22

Our president says he is a strong Catholic. Judging by his actions, his fruit, he is not. Joe Biden is a liar.

How could Biden come to power if he clearly conducts his business as if he were one of Satan's henchmen? I've just answered my own question.

All these events are part of God's plan. Both the good and the bad, all transpire with God's knowledge. God is allowing all of this to happen. Why? I believe God is setting the stage.

A world leader will soon come to power. One whom everyone loves and adores. All will follow him and his plan for world peace. Finally, a world without war!!

And what will all of the Christians say then? That's hard to say because we won't be here anymore. We will be taken away with Jesus, the Holy Spirit (the restrainer) will be removed, the antichrist will be revealed and the world will undergo seven years of tribulation. The entire world will look like what's happening outside the Kabul airport only there will be nowhere safe to go.

The exodus from Afghanistan right now resembles a slow-motion rapture of the church. The U.S. soldiers are the angels and Satan (the Taliban) is in charge. The ultimate questions is, "Do you have your visa?"

His name is Jesus, The Messiah

Smell Smoke Yet?

Anyone who has ever read the Bible has probably come across a thing or two that they question or wonder about. That's when we all have decisions to make. Do we believe what we just read or do we not? We make our decision and we move on. That can be a problem.

The Bible is filled with things that we should or shouldn't do. The Ten Commandments has a list. There's another list of "things that God hates" in Proverbs 6. Romans 1 has yet another list.

So why do we keep doing the things that are on these lists if God hates them so much? The biggest reason is probably that some don't believe in God. If we don't believe in God, why should we care?

Another reason is that we KNOW they are wrong but we just allow ourselves to do sinful things anyway. It's easy for us to do. When someone asks, "Do these clothes make me look fat," do we lie or do we tell the truth?

I think that the right course of action for us Christians to take is to simply follow God's commands. Simple to say, difficult to do.

June is gay pride month. [It used to be Dairy month. Whatever happened to that?] Do we celebrate gay pride, even though sexual immorality is clearly an abomination to God? Decision time! What will be our choice?

"Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." - Romans 1:32

When we see a church that is embracing sinful practices, what should we do? The answer is simple.

RUN!

I refer you to the Book of Genesis and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sound familiar? Both towns were corrupt and living in sexually immoral sin. God destroyed both cities with fire from heaven. Pretty dramatic but God made His point.

To sin is one thing. We all do that. But to take pride in our sin, that's something else entirely. Instead we should be repenting of our sins. The decision to repent of our sins is literally "life and death."

God loves us all, but He wants us to behave. When we disobey Him, we get punished. It's really that simple. It's a parent-child relationship. God wants us to honor and obey our parents and do the same for Him. It's simple, yet we are continually getting things wrong and disobeying.

God is "the loving parent." What do you think He will do to His disobedient children? We need to be obedient children, not demonstrating pride for our sins.

The Sin of Selfishness

I recently heard of a woman who had been beaten by her husband. It was the third such occurrence for her, at the hands of the same man. Why? Why did she stay with him? Why did he beat her? These are questions I don't have the answers too.

How does a marriage go from posing for wonderful wedding photos to physical and emotional beatings? Another difficult question to answer.

It seems to me that the cause of most situations of abuse comes from someone not getting their way. That's called selfishness.

Another factor in violent behavior is self-control. If any of us gets pushed beyond the breaking point we will lash out - our defense mechanism. But what we are talking about here is an offensive attack!, not self-defense.

The root cause of all this is our sinful nature. WE want things to go OUR way. And when we don't get what we want we become angry.

But God became angry several times in the Bible. What about that? Good question. There are many instances where God got tired of a people's sinfulness that He wiped them out. He killed them all.

That's all because of our unrepentant sin. We ALL sin. God is just and a wrathful death awaits us all. Unless . . .

Unless we place our faith in Jesus. That simple, yet sometimes difficult act, saves us from God's wrath. Jesus took our future punishment upon Himself when He died on the cross.

Eternal life awaits those of us who chose Christ. Even the abuser has hope in Christ, through faith and a repentant heart. We ALL need to repent of our sins today to have hope for tomorrow.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." -Psalm 147:3

"The righteous who walks in his integrity - blessed are his children after him!" - Proverbs 20:7

The Day After

Those who were alive and breathing on September 11, 2001 remember the events of that day. The devastation. The disbelief. As horrific and life-altering as that day was, what I remember most about 9/11 was what happened the day after.

People searching through the rubble, looking for signs of life . . . of hope. America became united in a common cause and promised to always remember. Church attendance soared, enlistment in our armed services increased dramatically, and a country came together as one.

But then it happened. It always does. Church attendance dwindled, the debris got cleaned up. We always seem to forget what's happened in the past. It's always been that way.

"At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. 20They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass. 21They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, 22miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. 23So he said he would destroy them - had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them." - Psalm 106:19-23

This is a foreshadowing of what is going to happen to us one day. If we forget God, and it looks more and more like that every day, God's anger will be aroused. He WILL destroy mankind again.

But . . .

Jesus, just like Moses will intervene on behalf of those who have chosen to follow Him. And just like what always happened in the Bible, God will save a remnant of His people - 144,000 of them. And He will save those who have chosen to follow Jesus.

“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." - Revelation 7:3

The good news for all believers who came to faith in Christ before the tribulation is that before God unleashes His wrath on the earth, He will remove His church (those who believe in Jesus).

All of the evil that is happening in the world these days MUST happen. God has said so in His Word. The question is are you going to go through the worst of it yet to come? Or are you leaving this place with Jesus before it happens?

The choice is yours. It's up to you. Will you remember the Old Testament stories and prophesies of what is to come? Or will you remember those lessons and choose Christ today. The choice must be made before that day. The day after Jesus returns for His people . . . well, you won't want to be here.

God has always provided a deliverer for His people. In the Old Testament is was Moses who stood in the breach. God always provided a way out when hope seemed lost (the parting of the Red Sea). In the New Testament our deliverer is Jesus. We can either follow Him or deny Him. The choice is ours. Have you made your choice?

The Rapture of the church is our Red Sea moment. Do you have the faith it takes to believe and walk through the waters? I hope you do.

The following is a 30-minute video. Yes, that's long. Watch the first few minutes then and hear about what has been promised from long ago. It WILL come to pass because it is the will of God to save those who believe before He unloads His fury on the earth. Are we ready for that day?

The Day of Wrath is Coming - John MacArthur

Stand Alone

So, what is your breaking point? At what point do you no longer care about what other people think and you stand up for what YOU believe in?

There have been a lot of hot topics on social media lately. I'm not going to list them all but here's a few. Masks or no masks, Republican or Democrat, Ford or Chevy, Toilet paper - over or under? It's a battle field out there.

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sam Coonrod stood up recently - literally standing alone during the national anthem. Later, he said this to reporters.

"I'm a Christian, like I said, and I just can't get on board with a couple of things that I have read about Black Lives Matter," Coonrod added to the network. "How they lean toward Marxism, and they've said some negative things about the nuclear family. I just can't get on board with that."

Now there's a REAL "stand-up" guy! Faith, family and country are more important than taking a knee.

After Moses died, Joshua was put in charge of taking Israel into the promised land. He did a wonderful job, following the Lord's commands all the way. But when he was old and near death, Joshua warned the people in a little pep talk. We would do well to heed his words today.

14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:14-15

Joshua stood up for God, but the people ultimately failed God after Joshua's death. They strayed and worshipped other gods. And God's anger grew. God eventually punished His people, giving them over to their enemies. Let that not be us. May we stand tall and choose this day whom we will serve.

BLM Destroyed American Sports - Mike Nificent

The Corona Prophecy?

I'm no Biblical scholar, that's for sure. But when I came across Jeremiah 19 in my reading yesterday I couldn't help but think that what I was reading was meant for us during this time of viruses and death. Read it for yourself and tell me if you don't agree.

I'm not going to copy and paste the entire chapter here. There's a link at the end. But I will write down all of the verses I underlined in my Bible. You tell me if this doesn't apply to this time we are going through right now.

Verse 3: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle."

Verse 4, 5 and 6: “Because they have forsaken Me . . . and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents . . . which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind . . . that this place shall . . . be called . . . the Valley of Slaughter."

Verse 8: "I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues."

Verse 15: ““Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ”

Yes, I have cherry-picked some verses here but as I read the text of Jeremiah 19 I couldn't help but think about the Covid-19 situation in our world right now. Are we in the midst of a catastrophe (verse3)? Yes. Have we forsaken God (verse 4)? and slaughtered the innocent (also verse 4) through abortion of our young? Yes.

Are cities being made desolate because of the plague (verse 8)? Yes. Have you seen the pictures of all the empty streets lately? And we all know what caused it. the plague of the Covid-19 virus. And who brought the plague? Could God done this as a warning. Why?

"because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ” (verse 15)

In my opinion, the time for repentance is now. Last call for the freedom train! Like I said, I'm not a prophet or biblical scholar but I do read the Bible and I do know the characteristics of God. The entire Bible is about Him you know. He HAS done something like this virus thing before. The Old Testament is full of examples.

Does God change? No. Does His nature change? No.

Well?

Whether this virus is of God or not, I do not know. But I do know this: Jesus will return one day. I don't know what that day is either. But I know that when He DOES return we should be found ready. And that is our question. Are we ready? Is Jesus Lord of your life? If He is then this last passage of scripture should bring you hope.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

The Sign Of The Broken Flask

Something's Changed

I saw a meme on Facebook last week that got me thinking. It spoke about how life has changed since 1968, specifically addressing gun violence and mass shootings by asking the question: "What has changed since then?" Why are there more mass shootings today than in 1968. What HAS changed?

Back in 1968 I was a freshman in high school, our country was waist-deep in the Vietnam war, but life in general was good. It was safe. There were no mass shootings, The Beatles topped the music charts with Hey Jude, and I was more worried about "being cool" than I was about passing math class. So what has changed in our society since 1968? Here's a partial list:

Prayer removed from schools 1962

Bobby Kennedy shot 1968

Marin Luther King shot 1968

Women's Lib Movement late 60's

Woodstock 1969

Roe v Wade 1973

Jesus Christ Superstar 1973

Vietnam War ends 1975

As gun law restricting gun ownership increase, so do the mass shootings. Clearly, gun ownership is not the problem. I believe it is our government increasingly taking God out of everything. They're even talking God's Word out of the pulpit, calling it hate speech. Sad.

Some people will think this is a "political piece" - a story about gun rights rather than about God. They will be wrong. The gun battle is just that, a battle in a larger war. The war is taking place in our hearts.

Yesterday there was another Potential mass shooting taking place . . . in a church!! However, recently passed laws enabled members of the congregation to carry guns. And it was a good thing they did. But the shooting quite possibly never even occurred had the shooter known Jesus.

There will always be crazy people in the world. Like Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." There will always be Herods, Stalins, Hitlers, etc. but a good home with God-fearing parents in it is the best way to combat violence.

"Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways." - Genesis 6:11-12

Jesus will return one day. Most think that day is coming soon. I hope so. Once He removes His church from the scene, what do you think it's going to be like then?

Act of God?

Why do insurance companies call storm damage "acts of God"? Did God actually cause them? Or are they just naturally occurring phenomenon resulting from warm temperatures and air formations?

Today Florida is going to get hit with a Category 5 hurricane. Wind gusts last night reached 225 MPH. In the days to come we will see news reports of hurricane damage and deaths caused by this massive storm. Did God cause this hurricane to happen?

We know from reading our Bibles that God CAN manipulate the natural environment. He parted the Red Sea, He stopped the Jordan river from flowing and then there was that time when He made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights resulting in a MASSIVE flood.

The proof already exists that God CAN create storms. The question is did He create THIS one and other storms like it? We can't really tell. But what would God's purpose be if He DID create such a storm? Punishment? A warning?

This latest storm is heading right at Florida. It is then anticipated to make a right turn and head north up the eastern coast of the U.S. causing major damage all along the way. What can we learn from this storm?

One, we humans are powerless against it. We can only prepare for it and we will even fail at that. Two, if God wanted to punish us for our disobedience (and we HAVE been disobedient as a nation) this is one way He could do just that.

So what do we do against such a powerful storm and a God that has a long history of pouring out His wrath on disobedient nations?

We must examine ourselves, repent of all our transgressions, and turn in obedience to God. You know, the very God we are taking out of our schools and our government. The One whose babies we are killing on the altar of convenience. And the One whose throne we have placed ourselves upon rather than lifting HIM up. Yeah.

^"26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." - Mark 10:26-27

Did God cause Hurricane Dorian? I don't know. Only God knows. Would God have reason to create such a thing to dole out punishment to the disobedient?

Absolutely. He's done it before. We just never learn. But we must become MORE than simply obedient. We must become disciples in addition to being His obedient children.

Hello Hurricane - Switchfoot

God Hates Me

Have you ever gotten the feeling that God doesn't like you? It sure can feel that way sometimes. Just ask Job, the Old Testament man of faith. His wife told Job to "Curse God and die" - Job 2:9. But can God actually hate us? The answer is both yes and no.

The Old testament is filled with examples of an angry God. But if we look at those examples we can soon see why God got angry. Our disobedience.

In Job's case God wasn't angry with Job. It just seemed that way when God allowed Satan to test Job. God actually loved God and was confident of Job's faithfulness. At the end of the Book of Job God actually rewards Job. God loved Job.

God does actually hate things. Proverbs . . .

"16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community." - Proverbs 6:16-19

If you have any of those characteristics in your makeup, life will not go well for you. But God loves His children and He rewards those who are faithful and obey Him.

"1See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" - 1 John 3:1

When Jesus was on the earth we can easily find examples of what HE hated. He overturned the money table in the synagogue. He also hated the religious leaders of the time. Why? Because they were hypocrites - professing faith but not showing it in their lives.

Hypocrisy is “the gap between public persona and private character. Hypocrisy is the failure to practice what you preach. Appearing outwardly righteous to others, while actually being full of uncleanness and self-indulgence—that’s the definition of hypocrisy.” - Kevin De Young

We can easily find reasons to think God hates us of is angry at us. Maybe He doesn't answer a particular prayer in a timely fashion or we are disobedient to His will in some area of our lives.

I believe that God does NOT hate us, but He can hate things ABOUT us. If you feel like God hates you or doesn't answer a particular prayer, chances are the problem is with you, not Him. Examine the prayer. Is it a righteous prayer in God's eyes? Or only ours?

"If we think God hates us, we don't know Him." - Dave Wager

Life can be frustrating at times, but if we are followers of Christ, if we truly believe in God and obey His commands, God will

“4You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. - Exodus 20:4-6

The key to God's unending love is . . . obedience. The question is, are we truly obedient?

Look, the best proof that God Loves us is in the death of His Son, Jesus. He died for us so that we might have life - eternal life! We can't earn a gift like that. There's nothing we can do get God's blessings. He gives them to us out of the abundance of His glorious grace. He does so, not because of who WE are but because of who HE is.

Television is full of hypocritical pastors. In the following video, watch one pastor (Matt Chandler) as he rebukes another (Steven Furtick) right to his face.  Worship is not about a church or an image its portrays. It is about, and for, God. Give HIM thanks and praise in ALL things. Amen.

God Is For God - Matt Chandler