Even the Demons Tremble

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

I have been praying a lot lately (being downsized and not having a job kinda puts that into you!), I am listening to hear God’s voice, to know what direction to go.  Starting a ministry or finding a career in manufacturing (after 17 years in various aspects of sales, I have had enough, although if I start the ministry I will need the sales experience to collect capitol that will be needed to sustain it!), or possibly going back to college, or a combination of two of them, I don’t know, as I have not gotten clear direction as to what to do at this point.  That said, I was reading an older book by Chuck Colson entitled “Loving God”.

In it I was reading about when Jesus offered to go to the centurion’s home to heal a servant.  The Centurion stated, “you only need to give a command and the servant will be healed!”

Luke 7:

7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

Note that he Centurion stated 2 things:

1.  All that needed to be done to heal the servant was for Jesus to say the word and it would be done.

2. That he understood Jesus’ SPIRITUAL authority to command whatever was paralyzing the servant to leave, just as he, as a Commander, had authority to tell his men what to do.

Jesus commends the Centurion as having greater faith than he had seen in Israel.

Now, I want to focus not on the healing, as great as that is, but on the Spiritual Authority that Jesus has:

After he was Baptized and the Holy Spirit fell on him, Jesus immediately went into the wilderness to fast 40 days and nights before his ministry began in earnest.  During this fast, Satan came to tempt Jesus in 3 ways.  Jesus resisted all three temptations, and the Devil left him.  (Resist the Devil and he will flee).   This established that Jesus was the Authority, and from that point on, Satan used men to try to kill Jesus, for in so doing, Satan thought he would gain the authority back.

All through Jesus’ ministry, he healed those who were demon possessed.  Many of them acted like those who are classified as mentally deranged by modern science.  On EACH occasion, the demons left the victim, who then recovered their senses.

Now notice, the demons carried on conversations with Jesus, some Jesus told to be quiet, others he did not.  BUT ALL OF THEM OBEYED Jesus!  Every one of them, and left.

Now, I will repeat the scripture I opened with:

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Do you get that?  THE DEVILS BELIEVE AND TREMBLE.  They are in AWE of the MIGHTY GOD.  They KNOW his power and his AUTHORITY.  AND THEY OBEY!

BUT, there is a disconnect between the devils and man.  Now I am talking to you Christians.  THE DEVILS OBEY, but WE do not.  We are FOOLISH, the devils are smarter than we.  They OBEY Father God, and we continue to disobey.

When Jesus tells us not to lie, do we stretch the truth?

When Jesus commands us NOT to look on a woman in lust, do we gaze upon beautiful women?

When Jesus tells us to LOVE God with all our hearts, souls and minds, do we give ourselves to HUNTING, football, or shopping?

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

God tells us we are to come to him with our whole hearts.  I don’t think many do today.  I think most of us think that we have an “in” with God, that he is our buddy.  He may get mad at others who do those things we do, but he “winks” at our sin.  This is DANGEROUS behaviour and belief!

Acts 17:

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

God is NOT winking at YOUR sin, HE WILL JUDGE YOU, and if you are shown to be IN YOUR SIN, you will suffer the consequences of your actions.  Now some will say, “Once Saved, Always Saved!”  Now, that is a nice cliché, and it is one I once believed, but the BIBLE IS CLEAR, we are NOT SECURE IN SALVATION IF WE TREAD THE GRACE OF GOD UNDER OUR FEET.

Hebrews 6 makes this clear!  PLEASE TAKE HEED OF THE BOLD.

Hebrews 6:

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

God will NOT BE MOCKED. He does NOT give out “Get out of hell free” cards. If we choose to walk away from God, and dismiss the Holy Spirits wooings, God WILL cast you out of his hand of protection. He will still love us, he proved that to us by having his Son die for our sin, and NOTHING can separate us from that love, but that does not mean WE CAN REJECT THAT LOVE. Once someone accepts His free gift, he places them in the protection of his hand, HOWEVER, he can cast you out of his hand.
Jesus told us about the seeds, some landed on the rocky road, some in the thorns, some in the briers. THEY ALL TOOK ROOT AND WERE ALIVE, but when the cares of this life became more important than serving the LIVING God, their root withered and they died. THEY WERE SAVED, but chose to die to God.

Again:

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

Isn’t it interesting, the devils tremble, but we do not?

Neat things in Genesis 15

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

We have just come from the point that Abram had helped out in the Kings wars, and had paid a tithe to the King of Salem, Melchizedek. In Genesis 15 we find the covenant between Abram and God. God had promised Abram a child which is now very many years ago. Abram was old, and Sarah was in her 90’s. We have to remember this is not long after the flood so people were living longer, but even so, 90 years old was getting past her prime!
What follows verse one is very interesting. It is all THEORY (read prophesy) about Abram’s descendants, which Abram addresses with God. He tells God, “Well, I guess I can give all that I have to one of my servants sons, since I don’t have a son to give it too!” (vss 2,3)

God goes on to describe not only the fact that Abram’s son will inherit the land that God gave Abram, “From the River in Egypt (the Nile) to the Great River Euphrates.” But that his children will number like the stars in the heavens that he could count. God also told him that his children will be slaves to a nation for 400 years of hard toil. Then one day God will judge that nation for the cruelty that his children will suffer, and that when they leave that country, it’s people will shower them with “great sustenance”. Gold, bronze, silver, jewels.

Abram has GOT to be thinking, yeah, right! I am about to die of old age and you are telling me about a nation that will be my progeny? “Theory sounds good God, but I don’t see any practical goin’ on!” BUT even so, Abram believed God would do what he was saying he would do. He didn’t know how God would carry out his promise, and it must have been fuzzy to him about all of what God asked him to think about. How did he know, it had not happened yet. But he knew God was faithful to him.

If we turn to Hebrews 11, we get a little better picture of what God was working out.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,…..

10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength …….., because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

Basically, Hebrews 11 is rehashing this story in Genesis 15.  The main theme here is FAITH!  As Hebrews 1:1 puts it:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

We see then, though Abram did not know how God was going to fulfil his promise, Abram believed that God would indeed do just that.  Because God is faithful in his promises.

It is the same with us.  We tend to doubt God will fulfil his promises when we look at our situation, mainly due to the fact we have our eyes on the things around us, and not on the Maker of the Universe.  When we read his promises to us, it encourages us, when we hear his voice, we know he will faithfully carry out what he tells us he will do.  But then, we look at the chaos in our lives and in our world and the enemy puts those doubts in our mind.  We need Fathers guidance, and his touch continually.  I am reminded of when Peter walked on water towards his King, then, he looked at the situation and felt he could not control it (which he couldn’t) and he began to sink.  Yet that is not the end of the story, he cried out to the Creator, “Help, Lord” and Jesus grabbed Peter’s outstretched arm and brought him safely back to the boat.  That is what he does, because that is who he is.  All we need to do is believe him.

A Response to Joe Scarborough’s Newsweek Article on the Death of the TEA Party Movement

JOE, JOE, JOE, come on man! Are you the same Joe Scarborough that I voted for when we both lived in Florida? The same Joe Scarborough that was endorsed by before and counselled by Chuck Baldwin (Presidential candidate for the Constitution Party) in regards to your marriage after you went to Washington? The same Joe Scarborough that I told my friends and neighbours about due to your conservative stances? You were conservative then, what happened? Was it all a rouse in order to get elected? You were a lawyer, so, that could be the case.
So apoplectic is your response to a movement that is gaining foothold not only in the American political scene, (they almost had NY23, they definitely were the reason the Republican establishment and Newt Gingrich endorsed Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the race (I find it telling that the Republican endorsed candidate endorsed the Democrat)), but also the Middle American Psyche.
The TEA Party movement is not obeying the establishment rules. It is attracting support not only from conservatives, which is it’s base, but also from liberal democrats.
The establishment media (also known as Main Stream Media, Old School Media, or Liberal Establishment Media) had tried their DARNDEST to paint the TEA Party movement as Racists, YET one of the TEA Parties favorite candidates is Lt. Col. Allen West of Florida, Michael Williams of Texas who is running for Kay Bailey Hutchinson seat is also in TEA Party sights for endorsement. Although the establishment media of which Joe is now a part are doing their level best to denigrate their fellow US citizen brothers and sisters by using disparaging terms (and it is called “mature” media???), those who join it are not discouraged. They are excited that they CAN make a difference in their government, something JOE ran on when he was first running in Florida.
Joe, I am surprised at you, what happened to you? Is the liberal mindset of those around you rubbing off on you, clogging your once clear cognitive abilities? Is there something in the water in Washington that changed you? When I listen to you know, it is like watching the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, your voice sounds the same (lost a little of the southern drawl you once had), you look the same, but there is something horribly wrong with you. You are no longer the Old Joe.
The TEA Party may be something the liberal media establishment, which, Joe, you are now a part of, would like to go away, but it is organic, and dynamic, and exciting, and growing.
Let me ask you something Joe, does the Democratic party have meetings in normal people’s homes all over this GREAT nation? Does the Republican Party? Do either of the parties that have been in power for 150 years or more and that DON’T GET ANYTHING DONE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE have a system in which they get their information out to their people on a weekly basis? Sometimes daily? No?
Well, I guess I will take your assessment of a phenomena you have not investigated by getting involved with it with a large grain of salt. You, Newsweek, and the rest of the dying establishment media can be writing the obituary for the TEA party, but it seems they think misery is company as the numbers for their readership is dwindling to the point that many are stopping their print media and your MSNBC in the Broadcast media is a case in point.
Joe, you may be gloating on the death of something, but you fail to see that it is actually you and those who are reactionary against a movement that has just begun, who have the vultures circling over you. Look up Joe.

http://livingfortruth.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/questions-need-to-be-answered-in-health-care-debate/

The Bleating of Sheep and Lowing of Cattle

The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. (1 Samuel 15:2-3)

Compare to 1 Samuel 15:13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

Did Saul really carry out God’s command? No, he did not. Although there is a good lesson in regards to what happened because of Saul’s disobedience, I want to focus not on that whole story but to something more personal.

The writer of Hebrews states:

12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Scripture tells us to “Throw off”(NIV) sin. In 2 Tim. 2 we also see we should “PURGE” ourselves of some things:
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. 22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The message is clear here, we are to cleans ourselves of sin. We are to do works that God tells us to do, or as Paul states in Acts 26:19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

In John 14:15 we read: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Now I am NOT teaching perfectionism in this life.  I know John also states 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

But, we are to purge ourselves, we are to keep his commandments, we are to lay aside the sin that so easily besets us.  We are to live lives that are pleasing to our Father God.  We should be different than those who are in the world.

On a personal note, I find myself asking Father to show me where I am not doing or thinking as I should.  I want to please him.  I want to die to self.  I want to obey God completely in purging Amelek completely from my life.

What I do not want God to say to me is this, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

How The West Was Lost

We have come a long way in a very short time, 13 months. We have lost the respect of all nations. Some will contend that we lost the respect of all other nations during the the Bush administration. This is absolute MYTH, perpetrated by a liberal media that hates what our nation was founded and built upon.
They HATED his “swagger”. Why? Because the left is full of make up wearing “Metro-males”.
What is the real definition of a metro-male? It is a contorted image of a REAL MAN.
The left bought into the lie that Europe would respect us if we were more “European”. The fact is, many in power in Europe wants a weakened United States. It will make their manufacturing output stronger. Thus will make the Euro stronger as well. They want the Euro to be the world trading currency and move away from the dollar.
We have lost the respect of the world because of the current administration. The chief executive of which can’t bow to enough leaders. NEVER BEFORE has a US President been disrespected like the current occupant of the Peoples White House. He is an embarrassment. He is a make-up wearing “Metro-male”.

What man is considered a real man today? A man of strength who puts his country first, and talks tough? Our Metro-male is too busy giving terrorists their “Miranda rights” so they can get “lawyered up” and refuse to talk so we can get any good intelligence from them. When asked about terrorists, Putin stated, “If you want to become an Islamic fundamentalist and be circumcised, come to Moscow. We are multiconfessional. We have very good specialists. I can recommend one for the operation. He’ll make sure nothing grows back.
Shocking… Shocking I tell you!!! to the left. They can’t stand it when a man talks like a man, it gets them all WEE WEED up. Their panties all bunched up. It might even make some of them cry.

We once had real men that made a difference on world political situations. One was Chuck Conners. A little background on him before he went to Hollywood. He is the first to break a glass backboard in the NBA. He is one of only 8 men who played both Professional Basketball and Baseball at the same time, in fact he was signed with the Chicago Bears to play professional football, but took the Hollywood contract before he suited up.
In the series “The Rifleman”, he was a tough, don’t back down, NO FEAR, rancher, who was not afraid to use his rifle to do away with those who tried to kill others or him first, although he hated that any man should die that way. He was also a GOD fearing man, who loved his son and taught him well from the Bible and from life experiences. He never backed down when challenged, and boldly stated, “I will drink with whoever I choose to have a drink with, and no one will tell me what to do!”
In fact the opening scene of every “Rifleman” episode had him shooting his modified Winchester 92, after-which he would be staring in the camera with that confident, “Mess with me at your own risk” look.

This is the backdrop to the thawing of the relationship between the US and Cold War Era Moscow. Brezhnev it seems, respected Connors. In fact, Connors went up to Brezhnev and picked him up in a big bear hug. Then Conners gave the LEADER of the Communist world his six shooters as a gift.
I kinda doubt that a metro-male would bear hug Putin, a metro male would possibly try to give a tenderfoot hug, but Putin would not let a metro-male get near enough before he used his martial arts on him. And I doubt Putin would accept the metro-male’s make-up compact with mirror.

Back to President Bush. Although he totally lost it his last few months in office due to the banking crises caused by the Democrat controlled congress not reigning in Freddie and Fannie’s illogical lending practices (because they were campaign cash cows for the Democrats), Was RESPECTED by Europe, maybe not liked, but was respected. That may be hard for metro-males reading this to take, but, sometimes the truth hurts.

My Blog On A Forced Job/Career Change

As I promised in my last blog,here is the link for my blog on what I am doing in regards to the elimination of my job.

Hope it is helpful for someone.

I Have Been Downsized

Well, the not for profit I worked for had to make some drastic decisions starting this past Thursday. My position was one of the casualties of the economy. I will be starting another blog detailing the emotions, job search methods, ups and downs of someone that has NOT been unemployed in over 30 years except for 1 week I took between jobs some 19 years ago. I feel that God has allowed this as my time there was up to him. I am thankful that this information came after the holidays, which, I am sure was something they thought about, so kudos’ for that to my former employer.
It is interesting that I have recently been reading “No Compromise, the Life Story of Keith Green”. I have found that I have gone through some of the exercises in discipline that he did. I have found that I have started asking myself if I am right with God in many areas of my life. I find in most cases I am sorely lacking in my walk, but am giving more of myself to God my loving Father.
I was told last Wednesday that there would be a mandatory meeting the next day. Immediately, I felt the Lord was telling me I would no longer have my job the next day. Not knowing if it was me thinking this or not, I tried to dismiss the thought. I asked my manager, if he knew what it was about, he explained only a little that it would be about the financial picture. Then on Thursday morning as I was driving, I felt God wanted to be alone with me, so I turned off the radio that I am normally listening to, and confessed how I seem to always fail in my walk. I did not feel Father talking, just silence for a while. When I got about 3 miles away, I felt as if Father was asking me if I would be willing to give him my wife and children. I have been thinking on this since reading where Keith Green had dealt with the same issues. I gave my family to Him. Then I felt him asking me “What about YOU, will you give me yourself? What about your job?” These seem to be the core, the very depths of my heart.
I am like most men. Having a good paying job defines. Being able to feel as though I am supporting my family is important to me. So this was difficult. But, He is in control. I feel that father allowed me to have this job/ministry so, really it is up to him if my time there had to come to an end. So again, I gave Him my job.
That afternoon He took it away. It was difficult to hear, and I tried to take the news gracefully. I hope that I did.
My wife had called me in the afternoon, I had told her about my feelings the night before, it was after the meeting, there was no mention of positions ending, however there was mention of changes that would be explained later that day and on Friday, we were asked to keep it confidential until after everyone had been through the meetings. She asked me how the meeting went, I told her I was not sure if I would have a job, she asked more questions, but I told her I could not say anything at that time. Then @ 4:25 I got a call to go to talk to my director. We had a short prayer, then I was told the position would be eliminated. I felt dazed although I was expecting it. Thoughts of how I would be able keep my family housed and fed naturally went through my mind. It was a tough moment. I am sure it was not easy for them to give me the news.
I have been praying for some time that God would allow me to gain a position that would pay enough for my wife to be able to come home, but I felt it was wrong for me to look until I felt God gave me a green light to do so. Well, I guess you can’t get greener than this.
God has shown Himself faithful this year in some pretty profound ways, so those things helped build my faith. I also can call my manager a real friend who has helped me spiritually, so I am not walking away with nothing. I have grown, although there are areas that still need to be addressed. Sometimes I come across awkwardly with what I say. I think it is because I know what I am thinking and do not convey everything when I communicate. Sometimes I forget things mid sentence. I don’t know why this happens, but it is something that I have dealt with for most of my life, well as long as I can remember anyway. My manager helped identify this for me. So I am definitely a work in progress in that area! I had a few final things to do before shutting the computer down the last time. Before I left for the final time he and I prayed which we had done often before.
That being said, again, God has shown himself faithful to not only me, but my family. When I finally got home, I had my wife and family pictures in my hand, and showed them to her. It took a second for it to register, but she followed me into our room. The kids had friends over so I did not want to burden them just yet. I let her know that everything would be alright. So that calmed her fears and she agreed and reminded me of my prayers for something that would allow her to come home. We prayed together.
I decided that I would make my job to find a job, or to go back to college, so my normal Monday thru Friday routine will be to research my options regarding returning to school for either a college degree, or specialized training in a certain career at the Tech College. All options are open, I have asked some close friends to pray that God will clearly instruct me what He wants me to do. If you feel like praying in that direction I would appreciate your prayers as well.
So, I enter into a new journey totally dependent of my Father. He loves me, this I well know! I will link to the new blog when I start it. I will let you know about the process that I go through to secure employment, or education, what I find out about health care, what I find out about our mortgage, how we will afford the necessities of living. Basically the ins and outs of being unemployed. I am new at it, so, if any of you have any suggestions I am open to them, as I know there are going to be things that I might not have thought about.
I will say this, there is not much out there in regards to what you should do, but there is a lot of clichéd articles, with, “When one door shuts, another opens” or “It is normal to feel depressed, but in the case of down sizing, it is important to know it is not your fault.” Although well meaning, these things do not give any advice about contacting a mortgage company, or a credit card company, or the electric company, or perhaps a food pantry, or contacting the school for free lunch, things that will help reduce costs. I have paid a lot of taxes in my years of working, so at this point I don’t mind getting some help in this new reality, as I have helped others for most of my life, not just through taxes, but personally giving food to needy families, supporting a missionary personally with a monthly contribution God giving the increase in able to do so. You can read about it in Times Prayers Were Answered Instantly Or At Least Quickly.
I pray God’s blessings on each of you!

The Sick Church, And The Cure

I am seeing the church like a person that has a serious wound. Instead of caring for the wound by cleaning it up, and applying salve (applying the word and repenting) dirt and dung are being rubbed into the wound. And when the doctor (Jesus the great physician) tries to have the nurse (those whom he sends to confront the sin), the church bites at the one who is trying to help it.
The most caring thing that could be done is confronting the festering wound, clean it up and put medicine on it to get rid of the infection. However, as this is done, there is going to be the backlash.
Paul said, “Girt ye up like men”, in other words we must be mature about this, in so doing HE will give us the supplies we need so that we lack nothing. We are in a battle.
Again, like Jesus said, there are tares among us. Leadership is SO afraid of making someone mad and causing them to leave the church. Instead of rooting out the tares so they do not produce seed, the tares take up most of the elder-ship time.
Paul told Timothy to build up the church by finding faithful men and equipping them to minister also. He also taught to rebuke sternly those who were in sin, and if they did not repent to cast them out. My observance is the opposite is happening. The ones who are not doing what they should are either coddled or their sin is overlooked. Thus allowing their seeds to spread like creeping Charlie. The little foxes spoil the vines, it is the little sins that not being dealt with grow up into bigger sins.
There are those who seek signs and wonders and healings and gifts. Why would God give those if we are not following his instruction book? He said “If you love me, keep my commandments”, and, “You praise me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me.”

We need to get back to the Bible, not the “studies show” philosophical and psychological mumbo jumbo that has invaded the church in the last 45 years.

If you really want revival to come, it is going to take work, it is going to take prayer, and it is going to take fasting, and lots of it. It is going to take those who are doing the praying, fasting, and seeking after God to have revival start with them. It is going to take searching the heart for any wicked way, it is going to take confessing and rejecting the sin that so easily besets us. It is going to take repentance of both committed and omitted sin. As Keith Green once said, Lord bring revival, and let it start with me.

We also need grace to be preached as well. Jesus came preaching GRACE and TRUTH. There should be Holiness in our lives, as well as graciousness. There should NOT be a pendulum swing so far to the other side that condemnation for condemnations sake is thrown on the people. Real, loving preaching and teaching so that their hearts condemn them to the point of repentance and salvation because God is allowed to show us his Greatness.

If you truly want revival, then reading the following would make a good start!

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=579

It is a hard read, and a tough read, but if you do what he suggests, revival will start with you, and me, and those we know and care about.

Lord I do truly want to see revival, let it start with me, and my house!

We ARE Living In The Last Days

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

We may not know the day nor the hour, but Jesus stated we would know the signs.  The three sets of verses above have something in common.  Each shows a paradigm shift.  A shift from man listening and depending on God to Man depending on man.  Man becoming his own god.  I could easily add the expulsion from the Garden, and it would fit.  However, I am dealing with God’s judgement on a generation who became so corrupt and self serving that God was forced to bring a sever judgement.

We are living in such a time.  As in Genesis 11 we have become one.  Anthropologists are telling us that languages are dying out.  One estimate is 1 language disappears every 2 weeks, and this will increase exponentially.  Most people around the world understand at least one of 5 major languages and English is becoming the language of the monetary system.   We have almost come full circle from Bable, and the whole world has had its focus on the land of Babylon (Iraq) for most of the last 10 years, the area where men came together to build instead of spreading out and subduing the earth as God told them to do.

The other two judgements came when man forgot God, did not acknowledge His authority and became gods to themselves.  We have now finally gotten to that point again.  Paul in 2 Timothy 3 builds upon what Peter laid out in the verses above:

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their’s also was.

Reading the above, you would think that Paul sat through a recent Spy movie, or a modern college course.  This is what we live in today.  Here is the headline to a recent Danish newspaper editorial:

Obama greater than Jesus

GREATER THAN JESUS?  Their whole editorial brings the Deity of Christ into question.  In my last blogWhy Is The Church In Decline? Are We In The Great Falling Away? I presented the fact that the Western world is abandoning the belief that God exists, or the Great Falling Away that Jesus foretold would happen before he returned.

We indeed have witnessed in our lifetime a paradigm shift from believing in God to man deifying himself as the Danish newspaper that I quoted above confirms. The next thing that will happen will be the judgement we are bringing on ourselves for doing so.

Why Is The Church In Decline? Are We In The Great Falling Away?

Some say Jesus stated about the Church “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” In Matthew 16:18.

Some would tell us that means the Church will not diminish. However, this is not a good interpretation of this verse. What Jesus was referring to was Peters’ statement that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the Living God. No amount of accusation from the enemy, no amount of denial of man can prevail against the fact that Jesus IS the son of God.

We are living in perilous times as the Church. Our numbers have been in a steady decline since the mid 1940’s, although there was a slight up-tick in the numbers in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s, the decline has continued none the less. Europe is in a very deep decline, in the 2005 EuroBarometer Poll, we find that many European countries are in steep decline of even calling themselves Christian. The same can be seen the in US.
We have had years of secular teaching of children in public education. This has had a serious impact on the church in that we have had 3 generations who are taught to doubt in a creator God.
But secularist education is not the only reason for the decline. The most serious problem is the church gave up it’s roll as being compassionate to the poor, ill and imprisoned. The church itself has grown into a secularist institution. It has followed the ideas of the world and has not challenged these ideas in a strait-forward and stringent manner. Those churches that tried to oppose secularism started to pull away from the society it found itself in and began to look and work inward.
Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble”, He also stated “I have overcome the world.” The church is suppose to follow Christ, that not only means we are to read his word, we are also to OBEY him. He has stated he wants workers to go into the fields that are white for harvest. But the church has refused to do that. The question is why?
If the church refuses to do what their God tells them to do, how long do you think it will be before his wrath will be poured out?  We read in Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?  Well, with the trends we have now, that is a very good question.