Monthly Archives: September 2013

Thank You!

22 Sunday Sep 2013

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Thank You

I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. ~ Ephesians 1:16, AMP

Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18, AMP

 

I first want to give the honor, glory, praise, and appreciation to Father God, then to Jesus the Christ, and then to the Holy Spirit for all the people they have sent to this blog: all the people who have “liked” a blog entry, all the people who have commented on a blog entry, all the people who have reblogged a blog entry, and all the people who have shared a blog entry. Certainly there is no doubt in my mind that Father God is the only One who caused the growth in the number of visitors to my blog and the only One who caused the growth in the number of shared blog entries. Thank You God for these increases!

Secondly, I want to thank the people who I normally wouldn’t have any way of knowing visited my blog or wouldn’t have any way of knowing they shared a particular blog entry via the standard share links, especially if they do not e-mail me personally or if they do not leave a comment in which they tell me they have visited my blog or have shared one of its entries on such and such site(s) or with these or those individuals. For these reasons, I want all of the anonymous visitors to know that I definitely have been richly blessed by each and every person who has stopped by my blog, and I have been abundantly blessed by every individual who has shared an entry from this blog, whether on Facebook or Google+, or Twitter, Pinterest, Digg, Reddit, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Pocket, or via Print & PDF, or by E-mail. I’m extremely grateful to everyone who took the time to visit this blog and read my entries. Then too, I’m enormously grateful to every individual who has shared one or more of the hundreds of entries from my blog that have found a new home on other sites, or that have been printed out, or that have been e-mailed.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for being such a marvelous example of God’s Agápe love.  The love, kindness, and support each person has shown to me mean more to me than he or she will ever know.

Once again, thank you all for what you each have done. I’m utterly blown away by your demonstrated Agápe love. I will keep all of you in my prayers, and I pray that you all will do the same for me.

 

Every blessing  . . . .

CLOWNS Are Entertaining GOATS

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Spiritual

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The Church Clown

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ~ 2 Timothy 4:3-4, ESV

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ~ Matthew 25:41-46, ESV

 

At the end of the Lord’s Olivet Discourse is the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, which is a short and simple narrative in which the Lord metaphorically compares two kinds of people. Now, while there are different interpretations of this parable, many believers’ interpretation, this blogger included, is that the Parable of the Sheep and Goats is about Jesus Christ’s prophesied second bodily return at the end of the Great Tribulation and about Him judging the nations of surviving humans (the prophesied Day of Judgment). In other words, this parable is not about any Rapture, as it is very clear that the setting of this event is at the beginning of the millennium, which starts sometime after the seven year Tribulation Period has ended.  

Matthew writes:

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ~ Matthew 25:32-33, ESV

Now, while Christ Jesus died for both the sheep and the goats (being sheep’s Sacrificial Lamb and goats’ Scapegoat), unfortunately it’s the goats who never choose Him as their Lord and Savior—neither prior to the Tribulation Period nor during it. What’s more, the literal goats have characteristics that are bad for the literal sheep, and thus bad for the metaphorical sheep as well. For example, goats are unreliable, reckless, devious, and antagonistic. Goats also have a stubborn streak. The bottom line then is neither the literal nor the metaphysical goats are very good followers, as they either prefer being the leader or the loner. Then too, because of both goats’ independent nature, they often find themselves in contention with the Shepherd for leadership of the flock, and they often lead some sheep astray.

These abovementioned literal goat characteristics in the metaphorical goats and the metaphorical goats’ unregenerate hearts make it clear why the Good Shepherd (Christ Jesus), in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, separates His saved sheep from the lost goats. For one, like the literal goats, these end-time goats who survived the Tribulation Period will create disunity, and secondly, as already mentioned, they often are in contention with the Shepherd for leadership of the flock. Furthermore, while the metaphorical goats certainly are capable of performing acts of kindness and love, the Lord knows whether or not those acts of kindness and love were done or not done for the right reasons. Put differently, apparently the goats in the parable are rejected primarily because their hearts (spirits) were not right with God.

According to what Christ Jesus says in the parable, the kind and loving acts believers in Christ performed were the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (were the deeds of mercy that spring from true Faith in Christ Jesus and Father God). In other words, the works saved sheep did, without doubt, demonstrated the reality of the conversion that took place in their hearts (in their born again spirits). On the other hand, the kind and loving acts unbelievers like the goats might have done were not the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, because the goats neither had a relationship with the Good Shepherd nor with Father God. For this reason, the Lord judges their deeds as those that were not done for the right purpose—were not done to honor and glorify Father God.

Spiritually speaking, because these serious goat characteristics are noticeable in the current institutional “church,” it is safe to say that presently there are countless goats sitting on numerous pews. Indeed, the above PreachTheGospel.org picture and the Spurgeon quotation in that picture absolutely point out the condition of modern-day “churchgoers,” especially those “church” members whose spiritual leaders have substituted true evangelism with evangelistic windows, which say: Come inside and check out “our” church! Come see how we worship! If it isn’t the evangelistic windows advertising this 21st-century brand of evangelism, then it is today’s “churches” announcing in their newspaper ads who will be preaching on a given Sunday, or today’s “churchgoers” promoting their “churches,” as they hand out Gospel tracts.

Whatever the case might me, what’s most important to mention here is that it is amazing how dead right Spurgeon’s quotation is! For example, just the other day this blogger read online that someone saw an ad in a newspaper in which a “church” was advertising that a “clown” would be giving Sunday’s morning message. Evangelicalism, at least the kind that used to stress the importance of unbelievers obtaining the God kind of Faith that leads to a regenerate heart (spirit) and salvation, apparently no longer is the focus of some pulpit pastors or “their” congregations.

This century’s pulpit pastors seem to be more concerned with preaching to entertaining the crowds they’ve attracted with their watered down and often politically correct “feel good” psychobabble sermons or lighthearted purely amusing messages than they are concerned about preaching the unadulterated Gospel’s Truths. The problem here is that this definitely is not the time for dancing, singing, ball juggling, and/or joke-telling pulpit clowns. The goats’ eternal lives are at risk!

For this last reason, this is the time for brave born again, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit sagacious men and women to preach the tough messages on salvation, eternal life, discipleship, grace, holiness, righteousness, Holy Spirit’s ministries, adultery, fornication, pornography, homosexuality, abortion, apostasy, divorce, and so forth. Pulpit clowns won’t give these difficult messages the soberness, tough love treatment, and/or spiritual nutrition they need.

Finally, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed the answer to all of this world’s ills. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way any surviving Tribulation goats ever will be able to avoid being told to move to the Lord’s left. That’s why today’s men and women in the Lord’s ministry must preach the Gospel NOW and preach it without making clownlike concessions! A word to the wise should be sufficient.

Setting Things Straight

18 Wednesday Sep 2013

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Bishop Prince makes it clear that, contrary to some people’s opinions concerning who “calls,” anoints, appoints, gifts, equips, ordains, and sends men and women into the Gospel ministry’s vineyard, it is God and only God who “calls,” anoints, appoints, gifts, equips, and ordains His vineyard workers, and it is ONLY God who sends His vineyard workers “where” He wants them to be. God also is the only One who decides “when” He will send His workers!

Then too, God and only God is the One who determines what function His “called,” anointed, appointed, gifted, equipped, and ordained men and women are to perform while working in His Gospel ministry’s vineyard. In essence, being “called” into God’s Ministry, which includes all that accepting His “calling” involves (like which ekklesia, how to function in that ekklesia, what gifts to use, and so on), is ALWAYS a theocratic selection and NEVER a democratic election! (See Being “Called” into God’s Ministry Is a Theocratic Selection and Not a Democratic Election.)

O. W. Prince Ministries

Seminary Books_orig1

Have you noticed that the Christian Church has changed to imitate the protocols and methods of the world? More and more churches are seeking Pastors with Masters and Doctorate degrees. They are more concerned about the prospective pastor’s credentials than they are about his morals and his salvation. Some even set the pastor’s salary according to what level of education he has achieved. This is worldly and has no foundation in Holy Scripture. THIS IS NOT OF GOD!

Education is good. We should get as much education as we can afford or that is afforded to us. The more tools and skills that we have to use for the work of the kingdom of God the better. BUT DON’T GET IT TWISTED! We cannot qualify or certify to be God’s Preacher and Servant through Bible Colleges or Seminaries. God is not impressed with your diplomas, degrees, certificates or any…

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God’s Metaphorical SEED

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

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Father God and Christ Jesus make it perfectly clear throughout the Scriptures that ONLY God’s eternal spiritual Seed (His Word) is an incorruptible SEED. Because the Word of God (SEED) is everlasting, this is the reason why ONLY the Word of God (SEED) produces a continual and generous harvest, which is something that money could never do! That’s why money is never the biblical SEED that God says is sown during seedtime. God Himself is the sown SEED, and the SEED metaphor most often used to describe Father God is the Word of God!

Gone Fishin'

The SEED

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. ~ Genesis 8:22, KJ21

Hearken! Behold, there went out a sower to sow. …And other fell on good ground; and it yielded fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth: some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundredfold. …And these are they which are sown on good ground, such as hear the Word and receive it and bring forth fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. ~ Mark 4:3, 8, 20, KJ21

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and he went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. ~ Revelation 12:17, KJ21

 

From Genesis to Revelation, whenever the word SEED is used, the tendency of…

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Matthew 16:13 – A MORE MANAGEABLE MESSIAH

06 Friday Sep 2013

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This truth about how people today, Christians included, are making Christ Jesus a more manageable, more palatable, more sociable, in essence, a more “popular” brand really needs to be preached and taught more often.

Words of Life

Matthew 16:13 – A MORE MANAGEABLE MESSIAH

Making Jesus in our own image

Dear Jesus,

As Your marketing manager I am glad You finally asked the question “Who do others say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13). Finally You are concerned about Your consumer base. Afterall, without people like me, where would You be? Consumer Loyalty is important. You need to control the perception that we have about You if you want to go to the next level? A few points…

GLOBAL SUCCESS

Do You want to accelerate Your success globally; set the pace in a highly competitive world? Do You want to be more powerful and more highly effective? You can only go so far with the things You are saying and doing and I am here to give You some wins on the board.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Firstly, You will need to lose the “I came to do the Father’s…

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Rosh HaShanah 2013

02 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by in Faith and Wisdom

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Rosh HaShanah

Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.’ ~ Leviticus 23:24-25, CJB

Blow the shofar in Tziyon! Sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all living in the land tremble, for the Day of Adonai is coming! It’s upon us! —  ~ Joel 2:1, CJB

 

During the final month of the Jewish civil/agricultural year (the month of Elul), there traditionally is a 30-day period of intense spiritual preparation for the coming year, which begins on the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh HaShanah—day one of the month of Tishri (also spelled Tishrei). Teshuvah, the Hebrew name for this spiritual preparation (this time of prayers, introspection, and repentance; this time of atoning for sins; this time of turning back to God), gets Jewish people ready for entering the Ten Days of Awe, which include the first two days of Tishri or Rosh HaShanah. Additionally, each morning during the 30 days of the month of Elul, the trumpet (shofar) or ram’s horn is blown to warn the people they must repent and return to God.

Even though the words Rosh HaShanah are not mentioned in either the Christian Holy Bible or the Jewish Tanakh, God does refer to this feast day in His Scriptures as The Day of Remembrance (in Hebrew, Yom HaZikkaron), which pertains to remembering God, the World’s birthday, Creation’s anniversary, Isaac’s near-sacrifice, personal histories, and every Jewish person’s past (the last year’s) behaviors. In the Scriptures, God also refers to Rosh HaShanah as The Day of the Sounding of the Shofar (in Hebrew, Yom Teruah).

Now, so there won’t be any misunderstanding, it is important to note here that Tishri is both the first month and the seventh month on Jewish calendars. In other words, Rosh HaShanah is the first day of this first month (Tishri), and thus the beginning of a New Year, when Tishri is viewed on the civil/agricultural calendar, but Rosh HaShanah also is the first day of this seventh month (Tishri), and thus the first of the final three feasts of the annual seven mandatory major feasts, when Tishri is viewed on the religious/festival calendar.

As the Sabbatical month on the religious/festival calendar, Tishri ushers in the last three annual feasts: Rosh HaShanah or Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, and Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles. More important, the final three feasts of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot not only mark the conclusion of the Jewish religious/festival year but also they epitomize both the conclusion and the fulfillment of God’s redemption plan.  

Then too, of these three final annual feasts, two are known as “The High Holy Days” or “High Holidays” or the Awesome Days (Days of Awe), and these two feasts are Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. During the High Holiday of Rosh HaShanah, and the days leading up to the High Holiday of Yom Kippur, the Jewish people cleanse their souls by making amends either via repentance and turning back to God (Teshuvah); or via introspection, self-evaluation, self-judgment, and the renewing or strengthening of their attachment/bond/marriage with or to God (Tefilah); or via justice or righteousness (Tzedakah). They cleanse their souls so that they could be forgiven not only by mankind but also by God and, thus, given the chance to start fresh with an unburdened conscience (with a clean slate), as they attempt to live a better life in the upcoming year.

That said; in this current secular month (September), Jewish people worldwide will observe their Jewish New Year or Rosh HaShanah (literally, “Head of the Year” or the first of the year). This year Rosh HaShanah is from sundown September 4th to sundown September 6th. These days are the first and second of Tishri, the Jewish month that usually falls sometime on the secular calendar in September or October.

Unlike the big partying Americans do on their New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, for Jewish people Rosh HaShanah, though a celebratory holiday, is a very solemn, holy and spiritual festival, primarily because this feast gives Jewish people the opportunity to put their previous year’s sins in the past and move forward with God’s forgiveness. For this reason, Rosh HaShanah traditionally also is observed as The Day of Judgment—the day God judges His Jewish people and then inscribes the fate of every Jewish person either in The Book of Life or in The Book of Death.

Rosh HaShanah or the Feast of Trumpets also is an important festival, because on this holiday God completed His work of Creation (He made Adam and Eve). Therefore, it traditionally is believed that the blowing of the shofars (trumpets) on Rosh HaShanah/Feast of Trumpets is meant to be a warning call (cry) to the Jewish people, letting them know that it is time for them to be judged for their sins. The blowing of the shofars (trumpets) also is a call (cry), which lets Jewish people know that not only are they to repent their sins but also they are to prepare themselves for their trial—for their Day of Judgment. According to Jewish traditions, annually, on Rosh HaShanah, Jewish people would stand before God to be judged. However, it also was on Rosh HaShanah that the Jewish people were allowed to appeal to God for forgiveness of their past year’s sins, before He passed His final judgment on them.

Now day one of Rosh HaShanah was the only feast day on which God decided the fate of the entire world for the upcoming new year, even though His verdict was not final until the Day of Atonement (also known as The Day of the Lord or Judgment Day). In other words, ten days before the Day of Atonement, God executes judgment from His heavenly Court, declaring who will live; who will die by fire, water, earthquake, sword, famine, thirst, and so forth; who will have a good life; who will have a bad life, who will be poor; who will be rich; who will have rest; who will wander; who will fall (be degraded); who will rise (be exalted); and so forth. Traditionally, Jewish people had the Ten Days of Awe (from day one of Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur—the last 10 days of the 40 days of Teshuvah, the period of repentance and forgiveness) to reflect, repent, cleanse themselves, seek forgiveness, and make any necessary amends in order to influence God’s final judgment on that ultimately awesome Judgment Day (the Day of Atonement; the Day of the Lord), when the Books of Life and Death would be sealed.

The bottom line is that for Jewish people, Rosh HaShanah isn’t just The Jewish New Year. Rosh HaShanah also is The Day of Remembrance (Yom HaZikkaron), when the Books of Life, Death, and Remembrance are opened in Heaven, and The Day of the Sounding of the Shofar or The Day of the Awakening Blast/Shout (Yom Teruah).

Additionally, Rosh HaShanah is: The Day of the Resurrection of the Righteous Dead and the Taking Up of the Living Righteous (Yom HaNatzal); The Day of the Hiding or Concealment, or Hidden Day (Yom HaKeseh), which pertains to when the first sliver of the New Moon is sighted; The Day of Judgment (Yom HaDin), the day when God would judge His Jewish people and then inscribe their names in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death; The Day of God’s Kingship and The Day of the Coronation of the Messiah (Yom HaMelech), which is both the day for re-establishing God’s Kingship or the re-throning of the Master of the Universe—the One who created the world and everything and everyone in it—as well as  the Coronation of Christ in Heaven, crowning Him the King of kings and Lord of lords over all the Earth so that He can reign 1,000 years as King after He returns to Earth; The Wedding Day of the Messiah (Yom HaKiddushin/Nesuim), when the marriage between Christ the Groom and the Body of Christ the Bride finally is consummated; and The Day of Abraham’s Offering of Isaac (Yom HaAkedah), for it was from the binding of Isaac incident that the left horn of the ram caught in the thicket came to symbolize the shofar’s First Trump or Bride of God (blown on Pentecost or Shavuot), and that same ram’s right horn came to symbolize the shofar’s Last Trump or Bride of Christ (blown on the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh HaShanah or Yom Teruah). Thus, every one of these mentioned idioms and/or names for Rosh HaShanah leaves no doubt as to why this feast day not only is a High Holy Day but also an extremely important holiday for Jewish people, indeed, for all mankind.

Lastly, the main themes of remembering, shouting, awakening, repenting, preparing, resurrecting, marrying, hiding, concealing, escaping, as in not receiving the death sentence/judgment, and resting are ALL images of the Rapture. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that the blowing of shofars is both a warning that it is time to prepare for standing before God to be judged and a sign that the resurrecting of the righteous dead and the snatching up of the righteous living are about to take place for the prepared (repentant, forgiven, saved, sanctified, cleansed, ready, and expecting to meet the Lord in the air) Bride so that She can go home to Heaven with Her Groom and be hidden there in the Bridal Chambers from the seven-year Tribulation. Again, these themes are all images of the Rapture.

Moreover, if we combine together these already mentioned themes with the re-throning, crowning, judging, and the blowing of the shofar’s Last Trump themes, the end result is a bigger picture of the Rapture. Therefore, there can be no doubt that all of Rosh HaShanah’s themes, idioms, names, and images are why this feast is the top choice for when the prophesied Rapture of the Bride of Christ will happen. Now, while no one knows which Jewish New Year will include the Rapture, believers in Christ know that they must stay spiritually prepared and alert, and they know that they must keep looking up, especially around the time of Rosh HaShanah, so that they won’t miss the Rapture.

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Amen!