Why Them, Not Me?

The disciple I can identify the most with is Peter. While God ultimately used Peter (shortcomings and all) for His glory, Peter had some qualities which often remind me of myself. Peter was impulsive, would often speak before he'd think, at times lacked faith to the point of denying his faith, and sometimes concerned himself with things he shouldn't.

For example, at the end of the book of John (John 21), after Jesus finishes telling Peter to take care of His sheep, Jesus tells Peter about what will happen to him when he is old and about his death. At that point Peter notices the disciple John and asks Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" (John 21: 21).

Have you ever done like Peter, and like me? Maybe you've had thoughts recently like:

• Why can she get pregnant so easily, with no complications--and not me?
• Why is God blessing them financially, when I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck?
• Why does he have perfect health, while I am in chronic pain day in and day out?
• Why did God give them such easy, compliant children and I have the most strong willed, rebellious spirited child?
• Why did God sell their house and not mine?

Peter was probably thinking, "so you are telling me I'm going to suffer and die, well then what about John?!"

Jesus' answer to Peter was, "...what is that to you? You must follow me." (Jesus 21:22)

That is His answer to me too. I find contentment when God reminds me--what is that to you?!

I don't need to concern myself with what God is doing for others compared to me. I just need to follow Him and remember that when I do that I am exactly where He wants me to be.

My only concern needs to be to follow Him and in His sovereignty I will be exactly where He wants me.

Crazy Love

I love when others recommend good books for me to read. So I have to recommend this book to you.

Want to read a book that is life changing? Something convicting...something that will change your perspective (in a good way!)? You HAVE to read Crazy Love by Francis Chan! It is amazing. It is inspiring. It is something I think every Christian should read.

If you've read it--share your thoughts with me!

Isaiah 26

The debate goes on as to whether the rapture will happen before the tribulation, in the middle, or at the end. In my wishful thinking and begging of God's mercy, I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. People use lots of different scripture to back up there point of view, but I love Isaiah 26, which I believe foretells of the pre-tribulation rapture.

But your dead will live;
their bodies will rise.
You 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.

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

See, 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 upon her;
she will conceal her slain no longer. (Isaiah 26:19-21)

Oprah

Oprah is the Antichrist! Do I sound nuts yet? I'm kidding people--I just needed an attention grabber. No, I don't think Oprah is the Antichrist. But I do believe she is dangerous. I know, I know, what's not to like about Oprah? She is charismatic, has great guests/topics on her show, and does such wonderful things for those in need. I agree with that completely. However, if you are a Christian, I believe Oprah is very dangerous. The beliefs she professes and the "spiritual" teachers she endorses on her show contradict the Bible (which I believe to be 100% truth) in so many ways. If you have never thought about or realized Oprah's dangerous influence, there is a book that I highly recommend called Oprah, Miracles, and the New Earth: A Critique.If you can read it with an open mind, it may shine some light on some things you may have never noticed before.

PS I don't hate Oprah and am not an Oprah basher. I just think she is deceived.

To avoid giving just a general criticism, here are some specific teachings Oprah endorses that are extremely dangerous and contradictory to scripture:

"The man on the cross is an archetypal image, he is every man and woman." (Eckhart Tolle)
"Heaven is not a location but an inner realm of consciousness." (Eckhart Tolle)
"There is no sin." (A Course in Miracles)
"Do not make the pathetic error of clinging to the Old Rugged Cross. The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross." (A Course in Miracles)
"Who you are requires no belief. " (Eckhart Tolle)

Prayer

I was recently amazed at an account I read in the Old Testament. I often struggle in understanding prayer because I believe so fully in God's sovereignty that I often wonder, do my prayers matter? If God is completely in control and omniscient (all knowing), which I fully believe He is, and therefore knows the future, can my prayer request really change His mind? Of course, in my head I would tell myself yes, but I still struggled with it. I was so encouraged by reading the account of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings.

In 2 Kings, the prophet Isaiah was told by the Lord to inform King Hezekiah he would soon die. Hezekiah turned to God in faithful prayer and...God changed His mind!!! God sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah to inform him, " I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you." 2 Kings 20:5 Amazing!

Now we can't know why God changed His mind. He has a plan and a purpose far greater than making sure we are always healthy, wealthy, and happy. And we know, according to Romans 8:29, that His main purpose is to make us like Jesus and that often involves trials. God isn't a genie in a bottle waiting around to grant us our wishes. But He loves us, He hears us, and He cares about us.

I'm thanking Him today for allowing us to be involved in His plan through prayer.

Jews

If I weren't already a believer, one thing that would be hard for me to deny is the legitimacy of the Bible and Jesus through the history of the Jews. God's hand upon the Jewish people is undeniable. The promises God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob continue today. It is also undeniable that with everything God loves, Satan wants to destroy. God's chosen people were the Jews, therefore, Satan hates them and has wanted to destroy them; from Haman to Hitler. Satan has tried throughout history to annihilate God's chosen race, but his attempts continue to fail. There are countless tribes in history that are no longer in existence today, but yet the Jewish nation continues to survive.

As I learn more and more about scripture, I am amazed at the depth God has provided us. For instance, the Jewish feasts (which actually means "appointed times") which God instituted in the Old Testament, are an amazing testimony to Jesus' fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus already fulfilled the first four of the seven Levitical feasts. I believe He will fulfill the rest, as well.

1. Passover CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS happened during Passover. During the Jews' escape from Egypt God instructed them to take the blood of an unblemished lamb and put the blood on their doorposts. He would then passover their house and the eldest son would not die. Today we are covered by the blood of the perfect, sacrificial lamb--Jesus, and because of His blood will not die.
2. Unleavened Bread BURIAL OF JESUS happened during Unleavened Bread. Leaven represented sin; pointed to the Messiah's sinless life.
3. First Fruits RESURRECTION OF JESUS happened during First Fruits. They were to offer the first ripe sheaf of barley. Symbolized Jesus' resurrection as the first fruit of the righteous. (1 Corinthians 15:20)
4. Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) HOLY SPIRIT came upon apostles and believers in the early church during Feast of Weeks. 50 days after Passover, the time to present an offering of new grain of the summer wheat harvest to the Lord. It pointed to the soul harvest at the day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts.
5. Feast of Trumpets Also known as, "No one knows the day or hour." Begins the Jewish New Year and call to repentance with the blowing of the Shofar. Some believe the Rapture of the church will occur during this time. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:52).
6. Day of Atonement Many believe this points to the day Jesus will return to reign on earth.
7. Feast of Booths or Tabernacles A week long celebration of the fall harvest and a time to build booths to remember how the Hebrew people lived under God's care during their forty years in the wilderness. Many believe this points to God's reign over the world.

The New World Order & The Tower of Babel

After the flood, God commanded Noah and his family to start having lots o' babies and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). So, being the sinful, rebellious humans we are--what did everyone decide to do? The exact opposite of what God commanded. As we read in Genesis 11 their pride got the best of them. They decided they wanted to make a name for themselves so they planned to gather together (and not spread out and fill the earth), build a city and a really tall tower that reached to the heavens. It says they did this so they would not be scattered over the earth.

They wanted one government, one centralized power, unity, etc. Sound familiar? That is exactly what our current world leaders are trying to push us towards: a one world government in the New World Order. Are these goals of our world leaders what God wants? Obviously not.

God told them to spread out and fill the earth. They disobeyed so God confused their language forcing them to spread out and fill the earth. In doing this, God knew that diversity allows the gospel to be preached and that one world rule will strive to dominate not only laws and lifestyle, but religion as well.

Now history is repeating itself today.
World leaders have one desire: power.
And what's at the root of that desire for power? Pride.

Prayer of Repentance

This is years old, but I had never read it until now and was just blown away by it's truth. Paul Harvey shared this prayer by Joe Wright on air and I have to share it with you. Joe Wright gave this prayer before the Kansas Legislature years ago and it's truth rings on.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

The Gospel in Genesis

God is full of hidden surprises and never boring. I was excited to read about the meanings of the names of Adam and his descendants. The meaning of their names reveal the Gospel message thousands of years before Jesus ever lived!

Hebrew--English
Adam--Man
Seth--Appointed
Enosh--Mortal
Kenan--Sorrow
Mahalalel--The Blessed God
Jared--Shall come down
Enoch--Teaching
Methuselah--His death shall bring
Lamech--The Despairing
Noah--Rest (or comfort)

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

The Star of Bethlehem

^"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge."
Psalm 19: 1-2

Ever wonder if the stars reveal something about God?
One of my favorite verses says that God "determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." (Psalm 147:4)
The Star of Bethlehem DVD reveals amazing details about the stars and the timing of the conception, birth, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is by far one of the most awesome videos I have ever seen.
If interested, I encourage you to check this movie out, or at least read about its content on the website: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ (The info is numbered under "Site Overview").
You may just come to realize, if you haven't already, God's plan of salvation was mapped out in the stars way back at the beginning of creation when He put the stars in place.

New Age Movement

Between Oprah, pop culture, and random run-ins with new age followers, it seems like new age philosophy is growing more and more. New age thinking is nothing new. In fact, it is the same false thinking that deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden (remember--she was told her eyes would be opened and she would be like God!). But as the Book of Ecclesiastes says, "there is nothing new under the sun." So true!!

New Age thinkers teach that man is Divine and All is God
The Bible says all are sinners (Romans 3:23)

New Age thinkers teach we are separated from divine because of lack of knowledge/enlightenment
The Bible says sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2)

New Age thinkers teach that man's basic nature is good and Divine
The Bible teaches we are sinners (Romans 5:12)

I'm starting to notice a pattern here: this false teaching refuses to acknowledge sin. Without acknowledging sin, there is no need for a Savior. No need for a Savior, means Jesus died on the cross for no reason. (I can't speak for anyone else--but I need Jesus and am thankful for His sacrifice! I know I'm a sinner!!)

I could go on and on outlining the ways New Age philosophies contradict the Bible, but will spare you the reading; but I do encourage you to investigate it on your own. As with all false religions, you will find many new agers quoting the Bible. You will quickly find they will take one verse out of context, and ultimately, twist its meaning.

In light of all this, we have to remember two things Jesus stated about Satan: (1) he is the father of lies (John 8:44); (2) he masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The enemy doesn't come at us blatantly telling us to follow lies and become evil. He disguises himself with people, thoughts, and ideas that are appealing to our nature.

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24