WHERE ARE WE IN HISTORY?

I am not exactly a history expert but I have come to love Biblical history and of course into that scenario fits Bible prophecy. I DO know a lot about that…when I returned to the Lord 38 years ago it was because of Hal Lindsey’s book Late, Great Planet Earth. As a child I had been to church, Sunday school, Bible studies, Bible clubs, anything that had to do with the Lord, we as a family were involved in it. I was pretty well taught, and my main teacher Miss Margaret Carter really like prophecy so she talked and taught about it a lot. As a teen, I decided to go my own way, God let me but many years later reminded I was His (commitment made at a youth rally when I was 12) and it was time to make that a reality in my life. From that time on, I read, studied and read some more. Time lines fascinated me, especially trying to fit together Patriarchs, Priests, Prophets, Kings, Kingdoms, it was great fun to me and I did a lot of research. consequently I learned…especially history from God’s point of view! I remember made a time line of the entire Old Testament, took me about two months, and I loved every minute of it. You should try it, I did it by hand with few resources and learned a lot! And even now in my “old age” I still remember it all. Once I researched the book of Daniel, I was anxious to get through the Prophets so I could go to Revelation and study and compare what I had learned in the OT. In case you don’t know it, everything fit together…God is a very orderly God, and makes it easier to understand by the gift of His Holy Spirit.

The timeline from the book of Daniel especially fascinated me…it seemed God was telling us exactly when everything was to happen. He spoke of days, weeks, months, years…I was really intrigued. What was God saying and if He was saying it , He really wanted us to know what and when. Then Matthew 24 had to be taken into consideration. So…my gleanings gave me this:

God started His end-time plan about 100 years ago with a few Jewish Zionists that worked diligently for a Jewish homeland. We know the Jews were dispersed all over the world since 70AD, but God said a time would come when they would return to their homeland. There were some Jews living in the area, along with Arabs, living peacefully. The Ottoman Turks ruled from the 600’s AD until the British conquered them during WW1, then the territory became a British possession, one they really did not want. There were legal papers drawn up over the years giving the Jews legal claim to a portion of the area, the League of Nations sanctioned the claims, when they broke up and the newly formed United Nations came into existence, the paper work was transferred to into the control of the UN. But…nothing more happened, until WW11 ended and the Holocaust was seen by the world. Everyone cried out for the Jews to be given a land. Many people worked to make it happen and on May 14, 1948 it did. Israel became a nation and Harry Truman our President recognized Israel as a sovereign nation. Now the sad part of the tory is this, the same size portion of land the Jews accepted, the “Palestinians” refused to accept.

TO BE CONTINUED…

God’s Point of View

Did you ever give a thought to seeing “things” from God’s point of view? I never did until I read Colossians 1:9, “see things from God’s point of view…” it seemed like an impossible thing to me. How could I , with my finite little mind, see my life and others from His point of view? We are so use to looking at everything the way we always have, and don’t give it a thought after we come to Christ. But…I began to see that was not what God had in mind…He wanted us to learn from His Word, apply what we were learning and allow it to penetrate our minds and hearts. Scripture says “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks…” the mouth speaks what we are storing up internally. I found many times that what I was learning from the Lord was contrary to my natural way of thinking and especially different from many things I had been taught I had to pray hard and long to get input from Him. My mind/heart  did not want to give up it’s own way and I would tell myself, “yea but.” However, God always prevailed, and as I read and compared Scripture to Scripture, I slowly realized just how messed up our human reasoning was/is and how abundantly clear God’s Word was if we would persevere.

Everything we say and do begins in the mind. As a side issue, anything we put in our bodies, such as booze, drugs,etc., will cloud it and keep us from thinking God’s thoughts. In the same way, being unwilling to obey something God is telling us to do will hamper growth…when we won’t…we stay where we are until we obey. Just a principle I learned over my years of reading. God wants His best for us but it comes at a price…yielding. And we do not do that easily. You might say the mind is the watchtower of your life, what you put into it shows in your life, your speech, your mannerisms, certainly your character. Here is something to think about…what did Christ mean when He said if we would follow Him, we must “take up your cross” and follow Him? That really perplexed me for along time. Finally, years ago, I attended a seminar for Christian workers at Sandy Cove with my son Bill and his wife. The speaker was John MacArthur, our favorite writer. During his teaching he said this, “ take up your cross…what does that mean? Well, it means to give up your right to yourself, your life, your plans and desires and give your life to Him to use as He sees fit…willingly.” That last part is the key to “our cross.” He wants us to serve willingly, with our whole heart, soul, mind, strength. He did not want to take up His cross and be separated from the Father for the first and only time in His life anymore than we want to give our total selves up to Him for whatever He has in mind. And frankly, many times we do not know initially what it is He has for us to do in service to Him. I know I didn’t! One of the areas of our lives we have the most trouble conquering is our right to ourselves, personal rights it is referred to in counseling courses. When we come to Christ, we give up our rights, especially our right to our own lives…no more “old nature” ideas and actions, but a putting on of the “new nature” made in the likeness of Christ. Really, it’s a no-brainer…

All in all, seeing things from God’s point of view is not difficult. It is mostly a matter of wanting His best and being willing to let Him have His way in your life.

An Authentic Christian Life

How many people have you met over the length of your Christian life that when asked, “are you a Christian” answered yes…then as time went by, you really, really wondered? And…as you wondered, felt guilty because you were “judging.” Well, I have a lot of experience with that kind of question and answer. Very perplexing to say the least. Not the part about judging but people saying they are believers and yet live like heathens. What are we to do? How are we to know? Some of what I am going to write is my opinion, some from Dr Kinlaw’s writing. I trust you will have something to ponder.

Our belief must be authenticated by how we live and how we live on a consistent, day-to-day basis. We are NOT to be like the world, the Scripture says to be “in the world but not of it…” Have you ever thought about what exactly that means???? I have given that a lot of thought, mainly because of hearing people say things about judging when you ask about or discuss certain behaviors. There are the obvious things like drinking, smoking, sleeping around…but today, those are socially acceptable ways of behaving, God forgive us….you get answers like, “the Bible doesn’t say anything about not drinking or not smoking…” but the Bible does say not to be drunk. In my opinion, and I say that on purpose, it is a better thing not to drink at all if only for testimony sake. But, there are other reasons. Alcoholism pretty much runs in family lines. If there are drunks in your family line, why would you want to risk the behavior just to be sociable???  Believe me when I tell you, it’s not worth it, my husband was an alcoholic, from a long line of alcoholics. It not only eventually killed him, but it ruined our life together, destroyed our business, had a profound influence on our two kids, (God took a hand in that, He brought them both to Himself and gave them partners and careers that led them to a life lived for Him) and forever influenced our way of looking at “social drinking.” As far as promiscuous sex, the bible does directly address that as a no-no. Some have said silly things like “God doesn’t want us to have any fun,” or “no one will know,” or “I’ll be careful not to get pregnant.” There are other results and implications that hardly ever get talked about. STD’s for one, physical damage for another. I think the worst is the emotional damage, because it is never talked about or recognized. God made us to be monogamous, that is what He indicated when He said, “the two shall become one flesh.” Two people joined in sexual union are for all intents and purposes, one. That oneness was designed for one man, one woman for life. When we break out of God’s order, not only are we in sin, but we are damaging ourselves emotionally. It may not show up immediately, but in the mind, it does it’s work because the way God made us is broken. And, that can make for serious damage. All three of those things usually cause one to “sneak around,” to hide the behavior. We would not want everyone to know what we are doing! And in the end, it is the emotional damage worldly living causes that does the damage. inappropriate dress goes with worldly living, and……….it could lead to rape……..or worse. Going to movies or viewing video/tv that is inappropriate can damage the mind/emotions. Watching too much brutality twists the conscience. There are probably many, many more. If you let your mind wander you can probably think of quite a few yourself. Ponder these things, they may be in your life or you may be thinking of putting them in your life…my advice…DON’T!

TRUST

Do you believe God is the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of all? Do you believe that strongly enough to obey what He directs you to do? Psychologically, you will not obey one you do not trust and you cannot trust one you do not know. You can only learn Biblical faith and trust from an armchair in a limited way. Until you risk, and frequently risked greatly and God has worked for you, you trust will not be in operation. That biblical faith emerges when you have risked a lot and know that if God does not work for you, you’re sunk! We are all acquainted with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…they told the King whether God saved them or not, they would not bow the knee to him. Now that is real faith!!! And, God did save them, in a dramatic manner. David the King urges all to put their full trust in Him…he says this over and over in the Psalms.  Biblically, the word trust indicates a relationship of two friends that know each other VERY well, and know the depth of the other’s character. That is how we can “know” God will undertake for us..we know His Word and we know His character. It takes a pretty long and intense relationship with God to be able to trust Him completely but it is attainable…because He wants us to know we can trust Him. And,…glory of glories, He will trust us with His work, His people, His message. Is there anything better thn that. 

WHEN DO WE HAVE ENOUGH?

I have found over the years that this is a very interesting question…with many interesting answers. Some say they can never have enough, some say enough to cover expenses and a little for pleasure. Both good answers. But what comes to my mind is, what does God think is enough? I don’t know if He is really definitive but He certainly makes suggestions, usually by illustrations. I personally like Matthew 6:19 to the end of the chapter…God first tells us not to “lay up” treasure here on earth” (don’t accumulate much wealth) but “lay up” in Heaven, send it on ahead so to speak by using your money for the good of the Kingdom. The problem seems to be how and when we determine we have enough and decide to do for the Kingdom with what’s left! In general, it is just not part of our thinking processes to give what we have away. It does not come easily, takes a commitment to God and a lot of practice. I know, because my last 35 years have been lived that way. It has been an adventure let me tell you. Prior to turning my life over to the Lord I had many years of living well, VERY well. My husband and I did everything there was to do. But, everything changed when I became a committed Christian, I was never the same again and I am very glad. God took me in hand and began to teach me “how much is enough”…I willingly gave Him all I had, it wasn’t easy and I had a lot of questions. The last part of chapter 6 began to impact my soul and thinking processes. Over the next 10-15 years I was amazed at how God took what I had given Him and used it for His glory. He taught me what was valuable and what wasn’t. He taught me to wait…very hard for me. But, I never lacked anything I needed, did lack some of what I wanted and usually had to wait for what He had for me. I am not unusual, He will do the same for you. Enough? He will gladly show you what enough is for you, and He will expect you to give Him what is leftover. Many missionaries go with out necessities that could be met with very little, but someone has to be willing to give that little, how about you? Do you know an area of need you can meet and still have enough for yourself? Probably…try it and be amazed at how wonderful God is when you give yourself over to Him.

“Letting God Be God…”

I love Dr Dennis Kinlaw’s devotional, This Day With the Master. I frequently put some quotes from it up on Face Book. He has a way of saying things that strike a note in my heart, and I trust in yours also. This blog is mostly from the last few days of reading from his book. I trust you will enjoy!

The Ten Commandments…if you give them some thoughts, they are all encompassing. Take the FIRST…” Thou shalt have no other gods before me” literally means to let God be God! He is telling us nothing else really matters, just Him and our relationship to/with Him. The others all seem to have a sort of commentary on the first. If any of us would honestly contemplate what God has done for us and continues to do on a day to day basis, allowing Him to be our all is not too much for Him to ask or expect. However, how many people do you know that think and act, “God first and foremost?” I dare say not many since when you do, people tend to think you strange and keep their distance. They really think you go overboard, but would never tell you that. I read on another page, “I live and breathe God.” same idea…the SECOND is very similar, “thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” and is talking about our relationship to anything that is NOT God. So, the first concerns our relationship to Him, the second our relationship to    everything/everyone else. The THIRD has to do with language…how is yours? Do you exhibit Christ when you speak? The FOURTH has to do with time…do you use yours wisely or do you fritter it away? The thing closest to us, our speech, and the thing farthest away, our time, both come under God’s law. The FIFTH, SIXTH AND SEVENTH are connected, sanctity of the home, life and sex, since we all come from a home, have life and a gender, God wants to ensure that all of us order our lives correctly so as to be a blessing and not a curse. The last THREE also tell us God wants to ensure that we measure all of our lives to be a blessing and to bless him…possessions, truth and desires are all compelling character traits and need to be under His control. So how do you sum up? Are you compliant to the will and Word of God? Or…are you more about yourself? Remember, He ALWAYS knows and does what is best for us, whether we acknowledge it or not.

Thinking of THAT day, 9/11/01

On Monday, I had an invasive breast biopsy and wasn’t feeling particularly good on Tuesday. I got a call from my pastor asking if he could come by for a visit, bring coffee and donuts from Dunkin. I said sure. We were sitting in my living room with the TV on, tuned to Fox when they announced and then showed the first tower being hit. Pastor John and I looked at each other incredulous…what in the world was going on???? Pastor came for a short visit, stayed most of the day, glued to what was going on. It was almost too much to grasp. How could anyone plan and carry out such a terrible plan? How can anyone contemplate the murder of thousands of people? How can anyone hate that much?

Pastor and I both knew the Scripture, all the areas that speak to the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews, where and when it began. They started talking on the TV about Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and who else may be behind it. They certainly seemed the most likely candidates.

As you think about the horror of the incidents and the days that followed, do you like me TRY to grasp the depth of hatred and rage it takes to commit a deed like that, especially in “God’s” name??? I really cannot, but it tells me in the Scripture that it’s so and that they, would always be at odds with their brothers. Now, the question becomes, who are they and who are their brothers. For lots of background and details as well as Scripture verses to back these statements up in previous blogs. If you scroll up you can read the details in the blogs about Israel.

The story goes like this: God wanted a people of His own, to love, care for and fellowship with. He called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldea's, took him to another place to settle, Canaan. There was a famine and Abram took his family to Egypt for food. When they returned to Canaan they brought with them a maid for Sarai, Abram’s wife. Her name was Hagar. God promised Abram a land, and a posterity but he and Sarai were childless and getting quite old. So they decided to “help God out.” Culturally, it was ok if a servant had a child by the master, it was considered his and his wife’s. Hagar conceived, bore a son, named him Ishmael. Later, Sarai, now renamed Sara, conceived at the age of 90 and Abram, now renamed Abraham was 100. She bore a son, the son of promise and gift of God, and named him Isaac. Years later as conflict between the women and the boys grew, Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael  away, back toward Egypt, Hagar’s place of birth. Genesis tells us that God told Hagar that He would bless Ishmael because he was Abraham’s son, make 12 tribes from him and bless him. But…he would always be at odds with his brethren, the descendants of Isaac. He would be a wild man, live in tents. Ishmael lived this out along with Esau who was born later but also was not inclined toward Abraham’s God. Basically, if you read carefully through the Old Testament, you find they always worshipped pagan gods, always. This goes on even today, almost all Arabs and Muslim’s worship Allah, who is not the same god as Jehovah God. So you can see, over the years, the hatred grew and grew and today, the world is calling the Israeli’s  “occupier’s”. Not so, not only does the Bible give the area outline of what God gave the Jews, but history records the declarations of legal ownership granted Israel by the League of Nations and later the United Nations in 1948. Incidentally, the “Palestinians were offered equal territory in ‘48 but refused it. This is what we have today, in 2011, but it will soon end, God’s way.