From Lewdness to Faithfulness

God’s Word verifies what modern research says happens to those who become addicted to sexual perversion. Delving into disordered “love” releases a chemical in the brain (endorphins) that can be addictive. As a person does it more and more, they have to go to more hardcore material and activities to get the same chemical response as when they first began. Finally, they lose control of themselves, and become enslaved to destructive behavior.

The Word of God exposes similarities between Jerusalem’s behavior before it was destroyed and America’s behavior now. Surely, we were nothing when God found us, but He made us into a great nation. Why have we turned from God’s noble purpose for us to that which is ruining us?

God compared Jerusalem to the children of pagans because of her detestable practices. After birth, no one cut her umbilical cord, and no one washed the blood from her. No one clothed her. No one pitied her or had compassion on her. She was cast into an open field. She was despised the day she was born. [1]

God saved and nurtured her. She entered puberty. Her breasts and hair grew, but she was still naked. When God saw that she was old enough for love, He spread the corner of His garment over her and covered her nakedness. God made a solemn oath and covenant with her. So that she became His. He bathed her in water to wash the blood off of her and put ointments on her skin. He clothed her in a beautifully embroidered dress and put fine sandals on her feet. He adorned her with jewelry, put bracelets on her arms and a necklace around her neck. He put a ring on her nose, earrings on her ears and a beautiful crown on her head. So she was clothed with gold, silver, fine and costly fabric that was embroidered. He gave her honey, olive oil and the finest flour for her food. She became very beautiful and enjoyed the status of a queen. Her fame spread among the nations because of her beauty. The splendor God gave her made her beauty perfect. [2]

Jerusalem replaced trust in God with trust in her beauty. She prostituted herself in exchange for popularity. She gave her beauty to any passersby. She traded her beautiful garments for idols. The idols enslaved her. She sacrificed to demons. She formed her fine jewelry into idols. She had intimate relations with them. She gave her beautiful garments from God to her idols. She gave her fine food from God to idols. She presented her slaughtered children to idols. She gave her blessings from God to the devil. She forgot what God did for her. [3]

The Lord lamented with woes over her. She built shrines in public squares to her idols. She gave herself to Egypt because of their large genitals. The culture of Egypt focused on oversized sex parts just as pornographers and Hollywood filmmakers do today. She aroused God’s anger so that He stretched His hand against her and reduced her property. He handed her over to the Philistines. They were shocked by her behavior. She gave herself to the Assyrians. She had an insatiable desire for sex. Nothing could satisfy her. She went to the Babylonians for sex. Like an addict, she needed ever increasing amounts of fixes. She enraged God. She was sacrificed to increase not purge sin. [4]

God rightly called her an adulterous wife who preferred strangers to her own husband. Prostitutes receive gifts, but she gave gifts to anyone who would have sex with her. She defiled people. [5]

God promised to compel her lovers to strip her naked and execute her for being an adulteress. His jealous anger will judge her because she poured out her lust and exposed her nakedness to detestable idols. She slaughtered her children for them. God promised to compel people to destroy her idolatrous ways. To remove her fine clothing and jewelry! A mob will attack, stone, and hack her to pieces. They will burn down her houses and inflict punishment on her in the sight of many women. God will stop her prostitution. She will no longer pay people to use her. Then God’s anger will subside, and His jealousy will end. God is going to judge her for forgetting from where He brought her and because she enraged Him with her behavior. He will cause her to reap what she sowed. She was so lewd. [6]

God quotes a proverb, “Like mother, like daughter.” God says her mother was a pagan who despised her husband and children. Her sisters and father were all pagans. Her older sister was Samaria, and younger sister was Sodom. She followed their ways, copied their practices, and became more depraved than they were. Sodom never became as detestable to God as she did. [7]

Sodom’s sins were arrogance, gluttony, and apathy. She refused to help the poor and needy. She was haughty and detestable before the Lord. So, He put her away. Samaria did not commit half the sins Jerusalem did. Jerusalem made Samaria and Sodom seem righteous. Jerusalem’s sins were more vile than those who were previously the most famous cities for promiscuity. [8]

Jerusalem’s deeds deserved to be shamed. Previously, Jerusalem would not even mention Sodom because of her pride, but after her sin was exposed, the daughters of Edom and Philistia looked down on her for her lewdness. Everyone despised her. She was now experiencing the consequences of her detestable practices. [9]

God dealt with her as she deserved because she despised His promises to her by breaking covenant with Him. Yet, God promised to keep His covenant with her. The covenant He made with her before she became lewd. He made an everlasting covenant with her. His faithfulness will bring her to repentance. She will know that HE is the Lord. God will make atonement for her sin. She will know the Lord and never again open her mouth against Him because of her humiliation. [10]

May the Lord graciously bring America back from lewdness to faithfulness.

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” [11]

The truth is we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all need the sacrifice that Christ made for our sins. He alone lived a sinless life in this world. His blood was not tainted by sin and therefore He is God’s perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why He is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Father gives those who serve His Son Jesus the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us discern sin as a fiend not a friend. He gives us the power to live to glorify God. Only He can do that. True freedom comes from knowing Christ. [12]

[1] Ezekiel 16:1-5
[2] Ezekiel 16:6-14
[3] Ezekiel 16:15-22; 1 Corinthians 10:20
[4] Ezekiel 16:23-31
[5] Ezekiel 16:32-34
[6] Ezekiel 16:35-43
[7] Ezekiel 16:44-48
[8] Ezekiel 16:49-52
[9] Ezekiel 16:54-58
[10] Ezekiel 16:59-63
[11] John 8:32
[12] Romans 3:22-23; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-20; John 17:3

The Moabites

The Lord lamented for Moab. “He [Moab] is very proud in his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the arrogance of his heart.” The Lord describes Moab’s demise as sudden. One moment, a healthy creature and the next the prey of an eagle. “Behold, he will fly as an eagle, and will spread out his wings against Moab.” [1]

The Moabites worshipped Chemosh. In the days of Balaam, Moabite women seduced the Israelites to worship their god. Later, King Solomon married Moabite women and set up an altar to Chemosh. Chemosh worship yielded bad results. [2]

Moab was arrogant. “We have heard of the pride of Moab. He is very proud in his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the arrogance of his heart.” The Lord grieved over them. “My heart sounds for Moab like pipes…” “The abundance that he has gotten has perished.” “Moab will be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against the Lord.” Moab’s pride preceded their downward plunge. [3]

The Lord forewarned them that their cities would be destroyed. Even so, they continued to trust in their works and treasures. The Lord predicted, “The destroyer will come on every city, and no city will escape; the valley also will perish, and the plain will be destroyed.” [4]

Casual living ruined Moab. “Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: Therefore, his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.” [5]

The nature of God is to pour out Himself for others. God the Father poured out Himself for us by giving us His Son. The Son poured out Himself for us on the cross to give us eternal life. The Spirit poured out Himself into human flesh that we might have God’s abiding presence in us. If we want to remain fresh for God, we too must be poured out for God and others.

The Lord warned the Moabites that their judgment day was near. Their strong staff and beautiful rod would be broken! He named eleven of their cities that would be plundered. [6]

The Lord said, “Make him [Moab] drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord. Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will be in derision. For was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For as often as you speak of him, you shake your head.” Moab would reap contempt because contempt was what he had sown against Israel and others. The Lord declared, “I know his wrath… that it is nothing; his boastings have done nothing.” [7]

God wept for the Moabites because their summer fruits were about to be pillaged. Their joy and gladness were about to cease. Their winepresses would be dry. They would have no grapes to celebrate with joyous shouts. [8]

The Lord was going to remove those who offered incense to false gods. Their abundance would perish. Every head would be bald. Every beard clipped. God was breaking Moab up like a potter breaks up a vessel in which no one delights. Moab’s strongholds would be seized. The hearts of her mighty men would become like the hearts of women experiencing birth pangs. They would be destroyed as a people. The Moabites erred when they magnified themselves against God. [9]

The Moabite who fled in fear would fall into a pit. He who escaped from the pit would be trapped in a snare. A fire was ready to consume them. They were destined for captivity. [10]

Despite Moab’s sin, the Lord ended His prophecy to them with a promise. “Yet I will reverse the captivity of Moab in the latter days.” [11] The Lord is gracious. Although the Moabites deserved ruin, He promised to them restoration.

[1] Jeremiah 48:29, 40
[2] Numbers 25:1-2; 1 Kings 11:1, 7
[3] Jeremiah 48:29, 36, 42; Proverbs 16:18
[4] Jeremiah 48:8
[5] Jeremiah 48:11
[6] Jeremiah 48:18-24
[7] Jeremiah 48:26-27, 30
[8] Jeremiah 48:31-33
[9] Jeremiah 48:35-42
[10] Jeremiah 48:43-44
[11] Jeremiah 48:47

Can America Be Saved?

Let us consider what happened to Judah when he abandoned God! 

“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills. My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country. Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever.” [1]

God’s people had sinned to the point of becoming hardened in sin. Sin was engraved in their hearts. Their children didn’t attend Torah instruction, didn’t pray, and didn’t lift a finger to help anyone. The nation was adrift from God!

When people turn their back on God, bad things happen. Hardship and hunger are outcomes of a prodigal lifestyle. Enemy attacks increase. No one comes to the rescue when God takes His hand off of a nation.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’” [2]

Ben Stein produced a video entitled, “Expelled” in the which he interviewed the highly accomplished scientists Dr. Sternberg and Dr. Carolyn Mason. They lost their jobs because they dared to speak up for intelligent design. They were labeled intellectual terrorists. Dangerous to society! Atheistic scientists and writers mock God and seek to silence anyone who speaks up for Him.

When the Lord said, “Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the Lord.” He is saying that humanism leads to a curse. Exalting the created over the Creator is what Satan does. His denial and demeaning of the Creator shall bring him to the Lake of Fire.

The Lord said, “They will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” God says that atheistic humanism dries a person up. Atheism humanism has turned one nation after another into a spiritual desert. It saps the life out of man’s soul and eventually, out of his whole nation.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward everyone according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.’” [3]

The problem with closing one’s ears and eyes to God is that without Him, we have no idea how deceived we are. Jesus said to Pilate, “For this reason I was born and came into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” [4] Jesus is truth personified.

In “Expelled,” Ben went to a mental health facility in Germany where Hitler had ordered the extermination of over 15,000 people. They were handicapped. They were useless for work. “Lives deemed unworthy of life.” Hitler believed that the human race was breaking the law of natural selection. Only the strong should survive. Based on Darwinism, he came up with the idea to eliminate inferior people. Dr. Richard Weikart wrote a book entitled, “From Darwin to Hitler” in which he proves Nazism’s strong ties to Darwinism. You can listen and watch his lecture on this topic on YouTube.

In the past, America sterilized 50,000 people because they were considered too feeble-minded to be allowed to reproduce. Margaret Stranger, one of the founders of Planned Parenthood, wanted to eliminate the poor and certain races of people.

Today, many favor eugenics. Eugenics is genetic engineering. The goal of eugenics is to engineer healthier and stronger people much like agriculturalists develop new breeds of animals and plants. The insidious side of eugenics is that it declares a death sentence to any unborn person deemed unhealthy while in the womb. When one group of humans are dehumanized, then, a foundation is laid to dehumanize and destroy any group of humans.

According to Dr. James Waller, a specialist on genocidal studies, all it takes for genocide to happen is for one group of people to dehumanize another group. For example, in Rwanda, the Tutsi’s came to believe the Hutu’s were cockroaches, and should be exterminated! Within 30 days, the Tutsi’s slaughtered 800,000 Hutu’s.

The point here is that without the God, we create horrible solutions to problems that we cannot solve. Then, we eliminate people instead of problems.

“Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end, they will prove to be fools.” [5] Millionaires have committed suicide because after they got what they wanted, they either lost it all or found that it was not as fulfilling as they imagined it would be.

“Let my persecutors be put to shame but keep me from shame; let them be terrified but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.” [6]

Truth-speaking scientists, reporters, and educators have suffered persecution and personal loss due to their stand for God. Jeremiah prayed that his persecutors would be put to shame. He prayed that he would not be ashamed or terrorized. He wanted persecutors of truth to experience a day of disaster. He wanted God to destroy them with double destruction because they were destroying his nation!

Some atheistic writers devote themselves to sabotaging people’s faith in Christ. Richard Dawkins wrote “The God Delusion.” People purchased more than a million copies of the book. It is an attack on religion! Richard Dawkins is now dead. He now knows that God is REAL!

“This is what the Lord said to me: ‘Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem and this city will be inhabited forever. People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’” [7]

God told Jeremiah to speak at the entrance gates of Jerusalem. He was to speak to cargo bearers and consumers. He told them to stop shopping on Sabbath Days. They were to devote one day in seven to the Lord. He told them not to be stiff-necked. He urged them to respond to the Lord’s call to worship. God told them that if they listened their future would be bright, but if they continued to prefer shopping to worship, He would kindle an unquenchable fire to destroy their nation.

It is vital to keep the Sabbath Day! In God’s house the Word of God is preached. We need God! His Word is taught in Sunday school and preached in worship services. We need the fellowship of other believers.

Twenty-first century America is like Jeremiah’s Jerusalem. We have politicians, judges, scientists, media moguls and educators who convince people to reject Jesus Christ and the Bible, but one day every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus said that the way to destruction is broad, and many are entering into it. The way to life is narrow. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus calls us to be His followers. We need to make a choice. We can’t be half in and half out.

America is sinking. We are floundering. We are adrift from truth. We hit the iceberg. Water is pouring in. Our nose is in the water. The rest of the ship will soon follow.

Is it too late to save America? Should we just give up? No, as long as America exists, we need to speak God’s Word. We need to urge and persuade people to repent of sin, turn from it and submit to God.

The only hope for our nation is Jesus Christ. He is not just an idea. He is the Son of God! He transforms sinners into saints. Jesus has real power. Not power to exploit or abuse, but to care. He empowers us to love God and people like we never have before. Even to love and care for orphans, widows, and foreigners!

Ship America may go down, but let’s save as many lives as possible before it does.

[1] Jeremiah 17:1-4
[2] Jeremiah 17:5-8
[3] Jeremiah 17:9-10
[4] John 18:37
[5] Jeremiah 17:11
[6] Jeremiah 17:18
[7] Jeremiah 17:19-27 



The Foreigner, Widow and Fatherless

“If you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. Do not walk after other gods to your hurt. Then, I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.” [1]

Jeremiah spoke at the gate of God’s house. His goal was to call his listeners to repent of sin and to return to the Lord. He turned up the volume. He stood in a public place. He vocalized with vim and vigor what God wanted them to hear.

When Jesus entered God’s house in Jerusalem some 500 years later, He did so with a whip in hand. The Spirit of the Lord led Him to drive the buyers and sellers out. He overturned the tables of money changers. Jesus referenced Jeremiah’s temple message, when He asked them, “Has this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?” [2]

The Lord uproots and removes evil before planting and growing goodness. For example, after Jesus cleansed the temple, something wonderful happened. He healed the blind and lame. [3]

I am glad that Jesus drove evil out of my temple. He dashed my idols of fame and fortune to the ground. Jesus replaced my counterfeit faith with true religion. “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” [4]

Once, after I asked the Lord to help visit me a widow and a fatherless child, He connected me the very next day to a young lady who had lost her father. She invited my family to visit her widowed mother. This widow and her three daughters believed in Christ. Three years after that, the Lord opened the door for us to serve orphans. The orphans included a blind girl named Ho Sui Kam, a lame girl named Taan Fa and boy with an enlarged heart named Chan Ling. We talked of Jesus together and sang songs of deliverance.

I am so glad God fills us with His love for foreigners, the fatherless and widows. Humble ministry to the poor is better than extravagant temples and meaningless religious ceremonies. I am glad that Jesus is more than just a building and a name.

True religion involves communicating directly with God and healing people. True religion involves joy in caring for foreigners, the fatherless and widows. In Christ, true religion can spring forth where once only dead counterfeit religion existed.

[1] Jeremiah 7:5-7
[2] Luke 19:45; John 2:15-17; Jeremiah 7:11
[3] Matthew 21:12-14
[4] James 1:27

Return to Me

What are you facing today? The Lord says, “Return to Me.”

What unresolved problems? The Lord says, “Return to Me.”

What fears? The Lord says, “Return to Me.”

What emotions? The Lord says, “Return to Me.”

“Return… for I am merciful.” “Return... I will cure you of backsliding.” “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” “...’Return to Me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord of hosts...” [1]

The Heavenly Father, He...
Forgives all your iniquities,
Heals all your diseases,
Redeems your life from destruction,
Crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Satisfies your mouth with good things,

Renews your youth like the eagle’s.
He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” [2]

The Lord says, “Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [3]

For the thirsty. the Spirit of the Living God beckons to us, “Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” [4] Be refreshed! Be filled until overflowing. Don’t just survive – thrive!

“...His compassions fail not. They are new every morning...” [5]

Enjoy your Heavenly Father! Praise Him! Thank Him! Share what He means to You with someone! Let others know of His love and faithfulness. Isn’t He wonderful? Yes, He is!

[1a] Jeremiah 3:12, 22; Isaiah 55:7 Malachi 3:7
[2] Psalm 103:3-5, 8
[3] Matthew 11:28
[4] Revelation 22:17
[5] Lamentations 3:22-23

The Lord’s Appearance Our Blessed Hope

I don’t want to fear Christ’s appearance. When He appears, it is good news for us believers. Movies have been made to strike fear in the hearts of people about the Lord’s return. It concerns me when Christians fear His return. The Lord’s return is our blessed hope. [1]

What is the rapture and what is the second coming? The rapture is an appearance by the Lord in the air. During the rapture, Christians are caught up in the air to be forever with the Lord. During the rapture, Jesus comes as a groom for His bride. He delivers His Church from the end-time plagues that are designed to bring the unrepentant to repentance. During the ten plagues on Egypt, Satan’s people, the Egyptians, experienced the plagues, God’s did not. During the second coming, Christ returns to the earth as a mighty conqueror on a horse with the saints following Him. He returns in wrath and vengeance to judge the world with righteousness. He returns as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The second coming of Christ brings an end to this world and begins a new one.

What does the Bible say about Jesus Christ our blessed hope?

“Many will come from the east and west and take their place at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” [2] Most of us enjoy fine dining with wonderful people. Jesus described heaven as a place of dining and fellowship. No one will be hungry or outcast there.

Those who enter into eternity with Jesus enter into the joy of the Lord. [3]

Jesus called eternity with God paradise. “Truly I tell you, TODAY, you will be with Me in paradise.” [4] The word paradise comes from the Persian language. It means a beautiful garden or park. The Garden of Eden was a paradise. The second coming of Christ will be paradise restored.

The resurrection of believers in Christ happens in this way: “The body that is sown is perishable, is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.” [5] These earth suits are sown into the soil and come up heavenly bodies. We are currently wearing seed-bodies. These seed-bodies shall turn into heavenly bodies by the power of God. It is like being planted as an orchid seed and coming up an orchid flower.

“We will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed! For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” [6] What kind of bodies will we have in heaven? We will have imperishable bodies.

Christians encourage one another to hope in the Lord’s appearance. “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” [7]

The Day of the Lord is an award ceremony for servants of Christ. “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” [8]

Abraham “looked forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” We believers in Christ share a longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called our God, for He has prepared a city for us.” [9]

The Heavenly Jerusalem is a city so large that it covers most of the continental USA. It is made of precious jewels and metals. No earthly city can be compared with it. It is a place of righteousness, peace, and joy. It’s a place of abundance! Of angels singing! People loving God! No more war or death! The parties and parks here do not compare with the joy and splendor of heaven. [10]

To reject Jesus Christ is to excuse self from heaven. Entrance into heaven is via Jesus Christ. He is the door to heaven. No one gets in apart from faith in Him. [11]

Some people won’t be in heaven. It is disturbing to think that they will be excluded from heaven. They will be cast into hell with the devil and his angels. [12]

The movie, “Like a Thief in the Night” begins with a young man telling people about the return of Christ. As he speaks, the movie camera pans the room. Some were listening, others were not. After the message, a trio sang the song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” by Larry Norman. Verse two goes like this:

“A man and wife asleep in bed,
She hears a noise and turns her head,
He’s gone.
I wish we’d all be ready.

Two men walking up a hill,
One disappears and one’s left standing still.
I wish we’d all been ready.

There’s no time to change your mind.
The Son has come, and you’ve been left behind.” [13]

While we need to be deeply concerned for those who will be left behind, we need to consider our Lord’s return as our blessed hope. “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” This is our bridegroom returning for us His bride. [14]

Jesus said in: “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” [15]

What is “the thief” breaking into steal? His people! Jesus is coming for His elect! “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if that were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and TAKE YOU to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” [16]

Tribulations are coming, but so is the Lord! He will not forsake us. Yes, our nation may continue to backslide. Our world may continue to become more evil, but the Lord will not forget us. He will remember His own. He WILL save us!

“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and OUR BEING GATHERED TO HIM, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the Day of the Lord has already come.” [17] Can you imagine how terrified you would be if someone convinced you by a letter or prophecy that the rapture had already happened? You were left behind! That’s what some false teachers did to the Thessalonians. They told them that the Lord had come, and they had been left behind.

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the apostasy occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be god.” [18] Remember this: Apostasy precedes Parousia. Apostasy means to stand apart from God. Parousia means appearance – meaning the Lord’s appearance. When we see more and more people who once attended Church turn away from Jesus, it is a sign that He is coming soon for His elect.

Beware of becoming bitter about those left behind. In the 1940’s, there were two evangelists who led thousands of souls to Christ. One’s name is well known the others’ is not. Have you heard of Billy Graham? Yes! Have you heard of Torrey Johnson? Most likely not! Torrey Johnson started out well but was overtaken by grief for the perishing. At first, it troubled him. Later, it became a bitter root in his soul. Finally, he stopped evangelizing because he forsook the Lord.

“Be careful lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.” [19] We have to leave those who reject Jesus to God. Only God sees the whole picture.

The rich man in a parable of Jesus did not want his five brothers to end up in hell with him. He begged Father Abraham to send Lazarus to testify to them so that they would not end up in the place of torment. Lost souls do not want us in hell with them. The rich man ended up in hell because he disregarded God and neighbor. He gambled that God would not condemn him. He sure changed his tune in hell. No one should take God lightly. [20]

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” [21] For believers, the appearance of Christ is about redemption. Jesus returns to redeem us. Though we are sinners just like the rest, we have repented, and washed our robes in His blood. He has written our names in His Book of Life! Therefore, we are looking up. We expect to see Him soon.

[1] Titus 2:13
[2] Matthew 8:11
[3] Matthew 25:21
[4] Luke 23:24
[5] 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49
[6] 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
[7] 1Thessalonians 4:16-18
[8] 2 Timothy 4:8
[9] Hebrews 11:10, 16
[10] Revelation 19; 21-22
[11] John 10:1-7; 14:6
[12] Revelation 20:10-15
[13] Matthew 24:40-44
[14] Matthew 24:30-31
[15] Matthew 24:40-44
[16] John 14:1-3
[17] 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
[18] 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4
[19] Hebrews 11:15
[20] Luke 16:27-28
[21] Luke 21:28

The Lord Desires Mercy

When John the Baptist wanted to know if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus assured John with the following report: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” [1] Our Savior’s signature work is love in action.

When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. He encouraged them to: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” [2]

Once, Jesus told a rich young ruler, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come and follow Me.” [3]

“Come and follow Me.” What an opportunity for the rich young ruler! But when he heard this, he went away sad. He had great wealth. He wanted the Lord, but he also wanted his wealth.

Jesus already had one Judas Iscariot. Someone who would betray him for money! The rich young ruler was not ready to exchange his lifestyle for the kind that Jesus described.

The Apostle Paul expressed the key to his walk with Jesus this way: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” [4] Paul depended on Jesus to walk as Jesus walks.

Missionary to Ecuador and martyr for Christ, Jim Elliott, expressed the key to his walk with Jesus this way: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, expressed the key to his walk with Jesus this way: “Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

The Lord desires mercy. To follow Jesus means to be merciful. To follow Jesus is the opportunity to let one’s love be great! To follow Jesus is to have faith in His faithfulness. As we do His will, He supplies all our needs according to HIS riches and glory. Praise the Lord!

[1] Matthew 11:5
[2] Matthew 9:10-13
[3] Matthew 19:21-22
[4] Galatians 2:20

21st Century Jeremiah

I praise God for revealing to us how He reached out to a young man named Jeremiah and called him to be a prophet to the nations. God describes how He did it in the first chapter. Jeremiah felt inadequate for the task, and he was, but God promised to be with him and help him. In the first chapter, God gave Jeremiah two visions and explained the meaning of the visions to him. Thus, his prophetic ministry began because God supplied him the light to do it. [1]

God strengthened Jeremiah to share His message with His people. Though some hated, falsely accused, beat, and imprisoned him, God helped him to keep bringing forth His Word to people. God also gave Jeremiah the necessary love, patience, and endurance to care for the people that God had entrusted to him.

On July 18, 2012, I established a blog site “21st Century Jeremiah” to share the messages of Jeremiah, the prophets, the apostles, and the messages of our Lord Jesus Christ with people. God’s Word is light. Needed light for our dark world!

When I went to Hong Kong in June of 1985, it was on a gut sense, a knowing, that God called me. I went by faith, trusting in the promises recorded in His Word. That mission involved hardships, lean times and even persecution, but by the grace of our Lord Jesus and working of the Holy Spirit, it yielded good fruit. Orphans and widows were visited! Many lost souls believed in Jesus. Glory to God!

Now, I am praying, “Heavenly Father, if you want me to be like Jeremiah during this twenty-first century, then, please be with me! Please develop and cultivate me. Please also make me like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall to stand for You. [2] Help me lead distant people from You to become close with You!

May the Lord be glorified and may souls be saved.

[1] Jeremiah 1:4-19
[2] Jeremiah 1:18


The City of God

Have you ever heard of a book called “The City of God?” It was published in 426 by Augustine of Hippo, also known as Saint Augustine.

Augustine witnessed the fall of “Christianized” Rome to pagans. In response to this dramatic event, he wrote, “The City of God.” He envisioned two rival cities formed by two loves. The earthly city, formed by love of self even to the contempt of God, stands in contrast with the heavenly city, the city of God, founded and shaped by love of God even to the contempt of self. These two cities are progressing along separate paths toward different ends.

One city is about love of self and the other about love of God. The love of self over the love of God and neighbour tends to prevail in this sinful world, but one day, sin will be no more, and there will only exist a City of God... thanks to JESUS!

The City of God is not of this world. Jesus is preparing it for those who believe in Him and confess Him before people.

Jesus said to His disciples, “...I go to prepare a place for you.” [1] What will it be like? Jesus revealed the city to John the Apostle. It will come down from heaven. It is where God and humanity dwell together. New Jerusalem has streets of pure gold, walls of jewels and gates of pearl. There is a crystal sea. Far from being a ghost town, it has inhabitants from every tribe, language, and nation. God dwells there! There is no more death, pain, or war in New Jerusalem. There is no hunger or thirst in New Jerusalem. There is no more devil or antichrists in New Jerusalem. [2]

Jesus described His city as paradise to the dying thief next to Him on the cross. Abraham called it a city whose builder and maker was God. [3] Peter called it a city wherein dwells righteousness. [4] The hope of getting there empowered Moses to endure the insults of the world rather than enjoy the pleasures and riches of Egypt for a season. [5]

New Jerusalem comes down from God above. It is His work. “The city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [is a place of] an innumerable company of angels.” [6]

What a great salvation! No wonder the writer of Hebrews wrote: “exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” [7]

[1] John 14:2
[2] Revelation 21-22
[3] Hebrew 11:10
[4] 2 Peter 3:13
[5] Hebrews 11:26
[6] Hebrews 12:22
[7] Hebrews 3:13-14

Overcoming Evil

The following Bible verses provide guidance for those who are battling evil in their effort to share the Gospel with people.

Pray: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” [1]

“Submit yourselves to God! Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” [2]

Listen to your conscious. The Bible warns against a conscious seared by fire. [3] A conscious seared by fire does not work. A good conscious is rooted in the fear of God. Praise God for your conscious.

“For this purpose, was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” [4]

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Jesus said this in response to the disciples telling Him, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” [5]

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons...” [6] 

“Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” “I cast out demons by the Spirit of God.” Jesus referred to casting out demons as robbing a strongman of his goods. The strong man is a metaphor for a demon. The binding of him refers to how Jesus disables him as the believer places him in the hands of God. The “spoiling” of the strong man’s goods refers to his captive being set free from him. [7]

“They overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” [8] The blood of the Lamb cancelled all Satan’s claims against us because the blood of the Lamb removed our sins. The Word of our Testimony is JESUS. He is our Redeemer. Whether or not the Lord delivers us from death threats, we are determined to serve Him... “they did not love their lives to the death.”

“God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” [9]

The mission of the Church is “to open the eyes of unbelievers, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them which are made holy by faith in Christ.” [10]

The Lord provides us spiritual weapons and protection to overcome the evil one. [11]

We are more than conquerors through Christ that loves us. [12]

The day is coming when evil will end. However, until that day we must fight the good fight of faith. [13]

To seek to save souls is to enter the battle against Satan.

The awesomely bright side to spiritual warfare is SALVATION. One of the greatest of blessings this side of heaven is to be God’s vessel to share the Gospel with a lost soul and see that person saved by the power of Christ.

[1] Matthew 6:13
[2] James 4:7
[3] 1 Timothy 4:2
[4] 1 John 3:8
[5] Luke 5:17, 19
[6] Mark 16:17; (Mark 9:38-39; Acts 16:18; 19:11-16)
[7] Matthew 12:28-29
[8] Revelation 12:11
[9] 2 Timothy 1:7
[10] Acts 26:18

[11] Ephesians 6:10-18
[12] Romans 8:37
[13] Revelation 20:10, 15; 1Timothy 6:12

A Beautiful Life

A man with great material wealth wrote Ecclesiastes from the perspective of a self-minded person. He had denied himself no pleasure, but after those pleasures were experienced, depression set in. Thanks to God, he came to his senses, and wrote Ecclesiastes to encourage others not to make the same mistake that he did.

Rivalry may be used as a motivator to spur on work, but rivalry doesn’t result in revival. Revival springs forth from a heart that is set free from the sinful self and filled with love by Jesus Christ.

“He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” [1]

“Thank You Heavenly Father for making beautiful that which lacked beauty. Please help us to fathom Your doings more fully.”

“I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear Him.” [2]

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wonderful works.”

“Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” [3] Abiding in God’s love yields tranquility whereas sinful pride never has enough.

King Solomon describes the life of wisdom in the passage below:

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath: one person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse those who hoard grain, but they pray God’s blessing on those who are willing to sell. Whoever seeks good finds favor...” [4]

Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give.” [5]

God’s love initiates well-being and good outcomes. When we abide in His love, good things happen. The love of Christ compels us to be what we would never be on our own, namely, a person whose beauty is from God, and is for the glory of God!

[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11
[2] Ecclesiastes 3:14
[3] Ecclesiastes 4:6
[4] Proverbs 11:24-27
[5] Matthew 10:8

Christ the Vein Where True Treasures are Hidden

“Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.” “Its stones are the source of sapphires, and it contains gold dust.” [1]

From fire and rock, from heat and hardness come precious jewels and metals. Miners go to great depths and endure hardships to mine these treasures.

Job speaks of something more valuable than precious stones and metals. Those shiny objects were of no use to him in the day that tried like fire. He asks, “Where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.” [2]

Job contrasts the value of wisdom with fine gold, onyx, and sapphire. Is wisdom really better than costly metals or precious jewels? As if comparing wisdom to gold and precious jewels was not enough, Job continued and said wisdom is better than crystal, coral, pearls, rubies, topaz, and pure gold. [3]

Where can wisdom be found? Job concluded, “God understands its way, and He knows its place.” [4] God points us to His Son Jesus Christ in the Bible as His wisdom.

“...Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” [5] “Christ Jesus became for us wisdom from God.” [6] “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” [7]

To acquire true treasure we need not dig deep into the heart of the earth. We need to simply humble ourselves before God as a child turns to a parent for help. Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children.” [8]

Paul declared, “The Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” [9] Jesus reveals to us the most meaningful and inspiring riches of this life. He is the vein where true treasures are hidden. He invites you and me to partake of Him today.

[1] Job 28:1-2, 6
[2] Job 28:12-13
[3] Job 28:15-20
[4] Job 28:23
[5] 1 Corinthians 1:25
[6] 1 Corinthians 1:30
[7] Colossians 2:2-3
[8] Matthew 11:25
[9] Galatians 1:11-12

Streets of Gold Not Shades of Grey

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” [1]

Jesus warned against lust. He made it clear that lust leads to hell. It is that serious!

I do not like to talk about lust, but it is something with which we must deal. When Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount, He devoted a paragraph to it.

Lust distorts one’s perspective of people. It objectifies them. It de-humanizes others for the sake of personal gratification. Lust is not love. It is selfish.

Jesus said that to be with Him we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him. [2] God’s love lays down one’s own life to make another’s life better. It is about valuing others more than self. Jesus Christ empowers us to love as God loves. We must be in a relationship with God to have His love.

One of my favorite illustrations on God’s love is found in the Trinity: The Father so loved the world that He gave His Son, the Son so loved the world that He gave His life, and the Holy Spirit so loved the world that He deigned to live in humans who believe in Christ. The Bible says: “God is love.” [3] Love is His essence and nature.

The carnal self likes to recklessly enjoy sin. The problem with sin is that after we leave this life for the next one, there is a Judge, and His job is to ensure that no sin enters heaven. And no sin will! Sin must be dealt with at the cross or at the judgment seat. Which will it be?

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit reminds us of what Jesus said, namely, that if we embrace lust, we will lose our whole body in hell.

Lust is not a friend. It is a fiend. Lust is not something to gamble on. Those who do, lose.

The Bible urges us to FLEE from lusts. [4] Martin Luther taught, “You cannot stop birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair.” We need to treat lustful thoughts like the ugly demons they are.

The Bible says, “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” [5] Love God! Hate provocative images. They are robbers. Read Proverbs chapters 5-7 to hear what the wisest man in the world said about lust.

In the Book of Revelation, there are two women: the Bride of Christ and the Harlot Babylon. Babylon is described as an enemy of God's saints. She seeks to destroy them. The Bride of Christ is described as God’s holy people. She is the one who inherits God and His blessings. Babylon is the one who is destroyed by God. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus encourages His people to have nothing to do with Babylon.

If there is anything worth pursuing, it is God’s holiness. Holy vessels do not taint what God pours through them. Jesus said, “For their sake I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” [7] Holiness is about being God’s blessing to others.

With the release of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and other movies of this genre, hell has opened wide its mouth to devour souls. Like fish plucked from the sea, once people take the bait, they are hooked and captured. Unless they submit themselves to God and resist the devil, the devil will NOT flee from them. They will be his captives. They will be his quarry.

Repent of lust. Ask God to forgive you. Ask God to rescue you from it. Lust has the potential to destroy your soul in hell. It is that serious. Ask God to keep you from temptation and deliver you from evil. Jesus said, “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.” [6] Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with God’s love. Live to love not to lust!

In the Book of Revelation, an angel showed John the streets in New Jerusalem. They were made of gold so pure that a person can see through them. Choose gold not grey. Choose God not lust. Heaven is where God and humanity dwell in unity. There are multitudes of angels and people there. It is a place of singing and joy unspeakable. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” [8]

[1] Matthew 5:27-29
[2] Matthew 16:24
[3] 1 John 4:8, 16
[4] 2 Timothy 2:22
[5] James 4:7
[6] John 8:36
[7] John 17:19
[8] Colossians 3:2; (Revelation 21-22)

Five more Bible verses on holiness:

1 Thessalonians 5:23: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

2 Corinthians 6:1: “As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4: “This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.”

De-escalating Verbal Violence

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” [1]

Stay calm. Don’t lose self-control. The more you stress you lose control of your emotional self and become irrational. KNOW your reaction level. If you are getting angry, KNOW when to back off.

We don’t know what just happened in a person’s life to make them behave the way they are.

Signs of emotional duress include pacing, wringing of hands, fidgety, and sweating profusely. Don’t avoid the upset person. Ask how they are. Spend time listening. Only speak when you need to clarify your understanding of what they just said. Then, stop talking again.

People often resolve their own issues if we respond to their expressed needs by asking them what THEY plan to do about it. What are the options THEY are considering? We don’t take their problem on. We let them talk about how THEY will resolve the problem.

When a person is defensive, they usually start talking progressively louder. They may swear and become derogatory. It is usually during an agitated moment that they become violent. Don’t use a direct approach, i.e., “you (something).” Instead, say, “I’m concerned about your behavior. You may hurt yourself or someone else.”

When speaking with an irate person, stand at a slight angle to them as opposed to straight in front of them eye to eye and nose to nose. Face to face can be threatening. To stand at a side-angle conveys help rather than confrontation. Also, we should stand with our arms down and palms out to convey non-aggressive behavior.

Learn the art of setting limits. Outline for the person what behavior is allowed and what is not. For example, with an irate person, you could say, “Please try to get your anger under control. If you can’t get your anger under control, we will have to ask you to leave. If you cool down, we can sit and talk.” After telling them their positive and negative options, let them choose. Do enforce the consequence if they don’t listen.

Statistics show that people with mental issues are apt to be the victims of violence more than the perpetrators of it. Drugs can cause violent tendencies. Give people with a history of violence a shorter leash before intervening. Significant losses can negatively affect a person’s behavior.

People act against a perceived threat. The average personal space someone needs is three feet. Back up if tension is escalating. If you are too close, they may feel threatened. If you are a big person talking to a small person, consider backing up more. Older people tend to expect more space than younger people. Consider the volume and tone of your language. Sarcasm is a reaction to stress. A person on the defense may challenge you or defy you.

Power struggles are an emotional landmine. People may challenge your authority and credibility. When you are locked into a power struggle with a non-compliant person, focus on the problem at hand and not on the power struggle. If we take the threat personally, we become more focused on self. Ignore insults and stay with the issues at hand.

CARE stands for...

Concentrate - give full attention with body language and words
Acknowledge - nod head and consider what is said
Respond - repeat what they said back to them
Empathy - see through the eyes of another

Remember to:

Explain which specific behavior is inappropriate
Explain why the behavior is inappropriate
Give reasonable choices with consequences
Allow time to comply so as not to seem to give an ultimatum
Enforce the consequence if necessary
Time is your friend; the longer you can delay enforcement the better

“Code red” can be used as a signal for another person to help. Call 911 immediately if the situation is uncontrollable. [2]

[1] Matthew 5:9
[2] 8.2.12 notes from teaching by Mr. Steve Wiggins. Former Administrator at the Kentucky Western State Mental Hospital

The Hour that Changes the World

Jesus is an intercessor. What a blessing it is to find ourselves joining Him in intercession! What a blessing it is to see our prayers answered!

Dick Eastman wrote in his book, The Hour that Changes the World: “We constantly find Jesus praying. He prayed among hypocrites in the temple, in crowds, on hillsides cluttered with disciples, in crowded upper room, and alone on mountainsides outside Jerusalem. Prayer was more than a part of Christ’s life; it was His life.” [1]

“Prayer sees God’s infinite power. Prayer surrenders our problems to God and asks for Divine intervention.” [2]

Jesus asked His disciples only one question specifically related to the subject of prayer. While in Gethsemane, He asked them, “Could you not watch with Me one hour?” [3]

“Would you consider giving God a daily, sacrificial gift of time. Not just a few spare minutes here or there, but a substantial gift – perhaps even as much as 60 minutes every day? It would be time spent alone with God in personal worship, prayer and reading of His Word.” [4]

Hans Von Staden made this statement about prayer, “When man works man works; when man prays, God works.” A.T. Pierson once said, “Every step in the progress of missions is directly traceable to prayer.” God works through prayer because prayer requires a relationship with Him.

Dick Eastman suggests that we give an hour per day to the Lord to pray. He breaks the hour up into twelve five-minute disciplines. They are praise, waiting, confession, Scripture praying, watching, intercession, petition, thanksgiving, singing, meditation, listening and praise.

WHY PRAISE

“Praise puts God in His rightful position at the outset of our praying. In praising God we declare His sovereignty and recognize His nature and power. Praise decentralizes self. One cannot praise God without relinquishing occupation with self.” [5]

“Not only does praise open our devotional hour to an outpouring of God’s glory, but it sends Satan running. He cannot tolerate the presence of God. God inhabits the praises of His people. Adoration is the antidote to the poison of satanic oppression.” [6]

“The full meaning of praise can be captured in its Old French origin, ‘preiser,’ which means to ‘prize.’ To praise God is to prize God. The word ‘prize’ means to ‘value, esteem and cherish something.’ During our times of praise we esteem God with our words of adoration.” [7]

WHY WAIT

“Waiting on the Lord is a silent surrendering of the soul to God.” [8]

“John of Damascus, the ancient Greek theologian, defined waiting as ‘the elevation of the mind to God.’ It is wholly being taken up with God. God says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Strong relationships are best cultivated in silence.” [9]

WHY CONFESS

“God cannot hear the prayers on our lips often because the desires of our heart after the world cry out to Him much more strongly and loudly than our desires for Him.” “An awareness of our past failures especially tends to buffet the mind as we pray. Suddenly we feel hopelessly unworthy of offering our petitions. The devil has gained a victory and soon we stop praying altogether.” [10]

“God knows our sin, but we need to know it and confess it. Likewise, we need to confess our utter dependence on God for our attitude, direction, and power to do what is right. The moment we admit that a particular act displeases God, we recognize the responsibility to change it. Sin causes indifference, and it is impossible for indifferent people to change the world.”

“If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened.” [11]

“This is why confession is critical to our praying… It clears the conscience of faith-killing guilt and opens the heart to truly believe God will hear our petitions.” [12]

“Bitterness towards others drains prayer of power. The greatest danger in having enemies is not what they may do to us – it is what we do to ourselves as we allow harsh, bitter, angry reactions to develop.” [13]

King David made three confessions. He confessed his need for divine attitude, divine guidance, and divine unction. Divine attitude: “Renew a right spirit in me.” Divine guidance: “Cast me not away from Thy presence.” Divine unction: “Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.” [14]

WHY PRAY SCRIPTURE

“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” “The Word alone is the source of faith.” [15] “Every promise of Scripture is a writing of God, which may be pleaded before Him with this reasonable request, ‘Do as Thou hast said!’ The Creator will not cheat the creature who depends upon His truth; and far more, the Heavenly Father will not break His Word to His own child.” [16]

WHY WATCH

Jesus said to, “Watch and pray!” Peter said to, “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.” “Much praying is hampered by a dull, drowsy frame of mind.” [17]

“I’ve posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. Day and night they keep at it, praying, calling out, reminding God to remember.” “Appointing watchmen to guard walled cities was common custom in Bible days.” The intercessor’s ministry is to keep watch over his community’s well-being by faithfully praying to God for the people. [18]

Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as you pray. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.” [19]

“The great lesson for every time of prayer is – to see to it, first of all, that you commit yourself to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and with entire dependence on Him, give Him the first place; for through Him your prayers will have a value you cannot imagine, and through Him also you learn to speak out your desires in the Name of Christ.” [20]

WHY INTERCEDE

“Intercession is prayer offered on behalf of another. When the prayer warrior intercedes, he forgets his personal needs and focuses all of his faith and prayer attention on others.” “There are two essential questions the prayer warrior should ask himself as he goes about the ministry of intercession. They are: ‘How much awareness do I have relative to the problems of world evangelism?’ and, ‘Am I aware of how Satan is working to hinder God’s workers.’” [21]

“To intercede is to stand between a lost being and an Almighty God, praying that this person will come to know about God and his salvation.” “Our prayer does not save the sinner, but somehow it serves to prepare his heart for the moment word reaches him of Christ’s love.” [22]

“Four specific times, the apostle Paul spoke of ‘making mention’ of his fellow Christians in prayer. Surely the apostle did not spend his entire waking time praying for every specific need of each fellow Christian. Instead, he confidently lifted their names before God, fully trusting God to bless each of them.” [23]

We need to pray that God will turn the spiritual blindness of unbelievers to sight because, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” [24]

Intercessions for missionaries including names of countries and national leaders:

More laborers to the harvest
Open doors for these workers
Fruit as a result of their efforts
Finances to expand their work [25]

WHY PETITION

“If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that He may have, you and I cannot expect to have the rule relaxed in our favor. Prayer is man opening his heart’s door to receive power already appropriated by God. Expressed helplessness is the key to opening that door, thus giving God access to our need. We must define the need.” [26]

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” “Jabez was bold enough to ask of God a blessing. God not only honored the request but chose to use Jabez as an example of how He longs to answer our sincere petitions.” [27]

“The more specific and complete the petition, the more faith is generated when we bring it to God. The petition should be simple and sincere. Eloquence is not necessary for effective praying. Even the simplest petition, when offered in faith, opens doors to the miraculous. ‘Lord, teach me to ask!’” [28]

WHY THANKSGIVING

“Thanksgiving helps me focus on God’s faithfulness. Thanksgiving might well be labeled ‘a confession of blessings.’ It is during this aspect of prayer that we recognize all of life’s blessings and confess them before God. Like praise, thanksgiving places the believer’s attention where it must be centered to make prayer effective.”

“When Jesus began His prayer to raise Lazarus from the dead and when He began His prayer for food for the thousands of hungry people around Him, He began by saying, “I thank You…” It is precisely when the need brought to us is greater than we could ever meet that we should begin our prayer by saying, “I thank You, Father.” [29] Thank God for His faithfulness in the past. Thank Him in advance for what He is going to do against the overwhelming odds.

WHY SING

The Psalmist says to come before God with joyful songs. “No fewer than forty-one Psalms specifically refer to ‘singing praises’ unto the Lord. The New Testament speaks of singing spiritual songs.” [30]

“Paul and Silas ‘sang praises’ unto God while they were in prison.” God opened their prison doors and set them free. The Lord gave His people victory over their enemies as they went forth into battle singing His praises. Singing praises to God during a difficulty is a prayer of faith; we sing God’s praise for who He is knowing that such a faithful God will not disappoint us. [31]

WHY MEDITATE

“The Hebrew word for meditation (hagah) means to mutter upon.” God tells us to meditate on His law day and night, to observe to do it, and it will make our way prosperous and give us success. The Psalmist says His meditation in the Lord is sweet, and he finds gladness in the Lord.” Scripture meditation lifts us out of self’s squalor to the pure air of God’s kingdom. [32]

Meditations: God – Psalm 62:5; God’s Word – Psalm 1; God’s work – Psalm 77:12; Past victories – Lamentations 3:21-23; Positive thoughts – Philippians 4:8

WHY LISTEN

“Prayer is the soul’s pilgrimage from self to God; and the most effectual remedy for self-love and self-absorption is the habit of humbling listening. Solomon penned, ‘Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so let your words be few.’” [33]

“To listen in prayer is to mentally absorb divine instruction from God concerning specific matters for that day. Our prayer should be a conversation, one in which we listen as much as we speak. To find His Father’s will Jesus spent whole nights listening. Listening implies confidence that God truly desires to speak to us.” [34]

“God, alone, knows the solution to every problem we will face. This listening phase of prayer allows the believer to tune in on God’s solutions. We do not engage in prayer to tell God what to do. Our goal in prayer is to discover what God wants us to do so that He will be glorified.”

“Elijah heard God speak with the sound of a gentle whisper.” During the listening aspect of your prayer you may wish to keep a note tablet handy to record these impressions.” [35]

WHY PRAISE

“Jesus not only taught to begin our prayer with praise ‘Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name,’ but He also taught us to end our praying with praise – ‘For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.’”

“Just as antagonism, hostility, cursing against God exercises and strengthens all that is most abominable, diabolical, and base in the human spirit, so worship and praise of the infinitely loving, lovely God exercises, reinforces and strengthens all that is most sublime, transcendent, and divine in the inner being.” [35]

CONCLUSION

“Accomplishment always begins with a commitment of the will. Without practice no Christian will become a real man or woman of prayer. Practice requires perseverance.”

“Find the very best time for personal prayer. Set a goal of rising 60-90 minutes earlier than normal for at least at several days of experimentation. Those who have no set time of prayer do not pray. The most important appointment I have today is my appointment with Jesus in prayer. Fight all interruptions fiercely.” [36]

“Recognize the overwhelming importance of your daily hour with God. Until we recognize the full worth of our prayers, we will never develop a consistent habit of prayer. To be faithful in prayer is to share with God in His plan to change the world.” [37]

Pray for lost souls that they will ask, ‘Whom can I trust?’ ‘What is my purpose for living?’ ‘When will I really be free?’ ‘Why do people hate religion?’ ‘How can I cope with my problems?’ ‘Where will I go when I die?’”

Eastman’s ministry has reached 800 Chinese cities since he began the one-hour prayer focus.

[1] Dick Eastman, The Hour that Changes the World, Chosen Books Publishers, Grand Rapids, MI © 98, 02, p. 25
[2] Ibid, p. 18
[3] Ibid, p. 23; Matthew 26:40
[4] Ibid, p. 24
[5] Ibid, p. 20
[6] Ibid, p. 31; Psalm 22:3
[7] Ibid, p. 32
[8] Ibid, p. 36
[9] Ibid, pp. 28-39; Psalm 46:10
[10] Ibid, p. 45; Andrew Murray
[11] Psalm 66:18
[12] Ibid, p. 46
[13] Ibid, p. 50
[14] Ibid, pp. 50-51; Psalm 51
[15] Ibid, pp. 54-55; Romans 10:17
[16] Ibid, pp. 56-57; Charles Spurgeon
[17] Ibid, pp. 61-62; Mark 14:38; 1 Peter 5:8
[18] Ibid, p. 63; Isaiah 62:6
[19] Ibid, p. 69; Romans 8:26-27
[20] Ibid, pp. 63-64; Andrew Murray
[21] Ibid, pp. 72-73
[22] Ibid, p. 78
[23] Ibid, p. 79
[24] Ibid, pp. 81-82; 2 Corinthians 4:4
[25] Ibid, p. 81
[26] Ibid, pp. 84-85
[27] Ibid, pp. 88-89; 1 Chronicles 4:10
[28] Ibid, p. 94
[29] Ibid, pp. 95-97
[30] Ibid, pp. 103-105; Psalm 100:2;
[31] Ibid, pp. 106-109; Acts 16:25; 2 Chronicles 20:20-22,
[32] Ibid, pp. 111-112; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 104:34
[33] Ibid, pp. 114-116; Ecclesiastes 5:2
[34] Ibid, p. 120
[35] Ibid, pp. 124-126; 1 Kings 19:12
[36] Ibid, pp. 127-128
[37] Ibid, pp. 135-137

---

The Blessed in the Book of Revelation

Jesus said, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” [1]

“‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” [2]

“Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” [3]

“’Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ’These are the true sayings of God.’” [4]

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” [5]

“Blessed are those who do His commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.” [6]

The blessed keep the words of the Revelation prophecy. We watch. We remain ready for the Lord’s return. We have an invitation to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We keep the commands of God while we wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to return.

A new heaven and new earth is in the making! [7] Jesus, the faithful and true witness – the one who was dead but now is alive – is about to bring it. “Thank You Heavenly Father for this blessed hope!”

[1] Revelation 1:3
[2] Revelation 14:13
[3] Revelation 16:15
[4] Revelation 19:9
[5] Revelation 22:7
[6] Revelation 22:14

[7] Revelation 21-22

The Patience of the Saints

“And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [1]

Babylon is a spiritual harlot. [2] She is not committed to the one true God. She is sensual. She is material. Like a rock star who will do anything to gain devoted fans, she promotes the most outlandish behavior. She hates God’s saints because they will not join in the rebellion.

“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’” [3]

Babylon rests on the back of the beast. The beast is the antichrist. His goal is to steal the hearts of God’s people from God and turn them to himself. The temptation in that day for Christians will be to fall away from faith in God rather than to suffer persecution. God warns us NOT to worship the beast or his image, because those who do will suffer for all eternity.

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” [4]

Be patient! Be a saint! Keep the commandments of God! Keep faith in Jesus!

Jesus Christ is the Name is above every other name. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only Name by which we must be saved. Only Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Only Jesus rose from the dead. No other religion can boast of a risen Savior. Only Jesus is coming back to get His people. The only blessed dead are the ones who die in Him. Only those who worked for Jesus will enjoy eternal rest. [5]

The Prophet Jeremiah spoke of the rise and fall of Babylon more than any other prophet. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus reveals that another Babylon will rise and fall in the last days. As God called Jeremiah to forewarn His Old Testament people of ancient Babylon, Jesus is calling us His New Testament messengers, His Church, to forewarn people of the New Testament Babylon.

“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.” [6]

Thankfully, just as God got Noah IN the ark before the flood and got Lot OUT of Sodom before the fire fell, God will take His saints out of this evil world before HIS judgments fall. [7]

“And another angel came out from the altar who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs (180 miles).” [8]

After God’s angels have safely stored the fruit that He wants to keep, His angels will cast the bad fruit into the winepress of God’s wrath.

After God closed the door on the ark of Noah and after God’s angels got Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah, the next stage was judgment on the ungodly.

This is what Jesus is telling His people in Revelation. Be patient! Endure! Be holy! Be obedient to God’s commands. Keep faith in Jesus! Overcome!

[1] Revelation 14:8
[2] See Revelation 18
[3] Revelation 14:9-11
[4] Revelation 14:12-13
[5] See Philippians 2:9-11; John 14:6; Acts 4:12
[6] Revelation 14:14-16
[7] See 1Thessalonians 4:15-18 (the rapture)
[8] Revelation 14:17-20

Live God’s Story for You - It’s a Good One!

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they all were written,

The days fashioned for me, when yet there were none of them.” [1]

God wrote our lives in His book before we were born. He knew our days even when none of them existed. We are the outcome of His masterful design.

“Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.” [2]

God knows His original purpose for us. He is willing to work with us and resource that purpose if we invite Him to do so. Though He created us, and He sustains us, He respects our free will. If we want God’s help and counsel, Jesus advised us to... “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” [3]

Recently, Sherry and I were blessed to be entrusted with the care of three of our grandchildren while their parents were away. As we did, I could not help reminiscing about my life as a child. I found myself saying to the Lord, “Thank You for working with me all my life to bring about your good and perfect will for me. Help me to respect You, listen to You and obey You so that You might fulfil all Your good purposes for me.”

The Lord says to us, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” [4]

Live the story God has written for you – it is a good one. Think about it! The God who created the universe and sustains it is with you. He has ample resources and angels to help you all the days of your journey.

[1] Psalm 139:16
[2] Hebrews 12:2
[3] Matthew 7:7
[4] Jeremiah 29:11