Category Archives: Kingdom of God

March 25, 2019 · 8:52 am

Do Our Personal Sins Hurt Our Neighbors? (Part 5)

I was going through the worst trial of my life where nothing was going right for me. Finances, relationships and everything else were in the toilet, waiting to be flushed. It was all I could do to rise each morning and put one foot in front of the other throughout the day. Then I had a dream.

In it, I arrived in heaven. It was so beautiful and peaceful there. No fear. No worries. No enemies. Only peace. Only joy. Only love. Even the colors were alive and seemed to sing in their beauty to the Creator.

But as dreams usually do, the scene changed and I saw myself standing in front of a long line of young, dark-skinned people. The first one walked up to me and said, “I died young and did not achieve God’s destiny for my life because you failed to fulfill the calling on your life.” When he finished, he walked off.

The second person in line then stepped forward. He repeated what the first young man had said to me. Then, a third. And a fourth. And so forth.

As I stood there and looked at the endless line of young people waiting to talk with me, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I cried out to the Lord at the top of my lungs. “Lord, give me a second chance. Send me back to earth and I promise to not allow pain, agony, rejection, sin or anything else to stop me from fulfilling the calling which You have placed on my life.”

End of dream.

Yet, I can still see the long line of young people waiting to talk with me. The dream continues to work on me, even today.

For many are called (invited and summoned), but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14 AMP)

The Lord determines the type of calling He places on our lives, but we determine whether or not we are chosen to fulfill that calling on earth by how we endure His training program.

You see, at any point in the training process, we can rebel and opt out. It’s our decision, but we need to remember that there are consequences involved with our decisions.

(Continued in Part 6…but if you want to read all the parts to date, you can go here.

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Filed under America, Callings, Christianity, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Rebellion, Sin, spiritual warfare

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March 12, 2019 · 10:30 am

Prayers to Open Our Eyes About the End-Times (3/12/2019)

The main reasons we Americans do not understand the End-Times are:

  1. We do not study the Bible.
  2. We do not understand that Jesus is Jewish.

Problem #1 can be handled by asking the Lord to open our eyes as we study the Bible to understand the End-Times. My recommendation is that we begin our studies in the Book of Revelation, Matthew 24, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 2 Peter 3:1-13, Daniel 11 and Daniel 12.

Problem #2 will take a total change of our Gentile mindsets.

We have been indoctrinated by the Americanized portraits of Jesus supposedly resembling Him, by the non-Biblical holidays of  Easter and Christmas, by our total lack of understanding about the Jewish feasts or Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath), not understanding the Bible was written by Jewish authors and more.

Why is this important?

Jesus fulfilled the spring feasts of Pesach (Passover), Chag HaMotzi (Unleavened Bread), Reshit Katzir (First Fruits), Shavu’ot (Pentecost) and also dozens of Old Covenant prophecies when He was crucified, buried, rose from the grave and ascended into heaven.

Our Lord will fulfill the fall feasts of Yom Teru’ah (Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles) and hundreds of Old Covenant prophecies when He returns.

Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, will rule and reign forever in Jerusalem as the Son of David, and we Gentile believers have been grafted into a Jewish olive tree.

My prayer today:

Lord, help us to change our mindsets so the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles is broken down and that the one new man will come forth here on earth, prepared for the End-Times. (Based on Ephesians 2:14-15)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for our eyes to be opened about the End-Times.

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March 10, 2019 · 10:32 am

Good News/Bad News

The good news is that the greatest revival in the history of the world is about to take place. Millions of people will give their lives to Jesus in every nation of the world. It will be a gigantic harvest of souls by the Holy Spirit under the leadership of our Lord.

The bad news is that the greatest level of persecution against Christianity in the history of the world will also take place at the same time. The persecution will be so intense that hundreds of thousands of believers will walk away from their faith. Thousands of other Christians will be beheaded, burned at the stake, shot by firing squads and killed by other methods, thus becoming martyrs for the King of Kings.

Do you think I’m wrong?

There are over one hundred and fifty chapters covering end-time prophecies in the Bible. If you haven’t done so, you can begin by reading the Book of Revelation, Matthew 24, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 2 Peter 3:1-13, Daniel 11 and Daniel 12.

Here’s the deal: we can either ignore the Word of God and believe it’s allegorical when it refers to the end-times – or – we can believe that God knew what He was doing when He placed the end-time prophecies in the Bible and prepare ourselves ahead of time.

I choose to believe and will endeavor to prepare myself and my family. How about you?

The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (Daniel 11:32)

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Filed under America, End-Times, Kingdom of God, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Revival, spiritual warfare

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March 7, 2019 · 9:19 am

Prayers for New Beginnings (3/7/2019)

Counting our recent move to Gilbert, Arizona, Carol and I have moved thirty-five times during our twenty-three years of marriage. More than a few people have asked us, “Why have you moved so much?”

My standard answer used to be a shrug of my shoulders, but a recent thought has opened my eyes to a possible new revelation: Carol and I are like wine in God’s wine cellar. He pours us from bottle to bottle to bottle to remove our impurities, which settle into the bottom of the bottles after a period of rest.

“Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs (impurities); he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel… (Jeremiah 48:11 ESV)

Hopefully, we are purer wine for His use than when we first began our journey together twenty-three years ago.

My prayer today:

Lord God, create in us clean hearts and renew steadfast spirits within us. Restore to us the joy of our salvations and uphold us with Your generous Spirit. Then we will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. (Based on Psalm 51:10, 12-13)

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for our families.

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January 26, 2019 · 10:37 am

Politicians, False Prophets and Jesus (Part 7)

Abortion

King David was restless that early spring night as he walked out onto the palace’s roof. He looked over the waist high wall at the roof’s edge, taking in the sights and sounds of Jerusalem. His eyes stopped scanning about when he glanced down into his neighbor’s courtyard.

There below him was a beautiful woman bathing herself. He noticed every luscious curve on her body. Even when she finished her bath and he returned to his bedroom, he couldn’t think about anything else but that woman.

The next morning, forty-seven year old King David asked one of his lieutenants, “Who’s the beautiful woman next door?”

“Oh, I think her name is Bathsheba,” the man replied. “She’s the daughter of one of your mightiest men of valor – Eliam, the granddaughter of your wisest chief counselor – Ahithophel and married to a captain in your army – Uriah.”

Each of these men were important to David, but he ignored them, thinking only of his sexual desire for Bathsheba. Sadly, he acted on the one thought crossing his mind at the time: Bathsheba was home alone because Uriah was away fighting against the Ammonites.

He sent messengers to her with a special dinner invitation at his palace.

Bathsheba showed up at the appointed hour. They ended up committing adultery and she returned to her house.

A few weeks later, Bathsheba sent a short note to King David, saying, “I am with child.”

King David was a student of the Torah. So, he knew the Law required the death penalty for the sin of adultery for both participants. Then King David set in place a scheme to hide their sin, but it didn’t work. Finally, he ended up having her husband, Uriah, murdered in a battle with the Ammonites.

But what if?

What if there had been a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Jerusalem at the time? Would this have been an option for King David?

There’s no doubt in my mind that King David would have quickly used abortion as an answer to his dilemma. After all, he ended up murdering a just man he knew to hide his sin. So, most certainly, he would have been willing to murder a baby he did not know instead.

Today, abortion is the answer to one of society’s oldest problems: unwanted pregnancies.

“Abortion teaches a woman to kill in order to handle her problem.” (Mother Teresa)

(Continued in Part 8…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

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Filed under Abortion, America, Christianity, Iniquity, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Pro-Life, Sin, spiritual warfare, Transgression

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January 24, 2019 · 10:38 am

Prayers for Families (1/24/2019)

When Jesus returned to Nazareth with His disciples and taught in the local synagogue, His neighbors were astonished at His wisdom and understanding and said, “Isn’t He a carpenter? Isn’t He the son of Mary?”

Both of these statements were putdowns.

By saying Jesus was a carpenter, they inferred that He had no formal theological training under a rabbi. So, how could people pay attention to His words without a proper resume?

And son of Mary? By not referring to Him as the son of Joseph, the people alluded to the rumors that Jesus was an illegitimate son.

Jesus looked at the crowd and said, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” (Mark 6:4 NLT)

Shouldn’t Jesus’ family have honored Him? They had watched Him grow up into being a strong man of faith and saw His godly wisdom displayed over and over again. And He most likely supported His family by being a carpenter after Joseph’s death.

Plus, Joseph and Mary would have told their family about Jesus’ birth, the shepherds, the star, the three wisemen, the prophetic words by Simeon and Anna, Joseph’s visions and more.

Yet, with all of this, Jesus’ family did not honor Him during His earthly ministry.

My prayer today:

Lord, help us to love and honor our families on their good days, on their bad days, on the days when we haven’t a clue about why they’re doing something or whatever because You love families and consider Your children a heavenly family for You. (Based on Ephesians 3:15)

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for our families.

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January 13, 2019 · 10:06 am

Does Jesus Really Delight in Us?

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David was in his early 20s when he fled to the wilderness to escape from King Saul. His parents, four hundred men and eventually his wife, Abigail joined him there.

His adversary, King Saul, handpicked three thousand warriors to hunt David down, hoping to kill him. This kept David looking over his shoulder for seven years, never allowing him a moment’s rest, day or night.

When David moved his parents to safety in Moab, the prophet Gad came to him there and said, “David, you can’t stay here, you have to go back to Judah.”

Wait a second!

God – who loved David – wanted him to continue in his life-threatening trial?

YES!

Why?

You see, it was this agonizing, painful, fearful trial that God used to change David into the man who would eventually become the King of Israel, a noted psalmist and an encouragement for future believers like you and me. Look at the words he wrote in Psalm 23:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me… (Psalm 23:4)

David lived these words for seven years while King Saul hunted him down.

But even David, who had such great revelations about the heart of the Father,  could only handle so much stress. He ended up rebelling against the prophetic word spoken to him by Gad and spending his last sixteen months of the trial in Gath. He stayed there until King Saul was killed.

What did the back-slidden rebel David say was the reason that God delivered him from King Saul?

He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19 AMP)

Hey, most of us are going through seemingly endless trials right now. Some of the time, we are walking in faith and victory, but  during others, we may be standing on the edge of a cliff, thinking about jumping off and quitting altogether.

Yet, no matter where we are right now, let’s remember this: if the Lord delighted in a back-slidden David, He delights in us.

Why?

Because we are His beloved.

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January 9, 2019 · 11:04 am

Politicians, False Prophets and Jesus (Part 4)

Global Warming

Adam and Eve represented all of humanity when they lived in the Garden of Eden. Thus, when Adam and Eve sinned, their actions constituted a 100% rebellion by humanity against God.

Then because of Adam’s and Eve’s sin, Satan became the god of this age, the prince of this world and the prince of the power of the air.

Yet, even though Satan and a third of the angels replaced God and His holy angels in the spiritual governmental positions over the earth, this evil horde had limitations placed upon them by God. They were still His created beings and trembled before Him.

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:12)

So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, Job is in your hand, but spare his life.” (Job 2:6)

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32)

The Book of Job provides us great examples of the limits God places on Satan, but it also provides two Satan-created weather examples –

While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven [lightning] and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” (Job 1:12)

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, “and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” (Job 1:18-19)

And also the Book of Revelation shows another demonic-created weather example –

He [the false prophet] performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven [lightning] on the earth in the sight of men. (Revelation 13:13)

So, can Satan cause weather related problems? Yes, but within the limits God places upon him.

And just so you know, we can expect more Satan induced weather problems in the days ahead because false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, hoping to deceive mankind, even us believers. Some of these will most likely involve weather phenomenona.

What about man? Can he affect the weather?

(Continued in Part 5…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

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January 4, 2019 · 3:09 pm

Politicians, False Prophets and Jesus (Part 2)

 

Global Warming

It may be hard to believe now, but in the 1970s, the scientific community was concerned about the earth sliding into a new ice age. Studies show that 65% of the scientific papers written in that time period supported this global cooling theory.

The Smithsonian Museum even had one entire wall charting the cooling of the earth over the last sixty million years. The chart on the twenty feet of plastered fresco showed no significant warming periods in its downward arc.

But in 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen testified before Congress and presented scientific weather models. He stated, “I am 99% sure that global warming is upon us now.”

Hansen’s words propelled America and other nations to jump onto the global warming bandwagon. The UN then created the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide a scientific view on climate change and its political and economic impacts.

The IPCC predicted severe heat waves, droughts, powerful hurricanes, the melting of massive glaciers at both poles, causing sea levels to rise between 11 and 38 inches, enough to swamp many of the cities along the American coasts.

These dire predictions moved forty-one nations and the European Union to adopt the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. President Clinton signed the protocol, but President Bush backed away from the agreement when he became president in 2001.

All of the global warming talk would have died out except for Al Gore appearing on the scene with his documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” in 2006. The former Vice President’s documentary won two Oscars, made him a multimillionaire and pushed Gore to the forefront as the spokesman for global warming.

Today, 97% of climate scientists agree that there is a global warming trend and that human beings are the main cause–that is, that we are over 50% responsible.

Oh yeah! What happened to the wall in the Smithsonian Museum?

It was painted over with a new chart, supporting global warming as a truth.

What does the Bible say about global warming?

(Continued in Part 3)

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January 3, 2019 · 2:19 pm

Prayers for America (1/3/2019)

“I will never quit…If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates…I am never out of the fight.” (Philosophy of the U.S. Navy SEALs)

My prayer today:

Lord, help us American Christians to fight the good fight of faith during 2019, knowing that You will give us the victory in Christ Jesus.

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America. 

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