Seeking Answers

Matthew 7:8

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

There are a lot of people seeking answers these days to some of life's great questions.  I, for one, am one of those who seem to have more questions than answers.

• Why does this happen?
• Why did that just happen?
• How can someone do such a thing?

All of these are questions that people ask on a daily basis all across the globe.  Here is what the Bible teaches;

Once upon a time a religious leader came to Jesus and they told Him that they needed a sign from Him to prove His religious authority.  Jesus told them that only a "wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign."

So here is another question;  Are we wicked when we seek a "sign" from Jesus?  The answer to that question quite simply is NO.  The men that sought a sign from the Lord were in fact wicked.  They didn't want a sign as if to worship Him or as if to seek answers to an issue that they were facing.  They were tired of Jesus showing them up in the public eye and they wanted to cause a stumbling block for the ministry of Jesus.  However, He did not give in to their sinful desires and He called them out on their wickedness and selfish hearts.

Here is what I can tell you of the questions of life.  When a person is seeking the Lord a person finds the Lord.  The Bible says that when we draw close to God, He draws near to us.  What does that mean?  It means when a person's heart begins to turn to God, He makes Himself available to you.

Here is one of my favorite promises of the Bible:  28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. --Romans 8.28

The truth is, in this life, we will face many sorrows and hardships.  I sure have seen my fair share in my 33 years.  Jesus also saw His fair share in His 33 years.  We know that the testing of our faith produces patience and that God is preparing us for something far greater than our human tendencies can fathom.  

Today's message is real simple:  We need to start 2014 with a promise to ourselves and to God...That we are not going to be casual when it comes to Him.  We need to step up and be the Christians we are called to be, whether it is a dry season, or abundance.  Seek God in your lives this year and you will find Him.  I can guarantee you that this year is not going to be without its surprises. Some good....and some not so good.  However, when we work hard, and put God first we will see results and we will bear good fruit and we will bring glory to our Heavenly Father, and at the end of our lives, what else matters.

Remember...He leads me beside the still waters --- Psalm 23

Be blessed,

Greg

Calling Evil Good.

Hello All!  Today's blog is more less a rant about an article I read earlier today.  You can read it for yourself right here.  Apparently the ACLU of Oklahoma is trying to get the 10 commandments taken down from the state capital.  SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!   The ACLU doesn't like something that is Godly.  Let me ask a question;  What is wrong with the 10 Commandments apart from it being in the Bible?  Apparently to some it is just totally offensive to have something tell us how to live our lives.  Such terrible things as,

• Honor Your Parents
• Do Not Murder
• Staying Faithful to Your Spouse
• Do Not Lie
• Do Not Steal

And other such things.

How dare anyone try to live a life that is honorable and moral?!  (do you hear the sarcasm?  I'm laying it on pretty thick)

The problem is that people want to call what is evil good and what is good evil.

The irony in this Google images picture is that it is so true.  You can say or do anything you want to according to modern day America, but you cannot tell someone that what they do is wrong.  The Bible says that the Cross is foolishness to unbelievers. 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

It truly is that simple.  People want to call what is good evil because otherwise they are confronted with their sin.  The Manger is a precursor to the cross and the cross calls for total submission and people don't want to do that.  

So what is the solution?

I don't know if I have it pegged just right, but here is what I would suggest;  We need to get these noodle-necked politicians out of office and get ones that stand on the Bible's moral law!  These things will continue to happen until local, state, and federal governments stop giving in to the bullying from institutions like the ACLU.  Let them complain, let them fuss and cry.  Stand up and tell the complainers that if they don't like America's religion then they can leave America.  A satanist group wants to put a statue next to the 10 commandments.  Can you imagine the abomination that will be if this goes through?  What will likely happen is that they will remove the 10 commandments which is basically the same offence.  

We as Christians must come together and pray that the government will wake up and stand up and stop being pushovers to the religious bullies of today.  Also, we as Americans need to stop electing and putting in power people who are wimps and, even worse, believe the same things as the ACLU.  

I will leave you with this thought in closing.  There is a story in the Bible where a great man named Elijah  went on top of a mountain called Carmel and challenged his people to believe in God or rebuke Him as God.  "How long will you waiver between two worlds" he asked his opponents.  American needs to make a decision before God makes it for you..  It is that simple.  To call what is good evil is what the Pharisee did when they told Jesus that He cast out demons by Beelzebub.  That is called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and that is the rejection of the Gospel and that my friends is a sin that you cannot come back from.  America is verging on a sin that cannot be forgiven when they call God and His statutes evil.  Christians;  It's time to get real with our prayers.

Blessings,

Greg

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight! ----Isaiah 5:20-21

Revival in America: Is It Possible?

The Woman Persecuted

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 

14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 

15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 

16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 

17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ

Let me start this article off by stating my position of the Rapture of the Church;

I believe that Revelation 4:1-2 marks the end of the "church age" and the start of Daniel's 70th week as proclaimed in Daniel chapter 9.  In Revelation 4:1-2 the Bible says this, 

"4 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne."

This is, to me, the Rapture event mentioned in several places in scripture (1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thess 4, and John 11:25).

However, today's post is not about the Rapture as much as it is playing the "devil's advocate" regarding America's role in the end times events.  Most Biblical scholars believe that America plays little to no role in the end of days.  Most hypothesize that it is because of America's financial state rendering them useless and unable to help themselves, let alone any other nation.

This theory is very likely given our current status as a nation.  Today we see;

• Violence
• selfishness
• Adulteries
• Fornication
• Lies
• and total apathy against our fellow humans.

The Bible may give one small glimmer of hope that America does not completely implode.  In verse 14 of Chapter 12 of Revelation we see that the "woman" who is representative of Israel is pursued by the "serpent" which is anti-Christ.  However the "woman" is given wings of a great eagle where she is taken to the wilderness and cared for there for 3 1/2 years.  Could this "Eagle" be the USA, who is symbolized by the great eagle?  The truth is, I am not sure.  If it is the USA then that means that a revival of some kind must come.  Most likely there will be a great percentage of people saved after the Rapture, which are called, "Tribulation Saints".  These are people who had a head knowledge of Jesus Christ, but never were officially saved.  Meaning they lacked the Holy Spirit and therefore missed the Rapture.  They were people who made a false profession or maybe went to church as a kid because mommy and daddy made them, but never took the gospel message and owned it.  So with the knowledge they did have, they saw the signs of the times and called on Jesus Christ as Lord and were saved.  In so doing, they would want to align themselves with the nation of Israel and they become powerful enough again to play a roll, possibly a small one, but a role all the same to contribute to the nation of Israel's survival during the "great tribulation period" that begins shortly after Revelation 12 begins.

This theory makes sense because of the way the last part of our scripture today ends;  "17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ

What would you call the people who "have the testimony of Jesus Christ"?  That's right, Christians.  Tribulation Saints who will most likely have to take the mark of the beast (666) or die in resistance to the new government system.

So is there chance for one last revival before the rapture?  Is there a chance that America does play a role in the end of days?  Or is this preacher just grasping at straws?  Leave a comment in the blog and let me know what you think.

Like I said, this is just me thinking and brainstorming.  I believe firmly in a pre-trib rapture and I plan to be in Heaven awaiting my chance to take on the armies of the devil in the battle of Armageddon and look forward to spending a thousand years with Christ after His second coming when He judges the nations and sets up His kingdom on the throne of His father David and the perfect government religion takes it rightful place in the world's capital....Jerusalem.

For now, we are just looking for the thoughts of others.

No matter what happens, Jesus is still Lord, and He is in control.

Blessings,

Greg

The Ladder of God

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:13-15 NKJV)

Today at FBC Winslow we heard from God on two different topics. In the morning service God revealed to us the story of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac who was the son of Abraham. The Bible tells us that Jacob was a deceitful man who would later steal his brother, Esau's birthright. Even further in his life he would deceive his dim-sighted father into giving him the blessing that was intended for Esau. Jacob had stolen everything that meant anything to Esau.

Esau resolved in his rage to kill his brother Jacob. However, before that could happen, Rebekah the Mother of Jacob heard Esau's threat and vow to kill Jacob and she advised Jacob to leave. As Jacob went down the road, he was to be a man who was "blessed" but, he felt anything but blessed. He had lied, cheated, and stolen from his very own family. Now, he walked as a stranger in a foreign land.

As Jacob began to get tired he looked and found a place to lay for the night. Using nothing but a rock as a pillow he began to sleep. In that slumber he began to dream. In that dream he saw Angels, they were ascending and descending from the throne room of Heaven. Then, the Bible tells us that God spoke to Jacob from the top of the ladder. God reminded Jacob of the promises that He had made to Abraham and Isaac. God reminded Jacob that even though Jacob felt alone, He really had a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

God had told Abraham that "anyone that blesses him would be blessed." He also said. " anyone that curses you, I will curse."-------that is a big promise from God!!! Isaac received the same promise when God told him that his name would be great and the father of many nations he shall be!!

God makes each one of us promises. The great thing about God's promises is that He always makes them happen. God is gracious and merciful. All we need do is confess our sin and then turn from it.

God repeated the same promise to 3 different men during 3 different circumstances. And the end result was the same. GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!!


During our evening service we spoke of how the Bible stresses certain things by repetition. When something in the Bible is repeated it is because it is important. In the story of Jacob, Esau , Isaac, and Abraham we see that very fact. Repetition means significance! God made the same promise to different men because they were to be partakers in what we now know as grace. That promise is repeated so often because ALL the nations of the world will be blessed through the Jewish people in the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

In John 1:51 Jesus told the disciples that he is the ladder that Jacob dreamed about. He is the bridge that closes the gap between sinful mankind and a glorious God.

Today I challenge you to seek the ladder of God. I challenge you to listen for the repeated promises of God. You have access to eternal life in Jesus Christ. You have access to hope in this life with Jesus Christ. Today seek the ladder that leads to the kingdom of Heaven and at the top of it, God Himself will meet you coming.

Be blessed,

G