"'The days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes..., and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,' says the Lord your God.'" (From Amos 9:13-15, NIV)
In other words, Things are going to happen so fast that your "heads will swim." Today I have heard this phrase several times, referring to events in the Middle East: "All of this is happening so fast." Take heart, my friend, "The days are coming,..." and will continue to come.
I cannot implore you enough to keep your eye on current events, especially in the Middle East. Our text began its final fulfillment in 1947-48, and continues right to this moment, the moment you read this. Sarah and I have seen the literal fulfillment of rebuilt, "ruined cities...." We have seen the, "vineyards," and, "their fruit." It was watching the very Word of God at work, could we say, "At His best," i.e., fulfilling His Words to generations?!? Yet, along with the fulfillment of our text, we are watching also the fulfillment of the prophesied, continual attack of, "the enemies of the cross of Christ," upon the Covenant People. What is the stark reality which most are unwilling to face? "....Evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13). Who, then, prevails in such a world? They prevail who will not give up, who as Churchill told his people, "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans,..we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." Now while truth and reality can be very disconcerting, the overriding Reality and Truth is that The Word of God, Jesus the Christ, will continue to fulfill His Words. Build our lives upon this Truth, Which/Who is the only Truth, and we build our lives upon The Solid Rock.
There is a "life style" in the world of which most Americans have not a clue. The Vietnamese had it. Drug cartels have it. They simply outlast their enemies-------------- so do the Arabs and Jews. The difference between Arabs and Jews, and Americans is that Arabs and Jews have not grown weary of war, viz., to the point of a war-weariness which causes a people to give up the fight and surrender to its enemies. Islam has been fighting its enemies for 1500 years. Just watch/read the news to see the stark reality: They won't "stop fighting 'til the fighting's done." And what about the Jews? They have been fighting for their lives for 3500 years. What if the Jews had done as the Americans in Viet Nam? After 10 years of fighting enemies in Viet Nam and at home, scramble onto helicopters from the embassy in Saigon, running for their lives, or, bring home troops from Iraq after loosing 4500 soldiers, and after a political campaign which appealed to the soft-life, iphone/ipad American public? There would be no Israel today, no Jews. How have the Jews survived for milennia, after 6,000,000+ murdered in less than 12 years in one case, and many, many more over their history? The Jews have refused to say, "O, we're tired of war, all the killing, all the babies dying, all the destruction." The Jews realize the saying of Jimmy Malone to Ness, "They won't stop fighting 'til one of you is dead."
"Breaking News:" This is the motto of Global Islam.
The one who wins in life is the one who won't stop, won't give up or give in. We all long for those moments when we can relax, take vacations, enjoy family and friends, "kick back." The only problem with that is Satan and his hordes never do. The Japanese picked the best day of the week at the best hour to attack American Forces at Pearl Harbor. In that case, R & R turned into DOA. Do not, my friend, let this happen to you. You and I are in Christ to the end, are we not?!? His enemies still attempt to pick off any stragglers, any "war-weary" sojourners. The Unitas Fratrum, aka, Moravians, had a motto, "No one works unless someone is praying." The Global Church should adopt this policy.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for Your grace for increasing strength in every area of my life. Help me to never grow weary with the fight. Amen.
*********************
A timely article at: jhs58.blogspot.com
In other words, Things are going to happen so fast that your "heads will swim." Today I have heard this phrase several times, referring to events in the Middle East: "All of this is happening so fast." Take heart, my friend, "The days are coming,..." and will continue to come.
I cannot implore you enough to keep your eye on current events, especially in the Middle East. Our text began its final fulfillment in 1947-48, and continues right to this moment, the moment you read this. Sarah and I have seen the literal fulfillment of rebuilt, "ruined cities...." We have seen the, "vineyards," and, "their fruit." It was watching the very Word of God at work, could we say, "At His best," i.e., fulfilling His Words to generations?!? Yet, along with the fulfillment of our text, we are watching also the fulfillment of the prophesied, continual attack of, "the enemies of the cross of Christ," upon the Covenant People. What is the stark reality which most are unwilling to face? "....Evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13). Who, then, prevails in such a world? They prevail who will not give up, who as Churchill told his people, "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans,..we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." Now while truth and reality can be very disconcerting, the overriding Reality and Truth is that The Word of God, Jesus the Christ, will continue to fulfill His Words. Build our lives upon this Truth, Which/Who is the only Truth, and we build our lives upon The Solid Rock.
There is a "life style" in the world of which most Americans have not a clue. The Vietnamese had it. Drug cartels have it. They simply outlast their enemies-------------- so do the Arabs and Jews. The difference between Arabs and Jews, and Americans is that Arabs and Jews have not grown weary of war, viz., to the point of a war-weariness which causes a people to give up the fight and surrender to its enemies. Islam has been fighting its enemies for 1500 years. Just watch/read the news to see the stark reality: They won't "stop fighting 'til the fighting's done." And what about the Jews? They have been fighting for their lives for 3500 years. What if the Jews had done as the Americans in Viet Nam? After 10 years of fighting enemies in Viet Nam and at home, scramble onto helicopters from the embassy in Saigon, running for their lives, or, bring home troops from Iraq after loosing 4500 soldiers, and after a political campaign which appealed to the soft-life, iphone/ipad American public? There would be no Israel today, no Jews. How have the Jews survived for milennia, after 6,000,000+ murdered in less than 12 years in one case, and many, many more over their history? The Jews have refused to say, "O, we're tired of war, all the killing, all the babies dying, all the destruction." The Jews realize the saying of Jimmy Malone to Ness, "They won't stop fighting 'til one of you is dead."
"Breaking News:" This is the motto of Global Islam.
The one who wins in life is the one who won't stop, won't give up or give in. We all long for those moments when we can relax, take vacations, enjoy family and friends, "kick back." The only problem with that is Satan and his hordes never do. The Japanese picked the best day of the week at the best hour to attack American Forces at Pearl Harbor. In that case, R & R turned into DOA. Do not, my friend, let this happen to you. You and I are in Christ to the end, are we not?!? His enemies still attempt to pick off any stragglers, any "war-weary" sojourners. The Unitas Fratrum, aka, Moravians, had a motto, "No one works unless someone is praying." The Global Church should adopt this policy.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for Your grace for increasing strength in every area of my life. Help me to never grow weary with the fight. Amen.
*********************
A timely article at: jhs58.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
