The "Big Picture"

"And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel...."  (Ezekiel 36:1)

Make no mistake.  God does talk to mountains.

Now, "all Scripture is God-Breathed," and it is really not proper to say we have "favorite" passages.  Besides, it tends to a faith of my choosing rather than a faith of, "all Scripture...."  Yet I can say that reading Ezekiel 36 over the past 44 years has been an ever-growing, ever-expanding of my sense of the universal, the limitless boundaries of the Kingdom of Heaven/God.  For too much of today's Christendom, religion is selective, "favorites," pet emphasis.  The world rightly scoffs at and rejects such religion, and, it leaves the adherents frustrated "outside" of God's purpose for humanity.  I cannot encourage you enough to skip that favorite TV show, or take some time from that hobby, or the whatevers of life which, "so easily beset us," and read Ezekiel 36 sometime today. 

The following is "the word of the Lord" today to the nations of the world, particularly Syria, Iraq, Iran, The United States of America: "Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people--I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame.  But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come."  You and I are in, "the secret place of the Most High," the Living Triune God.  While, as right now, the President of the United States is about to hold a news conference on what he plans to do, King Jesus has already determined His Plan, His Purpose.  I would highly advise the Church of Jesus Christ to align ourselves with the Latter. 

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."  Amen.
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One Week Fall Mission in Washington, DC, October, 2014

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

"....That He Might Deliver Us From This Present Evil...."

"....Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father...."  (Galatians 1:4, KJV)

The Cross is, "according to the will of God and our Father."  The revelation of Himself in the manger of Bethlehem was, "according to the will of God and our Father."  Yes, "the world and they that dwell therein," everything and everyone is, "according to the will of God and our Father." Now once here, you and I found ourselves a part of all who have, "fallen short of the glory of God"; hence, we were all out of His will.  But by His tender mercy and grace, by and in the Blood of Jesus, He brought us back into, "the will of God and our Father.

I also thought of how today's text relates to prayer.  When people pray, they can pray great blessing upon people and nations.  They can also, however, "stir things up," and even find themselves surprised at the outcome of their prayers.  They will have, "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened," and realize that praying, "according to the will of God and our Father," will many times bring answers in a way never imagined (I am currently experiencing this).  The Bible prophesies things which will make much of "media Christianity" unhappy.  Christianized versions of what they already were will be shocked by, "those things which are coming upon the earth," but only if they are not living and studying God's Word, "according to the will of God and our Father." 

People can, "wrest the Scriptures"; they can stomp their feet as a little child when their expectations and desires are not fulfilled, but only they who live, "according to the will of God and our Father," will walk in the victory of the Cross, "that He might deliver us from this present evil world."  There is the reality that Jesus finished this in His Cross.  And there is also the reality that our Lord continues this work in ways most never imagined.  World leaders' bravado and outrageous claims notwithstanding, this is, "the will of God and our Father":  All who resist the Reign of King Jesus will see the fulfillment of Psalm 2:9, "[Jesus] shall break them with a rod of iron; [Jesus] shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, Holy Spirit, grant me Thy grace and power to live in, "the will of God and our Father." Amen. 
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She's back, and loving the cameras and attention as much as ever:  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

So You Have Given Up On Praying, Have You?

"Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, and let them be humiliated and perish, that they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth." (Psalm 83:17, 18--NASB)

Some times in my "line of work," you can think you are extending things a little bit, as the old saying goes, "going beyond the pale."  I have mentioned that I have been praying that all who reject Jesus Christ in the US Government (and actually globally as well), those who govern and "rule" by humanistic standards would be embarrassed.  Now that sounds a little cruel to some, not "sensitive," "nice," etc.  But today's text revealed that I am not all that "out of touch."  I looked up the Hebrew word in our text for, "ashamed," and yes, you guessed it; it is also translated elsewhere, "embarrassed, brought to confusion."  And my purpose for this prayer is also found in our text, "....that they may know...."  I am not claiming that my prayers are stirring up all that we are witnessing, but neither am I resisting the possibility.  Anyone who reads the Bible and takes Him seriously knows that there are, "exceeding great and precious promises," to all who trust and obey Jesus Christ, corporately and individually.  As Joshua 23:10 declares, "One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised."

I continue to encourage you to pray and believe big, e.g, as the command of our King Jesus to a Hebrew king, "Ask for yourself a sign (a token or proof) of the Lord your God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His Word]; ask it either in the depth below or in the height above [let it be as deep as Sheol of as high as heaven]."  The Living Bible says, "Ask anything you like...."  I tell you that too much of the Church has been far too timid in praying.  Come out of timidity.  Take our Lord Jesus Christ at His "God-Breathed" Word, "Seek the Lord [Jesus Christ] and His strength, seek His face continually....Men should always pray and never give up....And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to Him day and night?  Will He delay long over them?  I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily....Pray without ceasing." 

No preacher, no "super saint" can encourage you with the same power as does our Lord Jesus Christ's Words which we have in the Bible.  Read them, then pray them.  The world is in desperate need of such praying.

Father, in Jesus' Name, forgive my timid prayers over the years.  Strengthen me to keep asking "deep and high."  Amen.

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

"Eternity In Their Hearts"

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."  (Ecc. 3:11)

I have been in Ecclesiastes for the last four days.  I wonder how many "favorite-texts" people ever read Ecclesiastes.  It is the last of Solomon's works.  Proverbs and his "Song" were the writings of love and wisdom.  But what does one conclude from Ecclesiastes?  I see an old man with whom life finally "caught up."  Once he was young and extremely prosperous, deeply in love (could we say the "perfect marriage"?).  Now he is looking over his life.  He has come to the realization that wealth, though all who rail on wealth still wish they had it, is fleeting, passing as a summer's breeze.  In chapter four, He realizes, "Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more."  What a lesson to us all.

In the midst of his reminiscing, in the midst of seeing the futility of so much of what he pursued earlier in life, he also realizes two things.  First, "He has made everything beautiful in its time," which could imply that if we could just see, or had seen, Jesus' "timing" in our lives, how much more we would have appreciated those people, events, trials, etc., which at the "time" we did not appreciate (just a thought).  Secondly, he says something which confounds all those who say, "Well, what about people who never heard?"  He says, "....He has put eternity into man's heart...." (ESV)  The context reveals that he is speaking of all men, in every nation, every culture, every people group.  No personages whoever walked Planet Earth were without, "eternity in their hearts."  Just remember; those people you talk to who look at you as though your were crazy, nonetheless have, "eternity in their hearts."  I leave it there.

Then Solomon says something quite interesting.  Yes, "He has put eternity into man's heart," but in such a way, "that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (ESV), even though this has been the pursuit of humanity ever since the Garden.  I conclude that we may all have eternity in our hearts, but without a personal relationship, a relationship of submission and obedience to and in Jesus Christ, everything, "God has done from the beginning to the end," will be a confused blur.  Yes, there is so much which you and I will never understand, comprehend, perceive, nor be able to explain of, "what God has done," and is doing neither, "from the beginning," nor, "to the end."  But unlike the chaos we see in the earth, chaos among governments, other institutions of man, and individuals, you and I can have the, "peace which passes all understanding," and the, "I will give you rest," of the Godhead made available to us only in Jesus.  Rejoice today, my friend.  "He has put eternity into [your] heart...." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for You in my heart.  Amen.

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