WHat If Today Is the Day?

 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

"When you see these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matt. 24:33-36).

 Hey Gang: Could it be today?  You bet your sweet bippy!  It could be right this moment! BUT, every moment He delays gives us a moment to fulfill His command to His children: "Go into all the world and share the good news that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords".  Matthew 28:19.

 No warning, folks! One will be gone and the other left! While I was still an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Agency there was an airline that made sure at least one of their pilots on board every flight was a non-believer, in the event Christ would come an collect all those whose names were recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life and take them to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. 

 The disciples asked Jesus, "When will these things happen? What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?"  (Matt. 24:3).  Notice His first response, “Be very careful that you do not buy into the things of this world and be diverted from the truth for many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another, many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”  (Matt. 24: 11-12).

 Jesus also gave us an iron clad formula to prevent or allow (by our choice) slue foot to take us down the road to the pit: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (I John 4:1).  John goes on and gives us a formula for testing the spirit:  "By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God" (V.2).

 During the Cold War Years there was a group of world guru's who got together each year to set the hands on the "Dooms Day Clock".  Man, through the advent of the nuclear age, had now found the key to annihilating life on planet earth.  It is said that we now have the power to annihilate every human being on earth many times over and, we are learning through the barbarism of Isis, Boka Haram, Hamas, Al Qaeda, Hezballah and other terrorist groups, there are those that have the will to do just that!  (This week it was stated that enough fetenal has come into our country –(maybe this year?)-to kill every person in the US.)  

Jesus said,  "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.  But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into, for this reason you must be ready, for the son of Man is coming at an hour when you don't think He will (24:42-42).

Soooo, I ask you again, could it be today?   No man knows the day or the hour, not even the Son of God, Yeshua. Is He your Savior and LORD?  Is your lamp filled with oil -the Holy Spirit- and your armor in place this morning?  Have you honed your defense by spending time with the Lord and in His word?   Jesus said, "Behold when I come, I come quickly and the door of salvation will be closed"          

 Blessings,

 Gramps

PS Sooo.. what generation is the one that will see the return of Yeshua?  We do not know - only our Father in Heaven. But- many think it is the generation that saw Israel  reborn as a Nation in 1948, saw the retaking of Jerusalem in 1967- and then declaring Jerusalem the official Capitol- 2017- and move the US Embassy to Jerusalem May 14,2018 -70 Years   later. My Generation? Gma J

Is a Little Sin Okay?

 

 Friday, September 23, 2016

“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies and wine. (Daniel 1:8); Daniel continued (as a servant of the kings) until the first year of King Cyrus. (1:21)

 Hey Gang: I, Gma, am teaching a series on Daniel, our example- Teen to aged man who lived a God-filled in a godless culture and served with integrity – and so can we in today’s upside-down culture.

 Several months ago I (Gramps) shared a morning message that I titled the “Subtle Fulfillments of Prophecies That We Tend to Overlook ; I believe the focus of the Rabbi’s Cahn’s recent letter referring to those subtle fulfilments of a prophecy that tends to sneak into our lives without sending up red flares.

 Let me share some of his comments and see it you have experienced one of those subtle fulfillments in your life.  I confess it made me do some soul searching.  He immediately identified a subtle problem by stating: “I grew up in a Kosher Home!”  But then tacked on “Well, not purely Kosher.”  A Jewish Mama would rather take ten lashes then to set something that is not Kosher before her family.”

 So, what did Jonathon mean by “well not purely kosher?”  He said his mother would never cook ham, and never have anything to do with pork, which is forbidden in the Jewish diet.  But, to Jonathon’s mom, and many other Jewish mom’s, bacon was not considered pork!!  Bacon was not like ham or pork steaks, it was hard and crispy.

 “When bacon was slipped into the morning menu there was always a feeling of guilt, with each bite of bacon that entered our mouths.”  He said one did not have to be a rocket scientist to know when bacon was filling the house with its very special aroma, you could feel it in the atmosphere of the house.

 “It wasn’t a big quilt-trip, just a little bit that no one talked about.  It was that we were participating in something that was a “LITTLE BIT ILLEGAL”.  “Strange as it may seem many, if not most, strict kosher families slip bacon from under the table but they do not call it bacon and it is one of those things that, if we don’t talk about it, it does not exist!”

 Now Jonathon’s point is it is not about bacon or the law or whether you keep a kosher home or not.  The point is the bacon principle.  God gave us His word. His word is clear.  He tells us certain things are taboo and should be not, under any circumstance, be included in our morning menu.  Why? Because we then open the door to other subtle transgressions to enter our life.  We convince ourselves that it is not exactly wrong and, after all, is that not what the cross is all about? – to forgive us of our transgressions, even the porky one?

 We convince ourselves that it’s not so wrong.  It’s not clearly wrong.  It’s not exactly wrong.  I mean it is only bacon, right?    And there are no references in the Bible that tell us bacon is pork.  

 Do you get the point Rabbi Cahn is trying to warn us against? The indulgence is not really lust.  Drinking is not really drunkenness. Anger is not really bitterness.  Vanity is not really pride.   The talk is not really gossip.  All we are really doing is rationalizing a behavior that God said is an entry drug to deeper sin- if you allow it to remain in you.

 Jonathon’s bottom line: “If you want the joy and fullness of God’s blessings and power, then you must to do it His way!   Doing it His way means you are going to live your life under His standards! In other words, it is being totally committed to the principle that “Bacon is Pork”. 

 Blessings,

 Gramps

What Does God's Grace Mean To You?

Hey Gang, Gramps blogs, written years ago, still speak to us today and I am blessed to read His Hillbilly Rendition of the New Testament nightly.  However, we sometimes need another voice of encouragement.  Grace is a word often used in Scripture and you can often substitute the word love for grace. Be blessed with this recent devotional from Mornings with Jesus.

 “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” Ephesians 6:24 (NKJV)

        The other day on Twitter, I noticed someone posted, “I highly recommend loving Jesus.”  It struck me as interesting, probably because it was on of the few things on there that was positive, sweet, and, at least in my feed, not controversial.  I kept thinking about it and agreed that I, too, could highly recommend loving Jesus.

        The reason was in today’s Bible verse: grace.  Loving Jesus means I walk around in an atmosphere of grace. I inhale grace and exhale it. I’m bathed in it, sheltered in it, fed by it, and led by it. Grace holds my hand.. I pull it over me like a blanket for comfort. I put it on like clothes to meet the day. Grace is the lens through which I see people and life. It looks back at me in the mirror. Grace is there to celebrate when things go well and to pick me up off the ground when I fall. Grace bolsters me when I feel weak. It bolsters me when I am afraid. It makes me strong when I feel weak. It opens my eyes to beauty. Grace corrects me when I am wrong. As Paul writes elsewhere, Grace is sufficient. As long as I have Jesus, I have grace, and it is never lacking.

       Jesus is the embodiment of grace: the unmerited favor of God. I didn’t --and don’t—do anything to make Him love me, But He does. It’s His life in me that empowers me to love, even showing love to people whom I think might not deserve it.  There’s nothing else like it, just like there is no one else like Jesus.                                                                                                         --Gwen Ford Faulkenberry

Sooo, as Gramps would ask, “Are you fully filled and clothed with God’s grace? Does Jesus show in your words and actions?  It’s free and doesn’t add weight to your life.

Blessings

Gma J

Excited or Depressed? YOUR CHOICE!

 Tuesday, September 30, 2014

 Celebrating Gramps birthday today with a message from his Heart: Jesus is coming soon. Ae you ready to meet him in the air?

"But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28).  "Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night" (Luke 18:7).

Hey Gang, are you excited about what God is doing in our world today or does your blood pressure sky each time you turn on the news? Do you agree with the old country preacher who shouted from the pulpit, “something's fixing to happen, something's fixing to happen and I am fixing to be part of it?” 

Do you have it firmly tucked away in the recesses of your heart and mind that in the not-too-distant future Jesus will appear suddenly in the air, without warning, to rapture His church and take those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, to the Father's house.        

Notice Malachi's words, "For Behold, the day is coming burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evil doer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts.  So that it will leave them neither root nor branch.  But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go forth and skip like calves from the stall."  That skipping like a calf, at my tender age of 80, kindles a fire deep in my gizzard.

Does that get your blood to boiling?  Noooo? Well, read on: "You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the Lord of Hosts" 

When you read of the sadistic acts of violence that has become very common in our news media, do you not get a wee bit excited when you Malachi's words that "They will one day soon be ashes under the soles of your feet?”

I challenge you to read the entire book of Habakkuk, all three chapters, four pages. It would take about as long as twitting a message.  Notice he begins by crying out to God, "How long, O Lord, will I call for help and You will not hear."  I believe this has become a common plea as our world gets more violent and that violence gets closer to home.  

He goes on, "Violence, iniquity, wickedness, destruction are before me.  The Law is ignored, justice in not upheld, the wicked surround the righteous, justice is perverted" (vs. 2-4).  Does that not sound like today? like the days of Noah?   God's response: "Look among the nations!  Observe! Be astonished!  Wonder!  Because I am doing something in your days-you would not believe if you were told!”   (vs. 5b)

Choice time!  You can put your faith in the things of this world- which is like building your house on the sand, or you can follow Habakkuk's example when he said, "Yet I will exult the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my strength.  And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk in high places" (vs. 3:18-19).

Soooo my friends, Malachi closes the Old Covenant with a promise that is the desire of my heart: "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers".  (Mal 4:6)  How I look forward to that day when all the daddies of the world will go home to their children.   My young friends, are you ready to go skipping like a calf this morning.  I ask you again are you excited this morning of what God is doing and going to do?