Black Friday: The Ultimate Coveting!

My husband and I were discussing why today is called "Black Friday". When we thought about the word, "black", it made us think of darkness. As Christians when we think of darkness, we think of sin or the Prince of Darkness - Satan.

So, let's take a minute today and think about Satan's description. He comes to "lie, steal and destroy." Satan's first assault on us is to get us to doubt God's Word. In Genesis 3:1, he approached Eve with the thought, "Did God indeed say?" So today, Black Friday, he comes to us and asks us "Did God indeed say - 'Thou shall not covet'?" Then he proceeds to put in front of our eyes all the things that the world goes after for their source of happiness in life. We fall for this lie by thinking that God does love us and He certainly wants "good things" for us, etc. Just like Eve, before you know it - we have rationalized away God's Word on our lives!

Satan's next characteristic is to steal. How many millions of Americans are out in the stores today spending money that they don't have by putting it on credit cards? I was taught when I was young that if I didn't have money to pay for something and I took it anyways - I was stealing it!! If you've got the money tucked away to pay off that credit card immediately, then I wouldn't call that stealing. But if you are getting something, KNOWING you don't have the money for it and probably don't have the money to pay off your credit card - that is called "stealing" and it is breaking another one of God's Ten Commandments!

Satan's ultimate purpose in life is to destroy YOU! So, he is lying to people today, he is stealing from people today, and when this is all over with - he will have destroyed many lives today because of the debt they have just added to the already heavy economic load they are trying to carry.

As Christians, God has called us "OUT of the darkness, into His marvelous light"! (I Peter 2:9)Hear what God has to say about "Black Friday" in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17: "What fellowship has light with darkness? .....What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For YOU are the temple of the living God. .....Therefore, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you."

We are called by God to be the "light of the world" (Matt. 5:14) Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." (Matt. 5:16) Letting our lights shine in today's darkness, means being bold enough to take a stand and to be different from the world around us. Don't "turn off" your light by joining the darkness around you and living in disobedience to your God and His Word!

"Not Under Law But Under Grace"

This title is taken from Romans 6:14 which says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  Many of our preachers are falsely teaching that this means we no longer have to "Keep the Sabbath Day Holy".  However, as far as the other 9 commandments - somehow they still want us to keep them.  You know, the ones that say "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, etc."

I John 3:4 states that "...sin is lawlessness." We can re-state the above verse to say, "For lawlessness will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." As Christians, we are now expected to be law-keepers instead of being law-breakers!

About a month ago, my husband and I took a trip back to Ohio to visit our relatives.  On the way, we stopped at a rest area.  In a glass box on a wall were posted the "Rules of this Rest Area".  There were about 20 rules that were listed.  Do you think that my husband and I took the time to stand there and read all 20 rules to make sure we weren't breaking any of them?  Of course not!  Why?  Because we are "law-keepers" and not "law-breakers".  We believe in obeying the law and that means we are no longer "under it".  In a way, we are actually ABOVE the law when we become law-keepers!  We don't have to worry about stopping at stop signs, red lights, vandelizing rest areas, etc. etc.  We automatically do it because we want to obey the law.  

However, the ones who are "law-breakers" and who don't want to obey the law - they are the ones who are "under the law".  They are the lawless ones who need to worry about those 20 rules listed at that rest area, and they are the ones who need to worry about running the red lights, not stopping at stop signs, breaking the 10 Commandments, etc.

Obeying God's laws - the 10 commandments, will never give us eternal life.  That only comes by turning our lives over to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  At that time, His grace saves us.  However, something is very wrong if as a Christian - we don't love the Lord enough to desire to walk in obedience to ALL of HIS laws, which also includes keeping HIS Sabbath Day (Saturday - the 7th day) holy and set apart from the world. Something is also wrong, if Christians continue to debate and try to find reasons to NOT be obedient to His Laws!  Let us never forget that Christ gave His all for us.  How can we not give our all for Him?

The Sabbath Day: Holy or Profane?

The other day I was watching a Christian program on TV which really clarified for me what the difference is between something that is "Holy" and something that is "Common". The analogy that the speaker gave was this:  God created our sun to have a "Common" purpose in our galaxy.  However, if we should decide to worship the sun and make the sun holy - we would be committing idolatry because God did not create the sun for worship.

Let's apply this analogy to the 4th Commandment - to remember the 7th Day Sabbath and keep it holy.  (See Exodus 20:10)  God the Creater made the first day of the week for us to work.  He created it as a "common" day.  He did not create the first day of the week for worship!  However, if we decide to make it a day of worship, (a holy day) - then we also are committing idolatry.  We have just taken something God created as "Common" and we have made it "Holy" (set apart for worship)! 

In Numbers 26:61 it says, "And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered profane fire before the Lord."
Leviticus 10:1-3 says, "Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.  So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.  And Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord spoke, saying:  "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified."

Worshipping on the first day of the week makes that a "profane worship day".  Why?  Because as the above verse states:  God has not commanded us to worship on that day.  But the opposite is also true when we take the 7th Day Sabbath (Saturday), which God has commanded us to keep holy - and we make it a "common/profane day"!  We are now guilty of idolatry as well as disobedience to a holy God - and we think we can still ask God to "bless us"?

The Apostasy and Moral Relativism

There's been alot of preaching lately about the dangers of "moral relativism".  The dictionary defines "moral" as: "pertinent to right and wrong conduct".  It also defines "relativism" as: "dependent on relation to something else, not absolute."  In other words, moral relativism means there is no absolute truth, no absolute right and wrong.  Everything is relative to each other.


What's surprising to me is the fact that these very same ministers of the Gospel who preach against moral relativism are guilty of teaching and practicing it themselves!  Here's an example when they are approached with the truth from God's Word that the 4th Commandment has never been done away with.  The 4th Commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy".  Exodus 20:10 further states, "But the 7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.  In it you shall do no work...." That sure sounds like an "absolute truth" statement!  Here is where the moral relativism comes in when Christians say to me, "Well, it doesn't really matter which day of the week we worship God.  We can worship Him any day of the week."  The truth is that they say this to excuse themselves from not being obedient to God and His Word!


Let's take a look at some other examples from the Bible where God's people tried the "relativism approach" with our holy God.  The first one to come to mind is in the Garden of Eden.  God told Adam there was ONE tree he was not to eat from.  The serpent basically told Eve, "Does it really matter if you eat from that tree or from any other tree in this garden?"  He used the "relativism approach" on Eve, and we know the punishment that came from approaching God with that attitude, don't we?


A few months ago, I wrote a post regarding Naaman, the leper in 2 Kings 5:1-12.  He was told by a man of God to go to the Jordan River and dip seven times and he would be cleansed of his leprousy.  However, in verse 12 Naaman asks, "Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?  Could I not wash in them and be clean?"  This is a really good example of "Moral Relativism".  Naaman was saying as Christians do today, that it really doesn't matter to God what river I dip in - as long as I dip myself in a river.  It's the same as saying, "It doesn't really matter to God what day I keep as the Sabbath Day - just as long as I take a sabbath day."


Sadly, our churches have let moral relativism take over so much that not only are the Ten Commandments no longer honored and respected, but God Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ is no longer Supreme in our church services and our lives.  Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Jesus is the Absolute Truth, the Absolute Way, and the Absolute Life!  There is NO OTHER WAY to God the Father.  One last warning given by Jesus in Matt. 7:13 & 14 says, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  Let me challenge you with with this last question:  Just how difficult and narrow is your way of life as a Christian?  If you are not living a difficult and narrow life, then there is only one other way of life you can be living.....think about it!!

Once Saved - Always Saved? True or False?

Here is what God says in Ezekiel 18:21 about the "righteous man":

"When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity (sin), and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live?  ALL the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die." 

In Ezekiel 18:25, God says the following about the "wicked man":

"If a wicked man turns from all his sins (lawlessness) which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live." 

If our preachers say that the righteous man can "commit iniquity" and still live, (which goes against God's Word in Ez. 18) - then preachers MUST also BE CONSISTENT when it comes to the verses on the wicked man.  They would then have to say if the wicked man "turns from all his sins" - he would still die  (which goes against God's Word in Ez. 18).  Our preachers cannot change the verses about the righteous man without also changing the verses regarding the wicked man!  This goes completely against the practice of good Bible teaching.

So, what is righteousness?  Verse 25 above tells us that when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness, "keeps all My statutes (laws)" and does "what is lawful and right", he is considered righteous and will live.  If you do what is "lawful", you must have a set of "laws" to live by.  The set of laws God has given us are His statutes, the Ten Commandments.  However, if we are being taught in our churches that God's law has "been done away with", that means our preachers are actually teaching us to be unrighteous people!

It's interesting that I John 3:4 states that "Sin is lawlessness".  Lawlessness means "we are not under law" because there is no law.  Hmmm - where have I heard that one before?

Before I close, I want to clarify that we cannot earn our salvation by good works or by keeping God's laws.  Jesus Christ purchased our salvation through His blood which was shed on the cross for us.  If we choose to accept this gift of salvation, it also means we choosing to turn our lives over to Christ and His laws which He expects us to obey.  We are taught that salvation is a "free gift", but even that is a false teaching!  It cost Jesus Christ His very life, and He tells us that if we accept His gift of salvation - it will cost us our lives as well!

In conclusion, God's Word tells us that the theology that teaches us "Once Saved - Always Saved" is a false teaching.  It not only does away with our need to obey God's laws, but it also takes away "the fear of the Lord" from before our eyes.  Solomon gave his conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:13,14:  "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all.  For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." 

The Apostasy: The Idolatry of Evangelical Believers

Since I began this blog about the Apostasy and believers being falsely taught that God's Law has been "done away with", I've had the feeling that idolatry is being practiced by many believers - but I just couldn't figure out how to explain it.  For one thing, we don't have carved idols that we actually bow down to here in the U.S. as many foreign countries have with their various religions, etc.

Well, yesterday God showed me in Ezekiel 14:3-6, the idolatry that many evangelical believers are practicing today.  It's called "Idolatry of the Heart".  Here is how this passage reads in the NKJV:

"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity.  Should I (the Lord God) let Myself be inquired of at all by them? Therefore, speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God:  "Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols."'  Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God:  "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations."

Ezekiel 14:7 & 8 then says:  "For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself.  I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord."

How do we identify "idolatry of the heart"?  First of all, this idolatry is not referring to carved images that are set up in order for one to practice their religion by bowing down before them and/or offering sacrifices to them, etc.  This idolatry is something that "estranges and separates" us from our relationship with our God. (14:5)  This idolatry is something that "causes us to stumble into iniquity". (14:3,4,7)  It is an "idolatry of the heart" that makes our hearts lukewarm towards God.  I wrote about this in my blog in June 2010 regarding apostasy-and-uncircumcised hearts.

Many evangelical Christians are spending their spare time playing video games on their i-phones, playing fantasy games with others on their computers, and many are even spending time viewing pornagraphic websites.  Spending your spare time watching T.V., being on the internet, going shopping, being with friends, can all be "idolatry of the heart" IF it all leaves you with NO TIME to spend with your God by reading His Word (not someone else's devotionals) or being on your knees in prayer and worship before Him.  Of course, the more time we stay away from God and His Word - the more likely we are going to "stumble into iniquity" as Ezekiel 14 put it.  As someone else has put it, "If the devil can't get you to sin, he will keep you BUSY!"

If you as a believer in Christ Jesus, find you have "no heart" for spending time with Him - then you need to examine your heart and your lifestyle.  If you find that your "want to" is broken regarding spending time in prayer and Bible-reading, then do what Ezekiel 14:6 says to do:  "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations."  If you find you don't even have "the heart" to do this - then you, my dear friend, have been deceived into thinking that you are truly a born-again Christian.
As I John 3:10 says, "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God..."    If you have a desire to have a personal relationship with God, please let me know and I will be glad to introduce you to Him.

Guarding The Gates of the Sabbath - Part Two

My husband and I get so excited when the sun sets on Friday evenings and we can "shut the gates" when it comes to our home and our relationship with each other and our God.  It's so freeing to know that for the next 24 hours, we are going to shut the world out of our home and our lives.  Then, we get to welcome our Lord Jesus to spend time with us on His holy day.  By so doing, we are "guarding the gates and sanctifying the Sabbath day".

God led Nehemiah to use this phrase in Nehemiah 13:19-22.  "So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath.  Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.  Then I warned them, and said to them, 'Why do you spend the night around the wall?  If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!'  From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.  And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates to sanctify the Sabbath day."

So as a Christian, how are you doing at "guarding the gates" of God's seventh-day Sabbath?  How are you doing at "sanctifying the Sabbath day" - keeping it holy, different and set apart from the other 6 days of the week?  This definitely goes counter-culture in today's society as well as in today's evangelical churches.  As in Nehemiah's day, the merchants are outside "the gates" (meaning our homes) on the Sabbath day -
constantly calling us to "open the gates" in order to come out and buy their goods.  However, by "opening those gates", the world is able to sneak inside our homes through our phones, televisions, radios, newspapers, etc.  It is a constant conscious decision on our part to turn it all off in order to "guard the gates to sanctify the Sabbath day".

So, what is the benefit to you?  1) You will be walking in obedience to the Word of God, 2) You will grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, 3) You will get REST and RELAXATION for 24 hours EVERY WEEK, and 4) You will have peace - Sabbath Peace.  What a gift from God!

                                     "SHABBAT SHALOM!"

Guarding The Gates of the Sabbath - Part One

Here's a little bit of history that I'm sure most of us are unaware of.  In 586 BC, Jerusalem and its gates
were burned and destroyed by fire.  Jeremiah 17:27 gives the reason for why it happened:

Thus says the Lord, "But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched."

A little later on around 432 BC, Nehemiah has gone back to Jerusalem to help rebuild it.  After rebuilding the walls, the people made a covenant in Neh. 10:31 "... if the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day;"  Sometime after this, Nehemiah returned to Babylon for a short time.  However, when he came back to Jerusalem (in Neh. 13:15-19) this is what he had to say:

"In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.  And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.  Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.  Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, 'What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?  Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city?  Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.'  So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath.  Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day."

In verse 18 when Nehemiah referred to "didn't our fathers do thus, and didn't our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city?" - he was referring to the burning of Jerusalem and its gates by fire, back in Jeremiah 17:27!  To put it in our language today, Nehemiah was "freaking out" that the people were buying and selling on the Sabbath day, not keeping it a holy and set-apart day to the Lord, and not keeping the gates of Jerusalem shut on that holy day.  He was fearful that God would again burn it with fire because of them not honoring the Sabbath Day!

What does this have to do with us today?  Take a look at what Christians are doing on the 7th day of the week - the Sabbath day to the Lord our God.  It's one of the first 4 commandments that have to do with "Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength".  Are we "buying and selling" on God's holy day?  Are we working and/or making others work that day by serving us?  Maybe some of us should be getting a little bit more "freaked out" about the natural disasters God is allowing to come on the U.S. when it's obvious we continue to "cast His law behind our backs" (Neh. 9:26) by being a disobedient and rebellious people when it comes to God and His Word.  If God can burn Jerusalem with fire because the people called by His Name would not keep His Sabbath day holy - what makes us think it won't happen to us as well?

Ten Commandments or Two Commandments?

Yesterday morning, I was watching a T.V. minister speak on I John 5.  In I John 5:2 and 3 it says, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome." (NKJV)  This minister proceeded to state that we only have two commandments that we are expected to obey.  He told the audience this without ever giving them a Bible reference!  Of course, the two commandments he was referring to are:  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Let's look at Matthew 22:36-40 and see exactly what Jesus said about these two commandments.  A lawyer had come to Jesus and asked Him about which was the greatest commandment in the law.  Jesus' reply was "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the LAW and the Prophets."

I want you to see a couple of things from this passage:

1.  Jesus is quoting Old Testament Law with both of these commandments. See Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18.
By doing this, He is confirming that the Old Testament Law is not "done away with" as many of our ministers are teaching today.

2.  Jesus never said there were no other commandments than these two.  He only said one was "the first greatest commandment.  And the second is like it."  No where did He say that we did not need to obey the other commandments.  In fact, He said in verse 40, "On these two commandments HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS."

A couple of chapters earlier, in Matt. 19:17-19 - Jesus told the rich young ruler, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  If you notice, Jesus didn't quote the two commandments mentioned above!

When the ruler asked Him which ones to keep, Jesus answered with the following:  "You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not bear false witness.  Honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."  Sounds like part of the 10 Commandments with the "second greatest commandment" added on, doesn't it?

The same minister mentioned above later on in his sermon mentioned the importance of "morality".  Well, we cannot have any kind of morality without "moral laws" to follow and obey. Webster's definition of "sin" is "the transgression of divine and moral law committed consciously".  As soon as this minister started talking about "morality", he was admitting there were more than two commandments to be obeyed.

What I really want you to get from all of this is the importance for each one of us to do as the people in Berea did in Acts 17:11 - they "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."  Please don't just take your minister's word for anything - without studying it for yourself.  The same goes for any books or devotionals you may read.  We are living in the last days when false teachers are trying to deceive us in any way that they can.  The only way we can know what is really true is to go to the Word of God for ourselves, asking the Holy Spirit to show us what is true and what is false.

The Sabbath Day and Naaman the Leper

Whenever my husband and I share with other believers about the importance of keeping the Lord's Sabbath Day (the 7th day of the week) - we often get the response that "it really doesn't matter what day of the week we worship God".  This comment is given as an excuse to continue their "first day" worship on Sunday - the sun god's day.

A few days ago, I was reading the story in 2 Kings 5 about Naaman.  He was the commander of the army of the king of Syria - and he had leprosy.  Naaman sent for the prophet, Elisha, to heal him of his leprosy.  Instead of going himself, Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman with the following message:  "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean."  (vs. 10)  In verse 11, Naaman became furious that Elisha sent a messenger to him instead of coming himself to heal him.

The key verse I want to share with you today is in verse 11.  It reads as follows, with Naaman speaking:  "'Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?  Could I not wash in them and be clean?'  So he turned and went away in a rage."

To me this sounds very much like what believers say today when confronted with keeping God's holy Sabbath day.  Aren't the other days of the week better than the 7th day?  Can't we just have a "rest day" on any of them and be fine?  It is all a question of obedience and remembering that we are only a created being of God's - and not the Creator Himself.

In verse 14 it says, "So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."  He could not choose any other river of his choice.  It had to be the one that God chose.  Also, he could not choose to only dip 3 times, 5 times, 12 times, etc.  It had to be the number that God chose - the number 7.

In Genesis 2:2 & 3, God stated the seventh day - 3 times.  The number 7 is God's number.  Man's number is the number 6.  We all know that the number 666 is the number for the Anti-christ.  What about God's number - 777?  When something is stated in the Bible 3 times - it means it is something very important to God.  When we read, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts", God is getting across to us how important His holiness really is.  So what is He trying to get across to us in Genesis 2 regarding His 7th-day Sabbath?  If I tried to paraphrase, it might sound like this:  "It's the seventh day, the seventh day, the seventh day."  He just doesn't leave any room for us to make it another day, does He? 

One thing we need to remember is this:  The Sabbath Day (7th day) was given long before there was a nation of Israel or before Moses was given the 10 Commandment law.  That's why in the 10 Commandments it is stated to "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy..."  This 7th-day Sabbath was given for all mankind to honor and to set apart as holy.  Just like in the story of Naaman, who do we think we are that we can tell God Almighty that we are going to move His holy Sabbath Day to another day? 

Jeremiah 2:19 says, "'Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear (dread) of Me is not in you,' says the Lord God of hosts."

False Teaching: The Rapture and the Last Trumpet of God

Up until last weekend, I have believed in the "Rapture of the Church" right before the Tribulation.  However, last weekend as I was reading I Thessalonians 4:16 & 17 - I saw something I had never seen before in this passage.

As most of you know, this is the key passage that Bible scholars use to support the "Pre-Tribulation Rapture" of the church.  It reads: 

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord." 

Most of us don't know that there is a cross-reference by "the trumpet of God".  This took me to I Corinthians 15:51 & 52 which reads: 

"Behold I tell you a mystery:  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 

When I read "the last trumpet",  I immediately turned to Revelation 11:15 to read about that Last Trumpet - or "the Seventh Trumpet".
To my surprise, when the Seventh Trumpet is sounded - it will bring in the Kingdom of God.  That verse reads:

"Then the seventh angel sounded:  And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'"

Here is the problem.  Most Bible scholars argue that these are two different trumpets.  However, using logic we can see that is not possible.  I Thess. 5:16 & 17 is referring to the "last" trumpet of God.  If it is the last one, there cannot be another one after that one.  That, my dear friends, means we will be going through the Tribulation.  Since the 7th Trumpet ushers in the Kingdom of God (the Millenium or 1000-year reign of Christ), that definitely shows it to be the Last Trumpet.  No other trumpets are sounding after that one.  And, if the Last Trumpet is the 7th Trumpet, that also means we are going through the Tribulation.  Logic asks, "Just how many last trumpets can we have?"

After having this truth revealed to me, I realized just how selfish it sounds when Christians say, "I'm just waiting for that trumpet of Christ to sound and then I'm out of here!"  Why would we WANT to leave our unsaved friends and family to suffer here on earth without our witness?  In fact, in Philippians 1:29 God tells us "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."

When that Last Trumpet sounds, it will be at the end of the Tribulation as Christ is preparing to come back to earth.  At that time, we will be taken up to meet Him in the clouds so we can all return with Him - "and so we shall forever be with the Lord".

False Teaching and the Worship of God: Where Have We Gone Wrong?

As I've watched the news this week with the uprising in Egypt, it was interesting to see how when it came time for the Muslims to worship, they immediately stopped their protesting and fell to their knees. This got me to wondering about the form of Christian worship we've been taught to practice.  Is going to church, singing, praying, standing, clapping hands, reading the Bible, sitting quietly, taking an offering, (just to name a few) - really what God means by the word "worship"?  Has the Apostasy and the false teaching in our churches of "Lawless Grace" taken us away from the heart of worship?

In order to answer that question, I immediately turned to the Bible, God's Word.  Because it is written in Hebrew (the Old Testament) and Greek (the New Testament), that meant getting out my Strong's Concordance and looking up the word "Worship" in those two languages. What I found out totally surprised me!!  There are only three Hebrew words in the Old Testament that refer to worship. The main word, "shachah" is mentioned 55 times and means to "prostrate oneself, bow down, fall down flat, or make to stoop." The other two Hebrew words have the same meaning as well.  I was rather fearful as I approached the New Testament's Greek word for "worship". Again, the main Greek word for worship is "proskuneo" which means to "crouch, or to prostrate oneself in homage." This word is used 34 times! Lastly, I went to my Webster's Dictionary and looked up the word "prostrate". It's definition is "to throw flat on the ground, lying flat, crushed, submissive, overcome."

I'm sure I don't have to tell you just how HUMBLING it is to get down on your knees with your face to the floor, or better yet - lying down FLAT on the floor with your face down. Yet, religions all around the world are able to humble themselves in that way for their FALSE gods. We Christians belong to the TRUE and LIVING God and yet we can't even get down on our knees to pray!

As you read your Bible through this year and see the word, "worship", remind yourself that it's true meaning is "to prostrate myself by falling down flat or bowing down." "Lawless Grace" in our churches today says Jesus is a God of love and forgiveness so we as Christians just don't need to be that extreme in our worship of Him. He will surely understand how embarrassing that posture can be for us. Right? WRONG!! Jesus is coming back very soon and He has promised that when He comes back, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth." (Philippians 2:10)  God clarifies it even more in I Corinthians 14:25:  "...and so falling down on his face, he will worship God..."

One last verse I must share with you before closing is 2 Chronicles 7:14 because it is a favorite of Christians in these last days as they seek a church revival:

"If My people who are called by My Name will HUMBLE themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The Hebrew word for "Humble" is "kana" which means "to bend the knee; to humiliate; to bring down low." Sounds like "prostrate" doesn't it? Do you really desire a church revival in our land? Then join me and others this year as we "prostrate" ourselves before the One and Only True God - Jesus Christ!!  Here's a great song to help us do just that:  "Here I Am To Worship"

Fasting: Games We Play With God

For the past 21 days, a church here in Springfield has been on a "fast" from all types of media, both inside the church and inside the homes of its members. This is quite a contrast from the church I wrote about in my previous blog. To get "Unplugged" is important so we can take time to "Be still and know that I am God". (Psalm 46:10)

However, what happens when this 21-day fast is over? Will the tape come off the televisions inside the church and will everything go back to the way it was before? Do we ever ask God, "What kind of fast really pleases You?" and then search in His Word for the answer? Isaiah 58 clearly gives us the answer.

The first part of that chapter describes God's people as:

1. Seeking God daily and delighting in knowing His ways. (vs. 2)
2. Taking delight in approaching God. (vs. 2)

However, even though God's people were seeking Him, God refused to recognize their day of fasting. Why? In verse 5, God asks, "Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" (The answer is "No" when you read the rest of the chapter.)

Here's the list God sets forth for a fast that pleases Him:

Loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free and break every yoke, share your bread with the hungry, bring to your house the poor who are cast out, clothe the naked and don't ignore the needs of your own family members.

The above list has to do with "loving our neighbor as ourselves". The next list God gives us, though, focuses on "Loving the Lord our God with all our heart..." Remember, this is part of "the fast" that God said pleases Him.

"If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord...."

It seems to me fasting is not so much about us and what we are willing to give up for God. I hear God saying it is about OBEYING what He tells us to do regarding caring for our "neighbor" and KEEPING HIS SABBATH DAY a day set apart for Him and His pleasure - NOT for our own pleasure or work. (And don't forget, the Sabbath Day is the seventh day of the week - NOT the first day of the week. See Exodus 20:10)

"Unplugging" is a good thing for us to do in order to hear God's voice more clearly. However, to call it a "fast" that pleases God - according to God's Word, it doesn't qualify.

The Apostasy: Nightclub Churches!

One of the Assembly of God mega-churches here in Springfield has just started a new "campus" inside a building which was a former nightclub. According to the article in our News-Leader, "part of the draw of North Point, however, is its unorthodox and slightly irreverent presentation." According to this article, they have set up their church service to imitate what someone would find in a nightclub - strobe lights, fog, a live band, etc. In fact, everything is there but the alcohol and the pole-dancing. They even have the latest Wii games in the lobbies for church-goers' entertainment!

Are you seeing anything wrong with this picture? If not, then let me ask - How can a church be "slightly irreverent" in its presentation of the Gospel? That to me is like a person saying that they are "slightly telling a lie". It's just not possible. Either you are telling a lie or you aren't. Either you are irreverent or you aren't. God is not a God of the "gray areas". He is a God of "No Compromise". He is also a God of Holiness and has commanded us to "Be holy as I am holy"! (I Peter 1:16)

This news article caused my husband and myself to ask, "What is the Church"? According to Strong's Concordance, in the Greek it means "a calling out". That makes those who belong to the Church - "the called-out ones". What have we been "called out" of? In I Peter 2:9 it says Christ "called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what fellowship has light with darkness?" Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds." (NIV)

As Christians, we are called to "GO" out into this dark world and be a light. (Matthew 28:19 & 20) Nowhere is there a command to bring the world and its darkness (meaning its culture and gods) into our churches and fellowships. If we do, then how can we be "The Called-Out Ones"?

Towards the end of this article, one visitor commented that she enjoyed this church because it was "more like her secular life than her previous church life." Another thing she enjoyed was the fact that, "You don't need to change to be here." I'm sorry, but my Bible reads - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world." That is a definite command to change! In fact, "Repentance" itself calls for a changed lifestyle.

As Christ Himself said, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." (John 3:19 & 20)