“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 KJV). God does not expect from us, what He does not expect from Himself — Finish the job! How can we expect to enter into Heaven, if we do not persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13; Romans 2:7; Revelation 3:11)? Do you say, it will happen anyway? But, if it took your cooperation and agreement for Him to begin the good work in you, why wouldn’t it take that cooperation to the end? It was never that we loved Him, but “He first loved us” (1John 4:19). Finishing the job and making it home to Heaven — sure, you must persevere — but, all the credit will be placed at the feet of our Lord, when we come into His heavenly presence. LORD, You were our help in ages past, and are our hope for years to come. Your Spirit working in us caused us to will and to do of Your good pleasure. Magnify Your name for every right hearted action of Your children. And, may every child of Yours justify the wisdom of Your decision to require us to persevere to the end, when we cross the Finish Line into Heaven. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Author: Ken
Judy the Lifesaving Dog
“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10 KJV). And, why wouldn’t we care for someone who is so faithful to us? Judy (1936-1950) was a pure-bred liver and white Pointer, born in Shanghai, China and adopted by the British Royal Navy as a ship’s mascot for the HMS Gnat, and later with the HMS Grasshopper. During WW2, many times she provided early warning to the ship’s crew of approaching enemy aircraft with her acute canine hearing. After her ship was finally sunk, and finding refuge on an island, she helped surviving crew members find fresh water, saving them all. Upon their eventual capture by the Japanese, Judy was the only dog ever registered as a prisoner of war. Moving from camp to camp, she survived the sinking of the transport ship Harugiku Maru, and saved many passengers from drowning by bringing them flotsam. In camp, she caught small rodents for the POWs to eat for survival. Judy bonded with fellow POW Frank Williams, who shared his handful of rice, and both cared for one another until her death years after the war. Bonding with furry friends such as Judy reminds us of our Lord’s attachment to us. LORD, may we be inspired to be as faithful to You, as Judy was to Frank and all her crew mates. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
You Are What You Think
“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV). This cursory slice of King James translation correctly reveals more than its context of the duplicity of a rich host’s intentions at a banquet, but the underlying cause and effect relationship between what we think and who we are. The reason charlatans are able to separate people from their money is they rightly identify the connection between who we are and what we think. But, either their advice misleads concerning what God says we should be, or they misdirect our thoughts not after God’s thoughts. Nonetheless, the power of taking God at His Word is profound, if we are willing like a small child. Our daily need is to bring every thought into the captivity of Jesus Christ (2Corinthians 10:5). How far do you want to go today?
Escaping Eternal Torment
The just shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38), so we can only be perfected by our own faith while physically alive, not purged by others after physically dead. The rich man in hell knew he had no more hope of escaping eternal torment. He pleaded to Father Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to testify to his surviving brothers of their future punishment, if they did not repent (Luke 16:28). Abraham replied, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (16:31 KJV). But, we, the living, can testify to those relatives, in agreement with their departed relatives in Hell, repent before you join them. LORD, help us to faithfully testify to the living before it is eternally too late. Amen and amen.
Blessedness or Happiness
“Blessed [Hebrew, esher, happiness or blessedness] are the undefiled [Hebrew, tâmîym, whole, sound, healthful] in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 119:1 KJV). Yes, we are blessed or happy, but why? We are as Noah was a “just [Hebrew, tâmîym, perfect]” (Genesis 6:9 KJV), or undefiled by the physical and spiritual curse of the Nephilim, but why? We are undefiled, because we walk in the law of the LORD. True, we walk not in the “counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1), but we “delight” and “meditate” in the “law of the LORD” (1:2). If we stop there, we miss the point. It is the LORD’s law. Without Him, we have no source or focus. He alone is able to give meaning to the law. We learn of Him and His character by our association with that law. Unless we view our time around His Word as something more than a word study, then we escape the grand point of our existence — to “know Him” (Phillippians 3:10).
Why Pray Return Suddenly?
Our Lord taught us to continually pray, “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10 KJV). Jesus Christ suddenly returning to this planet is a theme of anticipation, moving forward, taking dominion, and building Christ’s kingdom, and not pulling back, losing ground, and dismantling Christ’s work on earth. All our projects, goals, problems, and aspirations will be concluded, when Jesus returns and we depart (1Thessalonians 4:17). “Surely I come quickly [Greek, tachu, suddenly]. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:2). All our prayers will be answered, e.g., healing, deliverance. What better pray request? Who wouldn’t want to pray, Lord Jesus, return suddenly? LORD, You are the focus for our building Your Kingdom on this earth, but we know Your kingdom is wherever You are. We desire You to return, ourselves to meet You in the air, then You to reign on this earth, again. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Hate Divides, Love Unites
I agree with the sentiment of the sign.
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10 NET).
I Know Whom I Have Believed
Amnesia or Alzheimer’s may produce temporary or progressive decay of memory, but nightmarish horror only comes, when we voluntarily forget God. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17 KJV). The All Remembering God has covenanted not to remember our sins against us, when we repent. “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Understanding God’s character should evoke in us the deepest love and worship of Him, who is our last and greatest Hope. “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2Timothy 1:12). Arise, O LORD, and shake us out of our deep slumber. Cause us to be more concerned about losing the smile upon Your face toward us than our meager ability to remember where we misplaced our keys. You are so much more valuable than anything we may possess. Bless Yourself and honor Your name. Return quickly and deliver Your people. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen.
Why the Devil Needs UFOs
The Rapture and UFOs are forbidden topics for both respectable theologians and scientists because they deny credibility from each their respective mainstream. Once burned, twice shy. Students of prophecy walk carefully around setting any dates of Rapture, Tribulation, Second Coming, since scoffers love to remind of anything remotely resembling a failed date. Yet, even our Savior enflamed us with His closing promise of the NT, “Surely I come quickly [Greek, tachu, suddenly]. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20 KJV). Anyone who places any credence in the 1947 Roswell incident as anything other than a crashed weather balloon will lose immediate credibility for believing in a conspiracy theory. If you believe in neither a Rapture nor UFOs, then you’re on safe ground, as far as established theology and science are concerned. But, if there really is a Rapture, then what better opportunity for some world leader to step up with miraculous explanations for the Suddenly Missing People (SMP). Of course, the explanation will be a carefully crafted lie, which will be the work of the Antichrist. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:9). UFOs are those lying wonders. They are real, but not extraterrestrial, instead from another dimension, which is the Unseen Realm of both the good and evil. Not until Almighty God removes the Restraining Influence of the Spirit Indwelt Christians at the Rapture, will it be necessary for Satan’s Antichrist to step in, explain, and miraculously bring seeming order to the chaos. “And now you know what is holding him back, so that he [Antichrist] may be revealed at the proper time” (2Thessalonians 2:6 NIV). This will be more than Alien Brothers bringing in a new era of peace, but most probably a Nephilim harnessing the power of “alien technology” to consolidate worship of himself as God. “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2Thessalonians 2:4). LORD, our fervent prayer is to be ready for Your Son’s soon appearing. May we calmly and faithfully advocate for Your people to continue their employments and doing whatever good You’ve shown us to do, in the meantime; but, open the hearts of those around us to receive Your Son. Return quickly, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Expectation: Look Out for Answers to Prayer
Praying without expectation of answer is faithless and unbelieving, yet how often do we do it? “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3 KJV). Why do we do it? Because we have such a low opinion of God. And, how do we fix that? We need to elevate our thinking about God, which the Holy Spirit has especially been given to accomplish in us (John 16:13-15). For instance, Jesus identifying Himself as one with the Father (John 14:9), would be understood as having said: “11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
Our past negative experiences with God cause us to construct a more constrained picture of God, which we feel puts less pressure or expectation on God, when, in reality, it puts less pressure on ourselves. God, on the other hand, is calling us to a higher expectation of what He is capable and willing to do. Let us not force the future to look like a worse imitation of the past. “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). Shouldn’t we rather be so expectant, it could be said, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12)?
Father, make us to be truly Your children by how we ask You with great expectation for answer to our prayers. But, may we grow in our understanding of You that we may have greater appreciation, praise, and worship of You in the coming days. “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5). In Jesus’ exalted name, we ask it — and, do return quickly. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 
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