“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?
Author: Ken
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.
Overcoming the World
Nikaō or overcoming is nearly exclusively used in the NT by John. Saints conquering the world is God’s expectation of us. Whenever we find difficulty with victory, we need the Holy Spirit to grant us a more perfect understanding of our victory. For example, sin is primarily an action, not simply a condition, since overcoming sin involves a better comprehension of what sin is. Remember, even Lucifer had to sin before he became a sinner. Sin is the act of transgressing God’s law or the “transgression of the law” (1John 3:4 KJV), which is more than a condition of “lawlessness” (3:4 NIV, NET). Beginning with that understanding, the Saints no longer need to let the enemy overcome them with accusations that they are inherently evil and unworthy to receive the crown of victory. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God” (1John 5:4-5 KJV). Jesus seven times addressed the Seven Churches of Revelation with the challenge and promise of overcoming (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). Overcoming means more than getting to the finish line of a race, but defeating the enemy and coming away victorious. Overcoming gravity is not just a safe landing but ascending to the heights. Christians need to see the rainbow as not just surviving the Flood but going on to build the Kingdom of God. We overcome through confidence in Christ. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place” (2Corinthians 2:14). FATHER, we can conquer all things through Christ. Cause us to understand how to overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, that the adversary would not have mastery over us. Cause our understanding of Jesus to be the source of our ability to overcome. Magnify Your name through our victory. In Jesus’ name, we pray . Amen.
The Great Whore and the Beast (Revelation 17:7)
Religion in bed with politics is the one world ecumenical movement riding the Antichrist. In the Revelation, John shows us the final development of the world’s religious aspirations fully engaged with the power of the world’s governments. “I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (Revelation 17:1 KJV). In A Woman Rides the Beast (56:28), Dave Hunt historically connects papal Rome with ancient Babylon — though often ignored or discounted by modern scholarship — then he prophetically links Rome’s ecumenical leadership — “that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22) — with the whore riding the beast.
In the Book of Revelation, John describes a woman: (1) of great power and spiritual corruption, i.e., “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication” (Revelation 17:4), (2) with a harlot’s forehead, designating her as the explanation for the occasion, source, and widespreadness of spiritual corruption, i.e., “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (17:5), (3) responsible for the martyrdom of countless True Believers, i.e., “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration” (17:6), (4) sitting at ease at Rome, the City of Seven Hills, i.e., “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth” (17:9), and (5) reigning and influencing world governments from papal Rome, i.e., “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (17:18). If Babylon the Great is here identified with the religious world system, then papal Rome would be more representative of the beast “out of the sea” (13:1), which is the False Prophet, and would not be the Antichrist. Hence, the Whore rides the Beast. Father, the signs of Your Son’s soon appearing are around us and ominous. Cause us to walk carefully but powerfully. Come quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
You must be logged in to post a comment.