I like the way the KJV translates 2Thessalonians 2:7, when it says, the “Mystery of Iniquity,” but the NET or NIV translates better the concept of holding back or restraining. “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way” (2Thessalonians 2:7 NIV). I believe the restraining power of the Holy Spirit has been holding back the Adversary’s Secret Power of Lawlessness ever since Lucifer’s original fall. Only when the Spirit Indwelt Church is taken out of the way at the Rapture will the Antichrist be revealed, then shortly thereafter he will be judged. Bible prophecy advises us what tomorrow will look like, so we’ll adjust our conduct today. Are we living like we are siding with the Holy Spirit, who is holding back the Adversary’s Secret Power of Lawlessness? May God bless everyone, who is on the LORD’s side!
Author: Ken
Embracing Suffering Doesn’t Mean Rejecting Overcoming
Just because we embrace suffering as God’s way of refining us, teaching us, and magnifying Himself, doesn’t mean we reject overcoming. On the one hand, Christ said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33 KJV). On the other hand, He said, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (16:33). On one hand Paul said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2Corinthians 12:9 KJV). On the other hand Paul said, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37 KJV). Initially, Job defended his righteousness about his suffering. In the end, He confessed the Almighty’s rightness to choose, if and when he should suffer. “Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not” (Job 42:3 KJV). Is the Holy Spirit impressing you to suffer or overcome? He can do either. What has He given you to embrace for your circumstance? “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth” (Romans 14:22 KJV).
Today Is The Best Day Of Your Life
Today is the best day of your life. Some may say it was the day they became a disciple, got married, or had kids. Scripture says, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 KJV). Yesterday is past. Tomorrow may never come. Today is the only day you have in which to live. Use it as God’s gift to you. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Thank you LORD, and thanks Jeff for the insight!
Why Me?
Why me? Why am I suffering? Why did God choose Job to be the Poster Child for Suffering? Job may not have said it that way, but felt it. Yahweh already answered that question, even before Job asked it, in a conversation with the Enemy. “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth [hates] evil” (Job 1:8 KJV). The LORD is not afraid to refine us, even at the Adversary’s suggestion. “None like him” (1:8) indicates Job was the best the Almighty had “in the earth” (1:8). Job was “perfect” (1:8) in heart, which is the only perfection possible for any created being. He was “upright” (1:8) because he did right. He feared God more than the Adversary, where well trained troops are more afraid of disappointing their drill sergeant than they fear the enemy. He hated evil. Job’s testing proved: (1) “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2Timothy 3:12 KJV), (2) Suffering makes the greatest impression on us in a teachable moment, for even Jesus in His humanity “learned He obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8 KJV), (3) In suffering’s refinement, “He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10 KJV), (4) Yahweh’s conversation with the satan demonstrates there really is an Unseen Realm of Spiritual Warfare, where “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV). May Yahweh be magnified as He helps us, and we help each other, in our suffering to come forth as gold. Amen and amen.
Show Me Your Faith
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18 KJV). Your house was just flooded. You appreciate well wishes, but anyone helping to rescue you, clean up, and restore you couldn’t be more appreciated! If you can help someone, especially in the household of faith, what better way to express Christian love!
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Sustainability vs. Profitability?
From the beginning, God commanded Adam and Eve to “replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28 KJV). Replenish, not destroy. Subdue and dominate, not to become victims of the Earth. The Almighty made us stewards of the Earth. The Creator gave us the tools to wisely make Earth a sustainable home. Profitability is where there is more gain than loss, and it assumes sustainability. Short term profits elevated above sustainability are shortsighted, unwise, and greedy. Sustainability and profitability should not be at odds, unless short term greed controls. Where sustainability is wisely implemented, Christians should support. I recently viewed “Sustainable: The future of our food system determines the future of mankind” (starring Marty Travis, a farmer in central Illinois). Heaven is our future home, but this is home for now.
Pray Without Ceasing
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18 KJV). This commandment reveals our capability of praying “without ceasing” (1Thessalonians 5:17 KJV), which indicates the Spirit supernaturally intercedes through us for His Body (Romans 8:26), while we maintain purpose of heart and focus of understanding. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for [Greek, huper, on behalf of] us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26 KJV). This means more than not giving up. Even more than groaning while praying. But, the Holy Spirit is using us like a continuously linked network coprocessor, but most importantly, with our consent and awareness. Hallelujah!
God Sees What You Are Doing
Would you change your behavior, if only God saw what you are doing? Would you make an anonymous donation to a worthy cause? Would you obey a rule others are breaking? Would you act solely because you love Him, not because You were afraid of Him? Hagar fled from Sarai because of harsh treatment. The LORD found her, instructed her to return, and gave her the promise of making her the mother of a great multitude. She realized God was concerned about her, because He had been watching her. “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: You are the God who sees me, for she said, I have now seen the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13 NIV). Wouldn’t you also want to please God, for He is watching you?
Ready to Go, But Prepared to Stay
Rapture is a theological term not translated from the Biblical text. It is just like the words, Trinity or the Second Coming of Christ. However, harpazō or “caught up” is found in 1Thessalonians 4:17. Whether the Rapture occurs before or during the Tribulation, or even a combination of the above, Christians must be Ready to Go, But Prepared to Stay. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we need to have the heart attitude: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18 KJV). Either way, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13 KJV).
Christian Unity
“Can we all get along?” was Rodney King’s emotional plea at the height of the 1992 Los Angeles rioting. Good question for the Church nearly 2,000 years after Jesus ascended back to Heaven. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (John 17:20-21 KJV). Our unity in Christ persuades the world for Jesus, but our disunity will push them away. Remember the supernatural unity of the Original Church, where “all that believed were together, and had all things common” (Acts 2:42 KJV). May Christ who unites us be greater than the differences that divide us.
We Need A Miracle 
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