It is all about Jesus. Growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2Peter 3:18) requires you to confront your past. You obviously have already done something right to even be presently considering what God wants you to be doing. Now, here’s the hard part, you’re going to have to give up or reframe your thinking about what you thought you understood, in order to grow. This is where your roots hit a rock and have to redirect your growth, but more importantly, this is where our Heavenly Vinedresser does some painful and aggressive pruning. “He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2 NIV). By God’s grace, see you at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! LORD, do to me what is necessary to bear the fruit that will glorify Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Looking for the Promise
Rapture: The Blessed Hope
“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 NKJV). Sure, I’d like to go, if there’s a Rapture, but how do you know it’s so? Harpazō is the NT Greek for catching up or rapture. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Here, harpazō is understandably connected with the “coming of the Lord” (4:15). We will be “caught up” (4:17) to the Lord in the air to reunite with our predeceased brothers and sisters before we all return with Christ. Harpazō also occurs in Revelation 12:5, where the “woman” (12:1), representing Israel, brings forth the Messiah, who is “caught up” (12:5) to the throne of God. Likewise, the Church as the Body of Christ will be raptured to Heaven, after which Israel will be forced to flee “into the wilderness” (12:6). May the Spirit of Christ “comfort” you (1Thessalonians 4:18) with these words, but let us not be impatient or contentious with one another, least of all, about the Rapture. “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29).
The Case for Creation
Not everything is as it seems. There is a Creator, but no one has seen Him, except Philip. “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9 KJV). Creation is a certainty, for Jesus certified, “From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). Physical geology seems to indicate untold periods of time to form the Grand Canyon, but what about God carving it suddenly with a catastrophic Flood? In classical physics, how can light reach us from distant galaxies in only six literal days, but then our Supernatural Creator and Judge will return “in the twinkling of an eye” (1Corinthians 15:52) and ultimately the “heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll” (Isaiah 34:4). Figurative, poetic hyperbole, or “Is any thing too hard for the LORD” (Genesis 18:14)? LORD, restore again Your rightful place as Creator, Judge, and Sustainer of All Possible Universes, in the hearts of Your people. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Power of the Resurrection
Humanity dreams of the potential of harnessing fusion or orbiting solar power plants to power the world, but Christianity yearns for a similar empowerment for the Church. The Father has already provided the foundation for that transformation through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We all know it is easy to die, but to come back from the dead by an act of indomitable will is the sole capacity of God alone. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:10 KJV). What God resurrects is forever. Settle for no substitutes! Unless we receive this miracle from the Almighty, the entire world is hopelessly lost! Unless the Church learns to carefully and prayerfully lean upon the Holy Spirit, we are holding back the LORD from unleashing His Resurrection power and transforming this earth into a Restored Eden. Good news: Resurrection power comes through intimate knowledge with Christ. However, a warning to the Church: Resurrection power also comes with suffering! We look forward to New Heavens and a New Earth, but how can we expect Him to return to reward us, unless our hand is on the plow laboring to build His Kingdom now — with Resurrection power? Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Our Secret Place
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1 KJV). Everyone needs a secret place to meet with God alone. Only the Almighty is capable of furnishing such a unique place for each of us. If we desire to come into the “secret place of the most High” (91:1), we rely upon our faith to visually or verbally imagine such a comfortable meeting place with God. We can do this, when wide awake. And, even in our dreams, we can find ourselves in this secret place with God, as we sleep. Pray for that blessed meeting before we sleep and the remembrance of that meeting, after we awake. LORD, draw us into closer communion with Yourself whether awake or asleep. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Incentive to Seek the LORD
“When He slew them, then they sought Him: and they returned and enquired early after God” (Psalm 78:34 KJV). Survivors became seekers. How does God get us to do something without taking away our ability to make a free choice? God only knows where to draw the line. My choice is choose Him, but satan seeks only to keep Him from being my last choice. Faithful LORD, perform the good work You began in me, to the end. Amen.
How Is Your Faith?
The only way you can prove you have faith is to presently walk in faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2Corinthians 5:7 KJV). Faith is sensitive to the present. We may have first believed in the past, but we must continue in the present, or there is no faith. We hope to walk in faith to the end, but we must continue in faith in the present to get there. Our great enemy is the deception that faith is not active. We deceive ourselves, when we are not trusting Christ for “all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2Peter 1:3). If we are truly in the faith, then let us avoid shipwreck by allowing Christ to direct our hopes and fears through all the opportunities and troubles of life.
Perfect Peace of Mind
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace [Hebrew, shâlôm, completeness, tranquility], whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee” (Isaiah 26:3 KJV). In Scripture, peace is not a lack of warfare or hostilities with man. Perfect peace is a state of mind, which comes from absolute confidence and trust in God. Said our soon-to-be-crucified Saviour, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Do not be downcast! “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (16:33).
Convicting Power of the Holy Spirit
How can you tell if the Holy Spirit is present? God the Holy Spirit is everywhere, but the convicting power of the Holy Spirit upon anyone who hears the Truth is a special evidence of His presence. “He will reprove [Greek, elegchō, to convict, to prove one in the wrong and thus to shame them] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:7-8 KJV). When we sense ourselves or someone else becoming uncomfortable about the Truth presented, then the Holy Spirit is reproving exactly as Jesus promised. When we hear someone presenting the Truth, and we hope they don’t mean it applies to us, or we need to do something, then the Holy Spirit is effectively working. In the Courts of Heaven, some may call it An Uncomfortable Truth. Father, instead of embarrassment about the effect of truth upon the world, give us the courage and humility to work with Your Spirit to guide and harvest the results of Your convicting presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Heaven’s Book All About You
“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16 KJV). God has our individual destiny and purpose recorded in a book in Heaven. He works to fulfill our destiny, while the enemy passionately works against us. Good news. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1John 4:4). LORD, may Your Word and Your Spirit make plain our purpose. And, may the wicked one be defeated in our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 
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