The Bible tells us to draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to us. As I seek to see this fulfilled in my life, I am learning the process I must go through. The Bible tells us that there is nothing good in our flesh. But what is our flesh? Is the Bible telling me that my body is bad? No that is not what the Bible is telling us. Our flesh is that part of us that fell in the Garden of Eden. When Adam sinned he was relying on himself. And of course, God did not make man to rely on himself but on God. The reason we have to be born again is for the Spirit of God to return to our lives. Only then can we seek to draw near to God. The Bible tells us to walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. When we are born again the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and we now again have the ability to seek the Lord and walk in righteousness.
The War Inside
So now after being born again you would think that the war is over. The war for our soul and our salvation is over and complete. We are now children of God and will live eternally with Him. However, the war for how we walk out the remainder of our lives is just beginning. The Devil can not change our position in Christ but he can tempt us to walk in such a way that our testimony for God is ineffective and possibly even detrimental. The Bible tells us that the flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. We now struggle with making decisions based on our flesh versus the Spirit. We are told to walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. That is why we are to draw near to God. We are to draw near to Him in order to be filled with the Spirit and walk in righteousness.
Flesh is out
So, what I have learned is that when I start to draw near to God my flesh will rise up. This is part of the process the Lord takes us through because as we draw near to Him our flesh can not come. Only the Spirit in us can draw near to God. He is Holy and only that which is from Him can draw near to Him. So as I draw near to Him the things in my flesh like anger, lust, fear, worry, doubt, depression, etc, etc. will be exposed. The Bible tells us that God test our faith and our faith is our trust in Him for all things. And the flesh, all those areas of the flesh, fear, worry, doubt, etc. does not trust in God. So He will take us through situations to allow the flesh to be exposed and our reliance on Him and the Holy Spirit within us to grow. So when you get an unexpected bill or bad report from the doctor or lose your job do you immediately go into fear, worry and doubt? Or do you trust in the Lord? Our God is real and He has real answers for our everyday life. He knows how many hairs are on our head. So He is so close to us that when one hair falls out He recalculates how many hairs are on our head. Now how often does that happen, everyday?
Spirit is in
When we are born again we are given the promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is so we can draw near to God and mature through tests and situations to learn where we are relying on the flesh and change to rely on the Spirit. The change comes by growing in the word of God as it says, "....faith comes by hearing and hearing Gods word." Our faith grows from spending time in His word. So we draw near to God through studying the Bible, spending quiet time with him, praying, and learning to mature in faith and trust in Him. As we do this we will draw nearer and nearer to Him and He will draw nearer and nearer to us and we will become more like Him in our ways and will be a brighter light of His Love, Grace and Mercy towards us and the world.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
10 Things That Must Happen Before The World Ends!
Have you heard about the Mayan Calendar predicting apocalyptic changes on December 21, 2012? Did you hear Harold Camping, a preacher from California, predicting last May the end of the world and then changing it to this past October because of course the May date was wrong. Well, I would like to set the record straight and inform you that there are 10 Major Events that the Bible tells us must occur before this earth will be destroyed with intense heat. Here are the 10 things that must happen before the world ends. They are not necessarily in order. Also, I am not elaborating in depth on each event. I am just listing them out with a brief description. I will elaborate on each more in depth in later posts.
1. The Gog Magog War - Ezekiel 38 and 39 describes a war in which a leader of a nation from the far north comes with a large army and others with him to destroy Israel. Of course, this leader Gog does not succeed as God steps in and shows the world that there is a God in Israel and He is protecting her.
2. The Apostasy - The Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians says that the Day of the Lord (a.k.a. the millennium or 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, and one of the 10) will not come unless the Apostasy comes first. The Apostasy is a falling away from the truth. Jesus talks about the Apostasy in Matthew 24 as a time when lawlessness increases and peoples love will grow cold.
3. The Man of Lawlessness is Revealed - Also in the 2 Thessalonians passage Paul mentions that the Day of the Lord will not come unless the Man of Lawlessness is revealed. This man, a.k.a the Anti-Christ, will become a world leader and will eventually take a seat in the Temple in Jerusalem and call himself God.
4. The 3rd Temple in Jerusalem - Because the Bible tells us that the Anti-Christ or Man of Lawlessness will take his seat in the Temple in Jerusalem then it is obvious that the Temple has to be rebuilt before the world ends.
5. The Mark of the Beast - The Bible tells us in Revelation 13 that the Anti-Christ causes the whole world to accept a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell goods. Please also hear the warning from Revelation 13 that all who take the mark of the beast will be damned forever.
6. Armageddon - Armageddon is a war in which all the nations of the world fix their anger on Israel and Jerusalem specifically. Jesus himself said in Luke 21, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near."
7. First Resurrection and Rapture - In 1 Thessalonians Paul mentions the First Resurrection and The Rapture as one event that will occur prior to Jesus returning to the earth.
8. Jesus Returns - Jesus returns to earth with His army of believers to save Israel and those in Jerusalem from total annihilation.
9. The Millennium - Jesus then sets up His throne in Jerusalem and reigns on the earth for 1,000 years.
10. The Great White Throne - At the end of the 1,000 year reign God will resurrect all the dead, this is the second resurrection, and bring them before His Great White Throne for judgment.
These are 10 major events that must occur before the world ends. There are many more prophecies involved and much more information to share in regard to each one. Lastly, although it will be at least 1,000 years or more before the world ends the Bible tells us that today is the day of salvation. The good news of the Bible is very simple. Jesus came to die for our sins, all of us. He died on a cross being punished in our place. He was buried and on the third day He defeated death and rose from the dead. He appeared to at least 500 people and then He ascended into heaven. The Bible tells us if we will, "Believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the Dead and Confess with our mouths that He is Lord we will be saved." The Bible tells us to repent which simply means to change your mind. So please pray to God confessing that your a sinner and ask Him to save you. He will then begin to change your life giving you a purpose.
God Bless, William
1. The Gog Magog War - Ezekiel 38 and 39 describes a war in which a leader of a nation from the far north comes with a large army and others with him to destroy Israel. Of course, this leader Gog does not succeed as God steps in and shows the world that there is a God in Israel and He is protecting her.
2. The Apostasy - The Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians says that the Day of the Lord (a.k.a. the millennium or 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, and one of the 10) will not come unless the Apostasy comes first. The Apostasy is a falling away from the truth. Jesus talks about the Apostasy in Matthew 24 as a time when lawlessness increases and peoples love will grow cold.
3. The Man of Lawlessness is Revealed - Also in the 2 Thessalonians passage Paul mentions that the Day of the Lord will not come unless the Man of Lawlessness is revealed. This man, a.k.a the Anti-Christ, will become a world leader and will eventually take a seat in the Temple in Jerusalem and call himself God.
4. The 3rd Temple in Jerusalem - Because the Bible tells us that the Anti-Christ or Man of Lawlessness will take his seat in the Temple in Jerusalem then it is obvious that the Temple has to be rebuilt before the world ends.
5. The Mark of the Beast - The Bible tells us in Revelation 13 that the Anti-Christ causes the whole world to accept a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell goods. Please also hear the warning from Revelation 13 that all who take the mark of the beast will be damned forever.
6. Armageddon - Armageddon is a war in which all the nations of the world fix their anger on Israel and Jerusalem specifically. Jesus himself said in Luke 21, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near."
7. First Resurrection and Rapture - In 1 Thessalonians Paul mentions the First Resurrection and The Rapture as one event that will occur prior to Jesus returning to the earth.
8. Jesus Returns - Jesus returns to earth with His army of believers to save Israel and those in Jerusalem from total annihilation.
9. The Millennium - Jesus then sets up His throne in Jerusalem and reigns on the earth for 1,000 years.
10. The Great White Throne - At the end of the 1,000 year reign God will resurrect all the dead, this is the second resurrection, and bring them before His Great White Throne for judgment.
These are 10 major events that must occur before the world ends. There are many more prophecies involved and much more information to share in regard to each one. Lastly, although it will be at least 1,000 years or more before the world ends the Bible tells us that today is the day of salvation. The good news of the Bible is very simple. Jesus came to die for our sins, all of us. He died on a cross being punished in our place. He was buried and on the third day He defeated death and rose from the dead. He appeared to at least 500 people and then He ascended into heaven. The Bible tells us if we will, "Believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the Dead and Confess with our mouths that He is Lord we will be saved." The Bible tells us to repent which simply means to change your mind. So please pray to God confessing that your a sinner and ask Him to save you. He will then begin to change your life giving you a purpose.
God Bless, William
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