LIFE IS ABOUT CHOICES

Life is About Choices

“But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve.”

Joshua 24:15 (NLT)

            Since the day we were born we have had to make choices; to eat or not to eat, to cry or not to cry, to laugh or not to laugh, to be immoral or to be moral, to be kind or to be mean, to serve God or not to serve God.  Every day begins with the choice to get out of bed or stay in bed. God built this ‘choice’ right into our mind; the alternative would to be like a robot and only able to function on His will and not ours.

            You and I have our own will to do whatever we want and to be whatever we wish to be.  Some people have trouble making decisions and cause themselves a great deal of grief.  I have heard it said that any decision is better than none, but I’m not sure I totally agree with that statement.  However, holding off from making a decision too long can have some serious consequences.  I know people who are constantly changing their mind and then get so confused, they can’t decide at all. 

            In this day and age when we see darkness descending on the earth, you cannot afford to be un-deciding about whom you turn your life over to.  Look what the book of Joel says in chapter 13, verses 14 and 15;       “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness.”

‘Multitudes in the valley of decision’; so many who cannot decided to gives their lives over to God.  They may want to love God, but don’t want to give up the things they do.  Let me give you an example: Young couples all over the globe say they can’t afford to get married so why not live together.  “It might not be right, but we’ll get married later and that makes it alright.”  Dear ones, it is NEVER right.  Getting married won’t wash that away; the only thing that will is when you sincerely repent and ask God for forgiveness. This is only one example of why there are ‘multitudes’ in the valley of decision.

            The scripture in Joel goes on to say “the day of the LORD is near.”  Even though this was written over 2000 year ago, it is closer today than ever before.  How do we know what the day of the Lord is?  It is talking about the ‘End Times’ and to verify that, read the following sentence.  “The sun and the moon will grow dark, etc.”  This can be found in Matthew 24 and also in the book of Revelation and refers to the end times, or last days. 

            As I wrote last week about what is happening in Israel, prophecy being fulfilled right now.  Again, I refer you to read Ezekiel 37-39 so you can see for yourself.  This is not a good time to not make a decision about who you will serve; either God or Satan.  You have a choice!  If you haven’t decided to follow Jesus, then you have already decided to follow Satan.  You can’t do both; choose today whom you will serve.

            “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.”  If Jesus would come back right now, while you are reading this, it will be too late to make a decision for God if you haven’t already done that.  Please don’t just read this and forget it, or think it’s a scare tactic.  If you read the Bible and believe it to be the Word of God, then you understand this.

            If Jesus stood before you today and said to you, “Look at me, child”, imagine lifting your head up and looking into his eyes.  Could you do that without shame or fear?  It’s an unsettling thought and when that day comes that you stand alone before him, that’s exactly what will happen.  Are you ready?  I pray that you are.

What's Happening in Israel?

What's Happening in Israel?

Ezekiel 37:22 (NKJV)
“I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again."
 

            As I watch the news, my heart is overwhelmed with mixed feelings.  First, the sadness for the families who lost loved ones in the Malaysia plane that was shot down.  Secondly, for the battle going on between Israel and Hamas which is prophecy coming alive. I’m sad for those being wounded and killed, but excited to see prophecy come alive.

 

            This battle is over the fact that the world wants to divide the state of Israel and the Iranians want to see Israel wiped out.  In the above scripture from 2500 years ago God told the Jews they would once again be a nation which indeed did happen in 1948.  He also said that Israel would never again be divided. You can read all about it in Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39.  The prophecy also talks about Russia joining with Iran [formerly known as Persia] and other mid-east countries.

            Accordingly, this group will come down from the north to destroy Israel during the end times.  They are called Gog and Magog in the Bible. This group will come “like a storm; like a cloud covering the land.” Could that possibly be a nuclear attack?  “You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”  Ezekiel 38:9

            Let’s not forget as we continue that God says he will bring judgment on the enemies of Israel.  According to Ezekiel, there will be a great earthquake and the mid-east forces will turn against each other.  Then will come God’s wrath; “ And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” .  [Ezekiel 38:22]  As for Israel, it is prophesized, it will in time regain its economic prosperity.

            Now – how does this affect our country?  At this point in time with such weak leadership as we have, we are on hold.  If we side with Israel, we will be condemned by the rest of the world.  If we side with the other nations who plan to destroy Israel or plan to divide it into two countries, God will cause fearful things to come against this country.  What side are you on?  Some don’t even care, but as a child of the Living God, I stand with Israel.  These are God’s chosen people and we have been adopted as children of God.  We must stand or we will fall!

           The Gaza Strip has been governed since 2007 by the militant group Hamas who is pushing this battle. Our country has told Israel it has a right to defend itself, but must limit the escalation of further battles.  Since 2005, Hamas has sent over 11,000 rockets into Israel. What is Israel to do when Hamas continues to send their rockets into Israel’s towns and cities? 

            It’s time to take this serious, folks.  Why do you think God calls all His people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Psalm 122:6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem;” because what happens in Israel affects us.  You might not have much use for prophecy or even prayer, but if you have people you love and want them to be protected, you better pray for this country as well.  Maybe you have never stood for the Word of God, if not, it’s time to start.  All you have to do is speak to God and ask Him for peace in Jerusalem and peace for our own country.  That doesn’t show weakness; it shows great strength.

            Let me ask you an important question; if you knew for an absolute certainty that God is real, Jesus died for you and the Bible is totally true, would you give him your heart and agree to follow him the rest of your life?  If your answer is that you don’t want to believe the Bible or follow God, your soul is lost and if you died tomorrow you will end up in Hell.  What a choice!

            If you aren’t sure of what you believe, then go to Ezekiel and read chapters 37-39 and then watch the news.  If you can understand anything at all, you will see what is taking place in Israel now.  Russia is not cooperating with the United States, nor is Iran and other surrounding countries. All they want is to destroy Israel and the U.S.  Pray that we do the right thing or, like they say on the news when a tornado is coming, “take shelter!”

            As things progress in this world of unrest, take comfort in the fact that God is still in control and he knows the outcome.  Trust in Him.

 

A MIGHTY HUNTER

A MIGHTY HUNTER

 “Also, for Adam and his wife, the LORD God made tunics of skin and clothed them.”

Genesis 3:21

            Many people have different views on whether to kill animals and whether we should eat meat or not.  If you choose to not eat meat, that’s okay and if you choose to eat meat is also okay.  Someone asked me about this and because Christians should try to live as what is written in the Bible, I base this teaching on that.

            In the beginning of Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned, things changed for them and for the future generations.  Prior to the knowledge of sin, they had no shame and walked around naked.  After the sin, they realized they were naked and were ashamed [too bad some don’t know what ‘shame’ is today].

So, God took the skins of animals and made clothing for them to wear.  I don’t know how he killed the animals, but they had to be killed to get their skins.  From that time on the animals were used for a variety of things such as clothing, warmth, food and many other things.

Noah had a son, Cush and Cush had a son named Nimrod. “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.  He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” [Genesis 10:8-9]  Nimrod was known to be a mighty hunter and was approved by the Lord.

In Genesis we read about the patriarch Isaac who had twin sons.  Although twins they were nothing alike. “So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.” [Genesis 25:27]  Isaac loved Esau the best because Esau killed deer and cooked venison for his aging father. It was not a sin.

When Moses led the people out of Egypt, they began to complain they had no meat or bread and God “heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, at twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.”   [Exodus 16:11-12]  God provided meat along with a bread source and the people had to kill the quail and prepare it and cook it.  It was not a sin.

            One thing God told his people was to not eat blood.  “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.”  [Deuteronomy 12:23] God showed his people that eating meat was not a sin.

            Going on to the New Testament, Jesus ate fish and you can’t eat fish without first catching it and then killing it.  In those times many animals were sacrificed in the temples and much of the meat was eaten by the priests. Jesus had no problems with that. 

            God has always provided meat and fish for our health and pleasure.  Down through the ages it has taken hunters [both men and women] to kill animals to put food on the table and it’s not a sin.  God provided fish, birds and animals for food to sustain our bodies.  He also provided all good things for us to eat.  If you want to be a vegetarian, that’s alright, but don’t condemn the hunters who provide for those of us who like meat.

            God was the first mighty hunter and others followed His example to provide food to eat and skins for clothing and shelter. If I could afford it, I would have no problem wearing a fur coat which I did as a young woman. 

            We forget that God provided animals for his children.  We forget that animals have no soul and are not equal to people.  I know we love our pets; I have a cat, GrayC that is so spoiled that we usually do what she wants.  I would grieve if anything happened to her; she is not a person, but an animal. “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?” [Ecclesiastes 3:21]  You may not like this answer, but God is the author of the Bible, not me.

Another confirmation of this is that animals do not have ‘redemption’.  “Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates. But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave.”  [Psalm 49:14-15]

In the beginning God made man to rule over all things, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." [Genesis 1:28] Yes, God made man farmers and hunters and fishermen to provide for mankind.  Let us thank our heavenly Father for His provision!

 

Listen for the Sound of a Trumpet

Listen for the Sound of a Trumpet

 

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”                                                                     I Thessalonians 4:16-17

             Every day the news shows us how close we are to approaching the ‘last days’ as we know them from the Bible.  The surrounding countries of Israel are pushing harder and faster to break into war and Armageddon is on the horizon.  We can ignore the signs, or we can realize the truth and warn others about what is coming.  The Bible tells us what we should be doing: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand.”   Joel 2:1 

            This type of ‘Trumpet’ is to warn people of a terrible time coming on this earth; a time that we have never had to deal with, nor are prepared for. It will be a time of war; a time of terror that should fill us with fear.  There is another kind of ‘Trumpet’ which calls people to gather together. When the trumpet sounds in the sanctuary, it is time for worship:  “Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp!”  [Psalm 150:3]  However, this ‘Trumpet’ sound in I Thessalonians is the Trumpet of God and warns us that he is coming for us.

            Yet, people are not seeing or hearing the warnings all around them.  They are doing exactly what the Bible says they will do in Matthew 24:37-39; “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” 

            Just recently, someone said to me, “It hasn’t happened in 2,000 years so why think about it now?  My answer is that of all the prophecies in the Bible, almost all have come to pass.  Time means nothing to God; if he says he’s going to do something he will do it.  I Corinthians 15:51-52 says this:  “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  It really is a mystery that only God knows when and how it will happen, but it will happen when you don’t expect it.

            If you read your Bible, you have read about the ‘end times’ and the ‘Trumpet’ blowing.  Here is another warning, “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”   [Matthew 24:31]

            All these things are going to happen suddenly.  Some years ago we had a Women’s Conference with Lois Baker and Kay Rindahl.  Lois theme for that year was “Suddenlies”.  I have never forgotten that teaching.  It came to my mind recently because so many tragedies have happened suddenly to families and friends this past year. A woman jogging down the road from her home was shot and killed.  Did she ever think she would suddenly die that day?  A father with a wife and young children went to work that day; did he think a tree would fall on him and take his life?  A young woman went to bed that night and never woke up; did she ever think she would die that night? 

            These things are called ‘Suddenlies’ and that’s what is going to happen when God, the Father, tells Jesus, His Son, “Go bring my children home.”  Then God’s trumpet will sound and suddenly those who have been waiting and listening will rise in the air and be with Jesus for ever and ever.  Those who haven’t been waiting and watching will not be taken up with Jesus. They will be left behind.  Was it because they were having too much fun or too busy; maybe they just never thought about it at all and didn’t want a relationship with the Lord. 

            At this moment it’s not too late to change and no one can promise you will even have tomorrow. Ask the Lord to forgive you for all the sinful things in your life and for Jesus to come into your heart. Ask the Lord to take you with Him when he comes.  Live for Him and live forever!