There are many things I could write about this morning but the theme that keeps coming to me is this one...
'Keep brushing your teeth.'
No matter what happens... solar eclipses... political upheaval... trouble or prosperity... keep sowing, watering and reaping and taking care of the long term things.
People get very excited or very scared by what they see and they let go of the rope. Later they regret that they did.
It doesn't take long... once in the morning... another time in the evening... brush those teeth... Make the call to the loved one... put a few dollars away... read your Bible... skip a meal and pray instead for what is happening now and the next season of life.
"And he told them a parable: 'Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.' " - Luke 21:29-34 ESV
No matter what is happening 'being in God's word' is a good investment... I want to have my teeth for as long as I need them and I want to be ready to say something whenever that is needed also.
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Showing posts with label Future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Future. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Friday, May 19, 2017
Reigned For One Thousand Years
Taking a look at the millennial reign this morning. Most people focus on Heaven as being our 'life after this life' but a literal translation of the scriptures points to a robust and diverse future. God is not done with our planet after the apocalypse (seven year time of Jacob's trouble). Israel is going to see it's nation in full bloom like an olive tree producing oil and fruit. We see governmental Israel restored now but God is going to make Israel the center of the world.
Sukkot (the feast of tabernacles) and Solomon's life are pictures of the millennial reign. Solomon is a type of Christ and his reign was a shadow of the kingdom to come. He even sits on a 'great white throne'.
"The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold." - 1 Kings 10:18 ESV
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them." - Revelation 20:11 ESV
Yes, Heaven is amazing but God is training us to reign with Him.
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:" - 2 Timothy 2:12 KJV
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." - Revelation 20:1-4 ESV
"Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. For seven days you shall present food offerings to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work." - Leviticus 23:34-36 ESV
"You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful." - Deuteronomy 16:13-15 ESV
In the garden of Eden Adam had this organic unity with God. When it came time to name the animals He just knew by observation what to name them. When this corruptible puts on incorruptible we will think with God in an adult way. Our childhood will be resolved. Our weakness will be filled in with strength. Our sin consciousness will be replaced with glory and integrated thinking.
What we operate in now will be the template that our future will be framed with.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV
Could it be that the choices we make today affect our activity and even responsibility for 1,000 years? The feast of tabernacles isn't far away on the prophetic calendar. We have more to look forward to then harps and clouds. There will be the reclamation of our world and the glory of God will be on display like never before. Angels will be visible. There will be territory to take and victories to be won. The dominoes of what happened at the cross will still be falling and every loose end revealed in the book of Genesis will be tied up again in the end.
Are we spectators or are we participants? Do we have a template of wood, hay and stubble or is our life built on the gold, silver and precious stones of Christ's life and accomplishments?
--
Sukkot (the feast of tabernacles) and Solomon's life are pictures of the millennial reign. Solomon is a type of Christ and his reign was a shadow of the kingdom to come. He even sits on a 'great white throne'.
"The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold." - 1 Kings 10:18 ESV
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them." - Revelation 20:11 ESV
Yes, Heaven is amazing but God is training us to reign with Him.
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:" - 2 Timothy 2:12 KJV
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." - Revelation 20:1-4 ESV
"Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. For seven days you shall present food offerings to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work." - Leviticus 23:34-36 ESV
"You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful." - Deuteronomy 16:13-15 ESV
In the garden of Eden Adam had this organic unity with God. When it came time to name the animals He just knew by observation what to name them. When this corruptible puts on incorruptible we will think with God in an adult way. Our childhood will be resolved. Our weakness will be filled in with strength. Our sin consciousness will be replaced with glory and integrated thinking.
What we operate in now will be the template that our future will be framed with.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV
Could it be that the choices we make today affect our activity and even responsibility for 1,000 years? The feast of tabernacles isn't far away on the prophetic calendar. We have more to look forward to then harps and clouds. There will be the reclamation of our world and the glory of God will be on display like never before. Angels will be visible. There will be territory to take and victories to be won. The dominoes of what happened at the cross will still be falling and every loose end revealed in the book of Genesis will be tied up again in the end.
Are we spectators or are we participants? Do we have a template of wood, hay and stubble or is our life built on the gold, silver and precious stones of Christ's life and accomplishments?
--
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
God Told Me?
'God told me what He Is going to do about _____.'
I've been thinking the last few days about that statement. Why do people say it? When do they say it? This passage came to mind...
"The LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?...' " - Genesis 18:17-18 ESV
But we don't hear a voice or have a visitor come to our tent door and sit in our favorite chair and speak to us.
I find this next version in my life...
" 'I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.' They answered him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.' " - John 8:38-40 ESV
Jesus is talking to a group of relegious people who claim to have status with God because of Abraham but Jesus' claim is shocking.
" 'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." - John 8:56-59 ESV
Jesus didn't say, 'God told me this or that.' or 'God wants me to _____.'
Jesus sees what the Father IS doing as a spectator outside of time.
What Jesus has already done is the key. That is what matters.
I have had strong impressions of God's direction. I have seen the weather and correctly predicted a storm. But I have never had God tell me exactly what He was going to do. Even Abraham didn't know that. God has given me promises from His book and then come through with those one-sided commitments. Abraham walked with a God who treated him like a friend. Abraham predicted what a Holy God would do if He investigated Sodom and Gomorrah so he pleaded with God for mercy.
God doesn't owe me knowledge of His actions any more than I owe you that. I'm not telling you everything I'm going to do today and God isn't telling me what He Is going to do.
I can follow Him and watch though... I can plead with Him for mercy for the people He Is going to survey...
Those wise men didn't talk to baby Jesus and get some great secret about their future to go home with. He likely smiled and made baby noises like other babies do.
If I want to see the future it is wise if I keep my eyes on the One who saw the Father's actions. I want to be led filled by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. I want to decide and go with a vision of integrity before my eyes and then be accountable for what I decided to do. I want to cast down every thought that would make God a scapegoat for my disappointment.
I don't know what the future holds but I know who holds my future and today that is enough for me.
--
I've been thinking the last few days about that statement. Why do people say it? When do they say it? This passage came to mind...
"The LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?...' " - Genesis 18:17-18 ESV
But we don't hear a voice or have a visitor come to our tent door and sit in our favorite chair and speak to us.
I find this next version in my life...
" 'I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.' They answered him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.' " - John 8:38-40 ESV
Jesus is talking to a group of relegious people who claim to have status with God because of Abraham but Jesus' claim is shocking.
" 'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." - John 8:56-59 ESV
Jesus didn't say, 'God told me this or that.' or 'God wants me to _____.'
Jesus sees what the Father IS doing as a spectator outside of time.
What Jesus has already done is the key. That is what matters.
I have had strong impressions of God's direction. I have seen the weather and correctly predicted a storm. But I have never had God tell me exactly what He was going to do. Even Abraham didn't know that. God has given me promises from His book and then come through with those one-sided commitments. Abraham walked with a God who treated him like a friend. Abraham predicted what a Holy God would do if He investigated Sodom and Gomorrah so he pleaded with God for mercy.
God doesn't owe me knowledge of His actions any more than I owe you that. I'm not telling you everything I'm going to do today and God isn't telling me what He Is going to do.
I can follow Him and watch though... I can plead with Him for mercy for the people He Is going to survey...
Those wise men didn't talk to baby Jesus and get some great secret about their future to go home with. He likely smiled and made baby noises like other babies do.
If I want to see the future it is wise if I keep my eyes on the One who saw the Father's actions. I want to be led filled by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. I want to decide and go with a vision of integrity before my eyes and then be accountable for what I decided to do. I want to cast down every thought that would make God a scapegoat for my disappointment.
I don't know what the future holds but I know who holds my future and today that is enough for me.
--
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