Archive for September, 2017
Habakkuk Comes to Terms with God’s Sovereignty
There are three chapters to Habakkuk. If you have not read the book in a while, please do so. We see the prophet go from frustrated, to confused, to understanding, to acceptance, to a greater awareness that God is fully sovereign. The prophet was humbled (which is the natural outcome of grasping the truth of God’s sovereignty), because God stooped to reveal to Habakkuk what he needed to know. That knowledge was not simply for Habakkuk alone or God would not have told him to write it down. It was for Habakkuk’s Jewish contemporaries, as well as Jews who came after them, and it is for us today.
Why Does God Use Other Nations to Oppose Israel?
Whether we’re dealing with a minor prophet like Micah, Nahum, Joel, or another, the truth is very clear. God will use whatever He chooses to use in order to purify and perfect the nation that He created and whose original leaders entered into an irrevocable covenant with Jehovah Himself. God originally dealt with Israel’s leaders who set things in motion. All who are born into that nation share the responsibility (and the guilt when falling), of carrying on that covenantal relationship. God is certainly very much aware of the fact that at some point, His promises to Israel will be completely fulfilled. All nations who seek Israel’s harm will be dealt with by God, in His way and in His time.
Wait! World Will End October 21st!
Seems pretty straightforward to me. Notice Jesus uses the phrase “times or seasons.” With those three words, He is covering all the bases. By using the word “times,” Jesus is saying “It is not for you to know months, days, hours, or minutes” and by using the word “seasons” He is saying that no one will know specifically which part of the year things will happen related to His coming Kingdom. It is so clear, it’s almost painful, yet this has not stopped people from bending themselves over backwards or into the shape of a pretzel to try to figure it out.
Continue Reading September 25, 2017 at 12:27 PM Leave a comment
Revelation 12: What is It Really About?
Revelation 12 says nothing about the timing of the Rapture or start of the Tribulation. It is not even addressing Christians at all in nearly the entire chapter. It is about Israel and it is the best, most concise summary of Israel’s history anywhere in God’s Word. Notice we did not need to go outside of the Bible into the area of constellations and horoscopes to ascertain the meaning of Revelation 12:1-6. This is not to say that we can never look outside the Bible to help us better understand the Bible. In this case however, it is very clear that the true meaning of the text is clarified in other portions of God’s Word.
Continue Reading September 19, 2017 at 12:45 PM Leave a comment
Israel Again Failing to Rely on God
Israel is doing what every other nation under threat from another nation is doing. They are going to other nations that may appear to be helpful in order to come out victorious in a war that is not being fought soldier to soldier. So far, Israel has not entered into any treaty that I’m aware of with neighboring nations, but one can only wonder how far off that is? Imagine what would happen if Israel’s leadership became Christian and started to depend solely on God for His victory? According to Scripture that will actually occur one day but that day is not yet. Israel has a lot yet to go through before she is ready to humble herself, rely on God, and receive His victory.
Prophet Steve Fletcher is Wrong Again…
The sad truth is that these men are either guided by their own minds, by demonic entities, or both. When God speaks through a genuine prophet – as He has done so many times in the past – the words spoken always come true! It is that simple and that plain, but too many refuse to see it because they prefer to lean into the ethereal, regardless of the source.
Revival, Revival, Revival
It is not revival through emotionalism that is needed today. It is for Christians to take their commitment to God in Christ seriously by obeying. We need to obey regardless of the cost. While that does not “earn” salvation (it cannot be earned; Ephesians 2:8-10), obedience brings us closer to God and “revives” our hearts.
Continue Reading September 13, 2017 at 10:39 AM Leave a comment
Does God Know or Does He Not Know?
But if God sees all, why do we read portions of Scripture where it appears – at least on the surface – that God doesn’t have a full or complete understanding of a particular situation and because of that, needs to actually come down to the physical location of earth, walk around, and see things for Himself? What is the true meaning of that?
Known by Their Beliefs and Works
Like Hillary, Elizabeth Warren believes herself to be a Christian, yet her belief in salvation is clearly anchored in works (“The sheep are going to heaven because they fed the hungry, ministered to the sick.”). This is terribly tragic because salvation cannot be earned or purchased. It is a gift freely given through faith in Jesus and His sinless life, death, and resurrection. He paid the price for our sin, which originally placed us under God’s judgment. Our faith in Christ’s finished work forgives our sin, and imputes to us Christ’s righteousness. This is what grants us salvation.
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