"…now in this time…"

There are many who criticize Christians and especially pastors for accumulating wealth.  But is there criticism Biblical?  Let's see what Jesus has to say about it. 

 

Mark 10:29-31(NKJV)

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 

who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. 

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

 

Here is what that verse is saying to me.  If you dedicate what you have to serving God, God will reward you with more of what you had.  To put it another way, the more you give away in the service of God, the more God will reward you with the things you gave away.  Does that make sense?  As a friend of mine used to say, "you can't out give God!".

 

The other point is that Jesus specified "now in this time".  In other words we don't have to wait until we get to Heaven to get this reward.  We get it while we are here on earth!

As you know I always look for confirmation in the Old Testament.  Take a look at Malachi.

Malachi 3:8-10(NKJV)

    “Will a man rob God?      Yet you have robbed Me!     But you say,     ‘In what way have we robbed You?’     In tithes and offerings.

    You are cursed with a curse,     For you have robbed Me,     Even this whole nation.

    Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,     That there may be food in My house,     And try Me now in this,”     Says the Lord of hosts,     “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven     And pour out for you such blessing     That there will not be room enough to receive it.

 

Isn't God saying pretty much the same thing here?  The more you honor God the more He will bless you? 

 

That looks like confirmation of a concept to me!

A tribute to my friend Adelita Trevino!

I lost a friend a week ago and that makes me sad.  But as I sit here feeling sad and trying to write about Adelita Trevino, nothing is coming out.  And then God helped me see why.  Coming from a sad place really doesn't fit with my memories of her.

 

Instead of being sad I want to focus on the wonderful legacy that she left.  A legacy of faith and courage! 

What I remember is a lady of great faith who trusted God.  I remember many times she would start a Facebook post with "I don't know who needs to hear this but God put it on my heart…." and then she would have a word and scripture of comfort, encouragement, revelation, or whatever God put on her heart.

 

After she passed it was so awesome to see the memories of so many people who's lives she had touched in such a deep and meaningful way. 

 

The other thing that stands out to me was her courage.  I got to spend some time with her around the swimming pool this summer watching our kids and grand kids play together.  We were talking about this whole Covid thing.  That is when I found out that she had an autoimmune disease that made her more vulnerable than most. 

 

Even though she was in a higher risk group her attitude was that you can't hide from life.  God put us here to live and she was going to trust God and do just that!  I greatly admired her courage which was backed up by her foundation, her faith.

 

Now does the fact that she later died of complications from Covid tarnish her faith?  Not at all in my opinion.  She knew that some people live to a ripe old age and some people didn't.  She also knew that God is in control of when each and every one of us dies and she was comfortable with that.  She wasn't going to second guess God. 

So thank you Lord for helping me to find the words I needed and thank you Adelita for your legacy of faith and courage.  And most of all thank you for being part of our family even though it was way to short of a time.  You were a blessing to us all and we will miss you! 

 

Renewal is in the details!

As I sit here this morning looking out at the dawn breaking, I contemplate what God is speaking to me today.  The word that keeps coming through is "renewal".  Now that had me a bit confused.  I had already pasted in the Scripture I was going to use and it has nothing to do with renewal.  Take a look.

 

Exodus 39:1-5(NKJV)

Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 

And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs. 

They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges. 

And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

As has often happened when writing my observations, when I started to write I had an idea of the direction I wanted to go with it.  But God stepped in and took me in another direction.  Check this out.

 

Renewal.  I'm looking out the window at all of the trees with no leaves because the leaves are all on the ground.  It is the opening day of deer season.  It is the middle of fall.  Hardly a time that we associate with renewal. 

 

But I am here to tell you that through God's power, renewal can begin any time you want it to, as long as you rely on God's guidance and God's power!  Let me give you an example. 

I have long battled weight issues.  About 100 days ago I decided to change that.  Or more precisely God brought me to the place where opportunity and preparedness met.  I was ready to make changes in my life and lose weight, and I had found the tool that works for me.  In around 100 days I have lost 48 pounds.  I am feeling downright slender again which is how I have always identified internally.  I grew up as one of the skinniest kids in my class.  I have seen great improvements in my health as a result of my weight loss as well.

 

So let's call the weight loss the "reset".  That has led me to look for other areas of my life where I might make improvements and that is leading to renewal. 

 

Wow!  I did not see this connection when I started to write this observation.  This is an example of how God can lead us directly in our thoughts if we will just open up and let Him.

 

But how does renewal connect to what I was going to write about today?  Check this out.

 

One of the areas of renewal God has led me to consider is goal setting.  I have always had general goals in my mind and that has served me well though out life.   However I have always resisted the advice that our goals should be written down and we should have a detailed plan on how to get there. 

Why have I resisted that?  Because I wanted to always let God be my guide.  I figured if I sat down and had a detailed plan I was trying to play God and do it on my own.  I didn't want to do that. 

 

So imagine my surprise when this week God revealed to me the answer to a question that I have been asking for decades.  Why does Scripture go into such excruciating detail regarding the building of the temple and the priests garments, etc.? 

God can be very skillful with a 2 x 4 upside the head.  God said you've been wondering about why such detail for years.  Think it through.  They had a plan, a very detailed plan.  Were they "trying to play God and do it on their own" when the plan itself came from God?  Hmm?  (Even God can get a little impatient and condescending with His slow students :)

Oh!!! I get it!!!  If I depend on God to help me develop the plan than "I'm not playing God and doing it myself".  It's God's plan!  Duh!!!  And as long as I continue to lean on God as I implement His plan then He will help me make course corrections along the way.  Very Cool! 

So the renewal in this case is a renewal in how I approach my goals in life.  Just having general goals has worked pretty well for me up to this point in my life.  Imagine how well having a detailed plan developed with God's help is going to work!   

BTW, would you like to have this kind of relationship with God?  It's yours for the asking.  All you have to do is invite Jesus to be the Lord of you life.  Invite Jesus to lead you.  Just have a conversation with Him.  "Dear Jesus….".

 

Will the Rapture be Pre Trib or Post Trib?

If you have read the Left Behind series you know that they told the story from a pre-tribulation perspective.  In other words the rapture occurs before the tribulation.  In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus seems to say just the opposite.  Let's take a look.

 

Matthew 24:4-14(NKJV)

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 

For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 

And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 

But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

 

So here you have Jesus telling us of the Tribulation starting and what will happen to us.  Those who believe in the rapture being pre tribulation think that we Christians will miss all the pain and suffering of the tribulation because we will already be gone.  The verses above seem to indicate otherwise.

Let's continue.

 

Matthew 24:29-44(NKJV)

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 

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.

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 

So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 

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. 

Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 

Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 

But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 

As you can see, Jesus says "immediately after the tribulation" and goes on to explain what happens next.  Then further down in the passage Jesus goes on to describe what will happen in the rapture.  But all of this comes after Jesus said "immediately after the rapture" which is why I conclude that the rapture happens after the tribulation; not before.  Make sense?

Justice and Mercy and Faith

This is Jesus speaking to the apostles.  He is talking about the Pharisees and scribes (and I think the Sadducees as well).

 

Matthew 23:23(NKJV)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 

 

Justice and Mercy and Faith

 

What exactly do those three words mean and why did Jesus link these three words together?  What is the interplay between these three words? 

For example, for a justice system to be just it has to be able to grant mercy when the circumstances warrant it; otherwise it isn't truly just.  But where does faith fit in here? 

  Let's start by getting the dictionary definitions of these three words.

 

 

 

So what say ye?  What message is Jesus sending by using these three words in combination?