The Seventh Trumpet-- - Are you listening for it?

 

"The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and  ever.'"

(Revelation 11:15)

Jesus has already begun His kingdom reign, in us, His willing subjects.

As He reigns in our hearts, the rest of creation is groaning in eagerness and longing as we await the return of our Righteous King to His throne He was ordained to rule from since before earthly time began.

His reign will cover the whole cosmos and all His subjects will be the willing, loving, redeemed and rescued ones He brought into His eternal family.

We spend a lot of time analyzing and investigating visible signs of His coming, but maybe we should have our ears tuned to hear that trumpet!

Matthew 24:29-31 tells us how we will all be gathered from all over the earth to join His reigning kingdom.

And in the Old Testament book of Daniel we read how the prophet Daniel explained and predicted that coming kingdom to  Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon: centuries earlier:

     And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up  a  kingdom that will never be destroyed..it shall stand forever....

     (Daniel 2:44-45)

With all this information recorded for us, certainly no one should be surprised when it happens!

Who Could Imagine?

                                     

                                      Who Could Imagine?   

      Jeremiah 31:34 tells us that God says, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." And in Hebrews 10:17 He says, "Their lawless acts I will remember no more."

      In both of these passages 'remember no more' is equated with 'forgiveness.' 

      Psalm 130:4 states this truth another way: "If You, O LORD,  kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand?  But with You there is forgiveness."

      So God deliberately chooses to not only forget our sins but also to not even keep a record  -- a list somewhere that He could go back to and check if He wanted to refresh His memory...like if He got tired of fooling with us and wanted to really punish us! 

     Since God is all-knowing, this act of forgetfulness is a conscious deliberate act of His divine will. And  'no more' means it is permanent! 

      Who could even imagine a God like this?

      Thanks to Him and praise Him forever that we don't have to imagine -- He has explained it to  us - and showed us at the Cross!    

Faith Floats

My life seems unusually difficult these days. Dealing with car and health insurance companies, doctors, family issues....I feel like I am struggling just to tread water.

I imagine those buoys out in the harbor. They, like the little red robin, just keep "bobbing along!" They don't get far, but they keep bouncing up! They are anchored -- placed in a special place to alert sailors to rocks or shoals, or to mark a channel.

They just keep doing their job. Does a buoy ever just give up and sink?
The Holy Spirit gives us buoyancy. He asserts pressure from below to keep us floating and He anchors us just where He wants us. Just where we need to be.

I read these words from R. C. Sproul today:

Have you ever felt you were living your life swimming upstream?

Swimming upstream is difficult, if not impossible. You might make some headway in a wide, slow-moving river. But, if you are in whitewater rafting territory, forget it.

You are going downstream, and no matter how hard you paddle, your strength will not save you. You might even die.

Instead, picture yourself seated in an unsinkable inflated boat as you head down the river. It's inevitable; you will wind up downstream at your destination simply because you are in the boat, whitewater or not.

As a believer, you were chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the earth. Your destination, holiness and blamelessness before God, is assured because you are in the unsinkable boat: Christ. (Ephesians 1:4)

It is not because you have been paddling so hard to meet God's standard of holiness that you arrive.

It is because He is taking you.

Be assured that when you "pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you" (Isaiah 43:2) because He is with you!

O God, please restore my buoyant spirit today!

P.S. When you reach the end of your rope, reach out and touch the hem of His garment!

               This IS How He taught Us!

Thinking about those special words  Christ gave His disciples when  He began to teach them how to pray....

He began, "This then is how you should pray." That sounds pretty specific to me.

Then He started: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."

So that's how we should begin.

Prayers are not fanciful good luck charms. There is a divine method He is showing us.

The very first thing we are to recognize is who we are approaching -- the Sovereign Creator, king and Ruler of everything, reigning right now...and He is our Father! 

We should consider how to get our desires into harmony with Him and His will --not to get Him to do our will.

I usually get it wrong at the very beginning! Do you?

And  when I recognize who God really is, then I have a clearer understanding of who I am!

Then I can offer my worship, which is of course the only possible response

 open to me.  

So this is how we should start every prayer. 

After all, that IS how He taught us!  

  

What to do when Satan comes around?

 

What do you do when Satan sneaks around? 

I had a friend who told me once that when Satan knocks on her door, she just turns to Jesus, and asks, "Would you get that for me, Jesus?" 

Yes, Satan is on the prowl out there, looking "for whom he can devour!"

He is strong. But his time is short.  

Max Lucado reminds us: "Don't face Satan by facing Satan. Face Satan by facing God." And "Glance at Satan, but gaze on Christ." 

Remember who Satan is...but focus on who you are!  

"I cannot be separated from the love of God" (Romans 8:35).

"I have been bought with a price - I belong to God" (I Corinthians 6:20)

And "I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Remind him, and yourself, that in God we have "grace and mercy for help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Any time and every time!

Then tell Satan to just "get lost!"