Fear Not! / An Original Work / October 20, 2011
Based off of Philippians 4
Rejoice in the Lord!
Gentle be always.
The Lord is near you.
Fear not in all things.
But in ev’rything
By prayer, with thanksgiving,
Share your requests.
God will guard your hearts
With His peace always.
Think about these things:
Whate’er is honest;
Pure and is lovely;
And is praiseworthy.
Whate’er you have learned,
Or you have received, or
You heard from Christ,
Make it your practice.
God will be with you.
I can do all things
Through Him who gives strength.
Whate’er I go through,
Satisfied I’ll be.
My God will meet all
My needs according to
His riches in
Jesus Christ, my Lord.
Praise Him forever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oZOuR7S8eY
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Isaiah 13:
A Prophecy Against Babylon
An oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
I have commanded my holy ones;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The LORD Almighty is mustering
an army for war.
They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the LORD and the weapons of his wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every man’s heart will melt.
Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.
See, the day of the LORD is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
I will make man scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the LORD Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.
Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
each will return to his own people,
each will flee to his native land.
Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives ravished.
See, I will stir up against them the Medes,
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.
Their bows will strike down the young men;
they will have no mercy on infants
nor will they look with compassion on children.
Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the glory of the Babylonians’ pride,
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
She will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there,
no shepherd will rest his flocks there.
But desert creatures will lie there,
jackals will fill her houses;
there the owls will dwell,
and there the wild goats will leap about.
Hyenas will howl in her strongholds,
jackals in her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
My Understanding: A Day of Judgment is coming upon the earth. The Bible says so. The Book of Revelation describes in detail what it will be like for those who live on the earth at that time. The Dragon (Satan), the Beast, and the False Prophet will be allowed to rule and to reign on the earth for a time, times and half a time. They will be given power to conquer the saints of God and to kill them for their testimony for Jesus Christ. The false trinity will be given power to conquer and rule all the earth, all the people, and nations, etc., and to require that everyone bow down to the beast and to worship the beast instead of to worship Almighty God and Jesus Christ, God’s Son; God the Son. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the Saints of Almighty God, i.e. for those who worship and bow to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who took away the sins of the world. Much destruction of the earth and much loss of human life will take place during this great time of God’s wrath being poured out upon the earth. Yet, for those of us who know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are not to fear that day, but we are to continue in Him who saved us and who called us with a holy calling in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Isaiah was given a commission by God to prepare the hearts of people for this time of judgment that was to come. He was called of God to raise a banner on a hilltop, to shout to the people; to beckon (summon) them to enter the gates of the nobles. The apostle John, as recorded in the Book of Revelation, was given a similar commission to warn, to give notice of coming judgment, and to call on the churches to return to their God, to repent of their sins and to enter the gates of heaven in restored fellowship and faithfulness to Jesus Christ, their Savior and Lord before the Day of Judgment. And, he warned them what would happen to them if they did not repent. As well, he was given the task of encouraging the faithful saints of God to persevere, to be strong in the Lord and in His power and strength within them, to not fear what was coming, to endure patiently, to be overcomers, and to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, their Lord, and to his gospel, and they would receive their reward in heaven. They would be given white robes to wear and a crown on their heads to lie at Jesus’ feet. And, they will reign with the Lord Jesus forever and ever, amen!
Isaiah was to wail and/or he was being called of God to tell the people to wail, for the day of the Lord is near. To wail means “to express pain, grief, or misery in a long mournful high-pitched cry or in words uttered in a mournful way” (Encarta). I know that sound. The Lord gave me a song to write the other day that sounded just like that. I could feel wailing in my spirit as I listened to the music play. I know that I was grieving and wailing over the sins of the world and God’s coming wrath, yet I could not help but feel that this was God wailing over the sins of the world and the fact that he would now have to come in judgment because of the stubbornness and rebellion of men’s (and women’s) hearts in not listening to and heeding God’s warnings and urgings to repent of their sins and to return to their God and to make Jesus the only Lord of their lives. God does not want to have to bring judgment. He is patient and compassionate, full of love and mercy, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, and yet there is a day appointed unto man in which he (or she) will be judged by God as to whether or not he or she received Jesus Christ, God’s Son, into his or her life to be Lord and Savior via repentance and a choice to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ and to follow him wherever he leads.
That day has not yet come, but it is inevitable that it will, because God said so. And, God is still using his servants today to given warning and strong encouragement, urging the church to humble themselves, to pray, to seek God’s face, and to turn from their wicked ways, and then God will hear their prayers and will bring spiritual healing and restoration of their lives back to their God. He is calling out to the unsaved, as well, to know God via faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, to have their hearts cleansed of sin and to be brought into fellowship with God and with His Son because of what Jesus Christ did for all of us in dying on the cross for our sins so that we could go free, not only of the ultimate penalty of sin (eternity in hell), but also so we could be free of the control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis. So, if you have not yet made that decision to make Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of your life, I pray you will do that today. If you know him or think you know him, but you have not been living in faithfulness, surrender to his will and obedience to his commands, then I pray today that you will humble yourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from your wicked ways, because truly this Day of Judgment will come.
Wake Up! / An Original Work / November 25, 2011
Based off Ephesians 5:1-21; Revelation 3:1-6
Wake up, sleeper,
Rise from the dead.
Your God awaits
You to do what
He says to you.
Be not conformed
To your selfish will.
Trust in the Lord.
Do what He says.
He will give you victory.
Do not walk in
Darkness; come into
The light of love.
Listen to your
Savior calling
You to obey
All His teachings.
Repent of your
Sin, and Christ will
Shine His love on you.
He waits patiently
For you to
Heed His whispers to your heart.
Will you hasten
To obey Him;
Not from Him depart?
Live your life from
This day forward,
Walking in His
Love and mercy.
Let Him cleanse you
Of all your sins.
Dwell with Him today.
Do not insult
God’s grace to you.
Do not make light of your sin.
Let the light of
His truth come and
Free you from within.
http://youtu.be/VRPINCxQluc
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