Joel - An Amazing Prophet!

Prophecy has always inspired and amazed me. We often see it as events that will happen in the distant future, but for God, all time is NOW! Past, present and future are definitions we apply to things that have occurred, are happening now, and are yet to come. Please understand, we are incredibly limited in our perspective, God is not.

Many people try to maintain that prophecy is merely speculation. Satan supports these misled individuals in their error. The devil hates God, hates us, and wants us all to be condemned to perdition. He wants you to NOT believe the prophets. He wants you to reject salvation. Why? Because you CAN go to heaven, to be with God, but Lucifer CANNOT!

These excepts are from the Living Bible. Feel free to compare them with your own preferred biblical version.

..."...I will pour out my Spirit upon all of you! Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. And I will pour out my Spirit even on your slaves, men and women alike, and put strange symbols in the earth and sky - blood and fires and pillars of smoke.
...The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord shall come.
...Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved; even in Jerusalem some will escape, just as the Lord has promised, for He has chosen some to survive." (Joel 2:28b-32) tlb

Think about it! Children and young adults will begin to prophesy. Older individuals will begin to have disturbing dreams. People will have visions that will probably scare everyone who hears of these things! Those who are in extreme bottom end, financially speaking, will hear the call of God! These are those who usually cannot even afford the time to attend church, and yet, they WILL become vocal in their efforts to spread God's Word!

Many strange and disturbing things will happen, and people will probably try to attribute these events to space aliens, global warming, etc.

But, notice what is said next, "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." It simply cannot get any easier than this! Try it on for size! "God, I know you sent your Son to die for me, and in my place! I could NEVER begin to deserve this! Thank-you for this awesome gift!" Then, get out and tell the world! Don't wait! Even a few seconds from now might be too late!

..."I will gather the armies of the world into the 'Valley Where Jehovah Judges' and punish them for harming my people, for scattering my inheritance among the nations and dividing up my land." (Joel 3:2) tlb

The Valley Where Jehovah Judges is also called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and you've probably heard it that way before. This will occur at the end of the Tribulation, so you can guess what their "punishment" will be. Total opposition to God is NOT something that might look good on a resume or better your station in life!

..."Multitudes, multitudes waiting in the valley for the verdict of their doom! For the Day of the Lord is near, in the Valley of Judgement.
...The sun and the moon will be darkened and the stars withdraw their light. The Lord shouts from his temple in Jerusalem and the earth and the sky begin to shake. But to his people Israel, the Lord will be very gentle. He is their Refuge and Strength.
...Then you shall know at last that I am the Lord your God in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem shall be mine forever; the time will come when no foreign armies will pass through her any more.
...Sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and the hills shall flow with milk. Water will fill the dry stream beds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the temple of the Lord to water Acacia Valley.
...Egypt will be destroyed, and Edom too, because of their violence against the Jews, for they killed innocent people in those nations.
...But Israel will prosper forever, and Jerusalem will thrive as generations pass.
...For I will avenge the blood of my people; I will not clear their oppressors of guilt. for my home is in Jerusalem with my people." (Joel 3:14-21) tlb

God has already seen the future, and it SHALL be as He has said! We, who are Christians, have become a part of God's people by virtue of our having been "adopted" by our salvation, courtesy of Jesus Christ. We must do our part to get the Word spread to all people. Remember Peter's words, "But don't forget this, dear friends, that a day or a thousand years from now is like tomorrow to the Lord. He isn't really being slow about his promised return, even though it sometimes seems that way. But he is waiting, for the good reason that he is not willing that any should perish, and he is giving more time for sinners to repent." (2 Pet 3:8-9) tlb

Since God does NOT want any to perish, then who are we to NOT spread His Word? Do your part! Be a witness! You, too, can be a "lifesaver!" Make God proud!

Someday soon, we will all rejoice together, in Paradise!

I found this diary...

The other day, while I was walking to town to see what all the commotion was about last weekend, I found a diary beside the road. It doesn't say to whom it belongs, and a bunch of the pages are missing. This is all that's left...

-monday-
Now that my training is complete, I'm taking a few months off to tour the country. I am doing all I can to avoid the attention of the Roman soldiers, the tax collectors and various thieves who seem to have sprung up all over our nation.

Jeruba, my mom's sister, told me I should try to catch one of the lectures by this "Jesus" fellow. Everybody seems amazed at what he can do. They say he can read minds, tell the future and perform miracles! Personally, I think most people are easily fooled by these street magicians. Do you know, I've even heard he fed a huge crowd with just a basket of food he found some kid carrying? I think he must have had a secret stash someplace, just in case. You know what I mean?

-thursday-
I'm not making quite as much progress as I'd expected. Its almost time for the Passover feast. A local farmer has invited me to share his meager meal with his family. I readily agreed, as there is no way I could make it to the next town in time.

-friday-
Well, now it is tomorrow, already, so I'm on my way again. There is some excitement going on over in the next town, something about a criminal being brought to trial. I think I can just make it in time to see the execution, at least.

Whew! I am tired! I almost ran the entire last hour, trying to get here before the trial was over. What a shock! The "criminal" being tried is the same Jesus my aunt told me to find. They say he is impersonating God, and has declared himself the King, and outranks everyone in Rome, including Ceasar!

Well, they already beat him with their leaded whips. Blood is RUNNING down his back. They are saying he is about to be crucified with two other criminals. I am going to see if I can find a good place to watch.

Wow! They didn't just tie him to the cross-piece like they usually do. They NAILED him to it! I can't believe it. What do they think he's going to do, fly away?

You know, with all that blood running down from his wounds, he is not going to last long. Hey, he just spoke with one of the thieves who are crucified next to him. I sure wish I could hear what he said.

You are not going to believe this. He just said, in a VERY loud voice, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." I heard him as clear as a bell. Then the sky got dark, wind blew around madly, and lightning started flashing all over the place. I've never been so scared in all my life.

Near me was a centurian. You know those guys are as hard as nails, right? They are in charge of one hundred soldiers, and are as mean as they come. He started crying! Then I heard him say, "This was surely the Son of God!" I think maybe he was right! I'm getting out of here before God smashes this place to dust.

That's all there was. I don't know what to make of it. What do you think?

But, I go to church...

Have you ever noticed that there is no commandment that says; "Get thee to church"?

If you try to talk with most people about God, they get a bit annoyed, and say, "But I go to church!" Often they will say they go 3 or 4 times a year. Oh, yeah, and uncle John's wedding last year, that was in church!

Why do people equate going to church with doing what God wants? Do we think we are so important that God needs to fit into our schedule?

I have a granddaughter that I love far beyond my ability to express. Last year, she started taking dance lessons, both ballet and tap dance. Prior to this, she's never had any training at all. After only 9 months of lessons, at her first recital, she was asked to do a solo in tap dance. She was very impressive, and I'm not saying this because I'm her grandpa. She was great! A solo by a first-year dance student is almost unheard of...

So why did God bless her so much?

A couple of years ago, this sweet girl wrote a letter to the president, expressing her belief in Christ, and gave him a few examples of God's love. There is no way to tell if it made any change in him, but that is precisely the problem most of us face when witnessing. We feel depressed that there is no immediate change, so we think we've been wasting our time. But we keep forgetting, It is not OUR time!

"And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him, and said, this is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, five, and two fishes." (Mark 6:34-39)kjv

You know the story! Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes, and fed thousands of people, and had a lot of leftovers. We read this story, and think it is a great example of a miracle. But, who was blessed the most that day? Was it the people who ate, and were satisfied?

I think it probably was the apostles. They saw first-hand that God rewards faith and obedience. They did what Jesus told them to do, and He rewarded them, as well as those who ate their fill.

My granddaughter did not just go to church on Sundays, she practiced what the bible tells us all to do; she witnessed her faith! God rewarded her with a skill in an unexpected area, a blessing that amazed a lot of people. I hope she continues to improve at dance, and I'm sure she will, but I will do everything within my limited ability to help her continue with her witnessing.

God abundantly blesses those who do His will!

See you soon, in Paradise!

Witnessing in real life

A few months back, my much loved granddaughter wrote a letter to the president. In it she expressed her views on the environment and ecology, after which she wrote (exactly as shown here),
"I am a Christian. I love God. Did you know God sent His Son to die on a cross for our sins so we can be forgiven."

Incredible!

Absolutely amazing!

The vast majority of Christians NEVER get around to witnessing to anyone, and here is a 3rd grader witnessing to the president of the United States! Set aside your political feelings (whatever they are) and, just for a moment, consider the awesome possibilities here...

Remember, Paul was turned from persecuting, torturing and murdering early Christians into the greatest witness for Christ EVER! What could God work in our world with a man who became a true Christian while holding the highest office of the most powerful nation in the world?
It is totally humbling...

We've all heard the expression "out of the mouths of babes," here we see the true meaning of that phrase.

I am not one who believes in exposing children to even the slightest chance of personal harm, so allow me to address her in this manner;
"My Princess, I am so proud of you! I love you very much! You are the heroine I will always think of when I am faced with difficult tasks. I pray as constantly as I can that God uses your beautiful testimony to effect a change for the better in this man, and through him, our world."
I ask all who read this to join me in prayer that this happens.

"Father, thank You for the opportunity to see such sincere, simple faith in action. I feel overcome that You have allowed me to be even a small part of Your plan. Please keep Your hand of protection over this child, and all children. Please help me to love, trust, and follow You with a heart like that of this child. Amen."

Mr Mike

Witnessing 101

What is the most "emotionally difficult" thing you've ever done?

For most Christians it is achieving salvation, then we feel the rest is easy. Now we can kick back, relax, do a little church... our part is done! The problem is that Jesus expects us to be good stewards. He wants us to invest our "talent" on His behalf! Nearly everybody gets real nervous at the idea!

Does God really want me to talk to strangers? What if they laugh at me? What if they think I'm a nerd, or just stupid? I wouldn't know what to say! Hey! They've probably heard it all before, maybe they already know more than me!

What if the other person tries to convince me that I'm wrong? What a scary thought! Everybody makes fun of you if you're wrong! I hate to be wrong!

As many of you already know. I am rather multi-cultural. My ancestors are mostly Irish and American-Indian. I grew up in a town that was almost 3/4 Mexican-American. My best friend, of about 40 years, is African-American, and his wife (when I first met him) was Caribbean. I spent most of my service years in the Orient, Southeast-Asia, and Polynesia. I am pretty good at absorbing local flavoring everywhere I go, so I am something of a smorgasbord, maybe you'd call me culturally eclectic.

One thing that has always surprised me, is how similar the legends are in many cultures. Let me share a couple of examples with you from the Cherokee...



"The Legend of the First Woman"

For a time the man was very happy on earth. He roamed around and ate the fruits and berries and he visited the animals and he saw all his homeland. There was much to learn and the earth was beautiful. But before long the man grew discontented and he became very unhappy. He didn't know what his disease was, bit it was a disease that we still have. He was bored.

When he got bored, he used his mind and his strength differently. he shot arrows at the deer without really needing to. He picked the plants and didn't use them. He tore up the animals' dens just to see if he could do it. And soon the animals became concerned about the new creature.

The animals called a council meeting to try to determine what to do. They said they thought this creature was supposed to have respect for other creatures, that he was given a mind. A little insect said, "Wait, you haven't thought this out. The Great One made him; let's ask him what to do." This seemed to be a good idea. They called to the Great One to help them with the new "superior" creature.

The owl said, "You told us the man has a mind and he is to respect us."

The deer said, "I don't want to be disrespectful, but you told us the man would need more of us deer than any other animal. If he keeps killing us like he is now, very soon he won't have any deer left."

"Oh," said the Great One, "thank you, thank you. I had not thought about something I left out in this man."

The bear said, "Look at him right now. He's lying out in the sun with his face up. No animal will sleep right out in the open. We all know to go into a private, guarded place to rest."

The Great One said, "Yes, there is something missing because I was in such a hurry to make him. But I know what is missing."

"Stand back," he said. He made a green plant to grow up tall. The plant grew up right over the man's heart, up toward the Heavens. It was a plant with long, graceful leaves and then an ear and a golden tassel. Above the tall plant was a woman, a beautiful, tall, brown woman growing from the stalk of strong corn.

The man woke up and thought he was dreaming. He rubbed his eyes and said, "This is not true. In a minute I'll wake up and be just as bored as I was before. Oh, I am so lonely."

The Great One sort of kicked him in the behind. "Get up you lazy thing," the Great One said. "Be a man for your lady" Now no one had any reason to think this man was a mannerly individual. Recently he had certainly not been acting like a real gentleman. But we don't have to be taught manners: We need someone to expect the best from us and we use the manners the Great One has already given us. So the man got up, brushed himself off, and gallantly offered his hand to the woman who came down from the stalk of corn.

The Great One remembered that although each man will sometimes need to be alone, each man will also need companionship to be his best.

Perhaps, it will be just a bit more familiar, when told this way...

"Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and placed in the garden the man He had formed. The Lord God planted all sorts of beautiful trees there in the garden, trees producing the choicest of fruit. At the center of the garden He placed the Tree of Life, and also the Tree of Conscience, giving knowledge of Good and Bad. A river from the land of Eden flowed through the garden to water it..."
(GEN 2:8-10) tlb

"And the Lord God said, 'It isn't good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs. So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever he called them, that was their name. But still there was no proper helper for the man. Then the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which He had removed it, and made the rib into a woman, and brought her to the man. 'This is it!' Adam exclaimed. 'She is part of my own bone and flesh! Her name is "woman" because she was taken out of a man.' This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife in such a way that the two become one person."
(GEN 2:18-24) tlb


...and then we have...

"The Legend of the Deluge"

A long time ago a man had a dog, which began to go down to the river every day and look at the water and howl. At last the man was angry and scolded me dog, which then spoke to him and then said: "Very soon there is going to be a great downfall and the water will come so high that everybody will be drowned; but if you will make a raft to get upon when the rain comes you can be saved, but you must first throw me into the water." The man did not believe it, and the dog said, " If you want a sign that I speak the truth, look at the back of my neck." He looked and saw that the dog's neck had the skin worn off so that the bones stuck out.

Then he believed the dog, and began to build a raft.

Soon the rain came and he took his family, with plenty of provisions, and they all got upon it. It rained for a long time, and the water rose until the mountain were covered and all the people in the world were drowned. Then the rain stopped and the waters with down again, until at last it was safe to come off the raft. Now there was no one alive but the man and his family, but one day they heard a sound of dancing and shouting on the other side of the ridge. The man climbed to the top and looked over; everything was still, but all along the valley he saw great piles of bones of the people who had been drowned, and then he knew that the ghosts had been dancing.

Once again, there is a somewhat more familiar version...

"And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch."
(GEN 6:13-14)rsv

"For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die." (GEN 6:17)rsv

"And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female."
(GEN 6:19)rsv

"And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights."
(GEN 7:12)rsv

"And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every man; everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died."
(GEN 7:21-22)rsv

"In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry."
(GEN 8:14)rsv

"So Noah went forth, and his sons and his wife and his sons wives went with him."
(GEN 8:18)rsv

You know these stories, and you know there is a lot more to them than any legend could contain. It is relatively easy to see why there are differences. Our Bibles' Old Testaments were originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, whose written languages have existed for many thousands of years. Cherokee legends, on the other hand, were passed down from Story Woman to Story Woman for many thousands of years, and only became written down a few hundred years ago when their syllabic alphabet was invented. This made them much more prone to error. It is interesting to note that, even so, there is much similarity in the Indian legends, despite the separation of nearly half the earth, and countless generations.

But, what does this have to do with us?

If you were to go to the other side of the planet, five thousand years from now, and find that those people have a distorted view of what your country, and what your life were really like, wouldn't you feel the need to correct their misconceptions? To set your country's history straight? You bet you would!

And that is what God asks us to do; to set His record straight with people, and make sure they know the way to heaven, just as we do. He is counting on all of us. Make Him proud.

Choices

Choices... all of our lives are filled with choices...

Most of the choices we face are not easy. Sadly, all too often, we make the wrong choice. I know, it is a problem I face as well. Age and health issues do (and have) contributed to erronious decisions, but the fault cannot be only attributed to them.

A good friend once nicknamed me "Micah" because he said I "preached too much," but the sad truth is, I really didn't witness enough. God throws LOTS of opportunities our way, but we often find ourselves looking the other way.

Hey... These are my friends!
-or- I have to work with them.
-or- This really isn't my calling.
-or- I don't know the Bible well enough.
-or- I'm too tired!

Choices... they are all choices, and it is easy to choose wrongly, and find a good excuse for doing so at the time. But, the Bible tells us...
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17

So, if you know what you're supposed to be doing, and DON'T do it, that is a sin!

But choices also include what we believe. We've all known of the Ten Commandments since childhood, but, do you know where they are defined in the bible? (Exodus 20:3-17) It is easy enough to check on, but few have ever done so.

I sometimes hear somebody making what they claim is a Scriptural quote that just doesn't ring true. When your "uh-oh" light turns on, remember John 8:32; "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Psalms 119:160 tells us; "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgements endure for ever."

What's all this mean to me? Whenever you hear any priest, preacher, deacon or televangelist quote something from the Bible, make a note of his interpretation. Does your Bible seem to give a different meaning to the passage? Grab another translation, discuss it with your friends, bring it up at your Bible study, or talk to your trusted priest, preacher or deacon. Choosing not to do so leaves one of Satan's seeds planted to sprout forth doubt at a most inconvenient time.

So, "know the truth" and know God's "word is true."

Luke 11:28 says; "But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

OK, so listen to the Word of God, and do what it says.

And never forget John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Jesus is the Word, with God from the beginning, and He IS God!

So, how do we make the right choices? We take everything to the word of God! Then, when we know what God tells us, we spread the Word so that others may know.

They thirst for the good news.
Remember Prov 25:25 "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." and from Psalms 63:1, "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee..."

Give others what they thirst for, and get a good drink for yourself!
And when it comes to choices... choose God!
................................(all quotes KJV)

See you in Paradise!

Mr Mike