9-11 10 years

As we reflect and remember the innocent souls lost, we remember who did this...
^{Revelation 9:11} They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

And we ask, "When, Lord, when?"...
^{Revelation 14:10}The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.

We Will Never Forget!

Rooted and Grounded

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 54:1-4, 61:7

 ¹ “Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD. ² “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. ³ For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. ⁴ “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

Do you have a shame-based nature? Are you rooted or grounded in shame? The curse and power of shame can be broken off from you through the power of God. We know from Isaiah 54:4 that the Lord has promised to remove the shame and dishonor from us that we remember it no more.

⁷ Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
God has promised that in their place He will pour out upon us a twofold blessing. We will possess double what we have lost, and we will have everlasting joy.

Take your stand on the Word of God. Become rooted and grounded, not in shame and dishonor, but in the love of Christ, being complete in Him.

Resist & Overcome!

Reading from the Book of Matthew 4:1-11

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

We should not be surprised when temptation comes. Satan deliberately tried to tempt Jesus, and he tries to tempt us. How do you respond to temptation?

Everytime Jesus was tempted, He responded with the Word of God. Be diligent to study God's Word, so that when temptation comes, you too will know what action to take in order to resist and overcome it.

Wait and Listen

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 55:1-13

 ¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. ² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. ³ Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. ⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. ⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” ⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ¹² You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

The prophets were mouthpieces for God. They were called to speak God's words to people, situations, cities, dry bones, moutains, or whatever God told them to speak to. To full their God ordained mission, they had to be submitted to the Lord, and their mouths had to be consecrated to Him.

Those who desire to be used by God need to allow Him to deal with them concerning their mouths and the things they say. If you want Him to use you, be prepared for Him to deal with you concerning your words so that you are able to represent Him well with your mouth when the time comes for you to speak His Word.

As you wait on Him to show you what His desires are, open your ears to hear. Wait and listen.

Perfect Peace

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 26:1-3

¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. ² Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. ³ You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Peace of mind must precede peace in every other area of our lives. Isaiah 26:3 promises perfect peace to those who keep their mind on God. When we allow our minds to wander and when we think to much about everything we do, we push ourselves out of peace and into turmoil. When we think about the future and the responsibilities we will have, we can be overwhelmed. This kind of thinking is called anxiety. We grow anxious and lose our peace when we spend today trying to figure out tomorrow or when we try to live tomorrow in our minds today.

We will never enjoy the rich and fruitful lives God intends for us unless we learn to disipline our thoughts and resist anxiety by keeping our minds on God.

God promises that He will keep us in perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Him. Turn your thoughts toward Him and let your mind lead you into perfect peace!

The Foundations Are Shaking!

Reading from the Book of II Samuel 22:8-16

 

⁸ The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. ⁹ Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. ¹⁰ He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. ¹¹ He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. ¹² He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. ¹³ Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. ¹⁴ The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. ¹⁵ He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. ¹⁶ The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.

 

Global warming? Global cooling? Who cares? The world is changing. Climate is changing. The world is undergoing a revolution. Most of us in the U.S. are under a heat dome right now, yes. But aside from that oven effect, the sun is getting hotter. For several years I have noticed the rays of the sun; the penetrating, burning rays, becoming more intense. Even on cool days.

Earthquakes, and other geological and climatic events are occurring in diverse places, with increasing frequency and intensity. A 6.5 again in northern Japan. Even sinkholes are more frequent. Great centrifugal forces are altered with the receding or building of ice mass on continental plates. Great stresses result.

 

Volcanos are erupting in many different locations. Dust storms are passing over the Mid-West. Foundation cracks are appearing, many that are consuming houses, cars, etc.

The foundations of the earth are being shaken.

Do we grasp; do we realize, what we are witnessing in history? Humanity itself is undergoing a revolution. Every culture, and government, and economic system on earth is undergoing a revolution.

The hand of God is moving.

The tectonic problems are being caused by the removal of oil (lubrication) and gas (expansion/pressure regulation/shock-absorption/catalyst), and depressurizing of such pockets, as well as that of our water aquifers. Water in the system is coolant/lubricant/catalyst/purger/etc.

The practice of 'fracking'-fracturing-crumbling-mass formations of rock deep within the earth, is the last frontier of 'fossil' fuel, but also the straw that will break the camel's back. It is like a root canal on a tooth, in that it
is taking the life and resiliency from the rock, in terms of its geological placement and function. After fracking, the formations will pulverize and disintegrate. This will lead to different conditions, from compacting, to creation of voids, or vast fluid masses.

The way we go about using our resources (and we need to produce them to use them) is like tapping a maple tree for syrup year round. Sapping it dry, with no regard for its health. It will soon lose its life. All things in nature act this way in a general sense.

Placed in economic terms, this is not capitalism in my opinion. True capitalism is not a purposeful destroyer for the sake of exploitations. Something truly capitalist would preserve its resource to perpetuate the economic return, not rape, pillage, and plunder, seeking what it may devour next. Capitalism is a producer, not a destroyer (abaddon, hbrw, apollyon, grk~Rev. 9:11). Vast amounts of methane, and pollutants are released to atmosphere from fracking, filtering through aquifers that supply drinking wells to vast swaths of people.

"And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth." ~ Rev 11:18

Now, who, I ask, (and this is especially significant for judeo-christian people) is "them that destroy the earth"?
No one believing the Bible can say man has not the capacity to inflict massive damage upon the earth by his actions and use of resources. The time is here for great travail, and great opportunity.

Psalm 115:13 ...he will bless those who fear the LORD--small and great alike

To Be Excellent In A Lions' Den

Reading from the Book of Daniel 6: 3, 10-23

 ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Daniel was a man of excellence and because of that, the king promoted him to a position of great influence and authority. Daniel was also a man who refused to compromise. Even if his choices endangered his life, he would not compromise. He believed strongly in keeping his commitments, promises and vows and he was willing to endure personal discomfort to do so. The Bible says we should swear to our own hurt and change not. In other words, we should do what we say we are going to do even if it is hard or brings negative consequences.

¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹² So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
   The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
 ¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
 ¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”
 ¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
 ¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
 ¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
 ²¹ Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
 ²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

In Daniel chapter 6, the king signed a decree stating that anyone who asked a petition of any god or person besides the king for thirty days would be cast into a lions' den. Daniel refused to stop praying to God and was indeed sent into the lions' den. However, no harm came to him because God miraculously shut the lions' mouths. The king was so impressed with Daniel's decision and the miraculous way God took care of him that he issued a decree that all the people had to fear and tremble before Daniel's God, for He was indeed the living God.

Daniel continued to pray as he always had. He apparently knew that God's protection could render men's threats totally null and void. If we believe we are doing God's will and then run into opposition, we need to be like Daniel and boldly continue to do as God has instructed us, trusting Him to protect us.

Our God is an excellent God, and He has called us to be excellent too. To be excellent is a decision we must make, and it means we should always go the extra mile to do things the very best way they can be done. And, we should strive to do what we believe God would do in a situation similar to the one we are in. Make a decision today to be excellent!