The Wheat and The Tares: Exposing a Lie About The Rapture!

OK, well I suppose not too many people wanted to partake of my Facebook posting, or they shied away from an unknown circumstance.  Could be they think they know me and expected something negative, or against their teachings.  If you find this against your teachings, then don’t take my word for it, GO TO THE BOOK, PRAY ABOUT IT, and TAKE IT TO YOUR PASTOR.  But, these are not passages that can be twisted around and confused, they are fairly well laid out in a straight forward style.  THE PROBLEM IS not the twisting of words, but taking what amounts to a written photograph, of millions of people disappearing, and calling it something that it’s not. (My post posed the question referring to Matthew 13: 40, 41; if you were with another in the field of at the mill and one disappeared and one was left behind, which one would you want to be?)  The scriptures that were referenced in my post, the one’s that qualified the question, are NOT the rapture.  But, many people think they are.  There is another scripture that basically says that men in those days will have their hearts fail them, and many will fall away from the faith.  Think about that, you’ve waited all your life for Jesus to snatch you away with millions of His followers, in an instant!, and then one day it appears to happen, their all gone, and you are left behind.  If you do not know the truth, if you’ve been deceived into the “LIE” about the rapture (I DID NOT SAY THE PAPTURE WAS A LIE!!! I SAID THERE IS A LIE ABOUT THE RAPTURE!!!), if you’ve been deceived into the “LIE” about the rapture, you’re going to think you have failed God, or He failed you.  Who knows what actions you might take in the heat of that moment, a moment hotter than you’ve ever experienced.  Now, let me be very clear: THERE WILL BE A RAPTURE; THAT EVENT WHERE JESUS REMOVES HIS CHURCH FROM THIS WORLD TO FOREVER BE WITH HIM IN ETERNITY!  But, that church, you and me, will not be the first ones to disappear, to be removed.  You need to know that so 1.) when the first disappearance happens, it will strengthen your faith, because you know it’s of God and it’s a GREAT thing that your still here!  And, 2.) you need to know the truth about this so you are not the one that continues to let this potentially catastrophic lie to be spread.

A last note about your responses: I know you all, I know the intention of your answer and I know that your intention was very correct.  I’m not here to put doubt in your mind about wanting to be with Jesus.  Marcelle said that to be away from earth is to be with Jesus.  I know that’s what all of you were thinking.  Keep thinking it, of course that’s what WE want, but THEY are not we, and they are not going to be with Jesus.  And, be very aware that these PARTICULAR scriptures do not belong, mixed in with, your thoughts and thinking about the rapture.  Be very aware that millions of people are going to disappear someday, and you do not want to be one of them!!  But, don’t lose your faith and know also, that at some point after that first disappearance, after the prophecies of the end times… well, let me just reduce that to—at Gods appointed time, He will return to us, for us.  We don’t know when that will be, BUT THE SCRIPTURES COULD NOT BE MORE CLEAR ON THIS ONE POINT—WE ARE NOT GOING FIRST!  In fact, you’re about to see the first ones to go are of the evil one, and are going to be burned.  And, Bro Ray, the comparison to Noah is there, it’s important for the understanding of this message, but this is still prophecy, future telling, by Jesus.  This event is yet to come, and I’m sure you know that.

So, here they are the scriptures in question.  Please talk to me if this rough lay out isn’t clear enough for you to get the truth out of it; I didn’t take a lot of prep time with it.  Lord Bless you all.

The scriptures below have all been quoted by many, though NOT EVERYONE, to be the ones in support of the rapture; that event that is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but is described as the time when God is supposed to swoop down in an instant and snatch away His loyal church.  Do not be confused about my own understanding; I do believe the church, the real church of the loyal of His children, will be taken to be forever with Him in Eternity—THAT IS NOT BEING QUESTIONED!  The purpose of this arrangement of scriptures, however, is to shed light on the false lies about the “Rapture” that are being spread by the misquoting of these particular scriptures and their associated parables.  Hope this helps anyone who wishes to understand the truth.

Jesus gave the parable of the wheat and the tares, and then he gave the explanation.  All I have done here is to intersperse them so each part is explained as we go along.  The verses have NOT been changed and I have added no words until the very end. (Some verses have been split to highlight the subject, therefore you may see vs. 38 with two readings, but they are the same verse.) (And I used red to separate and identify the parts that explain, please reference your Bible to pick out exactly where Jesus is speaking.)

Mathew 13

24 Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;

25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

38 but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil;

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

38 but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil;

29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather  ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

39  the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

⁴⁰ As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

⁵⁰ And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mathew 24

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matt 13:30 Gather  ye together first the tares,

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Mark 3

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The chaff is NOT the tares. The tares were not brought into the barn!

30 Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Chaff is the small husk that surrounds the wheat seed; it’s part of the wheat plant.  By extension of the parable, therefore, the chaff is part of the children of God:

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;

But, alas, the chaff is, also, not the good seed; meaning it is not the fruit of the plant nor can it produce a future plane or future fruit.  They, the chaff, are the children of God that will be burned because the world was too great a temptation.  Jesus doesn’t need a tribulation to test or put to trial the children of the evil one—they don’t get that opportunity, they will be removed!  The trial of tribulation is for us!  Someone, now, is going to say to me, “but it says we won’t taste of the great tribulation”.  I know those words are there, but remember what JUST happened with the above scriptures?  That simply means, you are right to have questions, just calmly seek the answers, in the Book.  Let me add this, because it always comes up and I’ll be as polite as I can: DON’T BE STUPID ABOUT THAT LAST SENTENCE.  There is very big difference between having questions about God and/or His Word, because you’re seeking understanding, your seeking His heart, and “questioning” Him or His Word.  I’ve had people throw that at me because they hate being wrong, or they hate me, “You are wrong because you’re questioning God, or the Bible, or the Pastor!” No such thing is going on here.  I have heard these scripture incorrectly preached by many preachers, and it never upset me because, as I said about all of you, I know what the intention was, to be with Jesus as fast as possible! To BE deceitful, on their part, was not the plan nor was it the perception, on my part.  And to be honest, yes of course, there was a time I too did not know the truthful accurate arrangement of these scriptures.  But, now, as time is getting very very very short……….their disarrangement, there inaccurate reciting, is becoming more and more dangerous.

I hope you’ve gotten the message, you’ve seen the truth about the lie and how it could be devastating in the end if not confronted and corrected in the now.  If not, well, will we say goodbye in the field, or will I see you—in the barn?

 

A Facebook response

 

Decisions, Decisions!

So many things to consider; giving an allotment of thought time to. Some are simple, while some cause frustration. This is what happens to me when something of a substantive issue enters my mind. Either by the randomness of thought itself, or by one the five senses, it enters and demands attention. I have made an effort over the years to compartmentalize every area of my life, on and with purpose. This works very well for me, and a lot of others I’m sure, and one of the reasons is that the use of this system helps one to be of solid character and not act on a whims. When you make a decision about something that will become a point of your character, you can stand in a strong comfort-zone. A zone you built based on real understanding of not only the issue itself but, that this issue was tested against the appropriate compartments’ supporting thoughts and developed beliefs. An established decision making process becomes a powerful tool to manage the bombardment of random thoughts you receive each day. And the application of established beliefs and principals, the guardrails of each of life’s compartments, becomes the backbone of your character, the strength of your stance on any issue.

    The frustration comes in the first area of consideration. Analogues of a hospitals ER, I call it thought-triage. That simply means that I gather the thoughts that came into my life today, or this week, by whatever means, and make the first decision. That being, which ones have a priority deserving of more thought time, which ones are not likely to change my stand on that issue and, which ones may do exactly that?

ORIGIN:

Is anything faster than thought? Is it faster than light, slower, or does it have no speed, because it just “appears”? Inquiring minds want to …well, sorry. What if you had the chance to see the transmitter that was sending thoughts to your mind’s receiver? Is it God, is it random, is it real? Random just does not work for me, at least not by itself. Very few thoughts “pop up” in an uncontrolled manner. They have a cause, a reason for being but, is it the “sending” of those thoughts that is controlled, or is it some sort of thought triage that happens in our receivers? These things that occur at the incipient stage of every thought will not answer to our desire to know. Whether they are created and sent to us or created in us, we may never find out – as our “own” thoughts seem unable to provide us with the instructions to do so. You can see in this observation that from the very beginning of the slightest mental activity, from any small single thought, if you will, that we are designed reactionaries. We can only react to the thought that enters our consciousness. And only speculate at where it was the split moment before. Was there a before? There is an obvious exception to this premise however, and that would simply be the thoughts that are generated thru the senses; you heard something, saw something, felt, touched, or tasted. All of these create thoughts.

MANAGE:

You’ve heard the term “compartmentalize”, before. In the topic of managing things “mental”, it usually refers to suppressed memories; blocked out pains, sights and sounds. Guarded from entry into the conscious where they play out again, and injure, again and, not without its own ill effects, “usually”. Psychiatrists and the like tend to want to open up those places, get the pain out, suffer it again and “Now, let’s defeat it!” Not being one of those persons I’ve always wondered why you would allow someone “in” that wants to overcome the natural defenses of the most magnificent marvel on the planet, our brain. While some come away from such battles with a new empowered position in life, others end up worse than when they began. And rarely is it found to be due to the inadequacies of the mental “professional”, but rather the inability of the patient. In any case, I have realized that to compartmentalize is a natural function of the mind. And like all natural abilities, this one, too, can be manipulated and enhanced for the good of the individual. Like running for developing the strength of legs and endurance of lungs, so can the mental capabilities of the mind be enhanced! Let me say here, to be more clear than my earlier eluding, I am not connected in any way to the mental medical field. I speak only from my own common sense and practice. Having said that, and being in this environment of very diverse subject offerings, I will also state that this is not an offering in the science fiction genre. And, moving along….

Compartmentalizing our minds is something we should endeavor to achieve. Doing this prepares us to act in a consistent manner toward any thought or observance entering our mind, especially the ones deemed as “stray”. In order to initiate this practice, you must first create your compartments. I would suggest that it is necessary to do this on paper, first. Actually, when I did it, I used large poster boards! On each one I put a large print title, one poster for each compartment, and each compartment holds exactly one major life area. Major life area? The basics would be spiritual, family, financial, business, etc… Now, the next thing you must do is to develop that compartment. But, first:

I want to offer a sort of personal factor here. If it helps you, I’m glad, and if it does not, then, by all means, please continue and hopefully no harm done. This has to do with terminology. When I studied the materials and writings of various authors to develop my own personal version of this “system”, I, and they, sometimes used the word area. I now use, as you’ve seen, compartment. When I say this word, my mind immediately shows me two solid walls, one on each side of the subject of my focus. This tends to enhance that focus and block out interference from non-relative things that may be present in my minds vision. It’s like watching someone in a park full of people, you want to focus on someone playing catch with their dog, perhaps, but, your reflexes cannot help but move your eyes toward the violence of a Blue Jay swooping on a squirrel, or toward some other distraction. So, you put up your hand to block your vision, or rather to direct your focus. The point is word variants can vary the pictures, perceptions, and the abilities, of your mind. With that knowledge, and the rest of this paper, you shall have to proceed on your own to develop your compartments. Shall we continue, then?

FOUNDATIONS:

Inside each compartment you start with the cornerstone of a solid foundation. That should be your life’s goal for this compartment. If you’re in the finance compartment you may want to start with your financial goals for retirement. You will want to know what really is going to be needed according to your projected family situation, health considerations, inflation and the lifestyle you want to maintain at that time. Next, you’ll want to take a hard look at your current income(s), and determine if you need to aggressively change something, or if you’re right on track.

And then, I would recommend that once the foundation is laid, you halt your efforts in this area, and move on the next compartment. You will want to establish the foundations in all of them as soon as possible. The reason being is that you must compare each one with the others to find and eliminate any contradictions. You do not want your actions to be viewed as inconsistent, or “waffling”, as some call it. It is a natural occurrence in the mind that you see two, or more, distinct ways to do something. And, perhaps, when you look around to your friends to see what they’re doing in this area, you see them split evenly on both paths, and with great intent; because the “other” choice must be avoided! And this is why you need a decision process. When you review each choice, and apply your well defined foundations, that do not contradict each other, you will most likely see the choice you want; the choice that will not, in itself, bring further contradiction. Self-contradiction destabilizes character!

The last note on developing your compartments; it is vitally important that you do not leave this out of your development stage! As I mentioned before, the term compartmentalize has been used toward those thoughts that one may want to avoid, to put them so far away from you they can’t harm you, OR influence your actions in any way! If you have any of these thoughts or situations, you must not ignore them, AT THIS TIME. Now, why emphasize that? Because in the future you will learn to react to those thoughts in a very specific way, and some people, if you share your process with them, will try to tell you that you are just ignoring your problems. THAT IS A LIE!! If you’re following this system, it’s a lie. But, I’ll get back to this in a bit, just be sure that you have a compartment, or poster, for the issues you want to avoid or be removed from your life.

Compartments:

    On the inside of each compartment, your values and beliefs must act as your boundaries or side rails. You must establish these with great care and intention because once in place, you must intend to never cross them! Yes, the day may come that you choose to modify the boundary itself but, that’s very different than crossing or violating your own character. As you stand at the entrance of each compartment, you must look forward and see a progressive set of goals. These will act as stepping stones toward the major goal of each compartment. And if you will raise your head, get on your toes, and look beyond each compartment, you should see your compartment is actually a vehicle, and it’s on a path. This view must be the same from every compartment. At the end of the path is your destination. This is called your Definite Major Purpose in Life! That phrase came from, I think, Dale Carnegie via Dr. Napoleon Hill. (In fact, let me say that you may find most all this comes “from” somewhere or somebody. I’m not here to promote my intelligence but, rather to share my understanding.) So, therein is the last thing you must do in the development stage of your compartments; what is my life’s purpose, and how will I direct each life area, each compartment, to get me there. By using your compartments you will get there, and you will have no regrets about having crossed your boundaries, violated your values, or compromised your character. That in its self should be the first major life goal of anyone!

Process:

    When a thought enters your mind, you must immediately place that thought in the “thought triage” area, the foyer, as it were, to all compartments. You will probably see right away into which compartment this thought “may” be advanced. But, before you decide to do so, and allot it that thought time, you must eliminate it from disqualification of entry into your mind. This is done by comparing it against a basic list of rules and/or principles applicable to ANY thought. Is it blatantly immoral, illegal or detrimental to any of your goals? Is it un-Godly, hurtful to your fellow man, or your family, yourself? Whatever your’ personal criteria, put your first amount of thought time into producing this qualifying list, engrain it into memory. When a thought enters, in just a split moment you must know whether to immediately reject and destroy this thought, or just let it hold its place for processing.

    Now, the next step, assuming that your new thought survives triage, is to place it into what I would call the compartment common area. This means only that you have you have placed in the proper area for review, as it has not yet been accepted. Acceptance should never be just automatic! For example, I most certainly believe in my God, and His Word, the Bible. But, not even from the Bible is everything accepted automatically. SHOCK!? WHAT? HOW COULD YOU?!?! It’s really very simple; can I trust the source of the thought, even if it’s me? If someone quotes a scripture to me, I must consider the source, them. I must consider their understanding of the scripture, their application of the scripture, the context they use. None of these, again, produce automatic rejection or acceptance; they simply cause necessary careful consideration. To conclude this analogy, if a scripture is finally accepted as being presented in truth, in true context and with the true understanding that God intended, THEN IT IS automatically accepted, and in this case, may be used to challenge and, maybe, requalify previous thoughts in this area. Can you see, now, I never question Gods’ Word, just everyone that handles it, including me.

    However, coming back to reality, the point is no thought gets automatic acceptance or rejection, once past the triage area. What it does get is more testing. Use your side rails, your values in this compartment to start with. This is not the final acceptance test, but may produce the rejection. If a thought is rejected in this area, some things must happen immediately: that thought must be bombarded with your values, beliefs, and a release of your established success aligned thoughts. You do this for the immediate dilution of a potentially poisonous affect. Furthermore, you must take a direct action in your mind, to satisfy your inherent need to be in control thru a physical action. This can be done in various ways by the individual but, here’s two I like to use. Every thought produces some kind of picture in your mind. If a thought is to be absolutely guarded against and destroyed, I see that picture as a piece of glass or of paper. One is violently crumpled and thrown away, while the other is shattered all the way to sand-dust, and sent hurling at warp speed into oblivion, as I help the process by turning away and stating out-loud, if appropriate, “NO! This thought will NOT enter!” or something appropriate. I use the word enter realizing that it already entered. But the purpose is to gain some control. It is said that a thought never really goes away, I agree. This is why you must dilute and destroy, and continue to do so until your thought sender/receiver finally stops the reoccurrence of that thought. This does happen.

    Now, barring rejection of the thought, you further the process. Can you see yet why there is a real thought time allotment! Furthering the process on to acceptance, you again flow out your previous knowledge, your established thoughts and compare them to the new one and re-store them, noting the absence of contradiction or conflict, the presence of agreement; and this confirms or acknowledges your acceptance of this thought.

This acceptance process can be used even if you find the thought already existed as accepted and stored in the proper compartment. The purpose of reprocessing a thought would be to give acknowledgement to or record an attachment of credibility to the source of the thought, be that a person, or God. Either way, you have just made a deliberate decision, based on your established values. The process for acceptance or rejection is mostly the same process, but you must emotionalize your choice. Don’t be confused; do NOT let your emotions make the choice. And then moving the process onto the physical realm isn’t any more difficult.

When, for example, you must make a business decision your values must be the side rails, your goals the stepping stones and you definite major “business” purpose the destination.

1. Compartmentalize the situation to one of your major business areas.
   
2. Know your values, goals and definite major purpose for this area.
   
3. Look at all the potential results of both a yes or no decision. And
   
4. Look for a positive effect in one or both of two places:
   
   1. Does it clarify, strengthen or otherwise positively build or add to your values? Or,
      
   2. Does it, within you values, further your success?
      

I would like to give you my accepted definition of success: the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream or goal. So, repeating 4.b. above with these words: Does it, within you values, further your realization of your worthwhile dream or goal?

The final process item, going back to an earlier mention of a specific compartment, the one that will contain thoughts that you must guard against. The side of this compartment that contains such thoughts must be kept under lock and key at all times. Weld the doors closed and melt the key! Even so, you may have to wad or shatter these thoughts daily, with violent emotion to subdue their appearing! Just do it, and keep doing it! And on the other side, let flow freely, under high pressure, the thoughts that you want to define you in this area. Don’t deny the area, the compartment, control it! You will have to develop or seek out thoughts that are positive and uplifting and that apply to the person you want to be! After using this process for a while, I realized the importance of this. Some use a particular technique called self-talk, I fully agree. State out-loud positive affirmations and then positively affirm and accept what you just “heard”! I’m about to go against somebodies teachings but, this is the way I see it. If, for example, you have a problem with alcohol, don’t spend every thought minute on affirming that. Spend them building the character of a non-alcoholic, sober individual. Every time you see a mind picture of a bottle, a tumbler or anything you connect to drinking, wad it, shatter it, utterly destroy it with emotional emphasis. And, if you must, scream at the top of lungs, “I DO NOT DO THAT!!” I’m not kidding, and I’m not kidding here either; after a while, you can calmly respond to such thoughts with a simple instant voice, “No.” and move immediately and intentionally to a new mind subject. This takes time to get engrained in you, don’t deny yourself this time. And if these thoughts get any stronger, you can always raise your voice, AGAIN!

The last thing I wish to offer in this posting is something that just seems proper to add under this contextual umbrella; a two part process for problem solving. Again, I will say that I did not develop this process, though I did personalize it. If you happen to recognize the source, give them due credit for me but, I myself never really knew. Anyway,

Part one:

Detail the situation: Take two steps outside of yourself and look around at the problem situation, the environment of the problem, if you will.

1. What was the event? A social gathering, a workplace environment, family meeting, etc…
   
2. What happened? Come in one step to the point of the problem. Be factual, not emotional and don’t try to read someone’s mind. That means don’t assume anything, if someone else is involved, KNOW the purpose of their actions.
   
3. What I did. Coming back to yourself, now, state clearly what you did. Do not justify it, apologize for it, or deny it, just write it down, or have it revealed if you’re applying this to someone else.
   
4. My thoughts. Before, during and after. What were and are your thoughts on this situation?
   

Part two:

Formulate your plan: Someone in the future may want to know just what went into your solution of this problem, and that someone may be you! So,

1. List the important facts. Again, avoid speculation.
   
2. Clearly identify the problem. Don’t look for why the problem is, who the problem is, just focus only on what IS the problem.
   
3. List possible solutions. Brainstorm if you have to but, the key word is list, have more than one option.
   
4. State the positive AND negative consequences of each solution. If it takes you a while to do this, so be it. You may assign each possibility to a person or team to formulate the possibilities but, they must all be brought forth and considered appropriately. And last,
   
5. State your plan. What is the solution you have accepted and will implement? Put it in your mind (or offer it to your superiors), disseminate it, and stand by it.
   

As always, I hope this will be of help, in part or in whole, to someone in need of it. Thank you for considering my offering, may the Lord bless you!

 

The Salvation Steps; in brief

This was an email I sent out to someone, thought I may as well send it to all:

I am totally saved and have had witnesses to the evidence of that salvation.  I was trying to find out if we were on the same page as to how that is accomplished.  Your email was enough to tell me we are not.  While you must believe, you CANNOT believe yourself into heaven.  Maybe you agree with this and are not saying it, or maybe, like so many others, you have been mislead into disregarding nearly ALL the Disciples works.  Here’s the way I see and know it to be, 1.) repentance – Yes you must do this, but you can’t just say it, OR DO it.  You must perform the outward act that was laid down by Jesus, John the Baptist and all the disciples as your public statement that this is in fact your day of repentance from sins against God and turning away from the ways of the world and following the ways of God, and, yes you must go forth from that point in true belief that the Lord has forgiven your sins thru this act-statement. Which, by the way is the Water Baptism, by full immersion and the words “I Baptize you in the Name of Jesus Christ” called over you.  Not one baptism in the bible ever used the three titles that some use.  2.) You must seek to be filled with the Holy Ghost – and you cannot claim that of yourself or because you had even a genuine “touch” from God, which would make one feel pretty good but, it is not the sign.  There is a definite sign, it happened every time someone received the Holy Ghost in the Bible and it must happen today! That would be, while you’re praying and seeking this gift of in-fillment from God, that your prayer begins to come forth from your mouth in another language, that you have not previously learned or practised, this is the evidence and it must happen!  You don’t even need a witness to it if you can honestly say that this has happened to you, besides, it’s likely to  happen many times once you receive the initial filling.  The other things you stated, the believing that He did die and rose again, etc… all good and correct.

While I’m here, I may as well mention, there is a third Baptism.  Some in my own circles are so scared to embrace this that, like other scriptures, it just gets ignored.  This would be the Fire Baptism.  It is a real full imersion baptism like the first two, with one Major difference!  YOU and everyone on the planet WILL go thru this Baptism of Fire!!! No exceptions.  Many falsely believe that the fire baptism was either the cloven tongues of fire in the upper room, or the “fiery” trials we go thru here on earth.  While both of those are very real, they are NOT the fire baptism.  That baptism will be the very very last act that God will perform toward us, yes HE will DO this baptism, before entry into the true eternity He has waiting for us. In fact, that IS the entry into eternity, for all! You will either go thru the fire with Him, emerging into His “world”, or you will simply enter into the fire, and you will have entered “your” eternity, the fire itself!

Now, like I said, I could be wrong about your position on this, but I am not wrong about mine.

May The God of all creation guide you most correctly with all love, regardless of our positions.

 

The Measure of Faith!

             I have heard, so many times, people talk about the measure of faith that God gave each man.  I’ve heard long sermons given on several different concepts of the phrase and most of them focus on the measure being an amount.  And then they try to tie it to other verses about increasing that amount.  I must say that never made sense to me.  I can’t remember, of course, every sermon I’ve heard but, if someone got it right it sure slipped by me.  On the occasion the Lord let me in on this I couldn’t believe how simple yet, how extreme the answer really was!

 

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

 

             Have you ever heard the saying ‘If you love something, let it go. If it returns to you, then it’s yours; and if it does not, then it never was.’?  Well, when you read Romans 23:3 above, that’s exactly the situation Paul is trying to get across to you.  Every man did get an ‘amount’ of faith but, to measure that amount would be absolutely unfathomable!  Because, as I have said with several other Bible terms now, it’s not your faith! It’s God’s Faith. And He didn’t “give” any of it.  That, of course, means it would not be a unit of measure for our faith but, a unit of measure for all the Faith that God possesses.  The unit of measure could not be a volume amount but, if the strength of it could be measured…  I could not begin to imagine yet, I know it’s more than most people even give thought to.

            I would like you to consider, or imagine, for a minute that you are the responsible person in the lives of your children.  You’re a parent, you love them with all your heart, and you would die for them, if that would save them in a moment of danger.  However, there are some dangers that are much more subtle in their damage to a child, or anyone else, really.  For instance, due to your child’s associations and new-found after school activities, you start to see less of them at home.  The situation turns into staying out late, not getting up in the morning, missing school, and avoiding the authority figure – you.  And, thru some source, or another, you are made aware that your child, your offspring that you know so well, has sneaked out of the house at night and is becoming part of a growing group of no less than seedy characters!

            Now, you suddenly have a rejuvenated desire to protect your child from further harm and correct your lack of attention.  You want to jump in with both feet and stomp the evil right out of their life!!  Only, alas, if you take your anger to that group, you may at the very least lose your chance to help your child, as you’re carted off to jail.  You soon realize that the only place to effect a change, and it’s the correct place, is with your child.  If every parent did that there would be no ‘seedy’ groups.  So, now, the question is “What will you do?!”

            Will you ground them? Will you lock the doors, board up the windows? Will you request a transfer from your company and move away.  Here is the question that may bring this lesson into focus.             To what lengths will you go, to rescue your child from this danger?  What measures will you employ to ensure their safety, and that they live to have a long life.  Would you do these drastic things or, perhaps, after you calm down and think it thru, you realize that your child will be 17, 18 or so, in just a few months.  And you think hard on what measure you will use to convert their ways, because the last thing you want is for their hatred for the establishment to become a hatred for you.  So, what measure will you deal them?  And then you decide!  You’re going to explain your love for them, your fear for them.  You’re going to educate them on the truth of the situation, or at least expose them to both sides, because they probably haven’t been.  And you are going to tell them that they are always welcome home, when they leave the evil behind.  And last, but certainly not least, you are going to express clearly, perhaps emotionally, your faith, in them.  Now, you must show them that you have faith that they will make the right choices, and return to their upbringing.  So, you give them a hug, and say “Good luck, you’re free to go.”

 

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

 

            God loves us with a love that we are not even capable of.  But, He had to let us go, to see if we would return.  He also had to give us other choices and even temptations else, our choice would be meaningless.  The Bible says God tempts no one.  I see that as just making sense; do you think you could resist a real temptation from the creator of the universe?!  And, again, it would defeat the purpose.  But, knowing it had to be done, Satan was allowed in.  In the world of the Old Testement, Satan had gained a lot of ground.  The false teachings of the “religeous powers” were begining to become the accepted truth.  But God has a plan.  And after a while, just as you had done, it was time for God to reassert His faith in us.

            While we were yet young and unaware of the dangers to come, God came robed in flesh in the form of the Man Jesus.  Whether or not he would die for us was not left to question or debate.  He went to the cross and died there to give us a way to return to Him!  And in so doing, He reaffirmed the faith, His Faith, that He has had in us, all along!  Yet, before He went He, too, through His Gospel and His Disciples, educated us.  About Himself, the cunning of Satan and the choices we have.  He taught us that the measure he went to, to gain us back, was to put His faith in us, and let us go.  And also, as Paul said here, that no one is above another, because God has faith in everyone you see, the same as you!  That’s the measure He went to.  What measures will you go to, to get back? 

           Will you express your desire by leaving your ungodly ways and seeking the life of the righteous?  Will you provide God and your peers with a public statement of your choice by simply going under the water to be baptized, believing all the while that God wants this done and that He will wash away your sins for it?  With that you also take on His name; will you lift it up before others?  And will you seek the free gift of His Spirit, the in-filling of the Holy Ghost until you have the absolute sure evidence of it, the speaking of other tongues, a language you’ve not learned. 

            God didn’t just put His faith in us.  I have said already, that  since it was actually Gods Faith in that scripture, it could not be measured.  And even though he did not “give” us any, by measurement, the faith He is holding in us, the faith He holds toward us, for us, expects us to do exactly these things. 

            What measure will you deal Him?  Lord Bless you always!

 

Rick Warren’s Surprising Advice to Pentecostal Churches

While I question the understanding of an “outsider” of the particular Pentecostal form I follow, it does not lessen the validity of the observation posed herein.  I think we should look closely at our church surroundings and make hard decisions about – everything; from the motive of our gathering to the accuracy of our teachings, to our personal contribution to the Kingdom.  As I do not know the heart of Mr. Warren, nor anyone else, I cannot deny or endorse anything in this report.  But I am here to bring myself and you to a point of ponder and consideration of the issues as they pertain to God and His purpose toward us.  I think both this report and it’s content do exactly that.

Thank you, and just click on the title below:

Rick Warren’s Surprising Advice to Pentecostal Churches.

 

What’s In a Name??

        In the name of God – there is much. Help, hope, comfort, healing, life and the way to salvation are all in the name of the Lord. Today, and for last 2044 years, his name has been Jesus. And there was a reason for having a name. This offering isn’t about the name, that name, but, rather about God having a name. Let me explain further. Before the name Jesus there was another name used by the Hebrews and it still is today; the name YEHWAY. The story of that name obviously deserves a study and telling of its own but, this is not it. What’s in name, in a name for God? I believe there were ignorance and insult and shame! 

        I want to go back to the first encounter of God by Moses. The story is of course famous and involves the burning bush that just burned and was not consumed. Moses approached the bush and God spoke to him. God told him to not come close, to remove his shoes, and:

 Exodus 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the    God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

       Was Moses paying attention? I’m sure he was but, it would seem that he had a problem with comprehending what God had just said. In Moses’ defense I have no doubt what-so-ever that he stood there with not only gapping mouth but gapping mind as well, trying to fathom what was happening. His focus had to be affected by the enormity of the moment. And God apparently did not stop to let Moses catch up, He continued with what He came for. In short, He told Moses that He had come down to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Moreover that He was going to send Moses to accomplish this task. Not legions of angels, not an earthly army, just Moses. He did finally agree to enlist the help of his brother Aaron.

        Now, as I “imagine” again, I can certainly conceive of Moses just having to take a breath, to gather himself. And I can see him conversing within himself ‘How am I going to convince anyone that I even talked to God, little lone rescue all of Israel.’ So, perhaps this was his thought, and his unfocused frame of mind, as he posed the question:

Exodus 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?

         Although he was raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter and in the “Egyptian way”, Moses by this time certainly had become a Hebrew of the times. He probably knew the people would ask exactly that question. But, do you think he would just simply ask it for himself, for his own knowledge. God thought he did. Look at the next verse, in two halves:

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

        I think God knew this was a question for the benefit of Moses himself. OK, sorry, of course He knew! What I mean to say is that I think the verse shows us that fact. If you look at it you’ll see that God didn’t tell Moses what to say until after He had addressed the question. Not answered but, addressed the question. Looking at this further, there is more to see. I see ignorance on the part of Moses for posing the question. I see indignation on the part of God, mild anger, if you will. You may have noticed Gods’ reply is in all capital letters. It’s in the Book that way, I didn’t make that up. There must have been something in the scrolls that compelled the translators to put a clear emphasis on this statement. I have to say I agree with this because, while I do not study the scrolls, I can clearly feel the emotion of that moment. I know that it was a burning bush and not a storm cloud but, every time I read those capital letters the rumbling in my mind is loud and clear!

       The fact that Moses and/or the people wanted a name for God had to be of great insult to God. I can see that, too, in His response. I am THAT I am; THAT being – God! Not a God, not just your God but, The God, the only God. Think about your own name for a moment; not what it is but, why you have it, why you need it? I need to know your name so I can address you in a crowd. I need to know it to identify you as the one I’m talking about when conversing with others. You need to be identified so the bank will cash your check. And ALL of this is simply because you are NOT the only human on the planet. We have to separate ourselves from each other in a way that is individual to each of us, and that is the purpose of a name.

       Can you see God’s anger yet? Can you feel the shame I feel when I think about this passage. The people wanted to name God! Oh, I suppose they were kind enough to let Him choose His own but …still. Why give God a name? Give Him a name so you can call Him out from all the other Gods? Give Him a name so you can label Him on the shelf among all your false idols? Instead of lifting God up you would lower Him to these levels? It was not until some time later that God made these statements but, they were certainly true at that moment:

Isaiah 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.  

Isaiah 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

       Many people have chosen to call God ‘The Great I AM’, after the second half of verse 14. I think this honors God’s sovereignty and singleness but, it was still not given as a name. It was a furtherance of His “one God only” declaration. I AM hath sent you. The ONE that exists among NO others has sent you.

       Now, God did finally did give a phrase that He Himself called a name but, it was clearly more a descriptive statement of who He was. It also provided an attachment from God to the generations of the three persons named therein. Not an attachment, or relationship, they claimed but, that God claimed.

Exodus 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

    The word memorial, as used here, means a remembrance, a record, and account. God was saying this statement is a record, an account, of who I am. And you may call me, and converse about me, by this record. And by use of this record, each time you will bring to your remembrance THAT I AM, and not just a name!

       Remember back at the beginning I asked if Moses was paying attention? If you’ll look at verse 6 again you’ll see that God already told Moses His “name”, and then had to repeat Himself. It would seem the Lord really is long suffering with those He loves.

       May the Lord Bless you all, In Jesus Name! (Oh, another name.)

 

Holiday Trees ???

This is from a Facebook post, I had to share it.  It fits the purpose of Messages from God.

Jon Rudman

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees.  I don’t feel threatened.  I don’t feel discriminated against.  That’s what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind of like it.  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.  It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu.  If people want a crib, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.  I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country.  I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way:  where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God?  I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different:  This is not intended to be a joke;  it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her:  “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina).  Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.  She said:  “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.  How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.  Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.  The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself.  And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide).  We said an expert should know what he’s talking about.  And we said okay.

Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell.  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it…. no one will know you did.  But if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

UnlikeLike · Share · October 18

 

Thank You, and A Repost Request….

First let me ask that you repost the link that brought you here so all those that connect to you may have at least one chance to have a look around for themselves. Thank you for that.  Now….

I’m writing this post primarily to thank all you who have confirmed on Facebook, Twitter and the others.  Although my primary purpose is to spread my writing as far as I can, and gain readers in the process, it is not lost on me that none of you had to do this and some of you most certainly hesitated.  I would ask that you read the Who Am I page at the top and you may begin to know me, or know me again.  Some of you and I share ancient history, and neither of us are the same today.  So, feel free to send me an email about you, your life, whatever.  And if you don’t feel close enough, or just don’t want to, that’s ok. I’m not really asking anyone to, just saying, feel free.  Let me know if you have a blog!

If you clicked on this post, in whatever application, you’ve found one of my blogs. The second one can be accessed via the buttons at top.  Please, look around, and tell me what you think.  I really want comments of your opinion on the topics and content of each post that interest you.  Obviously, I feel the Bible studies are important but, here is the most important thing I could tell you; anything to do with God and your relationship with Him must come about as an act of your own free will!  So, I’m not here to push, convert, convince, beg or plead.  I am here to share, teach, discuss and discover.  And most importantly, find as many as I can that would have a look at what flows out, so possibility exist of having a seed planted.

If you really don’t want the religious side of me, I’m ok with that.  I am not a religious fanatic, not at all!  Just a normal guy with normal memories like you but, sometime I like to write them down,too.  So, like I said, go check out my short stories.  None of this is meant to be professional, it’s just sharing.

Thank you very much, who ever you are, and I hope that all this, any of this, will be of benefit you all!

 

I NEED you to see this, please.

I just added and managed some social media settings.  It’s all intended to help make sure YOU have been invited to partake of my blog posts.  And now you have!  Welcome.  Stop by often.

Check out some of the posts by clicking on the categories there to the right, or go to my short story blog thru the button at the top.