For today's blog, let's start by reading: JEREMIAH 18:1-18
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.  If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,  and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.  And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted,  and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’  But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
    Who has ever heard anything like this?  A most horrible thing has been done by Virgin Israel.
    Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes?  Do its cool waters from distant sources
    ever stop flowing?
    Yet my people have forgotten me;  they burn incense to worthless idols,  which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths.
    They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up.
    Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads.
    Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.”
They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”

In this passage we see that:

• Jeremiah went to the Potter’s house as the Lord commanded him.
• Jeremiah was in awe as he watched the potter fashion and mold piece of clay.  He saw the potter’s fingers glide along the slippery clay, shaping and molding it with the slightest touch.  The potter only had to touch the tip of his fingers against the clay, and its shape would be forever changed.
• Jeremiah realized that this was a picture of our lives.  Our lives are as fragile as wet clay in the hands of a potter and the Lord has the ability to re-shape our lives.

The potter uses several tools to bring the clay to a place where it is usable:

• First he uses a shovel.  This is a tool he uses to dig the clay from the earth.  Those who have done this are reminded of the stench where the clay is dug up from.  This is a Spirit of God who comes to where we are in sin and speaks to use in convicting power and draws us to Jesus.
• Secondly, the potter uses a mallet. After the clay has been cleansed and processed it is laid on a table and beaten with a wooden mallet.  The Potter does this to remove any air bubbles that might be trapped in the clay.  If he doesn’t do this the air bubbles will form a pocket that might be trapped in the clay forming a weak spot and cause the vessel to be fragile and unusable.
  • This is a picture of the trials..and chastisements of life that tend to work together to shape us in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Thirdly, he uses the wheel!
  
  • Jeremiah saw the wheel turning constantly bringing the clay against the potter’s hand.  That wheel stands for the turning circumstances of our life under the control of the potter.  As our life is being shaped and molded by the great Potter, it is the circumstances of our life, the wheeled of circumstances, which bring us again and again  under the potter’s hand, under the pressure of the molding fingers of the the Potter.
    
• Fourthly, he uses his hands while the clay spins around on the wheel, it is never out of contact with the Potter’s hands.  He is in constant contact with molding and shaping and bringing the clay along through His loving guidance.  If he were ever to remove His hand, the clay would spin right off the wheel and would be lost.  Therefore, he remains there with the clay until it becomes what he desires it to be.

As the Great Potter, God’s desires is to make us into a beautiful creation that is useful to him.  The key we must remember is that the Lord can only shape us if we submit to HIS loving hands and allow him to work in us.  Each of us needs to have a teachable spirit.

In Matthew 26:38 Jesus told states that "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death".   In all of history never has there been an event in which one has had to bear  such pain as Christ did from Gethsemane to the Cross.

Did you know that the word Gethsemane mean olive press or oil press.  Gethsemane was a garden setting on the Mount of Olives.  It was probably a garden of olive trees.  Beautifully situated on the slopes of the mountain overlooking all the surrounding area including the city of Jerusalem. 

This is where Jesus would withdraw in His desperate hour of need.  Here in this verse Jesus was in great anguish over the coming physical pain, and separation from the Father and death for the sins of the world. 
On that cross Jesus was faced with every sin committed by every person who was ever created.

It was there that He alone faced all the powers of darkness.  It was there that He became the sacrificial lamb of the world.  The burden  was of such intensity  that He sweated blood.  Because of His anguish He experienced He can relate to our suffering.  His strength to obey came from His relationship with God the Father who is also the source of our strength.

Jesus was the ultimate intercessor.  His earthly ministry was saturated with effective examples of breakthrough intercession.   Not only was prayer the foundation for His entire ministry on earth but it was the tool in winning the lost and it is still one of the primary ministries of the Christ today.

Hebrews 7:25 tells us that: "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

Jesus is interceding for us.  There are all types of prayers but in this verse we see a Burdened Prayer.  This is sometimes called the “travail of the soul. “ Those who make themselves available to carry the burden for the lost can expect to experience intense moments in which you pray so intently that you will travail. Like a woman giving birth.

David Brainerd, a missionary to the Housitonic Indians on the Massachusetts frontier as a man who lived clearly as a vessel for His Master’s use.  In his diary dated 1742  in the late winter he shares this experience of carrying the burden for lost Indians:
     “It was the middle of the night in the dead of winter.  The snow was hip high in Western Massachusetts.  I       was stirred with a burden of the Lord.  I rose out of my bed and went outside so that my groans would not      wake my wife and young baby.  I walked outside the village and huddled under a tree.  By morning the            snow had completely melted an 8 foot circle around me because of the intensity of the burden placed on         me by the Lord.   About dawn, the burden lifted and the call to intercede had been pushed through.  So I        walked back to the village and I saw people from all over the village walking down streets to the town              square all with hot tears pouring down their cheeks .  When I put my foot onto the soil of the city street.  I        felt a warm wind of God’s presence blow and immediately, men, women and children all fell prostrate             before the Lord, crying out in repentance before the Lord.

This type of burdened prayer cannot be fabricated or worked up it only comes as we make ourselves available. To receive His burden and handle it with the utmost concern.  Once it is received, it can become such a consuming desire that one feels that he or she must pray until the prayer is answered or die in the attempt.”

We have  individuals who will take personal responsibility and begin to partner with Him in carrying the burden for the lost.  So ;et us make ourselves willing vessels to carry the same burden for those whom God has placed in our lives that we might birth them into His kingdom.

​I know many of you who are atheists and read this would say that atheism is not a religion and that the Supreme Court said it was not a religion.   However, the Supreme Court has recognized atheism as being protected by the same First Amendment principles that protect religion.

The Court has protected non-believers by ruling that the government cannot show preference to one religion or force citizens to profess belief in religion, and it has treated atheism and other "religions" similarly for the purposes of the First Amendment's Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. 

Equal protection: The Supreme Court has protected atheists under these provisions, meaning the government cannot show favoritism to any ones religion over others, nor can it force citizens to believe in or practice a religion.  

Legal precedent: This has been recognized on numerous occasions, such as in the case of McCreary County, Ky. v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky., where the Court treated atheism as a belief system deserving the same First Amendment protection as religion. 

Based on this I think that we can agree that atheism qualifies as a religion for the purpose of First Amendment protection, despite the fact that in common usage atheism would be considered by most as the absence of belief or religion.
 
The Russian cosmonauts who claimed they didn’t find God in space were only the tip of the Communist iceberg-I hope you know that Communists do not typically believe in God.   Science types wrote books denouncing belief in the Bible. Atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair widely shared her views that many despised.

This reminds me of the illustration of the atheist who died and on his tombstone he had the following epitaph written:   “As I am now, you soon would be, so prepare to die, and follow me.”    A Christian happened to  owning a burial plot next to the atheist.  When he passed away, he had the following words inscribed on his tombstone:  “To follow you, I am not content, until I know which way you went.”

We look at this story and chuckle...but the point is very important.   Eternity is a VERY LONG TIME, do you know where you will spend it?
 
Do you believe that faith is possible?  Learn to keep an open mind, a teachable spirit and an humble attitude which is so important to believing. 

Charles Spurgeon once said: Brothers, be great believers.  Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but get faith will bring heaven to your souls.” 

There are some that say that faith in GOD is impossible because you can't see HIM, so how do you know HE exists.  I would respond by reminding you that I can’t see gravity, but I know that it is real...I know that it exists!    I cannot see the wind but I am positive it is real.    I certainly cannot see love, but I am sure it is a reality.
 
Let me close with one last Illustration:   At a college an atheist professor said; “Has anybody ever seen God?  Has anybody ever heard God? Has anybody ever smelled God?  Has anybody ever tasted God?  Has anybody ever felt God?

The atheist answered for the class “NO”.   Then he went on to say, "then let us just assume that there is no God”.
 
Well a brilliant young man walked up to the front of the classroom, faced his classmates and said, “Excuse me sir, but with all due respect, has anybody ever seen the professors brain?  Has anybody ever smelled the professors brain?  Has anyone ever felt the professors brain?"
 
The young man answered for the class ”NO”!   "Then lets assume that the professor has no brain."


Remember it is not seeing that is important...it is the believing that is important!    Don't let this day pass you by, surrender your life to CHRIST and HE will continually reveal HIMSELF to you!

As a youngster in the 1950’s I remember someone giving me a book entitled: In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?  The premise of the story is a reminder to model one’s behavior on the example of Jesus Christ. It encouraged people to consider how Jesus would act in a given situation and to respond with love, compassion, and kindness. Even though the book was written in the 1890’s, the phrase What Would Jesus Do? saw a major resurgence in popularity in the 1990s, appearing on bracelets, t-shirts, and other merchandise.
 
Now in the 21st century, I believe we have kind of changed that phrase to: "What would Jesus say?"
 
What information does the Bible give us in Scriptures that will help us to to say what Jesus would say?  I believe we already have the key talking points of what the Lord might say to the redeemed of our day. We find them in His letters to seven churches, which John recorded late in the first century AD. The encouragement Jesus offers each body of believers is just as relevant today as it was long ago.
 
It's not so much a matter of what Jesus would say to believers today, but how He continues to spark hope within our souls through His messages to these seven ancient churches.  Even though there is much darkness and oppression and evil today Jesus continues to give us the encouragement that we need to stay the course.  I hope you take the time to read Jesus’ five letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3.  Even though Jesus addresses severe problems among Christians in a particular church, Christ ends each letter with words of encouragement that focuses on a particular promise of eternal joy that awaits all New Testament saints. Here are the promises Jesus offers the seven churches as well as us:

1. Paradise (Revelation 2:7)
   
2. Eternal life (2:11)
3. Invitation to a feast - Marriage Supper of the Lamb (2:17)
4. Our future reign with Jesus (2:26-27)
5. White garments that depict our future experience of purity (3:5)
6. A secure and forever home in the New Jerusalem (3:12)
7. Authority in His kingdom (3:21)

 
It amazes me that even though almost all of these churches had problems which Jesus identified,  the Lord still concludes each letter with a call to faithfulness based on the joyous wonders of what lies ahead for believers in eternity!   If the wonders of our inheritance of a kingdom were so prominent on Jesus' mind so long ago, how much more might they be today with the judgments listed in the book of Revelation on our own doorstep?  This is why the Gospel is called the good news!
 
If you take the time and read all of the Book of Revelation you will see that the prophecy for the Christian Believer is HOPE!  For example, our future "white garments" not only place us at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, but also mark our participation in the most prophesied event in Scripture as well as the most climatic event in all of human history; Jesus’ return to earth as recorded in Revelation 19:11-16.
 
Perhaps wee need to read His promises to us in Revelation because His promises are so over-the-top stupendous and joyous that we read these words in Revelation 22:16:  "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches." 
 
 And again in Revelation 22:20, we have Christ's last words to us, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.’"
Can I get a big Woo Hoo from anyone??!!!!!!
 
For those of us who are Christians and Believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, there is no  future terror for us to be concerned; however, for those who reject the Jesus as their Savior it will be so awful.  This is reason why Christians keep telling those who have not accepted Jesus to humble themselves and accept Him as your Lord and Savior as the One who died for all sin.   

In the book of Revelation, John also noted:  "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10). 

I know many believe that prophecy is to scare you but it is not meant to scare us, it is meant to help us to be  prepared for what is coming down the road. 
 
We are living in the last days, this is not a time for complacency.  Proverbs 1:32 seem more relevant than ever when it says: For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.
 
What does the word complacency mean?   It is a sense of ease and prosperity and self-satisfaction that dismisses warnings of danger until it is too late.    

Many plan for their future without any thought of God.  This is not a time for being complacent!  Even you who are part of the watchful remnant - DO NOT BE COMPLACENT!  Jesus gives us the peace amid all the news events that we see and hear on a daily basis of all the evil that is infiltrating our world.
 
We pray for the Lord to help us to keep resisting the wickedness and violence of our day. But at the same time, we rest in the confidence that Jesus is coming for us before the start of the terrors and Tribulation of the Day of the Lord.  We don't know how much longer we will have to wait or what might come our way in a dangerous world. However, despite what see and hear, we know that Jesus will surely appear to take us to the place He's preparing for all His Church that is us. After all, Jesus not only revealed the wonders ahead for us in eternity throughout the book of Revelation, He also testified to the accuracy of its words.
 
So. How are you going to live in these days?  Well, we watch with confidence that regardless of the wait, we will surely enjoy all the wonders Jesus promises to us!   Allow the words of JESUS to change you today!
 
Stand back and be amazed!!!!!

An idol is anything that you love more than God. An idol is anything you serve more than God. An idol is anything you fear more than God. An idol is anything you trust more than God.

So today we need to ask ourselves:

• Is there anything I love more than God?
• Is there anything I fear more than God?
• Is there anything I trust more than God?
• Is there anything I serve more than God?

If you answered yes to any of these questions above, the Bible says that you are an idolater.

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).   He was very specific.  He tells us in this verse to not seek God second or third - we are to seek Him first!

So how does idol worship even come about?
The short answer...it’s in our DNA!   Did you know that we are created to worship?  It is instinctive in Man to worship. We are made in the image of God, designed to worship our Maker. In every man’s heart there is a God-shaped vacuum. That’s the reason you’re going to find people worshiping no matter where you go on the face of the Earth. If a person does not worship the true God, he or she will worship a false god, but that person will worship. Worship is a part of who you are and what you are made to do.

The question we need to ask ourselves is what or who do you worship?
In reality, idols made by men, are literally impotent blocks of stone or wood, and their power exists only in the minds of the worshipers. The idol of the god Dagon was twice knocked to the floor by God to show the Philistines just who was God and who wasn’t (1 Samuel 5:1-5).
 
The “contest” between God and His prophet Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel is a dramatic example of the power of the true God and the impotence of false gods (1 Kings 18:19-40).
 
The testimony of Scripture is that God alone is worthy of worship. Idol worship robs God of the glory that is rightfully His, and that is something He will not tolerate (Isaiah 42:8).
 
Even today there are religions that bow before statues and icons, a practice forbidden by God’s Word. The significance God places upon it is reflected in the fact that the first of the Ten Commandments refers to idolatry.  In the first of the Ten Commandments, we are told:
 
 “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:3-5).
 
Idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images and false gods. Our modern idols are many and varied. Even for those who do not bow physically before a statue, idolatry is a matter of the heart—pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions and ultimately rebellion against God.
 
Now can you understand why God hates it?   Examine your life today and allow GOD to reveal any idols that you have been worshipping in your life.   Once HE shows you, take the time to repent and turn back to GOD and worship HIM with all of your heart!

In the King James Version of the bible in Proverbs 3:5-6 we read:

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God’s plan for your life is not a road map; it is a relationship.  It should truly be an intimate relationship.   I’m glad God doesn’t just write out a plan, seal it, hand it to us, and say, “This is what you’re going to do the next fifty or so years.” How boring and frightening, that would be!

Every time you come into a new situation, it is an opportunity for us to acknowledge God in that situation. We can say, “Lord, what do You want me to do here?”

There is a wonderful preacher who was extremely gifted in engineering, so he decided, “I am going to be an engineer, make money, and give it to missions.”  Now that would have been fine if that’s what God had called him to do. But God had not called him to do that, and in his heart, he knew he was running from God. He got deathly ill, and his father wrote to him, “Tis but one life, will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”

God used that phrase to pierce his heart and led him to pray, “Anywhere, anytime, any cost.”

Are you willing to say that today?   You may be afraid that if you close your eyes and open your mouth, He’ll put something in there you don’t want. If that’s the case, maybe it's because you are not trusting HIM the way that you should.    We have to remember that HE is a loving FATHER who always wants what is best for us!  As we trust Him, we can be sure that HE will guide us for good!

As human beings our problem has always been that we want to do what we want to do and that goes for Christians as well as non-Christians.  Here in these verses we are reminded that we do not have the self-sufficiency to run this race alone.   This is called a walk of faith, because we need to run this race by trusting in GOD!

So today, don’t try going it alone!  Trust in the Lord and He will direct your paths!   HE will take you on an adventure that you will not regret!

In Act 4:18, we read:

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus
But Peter  and John answered and  said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto  God, judge ye.
 
To put this portion of scripture into context, several of the disciples were put into prison and told that they were not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore.  Well as you know they said we are going to do what God wants and not what man wants.  The people that put them into prison were religious leaders and the disciples were basically saying that they were not of God, that they are not doing the work of God and consequently they do not have the mind of God.
 
Now that I just said a verse that says preach in the name of Jesus.  Now I guess most of you reading that title think that I am going to tell you how to preach.  Most people believe that the only way to preach is what most Pastors do on Saturday or Sunday.  They stand in  front of a group of people and give a message using the verses in the Bible.  Let me tell you a true story that might give you a different perspective on preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
One day  St. Francis of Assisi invited a young monk to go with him to a nearby village to preach.  The young monk quickly agreed because he would grab any opportunity to hear his teacher speak.  When they arrived in the village, St. Francis began to visit with the people.
 
First, he stopped in on the butcher.  Next there was a visit to the shoemaker.  Then, a short walk to the home of a woman who had recently buried her husband. After a while there was a stop to chat with the town teacher.  This pattern continued throughout the entire morning.
 
After some time St. Francis told the young monk it is now time to return to the abbey.  The student was perplexed and did not understand.  He turned to St. Francis and said: ”But didn’t we come to preach and yet we have NOT preached one sermon."
 
Haven’t we? Questioned St. Francis.  He turned to the young monk  and said: "People have watched us.  They have listened to us. They have responded to us. Every word we have spoken.  Every deed we have done has been a sermon.  We have preached all morning."
 
Christianity is not one action on Monday or to  worship in church on Saturday or Sunday.  It is not works that saves the Christian but it is works that marks the Christian.  St. Francis is known for saying:  “Preach without ceasing and if you must, use words.”
 
I read a story of a young man who enlisted into the Armed Forces and was subsequently sent to his unit.  The first night in the barracks with about 15 other young men, his bunkmates passed their time playing cards and gambling.  Before he retired, he fell on his knees and prayed, and then the others began to curse and jeer at him and throw their boots at him. This went on for several nights.
 
Finally, the young man went to the chaplain and told him what had taken place and he asked for some advice from the chaplain.  Well, said the chaplain, you are not at home now, and the other men have just as much  right in the barracks as you have.  It makes them mad to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don’t provoke them.
 
For weeks after, the chaplain did not see the young man again, but one day he met him and asked him, ”By the way , did you take my advice?”  I did the young man said, for two or three nights.
 
How did it work out the chaplain asked?
 
Well the young man said “I felt like a whipped dog, but on the third night I got out of bed, knelt down and prayed.”

"Really?" asked the chaplain, "how did that work out?"

The young soldier answered: "We have a prayer meeting there now every night, and three have been converted, and we are praying for the rest.”

We need to take responsibility for our actions and live our faith out loud!
 
Michael 6:8 says:
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
 
God’s true requirement is not empty rituals, or for empty words to be spoken but for people to act justly, meaning to be fair and righteous: love mercy, showing compassion to others; and to walk humbly with your God, depending on Him and living with humility rather than pride. 

This verse provides a straightforward guide for living a life that is pleasing to God, emphasizing an active faith lived out in actions and relationships.  

Will you live out your faith today?  You never know whose life you will positively impact for eternity!

Before you answer the question in the title, you should read these verses in Colossians 1:16-17:

16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:  17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

This passage concerns the creation of the universe.  It deals with such questions as:

• What is the true origin of the universe?
  
• How did the world come into existence? 
  
• What is the purpose or end of all things or of creation? 
  
• What holds  things together?
  
• What is behind the laws of nature such as gravity? 

This is Quite an encompassing group of thoughts all from just two verses!

Based on my studies, there are basically three views of creation:

• First, there is the secularist or human view:  That means that this world just happened by chance. No force or power created the world.  No power tends behind the world.  There was nothing, and then by some means and in some way some gas or some element of some sort just appeared out of nothing, out of nowhere.
  
• Secondly, there is the view that some "god" did create the world, but he is far off and removed from the world
  
• Third is the true Christian view, the truth that God Himself, the Sovereign Master of the universe, created the world with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  The word that is used for God in Genesis is plural- so that tells me that it is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all working together.  As Christians, our desire should be to live through Jesus.

Scientists today still don't know how the atom holds itself together. According to what we understand from the science of physics, the basic structure of an atom should cause it to repel or explode. The most basic element in the universe cannot be explained (science attempts to explain this by referring to it as "cosmic glue"). But there is a simple answer: Jesus holds the whole universe together, a fact which is confirmed in the verse we started with.   Look again at Colossians 1:17 which says, ". . . in Him all things hold together."

Today we are reminded that GOD created everything and even thousands of years later, we literally  exist through Him.  HE is not only our Creator, but also our Sustainer. HE is the God of the universe, living in us today.   What a privilege to be a Christian in the Church Age!

I once heard a minister tell an audience, “The Old Testament isn’t relevant to our times, so there is no need to study it anymore.”

How wrong that minister was! 

One reason I love reading the Old Testament is because of the analogy examples between the New Testament.  For instance, in the Old Testament, Israel is a type of church, and Egypt represents the world. Israel’s journey through the wilderness represents our spiritual work as Christians. Also, the tree that healed the waters at Marah is a type of the cross of Christ, and the rock that produced water in the desert is a type of our Savior. 

Scripture makes clear that all of Israel’s physical battles, mirrors many of the spiritual battles we face today: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11, NKJV). 

Did you know that even the tabernacle and its furniture are examples of heavenly things: “Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For he said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain’” (Hebrews 8:5).

Whenever I don’t understand a truth in the New Testament, I turn to the Old Testament to find it illustrated in some way.  For example, I know how to bring down spiritual walls the devil may have built up in my life as I turn to Joshua’s story, in the Old Testament, to see how the walls of Jericho were brought down. Israel’s physical battle with those walls provides me with a picture and a pattern to help me understand how to bring down walls in my life that keep me from attaining fullness in Christ. 

The Old Testament examples are meant to keep us from falling into unbelief, as Israel did. The author of Hebrews writes, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). In other words, study the Old Testament and learn from Israel’s example. Do not make the same mistakes they did.

Clearly the OLD TESTAMENT is still relevant today!  Read the full Bible (both the Old and New Testament), you may be surprised at how much you learn!

Why do people not want to hear about Jesus?  People stumble because they are not willing to turn the investigation onto their own hearts and secret lives. You see they have all the same faults of those men whom they criticize but none of their virtues.  Many heroes of the Old Testament  were great leaders, trained in the school of sufferings and disappointments.  They, especially the prophets, were hated and no one wanted to listen to them.  Yes, even the prophets had to read the condition and understand that God delights in mercy rather than condemnation.  And moreover, God is merciful by nature,  whereas man becomes merciful by sorrow and suffering which softens the pride that is in man’s heart.
Most people in general, are more accepting of a religion dealing with externals; but it is another proposition for them to turn on the lights on their inner life, to search the motives of their actions which on the exterior seem the most sacred.  This is the reason that most of the prophets were martyred.  And this was the ultimate cause that sent Jesus to the Cross.

We read in the scriptures that God loves us and wants to restore us.  We learn this by observation of things we are taught:

• God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus to rebuild and restore us.  To save us all from condemnation. 
• Jesus is the Restorer when everyone and everything has failed to help
• There is only ONE Redeemer and HIS NAME IS JESUS.  Note that the word redeemer is also translated Savior.  He came to earth to die for our sin and to redeem, to save us from hell.

 
In the histories of some saints, we read that they came almost to the verge of despair, because they imagined that the Lord had abandoned them or that they had committed the sin unto death.  But then the realization comes that our Lord is there for us all the time.  As long as you have breath I want you to know:

• You are not too dirty for God to cleanse you
• You are not too broken for God to fix you
• You are not too far gone for God to reach you
• You are not too guilty for God to forgive you
• You are not too worthless for God to love you

Humble yourselves before the King of Kings and accept Him as your Lord and Savior today!

Over the years I have heard Christians say the Bible is too much I can’t understand it all.  You are not going to learn it all in one sitting.  This is not a novel that you read from chapter one to the end and you have the story.  There are important passages and the Bible confirms the Bible through Scriptures.  You are to read it over and over again and then the Holy Spirit will reveal to you what you need to know and understand.
 
Perhaps in your daily reading you might like to tackle Isaiah 40 all the way to Isaiah 48:22.  You might say that is quite a bit of reading but sometimes it is good to read things in a group so you get what the Lord is trying to tell you. 
 
Isaiah’s prophecies and messages shift many years into the future.When we come to Isaiah 40,  I want to remind you that prophecies are not to frighten you but to get you prepared for what lies ahead so that you could be prepared.  You must understand that Isaiah is speaking to a people who have gone through difficult times- Israel.  They were a rebellious people  and they went through captivities by the Babylonians.  They suffered the horrors of defeat and slavery.  Most of them had been deported or exiled.   Many of them lost everything: their homes, property, wealth, communities, cities, nations, worship centers, and their beloved temple in Jerusalem. Many of them were hit with piercing grief, because  many of their husbands  and sons would be slaughtered by invading armies.
 
But in the middle of all this hardship and sorrow, the Lord gives Israel a wonderful promise.  The day was coming when they would be comforted and set free from their captivity and from their sin and death.  God had made a promise to His people and He would keep His promises
 
A key message for believers today is that God has the future all pre-programmed. He knows the exact moment Christ will return. The final tribulation, the judgment, and the battle of Armageddon are all on His calendar.

The God who controls all of heaven and earth said: “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales…. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless” (Isaiah 40:15, 17, NKJV).

God wants us to keep working until the return of Christ. That simply means that we are to work as though the end will never come and live as though it were coming tomorrow.

God is still keeping count of the hairs on our heads. He is still counting the sparrows that fall, still hearing petitions before they are asked, and still answering before being called. He is still giving abundantly more than we can ask or think (See Matthew 6:25-34). So why be afraid?

Prepared Christians, wake up! Everything is under control, and God is at work. He is saving, healing, baptizing, and getting his house in order. To fear is to blaspheme. We are commanded to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to begin to sing and rejoice as we see the final hour approaching. Someone may ask, “How can I rejoice when I see this old sin-cursed world falling apart?”

My answer is the Bible’s answer. “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23).

A woman in labor may scream because of pain, yet in her heart she rejoices because of the new birth taking place. The kingdom of God is coming. The kingdom of Satan is falling. So the Christian can say with confidence, “God has everything under control!

Do you believe it? I do.  

You may ask, why do you believe it?  Because the peace of God gives believers perfect assurance that if we commit to Christ, our [past sins and failures have been taken care of by Christ and His death on the Cross.  We also have the blessed assurance that our present situation is being looked after by God Himself.  And that our future will be taken care of by the presence and guidance of the Lord.  For the believer he or she knows that  he has eternal life, never again to be alienated or separated from the Lord.  We believers know that our salvation is due to the redemption found in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.