Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Rock Of Truth



In the midst of these pounding waves of uncertainty stands a powerful Rock, the Catholic Church, a bastion and beacon of truth established by Christ to guide His people through the latter times, which began with Christ’s Ascension into Heaven. This, despite her painful scandals and fallible members. And yet, in some quarters, her preachers and teachers have fallen silent when it comes to dealing with our times: the tsunami of moral relativism, the attack on marriage and the family, the destruction of the unborn, rampant hedonism, and many other disturbing trends. The "end times," a subject frequently addressed in Scripture by Sts. Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude, and the Lord Himself, is barely ever mentioned from many pulpits. The four last things—Judgment, Purgatory, Heaven, Hell—have been grossly neglected for over a generation. The fruit of this silence—as we watch in real-time the crumbling of Christian civilization—is abundantly clear:


My people perish for want of knowledge! Hosea 4:6

This is all to say that the Holy Spirit is speaking to the Church. But why aren’t many bishops and priests speaking to the faithful on these matters? Why aren’t the faithful being helped to navigate, in a Catholic context, the growing discussion of "end times" in the main stream media?


Read more here: THE ROCK OF TRUTH

Friday, January 21, 2011

Look! Listen!


But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1 Corinthians 2:9-15

"Yes, indeed," Yeshua answered him, "I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 3:3

My holy people; seeing is for you, for all those who are participants in the good news of the Kingdom. You were made to see, to know and to understand the Kingdom, because I am with you, for you and in you.

Your mind must undergo a radical shift in the days ahead, for if you desire to make a difference, you must quit thinking as you have in the past and instead use the mind of Christ to see, hear and understand the things around you. Quit looking at what you see in the natural and begin to look at what you see in the Spirit.

Vision comes to those who are hungry to see My Kingdom come, My will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. My hungry ones are not satisfied with worldly accomplishments, or even brilliant programs executed flawlessly. My Kingdom facilitators are not looking at what people can see, but they are using the eyes of the Spirit to see, hear and know My Great Heart concerning matters of importance, matters of great importance, to themselves and those around them.

Far gone are the strategies of the last generation, the last year, yes even yesterday. Strategies contrived through human understanding and planning are good to gain human results, but Kingdom strategies are received through seeing, hearing and knowing what is upon My Great Heart.

I am raising up a prophetic and apostolic people that will take this good news of the Kingdom into venues previously unexplored. These people will take time to hear what I have to say and wait upon My power to accomplish the work.

Need will no longer be the plumb-line for measuring My will, but instead what is upon My Great Heart. Why are there so many sick among you, around you and with you? Why are there so many depressed, lonely, heart-sick people not having their needs met? Why are there so many without jobs, without hope and without Me? Could it be that the charity programs that have been contrived do not really measure up to My will? Could it be that the things I desire for you to be doing have more to do with connecting with people as people and demonstrating My power to fulfill those needs, instead of focusing on programs that are based on need?

Programs have always taken the place for Kingdom movement. Programs fill the vacuum left by lifeless, powerless religion. I stand ready to move by My Spirit, but facilitators of religion stand ready to move into programs.

My holy people; without a demonstration of power, you have no good news. Sick people need to get better. Poor people need jobs. Devil dominated people need deliverance. Lost people need salvation. People need a Savior. With no demonstration of power, they do not see Me, but instead they see religion.

It is time to break away from what you know and what you have placed your hopes in before. If you are not seeing Kingdom results after many years of exercising programs and religion, doesn’t it make good sense to try doing it My way instead?

My lovely bride-to-be; I am the way, the truth and the life. I alone connect you with the Father and His Kingdom. This connection is the life source for all that you can ever do. There is nothing better. There is nothing more reasonable. I am the secure, safe way to the Father and His Kingdom. Follow Me.

I sent you the Holy Spirit. Quit rejecting Him. He is your only hope. He is your only real help. Nothing you do will make any difference at all. That may sound radical. It is. I did everything that was needed when I died and rose again. I have sent My ambassadors My Spirit to demonstrate the good news of the Kingdom, not the good news of salvation or any other counterfeit. I came demonstrating the Kingdom and you, My lovely bride-to-be are called as ambassadors to likewise demonstrate the Kingdom. I have sent you into the world to make a company of disciples that will go do likewise. Why do you hesitate so?

Open your eyes to see.  Open your ears to hear. Real life is found in Me alone.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Fly Like An Eagle


Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40: -31

Quietly waiting on God encourages us, does more to restore our bodies, minds and emotions than anything else we can do. We need to do this regularly. I urge you to insist on quiet time with God. Do not let anyone take those consecrated moments from you. God will empower you to face everything you need to do with renewed physical, emotional, mental and spiritual strength.

If there is something we are suppossed to be doing, the Lord will give us the ability to do it. He will not lead us into a situation and then leave us there to face it alone in our own weak, human power. He is with us. He is our great God. he will harden us to difficulties, help us, uphold us and give us wings to fly like eagles.

Letter From A Birmingham Jail


    In rememberance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
                             RIP Soldier

                 Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Sunday, January 16, 2011

A Calling


Many people have the idea that God only calls preachers and missionaries, and the rest of us can do what we want to.  But God has a calling for all of His children.

The people that God calls and chooses, His all-stars, are common ordinary people.  I thank God for the wise, noble, and mighty who love the Lord.  I thank God for any athlete, movie star, or millionaire who will give his or her life to Christ.  But God's work is going to be done primarily not through the superstar, preachers, evangelists or celebrities.  God's work is going to be done through His ordinary everyday run-of-the-mill people.

God's ways are above our ways and understanding.  His thoughts are above our thoughts, and His calling "confounds the wise...."  The people that Jesus uses and chooses, God's all-stars, are not people of ability, they are people of availability, who have learned the secret of giving their praise to God.

If you use your life for the glory of God, God will use your life for His glory.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Just As I Am


I will sing unto the Lord: I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.  Judges 5:3

Singing is a gift of God given to mankind to express the feelings of the soul. The highest and richest form of singing is the giving of praise and worship unto the Lord for who He is and the wonderful works He has done.
Other hymns are sung with a deep sense of conviction with a strong appeal for a total surrender of one's life to the Lord.  Such is the hymn, "Just as I am", Written by Miss Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871

Just As I Am

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not,
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about,
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings within, and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt recieve,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve:
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

His Kingdom


“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21:1-7

What do you imagine heaven will be like?  One of the wonderful promises about heaven is that we will enjoy unbroken fellowship with God and that there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain.  God Himself will wipe away every tear from your eye.

If you are in a difficult season of life, know that God is your very present help in trouble right now, and the day is coming when you will be troubled no more.

God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.  Since this is the case, He is also everything in  between.  He knows your situation and will lead you and guide you if you trust Him to do so.  Rely on your heavenly Father to give you what you need, one day at a time, and look up to His Kingdom!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

On Fire


Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor: be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.
Romans 12:11

This verse instructs us to be aglow and burn with the Spirit as we serve the Lord. In order to do this, we have to stay "on fire". How do we stay "on fire?" I have discovered that the Word of God coming out of my own mouth in the form of prayer, praise or confession is the best way I can fan the fire. It stirs up the gift within me, keeps the fire aflame, and prevents my spirit from sinking within me. Staying thankful also keeps me enthusiastic.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the place of the dead), where you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:10

Ecclesiastes tells us to stay active, there is no point in putting things off to do later. That is an expression of passitivity and it is one of the greatest tools Satan uses against God's people. The more passive we are, the more our flames diminish.

Procrastination and laziness are cousins of passitivity, and they usually all attack in a group. Passive people wait to be moved by an outside force before they take action. But we are to be motivated and led by the Holy Spirit within us, not by outside forces. The best way to be on guard against the spirit of passitivity is to do what we need to do now, and do it with all our might.

So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31

Everything we do is to be done unto the Lord and for His glory. We should do it through Him, to Him, for Him, by Him, and with Him. And we should do it willingly, with our whole hearts stirred up and "on fire" within us.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Great Harvest Of The Lamb


"A measure of wheat for a denarius and three measures of barley for a denarius; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." Rev. 6:6

The meaning of this scripture is that the condition of man during this era (i.e., the "end of days") will be reduced to such that he will have to labor a whole day simply to buy a loaf of bread or three measures of barley. But the second part of the scripture [i.e., "... and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine ..."] means that the "hard times" of this period will not extend to the elites. This is the common interpretation.

One of the most distressing dynamics of today's world is the speed at which the world is being divided between a small elite of wealthy "worthies" and a huge population of indigent "worker-serfs"  and it is important to note here that the division of the earth's population in this fashion is occurring not only in the "Developing World," but, also, in the "Developed World."

To point out just how big this process has become, and how rapidly it is taking hold of the world...The fact is, the world that permitted Christians in the United States to live comfortably "in this life" and "in this world" while others starved is passing away. As a result, we Christian's stand at the edge of hunger. It's just a matter of time before many of us fall off the edge into the horror of pennylessnes and destitution - precipitating a panic for which most of us are ill prepared. How we as Christians react to this panic will determine our future, both now and in the world to come - either to honor or to dishonor.

Two paths lay open before us: one path leads into apostasy; the other leads to a transformed life. The path we choose will reveal us for what we really are - children of this world, or children of the kingdom heaven. Unbelievers will be looking at us to see how we react to the turmoil to come.

If we panic and join the mob in its stampede for an easy way out - for renewed financial security - then we will be led straight into the arms of the "coming world-ruler."

But if we can say with the prophet Habakkuk:
"Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls "YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD, I WILL JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION."
Habakkuk 3:17-18

- then we will be the kind of testimony the world (and unbelievers) are secretly looking for; people who are so in love with the Lord that there is no longer any duplicity in their witness before the world. There is no longer any self-serving in their testimony; no attempt to serve both God and mammon - they follow Christ now wherever He goes, be it into fire, death, torture, or economic ruin. Their love for Jesus no longer permits any separation from Him Who now is the ABSOLUTE object of their love and desire.

Again we say, the Lord is looking for such to follow Him - those who will follow Him long after the "things" are gone, the crowds have left, the popularity faded; when the clothes are tattered and torn, there is no longer any food on the table, and persecution rages all around. These are the disciples of Jesus - with such people one can repose trust and friendship; true love is here to be found.

It is in this kind of love that the TRUE church will be "revealed," and "disclosed" (Romans 8:19) It is this kind of love that will expose the hypocrites for who they really are. It is this kind of love which will separate the wheat from the tares. And it is only in tribulation that this love is truly revealed in all of is splendor and beauty - the kind that will produce "The Great Harvest of the Lamb."

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A New Year Prayer For 2011


Father God,
I know you hear our prayers for our Nation.  Please help us to maintain our focus on you as we live our lives each day.  We look to you for our safety and for peace in our hearts as we face an unknown future.  Please help our Nation remain united in good times and in bad.  May we always look to you for guidance as we make decisions that will affect all American people.  Please sustain those who are hurting and in pain.  Bring them to your understanding of your love and truth.
Bless our leaders, Lord.  Give them the knowledge to make wise choices that will benefit our Nation.  Hold us in the palm of your hand, Lord, and may we always remember that you are in control.
Amen