Ramping Up

Much has happened since October, 2014.  The last 3 years have seen issues in America become more and more polarizing as every faction or group, small or large, wants their views and their positions at the forefront of our national discussion.  The divisions created by this clamor for attention have meant that no one's voices are adequately heard and as a result - very little real change will happen.  The pressures created by this lack of listening and evaluation will continue to increase, people will become more and more frustrated and leaders will grope for solutions but rarely find any.
In addition, the financial and humanitarian pressures created by the increase of intensity and frequency of natural disasters will affect our resources and institutions in ways we may not always foresee.  The stability of our government, our banking system, the insurance industry, manufacturing and the free flow of goods and services can only sustain so much disruption.  We are not limitless in these areas.  No nation is.
We know that the seasons leading up to the end of the age will be characterized by greater and greater difficulties.  We are plainly told that "difficult times will come." (2 Timothy 3:1). But even more intense than that is the Lord's declared promise that He will again shake the earth and also the heavens for the purpose of "removing those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which remain which cannot be shaken may remain."  (Hebrews 12:26 - 27). In my opinion we are at the beginnings of that shaking.
How should we then as humans posture our hearts?  The only viable answer is to get into the Kingdom of God through faith in Jesus.  It is the only venue that is unshakable.  Just as the ark Noah built in preparation for the flood was the only means of riding out that storm, being found "in Christ" will be the only means of salvation through the storms of the end of the age.  Give your heart and your life to Him today.

Beholding the Glory of God

The "beholding and becoming" principle is the process by which believers are transformed into the image of Jesus [2 Cor. 3:18].  Beholding the Lord means to study His heart until we understand it more and thus encounter Him.  Paul prayed in Eph. 3 that we might be transformed by encountering the height of God's beauty and affection for us.  When we feel His affection for us, it impacts our hearts in significant ways.  Feeling God's affection brings pleasure and exhilaration to our hearts. Feeling God's affection equips us for our full destiny by anchoring our soul in God.  Feeling God's affection gives us confidence in His grace so that we run TO God instead of AWAY from Him when faced with our sin and weakness.  Experiencing God's love makes us ravenously hungry for more so that we go hard after His heart to experience more of His love - and in the process are changed into His very image.  We truly become what we behold, "from glory to glory," experiencing the transforming power of His unchanging love. Beholding His glory, we are little by little changed into that very same glory.

Intimacy and Urgency

The two great themes that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing across the earth in this hour are "Intimacy" and "Urgency."  Both of these are intended to prepare the church for the difficult days ahead. Intimacy is related to themes around passionate love for the man Christ Jesus.  Urgency deals with the reality of the Second Coming during this generation.  Understanding both of these subjects is necessary to correctly navigate through the times in which we live.  Only hearts deeply grounded in passionate love for Jesus and propelled by the urgency of the times will properly walk out the final period of natural history.
Having a heart that's alive on the inside is what passion for Jesus is all about.  It's all about loving God first and foremost - before everything else.  It's about feeling God's emotions for us and feeling love for Him in return.  This is the fire of holy love - a heart alive with holy passion.
Love is the greatest motivator there is.  It far surpasses mental assent or commitment to a cause.  [A person in love will attempt anything - even to death.]  Before the Lord returns He will have a Bride passionately on fire with love for Him, and this fiery love will so empower believers that they will follow the Lamb wherever He goes - even into martyrdom at the end of the age.  Anything less will be insufficient to keep the heat alive without offense through the intensity and turmoil of the end times.
Urgency is also necessary to a proper preparation for the end of the age, for urgency propels us into wholeheartedness.  The desperateness of the hour energizes us to embrace the radical lifestyle required for the hour that is coming upon the earth.  Urgency awakens us from slumber.  It stirs us to shake free of complacency and compromise and to pursue God with fervency and desire.  Urgency's fruit is a life of wholehearted abandonment to God and His great end-time purpose in which all things are being summed up in Jesus [Eph. 1:9].  It produces people with hearts on fire in intimate partnership with Jesus as He draws natural history to a close.
These two great themes, intimacy and urgency, will bring forth the Bridal cry that agrees with the Spirit, "Come, Lord Jesus, come."

The Gift of a "Yes" on the Inside

One of the most precious things the Lord can give to us is the gift of a “yes” on the inside. In more spiritual [?] language, this is what is known as a “willing spirit.” A willing spirit is that tug in our hearts that longs to be in agreement with God concerning His purpose in the earth and His purpose for our lives.
Whether we are aware of it or not, a willing spirit is a rare thing in the Western church today. Most of what passes as the gospel is nothing more than self-help, self-awareness and self-fulfillment pop philosophy dressed up in Christian jargon. The result is that many people have a self-centered rather than a God-centered Christianity. They are willing only if there’s something in it for them.
We know from the scriptures that the eyes of the Lord are searching across the earth for those whose heart is completely His [2 Chron. 16:9] and that the Lord is on our side when we are on His. People with a willing spirit are on the Lord’s side. They are not in this for themselves. They are in it for Jesus. They want to see His purpose fulfilled, His heart satisfied, His will done. They have a “yes” on the inside.
The really wonderful aspect of this is that Jesus sees that “yes” in the heart even when we mess up. He knows when we long to please Him, even though we sometimes fail. He knows when we live to put His interests before our own.
As the days darken around us, God is purifying and preparing a company of voluntary lovers who possess a willing spirit. They are committed to the gospel of the kingdom that was preached by Jesus and the apostles. They know that something bigger is going on than just what concerns their personal life. My heart’s desire and prayer for you is that the “yes” in your heart will grow stronger each day, and you will find yourself passionately sold out to Jesus and His kingdom purpose.

Traveling East

My husband and I recently traveled back East to visit family and noticed a nice looking young man covered in tatoos on his head, neck, and arms. Now I know tatoos are the rage for some, but the unusual thing about his was that they were blatantly satanic. He had a pentagram dead center of the top of his head with horns that came from the back and wrapped around to the front. On his neck he had an upside-down cross. At his throat he had a tatoo of a slit-throat complete with oozing blood. The word "hatred" was tatooed down his arm in demonic-style lettering. There were other designs I didn't recognize all over and the beginnings of more tatoos on his legs.
You could not "not notice" him. He evidently wanted everyone to be clear about where his allegiance lies. I wondered what events had transpired in his life that had brought him to such an outward show of love for evil. I felt like I was being dared to love him or to pray for him. Even now I feel almost hopeless and paralyzed in praying for him. The one other thing that struck me about him was his eyes. He had beautiful eyes.
Twenty or thirty years ago you would hardly ever run across such a person. But as the endtimes advance it will be more and more evident where people are at - just as it was with that man. All areas of gray will be removed and hearts will choose which kingdom they wish to belong to. Part of the shaking of the last days is meant to bring people to that point of decision.
I will pray for that young man. Who knows if he will repent and become a mighty testimony of God's saving grace?

What's the Deal With This Anyway?

I've been thinking all night about the escapism I wrote about in the previous post. You know, most people just don't want to think about the end times and the shaking that is coming. They would rather live uninformed and unprepared. This fact amazes me! How can you not want to know? How can you not want to get your heart ready? How can you not want to get the hearts of your loved ones prepared?
When we were raising our kids it was popular for them to put their hands over their ears and loudly say, "La, la, la, la, la, la, la" when they didn't want to listen to what we were saying. That's exactly the reaction I get from so many when this topic is mentioned. What's the deal with this anyway?
Maybe it's like finding out you only have a short time to live. Most people don't want to know that. But not knowing when you're going to die doesn't change the fact that you are dying! Isn't it better to know ahead of time and be able to get your affairs in order? Most people know in a vague, general way that they are going to die - and most people neglect preparing for that event. That approach clearly doesn't work. It's the people who know that their end is near who wisely steward their time and appreciate the things that really matter.
So my contention is - you can stick your hands over your ears and shout "La, la, la" all you want - but as for me, I want to know and be as prepared as I can be to face the end of the age with confidence and strength of heart so as to stand when so many are falling away.

Christian Escapism

I can't imagine a more serious blunder in end-time theology than teaching believers that they will escape the trouble that is coming upon the whole earth prior to the Lord's return. Yet that is exactly what some teachers teach and what many sincere believers believe. I have a hard time finding any support for this position in the scripture. In fact - I find that the Bible plainly states just the opposite.
If we are to trust the Word, we must be able to make sense of what is written. God knew when He gave the scripture that most people down through history would be uneducated so He purposely made the Bible understandable to the majority of mankind. It is not some kind of cryptic text meant only for geniuses and masterminds. So if we look at the plain meaning of the passages that deal with the end-times we can make sense of them.
Take 2 Thess. 2:1-4 for instance. This is part of Paul's 2nd letter to the believers in Thessalonica. Here's the quote: "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a messenger or a letter as if from us , to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition , who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God."
Paul clearly teaches that Jesus' coming and the gathering of believers to Him would not happen until two things happened first - the falling away and the revealing of the Antichrist when he displays himself as being God. Most of the faithful are agreed that that event - known as the Abomination of Desolation - takes place at the 3 1/2 year mark of the Tribulation. If you reason this out then the reality is that believers are present on the earth during at least the first half of the Tribulation. To come to any other conclusion is Christian escapism at best and an outright falsehood at worst. Believers will not be taken away from this intense time of trouble. This will be our time to shine - when our love for the Lord and His kingdom will stand unwavering even in the face of death - and our faces will be looking up for our redemption is at hand as we see Him coming in the clouds with great glory. Who wants to escape that?