Dear beloved: The recent move by the Palestinians to circumvent the negotiation of a Palestinian state by going to the United Nations to have that body grant them the status of full member state has grave consequences, if approved, for Israel and for the United States. God has made an everlasting covenant with His children and the land He gave them is to be theirs for all eternity. In Genesis 12:1-3 God told Abrham, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; v2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; v3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse, And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Then in verse 7 And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land" So he built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. This is a test for all the nations of the world, to show that they either stand with or turn away from Israel. Tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 28 is the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, day one of the Hebrew new year. The blowing of the trumpets reminds us of the rapture of the church and also of the return of our Lord and Savior.
We know from many scriptures in God's word that eventually all the nations of the world will come against Israel. Zechariah 14:1 Behold, a day is coming when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. v2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. v3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. This scripture is a reference to the mobilization of the nations to Armageddon(Ezekiel 38-39, Joel 3, Rev.16:13-16, Rev.19:11-21). Many nations of the world have already declared with certainty they will line up against Israel, not only in forums such as the United Nations, but also on the battlefield, as all Israel's neighbor enemies have stocked and overstocked their weapons arsenals, ready to move in at the slightest provocation. The question is for us here in the United States: Will we be among the nations that receives a blessing from God for standing with Israel, or will we be cursed as we go the way of those coming against Israel? It is our choice to make.
Beloved, pray at this time for our President Barak Obama and his advisers, for our Congress, for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and all the people of Israel and Jews scattered all over the world. Pray that the United States would line up and support Israel in rejecting this attempt to install legitamate government to an avowed terrorist state, a state whose purpose is not really to have a homeland but to destroy Jews and Cristians wherever they live on the earth. For the sake of our children and grandchildren and for the sake of God's great name and His glory, let us pray that our leaders make the choice that leads to blessings. May God bless you this day as you go forward in prayer. in Christ, Jim
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Come Unto Me
Dear beloved: Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 "Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. v29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your weary souls. v30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Many of us this day are weary and heavy laden, it is a natural result of the earthly battle we are in. We fight day in and day out the good fight of faith, but it has a wearying and debilitating effect on us over time;in fact there are times when we just want to give up and say we are too weary to keep battling. It is at that time that Jesus says to come unto Him, that He will give us the rest we so desperately need. What does it mean to enter His rest?
It means to give all your cares and burdens to Him, just list them, everything that you are contending and battling for, write them down if you need to, and say to Jesus: "You are the King, you are the Captain of the Lord of Hosts, without You I can do nothing, and with You all things are possible." When you do that you are submitting your desire to control all the circumstances in your life, and you are saying to the Lord, "You are not only able to take care of me, but I willfully submit every problem, circumstance, and situation in my life to You, and I trust you that You are faithful and true to Your word to take care of it for Me in the way that best benefits me and brings glory to Your kingdom!"
In the practical sense for me this means putting on some worship music and spending time on my knees before the Lord, just thanking Him and acknowledging His sovereignty over My life, and admitting to Him that in some things I am powerless to control the events and circumstances of my life. Prayer moves mountains, it changes the atmosphere that you operate in, and as it brings you in close communion with the Master, you take on His countenance and His nature. Beloved, take on the yoke of Jesus today, spend some time on your knees, thanking Him for all the trials in your life. James says in James 1:2, Count it all joy when you face diverse trials, v3 Knowing this, the trying of your faith brings patience, v4 and let patience have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Thank Him today and He will give you rest. God bless you, in Christ, Jim
It means to give all your cares and burdens to Him, just list them, everything that you are contending and battling for, write them down if you need to, and say to Jesus: "You are the King, you are the Captain of the Lord of Hosts, without You I can do nothing, and with You all things are possible." When you do that you are submitting your desire to control all the circumstances in your life, and you are saying to the Lord, "You are not only able to take care of me, but I willfully submit every problem, circumstance, and situation in my life to You, and I trust you that You are faithful and true to Your word to take care of it for Me in the way that best benefits me and brings glory to Your kingdom!"
In the practical sense for me this means putting on some worship music and spending time on my knees before the Lord, just thanking Him and acknowledging His sovereignty over My life, and admitting to Him that in some things I am powerless to control the events and circumstances of my life. Prayer moves mountains, it changes the atmosphere that you operate in, and as it brings you in close communion with the Master, you take on His countenance and His nature. Beloved, take on the yoke of Jesus today, spend some time on your knees, thanking Him for all the trials in your life. James says in James 1:2, Count it all joy when you face diverse trials, v3 Knowing this, the trying of your faith brings patience, v4 and let patience have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Thank Him today and He will give you rest. God bless you, in Christ, Jim
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Separation of Sheep from Goats
Dear beloved: Everywhere we look these days we see the evidence of God's hand of judgment falling not only on this nation, but on all nations all over the world. There is a great separation going on; those who are gathering for the kingdom are being separated from those who are scattering. This is the earthly rehearsal for the eternal separation yet to come, when the sheep and the goats will be separated according to their works and treatment of Israel and their fellow man.
Jesus laid this plan out in great detail in Matthew chapter 25:31-46. The separation comes after all the nations of the world have been gathered in front of the Son of Man, and all the holy angels with him. V33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. v34 Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus goes on to list 6 groups of people that the sheep had ministered to: He said," I was hungry and you gave me meat, thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, I was sick, and in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous asked the Lord, when did we minister to you in these places and in these ways? v40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."
Then Jesus goes on to separate out the goats and judge them on the same grounds that He judged the sheep, but He said to the goats (v41) "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels": And the King condemns them because they did not minister to Him in those same six groups of people. He wraps up His charge against them by saying in v45 "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these of mine, you did it not to Me. v46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Although this judgment is concerned primarily with the persecution and treatment of Israel, it is a primary motivator for anyone who is looking for kingdom work. What does Jesus value when He makes His judgment? Look for the poor, the broken, those sick, in prison, that's where you will find Jesus. You will see Him when you look at and minister to these people. This scripture is what prompted me to answer the call to prison ministry, and has now opened up the doors to international crusades, orphan care in Africa, and many other open ministry doors. If you are wanting to step out in ministry, look for Jesus in the faces of these people, and you will see Him. God bless you, in Christ, Jim
Jesus laid this plan out in great detail in Matthew chapter 25:31-46. The separation comes after all the nations of the world have been gathered in front of the Son of Man, and all the holy angels with him. V33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. v34 Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus goes on to list 6 groups of people that the sheep had ministered to: He said," I was hungry and you gave me meat, thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, I was sick, and in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous asked the Lord, when did we minister to you in these places and in these ways? v40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."
Then Jesus goes on to separate out the goats and judge them on the same grounds that He judged the sheep, but He said to the goats (v41) "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels": And the King condemns them because they did not minister to Him in those same six groups of people. He wraps up His charge against them by saying in v45 "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these of mine, you did it not to Me. v46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Although this judgment is concerned primarily with the persecution and treatment of Israel, it is a primary motivator for anyone who is looking for kingdom work. What does Jesus value when He makes His judgment? Look for the poor, the broken, those sick, in prison, that's where you will find Jesus. You will see Him when you look at and minister to these people. This scripture is what prompted me to answer the call to prison ministry, and has now opened up the doors to international crusades, orphan care in Africa, and many other open ministry doors. If you are wanting to step out in ministry, look for Jesus in the faces of these people, and you will see Him. God bless you, in Christ, Jim
Sunday, September 4, 2011
African Countries at the Tipping Point
Dear Beloved: In Matthew 24:7 Jesus tells us that in the last days, "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. v8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. v9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for My names's sake. v10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. v11 And many false prophets shall rise, and deceive many. v12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold. v13 But he that endures to the end, he shall be saved." Beloved, we are seeing first hand the words of Jesus are being literally fulfilled in countries all over the world.
On my recent trip to Kenya, I saw how people are being delivered up to be persecuted by the growing population of Muslims in that country. The church where I preached in Nairobi is in a mixed ethnic and religious neighborhood, and as a result there is tension there between faiths regarding land issues. At one point a few years ago the night watchman at the church was hacked to death one night as he guarded the church property; consequently, many in the church left that church for churches in safer neighborhoods. The loss in membership meant loss in collections, and the church was unable to keep up payments on a piece of property that it had committed to and had been paying rent on. The muslims in the neighborhood bid a higher payment and was able then to get the property away from the church; mission accomplished. When sin and iniquity abound, the love of many will grow cold. How else could people murder and bomb and destroy, all in the name of a religion of so called peace?
We need to pray for our brethren in countries that face these pressures on a daily basis. We also need to pray for Israel, as God's people are surrounded by these hate filled people who have declared that the only way they will tolerate Israel and the Jews, is if they do not exist at all. The same is coming to America; Islamic radicals will use the freedoms we offer them in this country, (that they offer no one in their own Shariah-bound countries), and they will use those very freedoms to take over our cities and our country, one neighborhood at a time. Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. The pale horse is on the move all over the world, in Africa, in Europe, and now in America. Pray that you may endure to the end! God bless you, in Christ, Jim
On my recent trip to Kenya, I saw how people are being delivered up to be persecuted by the growing population of Muslims in that country. The church where I preached in Nairobi is in a mixed ethnic and religious neighborhood, and as a result there is tension there between faiths regarding land issues. At one point a few years ago the night watchman at the church was hacked to death one night as he guarded the church property; consequently, many in the church left that church for churches in safer neighborhoods. The loss in membership meant loss in collections, and the church was unable to keep up payments on a piece of property that it had committed to and had been paying rent on. The muslims in the neighborhood bid a higher payment and was able then to get the property away from the church; mission accomplished. When sin and iniquity abound, the love of many will grow cold. How else could people murder and bomb and destroy, all in the name of a religion of so called peace?
We need to pray for our brethren in countries that face these pressures on a daily basis. We also need to pray for Israel, as God's people are surrounded by these hate filled people who have declared that the only way they will tolerate Israel and the Jews, is if they do not exist at all. The same is coming to America; Islamic radicals will use the freedoms we offer them in this country, (that they offer no one in their own Shariah-bound countries), and they will use those very freedoms to take over our cities and our country, one neighborhood at a time. Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. The pale horse is on the move all over the world, in Africa, in Europe, and now in America. Pray that you may endure to the end! God bless you, in Christ, Jim
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