Tuesday, August 28, 2012

What Is Your Flavor?

I could smell the aroma coming from the big pot of pinto beans, the onions and the garlic, hmm, yummy! I couldn't wait to taste them, I love to eat the pinto beans when they are freshly baked! I got the spoon, and a bowl and took a couple spoonfuls. Then I got another spoon and took a big bite...and as I chewed I realized they were blah! They needed more salt desperately bad!!! That helps to give the beans it's flavor!!


Not my mom's beans :)


I can't help but think of what Jesus said in the Bible, "Ye are the salt of the earth." What on earth did He mean by that? How am I suppose to be like salt?




Salt is very tasty when you put it in certain dishes, but if you get to much salt the dish can be spoiled. Salt is also something the body needs, not a whole lot but a certain percentage, helps to make our body function. Some times we take salt for granted, but what if we had to go without salt? All of our food would become blah! That is the purpose of salt, making things taste better.



But, you may ask, how does this apply to me? Very good question, I'm glad that you asked! :) We must be like salt adding our influence or you could say flavor to this world. But we can also add a bad influence, or too much salt and then your example would be ruined.



Salt is not only used for flavoring food, there are different types of salt, one type of salt makes the ice melt on roads in the winter time. When I used to live in Wisconsin we would have to buy a bag for the winter time.



Well, like that salt must melt the hard and cold hearts of those around us. When the sun (Son, Jesus) hits it's rays on the salt it causes the ice to melt. So shall it be with us, when we pour our salt on someone else's life and leave a good influence, when the powerful Son hits that heart, the ice will begin to melt!





There are also different edible types of salt, such as Sea, Celtic, and Real salt. The Real salt and the Celtic salt have more mineral values in them then the Sea salt does. So you could say that we go through different stages of growth, at first are salt may not influence or melt that many people, but the longer that we are studying and praying and spending time with the Son, the more "mineral" value we will possess.



Another interesting thing is, the Celtic and the Real salt you will use less of, because they are a bit more salty in their taste. You may want to ponder on that one! :)

I believe that when Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth." He meant that we (Christians) are the ones who are influencing others the most, by our example. Let us live up to the light that the Lord has given us, so that we may be called the salt of the earth. He also said that if "the salt has lost it's savor wherewith shall it be salted?"



In other words, if the salt would lose it's flavor, we couldn't use it to help make food taste good. So it will be with us, if we lose our connection with Jesus, how can we have a good influence on others?

I want to be salt, and not lose my flavor, how about you?





Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Calling…How the Journey Began


When I was quite young, I can’t remember my exact age, I heard an almost audible voice saying to me, “I want you to be a missionary to foreign lands.”

I was appalled, I didn’t want to be a missionary, and I didn’t want to leave home. So I said that I wouldn’t be a missionary, I would do everything else, except be a missionary.

Well a little bit later I heard the voice once again say, “You will be a missionary!” Again I resisted and again He came to me, finally I answered that I would go. Such peace entered my heart! I didn’t know what it all entailed, but all of a sudden, the desire came over me that I wanted to go!

So, for many years I knew what I was going to be when I grew up.

Finally I turned 17 and time passed until it came to the summer of 2012; I knew that this was the year that I must send in an application to the missionary field. I was excited, and time seemed to fly by!

The month of August came, nothing exciting about that, except for what happened in the month of August. My church had a visiting pastor from TN, come and do a series of talks. We only made it to the Saturday and Saturday afternoon meetings (since we lived so far away.) Well after the afternoon meeting I felt impressed to go and ask him to have a dedication prayer for me.

So I went up to him and told him that the Lord was leading me to be a missionary, and I told him at the time that I was thinking about going to the Philippines to do missionary work, even though I really didn’t want to go there, but I was willing to go wherever the Lord was leading. Well, he told me that he knew of a ministry that needed missionaries in New Zealand and that maybe I should go through there first.

Now I was really excited! You see I have always had a love for Australia and places with accents, and now the Lord was letting me go to a place that is close to Australia! God is so good!!!

Well I contacted the pastor and he contacted the other pastor and now I’m in the process of getting it all settled.

I will be leaving in April or May of 2013, hopefully April. :)

Please pray for me as I am doing what the Lord has called me to do! Also if you feel impressed, I would greatly appreciate any donations that you can give. They will be used to help spread the gospel in New Zealand.

I will keep you all posted about what is happening in fact you can go to my new blog, my new blog will have all the updates about me and New Zealand and this one will go back to being what it was. :)

http://missionaryinnewzealand.wordpress.com/

I will be going to the North Island, the one up above the large one, about 2 hours away from Auckland, NZ in Thames!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

In the Midst...

We have waited for this day for so long, months have gone into the planning of it, and now it is only weeks away. I am excited and yet tense, and even a little bit of hesitancy. I want to be a good example and do what is right, even while I'm in their midst. The only possible way that I can is through prayer, continual prayer.



The Bible says, to live in the world but not partakers of the world (paraphrase). And there are many examples in the Bible that talk about this.



For instance, Enoch was a man of God and was often found in  among nature, in prayer and contemplation. He would receive messages from God, and after a time he would go into the city and present the message to the people.



Then their was John the baptist, he lived in the wilderness, but would come from his home and tell the people of the soon coming of Jesus (the first time). This is what I want to focus on today, to be in the world but not of it.



Sometimes we will have to go among the wicked people of this world, and we will have to tell them of Jesus' soon coming (the second one). We have to be in the midst of them, to talk and to warn and to help and to love.

But not all the time should be spent among the wicked people, we must draw back and spend time in prayer and study of God's word, and preserve our connection with heaven. Enoch would spend an hour with the wicked people in the city and then he would draw back and spend a couple or even several hours with God through prayer.



Yes, we will sometimes have to be in the midst, but that does not mean that we will go alone, God will stand right there beside us making sure that we are safe. We have an important message for our time, and people are desperate to hear that message, the message of love and forgiveness. But the message is also hard at times, for it points out the sin in which the people are doing.




In the midst sometimes is not a good thing. Sometimes Jesus would be rescued out of the midst of the people, for they wanted to stone Him. He would then hid Himself and walk through them until He was safely away from the maddened mob. Sometimes we will face hard times with the crowds, but not one hair of our head can fall unless God so ordains.



But if it is necessary we must be willing and ready to give up our life for Jesus. We must bear the message that Jesus is coming and soon and to be ready. In the midst of this dark world we can be lights to lighten every heart and every life, some will refuse the Light, but others will gladly bear the Light to others.



I want to be and go and do and say what God want me to, don't you?

Friday, August 17, 2012

Can Our Dead Speak to Us?


This is taken from the book the Great Controversy, I pray this will be a blessing to you.

The ministration of holy angels, as presented in the Scriptures, is a truth most comforting and precious to every follower of Christ. But the Bible teaching upon this point has been obscured and perverted by the errors of popular theology. The doctrine of natural immortality, first borrowed from the pagan philosophy, and in the darkness of the great apostasy incorporated into the Christian faith, has supplanted the truth, so plainly taught in Scripture, that “the dead know not anything.” Multitudes have come to believe that it is spirits of the dead who are the “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” And this notwithstanding the testimony of Scripture to the existence of heavenly angels, and their connection with the history of man, before the death of a human being. {GC 551.1}



The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by popular theologians, spirits of the dead are hovering about their friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort them in sorrow? How can those who believe in man’s consciousness in death reject what comes to them as divine light communicated by glorified spirits? Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds. {GC 551.2}



He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear “to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” {GC 552.1}

When they have been led to believe that the dead actually return to communicate with them, Satan causes those to appear who went into the grave unprepared. They claim to be happy in heaven and even to occupy exalted positions there, and thus the error is widely taught that no difference is made between the righteous and the wicked. The pretended visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter cautions and warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence is gained, they present doctrines that directly undermine faith in the Scriptures. With an appearance of deep interest in the well-being of their friends on earth, they insinuate the most dangerous errors. The fact that they state some truths, and are able at times to foretell future events, gives to their statements an appearance of reliability; and their false teachings are accepted by the multitudes as readily, and believed as implicitly, as if they were the most sacred truths of the Bible. The law of God is set aside, the Spirit of grace despised, the blood of the covenant counted an unholy thing. The spirits deny the deity of Christ and place even the Creator on a level with themselves. Thus under a new disguise the great rebel still carries on his warfare against God, begun in heaven and for nearly six thousand years continued upon the earth. {GC 552.2}



Many endeavor to account for spiritual manifestations by attributing them wholly to fraud and sleight of hand on the part of the medium. But while it is true that the results of trickery have often been palmed off as genuine manifestations, there have been, also, marked exhibitions of supernatural power. The mysterious rapping with which modern spiritualism began was not the result of human trickery or cunning, but was the direct work of evil angels, who thus introduced one of the most successful of soul-destroying delusions. Many will be ensnared through the belief that spiritualism is a merely human imposture; when brought face to face with manifestations which they cannot but regard as supernatural, they will be deceived, and will be led to accept them as the great power of God. {GC 553.1}



These persons overlook the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the wonders wrought by Satan and his agents. It was by satanic aid that Pharaoh’s magicians were enabled to counterfeit the work of God. Paul testifies that before the second advent of Christ there will be similar manifestations of satanic power. The coming of the Lord is to be preceded by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10. And the apostle John, describing the miracle-working power that will be manifested in the last days, declares: “He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do.” Revelation 13:13, 14. No mere impostures are here foretold. Men are deceived by the miracles which Satan’s agents have power to do, not which they pretend to do. {GC 553.2}



The prince of darkness, who has so long bent the powers of his mastermind to the work of deception, skillfully adapts his temptations to men of all classes and conditions. To persons of culture and refinement he presents spiritualism in its more refined and intellectual aspects, and thus succeeds in drawing many into his snare. The wisdom which spiritualism imparts is that described by the apostle James, which “descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.” James 3:15. This, however, the great deceiver conceals when concealment will best suit his purpose. He who could appear clothed with the brightness of the heavenly seraphs before Christ in the wilderness of temptation, comes to men in the most attractive manner as an angel of light. He appeals to the reason by the presentation of elevating themes; he delights the fancy with enrapturing scenes; and he enlists the affections by his eloquent portrayals of love and charity. He excites the imagination to lofty flights, leading men to take so great pride in their own wisdom that in their hearts they despise the Eternal One. That mighty being who could take the world’s Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain and bring before Him all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them, will present his temptations to men in a manner to pervert the senses of all who are not shielded by divine power. {GC 553.3}



Satan beguiles men now as he beguiled Eve in Eden by flattery, by kindling a desire to obtain forbidden knowledge, by exciting ambition for self-exaltation. It was cherishing these evils that caused his fall, and through them he aims to compass the ruin of men. “Ye shall be as gods,” he declares, “knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5. Spiritualism teaches “that man is the creature of progression; that it is his destiny from his birth to progress, even to eternity, toward the Godhead.” And again: “Each mind will judge itself and not another.” “The judgment will be right, because it is the judgment of self.... The throne is within you.” Said a spiritualistic teacher, as the “spiritual consciousness” awoke within him: “My fellow men, all were unfallen demigods.” And another declares: “Any just and perfect being is Christ.” {GC 554.1}



Thus, in place of the righteousness and perfection of the infinite God, the true object of adoration; in place of the perfect righteousness of His law, the true standard of human attainment, Satan has substituted the sinful, erring nature of man himself as the only object of adoration, the only rule of judgment, or standard of character. This is progress, not upward, but downward. {GC 554.2}

It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward. {GC 555.1}



To the self-indulgent, the pleasure-loving, the sensual, spiritualism presents itself under a less subtle disguise than to the more refined and intellectual; in its grosser forms they find that which is in harmony with their inclinations. Satan studies every indication of the frailty of human nature, he marks the sins which each individual is inclined to commit, and then he takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting to gratify the tendency to evil. He tempts men to excess in that which is in itself lawful, causing them, through intemperance, to weaken physical, mental, and moral power. He has destroyed and is destroying thousands through the indulgence of the passions, thus brutalizing the entire nature of man. And to complete his work, he declares, through the spirits that “true knowledge places man above all law;” that “whatever is, is right;” that “God doth not condemn;” and that “all sins which are committed are innocent.” When the people are thus led to believe that desire is the highest law, that liberty is license, and that man is accountable only to himself, who can wonder that corruption and depravity teem on every hand? Multitudes eagerly accept teachings that leave them at liberty to obey the promptings of the carnal heart. The reins of self-control are laid upon the neck of lust, the powers of mind and soul are made subject to the animal propensities, and Satan exultingly sweeps into his net thousands who profess to be followers of Christ. {GC 555.2}



But none need be deceived by the lying claims of spiritualism. God has given the world sufficient light to enable them to discover the snare. As already shown, the theory which forms the very foundation of spiritualism is at war with the plainest statements of Scripture. The Bible declares that the dead know not anything, that their thoughts have perished; they have no part in anything that is done under the sun; they know nothing of the joys or sorrows of those who were dearest to them on earth. {GC 556.1}

Furthermore, God has expressly forbidden all pretended communication with departed spirits. In the days of the Hebrews there was a class of people who claimed, as do the spiritualists of today, to hold communication with the dead. But the “familiar spirits,” as these visitants from other worlds were called, are declared by the Bible to be “the spirits of devils.” (Compare Numbers 25:1-3; Psalm 106:28; 1 Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 16:14.) The work of dealing with familiar spirits was pronounced an abomination to the Lord, and was solemnly forbidden under penalty of death. Leviticus 19:31; 20:27. The very name of witchcraft is now held in contempt. The claim that men can hold intercourse with evil spirits is regarded as a fable of the Dark Ages. But spiritualism, which numbers its converts by hundreds of thousands, yea, by millions, which has made its way into scientific circles, which has invaded churches, and has found favor in legislative bodies, and even in the courts of kings—this mammoth deception is but a revival, in a new disguise, of the witchcraft condemned and prohibited of old. {GC 556.2}



If there were no other evidence of the real character of spiritualism, it should be enough for the Christian that the spirits make no difference between righteousness and sin, between the noblest and purest of the apostles of Christ and the most corrupt of the servants of Satan. By representing the basest of men as in heaven, and highly exalted there, Satan says to the world: “No matter how wicked you are; no matter whether you believe or disbelieve God and the Bible. Live as you please; heaven is your home.” The spiritualist teachers virtually declare: “Everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?” Malachi 2:17. Saith the word of God: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” Isaiah 5:20. {GC 556.3}

The apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made to contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth. They deny the divine origin of the Bible, and thus tear away the foundation of the Christian’s hope and put out the light that reveals the way to heaven. Satan is making the world believe that the Bible is a mere fiction, or at least a book suited to the infancy of the race, but now to be lightly regarded, or cast aside as obsolete. And to take the place of the word of God he holds out spiritual manifestations. Here is a channel wholly under his control; by this means he can make the world believe what he will. The Book that is to judge him and his followers he puts in the shade, just where he wants it; the Saviour of the world he makes to be no more than a common man. And as the Roman guard that watched the tomb of Jesus spread the lying report which the priests and elders put into their mouths to disprove His resurrection, so do the believers in spiritual manifestations try to make it appear that there is nothing miraculous in the circumstances of our Saviour’s life. After thus seeking to put Jesus in the background, they call attention to their own miracles, declaring that these far exceed the works of Christ. {GC 557.1}



It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming a Christian guise. But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the public for many years, and in these its real character stands revealed. These teachings cannot be denied or hidden. {GC 557.2}

Even in its present form, so far from being more worthy of toleration than formerly, it is really a more dangerous, because a more subtle, deception. While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible, it now professes to accept both. But the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making little distinction between good and evil. God’s justice, His denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept out of sight. The people are taught to regard the Decalogue as a dead letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily denied as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned. {GC 558.1}



There are few who have any just conception of the deceptive power of spiritualism and the danger of coming under its influence. Many tamper with it merely to gratify their curiosity. They have no real faith in it and would be filled with horror at the thought of yielding themselves to the spirits’ control. But they venture upon the forbidden ground, and the mighty destroyer exercises his power upon them against their will. Let them once be induced to submit their minds to his direction, and he holds them captive. It is impossible, in their own strength, to break away from the bewitching, alluring spell. Nothing but the power of God, granted in answer to the earnest prayer of faith, can deliver these ensnared souls. {GC 558.2}



All who indulge sinful traits of character, or willfully cherish a known sin, are inviting the temptations of Satan. They separate themselves from God and from the watchcare of His angels; as the evil one presents his deceptions, they are without defense and fall an easy prey. Those who thus place themselves in his power little realize where their course will end. Having achieved their overthrow, the tempter will employ them as his agents to lure others to ruin. {GC 558.3}

Says the prophet Isaiah: “When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:19, 20. If men had been willing to receive the truth so plainly stated in the Scriptures concerning the nature of man and the state of the dead, they would see in the claims and manifestations of spiritualism the working of Satan with power and signs and lying wonders. But rather than yield the liberty so agreeable to the carnal heart, and renounce the sins which they love, multitudes close their eyes to the light and walk straight on, regardless of warnings, while Satan weaves his snares about them, and they become his prey. “Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” therefore “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11. {GC 559.1}



Those who oppose the teachings of spiritualism are assailing, not men alone, but Satan and his angels. They have entered upon a contest against principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places. Satan will not yield one inch of ground except as he is driven back by the power of heavenly messengers. The people of God should be able to meet him, as did our Saviour, with the words: “It is written.” Satan can quote Scripture now as in the days of Christ, and he will pervert its teachings to sustain his delusions. Those who would stand in this time of peril must understand for themselves the testimony of the Scriptures. {GC 559.2}



Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils. {GC 560.1}

Just before us is “the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” Revelation 3:10. All whose faith is not firmly established upon the word of God will be deceived and overcome. Satan “works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness” to gain control of the children of men, and his deceptions will continually increase. But he can gain his object only as men voluntarily yield to his temptations. Those who are earnestly seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify their souls through obedience, thus doing what they can to prepare for the conflict, will find, in the God of truth, a sure defense. “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee” (verse 10), is the Saviour’s promise. He would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan. {GC 560.2}



The prophet Isaiah brings to view the fearful deception which will come upon the wicked, causing them to count themselves secure from the judgments of God: “We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.” Isaiah 28:15. In the class here described are included those who in their stubborn impenitence comfort themselves with the assurance that there is to be no punishment for the sinner; that all mankind, it matters not how corrupt, are to be exalted to heaven, to become as the angels of God. But still more emphatically are those making a covenant with death and an agreement with hell, who renounce the truths which Heaven has provided as a defense for the righteous in the day of trouble, and accept the refuge of lies offered by Satan in its stead—the delusive pretensions of spiritualism. {GC 560.3}



Marvelous beyond expression is the blindness of the people of this generation. Thousands reject the word of God as unworthy of belief and with eager confidence receive the deceptions of Satan. Skeptics and scoffers denounce the bigotry of those who contend for the faith of prophets and apostles, and they divert themselves by holding up to ridicule the solemn declarations of the Scriptures concerning Christ and the plan of salvation, and the retribution to be visited upon the rejecters of the truth. They affect great pity for minds so narrow, weak, and superstitious as to acknowledge the claims of God and obey the requirements of His law. They manifest as much assurance as if, indeed, they had made a covenant with death and an agreement with hell—as if they had erected an impassable, impenetrable barrier between themselves and the vengeance of God. Nothing can arouse their fears. So fully have they yielded to the tempter, so closely are they united with him, and so thoroughly imbued with his spirit, that they have no power and no inclination to break away from his snare. {GC 561.1}

Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in Eden: “Ye shall not surely die.” “In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4, 5. Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. Says the prophet: “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; ... they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13, 14. Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God. {GC 561.2}



Saith the Lord God: “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.” Isaiah 28:17, 18.

I want to be ready for the coming deception, don't you?


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Promise in the Sky

The rain slowly was ebbing away, the sun was starting to peek out of some clouds. When I looked to one side, and there right in front of my eyes, was a rainbow! I have seen pictures also of rainbows in the sky with the sun shining down on a wet world, you can catch the rainbow and the sun playing tag with each other in a drop of water.



But the most important thing that I think of when I see a rainbow is a story that happened long ago. But it isn't just a story, it was also a promise. Let me take you back in time and share of what happened and what it means...



There was a man named Noah, (now you may have already heard this story, but just hang in there), this man talked with God. One day God told Noah about a flood that He would be sending down upon the world. He said that the world was so full of wicked people that He could take it no more.



So He told Noah to build an ark, during the time that Noah and his sons were building the ark, he preached to the people and warned them about the coming flood. At first people believed him, but as the years went by, they started to think that he was crazy! Rain, they didn't even know what that was!



Well, soon God told Noah to get in the ark, he and his family, only eight people getting on such a big ark! There was also lots and lots of animals that had come inside as well.  And so after seven days the rain came and it flooded the land. After 40 days and 40 nights it stopped raining and the boat just floated for about a year and a half.



Anyway, the boat eventually landed on a mountain, and Noah and his family were able to come out of the ark, they and the animals. And Noah and his family sacrificed animals to God to show gratitude for sparing their lives.

Then God told Noah that He would never flood this world again, and to prove it He would make a sign, and that sign was the rainbow. The rainbow would be a way to remember that God would keep His promise.



That flood also washed the Earth, one of the stages to making this wicked world pure. The final stage will be when He comes back and purifies it with fire. And then He will make a new heaven and a new earth!



So the next time you look up in the sky and see a rainbow, think back to Noah, and then think about the future life with Jesus. I want to always remember about the promise in the sky, don't you?




Friday, August 10, 2012

The Box...

God instructed Moses to build one particular article of furniture for the building of the sanctuary. That article was the Ark and over the top, the covering, was called the Mercy Seat. This article of furniture is where Moses placed the rod of Aaron after it budded, and a pot of manna, also the Ten Commandments. 



This box was then placed in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary. Here is where God lived, or His presence abided, above the Mercy Seat, the only people who could go before the presence of God was Moses and the High Priest, but the High Priest could only go once a year, on the day of Atonement.


 
Now let's fast forward a little bit...Eli was the High Priest at the time and war broke out between the Philistines and the Israelites. The people had come to think of the Ark as God instead of God. They had put their confidence in a box, and not God. 



So when war broke out things were going bad, so the people decided to bring the Ark of God out onto the battlefield. And when the Ark came into the camp the Israelites shouted with a great shout! They thought that now that they had the Ark that they would win the battle! What they should have done is to pray to God for deliverance and not count on a box for salvation. 

When the Philistines heard the shout and heard that the Ark of God was in the camp, they trembled. Because of what the Israelites believed of the Ark the Philistines also thought that inside that box was the Israelites God! 

Well the battle was fought and the Philistines won, and they got the Ark. When they got back to their land the Philistines put the Ark into their temple with their other gods. Now the Ark was always attended with an angel from heaven.



In the morning when the Philistines woke up they discover that their god was on the ground bowing before the Ark. They put their god right side up again and left. Well this happened again, and so they decided to move the Ark to be on it's own. When they did that the city was infected. So they moved it to another city, and then another. 




They finally realized that they could no longer keep the ark with them and so they decided to send it back. So they got a new cart and put two mother cows, that were nursing, and tied them to it. Then they pointed them in the direction, and God lead those cows back to Israel, and all the while the cows mooed for their babies. 



When the Ark arrived the Israelites had the audacity to uncover the Ark, something in which even the Philistines wouldn't do! And God struck them for it!

We must learn a lesson from those ancient Israelites, that we must never put our confidence in anything else but God! And to not get caught up with things that God might use, but to always put our trust in Him!



I don't want to put my confidence and trust in just a box, do you?