11/24/2013 The Habits of MiserableScriptures: Psalm 103:1-5, Genesis 12:10-13
If you want to feel miserable it is not hard to accomplish! If you want to be miserable spend a lot of time thinking about yourself: think about want you want and not what you have. Think about what only you like and do not consider others. Think about what respect you feel other people ought to pay you. Think about what other people are thinking about you. To live miserably: keep records of all wrongs done to you: keeping records just gives the wrong done to you more power over you. Make decisions without considering the long term offers: rash decisions always have a domino effect. Finally to live in misery: live with obsessive comparison disorder. This is constantly comparing ourselves to others. We need to stop focusing on what life used to be like and live what life is now! This disorder can cause you to detour off the Divine plan for your life. If you are tired of being miserable apply the Word of God to your situations: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." Practice real love: "Love is patient and kind." Apply real love to your thoughts: "Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude." Use love as a means to forgiveness: "Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged." "Love never gives up, never loses faith and is always hopeful. And endures through every circumstance." 11/21/2013 Revelation: Week 2Scriptures: Revelation 5:1-10, Revelation 6:1, Matthew 24:3, Revelation 6:2, Matthew 24:4-5, Thessalonians 2:8-10 Revelation chapter 5 is the heart of the prophecies in Revelation. We see who is the author of the book of Revelation: the One on the throne. A man must open and read the book, because the prophecies were sealed and unreadable. The book of Revelation is confusion to the unworthy. Things quickly change because the Lamb of God, our Savior Jesus Christ, has prevailed. Jesus overcame sin which has caused us to misinterpret the things of God. He can open the book and loose its seven seals. The Book is now open and contains the answers to the prayers of God's people. The 24 elders are holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They are prayers for justice, deliverance and for the establishment of the Kingdom of God to rule the earth. Revelation chapter 6 begins to reveal how God will avenge the enemies of the called, chosen and faithful servants of God. The message is revealed through seven sets of symbols sketched on the book fastened with seven seals. Jesus breaks one of the seals before John's eyes and John begins to describe the symbols of the visions he is seeing. What begins to happen has been foretold by Jesus and recorded in Matthew chapter 24. The question was asked: "what shall be the sign of the end of the world?" These first afflictions are characterized by Jesus as the beginning of sorrows, the NIV Bible describes them as "labor pains," found in Matthew 24:8. Like labor contractions they escalate in frequency and intensify before the end. Revelation 6 reveals the opening of the six seals, and the events of the seventh seal are recorded in many of the following chapters because they describe the conditions known as "the day of the Lord:" God's time of judgment and wrath on the nations. The first seal: is false religion. The first four seals reveal the four horseman of the Apocalypse. The first rider is on a white horse with a bow, has a crown and rides as a conqueror bent on conquest. The first adversity to face is counterfeit Christianity. A person's religious beliefs determine their whole moral structure, if their beliefs are controlled their actions can be controlled. Outwardly this first rider appears as Christ, but in reality it is a deceptive evil power masquerading as good. Apostle Paul spoke of a lawless one who will be revealed. His influence over humanity will be according to working of Satan: with power, signs, lying and unrighteous deception. A system that has rejected the true teaching of the Bible: this deception will be so great a major majority will follow this counterfeit faith. The items of the first rider: the bow represents a religious system that uses force to control and convert. The crown represents a religious system which is also a political force. This system goes forth to conquer; its central belief is ambition, greed and control of population of people. This prophecy speaks of a belief system that promotes the worship of everything other than the True and Only God. Jesus does not just the see the masses of people He sees the individual: He looks to see if we are willing to be born again, if we love truth, if we are willing to worship Him and if we are willing to offer the same forgiveness to others that we have received from Him. Jesus looks to see what's truly important in our lives! Remember evil is looking at the same things and if something out of balance it becomes an area to cause deception. 11/7/2013 A Study On Revelation: Week OneScriptures: Revelation 1:1-3, Revelation 13:4, Revelation 13:8 To understand this book of Bible, we must first understand why it was written: the book's very name means to reveal or to unveil. The book was written to open our understanding to what we otherwise could not comprehend. The first verse states that this book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Therefore Jesus is the one who reveals the meanings of this book's symbols, visions and descriptions. To better understand the book we need to understand the circumstances under which this book was given to John. Christianity began at the time of the Roman Empire and during this time Romans introduced and enforced emperor worship. Christians found themselves in an intolerable situation and their beliefs put them into direct conflict with Roman authorities. Many Christians were executed for their beliefs. Christians were regarded as subversive and potentially dangerous. During this time, John the writer was imprisoned on the island of Patmos, so he was writing at a time of great suffering and persecution. The book of Revelation reveals the conflict between the forces of good and the forces of evil. At the heart of the conflict is a crucial question: who will mankind worship? God or Satan. If we look at Revelation 13:4 is tells us that at the end times "they worshipped the beast." Taking a look at Revelation 13:8 we see that any whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be worshippers of the beast, the worship of evil will be extensive. Because of this worship of the beast, Satan's control on humanity will intensify. God sends a clear message through the book of Revelation: the time is coming when God will no longer will tolerate humanity's rejection of Him or its worship of the devil. Revelation reveals the circumstances under which God's people will finally have their prayers for justice answered in full and God's faithful will be revealed as the real winners. God will intervene in world affairs and His great power will become visible to all nations! Revelation was written at a time when Jesus' followers desperately needed encouragement and an understanding of their future, and they need to get back on track spiritually. Jesus revealed the future to John through symbols, visions and descriptions about evils, demise and how goodness shall reign. We must also be reminded of the promises Jesus has given to the faithful: they will eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God, they will receive a new name, they will be given power over the nations, they will be clothed in white garments, they will be pillars in the temple of God, they will sit with Jesus on His throne, their tears will be wiped away, they will have no more sorrow or pain and God himself will be with them. Revelation is a book about the our future victory and Satan's soon defeat! 11/5/2013 A Serious Sight ConditionScriptures: 2 Kings 6:8-18, 2 Corinthians 4:4 There is a serious condition that many people suffer with: spiritual blindness. Elisha's servant suffered with this condition: he could see the Syrian army, his problem, but he could not see the army of God: the answer! Elisha prayed: "God open his eyes so that he many see." Spiritual blindness is condition that originates in the mind. The god of this age has blinded people's eyes by corrupting their belief. We have so many possible answers to our problems that God no longer even enters the equation. This condition is very serious because we can be blind to the power of God which is available to us! A power that always will and always can supersede any of the world's solutions. Elisha's prayer opened the eyes of his servant to the spiritual reality available to him, yet at the same time Elisha asked God to inflict his enemy with blindness. Elisha noticed how spiritual blindness crippled his servant, so what would blindness do to his enemy? Spiritual blindness has us searching for answers from our very enemy! Here is a simple truth: God is greater than anything you are facing. As a Christian you are never alone and never without answers. There is a great unseen army: any army of angels that can never been defeated. Pray that your eyes will be opened to the power of God that is available to you. We need to have our faith intersect with the greatness of God. |
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