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The Great Orchestrator

March 23, 2013

As I go on in my walk I am more and more aware of how awesome of a God we serve. In Scripture we know that His word says, “..with God all things are possible” (Matt.19:26). The daily movements, the planning , the reactions, just the great orchestration of it all!  He truly is as the song says, “How Great Thou Art”. Let’s look at some of the specifics of the orchestrating of God.

Recently there were a couple of examples of God’s orchestrating . In my service repair business I am often called to several job locations around the city. About a week ago, I was called to do a repair job. I met a nice woman, we’ll call Laura (name changed).

We exchanged niceties and then she led me to the kitchen where her disposal was broken. But I stopped at her counter and looked at her many pictures of Jesus and some Scripture passages. We stopped there and I commented, “Oh I see you’re a Christian.”  Little did I know instead of continuing on and inspecting the unit, I would be there at that counter talking with her for what seemed like 30 minutes!

As we chatted I learned that she was a Catholic. I explained that I also was once a Catholic (being raised one). As we discussed the things of God, I sensed a very unusual dedication for the Lord. The Holy Spirit was working on me, saying to listen to her carefully. We both seemed to interact in a deeper level and I marvelled at how she really wanted to know the Lord more closely.

As we talked, I learned that she had been pleading with the Lord. She often wasn’t sensing His presence and her walk was very intermittent. She also had been sighing and crying. I had mentioned some of the basics such as keeping ALL 10 Commandments as the way to know God on a deeper level. Obviously as a Catholic, I expected her to politely disagree about which day was the “Lord’s day”. But she listened keenly as I explained how the Roman empire was instrumental in changing the Lord’s day from Saturday to Sunday.

She also told of her sighing at work. Her boss was a frequent 3rd Commandment breaker. He would say JC this and JC that. She had told him she preferred he didn’t say that, but that only fueled him for more breaking.

As many of you know from our studies in the Lord’s current message to us, the Elijah message, it requires us to show we really love our Lord by “sighing and crying” for the sins done in our own life and in the church. So it was clear to me she was sighing for the sake of the Lord. His Holy Name was being mis-used. Although she doesn’t have the light of the Sabbath and other truths, she was expressing true love for the Lord.

Finally after our lengthy discussion I finally got to check out the unit. But before we finished we agreed that I would lend her the 5 part DVD set of Hal Holbrook’s “The Seventh Day”. But it was clear to me that the Lord had guided me to her. She was honestly seeking the truth and as such I was part of His orchestration of events.

We are told in (John 16:13) “..When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.”  So as a true seeker of the Lord and His truth, Laura’s path and mine came together. If she continues to want the truth and nothing but the truth, she’ll find it. “Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will  find, knock and the door shall be opened for you “(Matt 7:7).

The next story occurred about a week ago as well. Cathy (name changed) and I had been Facebook friends for about 2 years. She was a frequent Godsloveandlaw blog reader. She and I had emailed now and then and had a cordial friendly relationship. What struck me about her, was similar to Laura. She was a truth seeker and a walk advancer. They both had these  traits in common. They both mentioned to me that they would gladly accept being unpopular if it meant knowing the Lord and His straight truth.

What struck me is that both had mentioned that they knew that all who live Godly would suffer persecution. So Cathy and I chatted off and on and as many SDA were learning, she was interested in the Elijah message. As she was seeking to advance in her walk, the last light from the Lord, the Elijah message was very intriguing to her.  As she learned more and more, she would send a question or two to me for advice.  I sensed her progress was being guided from the hand of the Lord.

 A couple of weeks ago we finally had a chance to talk directly by phone. It was for over an hour. I had sent her some CD’s and DVD’s of the message and she had reviewed a some of it. So she had some questions.

But as we talked she gave me some of her history. Soon I learned that she also was a sigh and crier. She told of the story how she, being a health therapist, was appalled when her church had a lunch a while back and had donuts and pastries full of sugar for the members. Her field involves colonics and other clean out methods, to help rid the body of toxins which cause disease.

So she went to the lady in charge of the meals and let her know that those sugar packed denured of vitamins and mineral foods were worse than worthless. Instead of listening carefully to Cathy, who was trying to keep the Lord’s temple pure and clean, the lady took offense and later complained to others that Cathy was off base.

So what do we see from Cathy’s standing up for true principles? Mocking and derision from those who aren’t willing to be corrected. “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble…” (James 4:6). Cathy assured me that her advice was given in a loving manner, yet even this approach was rebuffed.

From the stories we mentioned, one thing is common. The sighers and criers were heard from by our Great Orchestrator. He then guided them into my path, that I might help them further in discovering advanced light. This is how the Great I Am works. He knows our hearts and when we show Him we are for real and want to know of His presence and love, we’ll find Him. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to  you” (James 4:8).

Also they both are desirous of advancement in their walk. Our prophetess said some great words concerning this, “When God’s people are at ease, and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that He will not favour them. It is His will that they should be ever moving forward, to receive the increased and ever increasing light that is shining for them.” (5T pp. 708, 709).

” Those who will devote their powers to the study of God’s Word, and especially the prophecies referring to these last days, will be rewarded by the discovery of important truths.” (Ms 75, 1899, pp. 4,5. [Untitled Manuscript, May 11, 1899] — may be found as Manuscript release #54 in Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, pp. 195-196).

“We must not think, ‘Well, we have all the truth, we understand the main pillars of our faith, and we may rest on this knowledge.’ The truth is an advancing truth, and we must walk in the increasing light.” (RH: March 25, 1890).

So let us be mindful of the Great Orchestrator, and how He is ever ready and willing to help us advance in our walk. We just have to “want to”. As Laodiceans we have to fight the ever tempting attitude of self complacency. If we seek–we find.

Posted in Christian walk, Courage, Loving the Lord, Sighing and Crying | 4 Comments »

Counted As Worthy

March 9, 2013

In Luke chapter 21 we read of our Lord explaining the last days. A very descriptive account of the travail that will come upon the earth. Then in verse 36 He says “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” So clearly the end time people, those living in the last days(our time),  must be found worthy.

What does this mean–worthy? We have all heard week after week, – Grace, grace, and more grace. Does not these two words– worthy and grace, seem somewhat contradictory? However, it seems today that the great masses are solidly in the “grace” camp. The leaders and pastors have drilled them again and again , that we really don’t have to worry in our walk–we are covered by grace. Just be kinda good and let all the rest fall unto Jesus. Our Savior is our excuse, our reason why we don’t have to be that careful and obedient, right?  Absolutely wrong. Let us see clearly why.

In speaking of  “worthiness” our Lord shows further examples “He who loves His father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt. 10:37). 

In researching for this post I found someone’s comments that I found right on concerning what (Matt 10:38) means “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”  In the article, the author says  “(Mt.10:38) has been grossly abused. The phrase, “taking up one’s cross” has become so ubiquitous, that practically any unavoidable difficulty, aggravation, or inconvenience is likely to be piously labeled, “just the cross I have to bear.”
WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT STATEMENT FOR THE BLASPHEMY THAT IT IS!!!
The cross, for Jesus, was NOT an unavoidable inconvenience! Neither was it a case of submission to illness, natural disaster, or insurmountable evil! Jesus was speaking sober truth when he said he could have called upon all the hosts of heaven to rescue him! He CHOSE not to do so, in order to ransom the people of his Kingdom from the domain of death and fear (Heb.2:14-15), by his triumph over both! Cross-bearing entails voluntarily suffering completely undeserved injustice for the sake of the Kingdom of Jesus!”

In other words, to be found “worthy”, we should be taking up the cross and be willing to be, among other things — scorned, murmured against, unpopular among some, ridiculed or a host of other injustices simply for proclaiming God’s truth and walking therein.  Just like our Lord. We’re a  chip off the ol block as they say.

Ellen White explains, “Satan’s attacks against the advocates of the truth will wax more bitter and determined to the very close of time. As in Christ’s day the chief priests and rulers stirred up the people against Him, so today the religious leaders will excite bitterness and prejudice again the truth for this time.”(Gospel Workers, p.324)

“Satan works at the very ones that do him most harm. God can make them a host against their enemies. Ye give up too quick.  Ye let go too soon. That arm, the arm of God is mighty.” (Spalding and Magan Collection, 3:4)

 Brother Houteff explains,  ” Just as did the Jews of old, thousands today dearly believe that there is a certain saving magic simply in membership in the church, thus letting themselves be brought to prize and depend upon it more than upon the message, which demands repentance of sins and in return lifts the penitent sinner from the dark and miry pit, into the healing, saving light of Present Truth. 

Had these worshipers of temples made by hands, lived in the days of Christ, they would have shown their utter ignorance of and disregard  for the Truth, by rejecting the respective messages of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the apostles, in order to maintain their membership in the “synagogue” and to shun the reproach they would otherwise have been called upon to bear.  Whereas God’s true people have always bound themselves to new and unpopular truths which, while new, the self-styled men “of  experience” have denounced as heresies.” (Tract #7, p.60-61)

So how do we balance grace with worthiness? The answer is that we as His followers are striving with all our hearts to obey Him through His word, as said by the prophets.  Then as we become obedient to His messages as sent by the prophets, we can count on His grace to save us. You see, as we strive to be obedient we will sometimes slip and fall, that’s when we can count on His grace. When Paul was striving with all his heart to work for the Lord, being obedient as possible, what did the Lord say in response to his request? ‘My grace is sufficient for thee..” (2 Cor. 12:9). Grace covered a righteous man , not an indifferent,  careless man of God.

Grace abuse is described in (Romans 6:1) “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”  Those who repeatedly fall in their walk often think that grace will cover them, leading them  in effect to not claim the Lord’s power to help them overcome sin.

 But the key is that we are trying very hard and not carelessly neglecting our walk, and then saying ” I’m going to sin and there is nothing I can do about it  but  He will save me through His grace anyway”.  We must decide that we cannot continue in sin( see Hebrews 10:26). With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can “overcome” our sins.(Rev.21:7)

Yes, we will slip and fall. But as the word says ” For though a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again..” (Prov. 24:16) The key is to –rise again, meaning we get up and repent and continue on with our walk, being careful not to slip again. It’s all about wanting to do right thing before the Lord.

Ellen White speaks about worthiness, ” I was shown that fathers and mothers have departed from their simplicity and neglected the holy calling of the gospel. The Lord has admonished them not to corrupt themselves by adopting the customs and maxims of the world. Christ would have given them the unsearchable riches of His grace freely and abundantly, but they prove themselves unworthy.” (Test. for the Church, p.74)

Last year we did a post on backsliding call ‘Recovering from backsliding”. In it I pointed out that we all succumb to temptation now and then. As I mentioned last year I had fallen back for a few days into my old sinful behavior. The devils are particularly  hovering around those who are proclaiming God’s truth. We are viewed as their number one adversaries.

As the devils know a wide range of tactics, one of them is the old trick of “over-worthiness”. They tell us,  “You’re a hard worker for God, you deserve a little something now and them”.  I fell for it and went back to some espressos and even a few beers after work for a few days. Thinking that I had somehow earned these “treats”. But I was jolted to reality a few days later! Repentance was deep and I was received my Lord’s words, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten..” (Rev.3:19). It was quite scary to be honest, a real jolt of reality set in. 

In further illuminating the cost of being found worthy, Ellen White says, “God will test and prove his people. One sacred truth after another will be brought to bear upon their hearts, close and cutting, until their faith will be purified and tried like gold, until all their dross will be purged away, and Jesus will present them unto his Father without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. We must overcome through trials and sufferings as Jesus overcame. We must not shun the cross or the suffering part of religion. The language of the heart should be, let me know the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. Let me suffer with Him that I may reign with Him.(Review and herald, Sept.16,1862)

Let’s look at our prophetess’ words concerning the  struggles of those who are taking part in our last days work of the Lord.

“I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God’s approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them.

 Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against Him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His people, and as the poisonous atmosphere of evil angels was pressed around these anxious ones, the heavenly angels were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness.

As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, at times a ray of light from Jesus came to them, to encourage their hearts and light up their countenances. Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones.” (Early Writings, p.269-270)

What I found interesting is that those who “participated” in the agonizing and pleading of God’s work and their own spiritual condition, were the ones involved in the dark struggle. The careless and indifferent ones, meaning those who don’t participate in the work of His present truth for this time and who also don’t plead with the Lord to help them overcome their sins.  Darkness “shuts them in” and the Angels have “left them”. This vision  is prophetic about what is going on right now. The true workers of God are in an internal struggle, complacency is the farthest thing from their mind. At times they feel the heat in other words!

Let us never forget that we as the Laodicean church have the strictest reprimand from the Lord. We are warned not to be lukewarm. Is lukewarmness a sin? Absolutely. The 11th hour message we are called to give–the Elijah message — is our test today. Ellen White says,  ” God means that testing truth shall be brought to the front and become a subject of examination and discussion, even if it is through the contempt placed upon it. The minds of the people must be agitated. Every controversy, every reproach, every slander, will be God’s means of provoking inquiry and awakening minds that otherwise would slumber.” (Test. for the Church, Vol. 5, p.453).

To sum up our post, we ask the following– ” Must we be found worthy to inherit the kingdom of God?” For sure. “How do we know we can be found worthy?” By taking up His cross (standing up for His truth today). “And what can we expect once we decide to take up His cross?” The devil attacks, but we can then say and believe -“Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Let us close with the beautiful words of the Lord through his prophet Isaiah. ” Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near, let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)

May our Lord give us wisdom for these last days, to be counted as worthy, amen.

Posted in Christian walk, once saved always saved fallacy | 4 Comments »

Biblical Submission

February 9, 2013

One of the biggest traps we as Christians can get into, is to ignore or sidestep clear unambiguous words and meanings of Scripture. Ellen White explains “The language of the Bible should be explained according to it’s obvious meaning, unless a symbol or figure is employed” (Great Controversy, p.598).  Additionally brother Houteff says the same thing, “Hold not to what fabricated ideas seem to make Scripture say, but grip tenaciously to what the word, in simplicity, plainly says” (Tract 10, p.13).

We needed to lay that foundation first because this topic is somewhat controversial and therefore we must hold “tenaciously” to the obvious meaning and not use any of the often used sidestep explanations to throw out the plain obvious meanings.

It is obvious that today we live in totally different customs than was in place back in  the early Christian days. Today we have seen an ever evolving change among the relationship between man and wife. With the main stream media, via TV, internet, radio, and written literature, we can see a tidal wave of “liberal” ideas put forth for the family unit.

While I am not a anti-womens liber, I do refer always to the hand book of life–the Bible. And as I have mentioned many times during our “posting career”, the Lord strictly guides me and certain subjects appear in my walk that leads me to discuss it. Recently the issue of the man-woman relationship has risen before me and therefore I would like to point out some clear Biblical understandings in these matters.

In Ephesians 5:22 we read, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord.”  Obviously we know that to many women today, especially the women libers, these are inflammatory words. Yet of course to those, the Lord’s word generally doesn’t ring true on many aspects of their lives that –they don’t like.

The dictionary defines the word submit as follows -“To yield or surrender (oneself) to the will or authority of another.” As we are well aware we must always read the Bible verses in context.  After reading the above quote, our brother apostle Paul explains the order in which man and woman are to be established in a relationship. “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything.” (Eph.5:23-24)

So we see that this “order” is to be firmly established in the man being the leader of the relationship. And who said this order? Our all-knowing Lord. The one who understands how everything works. Today the divorce rate is truly astronomical. In the well researched book, “Marriage, Families, and intimate relationships” the statement is made —

“Married adults now divorce two-and-a-half times as often as adults did 20 years ago and four times as often as they did 50 years ago… between 40% and 60% of new marriages will eventually end in divorce. The probability within… the first five years is 20%, and the probability of its ending within the first 10 years is 33%… Perhaps 25% of children ages 16 and under live with a stepparent.” ”
—Brian K. Williams, Stacy C. Sawyer, Carl M. Wahlstrom, Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships, 2005 

Wow! 40 to 60 % new marriages will end in divorce! After reading this, let’s see what our Lord thinks about it. “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,says the LORD of hosts.” (Mal.2:16)

Could the fact that our divorce rate is so high be that we haven’t listened and obeyed the word of the Lord? Absolutely. Now I am not saying that the reason for such a high divorce rate is all the woman’s fault, because we learn in Paul’s writings that the man has a big responsiblity as well. He’s to love and respect His wife. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” (Eph 5:25)

So we see that as “head” of the relationship, the man has to establish a household of “love”. In fact this love is to be truly strong as we read, “..love His own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Eph5:33) Also we notice, again, the wife’s responsiblity to “respect” her husband.

So clearly, any breakdown of these responsibilities, can hurt the relationship. But as we have learned, there is a rightful process to all this and it’s to follow our Lord’s counsel–The man is to lead and have the authority. Does that mean women have no say or can’t have their desires and wishes met? Of course not, but if the man deems something important that should be done, and the wife disagrees, the man’s will should take precedent. This, I’m afraid,  is why the divorce rate is so high–the chain of authority is broken!

Again, we read in (1 Cor.11:3) that the Lord has established delegation of authority. “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” In this liberal world it’s very easy to fall trap to the devil’s ploy. They have to a large degree tricked the women into thinking ,”You have just as much authority in your marriage as the man!” And even more sadly, more than a few men, drop down from this authority and willfully submit to the woman!

Think of this relationship as a circle. The man starts it by requesting something and the wife obeys. Then the  man is very happy and respects his wife, and wants to “love” her even more. And she feels this strong love and gives it back to the husband. A perfect chain of love and unity before the Lord. True Biblical submission leads to true love!

Our customs, as we mentioned, are quite different today as they were back in the early Christian days, but has  men and women’s relationship to God changed? No. Likewise the relationship of man and wife hasn’t changed either, from the Lord’s point of view(His word).

Has our Lord usurped God the Father’s authority? Have we men quit acknowledging that Christ is our authority? Then the final layer of that authority chain must be kept as well–woman looking  to man for his leadership and authority.

Recently I’ve had to call it quits in a personal relationship, to a woman who was my fiance. It was tough to do but I came to the realization that I could not be the authority of the household. The arguments, the interruptions, the ignoring of my requests, all got too much to handle. I could see unfortunately, that should I go ahead and marry, the Lord’s chain of order and authority would not be there and struggles would frequently occur.

Let us always refer back to our Lord’s word for advice. His words are so plain in regards to the man-woman relationship. If we obey them we will be blessed, if we ignore them, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Let’s close with a brother Houteff quote, ” There could be nothing more pleasing to God than for one of His children to ask in sincerity the way of the truth; therefore, such a one shall not be left in darkness, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matt 7:7) (Shepherd’s Rod, vol 2, p.90)

May the Lord give us all true wisdom and understanding and understand that true Biblical submission leads to true and eternal love!

Posted in Christian walk, Covenants, Obedience, Proper teachings | 8 Comments »

“Surely They are My People”

January 19, 2013

In (Isaiah 63:8) we read “For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior”

How many of us men have been quite satisfied to hear someone  say the following about us –“He’s a man of his word.”? I know that would be just about the best compliment I could receive. Or how about, “His word is his bond”? Or “You can take his word to the bank”?

Our words tell a great deal about each and every one of us. On the flip side, it’s quite shameful to be spoken of as “He never keeps his word” or “His word is worthless” and so on. How many of us have had that sinking feeling when we know we are talking to someone we can’t count on, as keeping their word?

But as much as most of us value keeping our word and not lying, our Lord values it so much more, as His word reminds us so often throughout the Scriptures. Let’s look at the basic and simple act (speaking and writing) and how we can make or break our life with God and even each other.

In the above quote we noticed that the Lord claims a certain kind of person (people) as “His”. They are non-liars. You see, lying is really so much worse than most of us think. In fact the Lord says it one of the things he “hates”. He says “These six things the LORD hates… A lying tongue.” (Proverbs 6:17)

Many of us think that lying is outright and purposely deceitful, however that’s not what generally constitutes–lying. For example, every time we say we are going to do something for someone, and fail to do it–we have lied. This is so much more plentiful in the world than outright lies. It’s kinda known as the “not so bad” little white lie. But let’s not get fooled, it’s just as bad as those outright lies.

Granted , we are all sinners and imperfect and we all have spoken lies in our lifetime, but knowing this important truth in His word in this regard, we are then made accountable for the truth we know and understand.

As we have learned in studying the present truth of the Elijah message, we are called on to strive “with all the power God has given us to be among the 144,000” (Review and Herald, March 9, 1905). And to be found to be one of those elect,  we must have “no deceit (guile)” in our mouth (Rev. 14:5).We, as present truth believers, are to be reforming our lives to be able to be among God’s elect, the 144,000.

This really cannot be over emphasised. Our promises made must be kept. It’s like anything in life , if we make an effort to get good at something, we’ll get good! So we must make a careful and thoughtful effort to please the Lord in this regard. And most importantly we should ask our Lord for His guidance and strength through the Holy Spirit to accomplish this.

In the 59th chapter of Isaiah, we read specific Scriptures concerning lying. ” For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity.” (verse 3) . And later in the chapter,  after explaining why we have become unrighteous, it reads “For our transgressions are multiplied before You…In trangressing and lying against the LORD, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.” (verses 12-13).

“Better that you do not vow, than that you vow  and not fulfill it”(Ecc.5:5)

Being in business most of my life, I can attest to the value of keeping your word and how people so much appreciate it. If I tell a person I’ll do something for them , I sincerely try to do it. If I can’t I at least call them and let them know. I just feel bad if I don’t do what I say I will do, kind of like a bad reflex that wells up inside and says ” Your integrity just got a lot lower”. On the flip side, when I receive a verbal commitment from someone, I expect that which they said they would do, to be done. I shouldn’t have to remind them. Again ,  our word = our bond.

In the “old days” a man would receive one of the best honors among his fellow-men, when someone would say “Oh so and so, when he shakes his hand on a deal, you can take his word to the bank”. Now that was and is, a high compliment, and no doubt cherished from our Lord.

Have you ever felt that good solid inner feeling and confidence when you are speaking to someone whom you can trust, and know that what they say they will do, they will do? This is what we , as God’s image bearers, were intended to be.

With the advent of the computer, todays society revolves around less speaking and more typing. But let us not think that this gets us off the hook for accountability with keeping our word, both to people and to our Lord. Although it’s in writing, we  still make commitments, which should require us to hold true what we promise. It’s just a different avenue of “keeping our word” but with no less accountability.

Let us not think that we can, for example,  go on a Facebook message or send an email to a friend and say ” I’ll send that article to you about —, tomorrow” and then forget all about it and never do it. We may think this is no big deal but the recording angel has recorded it as a lie, a false promise made.If we continue to do this on a regular basis, we’ll be known as liars, not word keepers.  “Every man’s work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness…all chronicled by the recording angel.” (Great Controversy. p.482)

This truth telling is a basic component of our reformed Christian life. Unfortunately this simple yet needed requirement will be overlooked by the masses. We will get “above it”,  meaning we’ll look at it as  not really needed.  We know all the doctrines, attend church every Sabbath, why worry whether we speak lies?

Ellen White explains, ” In the last vision given me, I was shown the startling fact that but a small portion of those who now profess the truth will be sanctified by it and saved. Many will get above the simplicity of the work…” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol.1, p.608)

Our Lord gave one of the most beautiful Scriptures for us to live by, known as the Golden Rule  — “Do under others as you would want done unto you.” (Matt. 7:12).  Would you like to be lied to? Not able to rely on what other tell you?  Most all of us would shun this like the plaque, and say “definitely not”. Then we must speak truth and keep our word. Both our Lord and fellow-man and woman would be very happy and appreciate it.We just might be fortunate enough to have the reputation, and spoken of as a word keeper, “He’s (or She’s) a person of their word”.

Let us remember that the Lord will be a Savior to the “truth tellers” not liars. In the end of Revelation our Lord puts out the last important warning on those who will not make it to heaven. Included in this list is “all liars” (Rev.21:8).

This elemental quality of truth-telling will lead us to draw closer to Him daily and thus wanting to fulfill even more of His will. We have spoken quite a lot on “present truth” the last year or so, but let us not forget the “basics”. An essential in our Christian walk,  is –keeping our word.

God the Father and  our Lord our King, together with the Holy Spirit be with you all,    Your servant, Rob.

Posted in Christian walk, Truth telling vs. lying | Leave a Comment »

Traveling on the Sabbath

December 29, 2012

In today’s hustle and bustle world, many of us  are often found traveling. As Sabbath keepers we should always be prepared at home and away. Let’s look at ways which we can guard the Sabbath, to help us keep it “holy” while on the road.

In the fourth Commandment, it begins, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… (Exodus 20:8). This keeping it holy applies each and every Sabbath, whether we are at home or traveling. In (Isaiah 58:13) we read, “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Also, “Thus says the Lord: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.”(Jer.17: 21-22)

 The above is packed with nuggets of gold (Truth). We see that our focus should be to guard against the ever tempting carnal nature of doing “our pleasure” on His holy day. This can be a big problem in situations where one is traveling and away from their routine and customs of the home life. However, as always the Lord has made a way out for us. It’s called preparation.

As  many of us Adventists know , we regard Friday as our “preparation day”. And rightly so. This day is obviously the day before His holy day, so we basically have this day to get things prepared and ready. So let’s look at some areas where we can prepare in traveling.

1) Meals.

This probably is one of the most troubling areas of trying to keep the Sabbath holy when we travel. Obviously we can’t cook most of the time, so we cut corners and eat out. But there again the preparations should be made. Almost every area we travel in, there is a market where we can buy food and snacks. So we can load up on the goodies to eat and drink on the next day -the holy Sabbath.

Sadly some fall into the devil’s trap and succumb to eating in a restaurant. This is  a real  “breaking” of the Sabbath. The most obvious reason is the buying and selling on the Sabbath. We are also encouraging and helping others to break it as well, though they may not be aware of it. In the 13th chapter of Nehemiah we can find specific warnings against buying and selling on the Sabbath.

We need only look back to the story in (Numbers 15:32-41). There you’ll recall the Lord ordered a man stoned for picking up sticks on the Sabbath. How do you think our Lord looks upon us, as we are profaning  His holy Sabbath much more? We should not dare trespass in this way.

2) Planned travel.

Here is another area where we must put the Lord first. When we are to plan our travel, we should be most careful to arrange our flights, so as to not travel on the Sabbath. Long car traveling, which can be laborious should also be avoided also . Yes,  this could cause a delay or interruption, but are we going to risk breaking and trampling His Sabbath in this way? Again our planning and preparation is a must, in order to keep His holy day–holy.

A while back I was in church, in the restroom, and I overheard a conversation. One man was explaining how he was going out-of-town next “Saturday” and flying out. I was amazed!  This I’m afraid, is much more common than we want to believe. The lazy and careless approach to Sabbath keeping will one day cost us if we keep it up. If the Lord stoned that man in the Numbers story, and saves us, as we do much greater  willful transgressions on the Sabbath, will He not have to apologize to that man and his family? Let’s think that through. What makes  us think we now have more rights and liberty to transgress today?

Our two great duties are —Fear God, and keep His Commandments. ( Ecc.  12:13-14).

3) Buying and selling.

Here again is a great temptation. We find ourselves wanting to buy gas, food, general necessities. We rationalize,  “We’re on the road, the Lord understands the circumstances.” Again, Friday is the preparation day when we should get the gas and buy the goodies, etc. With careful planning and thought, we can load all we need by Friday sunset and be good to go for the Sabbath.

4) Places of worship

Sometimes  in our travels there are no close Sabbath churches around. What to do? In the book of Acts there is the example of Paul finding a “riverside” to go to, to pray and have fellowship (Acts 16:13). He was apparently not near a temple and found a quiet place by a river.  So we can also go to a quiet mountain area, beach, or other remote quiet area to pray and read the Scriptures and fellowship. Contemplate the beauty of our Lord’s  creation. We shouldn’t watch worldly TV in our hotel room, or be part of any other worldly endeavor that might keep us from keeping the Sabbath holy.If we know we’ll be staying in the room for the Sabbath, we can take those long overdue naps, or pray, study, or listen to beautiful Christian music. When we indulge in knowing and listening to the things of the Lord, time goes by much too fast!

Our Lord and His word will not change.  “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4). The continual willful sinning in transgressing His Sabbath will, according to His word, cost us a price–our life.

In closing let us be good preparers and planners, thinking of honoring our Lord on His holy Sabbath even while traveling. Traveling will bring us challenges, but we can view them as stepping-stones, to exercise our devotion to the Lord.  Our Lord said the following  “Whoever is faithful in very little, is faithful also in much..” (Luke 16:10).

Posted in Christian walk, Sabbath | 8 Comments »

A Heavenly Place For You

December 1, 2012

Some of us have made  big sacrifices  in our lives, we have greatly diminished our television watching or cut it out altogether, shunned worldly music listening, eliminated our prior daily cherished carnal sins, and just plain overcome the many snares, with the power of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes we get the urge to once again return to the “vomit”. “As a dog returnth to it’s vomit, so a fool returnth to his folly (Proverbs 26:11). But let’s keep a cheerful heart and remain steadfast in our walk for “great” is our reward(Matt.5:12).

Our Lord says in (John 14:2) ” In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” It is quite fitting that for the much of  His time spent on this earth, our Lord was a creator and builder(carpenter). We can only imagine the people in awe and wonderment as they beheld the fine craftsmanship that He showed in His work. His careful eye measuring exactly on each detail.

With no less perfection we can trust that He has built for each of us,  a place that will fit us in comfort and style and bliss. I mean even the street  will be breath-taking, as we step upon it, seeing gold as shiny as glass. “The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass” (Rev 21:21).Then how about those gorgeous ripe fruits! One bite and we will melt in joy and refreshment. And drinking the pure life-giving water!

 Before I became a Sabbath keeper, I  had seldom noticed the real beauty of His work. I mean the colorful flowers didn’t stand out to me, the clouds formed were not meaningful, the hummingbird or butterfly was a mere curiosity.  Instead there is now a  loving appreciation or even an understanding of a direct sign given from Him. In short His creation is now indeed –alive.

As I become more and more aware of where I am heading to, it makes me think of the following logic. While on this earth for such a short time , can we truly comprehend that a life here of pleasures and sin, is an equal and balanced trade-off against an eternal bliss with our Lord? Is a moment in time worth throwing away an everlasting  joyful and exciting existence , full of life and beauty? Ponder this carefully, think of the rewards and your future place in heaven. A never  ending existence with One who will forever be our joy.

But let us not deceive ourselves, our Lord has sent His last message to us that requires us to obey Him and follow His last instructions. He is throwing us His life jacket (His Elijah message), will we grab it and hold on? To sum it up, our life must be in compliance with daily obedience of His 10 Commandments, and we must sigh and cry for the abominations we see in our life and that of the church (Ezekiel 9). This is all backed up by Ellen White as well (Testimonies for the Church, Vol 3, p266-267).We must hear His messenger (Elijah) and follow His message sent through Him. As I have said many times, I for one, will not ignore His last messenger, will you?

 We will and do slip occasionally but as Scripture says “A righteous man falls seven times, he rises again..” (Proverbs 24:16). The key is to never stay down, but get up, continue on the straight and narrow.

We are told in (Ezekiel 18:32 ) “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! ”  We have a Lord who loves us greatly and wants us to “come home”, the real home built by Him. Let us determine to do what is required of us and then there will soon come a time when the Lord’s words will be fulfilled  “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed of My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matt.5:34).

In order to gain this great paradise, we are counselled to “lose” our earthly carnal life . “For whoever wants to save his life, will lose it, but whoever loses His life for Me and the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35).

In closing, once we truly convert and become born again, all things become new(2 Cor. 5:17). We see sin for what it is –a terrible separation from our Lord. We can overcome only when we trust in His word and His/our Helper, the Holy Spirit.

Though you may sacrifice now, may you dwell on what will soon be ” A  Heavenly Place For You”.

Posted in Christian walk, Heaven, Obedience | 1 Comment »

The Lord Cancels Chess

October 13, 2012

As some of you are aware, I am a big believer in the following prayer. “Lord help to keep me on the straight and narrow. If I go off it , please let me know. Yell it out to me if you have to. Keep me walking righteously before you.” And as I often pray this prayer, I am aware and watching for His guidance. I fully expect He will do what I have requested.

When Jesus heard about the young dead girl, He said “Do not be afraid, only believe.”(Mark 5:36). Those two little words -“only believe” really nail our whole Christian experience. Because if we can’t believe, we’ll lose faith as Scripture says. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”(Hebrews 11:6).

It all started about 10 years ago. One evening, while bored, I went on the computer and saw an advertisement for pogo games. I joined up and saw chess. I had been not at all interested in this game,  only playing it maybe 4 or 5 times in my life. Ofcourse it was the actual table game I had known up to that point. Anyway, I join up and get into the “chess room”.

Online chess is the same as regular table chess, except for its format. This pogo system had regular ratings for all players (the standard international chess rating system). I started to play. I’m sure my moves were quite unusual and amateurish (not really knowing what I was doing,lol).So I played a couple of games that night, but something clicked in me. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had entered into a powerful magnet, that would take hold of me for close to 10 years.

After that night, I played again the next night after work.  And so it went. Night after night I would be on the computer playing chess. In this pogo system, you get to play chess players from all over the world. So while you play , you can chat with them on the side as well. Soon I found myself not going out of the house much in the evenings or on Sunday, to play more games of chess. I was fascinated with this game because of the utilizing of your mind and it’s requirement of foresight thinking. I even bought Bobby Fischer books to learn more.

As the old saying goes “the more you practice the better you get” and it was true. I steadily climbed up the ratings scale. They rate you as follows. Blue players are the beginners (the bottom skilled players). Green players are intermediate. Orange is the advanced rating. Purple is the expert rating. And the rarefied rating is called Master. Believe me the “masters” are in a class by themselves. Their moves are so advanced, some thinking 10 or more moves ahead!

In my chess “career” I was able to advance up to expert, with my two big games of my life coming about the 2 year of my playing. Beating  master players. But as the years went on I was up and down like a yo-yo. From expert to blue and back again. But regardless, I enjoyed the fascinating moves and how there was always a different challenge on each game. I thrilled when I was way behind and somehow mated the opposition against great odds.

Fast forward to about 3 years ago. When the Lord changed my life and woke me up. It started with my obeying the Sabbath. As  this blog has  told, my experiences gradually changed and my values as well. The Lord took control and I happily consented.

As He was guiding me in the walk, I learned all the 10 Commandments, and started to put each one into action in my life. I called my Dad, who I had not spoken with for several years (Honor thy Father and Mother). I started keeping the Sabbath “holy”. I started watching carefully how I charged my customers (appliance repair) (Thou shall not steal). And so on.

But then after I converted, I started to hear from the Holy Spirit, about my chess playing. The 2nd Commandment forbids us to have “idols”. It became clear chess was indeed an idol. I played everyday and it was taking up precious hours of my free time. The Lord was keeping His part of the bargain, He was warning me where I was off the path.If there was any doubt about a certain aspect of my walk, I took it before the Lord.

So I went in prayer before the Lord. I told Him I would cut down the playing to two days a week . This went on for about a year and a half. Then I began to feel I needed to cut it back to one day a week (Sunday). For the last year this was my routine. The Holy Spirit was still working on me as I was becoming aware that  chess was something I shouldn’t be doing at all. In (James 4:17) we read “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  I began to know that,  for me,  playing chess was not “good” and staying away was good.

So even  down to just one day a week (Sunday) I began to feel more and more guilty about it yet I did not want to leave it out of my life, I still enjoyed the games. But the Lord came first, and I knew I had to clear this issue.  So finally, recently,  I went before the Lord and said  “Lord if You want me to give it up for good, let me know”. I have learned that there is nothing more precious than the close feeling with our Lord, and I didn’t want have anything in my life that was separating me from Him.

So I was on “lookout” for the answer.  I was expecting  communication from the Lord, His clear answer to me.  This has been our relationship since  observing my very first Sabbath about 3 and half years.

 See our posts under the heading “God’s signs” for an examples of inspiring signs given from the Lord.

As we’ve posted many times before,  the Lord has promised to reveal Himself to us when  He said,  “He who has My Commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I will reveal Myself to him” (John 14:21).  Revealings certainly come in the form of signs.

So on Sunday morning I awoke, and as usual I was soon on the computer playing chess. I played a few games then went off and did some other things. Then as my custom was I took a short nap in the afternoon. After the nap I woke up and wanted to get in another chess game. So I click over to the chess site and WHAT? What happened I thought? The chess system had been removed! At first I was bewildered, but then it hit me. The Lord has answered my prayer! I looked up and said “Thank you Lord”. I went into my room and we talked.

The Lord will always be faithful in this regard.Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you (James 4:8).

So the Lord’s answer came, chess would be forever history.   I was content to know my Lord’s will and follow it. The Lord knows each of our walks, what is right and what is not,  individually. The straight and narrow path will be shown to each of us, if we humbly ask for it. 

 If you have any area in your walk that you’re not sure about, take to the Lord! Ask to be guided, and He will answer you in a way that you will know. Do this frequently and your walk will bring you closer and closer to our Great Lord.

Posted in Christian walk, God's signs, Prayer's answered | 4 Comments »

A Spiritual Health Test

August 25, 2012

Recently I recieved in the mail an advertising mailer that said “Please go to our site for a financial checkup”. Then I got to thinking why isn’t there mailers,  or even online sites for a spiritual checkup? Afterall what’s more important then your eternal future destiny? We as Christians must have real concern for our brothers and sisters. Are they right with God? Or are they doing as so many around the world are, going through the motions, thinking that by just showing up to church on the Sabbath every week they’re covered? Let’s look at a straight test  that will help you to know where you stand, Biblically speaking.

Here is the test. Add the points up after you’re  done then you can see the score and find the result. Get a pen or pencil to mark your answers as you go down the questions, or print it out. Be honest. It’s a reality check not a wish list test. Then you’ll know better your condition.

1) I know all the 10 Commandments, at least the short version. I am able to repeat them 1 to 10.

A)  Yes  

B)   No

2) The Sabbath has come, however as I leave to go to service I  buy gas. Is this acceptable to God?

A) Yes: Because the Lord knows I must go to church and will allow me to buy it because it’s for a good cause.

B) No: I should not do it, Friday is the day to prepare for Sabbath.

3) Which is the correct answer to the following question :  The Sabbath has come and a  dear friend has called me right before service. She has flown into town to see me. She’s at the airport. The response I give is:

A) I tell her I am very sorry but it is the Sabbath service now and therefore I cannot drive to pick her up right now. I can see her after church , and we can fellowship together at my home.

B) I tell her I’ll be right over, God understands  this as a special circumstance.

4) A friend at work, who I sits next to me on my job, is chatting with me. As she chats I notice her taking several boxes of company paper clips and putting them into her purse, I do the following.

A) Nothing. It’s her business. The company has ton’s of them. Our friendship is way more important to me.

B) I gently mention to her that it’s the wrong thing to do. I would put that back if I were her. Even though I know this may not set well with her.

5)  A dear brother at church sits next to me before service. He starts talking to me about the week  and his different endeavors he’s done. I listen then do the following:

A) I casually nod, but remain silent. We’re in God’s holy sanctuary and I do this as a silent reminder to him. If he doesn’t get the message, I quietly tell him we’ll talk after service.

B) I engage in the chat  because I think it’s ok because service hasn’t started.

6) I’ve had a hard day at work, I come home and after dinner, I relax on the sofa and watch TV for a few hours. I do this almost each week day of the week for relaxation and enjoyment. I believe this is fine and acceptable before God.

A) Yes

B) No

7) I read the Bible during the week approximately:

A) 7 or more times

B)  3 times

c)  0 times

8) The very first thing I do when I awake in the morning is:

A) Shower and get dressed

B) Get a cup of coffee

C) Say a small prayer of thanks to the Lord, for another day of life and/or  any other matters I want to bring before Him.

9) I Listen to popular worldly music on the radio:

A) Everyday (auto, office, or home)

B) Not very much, only occasionally.

C) Never (when it’s in my control)

10) Sometimes I pray to the Lord, and then I do the following:

A) Go on my way, I really don’t think much more about it. I’ve done my duty and feel better.

B)  I clearly remember it, infact if it is very special to me, I’ll write it down to remember it. I wait and watch for a response back from the Lord, a clear specific answer or yes, no, or not now.

11) Father’s day is tommorrow, I think of my Dad. However we haven’t spoken in the last year because I was really wronged by him and still can’t let that go. So on Father’s day, I do the following:

A)  I say a prayer for him, and think of him much of the day. The Lord knows my heart and my thoughts of him this day.

B) I pick up the phone  and call him. I remember it’s the 5th Commandment. I swallow my pride.

12) There is a brother who want’s to do a bible study with me. I am very busy so I do the following:

A) I mention to him that I can’t now, but will let him know in the future. I never get time and forget about it. He’ll understand. No worries.

B) I tell him –sure. As soon as time will allow we’ll get together either in person or online. I keep my word and contact him in 3 days.

13) I told a church member I would do something for him during the upcoming week, during that week I do the following:

A) keep my word and do that which I said I would do.

B) I find I can’t do it, so I call him to let him know to reschedule.

C) some things came up and I didn’t have the time or just forgot about it. I know he will understand, so I bypass it and don’t mention it again  to him.

14) My income for the week was about 500.00. For the tithe I sent in the following:

A) 50.00 or more

B) 20.00

C) didn’t have it due to the large amount of bills this week, will send in it next week. I find I do this several times a year.

15) While I was driving today a man cut me off on the road, I became  very mad. I found myself yelling and even swearing, shortly after I do the following:

A) Calm down and proceed on. He was wrong and deserved my outburst.

B) I feel I have done a wrong before the Lord, I quietly apologize to Him.

16) A close brother or sister, whom I have known for quite a while hasn’t shown up to church service for a few weeks. I do the following:

A) I keep them in my prayers knowing God will take care of them.

B)  In additon to prayer, I pick up the phone or email them. Letting them know I am concerned.

17) Excluding Sabbath service, I contact other brethren either by phone, computer, or in person to discuss the Lord, things of the Lord, or His word approximately:

A) at least 2 or more times a week

B) not usually weekly, maybe a couple times monthly.

18) As a Christian I would  best describe myself as:

A) A steady church going member, living by the golden rule.

B) A zealous, obedient, studious Christ follower.

19) I go to the store, after checking out I put the change in my pocket and go to the car. In the car I happen to pull out the change to put in my wallet or purse. I find that there is an extra 10.00 bill there. I do the following:

A) I chuckle and think this is a nice mistake. The store has millions, no big deal. I put it away.

B) I immediately get out and walk back to the cashier, explaining that they made a mistake and I give it back.

20) If  I were to download the free helpful Bible software called ESword (translates the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek words) and use it regularly for a couple months,  getting good benefit from it, I would do the following:

A) Nothing, it’s free, no worries.

B) I really appreciate the benefit  and want to donate. It’s the right thing to do. Although it’s free to me, it’s not to them.

21) A true converted Christian life means the following:

A) Becoming baptized and living the best we can. Our sins are unfortunate and our current nature, but until the Lord comes we’ll continue in them. The main thing is that we go to church every Sabbath and pray often. Our Lord understands our weakness and will excuse our sins even if we haven’t overcome them in this life.

B) Our past life of sins and pleasures of this world are over. We daily live for him, remembering His holy 10 Commandments and applying these principles to our life daily. We don’t consciously sin if we can help it. If we do we feel terrible and repent. Our love for our Lord and His Law is so great that we sometimes sigh and cry for the sins in our life and those in the church.

22) I want to be known as a:

A)  A zealous and continually striving Christian. Never complacent with my walk and always wanting to improve and learn.

B)  A lukewarm satisfied Christian. I trust the Lord has done all that is needed in my life. My walk isn’t what really matters, it’s what He did for me that counts.

__________SCORES  AND REFERENCES/COMMENTS _________

#1   A=1       B=0             Rev.22:14  ” Blessed are those who do His Commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and enter through the gates into the city” . How can we do them if we don’t know them? If someone  asks us  “What is Commandment no.6? We should  be able to quickly give the answer.   Also  see  John 14:15.   In Proverbs 6:20-23, we are told to tie them around our neck!   These are just a few of the many, many verses showing the importance of the 10 Commandments (both Old and New Testaments).

#2   A=0       B=1             Nehemiah 13:15-17. Numbers 15:32.

#3   A=1       B=0          The 4th Commandment     Luke 9:59-62

#4   A=0       B=1       The 8th Commandment forbids stealing. No matter how small it may seem. Watching another do it in front of you and not saying anything , makes us as an accomplice(spiritually speaking)  This ofcourse is assuming you have taken the log out of your own eye first(you don’t steal yourself). Ezekiel 3:18-19.

#5   A=1       B=0        Testiominies for the Church, Vol. 5, p.491 “Behavior in the house of God”.

#6   A=0       B=1         The 2nd Commandment(Idols)   James 4:4

#7   A  &  B=1     C=0     Hosea 4:6  “My people perish for lack of knowledge…”   Berean example – Acts 17:11.    2 Tim. 2:15

#8   A  &  B=0     C=1       1 Thess. 5 :18

#9   A  &  B=0     C=1       Again the 2nd Commandment (Idol).

#10  A=0      B=1         Luke 17:6     Psalms 27:14

#11  A=0     B=1          The 5th Commandment.

#12  A=0     B=1        Isaiah 63:8   Our word should be our bond.

#13  A & B= 1     C=0             Isaiah 63:8

#14  A=1     B & C =0            Lev.27:32   Num. 18:26  Mal. 3:9-10   Counsels on Stewardship p.80-82 (excellent tithing instructions)

#15  A=0     B=1              Matt. 5:22

#16  A=0     B=1              Mark. 12:31

#17  A=1     B=0              2 Tim. 2:15

#18  A=0     B=1               Rev. 3:16-19

#19  A=0     B=1               The 8th Commandment.

#20  A=0     B=1               Matt. 7:12

#21  A=0     B=1                Hebrews  10:26    Rev. 21:7-8      Romans 6:1

#22  A=1     B=0               Rev. 3:16-19     Romans 6:1    Yes it is true we are saved by what our Lord did on the cross. But we also have accountability which causes us to strive to “overcome”.

————————————-Test Results——————————

19-22 =  You appear to be heading in the right direction. Keep it up. Don’t stop striving. As we know the road is straight and narrow, and you are showing a real desire to stay on it.

13-18 =  There should be some soul searching done in your life. Prayer, studies, commitment should be increased. A closer examination of your walk is needed. Your risk of being “lukewarm” is higher than it should be.

0 – 12 = God’s word and way appear to be at odds with your walk. This is a serious condition. Seriously consider re-commiting to our Lord. Increase your desire to know His word and His way more closely. Your condition could be under the  Satan delusion of the all too common over-belief in “grace” instead of concentrating on obedience more.

Notes on this test.

This test is based primarily on Rev. 3:14-22. In these words of the Lord there is a direct message to us, His last church called Laodiceans. This message is a strong warning to not  be lukewarm or self satisfied. We are also told to be “zealous”. When we become zealous in doing the right thing our walk indeeds grows. With that in mind the test gives high scores to those who put into practice,  the Lord’s above words. Head knowledge alone of the right doctrines won’t save us. Only when we “overcome” with the power of the Holy Spirit will we be “granted to sit with our Lord upon His throne”(Rev.3:21).  Let us strive to do as our prophetess said, “It is the essence of all right faith to do the right thing at the right time.” (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Vo.6, p.24)

Posted in A spirtual health test, Christian walk | 4 Comments »

Recovering from Backsliding

July 14, 2012

One of the most tragic and sad situations of our Christian walk, is that of –backsliding. A verse in Bible reminds me of this folly. “As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). Wikipedia describes backsliding as follows ” Backsliding, also know as falling away, is a term used within Christianity to describe a process by which an individual who has converted to Christianity reverts to his pre-conversion habits and/or lapses or falls into sin, when a person turns from God to pursue his own desire.”  Let’s look into this backsliding and how with God’s power we can recover from it.

Backsliding comes in basically three stages. 1) A temporary slip or fall. Meaning we make a spiritual mistake and fall into temptation but quickly realize our transgression and repent and turn from that sin(s). 2) We slip and fall often and repeatedly, off and on. Our walk is strong, then weak and we seem to have stages of success then just as sure stages of failure. 3)  We slip and stay fallen for extended periods.

The last stage (3) is most dire spiritually. We won’t dwell much on that,  as it really is a situation where one has made no real commitment and repeated prayer and fasting is a must!

As we are well aware, only those who “overcome” will be allowed to sit on the throne with our Lord in heaven(Rev. 3:21) That means that while we will have occasional slips and falls, we must in fact overcome them. Our cherished sins are to be no more.But what do we do when we slip and fall? Let’s look at the 2nd case scenario.

The 2nd case people are most likely to be the “grace abusers”. Definitely these would include the outlandish believing  “once saved always saved” crowd.  Grace abuse is described in (Romans 6:1) “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”  Those who repeatedly fall often think that grace will cover them, in effect they do not claim the Lord’s power to help them overcome sin.

I have often heard and read where people use the standard worn out line “Oh, we’ll never stop sinning and the Lord accepts us anyway.” If that’s the case why did He say –we must overcome? The ones who claim that their weaknesses are incurable, will never be able to say that they –overcame. So we see that those we repeatedly slip and fall, are in need of serious alignment of their spiritual values. Let us never forget the equally used quote, but this one is spot on– The Lord saves us from our sins, not in our sins.

Our prophetess made a clear statement in regards to overcoming. “Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life” (Christ’s object lessons, p.331).

These people need to “hit the books”,  start a serious undertaking in studying the Scriptures, Ellen White, and our last prophet–Victor Houteff. They need to receive the Spirit of Truth. As the parable teaches, they must be planted in “good ground” (ie. inspired truth) instead of walking halfway in their walk with the Lord. As we have learned from prior studies, our Lord will begin judgment for the living in his church soon(before the plaques come), we can’t afford to be found partly converted.

Let us now look at the most spiritually  “healthy” case,  the 1st case scenario. In ( 1 John 1:8) we read ” If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Our walk will never be perfect until our Lord comes and transforms us. For those of us who will remain alive in the very near future, we will see our Lord’s promise.  “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” (Ezekiel 36:24-25)

The implication from our Lord’s above words is that , though we think we are clean, we are not fully. It will only be once we arrive back in God’s kingdom, the holy land in Israel, that we will be made fully clean in God’s sight. For those of you who have missed the posts on the future kingdom to be set up, see “Thy Kingdom Come, part 1 and 2.

Please do not mis-interpret the Lord’s words above. When we are to be fully clean, that means we will be cleansed from sins we have even though we are not fully aware of them. We shouldn’t say ” I can have some idols and do a few sins here and there, because the Lord understands and will clean them in the future”. No, it does not mean that. This would be a contemptible attitude and calls upon our Lord to ever expand His grace. Again,  (Romans 6:1) applies.

The occasional slip or fall (into sin) must not degenerate into a often slip or fall. Our Lord made that clear in (John 5:14). “… See, you are well again, stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”  The falls can become so frequent that things begin to unravel. The devils then influence us so thoroughly that we backslide into case number 3.

Speaking of the devil, let’s discuss his active role in backsliding. As we’ve mentioned in our post under God’s light, we showed that the ones who are actively walking daily in His Commandments and truth shine the brightest. As the Angels and devils see this, some are noticed more than others. The devils focus primarily on the bright shining ones, as these are the ones they despise and want to corrupt.

So it stands to reason that the cleaner and straighter your walk with the Lord, the more and harder will be the temptations. But this can be met fully with the Lord’s power. That is key.

Ellen White, in describing the “shaking”  of our church describes the devils and their dark influence on those staying true to the Lord. “I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle…Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against Him.”(Early Writings, page 269)

In these very last days, the devils, at Satan’s command, want nothing more than to make those who are converted to backslide, the more the better is their goal. Recently I slipped and fell. I reverted back to an old cherished sin. I did it and quickly realized my mistake. I felt real bad. I knew better yet I submitted to stumbling.

But the next day, after coming clean and repenting of my sin, our merciful Lord gave me a vision. In it I saw myself laying on the ground looking up to the Lord who was standing above me. His arm was stretched out, to grasp my hand and raise me back up. It brought tears and I was so moved by this vision. Our Lord was letting me know, He forgave me.

This is the kind of merciful Lord we serve. A King who understands that the devils have put many stumbling rocks in our path and we may slip and fall occasionally. Our walk is precious to Him and He wants us to “overcome”. Are we going to get right back up after stumbling and steer away from that crooked path? Yes, we must.

In closing,  let us realize our dear Lord’s words when we stumble “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyones sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1-2)

Posted in Backsliding, Christian walk | 4 Comments »

Sighing and Crying, Part 2

July 7, 2012

The Lord’s last message foretold in Scripture, as we know, is the promised Elijah and his message (Mal.4:5). To come “before the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. At the very heart of this message is the specific instructions, that we must sigh and cry for all the abominations done in our midst (our own life and the church). But what exactly is sighing and crying? Let’s look deeper into this very important subject.

Before we establish from Scripture and SOP why we must do this, let’s look at the perfect example –our Lord’s example. In studying His short life here on earth, we see that His life was indeed filled with “sighing and crying”. We are told in (Isaiah 53:3) the following “He is despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He was often sighing, as he rebuked the pharisees and others for their sins and their hypocrisy. We also remember His weeping for  the stubborn rebellion of His people as He entered the city(Luke 19:41).

His life was not one of “looking the other way” at sin and hypocrisy. He dealt with it , in His midst. We who are striving to be like Him should certainly be like Him in this regard. In fact we shall see we are required to. Not because He is forcing us to, but because He sees that we do indeed love righteousness and truth, and validate it by our sighing and crying for sins. In other words, our conversion to living for Him is seen as real.

So with that, let us show the basis for this important commandment. As we are aware,  the inspired words come through the prophets. In this case, a clear command came through from  our dear prophetess-Ellen White. In Testimonies to Ministers, page 445, she said  that Ezekiel vision(Chapter 9)  and John’s vision (Rev. 7:1-4) were the same, in regards to the sealings of God that were to be done and completed BEFORE the winds were let loose. She also identified what those particular winds represented the Sunday law(with it’s subsequent times of trouble) (Test. for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 152).

So we see that the solemn chapter 9 of Ezekiel must be read, seriously studied and heeded now before the nations arise to begin to implement the Sunday law. It specifically says “..and the Lord said unto him (angel clothed in linen with a writer’s inkhorn) “Go through the midst of the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh  and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” (Ezekiel 9:4).

EGW also said the following ” Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel, these words will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing and the people are asleep. (Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p.260)

If we read further in Ezekiel 9, we find the disastrous consequents of those who don’t sigh and cry. So serious and solemn is this  that our Lord will do something unbelievable. Ezekiel reveals it from the Lord  “And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of your abominations (Ezekiel 5:9).

So it is clear that the Elijah message is so serious for us. We cannot be found turning away from it. Right now as we are being shown these instructions, we must heed them.

Let’s now look at some examples of sighing and crying, or the lack of. Recently I sat down with a leader among our church and we discussed “church”. I mentioned  that I thought it was wrong to leave the doors wide open to the sanctuary right after Sabbath school. There is hustling and bustling, noises, chatter, laughing, all coming right into the holy sanctuary. I told him it would be a good idea to keep the doors closed and have the door man watch them and help open for those entering.

His response to me was far from sighing and crying over this lack of reverence in God’s house. Instead he said the following “well, if you feel we’re not doing things right, maybe you can find a better church.”–Wow! Instead of seeing that this was an opportunity to show holy reverence to our Lord in HIS SANCTUARY, he basically was justifying lack of reverence as acceptable. Will he be found to be sighing and crying? All I can say is I fear for him.

Many of the abominations of which will cause us to sigh and cry are done right there in the sanctuary.  Ezekiel 9:11  says “Therefore as I live”, says the LORD  GOD. “surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will diminish you; My eye will not spare nor will I have pity.”

Think about this for a minute, if our Lord detested the abominations done in His sanctuary back in Ezekiel’s time, can we seriously think He has changed now?  “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal 3:6)  That which is holy then is STILL holy today.

Some of the things that we can be aware of in His sanctuary are the following.

1) Paying our Tithes in the sanctuary on the Sabbath. See this link https://godsloveandlaw.com/2012/09/29/tithes-and-offerings-part-2-of-2/

2) Proper respectful dress. A while back I was in the foyer before service and saw a young lady walking around with a dress so short, you could almost see her underwear! She pranced around several times, then as she was walking by me , the Lord compelled me to stop her.We stepped off  to the side and  I said quietly to her ‘You know , you might want to dress a little more modestly , in God’s house next time.” She nodded and continued on her way. She was young, maybe 20, and I pray this was  wake up call for her.

3) Proper  silence in the sanctuary. That doesn’t mean we never say anything, but we watch closely our conversations, and keep to the bare  minimum. This includes cell phones, laptops, or other devices that we indulge in in the sanctuary. I recently saw a small child on the cellphone playing some worldly game all plainly seen in the sanctuary. Can the Lord be pleased with this?

4) Proper arrival to church. I recently sighed over a friend who walked into church with about 10 minutes left for the service.  I didn’t say anything to him but it sure bothered me. It showed great dis-respect or lack of preparation. If you were scheduled to meet the president of the US at an appointed time, would you show up an hour or more late? Almost all of us would never do that. Is the Lord less important?

5) Refrain from buying or selling on the Sabbath, this includes within the church on the Sabbath. As we mentioned before, peddling of God’s word is a big problem in our church. Travelling preachers or singers or speakers, often have CD’s or DVD’s for sale in the foyer after or even during service. We should sigh about this for sure.

6) Participating in “extra” events on the Sabbath. Recently our church picked the LORD’s day, let me repeat, the LORD’s day, to honor our members high school and college graduates. The last time I checked we are to honor our LORD on the Sabbath–not ourselves!  To some this may sound petty, but believe me, as surely as I live it is NOT petty to our Lord.

7)Keeping our conversations on the Sabbath focused on the Lord and His word.We should shun worldly business, events, gossip, etc. See (Isaiah 58:13)

The above are just some of the abominations that we must be aware of, in order to sigh and cry.

The opposite action of sighing and crying is to ignore it or worse, accept it and put a cloak over it by justifying it. When a sigher or crier comes to you, how do you respond? Do you pat them on the back and say ” Don’t worry about it, the Lord understands, He loves us and will work it out.” Is that sighing and crying for the abominations done in the midst? No, it surely is not. It is cloak covering.

Here are more words from EGW making clear the issue of sighing and crying. ” At the time when the danger and depression of the church are the greatest, the little company who are standing in the light, will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land…In a time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble devoted followers Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s Honor and a love for souls, will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any. (Test. for the Church, Vol. 5 P. 209-210)

“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn the sins of other, will be left without the seal of God. (Test. for the Church, Vol. 5, p.211)

“… if wrongs are apparent among His people, and if the servants of God pass indifferent to them, they virtually sustain and justify the sinner, and are alike guilty and will just as surely receive the displeasure of God; for they will be mad responsible for the sins of the guilty.” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 265,266)

In closing,  we must make a choice, do we sigh and cry as we are told to, with real conviction of the wrong and evilness of sin. Or do we ignore the Lord’s final message to us, thinking that we don’t need it. I plead with all,  to prayerfully consider these words you’ve read and take it seriously. Our days are near ending, and the Lord will settle the books with us. Will we be weighed in the balance and found wanting, or found an obedient servant of the Lord?

Posted in Christian walk, Church, Ezekiel, God's sealings, Sighing and Crying | 6 Comments »

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