Fasting As Jesus Said

January 14, 2012

We as Christians are well familiar with one of the very first things our Lord did in the beginning of His ministry here on earth.  He walked  into the wilderness and ate nothing for 40 days. He fasted. Let us look into this much overlooked yet very important aspect of our Lord’s example.

When we go back to the very beginnings, God had made our food pure, no toxins existed in anything we ate or drink. Eden was a true beautiful paradise, flowing with such beauty. But today we are very degenerated from those days. Our bodies and minds have been bombarded with toxins. Could it be that fasting has more to offer than we suppose, for mind, body and soul?

In (Luke 4:1) we read “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wildernesss, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” Then in verse 14, just after Jesus had come out of the wilderness it says ” Then  Jesus returned in the POWER OF THE SPIRIT to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. Could His prayer and fasting the 40 days, contributed to His being in “the power of the Spirit”? Certainly.

 Look at this list of notable men who  fasted.  Moses fasted 40 days because of the sin of Israel (Deu. 9:15-18) Daniel fasted (Dan 9:3-5) David fasted while his son was ill (2 Sam. 12:16) Ezra led a fast to seek God’s favor (Ez.8:21) .There are many more examples of fasting. But from the above we can see fasting was done for –forgiveness of sins, asking for help in health restoration of a loved one, and protection from danger (Ezra).

So in studying this subject, it brought me to the thought –why aren’t we practicing this much? Can it be we’ve neglected a most helpful practice in becoming more in tune with our Lord and even more “in power”? In (Luke 5:35) Pointing down in time, Jesus definitely makes it clear we shall fast . “But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and THEN shall they fast in those days.”

Being  studied in the nutrition field, I’ve had the opportunity to study the effects of food and drink upon our body and mind. Let me just breifly state that the attitude, energy, mindset, even mood, can be directly affected by what you eat and drink. Let me give two  examples of this.

There are well known allergy tests known as the sublingual testing. The person fasts for 24 hours, then goes into the office to be tested. A clear concentrated solution is given of certain substances under the tongue, one at a time, to observe the reaction. A person may be given wheat for example , and then within minutes he feels shaky or even confused(gluten allergy). Then maybe milk is given and the person feels as if he is leaving his body, kind of  a floating dizziness. Maybe a friut , such as banana, then he feels a joyful uplifted mood.  The point I’m making is that all our allergens have, over time “built up” in us, making the body woefully polluted, then our thinking and mindset is seriously lowered. The body needs and demands– a rest and clean out, that’s called a fast.

This next example is truly a great one because of the unexpected final result. The story goes that a man (don’t remember where he was from) was just destroyed, heart broke. His fiance had found another man and left him. He was crushed, so he said “What’s to live for? I’m going to the mountains to die.” So he went up into the cold lonely mountains to die, no food just some water for a few days. So there he was , still crying, and suffering so much. Day one went by, day two and so forth, eating nothing except drinking water.

But something strange began to happen about day 7 or 8. He awoke and started to think  “What if I can live without her? Maybe I can find someone even better, some one who will REALLY love me?”  His mind was becoming clearer, more rational.  His toxins were leaving. Unbeknowest to him , he was experiencing one of our Lord’s beautiful laws–the joy of purifying through fasting.

 On day 12, he had seen the light, he was very foolish to die over some  girl, who didn’t love him ever anyway. His mind was indeed clear. He went home a changed man!

 Admittingly, fasting commonly isn’t something that can be rushed into. Many find that juice fasting is a good prepartion for water fasting. Many times it’s better to do a one or two week vegetable and juice fast to become familiar with fasting. Certain reactions many times do happen that are known as “healing reactions”. These pass, and are  usually of a short duration ( usually 1 to 5 days at the beginning).

 We are told that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And as such, the purer we keep ourselves, the more we can be in tune with our Maker. Let us have the courage, through prayer, to fast as our Lord instructed. If we find our walk just never seems to be right, one of the most overlooked areas is –fasting. We continue day after day to toxicate ourselves without even realizing it!

If our bodies are “home” to God’s Holy Spirit, and in fact a ‘temple”, then it stands to reason we should clean and sanitize  it occasionally. In so doing we will find a clearer and more satisfying walk with our Maker.

 So let us continue to look to our Lord for all strength, including the ability fast as he said. Our Maker knows our every inch, and has declared “fasting” as a good and honorable thing to do.

In Christ, Rob

The Davidian Seventh Day Adventists

January 7, 2012

Have you ever been in a club or organization, maybe even the military, where you were ranked? Your goal was to aspire to be the highest level you could attain. In God’s remnant church, there is a group that has been aspiring to this highest rank (knowing and understanding God’s deepest and brightest light =Truth). Let me introduce you to the Davidians **.

Before we go further, just to be clear, not all those  who call themselves Davidians are  necessarily  right with God, just like any other Christian group. But the true and honest Davidians know they have a most serious and solemn responsibility. Those who DO walk uprightly before the Lord and are Davidians, are those who have seen and understand God’s greatest light, God’s end time light bearers as it were. They take seriously the desire to be among the 144,000. Let us look at who these people are and what they stand for.

The Davidians were started in approx. 1930 by Victor T. Houteff. In the posts “Has Elijah come” under the Elijah heading, we have given some history about him and his purpose. If you haven’t looked into this man’s life and writings, I highly recommend you do. You could describe him as a male version of Ellen White, but different in the respect that his sole purpose was to warn the people that the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” was imminent. His interpretations of many prophecies are fascinating and divinely inspired (to those who take the time to investigate them). Many are convinced he was the “Elijah” to come as prophesised in (Mal.4:5).

Let us look at alittle history about the Davidians from brother Houteff himself. In his publication called Timely Greetings, Vol.2, number 10, pages 16-17, he writes “Fundamentally we are Seventh Day Adventists. Ever since the leading brethren of the Seventh Day Adventist denomination rejected the addition to the Third Angel’s Message (Early Writings, p.277) in the same fashion as the Jews turned down the gospel of Christ, and as the popular churches turned down the messages that followed thereafter, we have fundamentally remained Seventh Day Adventists.

We are seperated from the mother church because the “lukewarm” bretheren by majority vote disfellowshipped us, and put a guard at the church doors to make sure that we could not enter the churches on the Sabbath day.Evidently they did these things in order to force us to renounce the Lord’s revealed Truth, and also to frighten those who were embracing Present Truth and those who might investigate for themselves and accept the message of the hour. There could be no reason for dismissing us.

As we could not turn our backs upon the God-sent “meat in due season” we were, of course compelled to add Davidian to the name Seventh Day Adventist, lest we be accused of misrepresentation.We have never, however,  seperated ourselves from the denomination. As a people we still attend the denominational churches whenever we are not barred from entering.”

So we can see from the above history how the Davidians were brought into existance. Victor, and those who had became aware of the “additional message” as described by the prior prophet, Ellen White, in Early Writings, page 277, embraced the message unlike the scornful fellow members. So this tiny group was forced to huddle together, their own people  had thrown them out. But their message would not die. Today we are witnessing a new revival, as the Davidian message is swelling, even as we write.

But let us CLEARLY understand the situation now. Who do you think knows the scriptures better than anyone else in the universe except the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? You got it–Satan. Can we really think that Satan, knowing about the “Elijah to come”, would sit by idly twiddling his fingers and not be on the look out for this Elijah? He knows scripture, and that when this Elijah comes it will be at the very end of time. He final clock begins, he will be in full panic mode. He must stop the Elijah man and his messengers , and his message at all costs!

He full well knows he really can’t stop God’s plan, but he can try and delay it. If he can put his workers out on this message to disrupt, confuse, or refute then he has won time for a while longer. Let us look at Ellen White in her description of the “popular” ministry that Satan and his workers embrace.

“Ministers take their text from the word of God, but preach smooth things. To this the natural heart feels no objection. It is only the spirit and power of the Truth, and the salvation of Christ, that are hateful to the carnal heart. There is nothing in the popular ministry that STIRS THE WRATH OF SATAN, makes the sinner tremble, or applies to the heart and conscience, the fearful realities of a judgement soon to come (Early Writings, page 273).

Clearly we see that as soon as Truth is preached and especially the warnings of the coming judgement of God, Satan is stirred up. This judgement message has been the heart of the Davidian message!. So we need to understand that the evil one and his workers have set many snares to those who boldly go forward to learn and study the Davidian message. You’ll hear and read many false reports of the Davidians, and the Shepherd’s Rod teachings. Satan cannot and will not be still on this important end time message. It all makes clear sense.

Now let’s look at some important beliefs of the Davidian message.

1) They take literally the words of Ellen White that “we must strive with all the power God has given us, to be among the 144,000.”(Review and Herald, March 9, 1905) The Shepherd’s Rod teachings in this regard superbly blends the Bible and EGW to show a most clear light of how and when God’s elect will come into being, and their purpose. Here is a sermon called “The 144,000, who are they?” http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/audio/rev_7.mp3

2) They believe that God will establish a Kingdom FIRST here on earth before the 7 last plaques start. This “Kingdom” is not a government rule. It will be a pure “Church” Kingdom. In other words God will FINALLY have his pure Church after the great and dreadful day comes (His beginning day of judgement for the living IN the church). The world’s heathen will get to see His great power (miracles, healings, etc.) through His elect (144,000). They will go out and bring in the great multitude from all over the world. This study is addressed in more detail here. http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/outlines/kingdom.pdf

3) A literal day of judgement for the living to take place here on earth, within His remnant church. The wheat will be separated from the tares. The work of seperation is the work of God’s angels NOT man, just as Jesus said in the parable (Matt. 13:37-43) This will be the prophetic “great and dreadful day of the Lord”. Great for the elect of God, dreadful for the lukewarm and sinners in God’s church. This has and will  be the teachings of the Davidians. The trumpet is to sound the warning. Here you can order 4 free CD’s, one of which is the Ezekiel 9 prophecie.http://www.11th-hourministries.org/audio/cd_request.html

For a complete Fundamental list of the beliefs, here is the linkhttp://www.shepherds-rod.org/fbdsda.htm

We must ever be mindful that if we step up onto the Davidian platform, we are to be of the highest mindset in regards to our representation of Christ. Indeed, our Lord holds us accountable of the great light understood as a Davidian. We must never proclaim the message, and at the same time be a poor example of living justly and rightly before God. Rudeness, ignorance, aloofness, all must step aside, as we are servants .

In closing, let us be  remindful that the endtime message is a simple one. The evil one and his workers try to make the message complicated. That message is– We must know and keep DAILY His Holy 10 Commandments, and we must sigh and cry for the sins in our midst and in the church. If you are a SDA member, I would suggest you seriously look into this end time message, for God had a purpose in sending the “Elijah” to come before He comes, otherwise why even send him? It is God’s end time plan and the Davidians well know this. You should know it also.

In Christ, Rob

**  Davidians are not to be confused with “Branch Davidians” who  are a break away group, started in 1955, after the death of brother Houteff. They teach differently and this author does not endorse them.

2011 in review

January 5, 2012

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. There was a approx. 50% increase in viewership in 2011 from 2010.  I had said there was a double increase in a previous post, but even though the final numbers weren’t  quite that large,  it was very encouraging (going from about 3900 views to approx. 5800),  all I can say is -thanks again. Your readership is what our goal here is and when God’s light shines upon us, we must share it, hopefully you’ve been blessed.

In Christ, Rob.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Sighing and Crying

December 31, 2011

Recently many are discovering within the church that not only the keeping of the Holy 10 Commandments are important for God’s approving seal, but we must “sigh and cry” for sins done in our midst and in the church. But what is really meant by sighing and crying? Let us look deeper into this area of extreme importance.

In a recent post, we discovered that Ellen White revealed that the end time seal (Rev.7:3-4) was the same as Ezekiel saw in vision (Ezek.9:4) In that vision, we are told that the Lord commands His marking angel to go forth through the “city” (Church) and mark the men who sigh and cry for abominations done in the midst thereof. So we see clearly that in order to be counted worthy of God’s seal in the last days, we must sigh and cry.

The Hebrew word for sighing is “anach”, which means to mourn, groan or sigh. The Hebrew word for cry is “anaq”, which means to cry or groan. So the words mean a literal feeling of despondency. You feel bad about something, hence you may cry or sigh about it.(I have found the software called esword (http://www.e-sword.net/) invaluable in helping to find the correct meaning of certain words. I highly recommend it, and it’s free. But if you get good use out of it, please find it in your heart to donate a little something.)

Our beloved sister White sums up the sighing and crying in her typical beautifully worded message (Testimonies for the Church, Vol 5, page 210-211) “In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgements, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentations and weeping REPROOFS AND WARNINGS.  While others try to throw a cloak of 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.”

Let me give you a personal recent example of a sighing and crying issue occured in my presence. Awhile back a high leader in our church and I were chatting after service. The subject of proper keeping of the Sabbath came up. I mentioned that we should have a sermon in our church to help explain the meaning of keeping the Sabbath “holy”. l told him it’s not right that some of our members go to eat out on the Sabbath. He acted as if he was offended! He started rationalizng about how Jesus and the disciples went through the corn fields on the Sabbath. This justified (in his mind )  the  eating out as acceptable.

We can see from the above,  the perfect example EGW’s word “others try to throw a cloak of the existing evil.” What do you think God would have thought of me if I just nodded in agreement, or say “Yeah I see your point.” ?  Oh, woe to me,  I would become a NON sigher and cryer! This my friends, is an example of what will seperate us for the sealing or lack of.

Let’s not kid ourselves, God does not change ESPECIALLY His unchanging stance towards His Holy 10 Commandments. If  He wanted His people in Old Testament to obey them then, He certainly wants them obeyed today.

Let’s now look at some real concrete ways we can be on the look out for our fellow members, and sigh and cry in reaching out to them. But  one important thing to always remember is the  necessity to be a Commandment keeper FIRST. Those who sigh and cry and continually break the Commandments, are fooling themselves. Kinda like a guy with a megaphone standing atop a  ship that is going down saying “hey everybody be careful this ship is not safe”. The sigher is going down just as well as the others. Jesus made it so clear when he said in (Luke 6:42)”…cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shall thou see clearly to pull out the twig that is in thy brother’s eye.”

One of the prime areas of the  abominations are found  in God’s Sanctuary (church building). Jesus gave us a most profound example of not tolerating abominations   in God’s House or courts,in the example of whipping the money changers and over turning the cages of merchandise (Matt21:12).

Example number 1.  You are in the foyer of the church, you notice a man talking on his cell phone. After he is done you kindly walk over and let him know it’s better if he goes outside to talk on the phone. Most will accept this kind reproof, however if someone takes offense don’t argue, you’ve done your job. You sighing has been done, it is now between him and God.

Example number 2. You arrive at church and you see a brother ( NOT a first timer but who’s been there many times before) wearing shorts and sandals. You kindly approach him and say “you know brother, maybe it’s better if you can wear some more respectful clothes in God’s house, next time for Sabbath service.”  I know this takes a certain degree of courage and fortitude, but who are you trying to please God or man? If you need to be strengthened in the area of courage , pray and ask for it, you’ll receive it.

Example number 3. The church is having the church lunch. You sit at a table in the room next to the sanctuary. The guys at your table start talking about the football game and other sports. You kindly say “don’t forget guys it’s the Sabbath, anybody got a good bible story or question?”  This one will be sure to make them stop and think for sure just what the Sabbath is all about!

Admittingly, example 3 is difficult for some as you are kindly admonishing a group or at least more than one person. At the  minimum, we should at least excuse ourselves from that table, as to show the Lord we don’t agree with such world conversation on the Sabbath.

The above examples are but a few of the wrongs we see through out our churches. There will be something before you that the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, will call you to reprove.  We must ever be remindful that the Lord will “sprew out” the lukewarm among us. Lukewarm means to be kind of for Him but not totally. You “throw a cloak over the evils” you see in your midst, thinking “that’s his or her problem, not mine.”. The Lord will not be fooled. He is watching who are standing up for Him and not merely saying good words, but DOING good deeds.

It is not my words that point out that the ones who will be sealed are those who “sigh and cry for the abominations done in the midst.” IT IS THE LORD’S WORDS. So let us do as the Lord has said and call out the sins in our midst. Our silence or looking the other way does NOT go un noticed.

Let’s close with the prophetic words of sister White on the subject of sighing and crying. (Test. for the Church, vol.5, p.212) “The day of God’s vegeance is just upon us. The seal of God will be placed upon the foreheads of those ONLY who sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Those who link sympathy with the world are eating and drinking with the drunken (spiritually) and will surely be destroyed with the workers of iniquity…our own course of action will determine whether we shall receive the seal of the living God or be cut down by the destroying weapons.”

He loves each and every one of us and because of this,  He has guided His last day prophets to warn us and to set our course straight, to know how we can stay on the “straight and narrow”.

In Christ, Rob

Looking For Signs and Wonders

December 24, 2011

There can be no doubt that to a Christian, one of the most exciting parts of this life is the interacting with our Lord through signs and wonders. Our walk takes on a whole new level when we actually see such signs and wonders and know beyond doubt HE SENT THEM! In (John 14:21) we read “He that has my Commandments and KEEPS THEM, he it is that loves me and shall be loved by the Father, and I will love him, and WILL REVEAL MYSELF TO HIM.”

In the above quote we find a great promise. That is once you show God you are sincere and “love” Him as He has asked, He then in return shows you Himself  by  revealings. These revealings certainly include His signs and wonders. They are given us to see Him through them, to know He is with us, to strengthen us.

You see our Lord likes to be held accountable, He wants so much to answer us  but He is stopped cold, because we don’t believe He will, or fail to “look” for them. We remember when He went down to Nazareth, His hometown, He was unable to do miracles because of their unbelief (Mark 6:5). So my question is –Why do so few Christians experience direct signs and wonders from our Lord? Is it because they are just like the people of Nazareth, they don’t believe? He is just as willing and able to give them TODAY as He was yesterday. Only believe.

While it is true that the Lord is holding back right now, to release His power collectively through the church, due to the sinners among His professed people(His church), He still hears His Commandment keepers and  as such they can call upon Him and receive His revealings for “refreshings and guiding” in our walk.

Now I shall do as Nebuchadnezzar did and say “I thought it good to show the signs and wonders, that the High God has done towards me”.(Dan. 4:2) Recently God has been gracious enough to answer some prayers of mine, that may strengthen your belief that HE DOES communicate through signs.

Awhile back I had planned on going on a long trip overseas but decided to go before the Lord in prayer, asking for His blessings. Let me stop here and say that in many of our more important plans (getting married, moving out of town, big trip, new job, etc.) we should ALWAYS go before the Lord  for His ok. Otherwise you’re on your own and good or bad will befall you without any warning from Him. You’re like the sea captain charting your own course, and maybe that big bad iceberg will be hit head on, due to your own planning.

Anyway back to the story. So I prayed, “Lord I am about to make plans to go overseas, please let me know if it is ok, give me a sign to know whether I should go.” I don’t remember if it was the very next day or the second day, but a good friend of mine called me in the morning. I had told him a few weeks earlier of my plans. As we start talking, soon he says OUT OF THE BLUE–“Hey, I got a real bad feeling about your trip, I just wanted to tell you that.”  Wow. I immediately looked up and said quitely “Thank you”.

As some of you know (who have been following this blog for the last 2 years) I have posted this year about the “Shepherd’s Rod”. After being led by God to delve into these teachings after listening to the sermon called “144,000, who are they?” I have made some posts about what I now know to be the “Elijah to come” end time message. But this was quite a revelation, as it generally has  NOT been the teachings of mainstream Adventism. So I was going into unchartered waters, but convinced by God’s leadings it was true.

Neverthe less, I doubted and struggled. I now know as propheticly shown by EGW (Early Writings, page 269), that the last day messengers of the Davidian truths will be attacked spiritually as the devils know that this last message must not be spread to the people. So as I was discovering these truths, serious doubts came. I needed God’s assurance on this big time! My readers were used to me teaching straight line SDA doctrines and teachings. Would I be committing “blog suicide”? Looked at as a “way out there” guy? God’s power was to come through and remove all doubt through His signs! (The Blog is on pace to more than double the readership from last year, praise the Lord, who divinely guides it!)

So I prayed earnestly to the Lord, “Lord I want to know without doubt that these new teachings are for real, please guide  me, I need your help here”. He KNEW how important this was, I didn’t need to tell Him. I received several signs, let me share the 3 important ones.

After I had made the post on the 144,000. I received  a dream shortly after. In it I am helping a person find a key, as I scroll this large book with much writings I quickly spot a number which I poin t out to the person  that this is the number which holds the key. He is amazed because there were so many pages and I found it quickly. Now, we know dreams are not always completely understood, but I received from it that the “new teachings” I had were a “key” for the people to have. I was real happy to have gotten this dream from the Lord as confirmation.

But even after that I wanted more confirmation. I often tease the Lord and tell Him ” I’m like a  weak friend who needs support all the time” lol. But He smiles and says ” I’m right there for you, don’t worry.” So I continued to pray for more signs as doubts still would creep in. Then soon after another prayer asking for confirmation on Shepherd’s Rod teachings, a direct sign came, that thrilled me.

I went out that morning to go to work, as I pull out of the driveway and drive onto the road, a van pulls up next to me at the light. I look over and it has SHEPHERD’S plumbing. I had never seen this van before. Immediately I recall my recent prayer of asking for more confirmation. This I felt was a sign but it was to get even stronger. I drive on ahead and pull into the shopping center parking lot, and this van follows me and pulls up right next to me!  That was a clincher that it was a sign! God was saying that these teachings are true and they will stay close to you, amazing!

But this last one was the final clincher, and I have never doubted after this. The Lord kind of “cemeted” this issue for me. Let me say here that this spiritual battle was from the dark forces exerting their pressure on me, hence the severe beginning doubts on these teachings. After once again praying for strength and leadings in these new teachings, I got a ‘big” sign. I had been listening to the video called “Daniel’s vision” by brother  Glenroy Matthews on the computer (based on the Shepherd’s Rod teaching of the Daniel 2 vision).

After I had watched a portion of it, I had to stop it, as I was late for work. So I put it on pause thinking I would watch later. Later, after work I came home and walked into the house. As I come in, I hear this man speaking from my back office room. I was a little perplexed. I continued cautiously to walk into the room, I peak in and it is that same video of brother Matthews playing right where I left it on pause! I am in mild amazement as I knew it was the Lord’s doing. I was thrilled to know He had sent His angel to turn back on the video when I got home, confirming it was to be LISTENED TO.

As you can see from the above,  3 important steps are involved in this  “sign”  communication from the Lord. First, I  request HIS GUIDANCE in some important matters. Second, I look for them knowing He WILL respond. Third, I believe that they are FROM Him and I act accordingly.

In these last days many are saying “Oh the Lord doesn’t work like this anymore, that was back in the old Apostle days, you needn’t look for these signs now.”  Let us read what Ellen White said on this matter. (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5 , page 211) “They (the teachers and leaders) had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the MARKED MANIFESTATION of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed.  These words strengthen their unbelief and they say, ‘The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil.”  So the people think then, that God doesn’t move about anymore in this regard, He’s asleep at the wheel! Let that not be YOUR belief.

In speaking of the last days  (2 Tim 3:2-5) we read ” for men shall be lovers of their own selves ….having a form of godliness, but denying the  power thereof, from such turn away.” He we read that the unbelief (denying) of God’s manifested power shall be prevalent among the professed people of God. They do not look for or even want God’s signs and wonders, they care not to know it!

In the very near future God will call upon His elect, the 144,000 to do His mighty powerful work. This will include signs and wonders and amazing miracles. He has longed for the time that the “world” will know and see His power. As His servants let us get in the habit NOW of calling upon Him for guidance in our walk, your walk will take on a whole new exciting level when you know He is able to show you His signs and wonders. Let us ONLY BELIEVE.

Lastly, let us keep in mind that when we do receive such revealings  from the Lord, we should SPREAD them. The Lord  said in (Luke 8:39) after performing a great sign “Return to your home, and show how God has done great things for you.”  We must also be ready to speak of His signs and share them to bring glory and honor to Him who is worthy! Amen.

In Christ, Rob

The “Game Changer”

December 17, 2011

Earlier this year the Lord decided it was time for His end time truths to enlighten my soul. One of the most startling truths I learned happened to be written from His faithful prophetess, Ellen G. White. I was familar with her many books, but knew very little about the “Testimonies for the Church” series or Testimonies to Ministers. I was about to be “bowled over” and completely turned 180% around in my understanding of God’s end time events. It came in Testimonies to Ministers, page 445.

Before I learned what was said on that page, I was your typical SDA member who followed Doug Batchelor and his views on end time events. I also enjoyed Daniel and the Revelation, by Uriah Smith. But I was soon to see those views as vastly inferior, even error filled, compared to the obvious clear writings of Ellen and a man who many ,including myself, believe as the prophesised “Elijah” to come–Victor Houteff. Let me show you plainly from Ellen’s inspired writings what really is the “game changer” in our understanding of end time events.

In Testimonies to Ministers, page 445, it reads ” This sealing (Rev.7:3-4) of God’s servants IS THE SAME that was shown to Ezekiel in vision. John also had been a witness to this most startling revelation.”  Ezekiel’s vision of sealing and marking is found in ONLY one place, that is chapter 9. If you want to know why  this revelation is “startling” read the 9th chapter! This is very solemn and opens to us a different path of events soon to take place. The 3 ABN teachers and pastors, Doug, and Uriah completely leave out this important information. Why? There really is no logical reason, other than ignorance, or  maybe even purposeful worldly objectives(tithes, financial support, entertainment etc).

It seems very clear to many that today, the SDA churches are out to “bring em in” regardless of their converted postition or not. The attitude is–“bring em in, we’ll deal with their spiritual condition later, if ever, it’s not important.” Before I was made aware of God’s soon to come judgements in His church, I was out to win “babylon.” We put up a big billboard in town, ran newspaper ads, all to “bring em in”.

Ellen White said the following that really should shake us to our roots, as Seventh Day Adventists. In Christian Service, Page 41, Ellen says ” It is a solemn statement that I make TO THE CHURCH(SDA), that NOT ONE IN TWENTY whose names are registered upon the books are prepared to close their earthly history, and would be verily without God and without hope in the world as the common sinner.” –Wow! Now if that doesn’t awake us nothing will!

Look at it like this, let’s say you are on a ship and there are two other ships close by, one with your own family members on it, the other with strangers on it. Both are going down. Do you go and try to help the “stranger boat” or do you try to save your family boat? Obviously most all of us would pursue the family boat for obvious reasons. It is the same with our members in OUR CHURCH as opposed to the church members in the outside churches or those in the world at large. They NEED our most immediate help NOW!

They need God’s end time truths and warnings of His surprising judgements  “in” His church. (Mal.3:1)  “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me, and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple….” Then it goes on to describe the Lord ” purifying and purging” His people. This IS THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY. Notice it’s in His TEMPLE(church) not in the world (as in the last day).

We must sound the warnings,  blow the trumpet among our own. They are being led astray by the leaders who preach “smooth and comforting” sermons week after week. Instead we need “warning and pleading” sermons, for the ship  is about to go down and preparations MUST be made.

With this last day understanding  on the sealing being the same as Ezekiel saw, we must therefore tell the people straight out–the following. You CANNOT be right with God unless you hate sin and do all in your power to remove yourself from sin and unrighteous ways, calling upon God’s Holy Spirit to help you. Those who get the sealing mark of approval (as per Ezekiel vsion) are those who “sigh and cry” for the abominations (sins) done in the church, and of course their own lives as well. All others will NOT get the seal, rather God’s wrath in judgement.

We are to walk DAILY in the 10 Commandments, not professing them only but LIVING them. We are to warn our brothers and sisters, if we see their sinning. We are not to hold back our careful warnings and excuse their sinning, saying things like ” It’s ok, God loves you, He understands your weaknesses”.  This only sympathizes with the sinner and sin. How can they ever turn away from sin, if you give them such support? Can God count this as “sighing and crying” on your part for sins done in your midst? Is it real love and caring on your part, to let them continue on the wrong road that leads to destruction?

Look at the prophetess’ clear word on this subject (Testimonies for the church, vol.3, page 266) ” In vision I have been pointed to many instances where the displeasure of God has been incurred by an neglect on the part of His servants to DEAL WITH the wrongs and sins existing among them”.

The following really clarifies the  point. Same book (page 267) “Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmer in their hearts, if not openly against those WHO WOULD REPROVE SIN ? Is it those who take their stand against them (the reprovers) and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No indeed! Unless they repent …they will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men(angels) bearing slaughter weapons. MARK THIS POINT WITH CARE. Those who receive the pure mark of truth (Rev.sealing) wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen (marking angel), are those who ‘sigh snd cry for all the abominations that be done’ in the church.”  It cannot get any clearer or plainer than this.

Dear fellow members of the our church, God has plans He will execute, and many of us are not aware of them today because our leaders , purposeful or not, ignore the “game changing” words of our prophetess-Ellen G. White on page 445 of Testimonies to Ministers. Please don’t be led by our shepherds of the flock, who keep you asleep, thinking you’re rich and wealthy, and have need of nothing (Rev.3:16-17).

Instead listen to those  who are not afraid to steer you in the right path, regardless if it is popular or not. Their warnings are God’s last call before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord.” And that day is not  Jesus coming in the clouds on the last day, it is His solemn judgement day in His church BEFORE the seven last plaques begin.

In Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, page 211, Ellen writes describing Ezekiel 9, then says “Here we see that the church – The Lord’s Sanctuary – was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God.” So the judgement of the living begins in our church, and results in the execution of judgement as well! Hence it will be “great” for the faithful elect of God, and dreadful for the many lukewarm among us.

We are told in the very last part of the last book in the Old Testament in Malachi 4:5, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” The message of “Elijah” is to be a warning and a preparation for the people, lest the Lord comes and strikes the earth with a curse.

Let each of us examine our lives , and if we are cherishing sin, make a speedy riddance of it, so we will be ready to receive God’s soon to be issued mark of salvation, the Revelation SEAL.

In Christ, your servant, Rob

Christmas — A Christian’s Perpective

December 10, 2011

Note: This post is addressed to Seventh day Adventists and Davidian Seventh Day Adventists. If you are not a  member, the references made will most likely be confusing to you. Additionally, those who believe that we should not take part in the celebration or season of Christmas, cannot be blamed for their stance. If your conviction is that no Christmas celebrating should be had, I feel the Lord will certainly hold you blameless.

The whole Christmas season has been so commercialized, to the point that the vast majority around the world, find in it a reason for carnal celebrations. Most definitely leaving out the namesake–CHRISTmas. No wonder many Christians cannot in good conscious take part in this vast heathen experience!

This subject is indeed a very controversial subject among many in Christendom. After earnest prayer and very careful study I would like to shed the light that I have been given on this subject.

What I am going to translate into this post, in the following story, is the combining of Scripture, S.O.P (Spirit of Prophecy) and Shepherd’s Rod teachings on “Christmas”. So we may see a more encompassing “big picture” of this important subject.  This post is compiled with the vision of the Lord’s Glory and honor upmost in mind.

We  can never believe God gives His prophets or prophetesses light (truth) in which to guide the people, and then later another prophet comes and contradicts such light, teaching something totally opposite of what a prior prophetess  of God has written in their inspired writings. Confusion would be the obvious result if such were the case. Instead of such confusion, can it be that Ellen White and Victor Houteff **, God’s last two prophets,  together do indeed , shine  light on a “honoring” Christmas, in a clear and undertstanding way?

Let us look at the  story of the “Smith family”. This is a story of how they “celebrate” Christmas. Before we look at it, let us look at two scripture verses to keep in mind as you read their story.

1) (Mark 9:40) “For he who is not against us, is for us”  Ask yourself after hearing the Smith Family story, are they against Christ during this season, or for Him?”

2)(1 Samuel 16:7) “..The Lord judges the heart.”  Is the Smith Family wrong in their heart to completely “turn around” the heathen customs, and bring GLORY and HONOR  to our Lord?

It is the day after thanksgiving, the famous “black Friday”. The heathen around the world are busy buying their gifts, most NEVER even dwelling on the “Christ” in Christmas. The Smiths are also out buying, however they are looking for nativity sets. You see they, as always,  put up a nativity set in place of a Christmas tree. Their two small children love to help put up the display, remembering afresh, just what “Christmas” is all about–The Lord Jesus Christ.

Their buying also includes gifts for their KIDS ONLY. For they are well aware of God’s last prophet’s word about “gift exchanging”. (Christ’s greetings-tract 13). They are not exchanging, only “giving” to their own kids. They will take no part in reveling with the heathen or exchanging gifts.

During the season, they have lights around the nativity set, among the small presents. They frequently play “Christmas music” but it is all about Christ. Songs such as Jesus Is King, Ring Christmas Bells, The First Noel, O Holy Night, O Come All Ye faithful, Joy To The World, etc.  They shun the “Santa” songs and other heathen songs.

They are ever mindful that although Mr. and Mrs. Smith would not by themselves celebrate “Christmas”, it is for their kids sake, they have this Christmas. Raising them to feel even closer to our Lord during this season. They have remembered God’s word (Prov.22:6) “Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is older, he shall not depart from it”. They also remember how Ellen White said glory and honor can be given Christ for Christmas.

On Christmas morning, they gather around the nativity scene, with the holy music playing, the kids open the presents. After, the parents read the story of Christ’s birth from the book of Luke. The young ones listen attentively as their young minds imagine the baby Jesus story.

So we can see from the above, that the Smiths have found a way to bring glory to our Lord, despite the heathen customs. While it is true that Decemebr 25th, most likely is not Christ’s birthday, they know that it is before them, and as such, an opportunity to bring honor and glory to our Lord. Their kids could very well be scarred, being left out of this season, instead they can win all around.

Now, after seeing and understanding this, who among us will be the first to throw a stone at the Smiths? No, we must say all honor and praise to You, our most wonderful and powerful Lord- Jesus Christ. We are FOR you , not against you. May we be a good example in this Christmas season to all the heathen around us.

Questions and answers:

1) Why shouldn’t we have Christmas tree’s?

We are told in many inspired writings not to partake in heathen customs and practices. The “tree” for Christmas nowadays,  is certainly symbolic of a heathen type of Christmas. Additionally ,(Jer. 10:1-5) clearly says that decorating a tree is a heathen custom. It is ALWAYS safer to be on the side of caution, than  presumption.

2) What about going to church on Christmas?

If you are led by the Holy Spirit to go and praise Him among others, then by all means go. Again, this is each one’s own decision.

3) What about the brothers and sisters sending out warnings against celebrating Christmas?

They CANNOT be faulted for this. Their motive most likely is one of warning the people not to DO as the heathen are doing all around, with all their customs. This post provides an additonal perspective for those who choose to decide to honor and glorify our Lord during this season.

4) What about Christmas lights on the home and yard?

Again, this has symbolically become a symbol of the “heathen” Christmas. It should be avoided.

5) What about brother Houteff’s warning  message to us on “Christmas observance?”

In “Christ’s greetings” book  (tract 13) I find no direct warning against Christmas observance, only the “involvement” of it (the heathen type). Mr. Houteff explains “…The fact that Christmas is not, in reality, observed to the honor of the Saviour, but to the glorification of a heathen custom and to gratification of the carnal heart. Consequently, “altogether -Christians” cannot therefore consistently participate in celebrating the Christmas myth. ” Obviously the Smith family are not those who brother Houteff is speaking of, because they honor the Lord ONLY during the season, by shunning any and all heathen customs of the season.

Here is the clear message,   that because those that celebrate Christmas, leaving out “honor of the Saviour” are practicing carnal gratification, THIS type of Christmas must not  be participated in. If we leave that out and PUT IN the honor of our Saviour during this season, our LORD can be glorifed and honored. The “exchanging” of gifts is to be avoided. He says “..The Lord’s servants will invariably shun the exchanging of Christmas gifts.”

6) We have read that Ellen White has written many things about how Christmas can be kept per the White Estate references  http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/christmas.html#To Glorify God, Not Man . Yet, Victor Houteff seems to say –stay away from it. How do you reconcile these contradictions?

Perhaps the best way is to  read again the “Smith story”.  If Christmas is celebrated as shown by them, it does indeed honor and bring glory to our Lord. And keeping the true intentions of the Lord’s message through His prophets. In (1 Cor.10:31) we read “..whatsoever you do, do ALL to the glory of God.” Christmas certainly can be included in “all”.

7) What kind of gifts should we give our children?

Ellen White suggests practical and beneficial gifts, such as God centered books. She also says, ” Our children have been educated to expect gifts from parents and friends upon Christmas. Christmas is celebrated to commemorate Christ’s birth. If we celebrate it only in seeking to give pleasure to our children and one another, our offerings are diverted from the true object. We should bring our thank offerings to the Lord, laying our gifts at the feet of Him who has opened the treasures of heaven to us.

While we can give some Christ centered gifts to the young ones, we need to also encourage them to make some gifts themselves, to bring to the Lord on Christmas. They can do a painting, make a poem, make their own small nativity set or whatever their imaginations can stir up.

Once again we know as adult Christians, this Christmas observance is strictly for the young kids. If we participate in this season we can do as the prophetess said —

“Turn the Current Heavenward”

In closing, may we ever bring to the heathen our good example of  being Christ’s representatives, in all things, even in Christmas observance.

In Christ,  Rob

** For those of you who are not aware of who Victor Houteff was, see our post  “Has Elijah Come?”  and “Who as Victor T. Houteff?”  under the heading–Elijah.

Ellen White’s Moving Prayer

December 3, 2011

As many are aware Ellen G. White’s life was an exemplary Christian life. No doubt prayer was a big key to her knowing God. I received this article from “Adventist world” which shows a glimpse into her special prayer life.  Let me share this moving testimony.

“Ellen White’s prayers were also clearly remembered by people who heard her pray. H.M.S. Richards Sr, voice of prophecy radio program founder, was a teenager in 1909 when he heard Ellen White pray at a camp meeting in Boulder, Colorado. Richards recalled that he sat on the front row,right in front of the pulpit  where Ellen white spoke.

After finishing her sermon, she said ” I want to pray before I sit down.” Richards was impressed by the fact that she started by saying, “O my Father…” not “our Father”, but “my Father.”  He said it was as though she was talking with a personal friend. Infact, he recalled that her prayer was so intimate, and so moving, that he was afraid to open his eyes for fear of seeing God standing right there by Ellen White. Soon, Richards said, quiet sobs were heard in the audience:men and women repenting of their sins.

A great revival spread over the audience as a result of Ellen White’s prayer. As Richards summed up the story, he said that when Ellen White spoke, she was just a dear, sweet grandmother talking to the people. But when she prayed, God honored her as His prophet.”

In the above story, can we not see and feel how powerful and moving were Ellen’s word’s to “her” Father? We can gain some insight here.  Ellen was on a one to One basis. In other words she felt connected as she prayed. I believe this connection resulted from her firm conviction in believing and LIVING His Commandments. Everyday she devoutly practiced the Law of God. She did indeed “know Him”.

In (1 John 2:3-4) we read a clear passage of God’s word “how to” know Him. “For this is how we know we know Him, IF we keep His Commandments, those who say ‘I know Him’ and do not keep His Commandments, are a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Once we know Him, it just naturally flows, as we kneel in prayers. Our connection is as one. We come before Him with our hands clean, we’ve done our best that day in avoiding temptation. We’ve kept His Law firmly in our heart and mind. God’s Holy Spirit has been with us and given us strength. Prayer seems the same as speaking intimately to a loved one, just as Ellen White has shown.

But sadly, the opposite is just as true. (Isaiah 59:2) “But your iniquities have seperated you from your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He will not hear you.” Unfortunately, this case is so prevalent worldwide. We come before the Lord repentless and sinful. Can we then expect Him to hear and act? His word says no.

Our God is a searching God,  carefully watching whether we really love Him as His word has clearly shown us  –(John 14:15) “If you love me, keep my Commandments”. Once He see’s we really do, He’s all ears for us, ready to communion with us through prayer.

Here’s one more eye witness account of  Ellen’s moving prayer, showing her very close connection to God through prayer.

“Another who was profoundly moved by hearing Ellen White pray was Alma McKibbin, one of Adventism’s first church school teachers in California, and author of the denomination’s first Bible textbooks for use by elementary teachers. At the time Mckibbin was living in Healdburg, California. In fact, she was renting Ellen White’s old home from her. But on this occasion McKibbin was ill. Consequently, she decided to go to the St. Helena sanitarium for treatments.

But when she arrived, the sanitarium was full. So McKibbin ended up having to stay for a few days with Sarah Peck, a friend of hers who was working as a secretary for Ellen White.

Peck lived in a small cottage just opposite Ellen White’s “Elmshaven”home.  Because of her illness, McKibbin couldn’t sleep.When in the early morning hours a light came on in Ellen White’s writing room, McKibbin recalled it being a comfort just knowing that someone else was awake.

Before Ellen White began to write, she prayed out loud. McKibbin later recalled that she never had heard such a prayer in her life.This was not a public prayer being said for the benefit of an audience.  Quite the opposite: Ellen White had no idea that anyone else was listening. But through the clear night air McKibbin heard almost every word.

As Ellen White prayed that morning, she prayed for the leaders of our church, that they would always be faithful and true in their roles as leaders. Ellen White also prayed for the pastors and teachers, that they would always uphold the truth.And before closing, she prayed for the young people of our church. McKibbin recalled how earnestly Ellen White implored God on behalf of the young people, that they would accept Jesus as their personal Savior and never let go of Him.

McKibbin said that after hearing Ellen White pray, for the first time in her life she began to understand the deep burden a prophet bears for an entire people. Although she’d read about the burden of Isaiah or the burden of Jeremiah for the people of Israel, hearing Ellen White pray that early morning gave McKibbin a glimpse into just what that means.”

In closing, Let us learn from our blessed sister Ellen White, that as we fully commit our life to Him we also can come to the point in our life where, just like Ellen White, we’ll kneel and pray — “O  MY  FATHER”  and we will know He clearly hears us.

In Christ, Rob

The Daniel2 Vision

November 26, 2011

As we know, it is Satan’s determined purpose to hide as much truth as possible from us, especially “present truth”. For he knows his time is short and should the people become aware of present truth, which is His latest instructions to His people, a sort of final road map as it were,  he shall be defeated in his wiles of deception, and the people shall continue on the divine lighted path of our Almighty. A perfect example of this coy deception is the prophectic vision of Daniel, chapter 2.

Has the devil  led the people into thinking that the “stone” in Daniel’s vision is Jesus, to sidetrack the people from the real God intended purpose of the vision? Can there be  a clearly different  understanding to this important prophetic vision? Many are learning today that there most definitely IS a clear and different interpretation. It has been revealed for many decades but only now, as “Elijah’s end time message”  is going out, is it really being discovered and spread, the veil of deception is being removed, and truth is being exposed. Let’s take a look at this vision closely.

It has been a long held tradition, to most of Chrisendom, that the stone in Daniel’s vision  symbolizes Jesus. This belief comes from the proposed fact that Jesus, as the stone, comes from the “mountain”, which in the vision, is meant to represent heaven. And therefore as the stone comes from the mountain, it implies that Jesus is coming from heaven to destroy the earths kingdoms, in the near future. But let’s really understand the “mountain” symbolization  here ,  let’s  look into God’s word to understand the correct interpretation of this vision.

While it is true that the word “mountian” in the bible has varied meanings. Sometimes it a literal meaning, and sometimes symbolic. To get the most direct “in context”  meaning of the word in Daniel’s vision, we should logically look into Daniel’s own inspired writing’s within  that chapter. This  can be  a big key. How does he use the word “mountain” in his inspired writings? Does he use it symbolically? If he uses it in the symbolic meaning, then that would be a powerful clue as to the meaning used in the vision. Let’s look at the important words in the vision.

The first  verse we’ll look at is Chapter 2, verse 35. It says “..And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”  Here the traditonal interpretation is that Jesus comes and destroys the world’s kingdoms( image)  and replaces it with His kingdom (fills the whole earth).  As we stated, it is based on the fact that the stone is meant to be Jesus.

Next we have verse 44. “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, it shall break in pieces these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”   Now we can see two very  important points that need to be clarified in this verse.

 You’ll notice it says “IN the days of these kings”, but  the traditonal view is that it really means “AFTER the days of these kings”. But that is not what it says, in = does not mean = after. So we can clearly see that DURING the days of these kings , God will set up His kingdom, not after the kings days. In other words, they believe that God’s kingdom is set up- when they(the kings)  are gone from this earth (destroyed) and not while they are still here  living to behold  God’s kingdom being set-up. This subtle mis-interpretation throws the whole intended meaning of the vision off, if we don’t read it clearly.

Also in that same above verse, we notice that it is the “kingdom” that breaks in pieces all the other kingdoms. Kingdoms represent people, it cannot mean Jesus personally breaking up the kingdoms. Otherwise it would have said the “King” breaks up kingdoms or some such words. We should not imagine that which is not clearly there. This is where deception can come, when we read into verses  things which aren’t there, instead of  reading it as it simply says.

In verse 45 it says “Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold….”  Here again the traditional view is that Jesus came out of heaven (mountain) and destroyed the earthly kingdoms.  This is all based on the stone being Jesus and the mountain being heaven. But  Daniel meant that those symbols are represented differently as we will clearly see. Let’s look into the meaning of mountain.

In Daniel’s book, further in chapter 9,  we discover how Daniel uses the word “mountain” and it is clearly symbolic and it’s describtion VERY clear. Verse 16 reads, ” O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, YOUR HOLY MOUNTAIN, because for our sins, and  for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are a reproach to all those around us.”   Here we see Daniel equating Jerusalem and it’s people as –a mountain. In other words, God’s people are His “Holy Mountain”.

Verse 20 really nails it as far as clarification. It says “Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God FOR THE HOLY MOUNTAIN of my God…”   Daniel is calling God’s people — The Holy mountain of God.

So from the above we can see in the book of Daniel , the word mountain is used as a representation of God’s people , and obviously that would mean also His church.

Some people have used various other scripture to show that the mountain describes heaven. But we must ask — Is it logical to use Daniel’s own  symbolic meaning of  “mountain” when interpreting this vision, or should we pull out a different meaning of the mountain from another book in the bible?  I think this is a no-brainer.

In the beginning of this post I mentioned how Satan hates “present truth”. To give you an idea about this prophetic vision and how it is considered  present truth, it has only recently been correctly understood (within the last few decades). Not even Ellen White knew much about this vision!  Arther White, the secretary of the EGW estate, back in 1971, stated that she had made no mention of the “stone” as to what it represented,  in all her vast writings!

 The scroll of truth has since opened further. And today, we can see that the stone really is a small portion of God’s people “Cut out with out hands”. This term means God removed this portion from among the people of God (church).

These people are none other than the 144,000! They are divinely”cut out”. This process is a divine act that comes from God, it’s  the sealing time of God’s servants, which is described in Revelation 7:1-4. It also is described (quite solemnly) in Ezekiel 9:1-11). 

This vision means that WE are now being shown what will very soon happen, hence the devils wants  falsehood in describing this vision. The 144,000 (stone) will go forth, in God’s power and strength and  “break” the other kingdoms. This means that the 144,ooo go forth and show God’s power and might (miracles and such), and as the other “kingdoms” (which means established religions-NOT governments) see this, they confess that God is indeed with these people. A great mulititude come forth from around the world to come into “God’s kingdom” which really is God’s true church.

So my brothers and sisters, let us take heed on today’s present truth, for by knowing God’s truth FOR TODAY, we are well equipped to navigate Satan’s arrows and stand on firm ground. There will always be people who cling to “tradition”. Spiritual pride is one sickness that can seriously harm our walk with the Lord.

In Christ, Your servant Rob        Ps. For a great video presentation of the Daniel2 Vision , click here ( the source of much of this post)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUnCmLdm-Pw

A Shining Light In Prison

November 19, 2011

Little did I know just what I was getting myself into, when I decided to write “Eldon” several months ago. But God sure did! After receiving his latest letter from prison ( and getting the goose-bumps) I was chomping at the bit, eager to write this post,  to let you know just what God is doing with this prisoner.

In  life we all make mistakes, but some make a “big” mistake. But as the devil leads us to sin, God is waiting in the wings, for the “bad scenario” to play out, so he can talk one on one to the down and out. They  most often are humbled by their prior actions and the Lord always knows, that it is the humble and despondent, who frequently are receptive to the Lord’s pleading. Eldon is a perfect example. Not only has he seen the light, but has the spark of zealousness to get to work, doing the Lord’s work right there in prison.

As I have read Eldon’s letters of the past months, I have begun to see that God can lead people to the “real” truth, no matter what their circumstances. I also have come to know that God is active RIGHT NOW in giving signs and dreams, to those ready and expecting to receive them.

On Friday October 28, I sent Eldon a letter. As I usually do, I sent him some tracts and flyers and such to hand out to the other prisoners. I also sent him copies of the latest blogs. I had written recently about the post “Has Elijah come?” and I sent him part one and two.  On Weds, Novemeber 9th I got his latest letter.

Let us look at an amazing account of God’s active workings within a prison recently. Eldon wrote:

“The night of Nov. 1st, I had a dream. I was standing in a tremendous valley or a plain, which was situated between two great mountain ranges that lined opposite horizons. The land was dry and washed out, and reminded me of the salt plains where they test race cars. The ground was sun parched and I didn’t see anything growing.”

I heard a voice say, “Look”, I turned expecting to see the person who spoke, but instead I noticed what appeared to be a huge irrigation ditch which ran from one horizon to the other betweeen the mountain ranges…as far as could be seen. At it’s center, it was maybe 30 feet deep, and maybe 50 or 60 feet wide. The water was so clear that I could see the bottom of the ditch. It was about half full of water.

I noticed something odd….the sides of this “V” shaped ditch were not created by run off or flood, but appeared to be purposely dug out and was reinforced by about 6 inches of a course , greyish material that resembled concrete or mortar.

Then the same voice told me ” look closer still” and when I did I could see that the sides, from top to bottom were spider webbed with fine cracks, imperfections and stress fractures. I immediately moved away from it’s edge, sensing that it might collapse under my weight. Then I awoke.” 

“The next day, I prayed that God would help me to understand the meaning of this dream, if it had one. That night (Nov.2) I had another dream, I was right back where I was in the first dream.And it occured to me, that this wasn’t an irrigation ditch at all, but a giant cistern for holding an enormous amount of water. And I heard the same voice speak again saying, “This is my church.Unless it is repaired it cannot hold that which I am ready to pour into it. And all that surrounds her will dry up her waters, leaving everything desolate.” As I awoke, I heard a multitude of voices saying, ” There will come a great falling away.”

Wow!! What Eldon just experienced and described was the soon to come church purification in God’s dream symbolism. And Eldon doesn’t know anything about it–yet. Eldon received my letter the next day, Nov.3rd. Then a few days later,  He wrote me and said “What amazed me about the blogs and the scriptures I’ve been reading with them, is that (chills) they coincide with the dreams I’ve had for two days before I received your letter!”

God then helped him understand it’s meaning, he wrote, “The giant cistern (church) in the desolute land..half full of water (people?) full of cracks and fractures (members in need of repair), or else all that is poured into it (more water,more people ?)will not be held by it (burst at the seams).. and all that surrounds it will dry up it’s waters.”  Then he asks me an excellent question –“Does the church LOSE  a massive amount of members? or do they just leave the church and fall away from God?”

 He then says ” I believe it is absurd for us to believe that the church, by itself , will repair all of it’s breaches and become acceptable, pleasing, without spot or wrinkle ON IT’S OWN. Those who hold this philosophy will be standing on dangerous ground and will likely reject the one who, comes in the “spirit of Elijah.”

As he received the blogs, he read through them and mentioned that he had never heard of the “Shepherd’s Rod”. Yet, what he just saw in that dream is a picture of God’s end time message, given him and priviledged by God to know some end time prophetic events to come. Even though Eldon is not aware fully of the last day “Elijah”message of church judgement, he clearly shows he is being called by God to understand this very important last message to His people.

A prisoner who is in tune with God and His signs and dreams, is a very uplifting message for us indeed. Some think those guys inside there are just wasting away, yet Eldon clearly shows us, God can and will use any and all people, no matter who they are, for HIS purpose. Because God has given this important dream to him, I believe  He has much more in store for him. Let us keep him in our prayers.

For those of you, who would like to become a part of this prison ministry, please let me know. We still have 5  prisoners(of the original 10), who are Christians, who would love to hear from some one who can share their faith. Jesus said we visited “Him” in prison.

Lastly, I would like to tell you about “Leona”s story. She responded with a big YES, when I first asked if anyone would like to be a pen pal with a Oklahoma prisoner. Recently she wrote me, telling me of her experience. Let me share some of her grateful words:

“From the first letter I received from Gary (her prisoner pen pal), he showed a heart of thanksgiving and gratitude. He commented on the scriptures I sent him and replied that he was indeed in agreement and received truth in them. As time passes and with each letter that Gary sends, along with the tracts, their church calender and other cards, it clearly shows that while he is in prison, he is using every moment to stay focused on God, to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to always remain in that state of remembering what Jesus did on the cross..”

“Reading the words and scriptures that Gary sends can only come through a heart that is focused on God. We promised to keep each other up in prayer.”

She and Gary discuss their life and the Christian way. God is truly blessing them. In closing she writes “So, in closing I thank God for opening this door for me to correspond with Gary, it is truly one I treasure!!

Though some have been given more light than others, we will be accountable to the light given each of us. These prisoners can change and if we are there to lend a helping hand, let us do what we can.

To our loving Lord and God, be all the glory!

 Amen, Rob