the end of all things is at hand -- but who's praying?

"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail [rocks--not ice] and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed."  (Revelation 8:7-9)

Grace, and the spirit of Jezebel

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication . . . .  (Revelation 2:20)

can you spot a real Christian?

In America--as, I suppose, in most other so-called "Western" societies, it can be a little challenging to discern who is, and who is not, a real Christian.  Just because someone may be modestly dressed--or happens to be wearing a cross necklace (as in the above image), should not be taken as a sign that he or she is a Christian.  But you might be surprised to learn just how far a lot of people are willing to go, to be immodestly dressed, but who still want to call themselves "Christians".  (Some images in this blog post are "edgy", but not pornographic.)

Christ -- in you

It's burning deeper and deeper into my mind: "Christ in you...", "Christ in you...", "Christ in you..."

Borderlands

Postmodernism is not so much a philosophy, as it is a phenomenon of mind.

the lesser of two evils

The female character above portrayed, is the "White Witch" in the famous movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia".  Everyone knows, of course, that a white witch is always to be preferred over a black witch; that is, if you happen to be one who may be subject to the evil designs and powers of one or the other of those witches.  The side-by-side comparison of black-witch versus white-witch, is a classic case illustrating that well known euphemism, "the lesser of two evils".  But even the "lesser"--of two evils--is still evil.  In the case of the "White Witch of Narnia", that character is oftentimes listed amongst the most evil movie villains of all time.

building Tozer's "new ark"

The first quote, above, exposes a profound truth involving the devil's principal strategy.  To be sure, the devil is interested to destroy individuals, as such.  But his ability to do that was greatly hindered--so long as the Church was strong; and the devil knows that.  Importantly, the devil cannot overtake a whole nation "whose God is the LORD"; for, such a nation God hath "blessed", and not cursed (Psalm 33:12).  In order for the devil to subvert and so to destroy large numbers of people amongst any given society, the devil must first subvert the Church (which is supposed to stand in the midst of culture as a tower of truth and strength).

pray without ceasing (part 2)

"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."  (Revelation 4:8)

pray without ceasing

Maintaining this blog requires no little commitment of time.  Why do I do it?  Because, I love to share the life-giving truths and perspectives God shares with me.  That's the way Love is.  And I find the more fully I yield myself to Christ, the more fully he expresses himself in and through me.  That relationship is most precious to me.  I have learned, too, that trying to share the beautiful things of God can sometimes result in frustration--as there often seems to be so little interest on the part of most others, to hear.  But that's O.K..  For, I have learned to walk with God, alone.  So, I am not alone.

what is truth?

Years ago I wondered whether it were possible to formulate a meaningful definition of the word "truth" -- apart from any reference to God.  I found that to be a far more difficult task than I could have imagined.  After three days of thinking about nothing else but to resolve that difficult question, I arrived in my mind at a definition of truth, which definition I still believe it to be valid and therefore useful.  Here, then, is my "secular" definition of truth:

ignorance

The above image conveys three exceedingly important ideas, namely:

1. IGNORANCE -- is a fact of life.  What does God have to say about that?
2. Do we have a "right" to remain ignorant?
3. Ignorance is not always due to lack of opportunity to learn but, oftentimes, it is the result of willful choice.

praying -- like Elijah

"[Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." (James 5:17)

Revival -- unlike any other

"Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy.  I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly Evangelicalism, one by one.  The house [worldly churches] will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them. . . .  I would like to live to see the time when the men and women of God--holy, separated and spiritually enlightened--walk out of the evangelical church and form a group of their own; when they get off the sinking ship and let her go down . . . and form a new ark to ride out the storm" (A.W. Tozer, d.1963)

the ten virgins

I want to briefly examine the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).  For, that parable is especially relevant to the time in which we are now living.  Its meaning is vitally important to understand, as it essentially entails a severe warning to all professing Christians.  And though the lessons of that parable are not at all difficult to interpret or to comprehend, nevertheless, there remains--among Christians themselves, evidently, a great deal of ignorance and confusion concerning the meaning of that parable.

jonah

Here we are gazing upon the prophet Jonah moments after he was "vomited out" by that "great fish" seen, in the above image, swimming away in the background.  It's a fabulous painting.  Only, if I had painted it, I would have depicted Jonah much differently: I mean, he just spent three days and nights inside the belly of a huge fish--literally!  There on that nameless beach where he lay--utterly exhausted, no doubt, Jonah must have appeared in much worse condition than how he is portrayed, above.  His skin, from head to toe, as I suppose, must have been very pale-looking; his hair and beard matted with mucous; and his clothes were not merely wet with ocean water, but they were covered with the fish's own stomach contents.  In a word, Jonah must have looked horrible: like someone who just emerged from the grave.  Truly, he was such a man, as we see him lying there.

Yet, what no painting can show--but only words can reveal, is that the man we see prostrated on the beach, above, was a profoundly changed man.

taking the strongholds

What if things are actually very different than what we have always supposed them to be?  In the above image, for example, who are the "good" guys?  The more colorful figures coming from the right-hand side of the image, with the "lions" and "crosses" depicted on their shield and banner, leads one to think that those are the "good" guys.  If we allow that to be the case with respect to the above image, then, may we not presume that the opposing army represents the "bad" guys?  And since the "bad" guys appear to be defending the castle, may we not further suppose that the castle belongs to the "bad" guys?

But what if that's not the case at all?

in flaming fire

"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ"  (2 Thessalonians 1:7)

praying ground

In the image, above, the shadowy figure of a man is greatly disproportionate to the size of the buildings.  He seems to be walking through, and looking down upon, or brooding over, the city.  The surreal scene suggests, to my mind, a glimpse into the spiritual realm: in which the human figure portrays a man concerned for the city--towering above it, and praying for it.

In my mind, the above image represents me (as well as everyone else who is) praying for Revival, for cities and nations.  The question then arises, Can my prayer really make any difference in the life and future of a city, or even of a nation?  Although we may attempt to answer that question on principle, yet, in order to answer it in fact, a more fundamental question must first be answered, namely: Am I on praying ground? (Thanks, Dee C., for the phrase, "praying ground".)

joseph and mary

One rarely sees Joseph and Mary and their newborn baby Jesus in the setting depicted above.  Yet, it is a true image.  I'd like for you to meditate upon that image for a little while; let it get way down deep into your spirit.  For, the Holy Ghost has something to say to us about it.

being light -- in a world of darkness

"[W]e know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness."

1 John 5:19 

Jesus Christ foretold what would be the condition of the world at the time of his return.  In Matthew 24:21, Jesus said: " For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be".  Stop and think about that statement -- and the context in which that appears in Scripture.  Jesus was answering his disciples' question, namely: "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3).  Jesus replied, that at the time of his return, there would be a time of trouble in the world -- such as never was until that time, and never would be again after that time.  In other words, at the time of Christ's return, the world will be in a state of utter chaos; it will mark the worst time in ALL of human history -- from the Creation, throughout eternity to come!