The Man Who Lacks Faith Predicts the Future

A dear brother in the Lord has encountered a man who says he has figured out through numerology that the Lord is coming back on May 26th, that's tomorrow. This man also said that Trump was coming back to be president.

Let's be clear "numerology" is divination and has no part in a believer's life.

O.K., let's use just a little brain power and logic to decide if this man is speaking from God or out of his own desires.

First of all the Bible clearly says we will not know the day or the hour. Believers will not be caught unaware because we are waiting for Him all the time, but we will not know the "day or the hour." That's the first thing, if that's all we had that this person said it would be all we need to know he is not speaking from God. However, there's more:

If the Lord were coming on the 26th of May we would have to know which part of the world because some people will be on May 25th while others will be on the 26th at the same time due to the time zones around the world.

Sometimes I am on the internet late at night and a brother or sister will contact me through messaging. They will tell me they are in the morning the next day. I will say to them, "you are in my tomorrow and I am in your yesterday." So if the rapture were on the 26th in the United States it would have to be on the 27th for other parts of the world. If anyone is going to predict the "day" of the Lord's return they would have to predict it for several consecutive days. See the problem?

Those who predict days and hours for the rapture are disobeying God. We walk by faith, if there is a need to know perfectly everything that is going to happen we would be lacking faith.

Matthew 25:12-13 "…12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. "

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 "…6 Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.…"

We do not know the date of our death we walk by faith that God knows when He wants to take us. We do not know the day of an accident we might be in because Christ Who lives in us goes through with us, we have no need of knowledge of the future other than the prophecy God has already given us in His Word. If God did tell us our future we would do something to change it, its human nature!

Many people who lack faith concoct ideas based on their own desires and claim they are from God.

Here is what God says about this:

Jeremiah 29:8-9 "…8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them. 9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.” "

I do not pay attention to those who say they know the future, nor to those who believe in new revelation, we have all we need in the Bible to live a life of faith. God gave us all the future events He wanted us to know about in His Word, we need not seek to know more than that.

It is a wonderful surprise at the way the Lord orders each day for us. We have new surprises all the time, what a bummer it would be to always know what is coming tomorrow, waiting for that while missing the surprise He has for us today.

Just Saying!!!!!

Keep the Focus Where it Should Be!

I have no plans to get the vaccine but it is not because I worry about its effects. I just don't normally do vaccines. I got a flu vaccine for the first time in 45 years because my husband thought I should and a doctor sort of nagged me to get one. That was a couple of years ago.

45 years ago my husband and I got a flu shot together and became so ill for ten days we could not get out of bed. Someone had to come and take care of our children and us. I was told recently that the vaccines back then had live viruses but now they use dead ones, which makes no sense to me, why would our body fight off a dead virus.

Since I am not a medical professional I don't presume to know how all of this works. The problem is that we live in such a wicked world now that I cannot trust the pharmacy industry to care more about our health than they do their bottom line, that is profit.

Many workers in the Pharmacy industry are unbelievers not seeking God for His medicine, even basing their findings on the evolution they believe in, they will not be able to always come to the right conclusions based on God's Word.

I am not worried about what the vaccine will do to me but I have little confidence that it does anything at all. The news media is hyping the need for the vaccine so radically, this alone makes me suspicious. Since I know the media is mostly liberal and has an agenda I don't trust them to tell the truth.

Here is the thing: we must trust Christ first. If He tells you to get the vaccine, do it! If He leads you to resist the pressure to take the vaccine, do it. No one should pressure anyone else about this vaccine. It is quite possible it is harmful but God can prevent the believer from its effects. Or, yes I dare say it, it may not be as harmful as the far right is claiming.

I see so many videos about the terrible harm of this vaccine but without the ability to actually vet those in the videos. This is happening on both sides, the liberals and the conservatives alike are spinning things, I trust none of it, I only trust Christ.

We have a faction of conservatives that are more interested in politics, vaccines, and everything in between than they are in Christ. I know this because they rarely speak of Christ but are continually speaking about the politics and the vaccine. I may take a big hit for these comments but I must tell the truth.

Satan has managed to deter believers from our mission here on earth, that is the gospel of Christ and the encouragement of the saints. If we are doing this we have little time to be concerned about the politics and the vaccines.

I know I may take heat for this post, if anyone comes to argue with me or convince me to be more radically fearful I will delete their comments. I have heard all the arguments about politics and the vaccine, I need no more information. When Christ settles a matter with me I do not go back to rehash whether or not I have heard Him correctly.

I have personally been greatly helped by health care over the years and the modern methods of it. I cannot condemn all of it any more than I can endorse all of it. Everything has it's good and bad, we must seek God for His will in everything we do and trust He will guide us along our path.

I do not pressure people about what they should do in terms of health care because I know that Christ in the believer can tell them and believe me, Christ knows our bodies and which are good doctors for us, we need not throw the entire system in the trash because we find a flaw in something. God will lead us where He wants us to go and what to do.

It is possible to undermine the fragile faith of new believers by nagging them about a virus or politics, deterring them from seeking Christ in them for the proper response for themselves.

I am appalled at some believers who will accuse other brothers and sisters as unsaved because they do not believe exactly the same things in matters of politics and health care. Satan loves this fighting among the brethren over things that have no importance in our salvation or the gospel.

There is a mania occurring in many churches and among believing families, causing division and hatred that should not be in the believer.

Let's stay focused brothers and sisters, focused on Christ, our mission here, and our home going!

Just a suggestion!

Galatians 4:16

"16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"

I hope I will not be an enemy of my brethren because of a disagreement on politics or health care!

End Times Timeline: The Gog-Magog War | Tipping Point | Jimmy Evans

Pretenders Fight to Defend their Sin

When we are saved by grace through faith it is Christ Who changes us, therefore we are no longer the same person and we no longer love sin as we once did.

1 Corinthians 6:11

"11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Someone who has been changed by Christ hates it when they sin, they eventually confess to be cleansed and go on to live more holy lives. They are not sinless they just sinless as they grow in holiness.

Ephesians 2:10

"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

We are being sanctified until we leave this life.

1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

No one who has been born again ever fights to defend their sin, these are the pretenders who do this.

Matthew 7:21-23

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

The one who fights to defend their sin without conviction about it has never been born again, simple!

There are many pretenders in the church gatherings today, they must be challenged to go and ask God if they are saved. Their fruit is rotten and able to infect the rest of the body.

They lack this fruit of the Character of Christ:

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Remember the fruit of the Spirit is not works, it is character qualities that will produce works but even a non-believer, a pretender can do good works fooling people, the true test is when they are challenged about their sin, their response will say a lot about them.

In my experience, those who claim to be Christian but are not interested in how to live according to God's Word, the Bible, will rage at those who bring God's Word to bear on any sin in their lives.

Often they will accuse the authentic believer of judging, even though they have no idea what God really says about judging those in the body. These people do not know the word of God or they know a little, just enough to be dangerous.

When we are born again we have been humbled and want to know what God thinks of everything we do and say. We want to grow knowing the only way to to that is to evaluate ourselves to see if we are walking according to the Word.

Pretenders are walking in the flesh and hate any challenge to evaluate themselves.

1 Corinthians 11:27-31

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.

For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged."

Run After Christ Even if You Do it Alone!

There will be pretenders who will be angry with you for detaching from the world to follow Christ.....ignore them.

Focus on Christ!!!

The more the believers focus on the world circumstances the less they are looking for Christ's return.

Shipwrecks, Really!!!!!

Paul's account of his life after following Christ puts American Christians to shame. We whine because we do not control politics, we whine because we don't get what we want when we want it, yet we do not see hardship as a true disciple of Christ did in Old Testament times. We ought to be ashamed that we spend more time working feverishly to secure our freedoms, which will disappear anyway because of our pride.

We do not have control over our freedom, it was given to us by God as a test to see where it would lead us and we have failed miserably. As a country the conservatives who attend Christian gatherings every week whine more about their loss of freedom than they glory in the cross of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:21-29

"21 To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.

But in whatever respect anyone else is bold—I am speaking in foolishness—I too am bold.

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

23 Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.

24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea.

26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers;

27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?"

1 Thessalonians 2:1-6

Paul's Ministry to the Thessalonians

"2 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain.

2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,

4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.

6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ."

The winning about political freedom and the fears about everything must stop so that the witness of Christians will be true and bold.

All flattery to manipulate and all people-pleasing must go if we are to have an authentic representation of Christ in us as well as a gospel that changes hearts.

If someone is sucked into our gathering becoming a Christian because they loved the flattery and people-pleasing, or even the political bent, they were never born again.

Our message ought to come in boldness with conviction that many might grieve over their sinfulness and desire to be changed by Christ.

Softening your message, flattering the people may bring in numbers but only to the extent that increases the state of apostasy. When a person comes in the back door to please themselves they will not be born again.

Christ will not change a person who only desires to use Him without repentance toward their own sinfulness.

Acts 3:19

"Repent, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,"

Matthew 4:17

"From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

No one will be saved without repentance, confessing their sin with a desire to be changed by Christ.

Acts 17:30

"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,"

Growing the church through motivational speaking coupled with flattery will only grow an apostate organization that God hates.

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8‘ These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”…"

The preacher once asked; "what is the motivation of your heart" when you go to the church gathering?" Is it to "enjoy" it or "feel accepted", then you are not attending to worship God, it is the lukewarmness God hates, the one He vomits out of His mouth.

Revelations 3:15-17 "…15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! 16 So because you are lukewarm— neither hot nor cold— I am about to vomit you out of My mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.…"

Those who are pretenders in the church will accuse those who walk uprightly of things the upright are not doing but the accusers are doing. Beware of those pretenders and avoid them. They do not have the Holy Spirit, they remain worldly because they have not been changed by Christ.

The only message for these pretenders is that they should ask God if they are born again because their fruit looks very rotten. What is the fruit? It is not actions or works, the fruit is the character qualities of Christ in every born-again believer. This fruit can be seen by discerning believers.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

These qualities of Christ that dwell in us are what motivate us to be and do what Christ would be and do. When we mess up out of weakness we hate it and confess to be cleansed of the problem. Then we begin again in obedience to Christ. As born-again believers we ought to be growing and changing all the time, this is the sanctification God speaks of in His word, an ongoing cleansing for the rest of our lives on earth. If someone who attends the Christian gatherings has gone all their lives without any change in them it is likely they were never born again.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

If someone says they are a Christian but are not growing and changing, even defending their sin, they are probably a pretender never having been changed by Christ.

2 Timothy 2:21 "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."

How do we cleanse ourselves? We confess our sin to God and ask Him to cleanse us. This is a permanent change in us that will not be undone or retracted. The more we confess with each sinful attitude or action the more we walk in holiness. We are not sinless but we do sin less as some preachers have said. And we hate our sin as much as God hates it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Did we see this? We do not sanctify ourselves, we confess and He does the cleansing. If we try to do it ourselves we will walk in pride and it will not be a heart change, only an outer appearance of change.

All religions of the world operate from the belief that we must work hard to be what we should be. But a relationship with Christ is based on His Work in us, not our own feeble efforts. He saves the born again believer, He gives us the Holy Spirit, He works all the good works in us, He takes us home when He comes for His bride. In short; He does all the changing in us and all the work of sanctification, we must only trust in Him.

If someone is too proud to confess their sin and ask for cleansing then God will not change them, they are left to flounder in their own pride until they come to the end of themselves. And, if you are a child of God He will bring about circumstances that cause you to want to turn to Him. Hardship is a great motivator to give up our own effort and turn to Christ.

1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Titus 3:5

"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,"

Hebrews 9:14

"How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

How is our walk? Are we walking in dead fleshly good works or are we working because Christ in us is doing the work?