James 5 – end times and health directions

This post is about the fifth chapter of James. I have had the most wonderful Bible teacher and have learned so much about what the Bible really says. It’s often tough to know; I understand this and that is why I’d like to share a little of what I’ve learned.

James chapter 5 is about end times, pure and simple, and also gives us some serious talking-to about how to come to God with health problems. The writer is the James who was Jesus’ earthly half-brother, a son of Mary and Joseph.

Before I begin I’d like to once again encourage anybody who will listen to please start studying from the King James version of the English language Bible. The KJV is seriously the most accurate English translation from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages that the original manuscripts were written in, and there are times throughout the Bible when that becomes very important to what we learn.

I do try to keep it as simple as I can, but sometimes things get a bit “deep”. If there are things that you don’t understand, please don’t stop reading. Just put those things on the shelf for a later time, and ask God to bless you with understanding of His Word. He will hear you and if you keep studying, things will fall into place under His guidance.

God always gives us “types” in His Word, so that we can understand from the physical sense to the spiritual sense. He wants us to understand His spiritual connections by using physical ideas that we can relate to.

Here are the verses of chapter 5 of the great book of James, and any comments from me will be written directly below the verse in parentheses. I hope you will enjoy it as I have!

James 5

5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

(Understand that this is written to rich people who are rich because of ill-gotten gains, those who use other people wrongly to attain their riches, those who would thumb their noses at God even while enjoying their riches. They are not rich because God has blessed them, no. There is no happiness in ill-gotten gains. However, if you are rich because God has blessed you, because you love God more than anything, then this verse is not written to you.

And, it is speaking spiritually as well as physically. In the next verse James speaks of motheaten clothing, because your good works are what weave the white linen robes that you will wear in Heaven in your eternal life. Rev. 19:7-8: 7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Jesus is the Bridegroom, we are the bride who will attend the marriage feast clothed in our white linen garments, which are woven from our good works in this human life.)

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

(See my comments on verse 1 that explain this verse, also read the beautiful verses of Revelation 19, especially Rev. 19:11-16 which I include here. Again the fine linen clothing of the armies of heaven are mentioned in verse 14 (underline mine):

Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”)

3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

(The gospel armour is forever, but ill-gotten gains will rust and develop holes. The treasure that those people will have heaped together for the last days will witness against them and will send them into the lake of fire. We must remember that not everybody is going to make it, but only those who repent when they sin and love God more than they love themselves. Many will not avoid destruction, no matter how severe that sounds.)

4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

(You cannot con God. People who use others to get ahead will have to explain it to God unless they repent and change their ways. Interesting to note this word “sabaoth”, Lord of Sabaoth (it should be capitalized) means “Lord of Hosts”, but in a military sense. See Greek word 4519 in the Strong’s Concordance. It is only used twice in the Bible, this time and again in Romans 9:29, but there it is drawn from the book of Isaiah (aka Esaias as he is called in the Greek). In both cases it is used to warn against the fact that God will call an end to sin, and though He doesn’t resist it now, He will cut it short for righteousness’ sake, and only a remnant of those who have lived will be saved. In other words, those who don’t acknowledge Him and repent of their sins, yes, they will be destroyed.)

5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

(Means they are nourished, fattened up for the day of slaughter, because when you add up their bad works, they are fat with them. And the day of slaughter is coming. I know that may seem harsh, but when we read the word we find that God has strong emotions, very strong, and He really will take hold of those who refuse to love Him. They are going to pay for their rotten actions toward God and toward His children. And it’s not as though God hasn’t warned them many times. They will only have themselves to blame.)

6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

(Speaking of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He was just, he didn’t open his mouth, and yet these evil people condemned and killed him wrongly. All to give us a chance at redemption. Thank you, Jesus.)

7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

(Husbandman – farmer. A farmer knows that once you plant the seed, you must have patience for the crop to grow. (2,000 years?)

The early rain causes the seeds to germinate. The latter rain keeps the plant alive, so it can produce fruit. If the plant doesn’t get the latter rain, it “blasts in the field”, dries up and withers and dies.

Think of the rain as the Word of God – it was planted in you sometime in your life, at least a little, and germinated after the planting because of the early rain, which caused interest in you to discover what the Word of God was all about.

But, did you allow the Word of God to provide the “latter rain”, that raining down of His Word as you continued to learn and mature in Christ, or did you close the book and not give it much thought after the first information you received?

Open the book and receive the “latter rain” so that you can be healthy, bloom and produce fruit! That is why we are here in this earthly life, to produce fruit for God, to help others learn about the blessing of Jesus Christ. To be strong, healthy plants for our Father, who smiles knowing that we are getting ready for the Harvest, and bringing others along with us.

Why were you created? For His pleasure! Revelation 4:11 – “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”.

Let us pleasure Him, He who is worthy! What better thing to live our lives for now and eternally? Nothing better.)

8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

(Be patient, BUT “stablish your hearts” – the coming of the Lord is going to happen! Be ready!)

9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

(Almighty God, the one Judge, our heavenly Father. He stands before the door that we will walk through one day. In the meantime, we need to dissolve any grudges we have against each other in this life, or we could be condemned.)

10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

(Think of the prophet Jeremiah, who was lowered into mud up to his neck and had to hang there with ropes under his arms holding him up. He stayed patient and waited on the Lord, but he suffered great affliction, and is one of our examples for patience. Despite our afflictions.)

11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

(When things get tough in these end times, don’t worry, we can endure. God has equipped His elect with all they need to overcome. Are you one of God’s elect, here in the end time, who has a job to do?)

12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

(Don’t listen to the traditions of men. We live by the law of “precedence” in the United States now, but we should be living by God’s Word only. Our courts no longer consider Common Law, which comes right from God’s Word, they instead go by the law of precedence, which is political in nature and often has nothing to do with God’s Word.

I think that God is terribly affronted by the law of precedence. He gave us the Word to guide us and we aren’t using it in our highest courts, and way too often, we are not using it in our lives.)

13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

(If you are happy, sing. If you are afflicted, pray.)

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

(Do this! Use the oil of our people (olive oil) which does not heal but it shows our obedience to God’s word. When He sees this obedience, then He can commence healing – if it is His will to do so at that time.

The oil is necessary, follow God’s instructions, and if you question it, remember that the name “Christ” is “Cristos”, which means “the anointed one”. The etymology of the word “Christ” is “healing by rubbing with oil”. Anoint the sick person (or yourself) with oil that you have prayed over, this shows your obedience to God’s instruction. Tell Him as you anoint yourself that you do this in obedience to Him.)

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

(This verse begins with “And”, so it carries from the previous verse telling us to anoint the sick with oil, in the name of the Lord. “And” (once the anointing is done in obedience to God’s instruction), the prayer of faith shall save the sick. Consider also “the sick” meaning those who do not have God’s word in their lives, the depressed, the worn out, the tired. But if you’re physically sick, do this!)

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

(This is talking about being sincere and patient in prayer. Many people want God to perform a miracle in three minutes…have patience, God does what he does in His own time for His own purpose. Keep praying and believe in waiting for God.)

17 Elias 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.

(Elias = Elijah. Elijah was just a common man, but he knew the prophecies, therefore God could use him to help people. It is that way with us common folk now when we listen to and understand the prophecies. Prophets and prophecies are the way God talks to us, the way God allows us to understand.

Remember, in Elijah’s time no rain fell for 3 years and 6 months, because Elijah prayed earnestly that no rain would fall.

If this is a prophecy about the time of the antichrist, then we can understand it as meaning that the latter rains will not fall upon the ears of many people for the time that antichrist is here on earth. (remember God’s “types”.)

But for those who earnestly pray and study, the latter rains will be available during end times. They will, they are God’s blessings because those people are producing fruit!

Talk to Him, pray to Him, and know the prophecies, and you will be blessed with the blessing of the latter rain, the spiritual truth.)

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

(This is speaking of Elijah, who remember, was just a common man like you and me. He knew the prophecies, and so he knew that praying earnestly and sincerely, with no strings attached, would receive the blessings of the latter rain, which brings forth what? Fruit! That is what it is all about, we need to produce fruit. Earnestly! Patiently! Pray to Him and you will receive the blessings of the latter rain.)

19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

(Don’t put a bushel basket over your light. That cannot bring forth the blessings of God. I will reiterate, Elijah was just a common man but he knew the prophecies and he prayed earnestly. So he got the latter rain, the spiritual truth, when he needed it. What a blessing from God!

We must follow Elijah’s example, is what part of the lesson is, why the miracles surrounding Elijah’s prayers happened. It can happen to us. He is pointed out to be a common man, just like everybody else, for a reason, so that we can take heart and know that God hears us, loves us, and wants us to produce fruit. Let’s get busy! We will be working for the best boss that ever was or ever will be.)

 

Rapture – Don’t Be Deceived

I'm not a novelist, but I can get a point out there to anybody willing to listen. I admit I will have to do my best to be succinct, i.e. "short and sweet", please have patience with me!

I'm starting with this point: Don’t be deceived. That is a most important message of the Bible to us living in this generation.

There is a huge following of the idea of "rapture"; the mistaken idea that true Christians will be flown out of here before the tribulation of the end time, but that is the teaching that Satan has most promoted because it is in his plan to fool as many people as possible when that time comes.

If there is any question in your mind about the time being soon, please look around at our world. While it is often said that we cannot know when the time will be, that's not so. Read Daniel 12 about the time of the end, and especially Daniel 12:10* where it is stated that none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. We become wise by studying and understanding God's word.

Regarding the rapture theory (which began in 1832, promoted by a man named Darby) - God already had addressed the subject way back in Ezekiel's time, for our edification. There will be no way for us to plead ignorance, because in Ezekiel 13, when false prophets are condemned by Him, God tells them "you daub the wall with untempered mortar", in other words they make up stories that are not true and give them to the people, knowing full well that once the wall is tested, it's going to fall.

Those false prophets, pastors and priests know that most people will listen to traditions of men and not the true Word of God, therefore the wall of false ideas they build will stand well enough for Satan to do his work, and so they promote the untrue stories. Their daughters (Ez. 13:17) prophesy out of their own hearts, and sew pillows to all armholes to cover His outstretched arms so they can hunt the souls of His people (Ez. 13:18) and they pollute Him among His people (Ez. 13:19). And God says in Ez. 13:20 "I am against your pillows with which you hunt souls to make them fly", and He will tear those pillows of false prophecy away and He will deliver His people out of their hand so they can't be hunted anymore. God wants us to stop believing in these false prophecies, the rapture theory in particular mentioned here, or He won't be able to deliver us.

Have you read it with understanding? (I will say this often, because if you have, you will know how important it is that I remind you to find out the truth for yourself. If you haven't read it, then you need to, because you never want to trust any other person with your understanding of God's word.) Even if you think I'm probably right, you still need to read it and prove it to yourself.

The word of God is "pregnant", that's why it is said that it is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus is that Word made flesh. So, even though Ezekiel (and all the prophets) lived before our time, the words they put down then were written directly to us now. From God! Don't miss this! Once you read the Bible with understanding of this concept, it will be alive to you. God said he speaks to us through the prophets, and that means now, today, your life, my life, all lives. We need to pay attention, because He loves us and He took the time to write us this letter. Have you read it?

I know this subject is huge, but stick with me for a bit, always asking God to bless your understanding of His Word and His Plan. The time is getting short, we need to put some skin in the game. Once we have understanding the peace and happiness we gain is beyond anything we've ever wished for.

 

*Dan 12:10 KJV (re: the time of the end)
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Famine

In Amos chapter 8, a basket of summer fruit is discussed between the prophet Amos and God. God tells us that “The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” Amos 8:2 KJV

So by this we know that end times are being prophesied in this chapter, with details that we can clearly understand when we put our minds to it. The basket of summer fruit means that Israel is ready for harvest and it has to be done right away or the fruit will rot. We do know that Israel became a nation in 1948, and elsewhere in His word it was told us that once that happened, the world would be in its final generation.

We should not let this scare us! It’s a good thing as long as we know what the word of God truly says. The most important truth to know is that the antichrist will arrive on earth first (hence the 6^th trump); and Jesus will come to earth after many have bowed to the antichrist (means “instead of Christ”), because they will believe antichrist is the true Christ.

But Jesus’ feet touch the earth at the 7^th trump, and those who worshipped the antichrist during his time here will ask for the mountains to fall on them, they will be so ashamed. Yikes.

Amos chapter 8 is a most interesting read (hopefully you will read it in the King James Version of the Bible). In verse 3 the description is of those who are spiritually dead, like so many are at this time in our world.

I’m going to fast forward to verse 11, but in verses 4-10 God talks about those who have put financial oppression and deceit on His people (i.e., the banking industry, which is one of the four worldly dynasties controlled by Satan. The other three are education, politics and religion). Also, note in verse 8 that the “flood” is the flood of lies and deceit that will overwhelm the end time.

Amos 8:11 says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”

So when we hear about the famine of the end times, let us not fear our bodies starving; let us instead fear the starvation of our spirits. We see it all around us more and more every day. But there is a solution! Study, learn and understand the true word of God, and you will not be one of those poor starved souls. You will not be fooled by the antichrist, you will wait for Jesus to arrive at the Second Advent, and in the process you will be able to help others not to be fooled.

God has clearly warned us in this chapter not to be fooled by the lies, to know that He is aware of the oppression, and to know and understand the time we live in.

Don’t be deceived! Read and understand God’s word so that you can be fully armored!

God bless you in that endeavor.

Amos 8:1-11
8:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
KJV

Israel

How do YOU fit into the Bible? In His Word, God made promises to the nation of Israel. They are the offspring of the 12 sons of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel by God, see Genesis 32:28, Genesis 35:10). But Israel, you say, is a small nation over in the Middle East so why do we care so much about that? Jesus came to this earth and was crucified for our sins and arose to eternal glory, and then the promise of eternal life was extended to not only Israel but to the “Gentiles” as well.

Ah! True! But do you understand who Israel really is? The Bible and history tell us. Of the 12 tribes, first the 10 northern tribes were defeated and taken into captivity by the king of Assyria, (around 600 B.C.) taken away and then they were scattered, something that God had warned he would do when they wouldn’t listen to Him, over and over and over. They are known as the “lost tribes of Israel”.

Two hundred years after the 10 northern tribes were taken, the 2 remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin (known collectively as Jews) were taken into captivity by somebody else, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. However, we know where most of the Jews are – they returned from that seventy-year captivity in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and re-populate the country of Israel, a subject that is well defined in the Old Testament, see the books of Nehemiah and Ezra, particularly. Yes there are Jews living throughout the world, and in general, they know that they are Jews and can trace their genealogy (and DNA, now) back to those olden times.

But those 10 lost tribes – where are they? Who are they? Whatever happened to them? First off, God has not lost them, even if they don’t know who they are, He does. He counts every hair on their heads (Matthew 10:30). There are many mentions of them in the Bible, and we know from history that after they were taken to Assyria, they later traveled over the Caucasus mountains of southern Russia, and went north… and eventually migrated to Europe, and all along the way, they multiplied greatly.

In the great migrations from Europe to the North and South Americas and further in the more current history of the world, especially the 1800s, many of those “Europeans” who arrived in the New World and became Canadians, Americans, Mexicans, Brazilians, Australians… well, put two and two together – the Christian countries of today are no doubt populated by many who don’t know that their ancestors were once part of the ten lost tribes of Israel, but who have the words of God written on their hearts. God said, “go forth and multiply, you will be like the sands of the seas and like the stars of heaven in multitude”.  (see Jacob reminding God that He would multiply Jacob’s offspring like the “sands of the sea” which could not be numbered for multitude in Genesis 32:12.)

Often, when we read the Bible, common sense is required. Use your common sense to understand that Bible subjects are really not difficult or confusing, but pretty much stated in plain language. We need to use our common sense and do some study to understand what is being discussed.

Then apply those ideas to current history, all the while consulting and understanding what the history of the Bible and the prophets are talking about, and confusion will melt away. Once you have an understanding of the peoples and the prophecies of the Bible, your life will be on point! You will be able to move forward with strength and understanding and knowledge of the Truth, and in the process you will find great peace.

God bless you in that endeavor. If I can help in any way, please let me know, and I will do my best.

Thanks for reading, and I pray that this post will bless you and your family in a big way.

One Book - No Secrets

I want to share happiness and joy with other people. We don’t always have time to pay attention to Jesus, to our Christianity. People have jobs, kids, spouses and a host of other things going on. But if in the midst of that I can share a glimmer of true hope and peace with anyone, I will be so pleased.

God wrote us a letter with ALL of the information in it. Everything is explained, nothing is kept secret, we are allowed to know and understand everything. And the thing is, the story and the plan are easy to see – not difficult as people tend to think. The Bible is just one book, it is the word of God. In fact, there is simplicity in the way the story is told and re-told, and the way the plan is woven in and plain to see. God wouldn’t make it too hard for even a child to understand.

How to find this out for ourselves? It sounds good and it IS good. We just need to read and understand the book – God’s word to us. Remember I said there are no secrets? Well, don’t believe me, believe God when he tells us in Amos 3:7, “surely the Lord God will do nothing but he reveal his secret unto his stewards the prophets”.

You may say, “Well, I’m no prophet”, and that would be true. Since Jesus, there have been no new prophets. But guess what? The prophets wrote down all that God said! And it’s in the Bible. God has revealed his secret to us, we just need to read and understand.

And, in Mark 13:23 Jesus himself says, “But take ye heed: Behold, I have foretold you all things”. Whoa! I guess we can find out everything we need to know to be true Christians; fulfilled, peaceful, happy, hopeful and strong in our faith and our knowledge of the Word – right now, in this life and on into the next life.

God is not keeping anything from us – all we have to do is read and learn what the letter he wrote to us says. It’s not hard! It is just one book.

God will not force His word on us, though. We have to take it. God even begs us in Isaiah 43:26 to put him in remembrance of his word – in other words he is asking us to know his promises and commands and wants us to prove to him that we know. God is asking us to “call him out” on his promises, to remind him what they are. This is the way he can justify us, make us righteous!

Isaiah 43:26 (this is God speaking directly):
“Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou may be justified”. KJV

It is written.

Have you read it?

 

What Does God Have To Say About Knowledge?

Here are three verses from the Bible that deal clearly with what God wants us to realize about us having knowledge of his Word, knowing what it means:

Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: …”

Hosea 6:6 – “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings”.

Isaiah 5:13 – “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst”.

“Gone into captivity” - because they have not the knowledge of God to keep them free.

“Their honorable men are famished” - famished for the truth of God’s word, spiritual meat, knowledge of the true word of God.

The subject of spiritual meat is covered in Hebrews 5:12-14 

12  “For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principle of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

13 For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

14 But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”.
 

So the Bible is relating our level of knowledge to strong meat vs. milk.  And who is it that the strong meat (spiritual truth) belongs to? Those who by reason of use have their senses exercised. God tells us in Hebrews 5:14 – use your senses to learn my word, so that you are fed with spiritual meat, not milk.
 

In Isaiah 5:13, "Their multitude", the people, are dried up with thirst because they don’t have the living water, the truth of God, to give them drink.
 

These verses apply now, in our time, as much as then. That’s part of the mystery of God’s word, a beautiful mystery that once unlocked in our minds sends us out to search every day so that we won’t be famished or thirsty for spiritual truth.
 

We can look around us to see – the knowledge of the word of God is missing from our society. But we don’t have to follow society’s lead in this matter – we can, by reason of use, have our senses exercised. What good news! The word of God is for our use now, every day, so that we will not be destroyed by lack of knowledge.

 

Jesus says, “I have foretold you all things” – we will have no excuse for not knowing. Mark 13:23.

It is written.

 

Have you read it?
 

TIME WELL SPENT

When I first undertook a deeper study of God’s word from the King James Version of the Bible, I was just hoping to be a little more “holy” and do what God probably wished I’d do – find out more about Him.

After a while I realized how deceived we who live in this world in flesh bodies truly are. The more I discovered, the more amazed I became. I couldn’t stop studying! I started seeing that there are these layers of incredible information in God’s word, and when I started understanding one part of the story, before long, that same story became deeper. It is like peeling layers from an onion – and it doesn’t seem to stop. There is always more, it continually gets deeper, all from the same words.

I’m just a normal middle class person living in America, with a normal middle class life, and now retired. I got married, we raised kids.  There were grandkids, now there are great-grandkids. We worked in jobs, we moved a few times, we didn’t get rich or famous. Now we’re old, and God has blessed us by allowing us to “get it” – and to know that the story is really, really BIG… and even more so now in this time of the world.

The trouble is – hardly anybody knows there is a big story that is affecting their current lives every day and is going to affect their eternal life from the day they leave this earth. And that not being aware of it really IS going to make a difference, unfortunately. Pastors don’t teach it, churches water everything down, and people are truly deceived. BUT, it doesn’t have to be that way, and I encourage every person reading this to start moving forward from those church pews where a little inspiration on Sunday really takes you no place except back to the same pew the next week. It doesn’t do much for your spiritual life at all. Now don’t blame me for being critical – I sat in those pews many, many weeks during my life – and never got out of kindergarten, so I know what I say is true.

There’s a story, God wants us to know it, and He wants us to realize that we are living in the time of the end, which makes it that much more important. Stuff is going to happen! It is happening, all around us, but just like watching a child grow, it happens very slowly, day by day, week by week, and we hardly notice.

Unless we become “watchmen” and steeped in God’s word and His story and plan, well, then we are wandering around with a tiny bit of information in our heads and hearts, and when the big things happen and it’s too late to really understand – it’s like when your child suddenly leaves home for good – how the heck did that happen? Why wasn’t I paying more attention?

It’s way more important for us all to pay attention to God’s word than to realize how quickly our kids are growing up. Way more important.

So, I encourage you. Find out what happened in 1948 that tells us we are living in “end times” now in 2017. Understand what happened back at the beginning – if we don’t get that part, we won’t understand what is happening at the end. And, it’s upon us, whether we want to think that the generations are going to continue forever or not – it’s upon us and we don’t have much of a choice about the timing.

It’s the best time to live, right now. Doesn’t seem like it until you know the plan and realize – some of us are going to be serving God in a different, bigger way than we ever supposed. And, those who understand it are excited! Ready! We are going to stand strong at a time when nothing is the same as it has been. And we are going to see the most momentous occasions of mankind’s time in history ever, and be blessed by it.

But not if we don’t know the plan – then we will be deceived, and it will be the greatest deception ever seen, and many will be fooled. It will cost them their eternal lives. It won’t be God’s fault – He has given us the word and the story, and the ability to read. The rest is up to us.

Again, I encourage you - don’t keep living in your day to day life without adding a very close connection to God and understanding of His word into it. It will be time well spent.

God bless you in that endeavor!