A PROMISE FOR 2015

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare (peace, prosperity, success) and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV).

When Jeremiah shared this prophetic promise, the Jews were in exile in Babylon—and this did not mean they were sent away for a vacation. Exile was very much like going to prison and serving a hard sentence as a slave in a foreign and hostile nation.

The Jewish nation had become so corrupt and disobedient that God decided to bring an end to it. He decreed defeat and exile for the rebellious nation, hoping to bring it back to its senses. Jeremiah prophesied to the Jews and told them exactly what would happen, and how long they would remain captives and be in exile. The drama then unfolded precisely as Jeremiah predicted.

The Jews were in a very discouraging and troubling time as the conditions of the exile came to pass. To make the situation more confusing for the exiles, false prophets began to say that Jeremiah had God’s message wrong; that everything was going to be fine; that very shortly the Jews would be going back to Jerusalem.

At this time of confusion and discouragement for the exiled Jews, Jeremiah shares this powerful prophetic promise that has strong implications for us during the “tough, chaotic times” into which our world is descending.

Here is God’s promise to us for 2015!

“For I know” — The Hebrew word for “know” is yada. This is the word used in Genesis 4:1: “And Adam knew (yada) Eve.” This phrase speaks of the very intimate involvement of the Lord in our circumstances. The fulfillment of this promise is not just for the Jews in exile, but for you as an individual.

“The plans I have for you” — The picture here is of the thoughtful preparation and planning by a master craftsman as he begins to work on a piece of art. He carefully selects just the right materials, the right colors and the right tools to bring the work to completion. The craftsman knows exactly how and where the finished work will be used and under what conditions, and his plan takes every detail into account. God has personally laid out detailed plans for you for your future; no detail has missed His attention.

“Plans for welfare” — Some translations say “plans to prosper you.” This promise encompasses all aspects of your life—your safety, your health and your well-being.

The promise is that God will watch over and protect, provide for, and bring prosperity to those who return to Him. God’s plans for you are not only thorough but are thought-out with your best interests at heart. The word “welfare” is a bigger word than just the limited definition of financial blessing or physical well-being, for it includes all aspects of our physical, spiritual and emotional health; it includes our vocational life and our future.

“Hope”— This is an extremely interesting word. It speaks of an expectancy that God is going to do something great, but it also speaks of a rope (see Joshua 2:18, 21). Joshua tells us the story of the scarlet cord that Rahab the prostitute hung out her window that protected her during the Jewish invasion. The Hebrew word used for cord/line is the same word that is used in Jeremiah 29 for hope. Hope, then, is a type of spiritual lifeline for us to hold on to when things around us are not going well at all. Hope is not inferior to faith; hope is the expectancy that as God has worked for us in the past, so He will again. We are literally to grab on to hope and not let go. God has thrown us a prophetic lifeline and it is hope; it is trust in Him and His eternal purposes and plans for our life.

Into the chaos of circumstance, with a laser-like sharpness, there comes a promise that the Holy Spirit quickens to our hearts and we realize that we have not been forgotten; we have not been abandoned; we are not adrift on a sea of chaos—but God is still on the throne and is still guiding the affairs of our life!

Like all promises, this promise is conditional. We have to ask ourselves, “Will we accept it? Will we embrace this truth?” Will we pursue the plans and purposes of God knowing that He has our best interests at heart or will we try to tell Him how He should do things? Are we ready to pray as Jesus did, “Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42) or will we, through our actions, say, “My will be done. What I want is what counts”?

God’s will is that you will know Him in His fullness in 2015!

THE RISE OF LAWLESSNESS

All over the world we see a terrifying rise in violence and acts of terrorism.

  In Pakistan terrorists murdered 148 in a school, mostly children.

  In Nigeria and neighboring nations, the terror group Boko Haram indiscriminately attacked villages and killed people, taking away young girls to be kept in sexual slavery.

  In Sydney, Australia, a terrorist sympathizer killed two people and took over a coffee shop, holding fifteen hostages for hours before the police killed him.

  In Syria and Iraq the terror group known as ISIS killed hundreds of Christians and innocents. Some were beheaded and the act was videotaped and released to the news media and over the Internet.

  In Quebec, Canada, a terrorist sympathizer used his car to kill one Canadian soldier and seriously injure a second. Two days later a gunman killed a Canadian soldier standing guard outside the Canadian National War Memorial and then rushed into one of the Parliament buildings, where he was shot and killed by one of the staff.

  Here in the United States, our country has been profoundly affected by the deaths of two African-American men. One was the death of the teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the other happened on Staten Island, New York, when a career criminal, Eric Garner, was being arrested. These two events have set off a wave of protests across the country that have been going on for months.

  Just as I was writing this blog, the news came out about two police officers being assassinated in Brooklyn, NY, apparently in retaliation for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

The above list is just a random sampling of what is happening around the world. Almost every day we hear of tragic, unexpected acts of violence and terrorism both here and all across the world.

It seems to me that the frequency of these incidents is increasing. I am not trying to defend the police or vilify the protestors; what I am going to try to do is give you a different perspective, a prophetic perspective that hopefully will serve as an alarm bell to some of you.

The disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the close of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus had just prophesied to the disciples about the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem and that prompted their questions.

Jesus explained to them that a series of signs will come like the birthing pains a woman experiences awaiting the completion of her pregnancy; the pains will increase in frequency and intensity. Among the signs that Jesus prophesied about was, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

It is my belief that the rise of lawlessness we are seeing is what Jesus prophesied would happen as one of the signs of the nearness of His return.

The Apostle Paul essentially says the same thing in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

The word translated “difficulty” in verse one means “fierce, violent, hard to live with, hard to bear.” The only other time this exact word (in the Greek) is used in the New Testament is in Matthew 8:28 when it describes the demon-possessed men that Jesus encountered.

In 2 Timothy 3 after Paul speaks of “difficult days,” he uses nineteen adjectives and descriptive phrases to describe how the difficulties would manifest themselves. It seems to me that Paul is encircling the word “difficult” with descriptive words in an attempt to show just how tumultuous these “difficult days” will be.

I believe we are watching the rise of the demonically-inspired spirit of lawlessness that will eventuate in the revealing of “the man of lawlessness” that Paul prophesied about in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. This is the one also known as “the Antichrist.”

Both Jesus and Paul alert us to the fact that concurrent with the rise of lawlessness will be a spirit of deception.  When the disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of the end, before He told them anything else He said, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). Paul says exactly the same thing in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one deceive you.”

The spirit of deception is attempting to portray the rise of lawlessness as protest against the evil of the violation of civil rights, and to law enforcement in general. This is a demonically-inspired spirit that is involved in paving the way for “the man of lawlessness.”

The rising of the spirit of lawlessness and deception is the force driving what is happening in America and the horrific acts of terror around the world.

The words of Jesus and the words of Paul are shouting at the Bride of Christ (if she is listening), “Let no one deceive you!”

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:22).

WE CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH!

“For to us a Child is born,
      to us a Son is given;
      and the government shall be upon His shoulder,
      and His name will be called
      Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV).

This prophecy, written 700 years before the birth of Jesus, is the most well-known and most repeated Bible verse about the birth of our Lord and Savior. Somehow the powerful truth of this verse has become all tangled up with pageants, nativity scenes and the commercialism of the “holiday season.”

Isaiah’s prophecy was looking forward to the climactic moment in history when our world would be changed forever. When a baby is born, the structure and makeup of the family is forever changed to include the new arrival, and so it would be when the Child was born.

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given.” Everything changed when deity took on a human form and came as a baby. “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV).

Jesus came to institute a new kingdom that would be called “the kingdom of God.” One of the first public statements Jesus made is found in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” This beginning of ministry statement underscores its importance to Him, to His mission, and to us.

“And the government shall be upon His shoulder.” The kingdom that would be birthed with the Messiah would be like none other ever seen on this earth. The rule and dominion of the kingdom of God would rest on His shoulder, and not an earthly monarch’s, not on earthly leaders. An old religious system was passing away and the new was coming.

The prophesy of Isaiah then presents five attributes of the Son of God who would rule His everlasting kingdom, five attributes of the Christ of Christmas.

Wonderful—this word is speaking of the miraculous nature of Christ’s life and ministry. Everything about His life, His ministry, would have a manifestation of the miraculous in it. I believe in miracles and I believe that miracles have a place in our life in Him. He is a “wonderful” Savior and I believe that we are to expect and anticipate His miracle-working power in our lives, too. Carol and I have seen His miracle power at work on our behalf in past years and we joyously look forward to His miracle power being manifest in the days ahead! Truly He is a “wonderful” Savior!

Counselor—in some translations the words wonderful and counselor are put together as in “wonderful counselor.” The word counselor is expressive of great wisdom and the qualifications available to guide and direct all men’s lives. He invites all of us to “come to Me” and “learn from Me” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Mighty God—the term “mighty God” refers to a king, a conqueror, a hero. We know that Jesus was all of those and more. He is a king, a conqueror, and to all of us who love Him, He is a hero. There is no problem, no dilemma, no issue we will ever face that He cannot conquer!

No one else could ever claim they were the fulfillment of this prophecy except Jesus. He displayed His “almightiness” when He rose from the dead in resurrection power and “was declared to be the Son of God in power” (Romans 1:4).

Everlasting Father—the term “everlasting Father” has been somewhat controversial. Some have said, “No one is to be called Father except God and therefore it is wrong for Isaiah to have applied this title to the coming Messiah.” Those who said that are right except for one thing: Isaiah was not presenting this as a title for the Messiah, he was describing the fatherly nature that the Messiah would manifest throughout His life and throughout His eternal reign.

Prince of Peace—this is possibly the most recognizable term for the Christ of Christmas. Someday all the wars, all the pain, and all the tears of humanity will cease and there truly will be peace on earth. That won’t happen until Christ’s eternal kingdom is manifest on this earth, the devil is bound, sin is judged, the earth is swept clean of all evil, and the redeemed of God are the only inhabitants of this world. In the meantime, however, the Prince of Peace comes and establishes His reign in our hearts and lives. We can know His peace because it dwells in us.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (John 14:27).

The world around us may be in turmoil but to the redeemed He is the Prince of Peace.

Have a happy and blessed Christmas. This is a season to celebrate! We celebrate the passing of the old and the birthing of the new! We celebrate the gift of God by giving back to Him through our gifts of praise and worship and by giving to others! 

Merry Christmas!

THE COMFORTER HAS COME

In 1905 a woman from Los Angeles visiting family in Houston attended a service at the small church of William Seymour. The visitor invited Seymour to come to Los Angeles and preach about the Holy Spirit baptism, even though Seymour had not yet personally experienced this.  Seymour agreed and in February of 1906, he began to preach at a small holiness church in Los Angeles. After the first Sunday, the church leadership responded by locking the doors and telling Seymour he could not preach there anymore. A rather inauspicious start to his preaching mission in that city!

While the church leadership rejected Seymour, not all the church members did and he began holding prayer and preaching services in the home of one of them. Soon the meetings were moved to a larger home on North Bonnie Brae Street where members of other churches joined in. For five weeks it was mostly prayer and preaching but on April 9, 1906, the Holy Spirit baptized Edward Lee and he began to speak in an unknown language. A few days later William Seymour and six others were similarly baptized in the Spirit— and the revival was on!

News of the revival spread like wildfire throughout Los Angeles. To accommodate the crowds that began to gather, the meetings were moved to an abandoned and rundown Methodist Church on Azusa Street in a ghetto-like section of the city. The Los Angeles press reacted in horror and reviled the meetings as out of control and weird. What an unlikely beginning to a worldwide revival. A one-eyed, African-American preacher holding meetings in a building described as a rundown shack, in an unlikely part of the city, the meeting rejected by the mainstream religious establishment, and the media calling the meeting “weird and out of control.” Sounds to me like something that Jesus would feel very comfortable showing up at.

The Los Angeles Times, in one of its very derogatory articles about the Azusa Street revival, made the following comments: “They have a one-eyed, illiterate Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between wooden milk crates. He doesn’t talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he’s supposed to be running the thing. . . . They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’”

The Azusa Street revival continued for nine years. During the early years, services went on 24 hours a day. Visitors came from all over the world and carried the fire of revival back to their cities and towns. It’s now 109 years later and the revival that began at Azusa Street has spread to over 600 million people world-wide. What had such an unlikely beginning is now the largest and fastest-growing segment of Protestant Christianity.

The message of the song “The Comforter Has Come” that became the anthem of the early Pentecostal revival has a message that can be traced back to the Upper Room. But this was the Upper Room prior to Pentecost and prior to Calvary—the scene of the Last Supper. It was in the Upper Room that Jesus first introduced the ministry of the Holy Spirit and called Him “the Comforter.”

In the days just before Calvary the disciples were bewildered as they did not yet understand fully what was going on. Their expectations were far different from what was actually happening and they were confused. In this time of confusion, Jesus introduced the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He spoke to the disciples, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter)” (John 14:16, NKJV).

The word “Helper or Comforter” that is used here is parakletos in the Greek. By definition the word Paraclete is the transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one who is called to someone’s aid” or “one who advocates for another.” Technically, the word can be used for a lawyer. More generally, the word denotes one who acts in another’s behalf as a mediator, intercessor, advocate or encourager.

Jesus told the confused and bewildered disciples that He was requesting the Father to send “another comforter.” The word “another” means “another of the same kind.” The ministry of the Holy Spirit would be a continuation of the ministry of Jesus.

If you want to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit and understand how He brings comfort to the people of God, look at the life of Christ and see how He brought comfort. Observe as Jesus heals the sick and compassionately ministers to the outcasts of society. Listen as He speaks to the brokenhearted sisters whose brother Lazarus was dead.

 

Study the life of Christ and see how He loved and gave Himself that we might have the comfort of knowing that we are in right standing with God. Understand just a little about the ministry of Jesus to bring comfort to the brokenhearted and you will begin to understand the ministry of comfort the Holy Spirit is empowered to bring. Study the life of Christ and see how the fruits of the Spirit were manifest every day in His life; study His life and see the gifts of the Spirit that He moved in with such ease.

The Comforter has come! Have you made Him welcome?

The anthem of Azusa Street is still ringing in the heavens! Below is a link to a YouTube video of the song “The Comforter Has Come.” There is nothing sophisticated about this music; it is congregational singing attended to by the Holy Spirit. This is the way it was sung at Azusa Street. Be blessed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU98khZAz2g

BACK TO THE WHOLE BIBLE

  

It’s amazing all the ways that we can access all of God’s Word in these days.

1.      We have several dozen versions of the Bible available to us in print.

2.      I have a wonderful study program—the Logos Bible Software—on my P.C. It’s only one of many that are available.

3.      There are wonderful websites available via the Internet, such as Bible Gateway, The Blue Letter Bible and others that have all kinds of study helps.

4.      We have the Bible available on our tablets or iPads or we can have a Bible app installed on our cell phones.

Never in history have the Scriptures been more available to more people, and yet there has never been a time in history when the American Church is so biblically illiterate! 

It seems to me that the more access we have to the Scriptures, the less Christians actually value the Word enough to read and study it. Concurrent with the decline in scriptural knowledge, there has been a decline in spiritual vitality among believers in worship, in evangelism and morality.

As the apostle Paul was finishing his letter to the church at Rome, one of his ending statements was: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4, RSV). 

   

What did Paul mean when he penned the words “for whatever was written in former days”? Was he referring to some of the letters that he had written earlier to other churches? No, he was referring to the Old Testament.

This verse contains a principle of great significance for today’s believer. Everything that was written in Scripture in “former days” was written for us. Not only did it speak to the needs of its own day but it is still relevant in our world. Scripture is relevant because it speaks to our deepest needs and it was designed by God to be that way.

It is through the endurance taught in Scripture and the encouragement it brings that we are enabled to live in hope, in the confident expectation that just as God has intervened on our behalf in the past, so He will again! The word “endurance” in this verse is speaking of the power to handle hardship or stress. Our taking in “all the Word” is making a deposit of the power to endure. It is the power of God that will encourage us and strengthen us during hard and stressful times and God wants us to be partakers of what He has provided.

When you separate yourself from Scripture, you are turning a deaf ear to the voice of a heavenly Father anxious to help you and impart strength and encouragement into your life.

What Paul wrote in Romans 15:4 was not a new message for him. Years earlier he had written to the church in Corinth and said: “Now these things happened to them (in the Old Testament) as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11, ESV). 

Years later, just before he was martyred, Paul said to Timothy, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV).  Paul was affirming that all Scripture is from God Himself, meaning that its teachings are timeless. All Scripture is powered by the Holy Spirit and all Scripture is for us to be taught by—all Scripture!

   

One reason I love reading both the Old and New Testaments is because the Old Testament helps me to understand the New Testament. For example, in the Old Testament, Israel is a picture or a type of the New Testament believer. Egypt represents the world and Israel’s journey through the wilderness represents our spiritual journey as followers of Jesus Christ.

The Bible makes it clear that all of Israel’s battles are illustrations of our spiritual battles today: “Now these things happened to them as an example: but they are written down for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:11). The word “instruction” here is a word that in the original language means “This was written as a warning or as advice meant to keep us from danger or other unpleasantness.”

All these Old Testament examples are meant to keep us from falling into unbelief, as Israel did. The author of Hebrews writes, “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (4:11, KJV). In other words, “Study the Old Testament as well as the New, and learn from Israel’s example. Don’t make the same mistakes they did!”

I think it’s time for us to commit to getting “Back to the whole Bible.”