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Penitent Prayer

In the KJV Bible that I have, there is a picture of Ezra prostrated in prayer with the below caption:

“Ezra was burdened and ashamed to face his Creator because of the compromise of God’s people. Compromise in the Christian takes away his confidence before God.”

Since we are all sinners, we’ve all been there.  We convince ourselves that a tiny compromise in choosing to do what we want, rather than what the Bible teaches us, won’t harm us.  But it does.

When we finally decide to repent, we take our sin to Jesus and He forgives us.  And we are so Blessed that He does.  But sometimes, we find it harder to forgive ourselves!  Our own feelings of guilt remain and we find ourselves running back to Jesus asking Him for forgiveness again when He has already forgiven us!  Jesus’ forgiveness is absolute and it is forever.  What we really need to ask Jesus is to help us forgive ourselves!

In the above writing about Ezra.  It is our own feelings of guilt that “takes away” our “confidence” before God.  This is one reason why it is so important to avoid any type of compromise. 

We know what the Bible teaches, and we need to follow God’s Teachings.  Because when we do, we can meet our Lord unburdened and with confidence 🙂

The Day of Christ’s Return will be here before we know it.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

A friend sent me this and I thought it so wonderful, I just had to share. We say quite a bit about the need for prayer, but not nearly enough about how to pray 🙂

“Once upon a time, when some children in a family were growing up, the family had regular devotional times of sharing God and studying His Word . During these special moments of giving our Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Glory and Honor, they would have what they called “Popcorn Prayer” time. Everyone randomly called out a name or situation that needed prayer in no special order! This gave all the family plenty of chances to pray out loud and often. Prayer is not a ritual that depends on closing eyes, to kneel or sit. We can pray even while walking or working. Our Heavenly Father responds to a one or two word cry for help, just like He does a focused prayer time after reading Scripture. Praying doesn’t have to be complicated. God delights in any simple words we offer Him. We should just pray fervently, with all our heart, mind and spirit.

Whether you have had a personal relationship with God for years or you are only beginning to discover who Jesus is, we all need guidance when it comes to prayers, It’s often hard to find words to pray. That is why before we pray, we should always ask our Lord to send His Holy Spirit as our Helper and Guide. This involves various topics including worry, anxiety, doubt, forgiveness, fear, and other areas of life where we need to ask for God’s help. Sometimes just admitting to your Father that you are at a loss for words. That you are not sure how to pray for this difficult situation. But you know His Promise that He hears your prayers and you want to try praying now. The best part of praying IS that when you send your prayers, Jesus Christ intervenes and helps us to send our request to His Father in heaven!

My thoughts and prayers are that you allow the Holy Spirit to help and guide you in your prayers. That through the world’s chaos and confusion, feeling like drowning in your circumstances, you receive the Strength and Peace that only God can give. That right now and  always, you choose to Trust and Rest in your Heavenly Father. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.”

 

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”-Revelation 22:1-2

Reading this, I can’t wait to be there!  How beautiful!  We don’t share enough about just how wonderful the Heaven is, but it is waiting for us!

And we will finally see Jesus’ face!  How great will that be ?.  It goes on to say, “His servants will serve Him”  (and that’s us too), and His name will be “in our foreheads” ? What Joy!

And there will be no more night, for the light of the Lord God will light up Heaven.

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“Behold, I come quickly:  blessed is he that keeps the saying of the prophecy of this book” – Revelation 22:7

There are some who have been confused by the “Behold, I come quickly”, because it doesn’t seem quickly to them.  But we need to remember, God’s Time is NOT our Time ?  Jesus will return ?

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In Revelation 22:12 it says: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”-Revelation 22:12

In Ephesians 2:-9 it says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”-Ephesians 2:8-9

These two verses are not in conflict.  We are saved by faith alone!  But our rewards are determined by our “work”.  And remember, James says that Faith without works is dead:

“Faith Without Works Is Dead”

^” What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”-James 2:  14-17

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In close, Revelation 22:18-19 are clear:

“A Warning”

^“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God  shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” – Revelation 22-18-19

Pray, Prepare & Be Ready!

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God”– Revelation 21:1-3

How amazing and wonderful it will be! Not only to see the new heaven and new earth, but to live with God Himself! The joy will be indescribable! Impossible to put into words!

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”-Revelation 21:7

We will never want for anything again! Can you imagine 🙂

But God’s Word does go on to say:

“ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”-Revelation 21:8

God is perfectly Merciful, but God is also perfectly Just.

The next section of Revelation Chapter 21, goes on to describe just how piercingly beautiful Heaven is. There is a theme that runs through these paragraphs – and it is the number 12. Twelve Apostles. For without the Twelve Apostles, who would have carried Jesus’ Great Gospel 🙂

There will no longer be a need for a physical temple, for “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple” (Revelation 21:22)

“ And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”-Revelation 21:23

One of the real Gifts in Heaven, is we will not need to fear any longer. God will not allow anything that is not of Him to enter. Only those that God allows and those in the Book of Life will be allowed to enter. We will be forever safe 🙂

Pray, Prepare & Be Grateful, for God Always Keeps His Promises:)

An Angel with a key bound the dragon (satan) for a 1,000 years and cast him into the bottomless pit for a 1,000 years, and he could no longer deceive the nations during that time.  However, after this, he will be “loosed for a little season.”

In the “first resurrection”, those who rejected Christ and were dead, stayed dead.  Those who served Christ, some even died for Christ and all those who refused the mark and refused to worship the beast reigned with Christ for 1,000 years.  They will become “priests of God and of Christ”.

After 1,000 years, satan is allowed out of his prison for a little while.  He deceives the nations once again and he and gog and magog persuade many others to battle against God.  But a fire came down out of Heaven, sent by God Himself, and devoured satan and all those who made the fatal mistake of following him.  And the devil who had so deceived so many for so long will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and false prophet are.  In this lake of fire, they will all be tormented 24-7, forever.

Finally, God will sit on the throne.  Both earth and Heaven will have “fled away” and the people whose names are written in the ”Book of Life” will live with God, but all of the rest will be cast into the lake of fire.

One cautionary note from James.  “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  Just saying the words, I believe, is not enough.  For as James says in James 2, a true believer lives the life of a true believer.

Think about it like this.  If a mother says she love her children, but never feeds or hugs them, does she really love them?

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

“‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” – Revelation 19:9

And Blessed they are :). What is the Marriage of the Lamb? The Marriage of the Lamb is the union of Jesus with His people. It is a union so close, it can only be compared to a marriage. And we get ready for this great union by allowing God to work in us 🙂

Next we see the great Battle of Armageddon.  Spoiler alert:  Jesus Wins ?

We see Jesus on a White Horse, leading an army from Heaven clothed in white.  The “Sharp Sword” is God’s Word.  The beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gather together to make war against our Lord, the King of Kings.

However, Jesus wins and the beast and the false prophets are thrown into the lake of fire.  And the kings of the earth and their armies and All who rejected Jesus are slain by the Sword (God’s Word) that came out of Christ’s mouth.

If you have not already done so-Accept Christ today! We do not want to be in the group who are slain. Rather, we want to be in the group which goes to the Marriage Supper With The Lamb (Jesus) 🙂

Pray, Prepare & Be Ready!

First, we read that “Babylon has fallen”, next we read that all of the evil spirits are contained within Babylon. God warns His people to come out of her!

Of interest, we later read that the harlot can not even see the sorrow she has caused:

“shall see no sorrow” – Revelation 18:7

This makes sense because clearly the Holy Spirit is not in her.  And without the Holy Spirit, we can not see the Truth of the world around us.

Next, we see God’s Judgement of her. And they are many such as  she is “utterly burned with fire”.

The kings of the earth, as usual, are fairweather friends.  While they mourn her demise, they do so from far off because they are afraid.  And well they should be.  The merchants of the earth also mourn her.  They had become very rich and very sinful during her time and now “no man buys their merchandise any more”.  The merchants will also stand far off to mourn her, because they are also afraid. 

God’s Word goes on to say, “in one hour so great riches is come to nothing”.  And that one reason why these verses are so important:

“ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust^[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

Pray, Prepare & Be Ready!

In Revelation 17, we read of the “MOTHER OF HARLOTTS” riding the beast.  It’s hard to say who is ruling who, but we know evil is ruling evil.  The beast has 10 horns which represent the 10 kings who rule the earth.

God’s Word goes on to share will us the great visions of John.  But the point in this chapter is that evil rules the earth.  We see in Revelation 17:17:  “for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”.  So if the 10 kings rule the earth and they give their power to the beast.  Clearly, evil will rule the world “until the words of God are fulfilled”.

But we do not have to let evil rule us!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

The First Angel poured out God’s Wrath and the men who had worshipped the beast and taken the mark became stricken with sores.

The Second Angel poured out God’s Wrath upon the sea and “every living soul died”.

The Third Angel poured out God’s Wrath upon the rivers and fountains of water and they turned into blood.

The Fourth Angel poured out God’s Wrath upon the sun.  “and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.”

And still, they did not repent!

The Fifth Angel poured out God’s Wrath “upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,”

The Sixth Angel poured out God’s Wrath, on the river Euphrates; “and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared”

“Behold, I come as a thief.  Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments”

It is here that we read of the gathering at Armageddon.

The 7^th Angel poured out God’s Wrath men.  This particular plague was a plague of Hail. Each Hailstone weighed 129 pounds.  It’s hard to imagine, but true.  Men blasphemed God.  What does it mean to blaspheme God?  One dictionary says it is to, “speak irreverently about God”.  Big, big mistake.  Huge!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready.

In the first paragraph of Revelation 15, we read that seven Angels will deliver the last 7 plagues of God’s Wrath. Woe are those that receive God’s Wrath!

Next, we read: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”-Revelation 15:2

What a wonderful and amazing sight this must have been!

Chapter 15 ends by making it clear that no man would be able to enter into God’s Temple until…

“no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”-Revelation 15:8

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!