Sunday, September 13, 2009

It's Been Awhile

I had totally forgotten that I had this blog! My goodness but time does fly. I also have two other blogs so I've been busy but will keep this one updated as well. :)

Monday, August 6, 2007

The News and the Good News

Headlines scream at us on a daily, and sometimes, minute to minute basis of one disaster or another, war eruption or mans inhumanity to man. Everything under the sun is covered. We have pages and pages of bad news in our newspapers, the 24/7 news channels shout BREAKING NEWS of another terrorist bomb going off somewhere in the world and, for the voyeurs, we have the latest antics of so-called "hollywood stars" to give us something to gossip about, or another tornado or drought being in places there's never been before.

Because of all the technology we have now, we are so drenched by news the world over in real time that it's amazing(in fulfillment of Daniel 12:4). Most of the time we know more about what is going on in China or the Middle East then we do our own neighborhoods. If it's not on the television or in the newspaper, the internet is more than happy to oblige and that with running commentary or opinions stated as fact. It can boggle the mind. It gives us so much more to be concerned, worried or stewed about then we'd ever dreamt of even twenty/fifty years ago.

It's beginning to seem like a trick of the devil to me. A sort of "give'em what they want to hear and overwhelm them with stress and anxiety" ploy. However, the devil isn't a creator, he's only an imitator. He tried this once before at the tower of Babel. People wanted to be in control so they began to build a tower to the skies so they "would be remembered". They have been remembered alright.....as the epitome of babbling and being scattered to the four corners of the earth. But now, Babel(Babylon)is being rebuilt. The word is out and nations are gathering in the Middle East once again from the four corners of the earth. It's on the news.

But there is better news then that or anything else. It's the Good News. Newspapers don't print good news as a rule. Neither do any other news outlets. It doesn't catch the viewer volumne they are needing to keep their ratings high and the adverstising dollars rolling in. Be that as it may, this Good News is still going out anyway. It's the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It starts out bad, I have to admit. The first thing you hear is that you(everyone)is a sinner. No one is good, no not one. Everyone has fallen short of the righteousness of God and all are in need of a Savior. All are required to repent from their wicked ways and turn to the only One who can save them. And, while this news is old...over 2000 years old, it's still just as relevant today as it was the day Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross at Calvary, where He laid down His life that "whosoever" shall believe in Him shall be saved. That news should be in the headlines every single day so that people will know that there is hope for the lost and undone; hope for the weary and brokenhearted; hope for anyone who will call upon the Name of the Lord.

This news is preached from pulpits in churches the world over but there are so many who have come to distrust the churches with their watered down, feel-good, enhance your self-esteem with a purpose driven lifestyle, that they run from rather than flock to the churches to hear the Message of hope and true purpose in life: to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, being reconciled to God through Him unto life everlasting. That's really good news! There is none better! No one can compete for that news and no money or advertising quotas can top it. It's the absolute truth and Truth is free. Salvation is a free gift from God. There is nothing we can do to earn it or keep doing to keep it. All we have to do is just say "yes" to the Lords offer of salvation by faith and accept His atoning sacrifice for our sins once and for all. That's it. It's not complicated like some make it out to be.

The rest of the Good News is that once we are saved(born again spiritually), the Holy Spirit of God will take up His dwelling in our spirits and lead us in the paths of righteousness for His Names sake. Our part is to humbly follow Him every step of the way, denying our Self, not promoting our self-esteem. Should we get out of line(and we will as we are "still but flesh"), He will draw us back to Him one way or another because there is nothing that can take us from the Fathers hand...absolutely nothing. Now, that is Good News!

Do not be troubled by the news you hear but listen instead to the "small, still voice" that tells you "this is the way, walk ye in it". The world can't hear that voice but, once saved, you can and the things of the world will trouble you no longer for you will be looking for "a new heavens and a new earth" to call home. It is soon to be upon us, the waxing away of the old and the coming of the new. And that, my friends, is terrific news! And it is this:

"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, theword of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt besaved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouthconfession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on himshall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for thesame Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon thename of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:8-13)"

Sunday, August 5, 2007

There is a Day Coming

There is a day coming when, all of a sudden, people will look around in an instant and all they will see are the results of millions upon millions of people vanishing into the clouds. Cars will crash, planes will crash, trains will crash, there will be no young children running around playing and chaos will reign after the initial shock. That will be the day the Body of Christ has been caught up to be with Him in the air. That will be the day when everyone who wouldn't listen to the gospel will finally understand that it is too late and now they must face a Great Tribulation, unlike they can even imagine.

Even for those Christians who believed in the rapture but thought it would come at the middle of the tribulation or at the end will be greatly surprised to find themselves suddenly in the presence of the Lord and all their intents on "helping out" during the Tribualtion are gone forever.

The chaos that will ensure after the rapture will be horrendous because not one person left will be a Christian and care for others more than themselves. It will be a time of "every man for himself" and "the strongest shall survive" mentality to kick in full force. Looters will go on a rampage, killings over food, water and other things necessary for survival will erupt in unimaginable proportions. The true character of even "good" men will be revealed for what it really is: "thinking evil continually".

The governments will be overrun with the frozen inability to cope with disaster after disaster so martial law will be enacted to bring some semblance of order. There will be ''brother fighting against brother" in the streets as some will refuse to accept the governments complete take-over of their lives. Guns and other weapons of choice will be as common as they were in the old west as people seek to defend themselves against each other and the government.

Others will literally die, "their hearts failing them for fear". Hospitals and other medical agencies will be swamped with the sick, wounded and dying having little help as supplies rapidly run out. The world over the dead will lie in the streets with no one to give them a decent burial and disease will run rampant; sicknesses that can ill be treated any longer.

The those who have been witnessed to about the Lord Jesus Christ by family, friends and the Church will realize what has happened and understand that they have been left behind to face the wrath of the Lord. Some will rail at the skies, cursing God while others will finally give their lives over to the Lord only to have to run from what is coming next.

A man will arise and promise to put an end to all the chaos and misery that people are living in. He will be charismatic and a hope to many people so they will follow Him and believe all that He says is truth. Yet it will be a lie for He will be the devil incarnate; the Anti-Christ. He will promise peace and security but a mere three and a half years later break His promise and insist upon being worshipped. Those who accept His conditions will live but lose their lives for all eternity. Those who refuse will be put to death if caught but, if not, will not be able to "buy or sell" unless they have His mark upon their hand or forehead. They will perish or they will come together as One and survive, depending on the will of the one and only true God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the world sees this man as who He really is, some will come against him, to war against him in the Valley of Megiddo, and the Lord will terminate that battle by the brightness of His coming. The Anti-Christ, the False Prophet(who has caused the "church" to worship the Beast)will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and the Lord will set up His Kingdom on earth for a thousand years.

That day could be today. What is your relationship with the Lord? If you don't know Him as your Lord and Savior, then I beseech you not to put it off any longer for "ye know not the day nor the hour of His return". Neither do you know how long your life is to be upon this earth, should He tarry. Today is all we really have. Know the Lord and be saved from His wrath to come.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Getting So Close

I do a daily reading of Rapture Ready at www.rr-bb.com, as it is a pre-tribulation bulletin board. There I find a lot of news concerning what is going on in Israel and around the world that I don't find elsewhere. But this morning I was reading posts that concerned me. People have stopped talking about the rapture, the endtimes or coming of Christ for His millienial reign for fear of "Christian bashing".

I also go to Christian Chat/room 34 on Yahoo every evening to fellowship with other believers and even non-believers who (a)bash me or (b)show interest in Christianity and ask some thoughtful questions. It gets quite "lively" but I can't even imagine not talking to them anyway.

As a Christian, I've been bashed but far more than than, I have been blessed in ways unimaginable even when I'd not even asked the Lord for a thing! He knows what we "have need thereof" and He is our provider. So, I intend to go forth speaking of all things Christian in spite of whatever bashing may occur. Ridicule, derision and out and out hatred are to be expected towards those who call upon the Name of the Lord to be saved. Jesus said "If they hate you, they have hated Me first"(paraphrased).

We are getting so much closer to the return of Jesus Christ that this should come as no surprise to anyone. In fact, the expectation that it will get worse is more to the point. Secular people try to dissuade us with "logic" and even other Christians are being deceived by the "new gospels" that are presented in the church to the "tickling of ears". But, we must never let down our guard against the enemy of our souls, no matter the price we have to pay. Jesus laid down His life for us what is some ridicule in the face of that?

It Just Occurred To Me

Being new at this, it just occurred to me that, for those of you who haven't read my previous blog on yahoo, this(my last post) wouldn't make much sense so I'm re-posting it here:

THE US MAKING FATAL ERROR!?
Gen 12:3: And, I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed".

"US MOVES CLOSER TO ARABS, FURTHER FROM ISRAEL

The United States of America Tuesday put its official stamp on the Saudi Arabian plan that calls for Israel's surrender for all time of the land returned to Jewish rule in 1967.
According to a report in Haaretz, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote her signature alongside those of Egypt, Jordan and six Persian Gulf states endorsing the 2002 plan as a foundation for Middle East peace. "
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2085

This is not good! Israel is in the land that was promised to her by the Lord God Himself. As a matter of fact, Israel is yet to be in all the land of the promise given it by God but that day will come because the Lord is not slack concerning His promises.

For the United States to take the position of pushing Israel to give up land promised them by God in a misguided effort to insure a peace that will not last, we have placed ourselves in a compromising position with the Lord of Hosts. I daresay we shall reap the "rewards" of that which is now being sown by our government.

In effect, the United States is saying: "We are siding with Ishmael on this issue instead of Isaac, the son of promise!". Our western mindset that everyone can live in a "free, democratic society" and enforcing that same mindset on others is just plain naive. The Arabs and Israelites have a running feud that goes back millienia and the United States, nor anyone else, is going to be able to waltz into the middle of it and fix it with platitudes of "freedom" on the one hand while enforcing others into bondage on the other.

That has proven itself true with the fiasco that the war in Iraq has become. Contrary to what we like to think of ourselves, we are not the worlds "peacemakers". We only like to think that we are and that is pride at it's worst. That pride will cause us to soon take the fall. In what manner, only God knows.

I love the United States and am blessed to be a citizen of our country but this is like a mother letting her child run riot even though she loves him/her. The outcome will still be the same. Conseqences of actions perpetrated follow at some point on the footsteps of said actions. The Lord will soon visit this so-called "peace accord" with His own plan of peace and it will be the way He wants it....not that of the nations.

Watching this closely for, I believe, it is the beginning of the end. Too many people are wanting to either cut up Israel for their own selfish "piece of the pie" and others are wanting to "wipe Israel off the face of the earth" for no other reason except that she exists. I can almost see the Lord standing up from His throne getting ready to unleash the fury of His wrath.

Study to Show Thyself Approved

After writing my last blog I have been doing a lot of studying! I didn't expect the amount of responses I received and, even knowing less yet of how many read but didn't comment, I really started digging in! I appreciate all the comments as it really keeps me on my toes. I try diligently not to say anything amiss that would lead someone astray, so if any have felt I have then please forgive me.

There is, and can be, only one truth when it comes to the things of the Lord. He is God of absolutes, with no shadow or turning. As I have read the Bible, I've learned that there is only one way to read it and that is to take it as it is written and compare scripture with scripture. It will soon become obvious when something is intended to be a similie, a metaphor, a parable or to be taken literally at face value. And, so it is with interpretation. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy is of any private interpretation(explanation, application" (2 Peter 1:20). Therefore, when I write my blog, I keep in mind that what I think isn't to be taken as "thus saith the Lord" because I am no prophetess.

Having said that, it is also my belief that the Lord gave us His Word so that we'd not only know how to obey Him in our daily lives but see the overall picture of His plan for His creation. If He didn't want us to understand it, He wouldn't have put it there for us to study. From "In the Beginning.." to "Even so, Lord, come.", is the whole counsel of God written for our instruction. In that instruction, we are told "to watch". It is with that in mind that I've decided that my blogs will take a turn toward more on what is going on around us in the world and how it pertains to scriptures. I hope that if any of you see that I have posted error, you will feel free to correct me.

There is so much that is going on in the world today that it gets overwhelming so people tend to turn it off and not pay heed because it becomes wearisome after awhile. I've done the same but now I have a burden to speak out in warning. The time is short and, while no man knows the day nor the hour of the Lords return, we are given a lot of information in the Bible to know the "season". Jesus Himself took quite umbrage with the Pharisees on this point when He said "Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time".(Luke 12:56) I would be heartbroken if, one day, the Lord would say to me "ye hypocrite".

Having said all that, I hope and pray the Lord will give me discernment not only in "this time" but in the writing of this blog. I want only to use it for His glory. It is one way that I can express my love for Him and all those who read it. Thank you all so much.

Moving From Yahoo 360


Welcome to my new blog! I hope you will come and stay a spell. I've transferred to here from my yahoo 360 blog so there may be some double postings until I get the hang of this. Please bear with me. The link to my yahoo 360 is: http://360.yahoo.com/salli_goodin_77

I'm really excited about this new adventure of sharing Jesus Christ with everyone and getting to know some new, prescious people.

God bless and keep you all.