Bible Prophecy and Inspiration

Involuntary ignorance is not charged against you as a fault; but your fault is this—you neglect to inquire into the things you are ignorant of.
Augustine

I’ll tell you what I get out of that quote.  We’re born into sin.  As sinners we’re going to do ignorant things in our lives.  The more in touch we are with God’s Word and caring about what God wants we will do less ignorant things, but were still fallen creatures.

The second part holds us accountable.  Look around you.  People are not even looking into God.  They don’t care to take the time to even seriously look into why we’re here.  Then there are others who are only looking for what they are seeking.  Truth or finding the most obvious reason of why we’re here and what happened, isn’t as important as finding what we want it to be.

That’s where people are going to get in trouble when standing in front of the Lord.  All they had to do was make a small effort to find Truth or the True God and they would have found Him.  Just the simplest effort with a genuine heart. 

Make an effort today to know Him better.  We all need to make it a goal everyday to know Him better.

Hell is paved with good intentions.
Martin Luther

Proverbs 16:25 – ²⁵ There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

Everybody always thinks that how they view things is right.  But if you don’t look at things the same way you did say 10 years ago, we’re you thinking wrong now or back then.

The point is as man were only thinking correctly when it’s in line with the Lord.  Where do we discover how were supposed to live?  From God’s Word!

It is sixty-six books written by forty authors, written between 1446 B.C. & 90 A.D. But, now we discover that it is an integrated message system from outside our time and space domain.
Chuck Missler

How do we know that?

We know that because of bible prophecy.  Only God knows the future from the past.

Isaiah 46:9-10 – ⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago;
   I am God, and there is no other;
   I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
   from ancient times, what is still to come.

Only God knows the future.  Everyone else who tries to predict the future has a brutal record.  God is the only one who knows it and shares it with the prophets who were men that loved Him.  It’s only just one of many reasons why we can trust the bible, but it is a reason that separates itself from any other literature out there.  All the other books or people that try to predict the future without God are easily refuted and found to be false.  God is fully accurate.

An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly.
A W Tozer

I love this quote.  Look around.  We all have some serious issues.  This world is a fallen place.  Just check out the nightly news. 

Want the answers to what went wrong?  Read the Bible!  The Bible exposes man for what he is.

Just like Tozer said, if you’re honest, you’ll find out who you are real quickly.   It’s at that time you have to make a decision.  Do I want to keep on being the sinful, selfish, ungrateful, person I’ve been, or do I want to get back in tuned with my loving God and Savior?

Get in the Word of God.  You’ll figure out what’s wrong with you, others, the world, etc.

When you realize the fallen creature you are and how much the Lord loves you and wants you to seek Him, you’ll find the Holy Spirit and He will guide you back onto the path.

God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.
Billy Graham

Wow, upon observation over time, isn’t that the truth.

Just watch ourselves and others carefully.  We are sinful fallen creatures and are making decisions that are poor daily.  Some are making more than others.  Most of the time it is a result of one selfishly chasing after the flesh rather than God.

Who one is going to marry and make a vow to on being with them for the rest of their lives, is the second most important decision one can make (choosing Christ as Savior is first).  Yet our world is full of people not making good decisions. 

God cares about our future and relationships more than we do.  Great quote above by Billy Graham.

A good way to start caring about our eternal future is to read the Word and allow God to shape those decisions for us.

They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?
Martin Luther

There is one thing right off the bat that this quote reminds me of:

John 15:20 – ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

One comfort we can take comfort in though, is when we are being persecuted because of Christ, it doesn’t go unnoticed before the King.

Matthew 5:9-13 – ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We are either in the process of resisting God’s truth or in the process of being shaped and molded by his truth.
Charles Stanley

It’s the old adage of if you’re not walking forward you’re walking backwards.

1 John 2:4 – ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

I picture an analogy of two people standing outside and one has rain hitting that person and it soaks in.  The other stands and has small hail stones bouncing off of them and they hit the ground and melt. 

We have to let the Lord in.  Many hear the voice and tune it in for better reception, others tune it out.  It won’t be just a choice we made when it’s time to stand in front of the Lord, but a decision that will affect your eternity.

No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.
Abraham Lincoln

Little white lies?  Harmless lies?  Lying is not a good habit. 

Do you think God or Jesus would lie to you?  Would you want them to?  Of course not.

Who is Jesus?

John 14:6 – ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Who is the devil?

John 8:44 – ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Lying is of the devil.  Jesus and God hate lying.  We need to always try and be on the right side of the Lord.

I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.
Martin Luther

This is two-fold.

If we try to do things on our own it always leads to more problems.  On the flip side if we turn our problems over to Him, He takes care of them.

Turning things over to Him physically and monetarily verses wasting it all on one’s self, also is waiting for you later.