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The Valley of Dry Bones – End Times Prophecy

07 May

Ezekiel 37:1-14 – 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
      I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ “

 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ “

This is another detailed prophecy of Israel going back into their land in the last days.  It won’t be the last one I write on.  I will follow with a few more in the next coming weeks.

Why?  Because Israel is the time clock for recognizing the end times.

Without Israel back in the land, were not in the end times.  Israel is linked to many of the end time’s prophecies one way or another.

The Dry Bones in the valley signify a great nation that lived there, but it’s been a long time.

Verse 2 again says – 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.

 However, Ezekiel’s ministry was believed to be 7 years before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC and 15 years after it.  So the vision Ezekiel is getting reveals a desolate land for quite some time and then all the sudden, God brings the nation Israel back to life. 

This prophecy happened only 62 years ago.  These Dry Bones now live just as prophesied in Ezekiel 37.  God has brought His people back into their land.

3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
      I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

Ezekiel was right, God alone knows.  He shared it through Godly men such as Ezekiel.  How privileged we are to have this available information.  We need to cherish it and study it.  Nothing helps you live for the Lord better than knowing you could be caught up with Him in the air at any second.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, End Time Prophecies

 

Let Go, Let God

06 May

Let Go, Let God

If you let Him, God will take care of you 100 percent.

What does that mean?

It means God knows what’s better for you, than you do.

But you say, “Patrick I know what I want.  Nobody else knows what I want, better than me.”

That very well may be true.    

A lot of people know what they want.  A lot of people are driven and go out and get that very thing.  In America it’s called dare to be great.  But is what God wants for you, the same as what you want for you?

I can’t help but to go to a verse that you will see a lot with me.

Proverbs 14:12 – 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

For the most part it’s easy for us to think worldly, not heavenly.  It’s part of the fall. 

The more you connect with God, plug that branch (you) into the Tree (Jesus and the Holy Spirit), the more you will grow.   

Psalm 23:3 – 3 he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Proverbs 4:10-13 – 10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.  13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

Jesus wants us to jump in.  He wants us to commit to God and concentrate on the big picture in the end.  He reminds us in Luke 17:33 – 33Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

We need to do a lot less of ME, and a lot more of HIM.

Let Go!  Let God!

 
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JESUS – Just A Great Teacher?

05 May

I was recently inspired to write on this after reading a book by Josh McDowell.   Josh is a great apologetics teacher and speaker.  I encourage everyone to read some of his books as they can only strengthen your faith and possibly give you the information you need down the road for someone searching for the truth.  I believe he states the following in many of his books, but I was reading Skeptics Who Demanded A Verdict.

Many people and other religions out there belive that Jesus was a wonderful man or great teacher, but they don’t think He is the Son of God. 

Jesus in Mark 14:62 when asked if He was the Son of God.
 62“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 

The Jews knew the phrase “I am,” referred to God.  They understood Jesus was stating He was part of the Godhead right there, and sentenced Him to death for Blasphemy.

John 14:6-7 – 6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

So the question becomes if Jesus claims He is the Son of God, one with the Father, God in the flesh, is He a good teacher if He’s not whom He claims to be?

If He is not The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and others can get to heaven besides through Him, doesn’t that make him a liar?  In verse 7, He’s letting them know they (disciples) do know the Father now and they have seen Him. 

Once again, there are many people and religious groups out there that think Jesus was a great teacher, but wasn’t the Son of God, God in the Flesh, or is the Messiah.  But that’s a contradiction in terms.

Jesus was either who He said he was, or He’s lying.  If He’s a liar, He’s not a great teacher or good moral example at all.

One of the most important questions in your life is who’s Jesus?

I believe in researching and seeing the miracles in peoples lives, that He is the Son of God.  I believe He is God in the flesh and part of the Trinity.  If you don’t, Josh McDowell has many books on this subject and I challenge you to read them.

I don’t believe I quoted any actual lines in Josh McDowell’s – Skeptics That Demand A Verdict, but want to put down here that this post was inspired by it.  I encourage you once again to look at strengthening your faith by reading some of his books.  Evidence That Demands a Verdict is a great book and I think he has a revised edition of that also.

Jesus is either who He says He is, or He is the biggest imposter in human history.  He can’t be both.  Who is He going to be for you?

I stated before that one of the most important questions in your life is, “who is Jesus?”  The most important question is, are you going to make Him your Lord and Savior?

 
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Posted in Apologetics, Reflections, Salvation

 

Why the Rapture? – New Body

04 May

Next on the radar I’m going to write on why the rapture?

I believe there are a few different reasons.  The first one I will be writing on is we are going to have a new body.

1Corinthians 15:50-54 –  50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

We’re a sinful fallen creature.  We began to die at the time of our birth.  This happened because of the fall in the Garden of Eden.  God couldn’t allow a sinful, fallen, evil creature like man to live forever once he fell.  So he was no longer allowed to eat from the Tree of Life.

This body is not going to enter Heaven the way it is now.  However, if Jesus is your Savior and King, you’re going to receive a new body.  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.  That’s fast.  They say that is about .11 of a second.  

This body is corrupted.  It needs to put on incorruption.  In fact that’s what the King James Version uses instead of perishable and imperishable.

1 Corinthians 15:53-54 – 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

It’s not just perishable but corrupted.  It doesn’t take a private investigator to know our thinking is corrupted, not of God, and this body is deteriorating.

Those that have died already are waiting for their resurrection bodies.  To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  Jesus told the thief on the cross next to Him, today you will be with Me in paradise.  However, the dead in Christ are still waiting for their resurrection body.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 – 13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

The dead are raised and then bam, we’re right there just after.

If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you’re going to receive a perfect resurrected body to go through eternity.  You’re not going to be a ghost, playing a harp on a cloud.  It’s time to get excited and start putting your effort into Jesus and not into a corrupted fallen world.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, Rapture

 

Worldly Goals Can Be Blinding-Part 2

03 May

Now for Part 2.  Continued from yesterday.

God and Jesus are not fond of laziness as we read yesterday.  So let’s now do a little more research on what the Bible has to say about ones focus and hard work.Matthew 6:19-21 – 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:  –  14Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

 16And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.‘

 18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” 20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Matthew 19:   – 21Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

These are not the only warnings we get in the New Testament.  Why so much on this topic in the New Testament?  Because I believe it is the number one warning we need, especially in our day.

If you are an ambitious Christian who has focused his life too much on this earth and not enough towards the Kingdom of God, today is a new day. 

Start putting your ambition to work for the Kingdom of God.  Start storing up treasures in Heaven.  Start working for your crowns that will last forever.

You know who you are.  You’re a talent.  Each one of you has a ministry.  Start using your talent and ambition to further the Kingdom of God in these last days.  What you do for Him lasts forever, everything else passes away.

 
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Worldly Goals Can Be Blinding-Part 1

02 May

I know many talented individuals and go getters in this world.  They are driven.  They set their sights on a goal and they either accomplish it or give it all in their defeat.

There’s a problem though.  This Earth is for only 80 years maximum or at least before the body starts to put on the brakes.  You really don’t get out and start doing your hard work and building your achievements until you’re at least 30 on the average.  So were talking 50 years to enjoy the fruits of your labor, if you live that long.

Nothing wrong with ambition, in fact the complete opposite is laziness. 

God loves hard work and there is nowhere in the bible that praises laziness.  Solomon wrote on it quite a bit.

Proverbs 10:4 – 4 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Proverbs 6: – 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Jesus in the parable of the talents finishes it like this.

Matthew 25: – 26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Now this parable has a lot to it, but I think you get the point on where I was going with it.  God and Jesus are clearly not socialists by the definition of this parable.   They want you to work and there not to crazy on laziness.

Tomorrow we will wrap up this message concerning hard work.

 
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Even In The Small Things Praise the Lord

01 May

We all know we should praise the Lord.  Yet most of us don’t praise Him enough.  

I typed in -Praise the Lord- on the NIV version of the bible and it came up 100 times in the book of Psalms.  David knew the importance of praising the Lord in all you do.

We take for granted the small things in life.  The shelter we live in and the food He has provided.  The safety we have right now.

There are the other areas in our life when something may get canceled that we were looking forward to.  We don’t know the future and it may very well have been for our own safety.  Our car trip may get delayed just 15 seconds because of something that would have happened if not for the intervention of the Lord.  We need to Praise the Lord even when nothing spectacular happens, because even when you don’t understand it, He has your back if you are serving Him. 

If you’re like my wife and I and you misplace things more often than you want to, pray that the Lord helps you find it.  When He does and it’s usually right away, praise and thank Him for that.

I want to finish today by having you read a Psalm of David.  It is one many that he dedicated to Praising the Lord.

Psalm Chapter 145:
1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
         And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
 2 Every day I will bless You,
         And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
         And His greatness is unsearchable.
         
 4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
         And shall declare Your mighty acts.
 5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
         And on Your wondrous works.
 6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
         And I will declare Your greatness.
 7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
         And shall sing of Your righteousness.
         
 8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
         Slow to anger and great in mercy.
 9 The LORD is good to all,
         And His tender mercies are over all His works.
         
 10 All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,
         And Your saints shall bless You.
 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
         And talk of Your power,
 12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
         And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
         And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
         
 14 The LORD upholds all who fall,
         And raises up all who are bowed down.
 15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
         And You give them their food in due season.
 16 You open Your hand
         And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
         
 17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways,
         Gracious in all His works.
 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
         To all who call upon Him in truth.
 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
         He also will hear their cry and save them.
 20 The LORD preserves all who love Him,
         But all the wicked He will destroy.
 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,
         And all flesh shall bless His holy name
         Forever and ever.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Motivation

 

End Times Prophecy – Jerusalem “A Burdensome Stone”

30 Apr

Zechariah 12:3 – 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. – NIV version

Zechariah 12:3 –  3And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. – King James Version

I usually put the NIV version down in my posts.  In this case I think the King James Version might bring it a little more to life.

This is Jerusalem in the last days.  How do we know?  One, because all the nations have not all came against Jerusalem in the past.  They sure are all lining up against Israel now.  Who’s their ally?  The United States?  I don’t know if you have been paying attention, but this administration has abandoned Israel now.
Turkey?  For the last 10 years they have been getting more Muslim and the people are not for peace with Israel.  Also the European Union has shunned them to the point their going in a new direction.
France?  All right quit laughing. 🙂  

Second, in verse 9- 10 of this chapter it has the Lord coming back stating he is going to destroy all the nations that are trying to come against Jerusalem.  That’s prophetic and is in the last days.

There is a lot to write on here in this chapter and I am chomping at the bit to wander off into those areas, but I’m not….yet.  Those will be coming up in future days.

Jerusalem “a burdensome stone.”  Israel has been a burdensome stone to the world since it became a nation in May 14, 1948.  Ah, then in 1967 the Jews captured Jerusalem in the Six Days War and it has become the focal point of the Middle East controversy.  Ever since then every president has had the task or at least tried to deal with the situation.

Today a little tiny nation just a little bigger than the state of New Jersey is the world’s focal point. 

Now the world is saying, well it’s because the Arabs have the oil and they are mostly Islamic and they hate the Jews and now they’re getting close to nukes. 

?????? Uh, Yeah.  And the Bible predicted through Zachariah about 2500 years ago that Israel was going to be “a burdensome stone.”  When?  In the last days.

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, End Time Prophecies

 

Does The Idea Of It Being The End Times Scare You

29 Apr

If we are living in the end times, does the idea of that scare you?

I’m not going to lie to you, if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Savior it should.  I have studied Revelation, Daniel, and the end times in the bible and for those left on earth it’s ugly.

The seven year tribulation is God’s wrath for those who have rejected him.  The Last 3 and half years of the tribulation is the devils hell on earth tour, after getting kicked out of heaven. 

In short, you don’t want to be here.

If you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I believe you will be saved from the wrath that is to come.

1 Thessolonians 1:10 – 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessolonians 5:9 – 9For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are other scriptures also that I believe indicate Christians will be spared from the seven year tribulation.  I’m refered to as a pre-trib rapture guy.  I will be going over those scriptures more in future posts when I do write on the rapture.  However we still can go through trials and tribulation on this earth as it states in the Bible, just like many of our brothers and sisters in the Lord all over the world are experiencing today. 

What’s the difference?  The Bible says the seven year tribulation is God’s wrath.

Another personal thought I’d like to share is I believe Jesus wants us to be excited about his coming again for the Church.  In all honesty I trust the Lord completely and whatever plans he has for me in these last days I will do it and do it lovingly.  But if the Church is supposed to be slaughtered in the last days as tribulation saints, my excitement wouldn’t be there like it is right now.  I believe the scriptures give us a reason to be excited.    

As I stated I plan to do many posts on the rapture in the future, but right now if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior I want to encourage you to do so now.  There are tribulation saints that do have to reject the mark of the beast and will die for their faith in Jesus, but I believe those are new Christians that missed the rapture.  Don’t miss it.  Go over to the “How To Accept Jesus Page” on the upper right column of this blog.  It will show you the simple step of how to accept the Lord and how to get started in your new walk.    

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, Encouragement, Motivation, Salvation

 

God Can’t Be Two Or More Completely Different Characters

28 Apr

There is a big generic belief that God is something different to every individual depending on what that individual believes.

This is impossible.  Let me explain.

God can’t be the God of the Jewish people, promise them that they will eventually live in the land he promised them, while at the same time be the God that wants all of his followers to kill the Jews and drive them into the Red Sea. 

Now it is possible theoretically that they could both be wrong, but since they both have a major, major contradiction, they both can’t be right.   

If both were true, God would be fickle.  There would be no absolutes.  If there are no absolutes, then you would absolutely have to worry about your destiny.  You would have to wonder who God is going to be today. 

God, however, is not fickle.

Hebrews 13:8 – 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Psalm 102:27 – 27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

We’re fickle, not God.  God is an absolute.  You can absolutely count on him to love you.  You can count on him to do what he says he is going to do.  God and Jesus are Truth.

What does the god of blow yourself up and kill others and the God of love your neighbor have in common?

What does the god of reincarnation and the God of spend eternity in Heaven with Me have in common?

Nothing.

All roads don’t lead to Rome.  Only one road and path leads to God and Heaven.  That road is narrow and not because God made it difficult, but because most humans have chosen not to take it.

The road starts with receiving Jesus Christ as Lord.  He died on the cross and shed his blood to cover your sins.  All you have to do is allow him to have taken your place of death.  Then you need to make him Lord. 

Trust me, whatever roller coaster life you’re living, it’s not complete.  By accepting Jesus you are not losing your life, you’re going to find it.

If you say I don’t want to find it.  I don’t want to find God or need him.  I say to you, that is what hell was created for.  It was created for the proud creation that didn’t want to come back to the Creator.  Hell won’t be a party.  Hell is a place of torment and isn’t ran by the Devil, he’ll be in more torment than anyone.

If you would like to accept Jesus as your Savior, please see the right upper column and click on page “How To Accept Jesus As Savior.

 
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Posted in Apologetics, Motivation

 
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