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I Will Shake Thee Oh America

9/22/20  God’s Handmaiden

What must I do, oh America, to convince you of My coming judgement?  Many things will happen on your great land, oh America.  I will shake thee and sift you like wheat.  I come quickly, and seek you who are repentant.  Where are you, oh My sheep?  Do not allow the enemy to seek your soul. 

America, your stench of sin is at My nostrils, a foul smell of death.  My sheep, who hear My still small voice – you must continue to prepare for what you know is just ahead.  You know what has been prophesied.  The fall has begun in this year 2020.  September is fair, but soon comes the bear.  Prepare, Prepare.  Danger at every corner, lurking to entangle and ensnare. 

You will be divided, oh land of the free, not free any longer you will soon see.  Many will meet their maker during the fall.  One and all must humbly come unto Me.  The separation of families near and abroad.  Not happy occasions will there be.  Come unto Me now humbly and seek forgiveness.  As the ground begins to shake, I will hold you in the palms of My hands.

A shaking of your land off the Richter scale will take place due to your lack of reverence for Me.  Holy is your Lord and Savior and holy shall you be.  Answer my pleas.  Your days are shorter and shorter.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but all who are Mine shall soon dine.

The Global Reset Survival Guide is Now Available

FREE as a nine-hour downloadable audio book with PDF transcript:

August 07, 2020 by: Mike Adams, NaturalNews.com

It’s now officially launched: The FREE, downloadable nine-hour audio book and PDF transcript with reference materials: The Global Reset Survival Guide is now available for instant downloading at:  GlobalReset.news.  It features a wealth of the best information Mike Adams has acquired in over 20 years of preparedness and survival training, including many years of training with former U.S. Special Forces and Navy Seals personnel.

This critical guide reveals everything you need to know for:

  • Financial survival and asset protection during the collapse,
  • Self-defense survival against the violent mobs,
  • How to survive the engineered mass famine / food supply collapse,
  • How to get out of the cities and suburbs and relocate to an area that’s survivable,
  • How to hide your valuable supplies from tyrannical government “authorities” who confiscate everything, and
  • Specific, detailed recommendations of gear, including radio communications, night vision, chest rigs, red dot sights, firearms, perimeter defense items and much more.

Free Bibles

OCTOBER 6, 2020 7:14 AM
NKJVBIBLES@YAHOO.COM

My name is Nathan and I’ve been looking at your site for awhile now. I’ve seen multiple people talking about power being out in various places after everything really kicks off. I just recently felt led by the Lord to purchase 400 NKJV bibles. As I was praying on how I could distribute them, your site popped in my mind. Since a lot of people have their bible on their phone now a days, I think a lot of people could use a hard copy in case we do lose phones and power.  This email that I made for this purpose. NKJVBibles@yahoo.com

Once someone emails me then I can get their address and send them one.  Thank you, Nathan

Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask:

  • that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 
  • that you may walk worthy of the Lord, 
    • fully pleasing Him, 
    • being fruitful in every good work and
    • increasing in the knowledge of God; 
    • strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 
  • giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  Colossians 1:9-12

The Texas Rancher and the Eagle

A Texas rancher was hunting in the mountains and came upon an eagle’s nest.  He took one of the eggs back home with him and placed it under a setting hen.  The eagle hatched, and was cared for by the mother hen.  For some period of time, the eagle seemed perfectly content to remain in the barnyard and feed along with the chickens. 

But one day, it heard the harsh scream of a mature eagle, swooping down in search of prey.  In the blink of an eye, the young eagle ascended into the sky and was never seen again.  He had found his new home in the mountainside cliffs, for he was not made for the barnyard dirt.

When we keep in step with the Holy Spirit, following His lead and walking intimately with the Lord Jesus Christ, we will have just a taste, a glimpse of life in the eternal kingdom of God where we will be face-to-face with Jesus. 

We were not made to live in the barnyard dirt of this world.  We are not meant to walk in the mire of darkness, to plod along in despair, to wrestle meekly in the morass of sin and temptation.  We were meant to fly with wings like an eagle and soar with the wind of the Holy Spirit.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 41:31

Source: “Set My Heart on Fire” by Catherine Martin

My Danny Wuerffel Moment

In this short piece, you are going to hear about three stories, all true.

His Story

Danny Wuerffel was the winner of the 1996 Heisman Trophy and star quarterback on the University of Florida football team.  In the 1996 national collegiate championship against Florida State, in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, Wuerffel threw an incredible pass that won the game and the championship.  Immediately after the game, the national news media thrust a mike in his face and asked him what it was like to throw that pass and win the national championship game. 

Without missing a beat, Wuerffel replied that he gives all the glory to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all that he is able to do.  The news media immediately switched to another announcer, but it was too late.  Danny Wuerffel’s witness to the Lord was broadcast on national television.

My Story

This is really a story of how not to do things, but I feel the Lord wants me to share it with you anyway.  The year was 2016, and I was employed by the University of Arkansas as a Community Development Specialist.  A colleague nominated me for a top national award in our national professional society.  To my utter surprise, I was selected and invited to come to the national conference to receive the award at the annual banquet.

Over the years I had gotten to know many colleagues from Arkansas and other states, and we have always gotten along well as professional colleagues.  I also came to the conclusion that most are not Christians, but come out of a social science background that is perhaps secular, universalist, naturalist, Marxist, or New Age.  Many would describe themselves to be “spiritual” but not “religious”, which I understand means they have some sense of God and eternity, but do not identify with one particular religion such as Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam. 

As the day approached and I traveled to the national conference, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to speak out at this event, to state that our nation is in trouble, and unless we repent, we will face God’s judgement. 

This is the last thing in the world I wanted to do, as I knew how it would be received by my friends and colleagues.  As the other award winners were announced, they were not given an opportunity to speak, so I rationalized that there would not be such an opportunity for me to speak either, and I was off the hook.

Then I realized that the awardee before me was given a chance to say a few words, which he did, thanking his friends and colleagues for their support.  Then it was my turn.  I realized it was time to put up or shut up, so I gulped and blurted out thanks to my friends and colleagues and especially my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, that our nation is facing great challenges, and if we do not repent and turn back to the Lord, our nation will face severe crises and judgement.

I did it!  I couldn’t believe I did it, but I did, and I thank the Lord for the courage He gave me at that moment.  I was relieved it was over, and pleased that a few people came up to me when the event was over to talk about the Lord and our nation. 

This is how the Lord works – He asks us to give up worldly things for a life in Christ, here and in eternity.  But He won’t force us to do so.

After meeting Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul, the “Hebrew of Hebrews”, gladly gave up everything to follow Christ.  He even called his worldly achievements “rubbish”, that he may gain Christ.

My reluctant witness was the opposite of the apostle Paul, boldly preaching Jesus Christ to Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, Romans, and high government officials, ready to face stoning, beatings, and even death.  He had a clear and strong conviction that he was a child of God and an ambassador of Christ sent to witness the life-saving Gospel to an alien and pagan culture, before the Lord would take him home.  Now that’s what we (I) should aspire to do and become!

Your Story

Now it is your turn.  Each of us will have our Danny Wuerffel moments – opportunities to witness to our Lord, to speak the truth and love of Jesus Christ into the lives of those who come across our path.  Just think – some time in the near future you are in some setting with family, friends, neighbors, or even the guy at the local dry cleaners, and the conversation turns to what is happening in that person’s life or in the world.  Will you witness to our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that it might be a divine appointment from the Lord? 

Do you remember how Mordecai encouraged Queen Esther, asking her in effect, have you not come into the kingdom as queen for this very purpose?

Each of us was created to be alive at this time; let us not waste these moments, for they will not come around again, and the eternal destiny of those around us may depend upon our response.

To God be the glory

Mark Peterson

A Martyr’s Prayer of Surrender

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life.  I give myself, my time, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever.  Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit.  Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

NOTE: This is a prayer from Betty Scott Stam, before she and her husband were martyred on the mission field in China for their faith in Christ.   John Cornelius Stam and Elisabeth Betty Stam were American Christian missionaries to China with the China Inland Mission during the Chinese Civil War. The missionary couple were executed by Communist Chinese soldiers in 1934.

URGENT 2 DAY WARNING Revisited – Was DAUGHTEROFTHELORD a False Prophet?

As many of you know, on September 10 I shared a warning from DAUGHTEROFTHELORD entitled: “URGENT 2 DAY WARNING for 9/11/20!!!”, in which she warned of an attack on our soil that will be “a plague of boils that will start along the coastland and move inland. This will cause panic and fear and a nation filled with tears.” 

I encouraged everyone: “don’t take my word for it, but do your own research, check these things against the Word of God, and take these things to the Lord for authentication.  Remember that the Lord’s time is different from our time, and any message that contradicts the Word of God should be rejected.”  

After the 2 days passed and a plague of boils has apparently not happened, a friend of mine stated: “Clearly the message from “daughter of the Lord” is not from God.”

Here is my response:

Dear Bill:  

You raise a good and valid question, and I appreciate your raising it.  On the face of it, you are correct – the warning message stated: “Daughter, there are things coming your way in two days that will cause destruction in your land. As the enemy wants to commemorate things that happened on that day and to send a message in a new way”, and we have not seen this happen.

Here are some thoughts on this issue. 

1) There are false prophets

It is clear from The Word that there are false prophets, including those who believe they hear from the Lord but do not.  Elijah took on false prophets in a contest, won the contest, and the false prophets were destroyed.  The admonition against false prophets (and false teachers) in the Word is quite strong.  So DAUGHTEROFTHELORD could be a false prophet (although I don’t believe she is).

2) We should look at this person’s life. 

Although I don’t know DAUGHTEROFTHELORD personally, her messages are accepted and posted on a reputable Christian website.  They appear to be Biblically sound, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and posted by a humble servant of the Lord.

3) God’s time is not our time

As I stated when I sent this out, God’s time is not our time, and we usually do not grasp what is happening behind the scenes.  Obviously we should be skeptical when a prophetic word doesn’t happen on the time frame that is stated and that we anticipate.  It is interesting to note that Jeremiah warned for 20 years before destruction came, and I suspect that he did not know when it would come.

Although it goes against our rational thinking, the 2 days may refer to 2 months, putting her prophecy in line with one from FreshOil. Here’s a quote from FreshOil: “However the Lord continued to remind me of this 3-day warning (from August). Then He revealed to me that 3 days also referred to 3 months. (https://freshoilreleases.wordpress.com/2020/09/05/food-for-the-journey-2/)  Then we would have to wait until November to see if this turns out to be true or not. And we get more time to prepare.

4) Sometimes we misinterpret a message. 

The message didn’t say there will be destruction in 2 days. It says “things coming in 2 days that will cause destruction in your land”.  So it could mean something happens in 2 days that later leads to destruction and this is a true warning from the Lord.  It is also interesting to note that Jesus said things like this all the time, that people misinterpreted. For example, Jesus is speaking here:

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.   Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!   Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.”  Matthew 24:30-34

So which of these is true – was this message from Christ genuine (and if so why didn’t this things take place as stated), or did they misunderstand what He was saying?  Perhaps Christ misspoke or was just having a bad day?

5) It is helpful to step back and look at the big picture and other sources. 

Besides the two-day issue is the question of a pandemic with boils.  This is confirmed by several other watchmen, although they did not give specific dates:  Last April 1, Sandhu Sadhar Selveraj, who is a highly respected Christian from India, prophesied on April 1 that 2020 was a year of preparation, and that God wants us to prepare this year because next year terrible things will happen.  He also said a worse pandemic is coming that will make coronavirus look like nothing.  It will be a mutation of COVID, that will feel like the sting of a hornet with great pain, and will cause boils on the body.  Another confirmation regarding boils is from this message from A Servant’s Heart:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYoarFTO5M0

In conclusion:

  • We should always approach prophecies with humility and skepticism – humility because they may truly be from the Lord, and skepticism because they may be false and from a deceiving spirit.
  • We should always test the spirits, and use the Word of God as our ultimate standard in all things.  Any messages that contradict it should be rejected.
  • Because this is about the Lord communicating to His people, our finite minds often do not grasp the full meaning of the message.  This suggests a more nuanced understanding of whether prophecies are fulfilled or not in the time and way we anticipate.  As you may know some prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the near time and are also being fulfilled in these end times.
  • Take a hard look at any messages that include hard dates because they may cause people confusion and disillusionment among Christians (including myself).

I believe crises are coming to America because God is just and our nation deserves it, and because He is merciful and He knows that many souls will come to Him only because of crises that threaten the status quo and their lives.  And that God warns us to prepare for our own good.  I have also come to the conclusion that although quite flawed, I am a watchman, and I don’t want anyone’s blood on my hands.   

Blessings on your day, 

   Mark 

On Fire Christians and Spiritual Categories

The following is an attempt to describe different categories of people from a Christian perspective.  As always, don’t just accept this, but take it to the Lord and check it against the Bible for authenticity.  The intent of this is more to stimulate discussion than an attempt to present The Truth.  We have God’s Word for that purpose.

GOD

An All-Consuming Fire

  • On Fire Christians – actively communing with the Lord in the fire,   strong anointing – WALK WITH THE LORD =                  ON FIRE
  • Spirit-led Christians – spiritual radar is on, obedient – KNOW THE  LORD AND FOLLOW THE LORD =                                  ROYALTY
  • Believers – have a simple faith in Christ – KNOW ABOUT THE LORD; GOING TO HEAVEN =                                                      BLUE SKY

                                      WALL OF FIRE – LINE OF SALVATION

  • Lukewarm Believers – KNOW ABOUT THE LORD, BUT HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES =                                       ASLEEP & MISS THE CALL 
  • Nominal Christians (Liberals/Universalists) – CREATE GOD IN THEIR OWN IMAGE =                                               NO SPIRITUAL FRUIT
  • Non-believers – REJECT THE TRUTH, WORSHIP ANOTHER GOD, GOD, AND OPPOSE CHRIST =                       REPROBATE MINDS

SATAN

Fires of Hell

* Wall of Fire and Line of Salvation – to receive salvation, we must repent of our sins, accept Christ, and become a new creation.  God is a consuming fire, so to come to Him, all must be burned up except our soul and spirit.

* Car wash analogy – when you take your car through a car wash, the machine washes away all of the dirt and grime, and your car emerges on the other side all clean and sparkly.  When we go through the wall of fire (accept Christ), we become a new creation, and the dirt and grime of sin begins to be washed away (sanctification).

* Everybody is going through the fire.  We all start life below the Line of Salvation, the Wall of Fire.  We then either accept Christ and go through the Wall of Fire to become Christians, or we reject Christ and end up in the fires of hell.

Questions to Consider

  1. Which of these categories do you personally relate to?
  2. Are you comfortable with this, or do you want to take action to change?
  3. Consider your family and friends; which of the categories best describe them?
  4. Are you comfortable with this, or do you want to interact with them about this?

The Holy Spirit Communicating to the Body of Christ Today

It is through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that we become transformed into new creations.  As we become filled with the Holy Spirit, our fleshly desires burn away and we can become On Fire Christians.  The book of Acts describes the launching of the church with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.  Here is what the New Testament says about how the Lord communicates with His people:

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  Romans 8:14

I say then: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh…  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”  Galatians 5:16,18

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  John 10:28

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  John 14:26

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. I Corinthians 2:12

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak and He will declare to you the things that are to come.   John 16:12-13

Jesus describes communion with His bride:

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.”   John 17:20-22

NOTE:  You can learn more about how to hear God’s voice here: https://www.awmi.net/reading/teaching-articles/gods_voice/

On Fire Christians – Excerpts from “Consumed by His Fire” by C.R. Oliver*

Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.  Deuteronomy 4:23-24

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fireHebrews 12:28-29

“There is a depth in God whereby one enters the friendly fire that is Him and wishes to be no place else.  It consumes a person in the same way that love consumes the lover.  His consuming fire enters the spirit of man and burns with the same fire that burns within Him.  It consumes everything in its path, like a roaring fire when it overtakes and consumes everything in its way.

This is a flame that burns so deep within it draws a shivering world to its warmth.  This is the consuming flame, that once close enough to warm another, catches that person on fire.

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.  Ezekiel 1:13-14

God’s heavenly creatures live among the flames and God’s people are meant to as well:

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.  Matthew 3:11-12

Behold, there it is!  There is the very fire that burns in my own spirit.  It is a consuming fire that lashes out against all that would affront my Lord.  At the same time, its flames warm my spirit until the desire of my being is to be as He is.

Jeremiah knew this firsthand:

Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.  Jeremiah 5:14

Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.”  But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.  Jeremiah 20:9

The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain.  Deuteronomy 5:4-5

Moses spoke to the Lord in the midst of the fire, but the people who followed Moses were afraid of God’s flame.  They missed the greatest opportunity this world affords – standing and being in the presence of the Lord.  That’s what is wrong today.  People are afraid of His fire.”

NOTE:  The fire of the Lord, His light, His shekinah glory, and anointing are all similar.  We gain other glimpses of the fire of the Lord in the Bible:

  • Moses’ face shone so bright after being in the presence of God that he had to put a veil over it.
  • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego walked in the fiery furnace with Jesus.
  • On the day of Pentecost, there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  Acts 2:3
  • The apostle Paul was so anointed that when people touched his garment they would be healed.

* The book “Consumed by His Fire” by C.R. Oliver is available from www.zadokpublications.com, and the kindle version from Amazon.com.

On Fire Christians Addendum – a Discussion About These Categories

The following is a discussion about these categories with a dear brother in the Lord, who raised questions about them.  Thought you might like to see them.

QUESTION:  How do we know these categories are from the Lord?

COMMENT:  As long as the essence of a message or doctrine is Biblical, it is acceptable.  For example, if you do a search in the Bible for “triune God”, you won’t find it, even though the true church has embraced this theological concept for centuries because its essence, its meaning, is confirmed by scripture.

I suggest a three-fold test for any message:

  • The message must be consistent with scripture and the historical teachings of the church (not the Roman Catholic Church),
  • The person giving the message must be spiritually clean and live a Godly life, given over to the Lord, and
  • The message has been confirmed – from the Lord with Bible verses and/or confirmed by other Spirit-led Christians.

QUESTION:  If we are saying that the Spirit is still inspiring new revelation today that is on par with Scripture, how are we to determine if what someone is saying the Lord told them shouldn’t be accepted as new doctrinal authority?

COMMENT: The terms “new revelation” and “new doctrinal authority” are red flags for me, as they bring to mind Joseph Smith and other cult leaders.  So, I would be very suspicious of anyone who uses those terms, as they are probably not speaking from the Holy Spirit.

QUESTION:  I hear you saying it should be tested with Scripture, but if they are claiming Spirit inspiration, who’s to say they are wrong if we don’t believe the “canon” is closed?

COMMENT: I think it would be helpful to look at some definitions of “canon” from on thesaurus.com:

  • an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.
  • the body of ecclesiastical law.
  • the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic and universally binding in a field of study or art
  • a fundamental principle or general rule
  • a standard; criterion
  • the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired.

I accept and embrace the notion that “the canon is closed”, referring to the Bible.  And I embrace the notion that the canon is closed when it is defined as the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted within historic Christianity – the body of Christ.

QUESTION:  Who is to say we can’t add to it now if we take the position of present-day Spirit inspiration?

COMMENT: You raise good questions.  I think the real key is to whether what is proposed conflicts with or changes what the Bible and the historic church say is true doctrine.  If it does, then it should be rejected.  But if it enlarges upon and illumines what the Bible says, then it can be a blessing to the body of Christ.  Jesus said that He had many things to share with the apostles, but He would not share them; the Holy Spirit would teach them to them.  Are you denying what Christ said?

The flip side of this is many Christians who IMHO state that they believe in the Holy Spirit, but never teach that believers can learn to recognize the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  The result is Christians who know about God but never know Him.  They are the ones who succumb to “The Greatest Danger”:

THE GREATEST DANGER

The greatest danger facing all of us is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all – not these things.

The danger is that we may:

  • fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning,
    • fall short of its highest good,
    • miss its deepest and most abiding happiness,
    • be unable to tender the most needed service,
    • be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God,
    • and be content to have it so.

That is the danger – that someday we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with husks and trappings of life and have really missed life itself.

For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible.  That is what one prays one’s friends may be spared – satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle or thrill that comes from a friendship with the Father.                                                                                       Phillip Brooks (1835-1893)

Perhaps this is one reason many young (and old) people are leaving the church.  They attend for a while, hungry for a relationship with the sovereign, living God of the universe, but just receive sermons and theological reasoning ABOUT GOD; never the personal relationship with the Father for which they hunger.  Regardless of how long they have been a believer or in a church, people cannot teach something that they do not know.  For fear of embracing voices from the dark side, they shut off the possibility of hearing from the Lord.

On a side note, what does the one unforgiveable sin mean: “blaspheming the Holy Spirit”?  I believe it means rejecting the conviction of sin from the Holy Spirit, so a person has unforgiven sin on their hearts.  Question for you – does it also mean rejecting the notion that the Holy Spirit can communicate with people today in the church age?

Setting aside the question below, how many Christians do you know that are ON FIRE FOR THE LORD?  How do you light their fire if you caution them against even considering that the Holy Spirit might be really communicating with them as an individual?

QUESTION:  I also hear what you mean about the various categories, but the consistent witness of Scripture is that there are only TWO categories. You are either all out for Christ or you are against Him. A few examples:  1 Kings 18:20-21, Malachi 3:16-18, Matthew 7:13-14; 24-27, Luke 11:14-23, Philippians 3:17-19, John 2:19, and Revelation 3:15.  Thoughts?

COMMENT: Of course there are only two categories ultimately – people go to heaven or they go to hell.  So that is a given.  Within that context, I find it useful to look more deeply at the nuances within these two categories.  The church of Laodicea for example – they would claim to be in one camp at the same time they are in the other camp.  And the references to Christians on milk when they should be on meat.  And the many references to God as a consuming fire, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace with Jesus, and the tongues of fire on the people at Pentecost, etc. etc. 

So part of this issue is whether a person wants to explore whether the Holy Spirit teaches and leads Christians today (as the Bible says) in a personal relationship, or whether we stick with doctrinal teachings about God, as if we were learning about Buddha or some other historical figure.  I choose the former.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  Matthew 11:15

To God be the Glory

Mark Peterson mpeterson222@hotmail.com