Are we seeing all the signs of the Second Coming of Christ?

Jesus Christ said that the generation that saw the fig tree budding would see all the signs of His return. Every generation has thought they were seeing some, but the generation that sees the rebirth and flourishing of the fig tree--Israel--possibly those born in 1948--will see the Second Coming of Christ.

After 2000 years in the dispersion, the Jewish people returned to Israel in 1948 when the land was restored as their nation. Since that time, the desert has blossomed like the rose. Agriculturally, militarily and otherwise, Israel flourishes.


And if Russia is Gog of Magog, and Cush and Put are Libya and Ethiopia, and Iraq is Persia, it's important to note that all these nations in the news today--in this generation--are in last days' prophecy. Click here to see Ezekiel 37 and 38 for starters.

Some people believe all those prophecies were fulfilled long ago. If so, consider how Tyre and Sidon's destruction was accomplished as prophesied, but in stages--Nebuchadnezzar tore down the city, and generations later, Alexander the Great swept the foundations into the sea and that great metropolis is just a fishing village now.

Also, consider a NY Times story of how a Russian atheist read aloud from Revelation 8 about a star falling into the waters and poisoning them and men dying. The name of the star is Wormwood. The Russian pointed out that in the Ukraine, the word is translated Chernobyl. You'll recall that is the nuclear reactor that had a meltdown and leaked radioactivity into the USSR and Europe. And even now, radioactive waters are washing over from Japan to the California coast.  The article claims by then the radioactivity will be harmless. We can hope.

So, it is not far-fetched to read prophecy about Israel as future, since Israel is back on the world's stage. And  in the world's eyes, Jerusalem is a stumbling-block to peace.  "I will make JERUSALEM a cup of trembling unto all the people round about ... And in that day will I make JERUSALEM a burdensome stone for all people ..." Zechariah 12:2-3

A joke says that when Jesus returns, the Jewish people will send a delegation to Him and they will say, "So. Nu. Is this your first trip to Israel?"

But prophecy says, "they will look upon me (the Messiah) whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as one mourns for his only Son." Zechariah 12:10

My friends do not have to agree with me, a huge number of Christians subscribe to the school of thought that we are seeing Last Days events unfold before our eyes. "Shocking Number of Americans Believe We are Now Living in the End Times as Described in the Bible"

 If so, we will see the Lord face-to-face. Hopefully before a great holocaust on the field of Armageddon.

I sat on the grass above that field and ate lunch with a tour and marveled at the thought of the battle that will happen there. Hopefully, I won't be here for that. One way or another, though, I know I will go to heaven. I hope to see all my friends there. So, please, just humor me, precious friends and neighbors, and scroll down to the big red button that asks, "Ready?" Thanks!

Preparing for Pushin' Up Daisies

The baby licked his lips watching the other grands lick their ice cream. When his mom gave him a taste, he made such a face. So cold! A scoop of Almond Joy in a bowl worked for me. 

The occasion--lunch and ice cream after letting our kids help pick out our gravesite! 

We don't expect to use it for 100 years, so get it out of the way while we're youngish, healthy, and of relatively sound minds.

Cemeteries used to call my house in Florida and try to sell graves and I'd tell them I didn't think I'd need one, and I'd tell them about the Rapture. Some asked questions. Some never called back!

I still hope we won't need this! Come, Lord Jesus!

I just love God.

I used to think God loved us, all right, but sort of in an aloof way.

But I thought about how the Patriarchs raved about His love and His goodness.

And I remembered a NT verse where He tells us to be kind to one another, compassionate/tenderhearted, forgiving one another.

I thought about how Jesus just had to tell the woman who had lost her son at Nain, "Don't cry," before He raised him from the dead. And how He says, "Let the children come to me, don't forbid them. The Kingdom of Heaven is like this."

And I know that He is kind, tenderhearted/compassionate, as He told us to be.

And that He disciplines all those He loves, NT, "so that it will go well with you," OT.

I love God. He *loved* us first.

Waiting!

I remember a sermon that reminded us how Joseph was called to deliver Egypt but first had to grow up, then go to prison; David delivered Israel but first had to grow up, then go to caves; and Jesus delivered us all but first had to grow up, then go to the cross. God had His different plans for each of them, and they all took time!

And all the while, people were dying in their sins. God is never in a hurry but He's always on time.

And He makes all things beautiful in His time--and in His way.

I'm just to rejoice with my writing sisters as they are published and used of the Lord, and I'm to wait on the Lord to use me. He uses us all, one way or another.

I'd love to have a bestseller one day. Maybe I will and maybe I won't. But If I obey, I will get a crown to lay at His feet one day. After I grow up? :)

By the way, are you ready to be delivered by Jesus? Scroll down to the red button that says "READY?"

Two-wheeled terror in my hood!

So, I bought a bicycle today! Pearly light green with wicker basket and saddlebags! Wide-wheels, foot brakes, three gears, the works! I rode it on the sidewalk around my block a few times while I get my balance back. It's been years since I rode.

Off I pedaled, just a little wobbly. Don't let me veer off the walk and get stuck in the edge of the grass! I realized if I went just a little faster, I'd have more control. That worked. I maneuvered a tight little curve and coasted on, then turned and rode down a slight incline. So far, so good.

Braked cautiously, stopped and chatted with a friend gardening. Left her, continued on. My Bible-study teacher stepped outside and I stopped very short and almost went over the handlebars! But we had a nice chat. Then, on and on I rode around the block! Ha ha

I passed my house and my neighbor's ShihTsus came running out to see who--or what I was. We never have bikes on our street. And they are never out without their owner. They just do not obey their owner. He called to them. They ignored him and ran up to me. Off-balance, now, put one foot down and laid shoe rubber for two miles, finally halting up on a lawn, still upright! Yes! The main thing!

The dog's owner jogged over. "Oh, hi, Margo, I didn't recognize you." No? Don't I always sport a pointy white and silver helmet?

He admired my "retro" bicycle, as he called it.

I asked him if he'd had any more nibbles on his house which is for sale. I also wondered if the Lord wanted me to witness to him or just be nice. I had recently told him we hated that they were moving and I hoped we would be neighbors again in heaven. I had asked if he thought he would be there. How would you know?

He had said there are three things required, love, compassion, and good deeds.

I told him that is called a works gospel and that Heaven is a free gift if we give up our own ways and turn to Jesus. He didn't think so. I let it go--for the time being.

So, now, it amused me when he answered my question about his house. "Yes, a woman named Grace is coming back to look for the third time."

"Grace!" Ah ha.

"Yes," he said.

I smiled. "Grace--G-R-A-C-E! God's Righteousness At Christ's Expense!"

He laughed. "Did you just make that up?"

"No," I shook my head. "No, I didn't."

He commented again on my bicycle, we made small talk, and he called the dogs again. "Well, I have to get them home. Come on, (doggies.)  Bye, Margo."

He walked to his house-for-sale and I pedaled away.

Please pray that I watered that earlier seed. Please pray that it is harvested!

If you'd like to know more, scroll down to the red button marked "Ready?"

Change!

Right in the middle of a passage on marriage, there's this: "to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word," speaking of Christ and the Church, Ephesians 5:26. 

Over time, I am falling more and more in love with the Word of God. It's alive, it says, and it feeds my spirit. If I skip a day or two of reading, I really miss it. That's how the Lord can change a person. He makes a wonderful promise, that He that begins a work in us will finish it. He's still workin on me, like the song says. He has His work cut out for Him, that's for sure. 

Thank You, Lord, for being faithful even when I am not. Looking forward to 2013 in You.

C.S. Lewis and mysticism

Reading a book about C.S. Lewis, _Into the Region of Awe_. I tend to skip around in non-fiction, and this time, went to the last two chapters and learned: "Eventually, he would dismiss  his adolescent passion for the paranormal as a kind of 'spiritual lust' and dismiss the occult as a painted imposter of the true joy."

Interesting. I told a young woman near (related) and dear to me that a movie she wanted to show me was "spiritual porn," a desire for excitement in the wrong place. It was horrible, had to do with soul-stealing. {{{shudder}}} She thought my term disgusting. I told her she should think so.


OTOH, the book says Lewis "allowed for certain kinds of 'good magic'. He considered the kind of 'fairy' magic we find in Arthurian romances as basically innocent in contrast to the insidious Renaissance sorcery of spells, charms, and secret symbols. Fairy magic is merely a storytelling device [I wonder.] while Faustian magic is an actual attempt to wield occult powers in the real world." We know from Galatians 5 and Deuteronomy 18 or 28 that God hates sorcery and practitioners do not get into the Kingdom, so I'm just not sure how far God's definition of sorcery goes. Everyone must decide that for themselves--with God.

Then the first chapter says one of Lewis's favorite authors describes *mysticism* as "the direct intuition or experience of God" and "the difference between mystics and ordinary believers was their intensity of commitment: 'This happened to them, not because God loved and attended to them more than He does to us, but b/c they loved and attended to Him more than we do.'"

Another author "was sometimes asked how a person could tell the difference between a genuine mystical experience and a mere flight of imagination or an upsurge in religious feelings. His answer was, in part, that if you ever had one,you would know the difference." And another said, "every believer becomes a mystic in the act of prayer."

Into the Region of Awe: Mysticism in C.S. Lewis by David C. Downing

Good news!

Did you ever worry that you'll get to Heaven and still be your obnoxious, or at least, rebellious self? I have! So, I love this:

"but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away."

"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."

(I Corinthians 13:10, I Corinthians 15:52, I John 3:2)

I don't think the first verse above refers to the completed Bible, I think it refers to the Second Coming. Then, we will be like Jesus--perfect! Yes! 

Meanwhile, we have and need all the Holy Spirit's ministry and power to live in victory in this world.  We need all the help we can get--I sure do!--and we are promised it right here: 

 
"So that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful...."

 I Corinthians 1:7-8

    Until that which is perfect is come! 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Meanwhile, Holy Spirit, Rain Down!

Healed of Cerebral Palsy

Healed of Cerebral Palsy

Does anyone know Bob Turner? Tell him I'd love to chat with him, catch up. He had the most wonderful story to tell.

I met him years ago in a home meeting. He played the piano beautifully for our worship, then he gave his amazing testimony. I love to believe wonderful things and tell others, but I don't want us to be deceived. I wanted to verify Bob's story.

I did. I called his high school and asked the secretary if she remembered him. "Oh, yes," she said.

So I didn't put words in her mouth,  just asked what she remembered. She corroborated:

Bob was born with CP and at 14, his left side stopped growing. His left arm and leg were shorter and drawn up, and he walked with a dragging limp. His parents bought him an old piano for coordination therapy. He'd pound on it in frustration. But he still managed to learn a lot.

One night, a friend took him to a home prayer meeting and they laid hands on him and prayed. His left arm and leg straightened out and even his teeth on that side came in longer. 

His parents didn't believe it when he ran up the stairs to tell them. They had been through so much for so long. His mother put her pillow over her head. His father said, "Let's see if it's there in the morning."

It was.

He went back to school on Monday and teachers pulled him into their rooms to ask what happened. A Bible club was formed and at the end of the year, an assembly program speaker had to cancel, and Bob and the host of the home meeting were allowed to give their testimony to the whole school.

All this, the school secretary corrobrated--in her own words, not mine. Except for one mistake. She said, "He went to a revival..."

No. It was just a living room full of believers.

Bob spoke in several churches in the area, and in my living room twice. I made more friends on those occasions, strangers brought in by friends into my packed house.

It would seem that God is still in the healing business. Several times, the Bible says Jesus healed them "all." Acts 10:38. I don't know why all aren't healed who ask with faith today.

Nowhere does  Jesus refuse to heal anyone. Nowhere does He say, "I think I'll let you keep this affliction. It will make you more spiritual." But we have probably all seen situations where it does.

Nowhere does it say in the Bible the age of miracles is past.

In fact, I Corinthians 1:7-9 KJV says we are to come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Great Commission in Matthew says to do all things He taught/commanded them, until the end of the age/world/cosmos. What things would that include? Matthew 10 says He told them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils. Again, to the end of the world....

Miracles do seem to happen more on the mission field than in more  "sophisticated"  science oriented-countries. Like ours. Ask a missionary back from the foreign fields. When everyone else isn't around.

Is much of the Western church pretty Laodicean, a la Revelation 3? I wonder, but that's another topic for another day.

Some people are still gloriously healed right here and now, and I hope that knowing that builds faith.

And we can dwell on the Word, such as Isaiah 53:5, "With His stripes, we are healed." And "Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today, and forever." But if His plans don't coincide with ours, we should also remember that God has His plans for us, and they're all good. "All things work together for good for them them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," Romans 8:28.

And who does the healing? We are told in Hebrews that Jesus is at the right hand of God. God and Jesus are seated in heaven. So, God's work on earth is done by the wonderful Holy Spirit.

James says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." I'm no expert. I just suspect that God appreciates it when we recognize all three aspects of Him in their different roles. Like it says in the hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy--God in THREE PERSONS, blessed Trinity.

Too often today, we fail to mention one of these blessed Persons, God on earth today, the Holy Spirit, rather than act and believe for Him to minister accordingly, his gifts of the Holy Spirit. Healing, in Bob's case.

My novel's heroine's little girl is very ill and a new believer prays for her. This believer just lost a loved one, himself. He says he doesn't know why everyone isn't healed. He just knows that healing was part of the work of the cross. "With His stripes we are healed." So he prays for the toddler in faith, believing, and....

Pray for me to get a publisher and you can read the book and find out. LOL Thanks!

As for Bob Turner, he doesn't have all the answers, either. But he did get his healing, praise God. May we see more healings like his.

To read what a Southern Baptist missionary personally told me about another part of the Great Commission--casting out demons in Indonesia--click here.

God bless~

God still likes it!

Just looked up "exult" in the dictionary after reading in Psalm 9, "I will give thanks with my whole ♥...I will be glad and *exult* in You."

The dictionaries talk about being exceedingly glad and spinning and leaping for joy. Beth Moore brings it out, too. However, the dictionary says the leaping part is obsolete.

I wonder if God knows that? LOL

Psalms 149-150 say to praise Him with singing and dancing. What if God walked up to us in church and said, "Shall we dance?" What would we say? That's obsolete? Malachi 3 says God doesn't change.

We don't want miracles to be obsolete when we need one. But we tell Him some things He wants are obsolete.

We really are a "peculiar people."

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exult