Archive for ‘Personal’

Bible Notes: The LORD Our GOD Truly Is A Merciful GOD

By LaVrai, 4 September, 2009, 4 Comments

Case in point: King Manasseh of Judah

I was reading Isaiah 35 (which prophecies about the healing ministry of our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ, (as David Guzik explains here) and the next chapter involved King Hezekiah, the faithful king of Judah who turned the people back to the true worship of the LORD and away from idolatry. King Hezekiah fell deathly ill in the “prime of his life,” as the king himself put it (Isaiah 38) and the LORD granted him mercy and added 15 years to his life. According to the commentary in my study Bible, King Hezekiah was mostly mourning his death because he had no heir, no son to take his throne and carry on his name. Which makes sense since we don’t hear of the king having any other children in the accounts found in Isaiah 38, 2Isaiah 38, 2
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,

WP-Bible plugin Kings and 2 Chronicles. Apparently three years after the LORD acted to extend his life, King Hezekiah had a son, Manasseh — who took over the throne at 12 when his father died.

Now the accounts in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33 both open with the fact that King Manasseh “reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem,” which I thought was an indicator of how well he must have ruled, that he had kept his father’s standard of holiness unto the LORD. But alas, the next verses reveal a very disgusting king unworthy of the throne.

2 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.”

5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; …

In addition to sacrificing his children in fire and worshiping creation instead of the CREATOR and honoring all kinds of demons and setting up idols in the LORD’s temple and practicing black magic — King Manasseh also “shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another… (2 Kings 21:162 Kings 21:16
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. from...: Heb. from mouth to mouth

WP-Bible plugin).”

David Wilkerson’s Warning For The Assembly Of God Is Sadly Still URGENT

By LaVrai, 14 July, 2009, 4 Comments

I guess the Church has been heading down this road for a long, long time — and I mean the wide road. When I use the “Church” I do indeed mean the Bride, because as far as I can tell, Christ Jesus is letting the wheat and the tares grow together. Some of the tares are easy to spot, but sadly, the others won’t be visible until the great time of testing. The Bride will enter the Kingdom after shedding all of this dead weight.

If this message makes you sad and want to cry out to GOD, please re-post, re-tweet, re-whatever it. Perhaps it will convict someone and remind them of how far they have strayed.

The Dangers of The Gospel of Accommodation

A sermon given by David Wilkerson at an Assemblies of God headquarters chapel service.

By David Wilkerson

I am not coming to you as a pastor but with a prophetic word. God so shook me recently with this message that I should bring it somewhere, sometime in Springfield. This morning the Lord, by His Spirit, spoke to my heart that this is the time. He has called me to be one of His watchmen, and I have wept over this and prayed that He will help me deliver the message in a spirit of love. This is not a chastisement but a warning for the Assemblies of God.

A New Gospel

Accommodate means to adapt, to make suitable and acceptable, to make convenient. A gospel of accommodation is creeping into the United States. It’s an American cultural invention to appease the lifestyle of luxury and pleasure. Primarily a Caucasian, suburban gospel, it’s also in our major cities and is sweeping the nation, influencing ministers of every denomination, and giving birth to megachurches with thousands who come to hear a nonconfronting message. It’s an adaptable gospel that is spoon-fed through humorous skits, drama, and short, nonabrasive sermonettes on how to cope—called a seeker-friendly or sinner-friendly gospel.

To begin with, those terms are unscriptural. The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been confronting—there is no such thing as a friendly gospel but a friendly grace.

Genuine Christians And The Work Of The Holy Spirit

By LaVrai, 2 July, 2009, 2 Comments

A visitor named Yos commented on this article on June 9, 2009ne 9, 2009
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV

WP-Bible plugin, and I’ve been taking my time in order to provide a genuine, Biblical response to the best of my ability. Here’s the question and my response follows after.

How are we to know if the Holy Spirit dwells within us and we’re not in some delusion? I re-call listening to some sermon by a preacher who said something similar to the effect of that it’s possible for someone to go to church, function within it, and believe they are saved, but find out otherwise. By what method can we be sure of of our state?

Another blogger whom I’ve asked about salvation itself told me that the metric isn’t clearly understood,thus leading me to get the idea that no one knows the right way ;we must just strive for it the best we can via what we’re given. At times, it makes me wonder if anyone has a true grounding in what they speak.

How are we to know that what ever impulse we are given that something is right or wrong is exactly so and from G-d? There’s countless people through the history of our religion that may have tarnished the name, but could probably claim some right in their actions.

My response to Yos (and all interested):

When Christians Build Idols: Holy Land Experience In Need Of ‘Jesus Actors’

By LaVrai, 1 July, 2009, 2 Comments

holylandjesus Thanks to a tweet from PhilCooke, I came across this awful classified ad apparently from the folks who manage the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Fla. As we read in the ad, found on Craigslist.org, the folks at the Holy Land are “DESPERATELY seeking 3 actors to play Jesus NOW.” The ad then goes on to list the requirement for physically portraying our LORD and SAVIOR: “It would be good to have the general look of Jesus – beard – grow one or wear one, long hair or get extensions, taller – to create the look once hired.”

This Holy Land Experience ad brings up an issue that has always bothered me — how does anyone know what Jesus the Christ looks like? Has someone gone to Heaven and taken HIS photo or done a sketch? I’m really curious. Is there a description of HIS so-called beard, long hair and height in the Holy Bible that I cannot see? Who came up with this idea that Jesus Christ was some tall, strapping fellow with fair skin, beautiful long hair and a beard? The book of Isaiah actually makes the LORD sound like a pretty plain-looking man (source).

I assume the Jewish men of those times may have worn beards (as some sects of Judaism call for today) — but other than that, how can anyone dare apply such physical traits to Messiah Jesus as this Holy Land ad does when HIS biographers gave no physical description (as found in the Gospels)?

Here we have a popular icon that has become an idol in the mainstream. People actually fight and destroy relationships over what Jesus “looks” like — the stereotypical blond-hair, blue-eyed white male. I have a pretty good idea where this imagery comes from… why are folks still clinging to it?

Would the Holy Land Experience hire a black, Asian or a Middle Eastern man to portray Jesus Christ to the masses? I don’t necessarily agree with the Holy Land (and I have never visited), but was no one conflicted when they sat down and decided what Jesus the Christ should look like?

Here’s a previous related article on what Jesus actually looks like – ‘Do You Look Like Jesus?’

Sin Like Hell And Repent By May 20, 2011… 11:59PM?

By LaVrai, 15 May, 2009, 16 Comments

I hope the title of this post expresses the foolishness inherent with such non-Biblical claims as the following.

(Source: ebiblefellowship)

Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Anyone teaching doctrine that contradicts the Word of the LIVING GOD is either a liar or deceived.

For reference, here’s the original Greek term used for “hour,” as mentioned four times by our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ:

Strong’s Number: 5610

Original Word: w&ra

Word Origin: apparently a primary word

Transliterated Word: Hora

Phonetic Spelling: ho’-rah

Parts of Speech: Noun Feminine

Definition:

1. a certain definite time or season fixed by natural law and returning with the revolving year
1. of the seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, winter
2. the daytime (bounded by the rising and setting of the sun), a day
3. a twelfth part of the day-time, an hour, (the twelve hours of the day are reckoned from the rising to the setting of the sun)
4. any definite time, point of time, moment