WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE/recj

The Bible explains to us why things happened. We have scientist to give us explanations. The Bible foretells us of signs and wonders. We read of them every day in the newspapers and the internet.

In the Bible God told of the signs that would happen before they came to past. A few examples of these are Exodus 7:3; Deuteronomy 4:34; Daniel 4:1-3. In the New Testament, He told us of what was to come: Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Acts 2:19; Hebrews 2:4. We are to learn wisdom from reading the Bible; the following three scriptures show us that we should look to two or three for confirmation. 1 Corinthians 14:29; 2 Corinthians 13:1; and 1 Timothy 5:19
We must also remember this: 2 Thessalonians 2:9 ‘Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.’ The devil will come with all kinds of signs and wonders with his helpers and it will all be lies.

We need to be on guard. This is not making believe, it is the true and living Word of God, the only God, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The signs are all around us, we are living in the days that were spoken of in the Bible.

We will compare a few things from the Bible to today. First, we have Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by fire and brimstone. In both Christian and Islamic traditions, Sodom and Gomorrah represent impenitent sin and their fall from God’s grace. These two cities are used as metaphors for vice and homosexuality. The word sodomy comes from the word Sodom, used to describe crimes against nature, consisting of oral and anal sex whether homosexual or heterosexual. God said He would destroy the cities and He did because of the sin that was happening there.

In the United States when we think of fire we think of 9/11 and the great Chicago fire. Scientist will explain the falling of the twin towers due to bad construction that was there before the planes hit, and the Chicago fire to a cow kicking over a bucket. What few forget or do not know is that on the day of the Chicago fire there were major fires elsewhere. Pashtigo, Wisconsin was consumed by fire along with a dozen villages, 1,200 to 2,500 people were killed and 1.5 million acres were destroyed. Holland, Michigan and nearby areas burned to the ground. Manistee, Michigan also went up in flames. Port Huron was lost to fire and Urbana, Illinois had destroyed many parts of downtown. Let us step over into Windsor, Ontario that was also burned. All these fires at the same time. On 9/11, we also lost many to the crash of a plane into the Pentagon building and to another plane crashed by people avoiding another attack.

The Bible speaks of many earthquakes, but we will focus on Moses. God told us in His Word why it happened. Let us look at Numbers Chapter 16.
1Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan andAbiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
20And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,21Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
26And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their's, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. 28And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
30But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 31And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

Let us now look at the world earthquakes. Scientists tell us an earthquake, also known as a quake, tremor or temblor, is a result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth’scrust that creates seismic waves.

The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many of these are undetected as they hit remote areas or have small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year. I was going to include a list of earthquakes that have happened this year over 4.1 magnitudes; it would have taken up a lot of space, as there have been 53. In the last 7 days, there have been 201 earthquakes.
Next, we will look at tsunami, which is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. Earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions, landslides, underwater earthquakes, large meteoroid or asteroid impacts and testing with nuclear weapons at sea all have the potential to generate a tsunami. The effects of a tsunami can range from mild to devastating. Listing of the largest that have happened since 2000: 2004 Indian Ocean; 2010 Chile; 2010 Sumatra; 2010 Haiti; 2011 Tohoku

Was it a tsunami that caused the earth to be covered by water when Noah built the ark? We are sure that some scientists have found a solid factual reason behind the flood. The Bible tells us the story of the ark, the animals and the people that were saved in Genesis Chapters 6 through 9. Noah was righteous and blameless, but he was not sinless (see Genesis 9:20-21). Noah pleased God and found favor because he loved and obeyed God with his whole heart. As a result, Noah's life was an example to his entire generation. Although everyone around him followed the evil in their hearts, Noah followed God. Noah and his family were saved from the flood that covered the entire earth. God ended this story by making a covenant with Noah that is seen by all of us still today, a rainbow in the sky. God’s purpose was not to destroy people, but to destroy wickedness and sin.

Let us look at prophets then and now. In the Old Testament, we have Major and Minor prophets. The Major Prophets were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, ad Daniel. The Minor being Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The New Testament lists these: John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, Peter/Simon, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Nathanael/Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Simon, Jude/Judas [brother of James], Judas Iscariot, Matthias, Barabbas, Paul/Saul, and Agabus. Each one of these men was human with faults, but used of God to prophesize to others.
We agree that in this day and age, we need to be careful, but the Bible did have false prophets. Today we still have prophets. Our problem is we forget that prophets of old had faults. Today we expect men and women of God to be perfect to believe their words. Recently a man of God told that it was okay to put away a spouse with altimzers. Many people were up in arms, how can a man say he is of God and say put away a sick spouse. Surely, they are forgetting when Moses said it was okay to put away a spouse.

Lastly, we will look at Revival. The biggest Revival that happened in the Bible was Jesus teaching. Many were against His teaching; they wanted to see Him dead. He was criticized for not observing Mosaic Law; eating with publicans; gathering grain on the Sabbath; and claiming to be God, among many other things. Jewish and pagans alike accused Him of being the devil when he healed people. Another time He was wrong for healing on the Sabbath. He was sold for thirty pieces of silver, beaten and nailed to a tree where He was stabbed. An innocent man was slandered and killed.
Look back to 1906 in the good old USA. In California, a Preacher leads a revival in Los Angeles. It started on April 14, 1906 and continued until 1915. Here is a preacher who happens to be an African American and he is leading inter-racial meetings. That is just the beginning. Spiritual experiences accompanied by miracles, dramatic worship services, and speaking in tongues are going on. The media and Christian theologians considered the behavior outrageous and unorthodox. The Los Angeles Times reported “Breathing strange utterances and mouthing a creed which it would seem no sane mortal could understand” Another reporter described the Revival with the following words: ‘...disgraceful intermingling of the races...they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn't talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he's supposed to be running the thing... They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’

The attendees of the meetings were often described as "Holy Rollers", "Holy Jumpers", "Tangled Tonguers" and "Holy Ghosters." Reports were published throughout the U.S. and the world of the strange happenings in Los Angeles.

Christians from many traditions were critical, saying the movement was hyper-emotional, misused Scripture and lost focus on Christ by overemphasizing the Holy Spirit. Within a short time, ministers were warning their congregations to stay away from the Azusa Street Mission. Some called the police and tried to get the building shut down.

What we ask is the difference? Maybe a better question would be do you see where they are alike? Where is the USA headed? What will become of this country, which has turned from the Lord? How can we stand by and believe that it just happens. Has God who allowed [yes we said allowed] this country to be formed, finally stepped back and said ‘I leave them to themselves until they turn to Me.”

We are proud to be Americans, but let us be honest and look at what this country has done to itself. We have put the God that blessed us and taken Him out of the public. Are we to keep Him in a shoe box on a shelve, to bring Him out at home, praise Him and then put Him back for no one else to see.

How can we look at all the disaster in the world and here in the USA and feel that way. Look at country’s that do not believe in Him, what has been happening in those countries for years is now happening right here in the good old USA. The USA has seen its share of problems, but the more we put God away the worst this country gets.

Can one person make a difference? Again, we look at the Bible and the same prophets listed in the passages above. You are not alone, we are not alone.

Praise the Lord; He will come in the blink of an eye. Are you ready?

recj/LJG

WHAT IS THE DIFFENCE/LJG
At one time people were interested in what the Bible says. They applied it to THEMSELVES. Now these same people are so busy with everything else in life that they simply don't take the time to seek God, read God, ask God or knock unto God. IF, and that's a big IF, they do take time for God they are now busy applying it to everybody else and not to them. So many are NOT standing up for God. They want all His blessings but don't want to put forth the effort to get them. To me, people are trying to live under the Law so that they can feel like God OWES them. God has already given us all He OWES us and it is His only Son, Jesus. People are more interested in their own pleasures than the pleasure Jesus gives us and the attitude of putting our selfish pleasures first is just plain stupid. God is first in our (recj/LJG) lives. How about you?