Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
While many around the world are apathetic and lack understanding about the times in which we live, we as believers should realize these are merely signs of the times and have a sense of urgency to be about the Lord’s business.
Dr. Albert Bartlett, an expert on compounding, gave this scenario. Let’s suppose you’re sitting in a water tight baseball stadium which seats over 50,000 people, and you’re handcuffed to the top bleacher. Let’s say a single drop of water is placed in the center of the stadium and is allowed to double at a rate of 1 time per minute. In other words, 1 drop doubled, equals two drops added to the stadium. The next minute, two drops doubled equals four drops, next minute, four doubled equals eight, and so on.
How many minutes do you suppose you’d have before you’d drown? A few months? A few days? Get this — how about 49 minutes?! That’s right; it would take only 49 minutes to drown completely! What’s even more remarkable is that at 44 minutes, the amount of water in the stadium would only be at 7%! Seriously, do the math!
You see, the real action takes place only in the last five minutes. It seems there is all the time in the world and then…perhaps this is one reason the scriptures say the Lord will come as a thief in the night!
I do not want to be sitting there in the top bleacher, oblivious and helpless — do you? Those of us who are aware of the times have a key to the handcuffs — discernment, wisdom and faith! We will begin preparing now for the times drawing nearer by the second!
Let’s get a sense of urgency about the hour in which we live. Let’s pray earnestly, invest wisely, and be about His business while there’s still time! There’s SO much work to be done!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]These past few days, writing about the will of God, has reminded me of the prophet Jeremiah, and how the Lord knew him – even before he was in his mother’s womb, and he was sanctified by God as a prophet to the nations. A similar foreknowledge and ordination of God belongs to us who are under the New Covenant. God’s foreknowledge of His people is clearly stated in scripture. We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless, and created in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) unto good works which He foreordained that we walk in them.
Writing daily devotions throughout the years I’ve often been asked the question, “How do I find the will of God?” There are probably many good scriptural approaches to answering this question; but I want to offer something very basic as you think about understanding the will of God. That is, simply, that you’ll know His will when you come to know the heart of God.
For the past few days we’ve been delving into the multiple meanings of “Amen”. While “Amen” is most commonly found at the end of prayers, the Lord Yeshua (Jesus) often used it at the beginning of a statement: “Truly, truly, I say unto you …” more accurately translated, “Amen, Amen, I say unto you…”
Murmuring or complaining is one of those sins that are overlooked. Sometimes we get so focused on the “big sins” such as murder and adultery that we overlook this sin — but the Lord doesn’t give this sin a free pass — quite the opposite. It’s a hidden killer! This sin unleashed a plague that killed thousands of Israelites! [Numbers 16]
The city of Laodicea was founded nearly three centuries before the birth of Christ. Built on a trade route, Laodicea was quite prosperous. The wealth of the city was legendary, as Jews who lived there sent 9 kilograms (20 lbs) of gold to the Temple in Jerusalem on a yearly basis according to historical records.
Laodicea was an idyllic city except for its lack of a water supply. It depended on water from an external source, the city of Hierapolis was located six miles to the north, the site of mineral hot springs which were used for medicinal purposes. These steaming hot waters were piped to Laodicea, arriving there… lukewarm, hence the metaphor in Yeshua’s warning to the Laodicean church.
The church at Laodicea received a stern warning in chapter 3 of John’s Revelation. We would do well to reflect on it.
The word “Laodicea” is a compound in the Greek; “Laos” which principally means “people”, and “dike”, defined as “principle or decision”. One rendering might read, “rule of the people”, or, in modern terms, “Democracy”. In the western world, we have an affection and even a deep commitment to Democracy. Yet this form of government, “rule of the people” is fatally flawed… because we are fatally flawed by our sin nature…