United Canceled the Flight!

The boarding pass had been printed, the bags were packed, the

alarm was set and we were fast asleep. Suddenly my cell phone

rang at 1AM, not once but twice,-- so I turned the phone off and went back 

to sleep. At 5AM I checked the messages. Our flight out of DC had

been canceled. No explanation, no “I’m sorry,” only a thank you for

choosing United. Hmmm. Wide awake by now we called United and

waited 30 minutes for a person to pick up. I had been rescheduled

for the same flight on Sunday only now I was seated in the very last row. 

I tried to get something going out today to no avail then asked if something

could be done about the seat. Immediately I was placed in the front of 

the coach section on both flights. Thank you, Papa!

So, what to do with a whole unplanned day? We started with breakfast

out at 7AM, then visited a couple of garden shops for replacement plants for 

the garden; came home and planted the new flowers. The heat has 

broken and so has the humidity. It is a gorgeous day and I am grateful

to God for His plans and for the grace to roll with them. I am so full

of joy as I wait to see what He has planned for me-- tomorrow.

The Jewish Bride

There is a beautiful prophetic type found in the Jewish 

wedding traditions of Jesus’ time. After the betrothal, the

groom would return to his father’s house to prepare the

chamber for his bride. Then, at an unexpected moment,

he would return for his bride which meant that the bride

had to be ready and prepared for his coming. When 

everything was ready, he would come to take his bride

back to his father’s house where they would stay hidden

together in the chamber for seven days. After the seven 

days were over, the couple would join family and friends 

for the wedding feast.

Could it be that Jesus will return for his church just prior

to the tribulation and take her back to His Father’s house

for seven years (instead of seven days), the time span of 

the tribulation? After which there would be “the marriage 

supper of the Lamb” as described in Revelations 19?

We are on the cusp of the most exciting adventure imaginable for 

“Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into 

the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him!” 

(I Corinthians 2:9) We can experience some of this now, but it is only

a foretaste of what God is preparing for us in heaven.

The early church said the following when saying goodbye

to another Christian: “Maranatha,” which means, “Come quickly,

Lord Jesus.” It was not only a greeting but a prayer.

We do not know the day or the hour but we are encouraged to 

know what season it is. However, I have a picture of Jesus standing

at the door of heaven with Gabriel waiting for His Dad to say, “Now!”

As I finish this topic before going on vacation, I want to say that 

I will miss you, dear reader. I am headed to Idaho to spend some 

UP time with family. How awesome is that!  See you again in a 

couple of weeks.

Maranatha!

Wrath or Rapture?

Some believe that Christians will go through the tribulation so there is 

no reason to watch since we are not yet in the tribulation. The tribulation

is a time when God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. So, what does

scripture say about the wrath of God in conjunction with His kids?

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more

shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Romans 5:9)

“We are waiting “for the Son from heaven...who will deliver us from

the wrath that is to come.” (I Thessalonians 1:10)

In I Thessalonians 5 Paul speaks of the sudden destruction that will

come upon those who dwell on the earth. He says that this day will

come as a thief. Then in verse 9 Paul says, “But God has not destined

us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep (dead) we

might live with him. Therefore, encourage (comfort) one another and 

build one another up, just as you are doing” (I Thessalonians 5:9-11)

Jesus says: “When these things begin to take place, straighten up,

and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

(Luke 21:28)

Here are types in the Old Testament:

Enoch was raptured out of the world before God brought

the flood. (Genesis 5:24)

Noah and his family were lifted above the flood in an ark

and were protected from God’s wrath upon the earth. 

(2 Peter 2:5)

Lot was delivered out of the city before destruction fell.

(2 Peter 2:6,7)

God knows how to rescue the godly from what is coming

upon the earth.  Praise Him! He is able! He is willing! He

has a plan!  

Be Ready!

Yesterday I looked at imminence and the fact that Jesus can come

at any moment. But is it important to anticipate the rapture? What 

does scripture say?

“...You must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour

you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40)

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord

is coming.”  (Matthew 24:42)

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)

But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation

and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you

suddenly like a trap...” (Luke 21:34)

There are so many scriptures that deal with His coming and each one

is accompanied with examples of those who do not care, or are not

watching.  Read the chapters concerning what Jesus says in 

Luke 12, and 21, Matthew 24, and 25. Events today are played out 

in the very words spoken by Jesus. Surely, we are in a time of 

world-wide upheaval, uncertainty and apathy. The earth itself is groaning; 

earthquakes, and volcanic activity are reported daily. Ponder this: 

There is a day coming when everything will utterly and completely change. 

How then shall we live?

Imminence of the Rapture!

When something is imminent it can happen anytime--nothing has to 

come first, no prophetic events. The generation that was alive when 

Jesus left was a generation that looked for His return. We tend to think 

that certain prophecies have to be fulfilled and so we feel that His 

coming is not soon. “Besides, it has been all these years and no 

one has been right, so why should I believe that He might come today? 

What difference does it make anyway?”

Well, as always, I want to see what scripture has to say:

“...waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our

great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, being sober-minded,

set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at 

the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  (I Peter 1:13)

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has

not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall 

be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Everyone who

thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (I John 3:2,3)

“Waiting for the blessed hope...'" I love this verse because it comes

in the now. I live in “the now” and I wait in “the now.”  And, yes, He

lives in me “in the now,” however, there is going to come a day when

He appears to us on earth “in the now.” Glorious day!

The Rapture

Paul mentions the rapture in I Corinthians 15--his famous

chapter on the resurrection of the dead:  “Behold, I tell you a mystery;

we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the

twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” (verses 51, 52)

The most detailed revelation of the actual events related to the

rapture is given by Paul in I Thessalonians 4:13-18: 

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are

alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those

who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven

with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the 

sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then

we who are alive, who are left will be caught up together with them in

the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with

the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

The Thessalonians church was birthed in persecution. Then someone told

them that the rapture had all ready come and they had missed it!

So now the church was not only experiencing persecution but they thought

that they had been left behind. So, when Paul wrote to them he spent

time on a subject that was so urgently important to them. 

It is important for us today to ponder these things. Why? Because we

also live in perilous times. Actually, I love to let my imagination soar

when it comes to heaven and living forever in the love of my 

Bridegroom, THE KING.  It either begins with my death... or with

the rapture!... 

Paul tells us that the rapture is imminent; we need to be

ready!

The Little Girl

Once upon a time there was a little girl who discovered Jesus

and she fell in love. The little girl told Him all of her secrets.

Jesus wanted her to hear about “the rapture” and that He

was coming back and when He did so, He would take all of 

the Christians home to live with Him in heaven. It filled her

with anticipation and delight. She even dreamed about His

coming at night. But deep inside she was afraid that when

He came back, she would be overlooked and left behind. One

night as she lay sleeping the full moon came out from behind

a cloud waking the sleeping child who cried out: “Wait for me!”

You have probably guessed that I was that little girl. The mystery

and awe of of the rapture has never left me. As I look at the

headlines today, I am amazed at how many of the scriptures in 

the Bible line up with current events. It is not something I am 

going to cover in this blog, but in the next few days I do want

to share scriptures that relate to the rapture, or the catching

away of the church, as it is defined by Wikipedia.

The Greatest News EVER!

Paul says in Galatians 2:19:

“For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.”

Now, how is it that I am dead to the law and how do I live unto God?

Paul explains the whole Gospel in one verse:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ

liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the

faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

Other versions say, “I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,

yet not I, but Christ...”  When Jesus died over 2,000 years ago we died 

with Him. All of our sins died with Him. Our old Adam was put to death

with all of its rebellion and independence. Oh, yes, we still have our 

fleshly desires and fleshly ways of trying to get life, but we live out of a 

new identity--that of saint, not sinner.

Paul called the Corinthians, “Holy Ones” which is what saint means.

I am no longer a sinner, but a saint who sometimes sins. This is huge! 

The Corinthians were a mess as far as their behavior was concerned 

but their identity, nevertheless was saint. 

Dear reader, if you can grasp this it becomes the first step toward living

the life you have been given. As long as I believed that I was nothing

more than a sinner with a hard heart, I made no progress in the 

Christian life. If I did well, I was proud; if I failed I was miserable.

When it began to dawn on me that I was crucified with Christ in the

past, that He took all of my sin and gave me His righteousness, my

heart began to sing. Yes, I do fail, but now I quickly confess my

failure to draw on His power, the power of the One who lives inside

of me. He loves it when I exchange my weakness for His strength.

My greatest prayer is: “Help!”

Oh, that you might grasp the magnitude of His love and passion for you!

Faith Alone

In Chapter 2 verse 15 of Galatians Paul states:

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not gentile sinners, yet we

know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through

faith in Jesus Christ, so, we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in

order to be justified by faith in Christ AND NOT BY WORKS OF THE 

LAW, because by works of the law is no man justified.”

The Galatians began with grace alone and then were seduced into 

believing that they also had to obey the 633 laws which not one Jew

had ever been able to keep.

When I attempt to measure up to the standards of a particular church

or group to which I belong in order to feel good about myself, am I 

not attempting to be righteous by living up to a standard? “Do this, don’t do

that, witness everyday, whatever.” Do I try to get life by what I do to please

God and other Christians? Do I try to get points by doing A so that God will

give me B?

Oh, dear reader, the oughts are so subtle. I can remember a time when the

word “ought” defined my whole Christian experience. When I was praying I 

suddenly felt that I “ought” to be reading the Bible, or I really should go over 

to that neighbor and witness, or maybe I had not prayed enough. When I 

discovered that the Christian life is lived by faith, that I live and love out of the 

overflow of His Life in me, it stopped being about ME and started to be 

about HIM. I have a choice everyday. Am I going to try to gain His approval

through my behavior, or am I going to trust that He is crazy in love with

me, and nothing I do will ever change that? Even if I go take a nap....

Paul Cuts to the Chase

Paul writes a strong message to the Believers in Galatia. He starts out

by giving his credentials then he says:

It was grace that put Jesus on the cross.

It was grace that delivered you from sin.

It was grace that delivered you from evil.

Side note:  I have heard that word, grace, thrown around in

a variety of ways. It rolls off the tongue so easily but behind

the word, grace, stands the mighty God. He does something

for us that has never been done and which is not present in any  

religion today. But, I can so easily be drawn away from the core 

of the gospel. Look at what Paul says in his opening volley:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who 

called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different

gospel...”

Then on down in Chapter 3:

“O foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you? It was before 

your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 

Let me ask you only this:  Did you receive the Spirit by works 

of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish?

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the

flesh?”

Reread the first three chapters of Galatians. Paul is distraught!

The foundation of Christianity had been attacked in such a way

as to undermine the gospel of grace. A distorted message had 

been received--grace plus law, grace plus circumcision, grace

plus anything--changes the message Paul preached and could

have, will always, bring an end to freedom, to fullness, 

to fruitfulness, and, eventually to the church. Paul saw it so 

clearly. I can imagine the desperate cries and groans uttered by

Paul on behalf of this newborn, newly planted church.

Paul Writes a Letter

The church in Galatia is made up of gentiles in four cities: 

Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derb. Acts 13 and 14 

tells the story of howPaul entered each city; how he was treated 

by his fellow Jews; how he was received by the poor and illiterate 

many of whom were slaves. He never spent more than four months 

in each place where he taught a group of people who knew nothing 

of God’s history with the Jews. Think about it! Paul barely had four 

months to share truth with these brand new babies, and then he left--

for two years. If that wasn’t bad enough, during Paul’s absence 

a man came from Jerusalem to each city. This man with credentials,  

charisma and many persuasive words told the Believers that Paul 

had not given them the whole Gospel. They were told that in order 

to be completely saved you had to be circumcised and you had 

to keep all 633 laws.

Imagine Paul’s anguish when he heard what was going on--and, 

no one was there who could defend him or the Gospel. How could

the message he had given them remain?  What would become of

this little body of Believers. Paul had no way to get to them.

Paul writes a letter...

Questions

How DO I live the live the Christian Life?

The church has expectations on how I am supposed to live.

My Christian friends have expectations.

My pastor is supposed to be the role model? Really?  Well,

many Christians try to pattern their lives after him.

What happens to the congregation when he fails to live up to 

his own teachings on how to be good?

Honestly, what is good anyway?

I have been searching for answers for a number of years now,

and find that the Apostle Paul has some great answers to these

and other questions so for the next couple of days I will be

looking into this beginning with the Galatian Church.

Flesh vrs. Faith

Flesh and faith are opposites. When I am living out of my own resources 

to get life and to get life to work, I walk in despair. Oh, if something goes 

right I soar to the top but when my efforts bring failure I plunge down.

Life becomes a roller coaster. I mean, really, how much control do I have?  

When I take time to listen to God and ponder His love and His power, 

I get a new perspective on my situation and my emotions settle down. 

You see, faith has hope in all things. 

“Now faith is the assurance of (things)

hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.

Dear reader, it is one thing to quote a verse; it is another thing 

to make it my own, to ponder it, embrace it and live it out.  

Papa, My desire is to live out of the life of Jesus and not try to fix 

everything--and everyone, but to be content in whatever comes my way.  

You put the hopes and dreams into my heart, and I believe that You will 

bring them to pass in Your own time and in Your own way.

Faith and contentment walk hand in hand.

A Personal Encounter with Grace

Well, I said that it was going to be a Michael Wells week but God

had other plans about what I was to write. I  went to post something 

and then erased it.

I heard a definition of Grace as being: “God’s riches at Christ’s 

expense.” This is certainly true but it does not nearly catch the

riches available to us. Grace is not just manifested at salvation but it

enfolds all of a Christian’s life. 

On Monday I was walking over to a neighbor’s house for a visit

and passed a house where the owner, whom I had never met,

 was carrying a puppy down the steps into her backyard. 

I stopped to chat across her fence and discovered that her pup

 was very ill. I volunteered to pray for the dog and she readily 

accepted my offer. God has healed two of our dogs, both of whom

had terminal illnesses, so I felt confident that God could heal a 

third dog. I stayed and chatted for a bit and the woman shared

some of her story and at the end she told me how that morning

she had dug out her Bible and talked to God--”I didn’t pray,” she 

carefully explained. “I told Him that I felt like I was only a grain 

of sand to Him and I needed Him to show me something--SOON!”

She then told me that she picked up her sleeping dog to take him

outside and I walked up to her fence--the rest is history. 

Now when I woke that morning I had a thought that I should visit

my neighbor. The morning quickly disappeared and toward the end

of the morning I began to think about visiting in the afternoon. But,

there was a “check” or something and I began to get ready to leave

the house. Things came up and it was after 11:30 before I headed

out, in obedience to God, but without a clue that I was being obedient.

Yes, dear reader, GRACE enfolds all of life!

A Week with Michael Wells: Grace

...He gives grace to the afflicted. Proverbs 3:34

“There is much written about grace today. Not that my two cents

amounts to much, but I wanted to give my definition of grace. It need

not be preached but it has been proven through experience by many

believers.

Grace: At my point of need, God is everything to me that I thought

He was not!

Moses had spent forty years being trained to be everything being a 

young man of the royal family; he was equipped to be a god, a

Pharaoh. He spent another forty years in the wilderness discovering

what he was not. Finally, he was prepared to lead, having realized

that he was a “not.” God told him what to go do, and Moses accurately

responded, “I am not able.” God’s response was, “What is that to Me?

I AM!”

God is all that I am not. First I must acknowledge that I am a “not.”

Next, He tells me what He is, which includes everything to me of 

which I might have need that I am not!. I am not a good father, a

good husband, a good Christian, or a good witness! This is my point

of need. Grace comes and meets me at my point of need! I did not

think He could be those things to me. However, as I recognize

abiding, He is all that I thought that He was not. There is a life in me,

His life, that is a good father, husband, and witness, and He is everything

to me that I am not.

Look at what you are not. Do not determine to work harder, but call on 

the grace of God. At your point of need, He is everything to you that you

thought He was not.

From: My Weakness for His Strength, Volume One

page 197

www.abidinglife.com

The Audience

I am not a theologian.

To whom am I writing?

What if it makes no difference for the reader?

What if no one reads it?

What if this is a meaningless exercise?

These and other questions come to mind as I sit down to write

my thoughts today. My thoughts? I don’t want that. I struggle

to go back to the original call: 

“Do this unto Me.”

“You, Lord? You mean it doesn’t matter if my words are not

read, not understood? I am doing this for an audience of 

One?”

“Yes!”

It is enough.

Financial Peace

Sunday is our final class at Financial Peace University. As in 

most things we have looked at money from different perspectives.

Glen’s view has been, “If you have it spend it,” while my view

has been to “Save for a rainy day.” You can see that these two 

views have spawned some interesting discussions. We have tried 

a number of courses and financial advisors but in each case

have come away disappointed in the application part. Last 

January we heard about Dave Ramsey and found his Video

Course at a church nearby so we signed up. Dave is a man 

who knows what debt and bankruptcy is like--not to mention

poverty. However, out of this pain came principles that have 

kept his family solvent and which Dave has passed on to many 

who have also seen their finances also turn around. He is practical

and his plan is simple--besides, he is very funny! Sometimes

humor is the best way to talk about MONEY. Glen and I now

have a foundation from which to make financial decisions and

are on the same page. Glory to God! We are grateful that our God

is a God who is available to help in all areas of life.