Category: God

Posted in God, israel, jerusalem, military

Not by might, says God to Israel, but by My Spirit

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel is noted by the nations as one of the most advanced military and technological nations in the world. Their successive wins at various wars have given them confidence in their strategies and protocols. The recent success of Pillar of Cloud in the Gaza Strip with Iron Dome and now David’s Sling missile busters coming online have added to that feeling of confidence in their abilities. This feeling will nearly prove their undoing. Why?

They need to rely on God. But they don’t.

I’ve mentioned this before. In the blog entry titled “Israel, Iran, and Heavenly intervention,” I’d written-

“Of course, we would love to see some heavenly intervention that will stop them, to wake up some morning and learn that they’ve given up on their nuclear intentions,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday during a joint press conference with Leon Panetta, his American counterpart.”

I had mentioned yesterday that Israel’s current military success is a wonderful thing, culturally, in that the citizens of the nation have a bit more reassurance that they can live through the day without a terrorist rocket falling on them. But in the long run it is actually counterproductive spiritually, because as long as they rely on themselves they will not rely on the Holy God of Israel. You see the Defense Minister’s next statement:

“You cannot build a strategy based on these wishes or prayers.”

Oh yes you can. Elisha did.

A week later in a blog entry titled Mysterious site 911 raises eyebrows, I’d repeated the mantra that over-reliance on one’s military and under-reliance on God is a bad thing-

“Israel is becoming more security conscious every day. Their reliance on their military is a good thing, otherwise I’m sure that as a nation they would have been obliterated by now. And, after all, it is God who allowed their successes so far.

However, there is such a thing as over-reliance. … Their continued run of success will only make them ever more reliant on their military and further from remembering that God is behind it. As a matter of fact the Israel Defense Force tweeted, “Our job is to minimize the need for a miracle, even in Hanukkah. We must always be ready.”

Minimizing the need for a miracle, which only comes from God, is really saying they minimize the need for God.

The Israelites of today will drift further and further from Him, until He uses Russia-Turkey-Iran’s military might to draw them back to Himself. That alliance is prophesied to attack Isrel in the last days…ans almost win. It is God who saves Israel.

“I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:7)

Now finally someone of Israel is urging Israel to turn to God and not their military for confidence. Rabbi Dan Dorsch, the Assistant Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, New Jersey, wrote this on Sunday in Haaretz. Here is an excerpt:

From Pillar of Defense to Hanukkah: Why Jews mustn’t glorify military might
Why isn’t Hanukkah in the Torah? Perhaps because the sages did not condone military prowess divorced from God’s presence.

Having arrived at Hanukkah following Operation Pillar of Defense, I believe the words of our sages still speak to the nature of modern military conflict. Like myself, I believe our sages would be proud to be associated with the fine, dedicated, brave modern Maccabees of the Israel Defense Forces, who protect and defend our Jewish state. Yet, as the State of Israel and the Jewish people move forward proudly from that operation into Hanukkah, I believe our sages might also take care to remind us that triumph in battle can never be a true Jewish path toward holiness. Instead, they would probably remind us that the very Hebrew name of the operation, Amud Anan – which refers to God’s protective “pillar of cloud” as He led the Jewish people out of Egypt through the desert — reminds us that a Jew must ultimately never draw his or her strength from might or power, but from God’s spirit.

Hanukkah reminds us that in ancient times, armies fought brutal campaigns and crusades falsely in the name of God and glory. But, as Jews, we only fight as a last resort because it is necessary to live, and so that we may spend our days drawing closer to God in peace.

For Jews, our true path toward holiness must be drawn from the wellsprings of our faith. We may celebrate victory but must never glorify military might. Instead, we must long for the day when all of the peoples of the world will finally put down their arms and live in peace.

They do long for peace, and well they should. However, that day of peace will only come when the Lord returns to establish His Kingdom. However, the Rabbi’s yearning for the peace that is promised is a good thing, because we all must pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6)

Meanwhile, here is a verse that the Rabbi quoted-

“Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6).

Posted in adam, compassion, God

God’s incredible compassion

Posted on by elizabethprata

Do you need a reminder about how MUCH God loves us? Oh, He is so compassionate!!

“And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

Satan had just deceived Eve and Adam. They both had listened to the devil’s lie and partaken of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, disobeying God. (Genesis 3:6-7; Gen 2:9). There was one rule and they broke it, and sin entered their heart and the world.

What a terrible moment! An awful thing happened…two humans living in perfection and walking in direct fellowship with God, rebelled. Listening to satan’s lie they decided that God was holding out on them and they sought more.

They learned different very quickly. However, the damage was done. God cursed the serpent, and the wife, and the husband. (Genesis 3:14-19).

But then, then, His incredible love and compassion reigns. The consequences of their act will remain, but God ‘made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.’

He didn’t say, ‘I’ll teach you to make clothes.’ He didn’t say, ‘Figure it out for yourselves, you deserve it.’ He made clothes, and then HE clothed them. What love!!

But it gets even better. God made clothes for them out of skins. The presumption is that an animal died if God made the clothes out of skins. And if skins were used, blood was shed.

So… the first blood shed on earth was done by God, and for the purpose of covering his sinning children.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now we have Jesus covering us:

Lars Justinen, artist, “Robe of Righteousness”

The first Adam was covered by God, and the Last Adam IS the covering of God. (1 Corinthians 15:45). Rejoice in His incredible love for us, brethren. We serve a compassionate God.

Posted in authority, God, presidential election

Kings and Presidents have no authority unless it had been given from above

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:11).

That was the response of Jesus to Pontius Pilate. Pilate had just said, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?””

Jesus reminded Pilate that no king or governor or anyone in authority has any power in and of themselves. All power is granted from above. Barnes Notes explains,

“No power – No such power as you claim. You have not originated the power which you have. You have just as much as is given, and your ability extends no further. Except it were given thee – It has been conceded or granted to you. God has ordered your life, your circumstances, and the extent of your dominion. This was a reproof of a proud man in office, who was forgetful of the great Source of his authority, and who supposed that by his own talents or fortune he had risen to his present place. Alas, how many men in office forget that God gives them their rank, and vainly think that it is owing to their own talents or merits that they have risen to such an elevation. Men of office and talent, as well as others, should remember that God gives them what they have, and that they have no influence except as it is conceded to them from on high.”

Let us all remember that as we vote and then watch the outcome on Tuesday.

Posted in God, hosea, jeremiah, love

The everlasting love of God

Posted on by elizabethprata

Jeremiah 31:3-

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

Now keeping in mind His unfailing and everlasting love, compare the Jeremiah verse to this video which depicts the prostitute going away from her loving husband and the husband lovingly pursuing her, Part 3 of The Hosea Love Story

And that should remind us all of His perfect and everlasting love to men. I hope this brightened your day!

[TY to EBenz for helping me re-find the Hosea clip]

Posted in God, hell, judgment, paul washer, sin, wrath

God’s holiness and His wrath

Posted on by elizabethprata

“And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

Holiness is a quality of perfection, sinlessness, and inability to sin that is possessed by God alone. As Christians we are called to be holy (1 Pet. 1:16). But this does not refer to our nature. Instead, it is a command of our practice and thought. We are to be holy in obedience (1 Pet. 1:15). God has made us holy through his Son Jesus (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:9). (source)

Our LORD is holy. We so often focus these days on His friendship with us, His provision to us, His loving-kindness … that we could always use a refresher on His holiness, I think.

“so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:14)

“Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:35)

Our LORD is holy! How wonderful it must have been to be so overcome with His holiness that they could not even stand!

The flip side of His holiness is His wrath. He is angry over sin. On the day of His wrath, which is His anger over sin released, no one will be able to stand, either. His holy fury will overtake the sinful world.

They were “calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:16-27).

His sinless perfection is offended at putrid sin. The following is a 6-minute sermon jam from Paul Washer on the Wrath of God. Remember, the flip side to His holiness is wrath over sin.

Wrath
“Biblically, wrath is the divine judgment upon sin and sinners. It does not merely mean that it is a casual response by God to ungodliness, but carries the meaning of hatred, revulsion, and indignation. God is by nature love (1 John 4:16), however, in His justice He must punish sin. The punishment is called the wrath of God. It will occur on the final Day of Judgment when those who are unsaved will incur the wrath of God. It is, though, presently being released upon the ungodly (Rom. 1:18-32) in the hardening of their hearts.”

“Wrath is described as God’s anger (Num. 32:10-13), as stored up (Rom. 2:5-8), and as great (Zech. 7:12). The believer’s deliverance from God’s wrath is through the atonement (Rom. 5:8-10). “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Thess. 5:9).” (source)

Praise Lord Jesus that He will accept you if you repent, and you shall be cleansed and redeemed to His bosom. No wrath will be upon you. GO HERE if you want to learn how to be saved from the wrath of God.

Posted in God, islam, jesus, muhammad, Obama

Blasphemy is on everyone’s lips

Posted on by elizabethprata

It seems that everywhere these past days I read a news story which now affords Muhammad a respect and title he had not been given before. We see more and more often in the newspapers and in media the Muslim man named Muhammad called ‘The Prophet Muhammad’ and not simply Muhammad. They even use a capital P. Entertainment Weekly referred to Muhammad this way. National Public Radio referred to Muhammad this way. The NY Times referred to Muhammad this way. And many others. Obama referred to Muhammad that way just today at the UN. (But ‘Jesus Christ’ was all our Savior got for a title from Obama, not Messiah Jesus or Savior Jesus or even Prophet Jesus. Only ‘Jesus Christ’).

Nowadays when Muhammad is referred to in print or video news items, increasingly he is accorded that elevated status and title.

I believe this is significant. (Jude 1:18; 2 Peter 3:3). It signals a shift away from Christ and toward Islam, which is really a prophesied shift away from the true religion toward a coming false one. At the end of the end, there will be a one world religion, and that religion will be worship of the antichrist (really, satan-worship). (Revelation 13:3-4). Worldwide hatred of anything having to do with Jesus will be the order of the day. (Revelation 13:7-8).

Also significant, is the global push for about instituting some kind of restriction of speech about Islam and specifically Muhammad. On Friday, September 21st I’d posted a news blurb about the Muslim call for a global blasphemy law. I’d mentioned that the Muslim nations had successively made that call at each session of the UN but it never had gotten anywhere. The motion had always died. But it has revived with a bang.

If you think for a moment how ridiculous this is and how obviously it betrays Muslim intention to dominate the world. How can a religion pass a law? How would they enforce it? Can a person mot a Muslim even blaspheme a person or object in which they do not believe? Sharia is their goal. Sharia is the moral code and religious law of Islam, governing every aspect of a Muslim’s life & is based on the Koran).

Here is one news blurb about the global blasphemy law from today-

Muslim-led nations seek global ban on insults of Muhammad
“As the U.N. General Assembly convenes this week in New York, several leaders of mostly Muslim nations are suggesting that the world body consider sanctions on blasphemy, amid widespread protests against an amateur movie that denigrates Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will focus at least part of his remarks on the film when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.”

It’s one thing for people of another religion to lobby for certain rights to the UN, which has no sovereignty over the United States (for now) but it is quite another for citizens OF the United States INSIDE the United states to lobby for the same.

Leaders of Kansas City Muslim group petition Obama to limit free speech of American citizens
“The leadership of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City have launched an online petition campaign for President Obama to back a bill to limit the free speech of American citizens they deem offensive.”

Back at the UN, “Blasphemy campaign threatens to derail UN“
“The demand for limits on anti-Islamic expression is coming from leading Islamic groups such as the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation, and leaders as diverse as the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Egyptian President, Mohammed Mursi, and the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

Hmmm. Interesting leaders it is coming from…Iran-Turkey will form an alliance to attack Israel in the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 37-38, and Egypt will participate in the Psalm 83 war against Israel. (I believe the Hagrites referred to in Psalm 83 are Egyptians. Hagar was Egyptian and she got an Egyptian wife for her son Ishmael from Egypt (Gen 21:21).

With all this blasphemy talk on everyone’s lips, I could not help but remember the prophecies in Revelation 12 and Daniel 7 & 11. In Revelation 13 the antichrist is given a great mouth to boast blasphemies against God. In Revelation 13:5-6 blasphemy is written three times. In Revelation 13:1 he is also called a blasphemer. Daniel 11:36 prophesies that he will say unheard-of things against the God of gods! Thessalonians 2:4 says he will oppose God and exalt himself and proclaim himself to be God! Blasphemy defines this coming Man of Sin! Blasphemy saturates every moment of the Tribulation!

How is all this significant? I’m not sure of the big picture yet. I feel that this global blasphemy push and the elevated name in print are something though. In one sense, it is significant because it shows how global the ummah really is. Ummah is an Arabic word for nation or community, and of course it means nation or community of Muslims. They truly see themselves as a global community of peoples, not just a local coalition of peoples. That is what Ummah means. Why else would Muslims in Sydney march against a movie made by a US resident and shown in Egypt?

As a matter of fact two days ago the Prime Minister of Pakistan called for the Ummah to unite.

“Time for Muslim Ummah to unite; seek permanent solution to end Blasphemous acts: PM‘
Responding to the uprising against the Youtube video about Muhammad (“Innocence of Muslims) the PM said, “Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the Muslim Ummah needs to stand united and seek a permanent solution to ban hate speech that sows seeds of discord.”

He noted the ‘blasphemy’ also. The word blasphemy is on everyone’s lips today but it was on Jesus’s 2000 years ago. The Tribulation will be characterized by true blasphemy, against the one true God.

Christian blasphemy is defined at CARM as “speaking evil of God or denying Him some good which we should attribute to Him.  It could also be understood to be acting in any impious, mocking or contemptuous way toward any member of the Trinity.1 The word blasphemy comes from the Greek word, blasphemia, meaning “curse” or “vilifying.” 2 Blasphemy arises out of pride (Psalm 73:9,11), hatred (Psalm 74:18), injustice (Isaiah 52:5), etc.  Christ was often mistakenly accused of blasphemy by Jewish leaders (John 10:30-33).”

Muslim blasphemy is defined as “Blasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. The Quran and the hadith do not speak about blasphemy. Jurists created the offence, and they made it part of Sharia. Where Sharia pertains, the penalties for blasphemy can include fines, imprisonment, flogging, amputation, hanging, or beheading. Muslim clerics may call for the punishment of an alleged blasphemer by issuing a fatwā.”

One thing all this blasphemy talk is doing is heightening the lost people’s sensitivity for holy and unholy speech. We are beyond politically correct or incorrect speech. Now the global conversation is all about holy or unholy speech. The blasphemy talk also frames debates in religious terms.

Here is what the bible says about the coming blasphemy, the real blasphemy!

“And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.” (Revelation 13:1)

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.” (Revelation 17:3)

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” (Colossians 3:8)

I think the blasphemy talk emerging worldwide is important. We are heading toward a dark time when blasphemy against a non-existent god via a pedophile false prophet will likely protected speech but blasphemy against a Sinless and Holy God will be ripe on everyone’s lips. And watch for how people from this day forward refer to Muhammad, either verbally in news stories or in print. It’s no longer Muhammad but The Prophet Muhammad. The wicked are addicted to blasphemy:

“Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.” (Psalm 74:1)

May the Holy God of Israel and He who is the Light of the World come soon!

Posted in al aqsa, God, islam false religion

Soon He will purify the Temple Mount

Posted on by elizabethprata

There can be only One.

Source: Facebook, Genesis 12:3’s page

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”

Idolatry Cut Off

2“And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.” (Zechariah 13:1-3)

Posted in bible, drought, God, warning

Language of God: drought

Posted on by elizabethprata

God communicates with His people. Isn’t that magnificent? He wants to have a relationship with us. God has always used different ways to communicate with man. He wants us to know Him, His expectations of us, His love and His reproof.

In the Garden, He would walk in the cool of the day. (Gen 3:8). With Moses He spoke face to face. (Exodus 33:11). Or through a bush! (Exodus 3:1).

He spoke to the the prophets (Jeremiah 36:2). In this way He sent the Law and then later He sent the Spirit to inspire the words of the bible, written down by the chosen apostles and disciples. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). He sent angels with messages (Acts 8:26; Luke 2:9). He speaks to us through discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11) and trials (1 Peter 1:6-7). Sometimes He even uses a donkey (Numbers 2:28).

He uses symbols. “And God said to Noah: I will make a covenant with you. Never again will all men die because of a flood. This is my token to remind you of my promise. I will set a rainbow in the sky.” (Genesis 9:11-17). Bread is a symbol of Jesus’ life sustaining eternal truth. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life…” (John 6:35)

If you think about the myriad ways God speaks to us, it is amazing. There is another way He speaks, and like all the other ways, He uses vocabulary. For example, if you hadn’t read the bible you would not know that God is speaking to us when He sends a rainbow. This next language He uses to speak to us is through ‘natural’ events. Earthquake, fire, hail, thunder, drought…are all ways God sends His people His word and expresses His will.

God is the creator of the earth and all the universe. (Psalm 24:1). He can and does use anything in it to get His point across. In Revelation we see 100 pound hailstones, a sun that turns up the heat, earthquakes, and at one point, no rain for three and a half years. (Revelation 11:6).

Remember that everything that happens on the earth, God either indirectly allows to happen, or directly causes to happen. Allows, or causes. That’s it. When people mock the notion that a particular natural disaster event was due to God, they are wrong. We don’t always know the reason behind the event’s occurrence but because God is sovereign, He either caused it or allowed it. Here is God causing an event:

“Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 11:1)

Here is God allowing an event. Satan had come to God and asked to harass Job. God said OK, but do not kill him. The great wind that came and killed Job’s sons and daughters is one of the events that God allowed to happen:

“While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” (Job 1:18-19).

Let’s focus on drought as one of God’s vocabulary words. Drought is not a sudden cataclysmic event like an earthquake. It takes a long time to happen and its build-up is more creeping than instant. That is what makes it even more amazing. Only God who knows the end from the beginning, knows how to start a drought years prior and allow its progression to increase to the point of pain just at the moment the people need to be pricked. That is the heavenly dynamic. This article from NASA explains the earthly dynamic,

“While much of the weather that we experience is brief and short-lived, drought is a more gradual phenomenon, slowly taking hold of an area and tightening its grip with time. In severe cases, drought can last for many years, and can have devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies. … In general, drought is defined as an extended period–a season, a year, or several years–of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical multi-year average for a region.”

Australia is susceptible to droughts– “Why are droughts dangerous? When there is a drought, there is less water available for growing crops, farming animals, industry and our cities. Droughts also impact the environment by causing erosion, harm animals by destroying their homes and cause people to pay more for food and affect our water supplies. Droughts are hard to predict and also hard to live with.” (Source)

Places in Africa are in a terrible drought. “Two of Africa’s impoverished drylands – the Horn of Africa in the East and the Sahel in the West – have experienced devastating droughts and famines in the past two years: the rains never came, causing many thousands to perish, while millions face life-threatening hunger.”

The United States of America is in a terrible drought right now.

Corn prices hit record as crops shrivel
“Corn prices surged to a new record high Tuesday, as the worst drought in more than 50 years continues to plague more than half the country. Almost 90% of the United States’ corn crops are in drought ravaged areas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and nearly 40% are situated in the hardest hit spots. Corn prices have soared more than 50% during the past six weeks as the crops continue to shrivel in relentless dry heat throughout the Midwest.”

Source

 Worst U.S. Drought in 50 Years to Raise Food Prices in 2013
“We’re expecting another year of tough food prices, bad news for consumers,” said USDA food economist Richard Volpe. “The difference between normal and higher than normal in this case is one hundred percent attributable to the drought,” Volpe said. The food price index data is released by USDA each month; it is a set of numbers that indicates how much an average shopper is likely to pay at the supermarket. … More than 60 percent of America’s farms are located in areas experiencing drought. Two thirds of all crops and two thirds of livestock are produced in areas experiencing at least moderate drought.”

The dry section of the Morse Reservoir, one of three reservoirs which supply water to nearby Indianapolis, in Cicero, Indiana,on July 12, 2012. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

This next verse is a direct example of how He uses the language of drought to squeeze His people and warn them they need to repent-

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.” (2 Chronicles 7:13)

God is telling us a few things here. First, He controls the heavens and allows or disallows rain. Second, when God shuts up heaven and prevents rain it is because they have turned their faces away from Him. Third, He makes a promise, if they repent and turn their faces toward Him, He will re-open heaven. What a blessing! God is holy- He hates sin. God is kind, He warns His people.

In this next biblical example, God is telling us that His decision to send drought or rain is extremely precise. He is very much in control.

“I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;” (Amos 4:7).

Annie Vallotton Amos 4:7 illustration Good News Bible
“Still you did not come back to Me”

Most of America, and part of Africa and Australia are without water. At the same this time China and Japan and North Korea have endured torrential rains in just these last weeks.

Yesterday- Torrential rains hit China’s arid northwest
“The heaviest downpours in six decades have hit Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, since Sunday, authorities said.Precipitation from 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday in the city proper exceeded 100 mm, or half of the average annual precipitation in the city, according to the city’s flood control and drought relief headquarters.”

Credit AP, from Salon.com

 God either directly causes or indirectly allows each thing to happen on this earth and in heaven. Every drop of rain is noted by Him. Each arid seed blowing down a Kansas drought-stricken path is seen by Him. God speaks to us in many ways, praise His name! One way is through what the secular world calls ‘natural disasters’…but I call it the loving Hand of an angry God who seeks to turn His rebellious children from their ways. It’s all in the vocabulary. And the dictionary to understand this language is the bible.

Posted in God, new testament, old testament

A Tale of Two Gods?

Posted on by elizabethprata

In this corner, with the wizened face and long white beard, God, also known as Ancient of Days and sometimes as simply I AM. Aged, ancient, and some say, outdated, audience, give it up for God in the white robe, the Old Testament God!

In this corner, with the scarred face and hands, smallish stature and nothing beautiful or majestic to attract us to Him, don’t underestimate this Man of Sorrows, Jesus! Give it up for the man in the crimson-stained robe, the New Testament God!

Through this playful anecdote I hoped to bring to your mind a vivid picture of what I see as a problem today in the mainline churches. They see that there are two Gods, an “Old Testament God” and a “New Testament God.” This reveals a basic misunderstanding of who God is in both testaments. He is the same God. The Old Testament God as He has revealed Himself is a holy God concerned with sin, redemption, and righteous living for the sake of His holy name. In many, many OT chapters, He reveals His profound love for His creation, man, in promising a better future and adhering to those promises again and again.

In the New Testament, God as He has revealed Himself through Jesus is a holy God concerned with sin, redemption, and righteous living for the sake of His holy name. While throughout many, many NT chapters, His Spirit reveals Jesus’s profound love for man, His creation, in promising a better future and adhering to those promises again and again by dying on the cross and resurrecting, He also promises wrath. Just read Revelation. It could be just as factually stated that the ‘OT God’ is a God of love and the ‘NT Jesus’ is a God of wrath. Think about it.

In the entire bible there is wrath and there is love. There are plagues and there is redemption. There are covenants kept by God and broken by man. There are prophesies made, fulfilled, and to come and there is a hope and a future. There is no Old Testament God and there is no New Testament God. There is just I AM.

In the New Testament we see that the wrath of God is still “being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18). The God who came to earth and cleansed the Temple with a bullwhip (Mark 11:15-19) is the same God who in the Old Testament “abounds in love and exceeding patience” (Exodus 34:6).

Though the Jesus of the New Testament is depicted all too unfortunately as a meek and mild, politically correct good teacher holding love-ins on the hill while making daisy chains, He was not. He directly confronted evil, He pointed fingers, He spoke hard sayings, and when the people left, and they did, (John 6:66) He let them go.

God is the same God as He lovingly and compassionately reveals Himself throughout the 66 books of the bible. He is love, He is wrath, but utmost, He is HOLY. His concern for His people is of our sin, and repentance. There is no comparative religion, there is only the superlative religion (L. Ravenhill) and there is no OT God and no NT God, there is only God. He is unchanging. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” James 1:15. And deep down, aren’t we relieved that there is no difference in our God from one covenant to the next?

He reveals Himself to us in various ways. We know of Him through the the creation (Rom 1:18), directly person to person (Gen 3:8, Gen 5:22, Ex 33:11; Adam, Eve, Enoch, Moses), through the prophets, (Heb 1:1), through Jesus (Col 2:9), through his Spirit (2 Tim 3:16), through the Word (John 1:1-5). But though He reveals Himself in various ways, the qualities inherent in that revelation of Himself do not change from covenant to covenant, testament to testament. He remains the same.

If you find yourself saying “Old Testament God” stop for a moment and ponder the gravity of those words. He does not change. He reveals Himself to us as He does and as He will. Is it fair to say ‘OT God’ and ‘NT God’? Is it right? Does it send a good message to hearers? It doesn’t. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). “I the Lord do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) Now go read some Old Testament!