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| EPrata photo. Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada |
Heidi Mund: "The Brave German Woman"
Last November (2013) a concert called “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” written by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, was scheduled to be performed in a church in Speyer, Germany. The church was built to honor the great reformer Martin Luther.
Luther was a German monk, theologian and priest in the Catholic church. He is considered the catalyst for the Reformation because he challenged the teachings of the church by asking 95 questions. He hadn’t intended to take on the Catholic Church but the Church’s response to his thoughtful and scholarly (not challenging) questions confirmed to Luther that he was right.
Speyer means “spires”.
Luther did not believe the current teachings of the Church; that sins could be forgiven if indulgences were bought with money, that heaven could be attained by doing good works, that salvation was not a free gift of God. Luther was especially concerned over the Catholic practice of indulgences and said so to the indulgence salesman who was making the rounds on behalf of the Pope so as to gather money to repair St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Thesis 86, asks: “Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of Saint Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?” (source: Hillerbrand, Hans J., “Martin Luther: Indulgences and salvation,” in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007)
As Wikipedia puts it, “Luther’s theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge from God. Martin Luther died in 1546, still convinced of his Reformation theology, and with his decree of excommunication by Pope Leo X still effective. … On his deathbed, Luther was asked, ‘Are you ready to die trusting in your Lord Jesus Christ and to confess the doctrine which you have taught in his name?’. He answered, ‘Yes’ before taking his final breath.
“The Memorial Church of the Protestation is a Protestant Lutheran church in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate. Built between 1893 and 1904, the church was constructed in memory of the protest that took place at the Diet of Speyer by the Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire in 1529. This Protestation at Speyer sealed the schism of the Christian church and is considered the birth of Protestantism. From this time on the adherents of the reformation movement were called Protestants.” (source)
So it would seem that Speyer is an important historical place in our faith, at least the builders of the Memorial Church at Speyer thought so, commemorating the man Luther and the men who stood for Christ against the false Church at Rome.
Back to November 2013 and the Brave German Woman as she is known. Her name was soon discovered, Heidi Mund. Though she does not live in Speyer, Ms Mund had heard that a Muslim call to prayer was going to take place at Speyer in the Memorial Church. She prayed, and eventually asked her brother to accompany her to the place. The believers were allowed to make a protest, but only a silent protest and only at quite a designated distance from the church. Ms Mund decided to buy a ticket, and along with her brother, entered the venue. The only seats available at that late date were the balcony seats. She continued to pray.
There is a 6-minute opening song called The Armed Man, and then a Muslim is supposed to call to prayer for two minutes. When the muezzin stood up and began to ululate his call, a righteous anger rose in Mund, she said later, she unfurled her German flag-banner emblazoned with “Jesus Christ” and shouted “Jesus Christ alone is Lord over Germany! I break this curse [of Muslim prayer]. I am standing here, I cannot do otherwise! [As Luther had said]. This is the church of Martin Luther! I stand here, I cannot do otherwise!” It was about that time she was approached by security and escorted out. Her brother kept filming.
A bystander shouted, “This is a concert for peace!!” Believers were angry because we disturbed their concert.
~Heidi Mund
Mund shouted back in reply, “No it is not! Not when Muslims are shouting Allahu Akbar while murdering people! Do not be fooled! It is a lie!”
Allahu Akbar opens the prayer, it is an Islamic phrase, called Takbir in Arabic, meaning “God is greater” or “god is [the] greatest” [over all other gods]
The Armed Man: The Call to Prayers (Adhaan, the Muslim call to prayer)
Allahu Akbar
Ashadu An La Illa-L-Lah
Ashadu Anna Muhammadan Rasulu-l-lah
Hayya Ala-s-salah
Hayya Ala-l-Falah
Allahu Akbar
La Illaha il la-lah
Allah is the greatest.
I bear witness that there is no God but Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Come fast to the success.
Allah is the greatest.
There is no god but Allah
As one Muslim explained, “the main purpose behind the multiple loud pronouncements of adhan in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology.”
This call was proclaimed in the Memorial Church as Speyer, a Christian church, during the concert.
By March 2014, CBN had picked up on the incident, which had made the rounds in Germany. Mund was interviewed on its program. After that, the incident became more well-known in the US.
Though the news media portrayed Ms Mund’s protest as a protest of a muezzin calling to prayer in a Christian church, and it was, what was little reported was that it was part of a concert with ecumenism as its thesis. The call to prayer by a muezzin was not the sole feature. Here is information about the Karl Jenkins concert, “The Armed Man.”
The Armed Man is a Catholic Mass. It is an anti-war piece based on the Catholic Mass and the 15th century “L’homme armé” a folk piece widely used by Renaissance composers as a cantus firmus for the Latin Mass. The concert includes other religious traditions, including Hindu, pagan folklore from the King Arthur Legend, pieces from the Holy Bible’s Psalms and Revelation, and of course the already-noted Muslim call to prayer. Also included are the Catholic Agnus Dei and the Benedictus. Let’s let that sink in for a moment, while we return to Ms Mund.
Politically Incorrect News has a translation of Ms Mund’s own words about incident. Here are some excerpts-
I don’t want to join the silent vigil that had permission to quietly protest far away from the church. Regarding the issue, I cannot simply remain silent. We have tickets for the balcony. My brother – we are all like one family – cannot keep his mouth shut. He is from Northern Africa, and he’s already been through a lot. When reading the inscription at the tall statue of Martin Luther, we are deeply concerned. …
Confidently the Imam is reaching the pedestal and starts with this awful call. Quickly I’m taking my German flag which reads: Jesus Christ is the Lord. I’m unrolling the flag and speak the famous quote by Martin Luther: “I am standing here. I cannot do otherwise.” I know, time is short. I’m lifting the curse the Imam has just placed on the church and on us.
From each corner, people start pulling my flag. I don’t want it to rip. Then they are pushing me and F. They shall leave me, don’t touch me. I keep telling that I will leave voluntarily. They try grabbing F.’s cell phone he used for filming. Over and over they try holding me ruggedly. They already had been waiting for us to come up with something. Through the rear exit we are being pushed downstairs. I remember what Jesus Christ himself once said to those who are not worthy of God’s peace: “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” (Matthew 10:14 English Standard Version (ESV) So we both consciously do. I keep thinking: this is betrayal, betrayal of the martyrs, betrayal of us believers, of our country, of God himself.
I know, this is not just about a show concealed as a “concert”. This is about the foundation of our existence. This is about our lives.
The Memorial Church in Speyer had been built at the beginning of the last century by the German state and the congregation in commemoration of Martin Luther and the German rulers who protected him. Now “the great prostitute” (Revelation 17:1 (ESV) had occupied it.
The great Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1:8 (ESV):
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Reading about the content of this terrible performance, it seems to me like a curse on our country. It feels as if we were singing to this “concert” for our own judgement. It’s pure idolism being carried out in God’s church. The living God, this house has been dedicated to, will react to this. The pastors and the leader of the Protestant/Evangelical Church in Germany betray their founder Martin Luther and the reformers, they betray our country which built its law and moral standards upon God’s word, the Bible. They betray all of us.
People only dare to change God’s word when they don’t know God, I would be very afraid to change anything as long I have known God, I would be too afraid.”
~Heidi Mund
I’m thankful that Ms Mund and her brother relied on the strength and courage of the Holy Spirit to make a stand in the place where other believers had stood centuries before making a stand for Jesus. She’s right, the Memorial Church at Speyer’s elders betrayed us and most importantly, betrayed Jesus, by allowing such blasphemies to be proclaimed in His house.
She’s also right about the insidiousness of a “concert’s” hidden agenda. Many believers were encouraged all over the world and in Germany by this one woman’s brave stand. I’m so thankful.
It is sickening to me that a muezzin would be allowed to stand in a Christian church and be allowed to shout that Allah is greater than God. Sickening. Ms Mund was brave, no doubt about that. I’m heartily encouraged by her prayerful action.
But I ask this rhetorical question. If we remove the Call to Prayer by the muezzin from the concert program, and leave only the Catholic portions of the mass, would she have been as exercised? Would she have driven 40 miles, and spent double digits to enter the concert, risk jail or physical punishment? She has said many times that it was the Muslim call to prayer that was such a catalyst to her action.
Luther wasn’t protesting Islam, as heinous as that religion is. He was protesting the almost-trueaspect of Catholicism, and how it melds truth and lies to deceive millions. How it uses power to strip peasants of their money while giving them false hope. Islam is obviously a false religion. Catholicism isn’t as obviously false, but it is just as deadly.
Would I have made such a stand if a concert containing Catholic elements were in it? Would you?
The Benedictus, or Sanctus, is part of The Armed Man concert. In the Roman Catholic Church, a partial indulgence was once specifically granted for recitation of the Sanctus prayed once daily together with the Trisagion. Indulgences was the very activity that sparked Luther and his reformation, and it had come full circle and entered in the church at Speyer where the schism from Catholicism was cemented. Now THAT is something to protest! I’m upset about the muezzin, but more upset about the Catholicsm allowed back into the place where it was once ejected, costing bloody lives of many believers. That is the betrayal. But would we protest? Do we?
These questions are pertinent. The day is coming and is already here, where all manner of religions will force their way into the church. The most obvious false religions are dangerous. However, the least obvious are the most dangerous. Jesus Calling, Seeker Sensitive, Vision Casting, Catholic concerts for peace…all are wolves disguised as sheep, crouching at the door. And in Speyer, it is boldly entering in, and bringing with it Muslims who dare to proclaim Allah is greater.
God will richly repay.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. (Psalm 94:1)
Meanwhile, I think Ms Mund did the right thing. She stood her ground, proclaimed Holy Jesus in His house, left peacefully when pressured by the law, and prayed to the Spirit to take her words for whatever glory He will make of it in order to exalt Jesus. This is what we in America will have to do, and soon, by the looks of it.
We enter into the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow, remembering the soldiers who gave their lives to protect us and our freedom. Included in that freedom is the freedom to practice our religion. Would you make a stand as a soldier of Christ if the opportunity presented itself? Would you be a Brave American Woman in the army of God?
New header
This photo for the new header was taken at Jasper Beach, Machiasport, Maine. This part of Maine is considered Downeast, and is remote, rural, and quiet. It’s near Canada.
It is also known for fog. The fog bank rolling by came furtively and quickly obscured the pine trees in the distance, all the while amplifying the putt-putt of the lobster boat in the harbor.
Earthquakes this week: VIrginia, Oklahoma, Algeria, India, Huge earthquake rocks Turkey & Greece
Several earthquakes of note occurred this week. They range in size of magnitude and geographical location. Between the epic hail across the nation, lightning, tornadoes, and let’s not forget extreme drought, these earthquakes added to the mix are just astounding. I am amazed at our Holy God. He demonstrates patience and living-kindness to His rebellious people on earth. Though we are deserving of wrath, He continues to signal His power as warning rather than the wrath we justly deserve.
His patience will come to an end. When? We don’t know for sure, but perhaps our generation. When it comes, His wrath will then come as holy fury, and I shudder to think of that moment, some time after the rapture of the saints to heaven. Now to the news:
Huge earthquake rocks Turkey and Greece-UPDATED
“An earthquake of 6.4 [USGS rates is at 6.9] magnitude struck off the coast of northern Greece on Saturday and was felt as far away as neighbouring Turkey and Bulgaria but there were no reports of serious casualties or destruction, police and fire brigade officials said. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake occurred some 48 miles south-southwest of Alexandroupolis, between the islands of Lemnos and Samothrace, at a depth of 6 miles. Greek police said the quake had caused minor damage to shops and houses on the two islands. Meanwhile, 267 injuries, one of them critical, have been reported by Turkey’s official emergency agency. The USGS downwardly revised its first reading of 7.2. Greece, at the southeastern end of Europe, is often buffeted by earthquakes. Most cause no serious damage but a 5.9 magnitude quake in 1999 killed 143 people. “It lasted very long and it was very intense. We haven’t got the full picture of the damage caused yet,” the mayor of Lemnos, Antonis Chatzidiamantis, told Mega TV.”
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A ‘significant’ earthquake happened in Virginia earlier in the week:
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake that was centered west of Richmond shook the ground Wednesday night as far north and east as the Washington metropolitan area. The quake, which was centered in the area of Powhatan and Amelia counties, was far smaller than the one that caused damage to buildings in the Washington area about 21 / 2 years ago. Officials had received no reports of significant damage or injury. But more than 1,300 people in a broad swath of Virginia, as well as in parts of Maryland, reported feeling some of the effects of the quake. It shook a basement in Spotsylvania County and reminded people of a big truck driving past or of a powerful thunderstorm.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) keeps track of earthquakes that happen in the world. They monitor the location, depth, duration, and a host of other variables.
‘Major quakes’ are quakes with magnitude between 7.0-7.9, and ‘great earthquakes’ are classified as having a magnitude of 8.0 or higher. USGS also classifies earthquakes as ‘significant,’ such as the one in Virginia last night. These are noted on the USGS recent earthquakes page with a hot pink background, or they are listed in the significant earthquakes page and archived that way.
However I have been unable to find a definition of what makes an earthquake “significant”. In the past, USGS has defined “significant earthquakes” as “Earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or greater or ones that caused fatalities, injuries or substantial damage” but that definition has changed and I can’t find the new one.
Looking at the list of significant quakes, they range in magnitudes from small to larger, so it seems that either the depth or the location would be variables that land these quakes into the significant category, among other variables I don’t know about. If someone can find a USGS definition for this classification I’d appreciate it.
There was a 5.9 quake off the coast of Konarka, India that the USGS also rated as “significant”.
Moderately dangerous earthquake near Mostaganem, Northern Algeria
UPDATE : Moderate (4.9) but very shallow and thus moderately dangerous earthquake
Earthquakes are still rattling Oklahoma. The following is a news release from USGS.
The rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma has increased remarkably since October 2013 – by about 50 percent – significantly increasing the chance for a damaging magnitude 5.5 or greater quake in central Oklahoma.
This is from The Atlantic: “Middle America Is Experiencing a Massive Increase in 3.0+ Earthquakes“
A new United States Geological Survey study has found that middle America between Alabama and Montana is experiencing an “unprecedented” and “almost certainly man made” increase in earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater. In 2011, there were 134 events of that size. That’s six times more than were normally seen during the 20th century. While the changes in the area’s seismicity began in 2001, the trend has really accelerated since 2009, the geologists note.
God has used earthquakes many times to warn, judge, and demonstrate His power. An earthquake occurred when Jesus died on the cross-
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” (Matthew 27:50-51)
Rocks split. That is a serious earthquake. Three days later, there was another great earthquake when Jesus rose.
“And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” (Matthew 28:2)
Earthquakes were something that Jesus warned about in answering about the last days signs in the Olivet Discourse of Mt 24. Not all earthquakes can be said to be a sign of God’s punishment, but there will be a great, GREAT quake that shock the people into repentance (perhaps- or at least into recognizing God is behind it).
“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 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, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”” (Revelation 6:12-17)
But by the end of the Tribulation when the last quake happens, the greatest of all ever in history, the people only utter blasphemies.
And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe. (Revelation 16:18-19).
Give praise and honor to our Sovereign God, who is Ruler over the earth and skies and universe and heaven. And our hearts.
(Possible) "torrential meteor storm" tonight
This one snuck up on me. The Chicago Tribune reports,
Late Friday night into Saturday morning, North America will probably see a brand-new meteor shower, and there’s a good chance that these gentle shooting stars will become a torrential meteor storm and provide quite a light show. The new meteors — the Camelopardalids — are dusty remnants of a comet discovered in 2004. With clear skies, sky gazers may see meteor activity beginning at 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to Bill Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Astronomers predict that the peak will occur between 2 and 4 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, but Cooke believes that gazers may be able to catch sight of shooting stars through the dawn before sunrise washes them out. Cooke said that thanks to Jupiter’s gravitational pull, the comet’s debris trail is intersecting the Earth’s orbit for the first time.
New meteor showers are found fairly often, Cooke said, but with falling star rates so low “even an experienced observer would not notice them.” He added, “New showers with rates of tens or hundreds per hour are very rare.
It is a new meteor shower, that’s why it snuck up on me. The scientists know the date and the duration but don’t know the intensity. Some say the shower could fizzle out. Others say there could be up to 200 per hour. Hence the use of ‘possible’ in the blog essay title.
Here is another article about it: Tonight’s meteor shower cold be a really great one
What a spectacular show the Lord is putting on. The hail and lightning the last couple of days, and now this “new” and “torrential” star shower.
Though everything that happens ultimately is related to the last days, because God is working all things out to fulfill His plan, and all things will ultimately dwindle down to the one moment the church is raptured and His judgments begin, the meteor shower isn’t an event we can definitively point to and say “aha, a sign.” For example, there is this verse,
“There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 21:11)
It is a Tribulation verse. Are there great earthquakes happening at this same time? Widespread pestilences? No. The meteor shower will be fun to watch and ascribe God’s power and glory to, and while it is tangentially a sign because everything is under His sun and working to the last moments of history, it isn’t a definitive end times sign.
Start watching at around 10pm, astronomers say. The shower is supposed to peak between 2-4 am. Some reports say there could be up to 200 an hour- that’s an amazing 3 per minute. Another scientist said that you should go to where there isn’t a lot of ambient ground light, where there is an unobstructed swathe of sky to view, and bring a chair to be comfortable. I am lucky, in my rural area there are no lights (except for one across the street at the school), and though my yard is rimmed by trees, it’s large so I can see a big section of the sky. Be sure to enjoy God’s show tonight, and as always, keep looking up.
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”
(Hebrews 1:10-12)
Crazy hailstorm in Denver and Pennsylvania, photos (updated)
I was torn about tonight’s blog essay. I had prepared about 80% of an essay about the unusual earthquakes happening this week. Then I became entranced with the phrase “ears to hear” and discernment, and spent time in prayer and listening to a sermon about it. But yesterday and tonight I’m watching in amazement the severe weather beating up the eastern half of the United States- the thunder and lightning and wind, and especially the hail!
There was epic hail in Denver and environs last night and tonight it is happening in Pennsylvania now. I mean epic. People were flabbergasted and weather forecasters were astounded. Let me show you.
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UPDATE Friday, May, 23. Shawn Reynols at Weather Center Live just tweeted, “Almost 500 reports of #hail since Tuesday. Insane.”
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First Choice Weather @1stChoiceWeathr Incredible hail along 222 in Lancaster. Thanks to @s_sstormchasing
RT @Stormrushdotnet: Hail storm in Reading, PA shattered my mom’s apartment windows. Wow. #pawx
4 inch hail in Binghamton NY photo by National Weather Service NY
Tennis ball sized hail in Danville PA photo by Kevin Pursel
Tornado warned area in Franklin VA photo by @MartinMMC
Windows shattered from golf ball sized hail. Wyomissing, PA via @t_franco12
Today it has been stormy from Va to PA to NY. Last night it was the middle of the country. Here is a shot of a thunder and lightning storm rolling in to Cleveland OH-
Epic #OHwx –> RT @BuzzFeedStorm: Thunderstorm approaches downtown Cleveland, Ohio, earlier tonight – @JeffreyRStroup
Crazy pic of hail from Colorado Springs, Colo. via @KKTV11News:
Incredible #COwx –> RT @COWeatherguy: @WCL_Shawn @coloradowx hail for you!!
I saw a video of inside malls, where the hail had easily broken the skylights and hail and rain was pouring in, one in CO and one in PA. Here is a CNN report of the CO hail storm, and there were tornadoes too.
Tornadoes, large hail smack Colorado
“A fierce weather system — featuring baseball-sized hail and multiple tornadoes — ripped through Colorado on Wednesday afternoon, spurring warnings to people in and around Denver to take cover. The frenzy was tied to a dangerous super cell thunderstorm that, in addition to heaps of hail, produced a number of twisters, according to storm chasers on the scene. The National Weather Service said there were reported tornado touchdowns in Watkins, East Denver, Aurora, Byers and Leader. One witness, Jeff Piotrowski, said shortly after 3 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) that he had personally seen five tornadoes on the ground not far from Denver International Airport. … The weather service’s Boulder branch retweeted a photo of about 6 inches of accumulated hail in Denver’s Green Valley Ranch, plus another showing Highway 470 restricted to one lane because of the hard, white stuff.“
Here is a news article about the hail from Weather Channel
Hail the size of ping pong balls sent pedestrians running for cover in Colorado Springs, and cars slid on the hail along Interstate 70 in Aurora. The hail piled up several inches deep, dented cars and broke windows out of some homes. Officials used snow plows to clear the hail from the main airport access road. Frontier Airlines says 13 of its flights were canceled due to its aircraft being damaged by hail. … Wednesday marked the second day in a row a hail storm hit the Denver metro area.
Thunderstorms packing hail and dangerous lightning also made their way across Illinois and Indiana on Wednesday.
Two days of epic hail is interesting. The bible says of hail, one of many verses,
He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
(Psalm 105:32-33)
Easton’s Bible Dictionary says of hail: “one of the plagues of Egypt ( Exodus 9:23 ). It is mentioned by Haggai as a divine judgment (Haggai 2:17 ). A hail-storm destroyed the army of the Amorites when they fought against Joshua ( Joshua 10:11 ). Ezekiel represents the wall daubed with untempered mortar as destroyed by great hail-stones (Ezek. 13:11 ). (See also 38:22 ; Revelation 8:7 ; 11:19 ; 16:21 .)”
Even secular man jokes about the plague of hail. Shawn Reynolds of Weather Center Live at the Weather Channel tweeted, “Incredible pics of hail in PA, tractor trailers on fire in AL. Anyone know if the locusts are due to arrive around 5p?“
No, not locusts (yet) but Jesus is due to arrive at some point in the future, the near future by the look of it. I hope that sinful man is prepared by repenting of his sins and submitting to Lord Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the ONLY way. (John 14:6).
And aren’t we grateful God made a way for us to return to Him in heaven! Separated no more! Though He reveals His power in the weather, He revealed His love through His Son, Jesus.
“And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
Ukraine Jews, Anti-semitism rising, Russia-China gas megadeal, kids’ reaction to gay couple, prophecy
We are moving rapidly to the end of the school year here in northeast Georgia. As a teacher’s aide in kindergarten we have been busy with end of year programs, field day, field trips, ice cream day, ceremonies with certificates, and the like. Friday noon, the kids leave for the year. The next Friday after that, I’m done completely.
It’s been busy, but good. I always love the beginning of the year, so fresh with promise of making a difference in a child’s life. The end of the year is weary but happy, knowing we are sending the children to the next grade armed with knowledge and love, ready to grow some more on their life’s path.
Despite coming home so tired lately, I praise the Lord for His enduring strength which He gives me generously. No matter how tired I am when I get home, after a time of cool beverage refreshment (lately ice water with lemon, but I’m anxious to try fruit-infused water this summer) and a period of quietude, I feel ready to read His word, write about Him on the blog, and pray some more.
Here are some news headlines I thought were particularly evocative of the end of the end times. We see ahead in God’s word what will come to pass. And on the ground all around us we see motions drawing toward those events which will come to pass. Some, most, of the machinations are invisible to us, either because they take place in back rooms out of public view, or because they take place in the heavenlies and we are not privy. But with the times being what they are, more and more often we see the drawstring tightening, the hole closing, and the times darkening The few items below are examples of such machinations, attitudes, and events I believe play directly into the Tribulation prophecies to a larger than normal scale.
Israel National news reports,
EU Officials Appalled at Rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe
“At high level meeting with Jewish leaders, 18 EU member-state representatives are urged to wake up and lead the fight against Jew-hatred. …European Jewish Association (EJA) General Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin led a briefing for EU ambassadors and officials at week’s end, following the release of the most comprehensive survey to date on global anti-Semitism by the ADL, which revealed startling levels across the continent.”
“Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God. “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. (Deuteronomy 28:62-68)
‘Startling levels.’ That’s an interesting phrase, especially for a newspaper not usually given to hyperbole.
Then there’s this. On May 4, the Times of Israel reported that “Ukrainian Jews immigrate to Israel amid growing unrest; immigration from troubled country up 142%
“Almost 800 people arrived in the country over January-April, and over 200 have signed up for May. The agency noted these figures do not include those who have arrived as tourists and later completed the immigration process while already in the country.”
Yet this week Israel National News (INN) says that “Reports of mass exodus of Ukrainian Jews are ‘nonsense,’ says Joint head“
In first interview since taking over as head of JDC, Alan Gill says Jews are not fleeing the violence en masse, and are not likely to in the future.
Yet the news article cities the same statistics as the Times of Israel. It is fair to say that in the Haaretz report, there are over 350,000 Jews in the Ukraine, many of the elderly and not planning to move anywhere. A thousand Jews moving back to Israel is very small sampling, however the fact that so many more Ukrainian Jews are moving back compared to the year before as INN reported, is also fair to look at.
What does the bible say?
In the Tribulation, Jews will be hunted and killed. Persecution levels will reach genocidal, bloodbath proportions. (Revelation 12:13; Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1).
The WWII Holocaust, the terrible time when millions of Jews were hunted and killed, was a preview for what is coming on the Day the LORD has set.
In other news, it is reported today that Russia and China have signed a gas exporting contract and in so doing seem to be moving toward a new Eurasian nation. Business Insider has the report:
Russia And China Sign Gas Pipeline Megadeal
Russia’s Gazprom and China’s China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) have signed a historic 30-year contract to supply natural gas to China, according to Russia Today and confirmed by Bloomberg. The total value of the contract is $400 billion, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller told RT, although the price in the document remains a “commercial secret.” Negotiations have been ongoing for more than a decade. … The gas will be sent through a new eastern pipeline linking the countries. Reuters reports that Russia will invest $55 billion in gas exploration and pipeline construction and Beijing will give roughly $20 billion to Moscow as part of the agreement. … Europe is Russia’s largest energy importer as it bought more than 160 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2013, but tensions and sanctions over Putin’s meddling in Ukraine have Russia looking elsewhere.
The Business Insider article has the facts, but what are we to make of it? Is there an analysis of what this means? Yes. Yves at Naked Capitalism reposted the take on this megadeal by a reporter for the Asian Times. He introduced the Asian Times reporter’s analysis this way:
“Astute readers will no doubt point out that some of the elements of the Russia-Chinese emergent plan, such as reliance on gold-backed currencies, are sorely misguided. But the bigger point is that the two nations are looking hard for ways to undermine the US economic hegemony.”
This week should provide the first real fireworks in the celebration of a new Eurasian century-in-the-making when Russian President Vladimir Putin drops in on Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. You remember “Pipelineistan,” all those crucial oil and gas pipelines crisscrossing Eurasia that make up the true circulatory system for the life of the region. Now, it looks like the ultimate Pipelineistan deal, worth $1 trillion and 10 years in the making, will be inked as well. In it, the giant, state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom will agree to supply the giant state-controlled China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) with 3.75 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas a day for no less than 30 years, starting in 2018. That’s the equivalent of a quarter of Russia’s massive gas exports to all of Europe
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| Look at that. Russia’s monstrously big. Combined with Asia as ally or as one of the ten kingdoms, it dominates |
Exit the Petrodollar, Enter the Gas-o-Yuan
And then, talking about anxiety in Washington, there’s the fate of the petrodollar to consider, or rather the “thermonuclear” possibility that Moscow and Beijing will agree on payment for the Gazprom-CNPC deal not in petrodollars but in Chinese yuan. One can hardly imagine a more tectonic shift, with Pipelineistan intersecting with a growing Sino-Russian political-economic-energy partnership. Along with it goes the future possibility of a push, led again by China and Russia, toward a new international reserve currency — actually a basket of currencies — that would supersede the dollar (at least in the optimistic dreams of BRICS members).
There’s more good stuff at the link to Naked Capitalism, but there is much to consider here, prophetically.
What does the bible say?
The United States figures nowhere important in prophecy. By the time the Tribulation arrives, the US will likely be marginalized, insignificant, or maybe even reduced to rubble. We’re nobody special, at least in the prophetic theater, which is 99% contained in the Bible Lands.
Russia, however, does figure prominently. God plans to use Russia to demonstrate His power and His protection of Israel. Ezekiel 38-39 has the story. (Begin with Ezekiel 38:1-4). Asia also figures in prophecy too. The Kings of the East come from Asia (Revelation 16:12).
There are prophesied to be ten kings reigning with the beast over ten kingdoms for a brief time at the end of history. Perhaps this megadeal is the demonstrable movement toward that. (Revelation 17:12). Europe is already united by open borders, economic alliances, and a common currency.
We’ve looked at God’s people the Jews. We’ve looked at geo-political changes in the prophetic lands. Last, let’s look at culture. The liberal media Huffington Post posted this video which apparently (according to them) has gone viral. It is listed as ‘Most Popular’ on their Gay pages. It is a snippet of a little boy reacting to learning that the two men talking with him are married. The boy looks to be about 5 or 6 years old. It is actually a three-year old video.
WATCH: This Kid’s Reaction To Meeting A Gay Couple For The First Time Is Priceless
Transcript. Calen is the kid.
Calen: A husband is a boy.
Right.
Calen: A husband’s a boy and a wife is a girl. But you two are husbands! A husband is a boy.
Yeah, we’re both husbands
Calen: You’re both husbands?! You married each other???!!! That’s funny [smacking forehead, and not funny as in ha-ha but that’s funny as in that’s weird]
That’s funny, right?
Calen: Yeah. It’s usually husbands and wives. But this is the very first time I saw husbands and husbands!
Homosexual man leans into camera range, laughs- ha ha ha ha ha
Calen: So funny. [thinks, looks away] So that means you love each other.
Yeah.
Calen: Yeah. You’re much alike. I’m going to play ping pong, You can play if you want to.
The liberal media is picking up on this (3 years late, I don’t know why) and calling it “ridiculously adorable” “innocent” etc. One writer at Slate said
“kids who haven’t been indoctrinated with their parents’ animus tend to react to gay couples with open-hearted curiosity that quickly fades into apathy.”
One commenter said, “what i want to know is what were 2 gays with a video camera and a child doing in the bathroom?” Good point.
What media is focusing on is the child’s statement that they “must love each other.” They trumpet his reaction as one totally without prejudice. But it is not so. The title could well be changed from “Kid reacts to gay couple” to “Kid confused by gay couple”. What none of the articles picking up on this speak to his first reaction, with head smack no less; ‘that’s funny’ [weird].
Matthew 18:5-6 says
And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Homosexual union IS weird. It is unnatural. (Romans 1:26). There are two prophetic things here. First, any culture that engages in the perverted behavior of homosexuality is ripe for judgment, (Romans 1:18) and any nation that heartily approves of it is being judged already. (Romans 1:32).
Romans 1 is the picture of a process into degradation and God’s judgment for that degradation.
Cultures that have become totally depraved such as the world in Noah’s day, or the homosexuality that was rampant in Lot’s day, are noted by Jesus to indicate that the time of judgment is near. (Luke 17:6, Genesis 6:5, Luke 17:28).
We will see in the near future if things come together quickly or not. I think they will. It seems that the prophetic activity is quickening each day. The Lord is always working so each day actually brings us closer to the Lord’s re-appearance. Blessed is He. May His name always be exalted in the highest.
Charles Spurgeon said,
It is idle to talk about looking for His coming if we never set our house in order, and never put ourselves in readiness for His reception.
Are you ready?
Lessons from the Thief on the Cross
Jesus was crucified between two criminals, one to His right and another to His left. (Luke 23:33). They were thieves. (Matthew 27:44).
“One of the criminals who was hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)
What was the forgiven thief’s name?
[crickets]
We don’t know, do we? When we look at the passage, often what is looked at, rightly, is the Lord’s compassion for man that He would ignore His own pain and minister to the sinners. Also, people use the text as proof that one can be justified without having done works such as baptism or partaken of the Lord’s Supper.
But what I’d like to look at is the man’s anonymity. All we know of him is that he is called The Thief on the Cross.
How would you like to be forever known by your sin? A thief. Forever.
There were others known by their sin, forever nameless in the bible. For example, there was–
–The Adulteress (John 8:3)
–The Serial Co-Habitating Woman at the Well (John 4:18)
What we know is that in the last moments of His incarnation, the last sinner whom Jesus justified was a thief. That’s what makes the thief special. He is forever identified with his sin. Not his name, not His socio-economic status (Rich Young Ruler, The Rich Man and Lazarus) not his race (Syrophoenician Woman). He was a thief, a criminal, and unnamed.
What makes the thief not-special is that you or I could have been that person on the cross next to Jesus just as easily. Having broken some Jewish Law or a Roman civil law, you or I could be executed for our crimes too. All crimes are sins against God. You could be —
–The Lustful Woman on the Cross
–The Liar on the Cross
–The Greedy Defrauder on the Cross
–The Hypocrite on the Cross
–The Embezzler on the Cross
–The Porn Addicted Man on the Cross
Forever identified not as a person by your sin. Indeed, the other thief is forever identified by his sin at this moment, he died not believing.
However, the thief’s notability is that he was the LAST person to be identified by His sin. Why? Colossians 2:13-14 says
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
The thievery is nailed to the cross, but the thief is alive! He is restored! He has a name! We will know him in heaven!
The atoning work of Jesus Christ is full of mercy, grace, and compassion, of which we startlingly see demonstrated by the conversation between the thief and the Messiah. Our sins are forgiven, and we are no longer known as sinners with names such as The Thief, the Adulterer, The Liar. We are known to Jesus as children of God, washed in His blood, made alive via the cross, where our sins are still nailed. The anonymous now have a name, and the dead shall live.
Hallelujah!
Discernment lesson: how satan twists the word
“Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire. True sanctification is impossible apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross because only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life.” (source)
The word process is important. When you are justified (declared by God righteous at the moment of your salvation) you instantly become a new creature. Yet, you are also being transformed over your lifetime. The Holy Spirit grows you in this process, with your willing submission and partnership.
The part in the definition of sanctification about leading a holy life is important too. Part of that holy life includes wisdom and understanding of God’s word. Understanding His word is essential to growth because it is by studying it we come to know Christ. It is His revealed word to us, and it includes His character, His nature, and His will for us. Apostle Paul urges us to press toward the prize, the prize being Christ. How can we know who He is or how to press forward if we do not mature and understand His word?
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. (1 Corinthians 13:11)
In researching the “Christian” mommy blogger Glennon Melton, I came across a longer quote of hers. She wrote a hypothetical letter to a hypothetical person explaining why homosexuality is OK now. How it is unloving to disagree with a homosexual lifestyle but mor emature CHrisitans evolve toward a more “loving”stance about it. Here is a shorter excerpt of that quote.
“Your parents are Christians who believe that the Bible is inspired by God, just like people are. And since the Bible is a living thing, it is in its very nature to evolve toward becoming more loving.” ~Glennon Melton
I’m always amazed at the ways satan twists doctrines. Here, we see that the verse from Hebrews 4:12 has been masterfully twisted.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Let’s break it down. Satan is effective at melding a bit of truth to a lot of error or a lot of truth to a bit of error. Either way, the result is the same.
The word of God is living. We agree.
The word of God is active. We agree.
Active means change. The word of God, because it is active, must be changing (“evolving”). I disagree.
The evolving word of God must therefore be growing more loving, since the logical trajectory of evolution is from less to more. I disagree.
The fatal mistake here is that the word does not change. God does not change. WE change. His stance on sin has not changed from the first moments the bible was inspired and penned. Our understanding of His word changes as we grow. The writers of the books of the bible show us this in several places.
“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,” (1 Corinthians 3:2)
Here Paul is speaking to the Corinthians of their arrested development. Babies need milk because they are not ready for a steak until they have teeth, fine motor skills to cut and chew meat, and a digestive system able to handle the load.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,” (Hebrews 5:12).
Gill’s Exposition explains the above Hebrews verse–here it is used by way of reproach, and denotes levity and inconstancy, ignorance and non-proficiency, want of digestion of strong meat, and incapacity to take care of themselves, as standing in need of tutors and governors.
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1)
So we see there is ample evidence that the living and active word causes a change in us, not the other way around.
It might be useful to take a look at the work of Jean Piaget, the Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher who worked with children. Glennon Melton’s view of scripture as evolving from less loving to more loving means that God changes. However the true view of scripture is that while it stays the same, our understanding of it grows as the Spirit grows us in sanctification. I know many of you have had the experience of having read a verse many times but then one day, in reading it again, suddenly all new insights flood your mind and you have at once a deeper understanding, Have the words themselves changed on the page? No. But our understanding of them has.
Jean Piaget worked with children for many years and created a theory of cognitive development. “Cognition is the process by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. In science, cognition is the mental processing that includes the attention of working memory, comprehending and producing language, calculating, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. In cognitive psychology and cognitive engineering, cognition is typically assumed to be information processing in a participant’s or operator’s mind or brain. In cognitive psychology and cognitive engineering, cognition is typically assumed to be information processing in a participant’s or operator’s mind or brain.“
Piaget placed an order on a child’s cognitive development and structured them into age groupings. We all know children develop. We all know children’s brains become more able to handle greater and more complex functions as they grow. It is the same with us as Christians. We start our learning the elementary doctrines and have a more childish relationship with Jesus. As we mature, we deepen our understanding and add layers of experience and complexity to our relationship with the Father. Here is Piaget:
A Quick Summary of Cognitive Development
The Sensorimotor Stage: During this stage, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects.
The Preoperational Stage: At this stage, kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and taking the point of view of other people.
The Concrete Operational Stage: Kids at this point of development begin to think more logically, but their thinking can also be very rigid. They tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts.
The Formal Operational Stage: The final stage of Piaget’s theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.
It is important to note that Piaget did not view children’s intellectual development at a quantitative process; that is, kids do not just add more information and knowledge to their existing knowledge as they get older. Instead, Piaget suggested that there is a qualitative change in how children think as they gradually process through these four stages. A child at age 7 doesn’t just have more information about the world than he did at age 2; there is a fundamental change in how he thinks about the world. (source)
Can you see the parallels with how we interact with the doctrines of His word, with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and with each other? We don’t simply acquire more verses as we memorize, we develop in fundamental change in how we regard the Father as we experience His truths borne out in our Christian lives. This comparison is especially apt because we are children to the Father, no matter if we are 12 years old or 112 years old. He is renewing our minds, and we undergo fundamental change as the Spirit grows us into new creations. (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17).
I hope by now you can see two things:
1. How subtly satan takes a bible verse and twists it in the mind of an unsaved person such as Glennon Melton. It’s based on a truth and it sounds logical, but it isn’t either of those.
2. How God does not change but the Spirit changes us through the living and active word, with our partnership. It is a mystery on how we effect the changes or how far our efforts go in this glorious renewal, but we know we do have a part in it. We submit, we pray, we study, we appeal to the Father for wisdom. We work out our salvation in fear and trembling. Alongside within us, the Spirit is always working, to renew, transform, knit together a new creature whose finished product at the Marriage ceremony will be a glory unto Jesus.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, (Jude 1:20)
His living and active Word is evolving US into creations fit for heaven. Allow me to alter Mrs Melton’s lie into truth. A few well-chosen words here and there make such a difference. “You are Christians who believe that the Bible is inspired by God, just like people are when we submit to its precepts. And since the Bible is a living Word, it is in its very nature to evolve us toward becoming more loving.”
None of our understanding of His word would be possible without our precious Savior descending from above to live with us, teach, be rejected, punished, scourged, die, and rise again. He is the supreme Person of the Universe, please give Him all praise and glory. Dedicate yourself to His words, live them, exclaim them, guard them.
“Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)
Sometimes judgment comes not as brimstone or earthquake, but as a moth
When you read the bible, stop frequently to ponder. Think about what you’re reading. Also, frequently ask yourself, “What does this mean?”
We read about different metaphors in the bible, and we read about different insects and animals sometimes as a part of those metaphors. In Psalm 59:14 we read that enemies return at evening, howling “like a dog”. In Proverbs 6:6, we are advised to be like the ant. Psalm 18:33 says, “He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.”
Sometimes God uses a metaphor to ascribe a quality to Himself. In Matthew 23:37 God says tenderly,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” See also Ruth 2:12.
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Insects mentioned quite often include the moth. Moths are mentioned several times.
“but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)
“For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.” (Isaiah 51:8)
But see this verse from Hosea where God pronounces judgment on Israel, God says HE will be like the moth!
“I am like a moth to Ephraim, like rot to the people of Judah.” (Hosea 5:12)
So in reading Hosea 5 when you come across a verse like this, stop and ponder, ask, what does it mean? What do moths do, how do they act, so we can better understand what God is saying here.
When we think of God working, we often think of Him powerfully and noisily working great things, such as in the scene from 1 Kings 19:11-12
“And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.”
But God works quietly too, as the low whisper showed. (NOT that God speaks to us today in a still, small voice, that was not the point of the verse). It’s that He works loudly and demonstrably but also quietly.
It is the same with the moth. Though we think of judgments like brimstone and earthquakes, a judgment is also what the moth can do, and in a way, it is worse.
Moths (or moth larvae) work secretly, stealthily. You put away your clothes for the summer and when winter comes again you take out that sweater and it has been rendered useless because of all the holes in until it is good for nothing. It will not cover your nakedness anymore. Pulpit Commentary quotes Calvin:
“The meaning of the prophet is by no means obscure, and that is, that the Lord would by a slow corrosion consume both the people; and that, though he would not by one onset destroy them, yet they would pine away until they became wholly rotten.”
Gill’s Exposition says,
“Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth,…. Which eats garments, penetrates into them, feeds on them privately, secretly, without any noise, and gradually and slowly consumes them; but at last utterly, that they are of no use and profit:”
Can there be a worse judgment? To awaken finding yourself one day wholly rotten? A slow but sure destruction that had come upon you? Not even having rated a loud showy judgment of brimstone, but a lowly worm having done you in.
S. Lewis Johnson ended his exposition of Hosea 5, a sermon titled “God Withdrawn“, this way-
The perils of apostasy! When we apostatize from the faith, when we depart from the faith, when lethargy and indifference grips us, the real enemy is the Lord God Himself!
If you have believed in Jesus and your life is in a shambles because of indifference and because of lethargy, the Lord God may be working like a moth in your life. May God help you to recognize what is really happening, and may He stir you by His Holy Spirit to come back to Him. Confess your sin, seek to put Him first in your life. Use the time He has given you for the glorification of His name. The remedy as Hosea puts it so plainly is, ‘know the Lord.’ ” (Hosea 5:4)
Take protective measures against the moth’s destructive capabilities by keeping your faith living and active. Study the word, know the Lord. Pray ceaselessly. Serve lovingly. Submit constantly. There will be no need to mothball your holy garment if you never put it away for a season!
