Doomsday Preppers

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Al Nelson

Doomsday Preppers

Many are preparing for an end to life as we know it. It’s good to be prepared for natural events. Even as we see some of these events become grander and grander. But the one survival preparation largely ignored:
Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know that you are guilty of sin before the Lord from birth? If you believe that the Jesus has died for your sins and follow Him then you have the best preparation for eternity. There will always be struggles in this life that we should prepare for. Please consider what will happen at the end of this life.

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The Two Witnesses

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Al Nelson

Revelation 11:3-4 begins to tells us that God has two witnesses that will prophesy in the end time. Scripture says:

3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”

So this begs the question, who are the two olive trees and the two lampstands? I believe we are given a clue to who the lampstands are in Revelation 1:20

20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

So we see here that a lamp stand can represent the church. It should be pointed out that the lamp stand was an integral part of the Tabernacle and later the Temple under the Old Testament. Exodus 25 describes the making of the lamp stand. It is what is called a menorah with three lamps on one side and three on the other and a seventh in the middle. The example shown below  is reconstruction by the temple institute.

According to the description in Exodus 27:20 the fuel for the lamps was pure olive oil of pressed olives. Now isn’t it true that the church is meant to show forth the light of Christ to show the way to Salvation in Him?

So what about the olive tree? Is there any reference in scripture that can possibly explain who the olive represents? Jeremiah 11:16 says:

The LORD called your name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.

The Lord is speaking of how the nation of Israel has fallen away from God’s covenant. God calls Israel an Olive Tree in his exhortation to the nation.

Paul makes a comparison to the Gentiles being grafted into Israel’s promise when he wrote in Romans 11:16

16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

So then I think we have established clearly that the olive trees represent Israel. In fact the olive oil was also important in the making of a special Holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-33.

There is one more scriptural reference that puts the olive trees and lamp stands together. It is Zechariah’s vistion. In the vision we see a golden lampstand with seven lamps and two olive trees. The olive trees drip oil into a bowl that then sends the oil through pipes to feed the lamps. Zechariah asks what this was and the reply was:

14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”  (Zech. 11:14)

Can we begin to see what the Lord was showing Zechariah through the lamp stand and olive trees? Isn’t this similar to what the Lord showed John? Do we not have Israel and the Church as a witness to the world of God’s plan of Salvation through Christ? Wasn’t the law given to Moses so that men may know their sins against God? And Christ sent to redeem men from their sins? So then the Two Witnesses in Revelation must be Israel and the Church. But even more disctintly, the Law and Grace. God’s witness to the world of their need for Salvation and through Grace, God supplied his Son Jesus Christ as the final sin offering.

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Grace to the Humble

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Al Nelson

Proverbs 3:34
Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.

James 4:6
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

PRAISE THE LORD

What does being humble look like?

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Jesus – A Practicing Socialist

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Al Nelson

http://judahslion.blogspot.com/2012/01/jesus-practicing-socialist-church.html#links
 

The church should be an instrument of redemption and practice redemptive socialism.

It is impossible to read the New Testament and not see the theme of redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, that is the exclusive theme in both the Old and New Testament. The sacrifice of God’s Son upon the cross provided redemption for whosoever will believe. And yes, we can understand that now, but our understanding with be much greater and soaked in experience when we one day lay eyes upon the Risen Christ! What a glorious day of promise.
But there is an interesting subplot that makes much more than a minor cameo appearance throughout the New Testament. And this supportive theme many times is minimized if not wholly ignored. Again, it is impossible to read through the New Testament and not see this continuing exhortation. And this theme is designed to uphold, empower, and aid in the spreading of the gospel of redemption. As believing followers of the Lord Jesus, we are personally called to lives of moderation.
But it goes much deeper than that. Even in that moderation and personal sacrifice, we are called to minister to the people of this world. And when I say minister, I mean more than just teaching and preaching. So often we have isolated teaching and preaching and walked away with a feeling of religious fulfillment and a faithful dispatch of our New Testament duties. But in so doing we are ignoring the Scriptural outline for a disciple’s behavior.
Capitalism, nationalism, and hedonism has captured and imprisoned the western evangelical marketplace. And if you are “orthodox” in your doctrine, then the fringe issues seem negotiable. Therefore, if you believe in the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith, and a few other pillars of the doctrinal faith, then you stand in fulfillment of the teachings of Christ. You are a disciple.
But wait a minute.

Matt.28:18-20 – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Many of our ultra-orthodox (whatever that is) friends have long since made the point that we are to make disciples, not just believers. Personally I believe there is a touch of semantics in that, however they bring up a valid point. Verse 20 states that we should teach the converts. And so we have Sunday Schools and Christian books and statements of faith and systematic theologies. And ultimately we consider a mature believer as one who can articulate an orthodox systematic theology.
But that is not what Christ is saying in the Great Commission. Jesus commands us to teach believers to observe – or DO – what He has commanded us to do. That is profoundly different than saying teach the great doctrines of the faith. The words “observe” and “command” indicate something much greater than just learning truths. They indicate a doing and an obedience to the commands of Jesus, not just a learning of what He said and what He taught. If knowing all the core doctrines of the faith is the indispensable element of being a disciple, then there were not many disciples until recently since millions of believers were illiterate and perhaps millions still are today. And none of His commands had anything to do with enhancing and elevating our own lives.
Ask the average western theologian about what constitutes the foundational truths of Christianity and he will inevitably give you a list like this:
Deity of Christ
The Trinity
The virgin birth
Salvation by faith alone
The Resurrection
The Atonement through the blood
Now those things are important and do provide a foundation for understanding eternal redemption. But missing are the “to do” commands of Jesus, which must be important to Him since He included them in the Great Commission. Where are these in such lists:
Feed the poor
Minister to the sick
Visit the prisoners
Clothe the needy
Give water to the thirsty
Do good to your enemies
Rejoice in persecution
Bless them which curse you
Take up your cross
Be clothed with humility
Where aren’t those things in any list of approved orthodoxy? Why is humility an elective? Why is humanitarianism not an orthodox doctrine? We seem to be content, and even prideful, when we can regurgitate the written doctrines while seemingly ignoring the commands. And because many are prideful about their orthodoxy and their carefully exegeted doctrines of the faith, they step lightly on the commands of Christ concerning humility, humanitarian deeds, and being kind to our enemies. They are wary about others misjudging them as liberal or emergent because they feed the poor, etc..
But in downplaying such deeds the church has done substantial damage to the faith. The Christian faith was never meant to be an SAT test. It was birthed as a living exhibition of the Person of Christ and the redemptive heart of God. We were never meant to gloat in our literal interpretation of the Scriptures concerning a certain set of truths, while we place other Scriptures in a more casual light and in effect eviscerate their substance.
But, sadly, the average evangelical church stands upon its statement of faith as proof of its Biblical alignment, but the lives and behavior of its congregation are no more remarkable than the average “I believe in God” kind and nice person. The distinctives of a believers life have become so shallow and so unremarkable, that when we have a four sentence conversation with a stranger and he does not curse we think he might be a believer. Really? So a disciple is recognized by the things he does not do, and not so much by the things he does do? How pitiful!
Where is that light that shines in the world? That light that Jesus spoke of as shining through us, that isn’t placed inside a book of theology and encouraged to shine at preacher’s conventions and discussion forums and in pastor‘s libraries. That light is action; it is deeds. And those deeds must be uncomfortable and selfless and aimed at sinners from all stripes. Those deeds must have the love of Jesus Christ as their power and message. And those deeds are living epistles, ripped from the walls of doctrinal taxidermists and infused with His life they go without the camp, bearing His cross and washing the feet of leprous sinners.
We are to observe all things that He commanded of us. To love the Lord your God is more than doctrinal purity; it is more than just a great worship service; it goes way beyond mere words. Loving God cannot be separated from loving your fellow man. When you did not do it to the least of these you did not do it to Him. What a profound mystery, and yet no one can pretend ignorance. Christianity is more than just a religion. It is a life. And that life is an instrument of redemption, broken and spilled out, and stooping down so low so as to minister to the scabrous, the repugnant, the immoral, and in reality the dead corpses that walk among us every single day.
Let us come down from our doctrinal pedestals. Let us repent of the ways in which we have created a system that is so aloof and comfortable. Let us leave the redundant regurgitations that praise what we know and ignore what we must do. The church is so stagnant, so insulated, and so immobilized even while exhibiting a form of godliness within a myriad of activities while millions die physically and spiritually.
Redemption required blood. Read James once more and see that spreading that gospel message requires more than words. How much does He require of us who bear His name?

Just everything.

Nothing more, nothing less.
Posted by Rick Frueh at 6:50 PM

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Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Al Nelson
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Encouraging Words for New Believers

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Al Nelson

The following is part of something I wrote to a friend and his wife when they were baptized. I hope someone else can be encouraged as well.

Being baptized means you have spiritually died, been buried and then raised into Jesus. You are a new person. (Rom 6:1-11) This means you are now a son and daughter of God the Father, co-heirs with Jesus of the Kingdom. We have the privilege of talking directly to God and also hearing directly from Him.

He expects us to mature into the image of Christ. (I Cor. 6:17-19)This means we strive for His character and nature. Not by our own power but our reliance upon Him. This is what He meant in Genesis when He said “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

The Bible is our plumb line. We judge all things against a proper understanding. Anything not understood, we can ask Him, and He will gladly show us. Don’t rely on man’s understanding, let Him be the teacher.

We have the privilege of serving the Creator of the Universe. (I Cor. 4:1) The one who loved us so much, that He sent His only Son to suffer and die in our place so that we can be reconciliated of our sins. That’s why folks become emotional when people are born anew.

Being born again is a spiritual re-birth that begins the process of renewing the mind. It’s a process that happens as fast or slow as you allow the Lord to work in your lives.

Any scripture that seems offensive to you. Pray and ask for understanding.

Guard your gift cautiously and jealously so that it may not be stolen away.

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Climate Change

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Al Nelson
It’s funny that men either deny or forget that climate change happened in the extreme in the days of Noah. I suspect there were no seasons prior to the flood because of how Adam and Eve were first lacking in clothing. After the flood the Bible states:
20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”  (Gen. 8:20-22)
If have ever studied the book of Revelation along with Matthew 24, there is plenty of climate change prophecied for the future. In Matthew 24 we are told of famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. And so we have that today. In Revelation there are references to famine, war, economic turmoil. See Rev. 6 and the four horsemen. Rev. 8 tells us a third of the trees and all green grass are burned up. A third of the sea creatures are killed as well. A third of the waters become bitter. Rev. 16:8 says the sun would scorch men with great heat.
We’ve notice the past few years earthquakes increasing in intensity. Think of Japan, Christchurch New Zealand, Haiti as just a few examples. Here’s a link of somebody tracking other natural disasters: http://www.jesusblogspot.com/2011/01/natural-disasters-2011-recap-of-first.html
2011 will go down as the year of disasters. But I don’t think we have seen anything yet. If you know Christ, then you know we are in the end times and these things are expected to increase. Unsaved men will point to these signs and create excuses and use it to try and control mankind.
We may not know the exact day or hour Jesus returns but He commanded us to watch so that we would not be caught unaware when He does return, He gave us signs to watch for. That these signs would be in the earth and the sky. And so we have these signs increasing.
32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mar. 13:32-37; also see Mat 24:36-44; Luk 21:34-36)
35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and[d] not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41 Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”
42 And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. (Luk 12:35-48)
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. (Rev. 3:2-3)
15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” (Rev. 16:15)
I get the feeling watching for Him is an important commandment. We do not want to be caught unaware. Study the warnings and the repercussions carefully.

So climate change is here, and man has everything to do with it, because man has sinned against God. God is not here to save the world though. He is here to save men through His Son Jesus Christ who gave His life as a Holy sacrifice for the sins of men. Whoever will repent of their sins, accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and be baptized will have eternal life in Christ. Those who deny Him will have eternal life in the Lake of Fire. God is going to destroy this earth and remake it after the day of Judgement. Let’s not be fearful, but find comfort in Christ in these last days of turmoil.

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Watch

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Al Nelson

34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36

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Land Buys a Big Tri-Faith Leap

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Al Nelson

http://www.omaha.com/article/20111214/NEWS01/712149898#land-buys-a-big-tri-faith-leap

“He said people from the related Abrahamic faiths “should and can be working partners in the service of God.”

When Jesus said “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6), how does that fit into the above quote? Were we called to be working partners with the other “Abrahamic” faiths? Or were we called to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world, to make disciples for Jesus the Christ.

No faith in Abraham or any other prophet will bring Salvation to anyone.  Jesus goes on to say:

7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask[c] anything in My name, I will do it. 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Jesus, while admonishing Philip for not recognizing the Father is showing us that we recognize the Father by the work and commandments we are called to as disciples of Christ. We were not called to compromise and fellowship with other faiths that do not preach Christ as Saviour, but to simply preach Him who was crucified for our sins.

4 Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.
       5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.
       6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
       7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
      Yet He opened not His mouth;
      He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
      And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
      So He opened not His mouth.
       8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
      And who will declare His generation?
      For He was cut off from the land of the living;
      For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
       9 And they[a] made His grave with the wicked—
      But with the rich at His death,
      Because He had done no violence,
      Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
       10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
      He has put Him to grief.
      When You make His soul an offering for sin,
      He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
      And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
       11 He shall see the labor of His soul,[b]and be satisfied.
      By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
      For He shall bear their iniquities.
       12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
      And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
      Because He poured out His soul unto death,
      And He was numbered with the transgressors,
      And He bore the sin of many,
      And made intercession for the transgressors. (Is 53:4-12)

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Submitting

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Al Nelson

1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all [of you] be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

So then what are we submitting to? Aren’t we to show respect one to another, not in a worldly way, but that some are more mature than others in Christ. Those who are more mature should respect the less mature as much as the less mature should respect the more mature. Not one of us has the full counsel of God, yet together we should seek it.

The world’s way seeks to command and control people. The Godly way seeks to win minds and souls according to the doctrine of Christ. What is the doctrine of Christ? That we are all sinners in need of saving and Jesus came to be that sacrifice for sin. Is there any further explanation needed? Do we need to add anything else to fellowship in the Lord? Do we need buildings and programs to keep us from the true work of Christ?

What is the true work of Christ? What are we called to do?

 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16

So then why are we adding to this simple command with all these things? Why are we still hanging to the world knowing these things will pass away? Where is the commandment to do otherwise?

With so much of the disciples money being spent on salaries and church building expenses, it could be better spent towards getting out of the building and preaching the Gospel. Passing out tracts, Bibles and open air preaching by those appointed by God to do it. Others are support staff as God ordains.

May the Lord of Lords and King of Kings open our eyes before it’s too late. Let us come to place where we suffer no loss on judgment day, but are rewarded for faithful service.

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