What Is The Foundation Upon Which Your Faith Is Built?

I want to express some thoughts I had after reading an interesting article on CharismaMag.com, titled "Are You Building for the Storm"? This isn't going to be a post detailing the upheaval in the world, or prophesying a doomsday scenario. But rather, I want to share a different message; one I've been contemplating since I was struck by a passage that the writer of the article quoted from Matthew 7:24-27. In these verses, Jesus makes the following statement: “All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won’t collapse, for it is built on rock. But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash".

Keep in mind that this passage is at the end of a long discourse by Jesus in what is known as His Sermon on the Mount, which actually covers Chapters 5-7 in Matthew. These three chapters appear to comprise Jesus's first official sermon, and are what He is referring to as "My instructions" in Matthew 7:24. He teaches the people who have gathered to hear Him about the Blessings of those who surrender to Him (the Beatitudes), and that He came to Fulfill the Law and to usher in the Kingdom of God on earth. That means He is going to change their perspective as He offers moral teachings on Anger, Lust, Divorce, and Oaths. He instructs the people that they should abandon an "eye for an eye" theology, and instead, love their enemies. He teaches on the importance of giving to the needy, and shows them how to properly pray to their Father in Heaven. He counsels them on fasting, and to lay up their treasures in Heaven, rather than trying to earn them here on earth. Jesus tries to show them the futility of worry and anxiety, for their Father knows what they need. Seek after the Kingdom and God's righteousness and all their needs will be met. Finally, He winds down His sermon by showing them what an intimate relationship with the Father looks like ... He educates the crowd on the concept of judging others; of the Father's heart to give the righteous what we ask for. He then gives a series of warnings: be intentional to follow the narrow path through the gate to Heaven for the gate that is wide leads to destruction. He advises that the people be able to discern those who are deceitful, and to recognize those who bear good fruit for God's Kingdom. Because the starkest warning is yet to come ... there are those who think they are walking that narrow path towards their heavenly inheritance, but He will deny them, saying, "I never knew you"!

AND THEN comes the last portion of His sermon; the passage that I quoted from Matthew 7:24-27. Jesus makes it clear that everyone who was paying attention to these lessons He was teaching, and followed the instructions, were wise. He or she would be like a man who built his house on the solid foundation of rock. Now, we know that Jesus is our rock and the foundation of our faith, but for just a moment, let's consider why it is literally sound judgment to build a house upon real, actual rock. I consulted a site that gave 5 reasons why rock is your best choice for a foundation.

The primary purpose of your house's foundation is to hold your house up, even when the ground below it changes. A rock foundation provides the better support than sand, which tends to shift. Secondly, a rock foundation resists movement. Forces in the natural world are always working against your foundation, and rock can resist the weight of those forces by transferring the load to the rock that surrounds the home. Sand will easily be displaced, causing cracks in the foundation. Thirdly, a good solid rock foundation will insulate your home to keep it comfortable in the heat of summer and the bitter cold of winter. Sand easily allows tree roots to grow into the soil below the foundation, allowing water and moisture to seep into the foundation, resulting in eventual structural damage. And finally, a good foundation made of rock will keep your home from being infiltrated by bugs and creatures that can threaten the integrity of your structure. Sand just invites that kind of penetration.

So, Jesus, being a carpenter, knows the implications He is making about the solidness of the foundation of a structure. And if He is the rock, and the structure is our body; our life; our ministry, our purpose, then can you see that in order for us to stand, our strength and foundation must be found in His support; His ability to help us resist the weight of spiritual forces coming against us; allowing Him to insulate us and guard us against those powers that seek to infiltrate our faith and cause it to disintegrate? If our faith is built on anything else it will not stand the pressures of this world. Neither your identity in this world; nor money and material things; neither jobs nor status; physical appearance; technology; religion; family; or fame can build your faith strong enough to withstand the outside pressure of serious illnesses like cancer; or comfort you at the loss of a loved one; or support you when you feel isolated and alone behind enemy lines.

So, what do you build your foundation of faith upon? If it's anything but Jesus, then it is shifting sand, and you will find yourself on uneven ground. The rain and the wind and the floods --- the storms of life --- will leave you unsettled and destabilized. A foundation of Jesus, the solid rock upon which our faith is built, will sustain, strengthen, and support us through the tempests of life. I can't imagine the fear, worry, and anxiety of trying to wage war against the forces that come against us in this world if Jesus is not our foundation! I ask you to take a moment and do a self-check. Have you allowed anything or anyone else to dethrone Jesus as the foundation of your faith? Do you rely on anything or anyone else to be the power and authority of your faith? Jesus, Himself, tells us that when those storms come, if we do not build our structure's foundation on the rock, then we can expect that it will immediately fall, and the ruin and destruction of our structure of faith will be great. But we, who know Jesus as the living stone, precious and holy, will weather the storms that come against us. We will endure, overcome, and resist in confidence and boldness. The truth is this: we will not be shaken when we can proclaim Jesus is our only rock, our salvation, and our fortress!

#jesusisourrock #foundationofourfaith #uponthisrock #jesus #rockofages

1 Samuel 2:2    There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.

 

 

Sermon On The Mount ... From A Different Perspective

I love how the Lord continues to peel back layers of His Word that reveal new understandings of what He is teaching us about His character; about what He has purposed for our lives; and the reality of what the Kingdom really looks like. He allows me to build upon each new revelation -- not discarding the old understanding, but expanding it to include new perspectives, as He moves me to a new position and a fresh frame of reference.

This time it came through my intense study of The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the valiant Lutheran pastor who lived in Germany during the Third Reich, and who took seriously Jesus' call to "take up your cross". Bonhoeffer was fearlessly outspoken against Hitler's Nazi regime and he paid the cost as a martyr for Christ. His book, The Cost of Discipleship, has proven to compliment Scripture in both Truth and Spirit, and caused me to examine familiar Biblical concepts with new eyes and a renewed heart.

For example, the Beatitudes, a portion of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, have long been a subject of study for me. Ever since 20 years ago, when I sat in a Sunday School class and the teacher [who was also a pastor at the church] admitted that the Beatitudes have long been a struggle for the Church to explain, I was determined that I would make a sincere effort to comprehend their meaning. After all, how could such an important theological standard of the Church be a mystery or enigma?

My first "aha" moment came when I came to believe that the Sermon on the Mount was presented in the context of being the Constitution, if you will, of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is speaking to a multitude of people, including His Disciples, telling the crowd that the Ten Commandments serve as the Law on earth, but there is a higher concept of the Torah that portrays all that God expects and provides for those who yield to Him. And when we understand that Jesus is speaking to Jews, who greatly revere the Law and Scriptures, one can only imagine what they are thinking! Jesus is speaking of a new paradigm of faith! Jesus reveals that God offers promises of power to fulfill all that He asks of us. In this important Sermon, Jesus puts the emphasis on the inward transformation of our hearts by the grace of God, rather than the outward duty to obey the Law. Jesus is telling all of us that God's Kingdom is available to those who will learn His ways and offer ourselves to Him in full surrender.

And this is where another layer of the Bible has been revealed to me. In light of the previous blog post regarding Discipleship, I now see that to be a Disciple of Christ involves being separated from the world; giving up all we have in the world as we surrender to His will to follow Him, fully and radically. And now I recognize in a chapter of The Cost of Discipleship, that there is another layer ready to be unveiled. Pastor Bonhoeffer paints this picture of Matthew 5:1-12 ... it includes Jesus on the mountain, the multitudes, and the disciples. As he so eloquently explains, The people see Jesus with His Disciples, a group of men who used to be just like them. The Disciples see the people, from whom they've just come. And now they identify as the elect people of God. BUT Jesus sees His Disciples! 

As was established in the previous post, these men have separated from the world; they are isolated with their Master, the Good Shepherd, who has come for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They left their homes and families to follow Him, and that's what now makes them different from their fellow Jews. As Bonhoeffer writes, "Now they are living in want, and privation, the poorest of the poor, the sorest afflicted, and the hungriest of the hungry. They have only Him, and with Him they have nothing, literally nothing in the world, but everything with and through God". [NOTE: We Christians in the 21st Century, profess that we live and experience "everything with and through God", yet very few are living in want, poor, afflicted, hungry, or have fully surrendered ALL to Him. Would He recognize us as His Disciples, if He came back today?]

It is from that perspective that I now understand that when Jesus delivers His sermon on the side of that mountain, He is holding up His Disciples to the crowd as men who have rightly answered the call of God. He calls them Blessed in the hearing of every man, woman, and child in attendance that day. That word "Blessed" had profound meaning to the multitudes of Jews who were gathered there that day. In the Jewish culture, blessed means an increase. It's an increase of God's Presence and His Favor. It is the experiential knowledge of God [as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] moving in His power and strength to destroy our enemies and overcome our human reasoning and insufficiency. And Jesus is about to bestow that recognition on the Twelve, in the midst of the multitude.

The crowd now stands as a witness that these men are to receive the promises of God to Israel because they have obeyed the call of Jesus. And now that same promise is offered to the crowd, as heirs of the promise. Will the crowd understand that He is about to show them the stature of the Disciples before God? Will they believe in Jesus and surrender their all to follow Him? In His Sermon, He shows the crowd how these men, who until recently, had been just like them, now share in a new and distinct way of life... Theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. In that day, just as today, wealth was measured by your place in society; what you owned, your position of power, your status and influence. But Jesus points to the Twelve, who have no possessions, no homes, no power [either spiritual or material]. They have lost all they ever had, for His sake. Now they are poor in the spirit [of what poverty looks like]; poor in the ways the world defines poor, but they are rich in the promises that they will one day see the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus calls them blessed. They are what the heirs of the kingdom look like!

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Jesus is now widening the gulf between His Disciples and the rest of the crowd. As the Twelve embrace His call on their lives, they begin to mourn for the world -- they mourn for all that the world idolizes and covets; for its fate, and for the judgment that is coming upon it. And that renders them strangers to the world. Their only comfort -- but what an astounding consolation it is! -- comes from the Comforter, Himself. They are beginning to see that their true home is not the world, but with their crucified Lord, and they look forward to spending eternity with Him!

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. In the ancient world, to be powerless and marginalized was to be weak and defeated. Yet the 12 Disciples would renounce their own rights for the sake of Jesus Christ. They would hold their peace when confronted; endure all hostility and violence; yield ground when men drove them out of the city square. They claim no citizen's rights for themselves. And this goes against all human tendencies or dispositions. Yet, Jesus says, They will inherit the earth. They will take the message of Christ across the globe, and it will spread until Jesus returns, renewing the earth, and the meek [who look like these Disciples] will possess it.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. As the Disciples continue on their journey with Jesus and begin to understand what He is teaching them, they are privileged to discern the righteousness that Jesus calls them to, and they can distinguish it from the sin of the world. They actually renounce the thought of their own righteousness because the example of Jesus as perfect righteousness reminds them they are still of the world. But they hunger for the day that He promises; the day when the earth will experience forgiveness of all sin, when both they and the world will be renewed, and the day when the fullness of the Kingdom is experienced as Jesus fulfills the Law and the prophecies. At this time they hunger and thirst for the Messianic Kingdom, even as Jesus offers Himself as their bread of life and living water.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Before the crowd, Jesus honors His Disciples by calling them merciful. These twelve men, who had not much to begin with, were willing to give up everything else they had to follow Jesus. And as they learn from Him, they are now willing to give up the last of their personal dignity and honor. Like Jesus, they are learning to identify with the downtrodden and the outcasts. They will actually seek them out in order to give them mercy and comfort. They recognize that Jesus chose them out of His own mercy for them; for they were among the wretched sinners of the world when He called them. And because of that awareness, they are now able to offer mercy to others. They believe that one day, in His Mercy, God will clothe them in honor and dignity as His heirs. Yes, blessed are those that are merciful, because they walk in the image of the Merciful One, Jesus Christ.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Jesus makes sure the crowd understands that it is the condition of their hearts that He is interested in. He seeks those whose hearts are pure because they have surrendered to Him. Among the multitudes that are present, only the Disciples fit that description. Because these Twelve left everything and everyone in their lives to follow Jesus in an almost child-like trust, their hearts are open to relying solely on Jesus. They no longer look to the world to fulfill their desires and plans, but are focused solely on Him as their Answer. They stand in stark contrast to everyone else that was present that day. Others sought Jesus for a day as a temporary "fix", but the Disciples were wholly committed to a life focused on becoming more like Him. Their hearts were being purified, and Jesus announces that they will have the privilege of seeing God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. This must have been a hard pill to swallow for the Jews in attendance that day; and I imagine a difficult truth to walk out for the Disciples, as well. As Jews, theirs was a history of domination by various empires, and they were now under the thumb of Roman rule. They longed for the fulfillment of the prophecy that God would send the Messiah to overcome and defeat their enemies. Yet here is Jesus, training the Disciples [and telling the crowd] that even in the midst of subjugation they can have peace in Him. And not only that, but they are to seek peace and make peace -- even in the midst of violence against them. Jesus has been teaching His Disciples that He was sent to reconcile men back to a relationship with their God. And God wants to establish His Kingdom on earth through peaceful means. That is in stark contrast to the world and a message that even the Disciples struggle to accept. But they have been called to partner with Jesus in establishing this reconciliation in peace. By that partnership, God will know them as His sons, just as Jesus is the Son of God.

Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now, the Jews are no strangers to persecution; it has been their lot for centuries. Jesus is holding up the Twelve before the crowd as examples of those who are blessed and will know the increase of God's Presence and Favor; who will know His power and strength to overcome their Enemies. BUT, this is about persecution for the sake of righteousness. Persecution comes not for God's righteousness, but the suffering they will endure in pursuit of a just cause. Their message and works will offend the world because they deny them their idols. The Disciples' very confession of Jesus's Name is enough to bring oppression and hostility from any and all who stand in opposition to the Kingdom. But Jesus establishes that they will not only be Blessed, but will receive the Kingdom of Heaven... making them equals to the poor in spirit. 

It is not lost on me that the last Blessing Jesus gives His followers is the one of persecution. It points back to Him. It will be their testimony as the poor and suffering, the meek and merciful, the sympathetic and tolerant, that brings them into authentic fellowship with Jesus. Like Jesus, they will appear as strangers to the world. And although Jesus calls them Blessed, the world will call for their removal from the world. But they will follow Jesus all the way to the Cross, and then on to the Kingdom of Heaven! 

This is a perspective that gives me clarity and courage. If I am to be hopeful of walking out my time on earth as a Disciple of Christ, then Jesus has set out a clear path. To receive His blessing of living out eternity in the Presence and Favor of Almighty God in His Kingdom of Heaven, I must live my life as a stranger to this world. But He also makes it clear [in perhaps one of the most famous sermons in history] that I can meet none of His requirements out of my own behavior. It is the call and promise of Jesus alone that makes it possible! 

I would love to know how many of those present on the mountain that day grasped the gravity of His message. How many looked at the Disciples and thought, "They look and sound like me, but there's something different about them. This celebrated teacher, Jesus, is so attractive to me, yet He talks of things these 12 men will endure -- things I don't want to experience. What about Him makes it all worthwhile for them? He offers nothing that this world values, yet promises a future with God in a heavenly kingdom. Do I dare take the chance and give up all I have and know for a promise I can't see"? My friends, that's the same question we are presented with today! 

This perspective on the Beatitudes is sobering and straightforward. But it is just as consequential today as it was 2000 years ago when a multitude of Jewish men, women, and children gathered to hear this Famed Teacher who drew crowds from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. He had the capacity to change their lives for eternity. How many left that day transformed? How many will allow Him to transform them today? 

#sermononthemount #thebeatitudes #blessedarethepoor #jesusdisciples #thetwelvedisciples

Matthew 19:28    Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, in the renewal [that is, the Messianic restoration and regeneration of all things] when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you [who have followed Me, becoming My disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Call Of A Disciple

 

If you profess to believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, how do you describe yourself to others? Do you identify as a Christian? And what does that name mean within your relationship with the Godhead? For awhile now, I have referred to myself as an obedient follower of Christ; with the confession that being "obedient" can sometimes be a struggle in my flesh. But is that the term Jesus uses to describe those who will ultimately believe and follow Him? It seems to me that, in the Bible, it is the term Disciple that best describes those who will champion His cause. [And a side note of interest, the word Christian is what the enemies of the new faith in Jesus called His followers].

I find it interesting that Jesus defines what makes a Disciple only a handful of times, and He is very specific as to what it entails. But there's no mistaking that if you choose to use that term yourself, you better understand the cost. And here is something that the Lord has recently revealed as I continue on my journey to get closer to Him ... I don't get to voluntarily decide that I am going to be a Disciple. He calls me. It is He that makes the decision, just as He did in the Bible when He approached Peter, John, Andrew, Matthew and each of His Disciples. He calls us individually according to His will, AND it is His choice, not ours. It is only if we are willing to pay the cost, that we can truly be counted as His Disciple. And that cost is steep; more expensive and costly than the majority of Christians can even contemplate. That is why not many qualify to be called His true Disciples. 

That might be an offensive statement to those who identify as Christians. But have you ever sat down and seriously read the description that Jesus gives of what it takes to be His Disciple? He lays it out pretty clearly in Luke 14:26-33: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, He cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple... So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple." Who among us could easily say, "Yes, Lord, I'm willing to do that! I will despise and separate myself from all those I love, and who love me, and live a life totally dedicated to You! And I declare that I will sacrifice all I have and all I am, including my life, to follow You! I am willing to break ties with everyone and everything in my life to focus solely on serving You!"? Those are difficult promises to make! Yet, He demands exactly that if you are going to call yourself His Disciple. But how many of us loosely apply that term to ourselves?

I think Jesus was referring to most self-described Disciples in the middle of that passage [in verses 28-32] when He says ... "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." If we're honest, there aren't many of us who would answer Jesus's call to be His Disciple without hesitation, not taking the time to first measure what it's going to cost us. We would have to make sure we had all we needed to pull it off, because we sure wouldn't want to be embarrassed if we said, yes, and then realized we hadn't measured all it would cost and what we would need. And like the king in Jesus's example, we wouldn't want to agree to be His Disciple and then realize that the forces coming against us are going to be greater in power than we have the ability to defend ourselves; we only want to commit if we are assured of winning our battle. And like the rich young ruler in Mark 10, we might decide to wait until the lifestyle of a Disciple is more convenient for us.

You see, the call of Jesus to be His Disciple is costly, indeed. And I don't think there are many who understand that it is, first and foremost, a life lived in separation and isolation from the world and all that we hold dear in it ... our families; our status in society [and yes, in the Church]; our jobs and careers; our very lives. And here is an astounding realization that is new to my understanding of true Discipleship ... IF it is Jesus's will to call us, and IF we accept His will, it is because He determined that it would be so! There was no way that Peter, John, Andrew, Bartholomew, James [son of Zebedee], Jude, Matthew, James [son of Alpheus], Philip, Simon the Zealot, Thomas, or even Judas were going to be able to say No! Jesus had now come into the midst of their lives, and their relationships with their immediate world had been infringed upon; He now stood in opposition to all they clung to. And once we accept His call, all those relationships are forever and profoundly changed.

Our relationships are no longer the result of our direct contact with our loved ones or people in the world. Christ stands between us and them, and what we perceived before Him was just an illusion. Everything and everyone is now a redefined reality through Him. He separates us from the world and we must come to Him as an individual and alone, allowing Him to reconstitute and restore those relationships through His preeminence in our lives. And the good news is that while Jesus separates us from the world and it's natural relationships, He also establishes new fellowship between us and others. He makes a way for us to connect through Him; a way that began in solitude and separation, but now unites in shared love and purpose to glorify the One who called us. 

I wish I could truly imagine all the thoughts and emotions those first Disciples experienced as they answered Jesus's call. We know for certain that Peter was married, because Jesus healed his mother-in-law. And according to Clement, Bishop of Rome in the late 1st Century, "Peter and Philip begat children, and Philip gave his daughters in marriage". So the first Disciples sacrificed families and gave up their material things to live a life of solitude as they followed Christ to the Cross, and then took His message to the world. And lest we forget, Jesus made it clear that to be His Disciple meant that the persecution He suffered would come to them as well. Nothing has changed in this 21st Century. We don't get to escape the cost!  

Everything that has made our lives easier and more prosperous doesn't eliminate the price we will pay to be His Disciple. Are we willing to make the ultimate sacrifice? If we are called to be Disciples, it is a very real possibility. The persecution He endured came to every one of His faithful Twelve, accept for John. It will be a part of our walk with Him. too. But we can celebrate that He also told them that by their love for each other and the fruit they bore, they would be proven to be His Disciples. Oh, what a glorious calling! And I believe that it is Jesus's will that each one of us be His true Disciple! 

Be separate from the world, but united in Him! Cast off all the world has to offer and cling to what we have in our relationship with our Master! The road He has called us to is fraught with extraordinary change, and that frightens some people. But we are assured that everything we have surrendered will be returned to us a hundredfold! There is no greater honor than to be called as a true Disciple of Jesus... are you ready to answer Him without hesitation? The world needs you!

#discipleofjesus #discipleship #jesusdisciple #calledtobeadisciple

Luke 14:26-27   If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

 

The Writing On The Wall

 

I have no doubt that this blog will not be found favorable among many of my fellow Christians who follow the prophets of hope and divine deliverance from the world's current deterioration. I want to point out that we really do have a lot in common -- our belief in the eternal promises of the One True God; our desire to seek a righteous life before the Lord and to serve His Kingdom; and our hatred of the evil that has infiltrated our culture. But as soon as I speak about what I discern will be judgment against the nations [and cite why we deserve it], then I sense a difference in the understanding of what our future might hold.

It is clear to me that the rise and fall of nations throughout history all have the hand of God upon them. No empire has lasted forever, and certainly not from their own power. And as Christians, we have ample examples in the Bible. In the Old Testament, both Israel and Judah were judged for their apostasy; arrogance; sexual perversion; hypocritical and corrupt priests and prophets; and the dishonest and immoral conduct of the rich and powerful. Injustice ruled the day. But many Christians will say, that was the Old Testament. They will proclaim that God set up a new covenant through His Son, Jesus Christ, and we are His heirs of a new Kingdom on earth. The will further attest that God desires to give us His Grace, Mercy, and Favor to defeat evil and help establish a new Heaven on Earth, with Jesus establishing His throne in our midst. God's anger and wrath is held for those who reject His offer of salvation.

But God's judgment against unrighteous nations continued in the New Testament. Bibleask.org gives a succinct and valid example in the case of Israel, God's favored nation. After the inhabitants of Judah were taken into captivity in Babylon in 586 B.C., the Lord brought the Jews back to their homeland and rebuilt Jerusalem to bring about His plans for saving the world through the Messiah. But after the Jews crucified the Messiah, God finally destroyed the nation of Israel by way of the Romans in 70 A.D.  The people were taken captive and the city razed to the ground. For thousands of years, God had been patient, waiting for His chosen people to fulfill their God-appointed assignment of taking the knowledge of Him to the world. As sad as it is, the truth is that Israel's rejection of God, resulted in His rejection of them until one day in the future when they will recognize Him as the Messiah that God had promised them, and He will restore them to their position as His world leaders.

Soooo, for those Christians who think that we will remain exempt from God's anger and that we will not stand in judgment for our own "apostasy; arrogance; sexual perversion; hypocritical and corrupt priests and prophets; and the dishonest and immoral conduct of our rich and powerful"  -- just as ancient Judah and Israel were -- doesn't know or understand the fullness of the character and attributes of God. Yes, He is "longsuffering", which means patient, forgiving, charitable, tolerant, and understanding. But He is also Holy and righteous. There comes a time when He says, "Enough is enough and I will tolerate no more". We have done everything that the rebellious nations in the Bible have done [and I'm not too sure it isn't more]. There will be a day of accountability. And I believe that prophets who deny that are mistaken. Perhaps they believe that there will be seasons of relenting, and periods of renewal. Or maybe they are describing what it looks like after the return of Jesus when there will be revival and restoration of God's Truth and Sovereignty. But if there is denial of judgment, then I believe they are not rightly representing what Scripture tells us.

I have always found such amazing insight in the Book of Daniel. As I mentioned earlier [and in a blog from April, 2021: The rise and decline of nations throughout history all have the hand of God upon them. Daniel, that great prophet of the Bible, who had favor and compassion from God, proclaimed that "It is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings" (Daniel 2:21). It is evident that God determines the ways in which a nation progresses and develops. If a nation and its leaders stray from the precepts of God's counsel, then history will see them exit the stage according to His will.

The Bible gives us an example of this when Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall at King Belshazzar's feast: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and put an end to it; —you have been weighed on the scales [of righteousness] and found wanting [deficient]. That very night, Belshazzar's kingdom fell to the Medes and Persians. It happened suddenly -- like "a thief in the night". Do you think the nations are found "wanting" today? What about the nations in Venezuela, Brazil and Central America whose governments have created such a surge of poor and desperate people to our borders? What about the nation of Mexico who has surrendered to violent organizations who extort its own people to benefit their trafficking and drug trade? What about our own beloved nation? What does God think of us as the Number One destination of trafficked and enslaved people? Aren't we due His wrath and judgment for failure to acknowledge Him as we continue to idolize wealth, power, sexual perversion and abortion, which is done in the same spirit as ancient child sacrifice? 

Take a look at Daniel 5 and read the story of King Belshazzar of Babylon. As he and his thousands of nobles feasted among Judah's stolen riches, they "praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone". Suddenly a human hand appeared and wrote Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin on the wall. It frightened Belshazzar so much he went weak in the knees. When Daniel prophesied the end of his kingdom (see above paragraph), he not only lost his power, but his life that night. Read that again ... his kingdom was destroyed that very night; taken from him like a "thief in the night". We desperately need to understand that when God says it, it will surely come to pass. 

Believe me, I do not like writing blogs like this. But if we cannot see the handwriting on the wall regarding our current situation, then we have fallen for a powerful delusion to lull us into compliance with the Enemy's plans to dominate the world. We must be bold and declare the Truth, just as Daniel did, even when doing so threatened his life. Silence has been contagious in the American Church. But Courage is the hallmark of a true Disciple of Christ, and it is contagious, too. That theory did not originate with me, but it has been true since the beginning of time, and especially true for those who profess genuine faith in Christ. 

My friends, it is time to recognize the handwriting on the wall, and decide that you will not hide in fear and silence. We were not born for this time to worry about ourselves and what we see happening in the world. It is only important to understand from the level that we can educate others to the hour of our destiny. And the good news is that I know there are pockets of righteous followers of Christ who are in alignment with the Word and walking in Spirit and Truth. They represent the Remnant that God will use to make His final moves on the cosmic chessboard. But the ultimate question we all need to be asking ourselves is this .... when the Judgment is final, and the Lord resides on the earth, "Will He know me"? 

#writingonthewall #Godsjudgment #Godsanger #Godjudgesthenations #thiefinthenight 

Psalm 110:5-7  The Lord is at your right hand; He will shatter kings on the day of His wrath.  He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore He will lift up His head.

Do You Know The Measure Of Your Work For The Kingdom of God?

 

I ask that question because it is something I have been considering over the last few days as I laid sick in my bed with a nasty cold virus. When your body is racked with fever, your mind tends to go places not normal for you. I had no energy to write this blog or do much of anything else, actually, and so I asked the Lord to take me to Scripture that I needed to consider a little deeper.  He led me to 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10. The latter part of this chapter concerns Paul discussing his mandate [or assignment] from the Lord. Apparently, within the Church at Corinth, the believers were preoccupied with setting standards of their own regarding the efficacy [value or benefit] of another's ministry. Various opinions, theories, and religious philosophies were discussed and then either copied or compared, resulting in human evaluations that left people either prideful or discouraged, depending on the consensus of the church.

Sound familiar? But it was Paul's statement regarding this human evaluation that got me to thinking. Paul's response was this: But we are those who choose to limit our boasting to only the measure of the work to which God has appointed us...  You see, I've always had a problem with the Church deciding they were the arbiter of God's commission on my life. It has always seemed to me that if I didn't follow the prescribed "rules" of what ministry was supposed to look like, it was made clear that I was outside God's domain. But once I received the revelation that Christ passed His authority on to us, I began to realize that God was the administrator of where and how I would serve Him. 

Furthermore, I came to realize that God has designed each of us in a unique manner that serves Him best. We have been given the gifts and spiritual authority that are necessary to continue Christ's dominion on this earth. In other words, there is a unique job for each of us, and my job may look different than yours, but we both have the same objective -- to see God's Kingdom expanded upon the earth.

Let's refer back to Paul's statement. There is a "measure of work to which God has appointed us". The Passion Translation of 2 Corinthians 10:13 says that this word "work" comes from the Greek word metron, which was the length of a race course, and it was used to define the boundaries of a Greek stadium. This should make us think of the references to "running the race" that Paul makes throughout his letters to the various churches:  "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1), and "if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:24), for instance. This tells me that we have each been given a sphere of influence that will be suited to our gifts and the level of authority we have been given.

But there is more to this concept of "running in our lane" [which is the boundaries of our ministry from God]. There is the idea of the expansion of those boundaries to benefit the Kingdom of God. I believe it was in the 1990's when The Prayer of Jabez was so popular. The verses in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 read, There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

The Christian culture was captivated by what they discerned was a quick prayer to increase their material well-being. I will agree... we serve a God of Increase and Enlargement. But our material well-being is a by-product of how well we administer the territory [or sphere of influence] and the gifts we have been given by the Father. Just as Jesus prophesied that the Apostles would be His witnesses first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth, we have each been given the same potential to expand our territories of influence for His Kingdom.

If we are obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to His promptings, and to His instructions, we can expect the measure of our ministerial influence to expand. It goes without saying that our primary purpose is to expand the Kingdom of God and not our personal empire. But it is also true that we can expect God's blessings when we use our authority to widen God's influence in the world. As we fulfill our potential within the boundaries God has established for our ministry, He will push those boundaries back, giving us room to grow and widen our sphere of influence for Him.

And I hope that everyone realizes that we each DO have a ministry; a purpose for our life to serve others as we serve our Lord. If you aren't aware of what yours is, ask Jesus to show you. You may start out small, but as you are faithful to your calling, and you desire to expand your territory in a spirit of humbleness and love for the Lord, the Father will do as He did for Jabez, and grant your request. 

So, I come back to my original question ... Do you know your measure in the Kingdom of God? Do you know what your purpose and your assignment or mandate is? Can you identify your sphere of influence and perceive the boundaries of your spiritual territory? If not, then pursue those answers. Because it is going to be vitally important as we enter into a time on this earth when the Antichrist spirit will rule and reign like we've never seen before. Thanks be to God, that it will be for a short time, before Jesus arrives on the earth to settle the score with His ancient enemy and establish His Millennial Kingdom.

When we know the measure of our work in that Kingdom, then we are confident and bold to carry out our assignments so all the world knows it is the Lord that commends and expands our work. Do not be afraid or ashamed to declare it to a world [or Church] who needs to know that Christ gives us divine power in our ministries to demolish strongholds! Your life will be eternally richer for it. And if, like Paul, you know the course of the race set before you, do not be satisfied with limits on your boundaries. Ask God to expand your territory so that you can expand His Kingdom. You, too, will find eternal rewards beyond anything you desire.  

#sphereofinfluence #kingdomassignment #spiritualterritory   

Isaiah 54:2    Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.  

Now Is The Time To Pay Attention! God's Economic System Is Better Than The World's

With the financial health of the stock market declining at a consistent rate, we cannot ignore the implications for our economy and our future. I know the subject of money and wealth is a difficult one for the Christian community to discuss. But it shouldn't be. God has an economic system in His Kingdom, and we would do well to discern just how different [and better] it is than what the world offers.

In 2008, God shook my husband and I awake. We were just your normal, average American citizens. But when the housing market began crashing from the sub-prime mortgage debacle, our spirits got jolted and we started educating ourselves to the machinations of our nation's economic system, and began asking God for wisdom and counsel in order to avoid getting caught in the evil web that was being spun.

As inexperienced as we were, we were wise enough to listen to what God was instructing our spirits. Instinctively, we knew that the Kingdom of God on earth was to reflect His Heavenly Kingdom. So, if the world's economic system seemed to be failing, shouldn't we, as Christians, be seeking to find out how God instituted His economic system in Heaven and wants our financial system to operate? 

If you grew up with the distorted view of money that I did, then you probably have faced the same two fears that I have known: 1) that money is the root of all evil, and 2) the very real fear of lack of money. Those two fears are at odds with each other and can cause confusion and frustration. So, let me share some thoughts about how God wants us to consider money. First, and most importantly, can we agree that God owns the world and all that is in it? And, yes, that includes all the money [no matter how much the financial gurus try to convince you that it can belong to you]. True, the very wealthy are accused of accumulating more than their fair share; and the government tries to control how much you can keep. 

Now, let me share some wisdom from Byron Howell Ministries on his blog post titled, Economic Freedom and God's Financial System. He begins by quoting Haggai 2:8, "The silver and gold are mine, declares the Lord Almighty". Then he says this: "The first step in operating in God’s economic system is moving your thinking out of the world’s economic system, [which is based on individual ownership of money], and over to God’s economy, which is fundamentally based on God’s ownership of all the world’s money.... The world’s economic system, based on individual ownership, functions by math. God’s economic system, based on His ownership, functions by movement.  God does not spend money, God moves money" [my emphasis]. 

That was the first important principle of God's economy that Mark and I learned. I think we were both so unhappy working in the corporate economic system [where we saw so much mismanagement and dishonesty], that it wasn't hard to make the jump to be self-employed, which also led us to the importance of tithing. Once we had to place our trust in God's grace and authority in blessing us with His resources, we wanted to share those blessings as He led us. We understood that anything that came into our coffers, came from God. And in humble thanks for what He provided, we wanted to give back to Him in ways that honored Him. For us, that meant giving to others as we saw needs to be met; always making it clear that it wasn't our money, but God's, and He was using us to let them know He saw them and recognized their need. You see, God moved that money through us [meeting our needs] and then moved it to someone else who needed it.

And can you fathom that God has all the money that He will ever need to achieve His goals for the world? But He loves partnering with us, which leads to an intimate relationship of sowing and reaping. God gives us what we need, and if we stay in righteous relationship with Him, we can harvest seed from His blessings and sow it in [and through] others. That economic system perpetuates itself and moves God's money as He informs. And that calls our attention to the concept of stewardship, which is our responsibility to supervise, protect, and manage God's property. 

Another truth that we need to understand is that because money belongs to God, it is not evil. I mean, God blessed Abraham, Jacob, and King Solomon with great wealth. The Bible says Abram was "very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold" (Genesis 13:2). Jacob's wealth "increased greatly" in livestock, servants, camels and donkeys (Genesis 30:43). King Solomon "excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom" (1 Kings 10:23). It must also be understood that while God used these men in powerful ways, and their wealth was often expressed as a blessing from God, it did not necessarily indicate their standing with Him. We would be wise to see the real value of money in this world ... it is provision given to us to be wisely invested so that it yields a return for the One who owns it. It does not entitle us to run our own program with the money He has given us.

In this world, we are subliminally taught that money is the key to happiness. The wealthy are always shown as possessing things that bring them joy; and those things cost money. Hence, the message we get is that the desire for money is essential to be happy. The poor are rarely shown as satisfied; they covet or are miserable because of the lack of money. In essence, we have been trained to see money as an idol. When that happens our focus is taken off Jesus [and what He has given us] and transfers to our own selfish needs and desires. 

So, how do transfer into God's Kingdom economy when we find ourselves facing a serious downturn in the world's economic system? First, let me say it is my personal opinion that we are going to feel some pain in the short term [and only God knows how "short" that term will be]. But when you understand how God's system works, you will navigate this new reality with the proper perspective, which is ... be thankful for what you have been given, recognizing who it belongs to; even in the midst of hardship, sow into others and you will please God, reaping treasure in heaven; and, last but not least, you are not alone.

We serve a God that seeks to bring this world into alignment with His Heavenly Kingdom, and that can mean pain when we are so far out of position. He knows what we need and He desires to give us "our daily bread". So, no matter what our economic future or the future of the nation looks like, let us be content in what we have been given, always looking to share in the blessings we have received. And never forget that no matter what the world looks like, there is an eternal existence that awaits us, and it is our righteousness that will be measured, not our riches. 

Luke 6:38    Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

 

Shemitah, Jubilee & The Economy

I'm going to bring some information to you today that, as Christians, you may be unfamiliar with. But hang in here with me, and I will try to show you the spiritual relevancy for our economy, our stability, and our future as a nation.

September 28th officially began the Year of Jubilee 2022. It followed the conclusion of seven Sabbath Years [known as Shemitahs], and the explanation of these God-ordained time periods will help us to understand [and endure] what I believe is going to be an unstable time in our nation. You have probably guessed by now that these are Jewish terms and might be wondering what they have to do with us Christians. 

The explanation begins with an understanding that God established seven Feast Days for the Israelites as they came out of bondage in Egypt; they were permanent statutes and appointed times to gather together for a holy convocation. That term meant that God summoned the people of Israel to these specific times as reminders of all He had done to gather them to Himself. But they did not realize at the time that their ultimate purpose was as a rehearsal and foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus, their Messiah. It is important to note that these are The Lord's Feasts NOT The Jewish Feasts. AND they have significance for us Christians, too, since we are grafted into the faith of Abraham. A quick summary of the seven Feasts follows:

The Spring Feasts include Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Firstfruits. They were [and are still to this day] reminders and memorials of all God has done for them. For the Israelites, Passover represented the blood of a sacrificed lamb over their doorposts that inaugurated their escape from bondage in Egypt, and then practiced every subsequent year for the forgiveness of personal and national sin. The Unleavened Bread was a reminder that leaven represented sin and God told the Hebrews to leave the leaven behind during their escape to leave Egypt. They celebrated the First Fruits of each Spring Harvest as God provided their sustenance for life. 

For us Christians, the Spring Feasts point to the First Coming of our Savior.  Jesus was crucified and died on Passover, as the sacrificial lamb. He was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, becoming our Bread of Life, and our sins were buried with Him. He was resurrected on the Feast of Fruitfruits as the First Fruit of the Harvest of Souls that will happen when He returns for the saints. In other words, He hit the target on each of those Feast Days at His First Coming! Which brings us to ....

The Fall Feasts are a foreshadowing and indication of His Second Coming. The Jews celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles in the Fall on specific days as specified by God. They are reminders and memorials that they are summoned to celebrate God's creation of the world and begin ten days of repentance before God for their sins, as well as remembering the temporary shelters they lived in after escaping Egypt. 

As far as Christians are concerned, since the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus happened on the specific Spring Feasts during His First Coming, we can expect Him to hit the Fall Feasts just as precisely on His Second Coming. We will celebrate the "Day of the Lord" and return of our King; participate in the Bema Seat Judgment before King Jesus; and celebrate that He will tabernacle with us on the Earth, as He ushers in the Millennial Kingdom, setting up His Throne and gathering the faithful to rule and reign with Him!

But that is in the future, and we don't know what year it will take place. Until then, God has given us other important milestones to be considered. And that is where the Shemitah and Year of Jubilee intersect with our economy and national affairs.  

 

What is the Shemitah?  Every seventh day was the Sabbath Day; a day of rest. But every seventh year was a Sabbath Year – called the Shemitah. During the Shemitah, all sowing and reaping came to a standstill.  It was an economic Sabbath [rest] for an entire year. And it was a financial Sabbath, as well – at the end of the Shemitah, the nation’s financial accounts were wiped clean, all debt and credit were wiped away.  The Shemitah reminded the nation that all their blessings came from God.  And when Israel turned away from God, the Shemitah came back at them, not as a blessing, but as a sign of judgment.

 

Here's where it gets real interesting ... The latest Shemitah years have been September 2000 to September 2001; September 2007 to September 2008; September 2014 to September 2015; and the latest September 2021 to September 2022. I'm sure you recognize the significant historical events that took place at the end of each of those Shemitah years: the Towers came down; the economic collapse due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis; the emergence of Donald Trump on the political scene; and our current economic crisis and the world on the brink of war. In a Shemitah year, debt and credit were to be wiped away. But just the opposite has happened… we have amassed more debt as a nation, and citizens have lived on credit!!! What do you think that portends for our future???

That brings us to the Year of Jubilee and its significance for Christians living in the United States. So, God has established that every seventh year is the Shemitah. But every seventh Shemitah, or 49th year, ushers in a super Shemitah we know as the Jubilee. If September 27, 2022 is the end of the Shemitah year, then on September 28th we have entered into the year of the Jubilee (which is the 50^th year). During the Jubilee, there was a Sabbath [rest] of the land, slaves were set free, and everyone who lost their land or their ancestral possession was restored.  The Jubilee was established as the year of restoration. 

 

Jubilee years have marked the time parameters of some of the most important events of modern times and end-time prophecy.  It not only marked the greatest shaking in world history up to that time, the First World War, but the restoration of the land of Israel to the Jewish people.  Then, it marked the Six Day War in which the Jewish people were restored to their ancient city of Jerusalem. 

 

Jubilee years have marked the time parameters of some of the most important events of modern times and end-time prophecy.  It not only marked the greatest shaking in world history up to that time, the First World War, but the restoration of the land of Israel to the Jewish people.  Then, it marked the Six Day War in which the Jewish people were restored to their ancient city of Jerusalem. 

 

The Jubilee year is, in a sense, a second Shemitah (rest), extending its effects for another year. So September 2022 – September 2023 is going to be very consequential! BUT, the Jubilee year can cut both ways … The Shemitah was a blessing for Israel when they followed God, but a judgment when they did not. Would it surprise you to know that the last Shemitah which ended in September 1972, and saw the Jubilee year begin from September 1972 to September 1973 in which the following occurred in our nation ...  48% of the U.S. Stock market value was wiped out; Global recession crippled the world's economies; U.S. voted to kill its unborn children (Abortion legalized); and the U.S. lost its first war [in Vietnam].

 

By now I hope you can discern that both the Shemitah and Jubilee give evidence of the Sovereignty of God over His creation and every part of life on earth. Can you see that He is the true source of all blessings AND consequences?  And for nations in the world, depending on whether they are acting righteously or not, it can mean a shaking. For those who are in the will of God, all of this can be a blessing – a time of freedom, release, and restoration. It's a time to be restored to what one has lost, to enter into one’s possession, one’s inheritance of God – a time of God’s favor.

 

So, based on past history, I hope you can see that just as every seventh day has been declared a day of rest by our God, so has every seventh year... the land lies fallow, and debts are forgiven. This year finds us at the end of 7 Shemitahs ( 7 x 7 years) and beginning the Jubilee which is another year of rest for the land and the freeing of slaves and restoration of what was taken from you. And whether we experience this Jubilee year as blessings or judgment from God depends on what our accounting sheet shows. So how do you think our nation will fare? Do we deserve His blessings or will we receive His shaking?

 

Whatever happens, if we have remained faithful to God's will as individuals I believe we can weather whatever befalls our nation. We are told to persevere and become overcomers, occupying the land until Jesus returns. He may not come during the Fall Feasts this year, but I honestly believe He is close to mounting for His ride. Stay focused on Him. Be prepared for tough times. And always ... always ... remain faithful, for this I know for sure ... If you will be faithful to Him, He will remain faithful to you! Trust in the Lord, rest in His provision, and reap the consequences of your righteousness!

 

#shemitah #yearofjubilee #sowingandreaping #blessingsandjudgment

 

Galatians 6:7    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  

 

 

 

 

 

The Danger In Our Children Forsaking Their History

 

In one of the first blog posts I wrote in 2012, I addressed the concern I had that the valuable life lessons of my generation [that I learned from the generations before me] were not being valued by the Millennial Generation and the generations following them. I wrote, "It is becoming more and more apparent to me that our children are no longer learning from us". 

Then this week, ten years later, I found myself in a conversation with a very dear friend about this very topic. I'm a number of years older than she is, but she has entered that season of life in which you begin thinking about the things you would like to bequeath to your children or grandchildren. But we both found ourselves agreeing that the younger generation has made it clear they aren't really interested in preserving anything as a memory of their ancestors. Photos, jewelry, art, furniture or anything sentimental or nostalgic hold no interest for them. Don't get me wrong .... this is not about worshiping or idolizing "stuff" or material possessions.

So, what is my point in calling your attention to this circumstance? I have a standard to live by because I was raised on the courage and the moral values of my ancestors. I am the keeper of valuable life lessons learned by my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents, who learned from their parents who lived through the Civil War, two World Wars and a crippling depression. They learned how to survive, and knew how to persist through hard times. In me, they found a willing listener, who wanted to be able to follow in their footsteps if ever faced with the same life challenges. And what's more, the few things that have been passed down to me are reminders of those who not only contributed to my DNA, but they are visual symbols of the strength of mind and character that are my inheritance. I don't cherish them because they have material worth; they are a treasure due to who they represent.

But our younger generations don't seem to care about knowing where they came from; instead, they are willing to follow whatever the latest celebrity or media guru tells them they should feel, think or say. But it's not just social media that is steering our kids wrong. The very institution that we trust to educate and maintain acceptable standards for our children, has now decided that they are to have the primary jurisdiction over their lives. In 2012, I asked the question, "Have we handed over the responsibility of forming our children's identity to some nameless entity that knows better than we do?" Now, in 2022, it's very clear where that threat is coming from, and that there is a vigorous effort to remove not only our children's personal and national history, but any influence of past generations or parental authority or direction.    

In light of this alarming circumstance, if you asked the Millennials today to tell you what they've learned from their parents or grandparents, could they tell you? Are they even interested in learning from us and what was passed down to us as wisdom and knowledge? And most importantly, do they know that it is not all about them? That the rewards of this life come from working hard, helping others, and giving glory to our God? 

I know that I am a product of tough and remarkable people; people who lost spouses at a young age and had to provide for small children during the Depression when food and clothing were scarce. I come from people who survived outbreaks of virulent disease; lost their homes to fire; lost babies to tuberculosis, the leading cause of death in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century; and left all their belongings behind as they hurriedly escaped from the "advancing Yankees". And I have the 1814 Family Bible that records the dates of their births, deaths, and marriages from that date forward. My question is, will anyone want this valuable reminder of the endurance and girt and mettle that came before me?

Remember, that God instructed Joshua to leave 12 stones on the shore of the Jordan River [after the Israelites had crossed over] as a memorial for future generations to be reminded about their journey and the deliverance they received from God. If our subsequent generations lose the history of our own journeys, and that of our nation, they will be doomed to repeat the mistakes and errors that were made. And if they abandon the desire to know about us and those that came before us, they will lose their unique identities and any opportunities to draw from the vast knowledge base that could teach them how to endure and overcome the difficult future we are facing. I'm afraid our culture is lulling them into complacency, contentment, and a willingness to relinquish the narrative of their ancestors as no longer relevant. 

As my friend and I finished our conversation, we both lamented the very real possibility that this generation will never receive the benefits of hearing [or knowing] about the trials and acts of resiliency and fortitude that led from their ancestors to their own existence. In 2012, I urged readers to teach their children to embrace that rich inheritance. Today, I'm not sure the children want to be taught. I applaud those parents who are engaged in taking back our education system and I pray that they they will institute their own re-education plan of teaching family history and the responsibility [and yes, obligation] to remember and honor those who came before us. 

Now, I'll leave you with my last thought ... Like those 12 stones on the side of the Jordan River, the chronicles of families should never be forgotten. I'm afraid our children and children's children are going to need visible and lasting reminders of what once was. 

#millennialsandhistory #familyhistory #rememberinghistory #forsakinghistory

Deuteronomy 32:7   Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.