September | 2015 | Grace and Truth

September 19, 2015
by GraceandTruth 6 Comments

The Night is About to Get Colder

“Crystal meth is the devil’s drug,” Jacob said.

“You mean ice?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, “It is the devil’s drug. I was on it. It ruined my life. I lost my family and my friends.

“Everyone’s on it,” he went on, “it’s taking over this city.”

I was talking to Jacob last night on the street. A young guy who looked like he had done some heavy stuff in his young life.

“One time, ” Jacob told me, “I went straight up through the clouds to heaven (on a trip). But when I got there the gates were locked and they wouldn’t let me in. I have had a bad past. So they sent me to hell to work as a slave. It was so hot there I could feel the flames. I knew I wasn’t fit enough or strong enough to stay in hell forever though and I didn’t know how to get out.”

Ice is crystal methamphetamine, a synthetic drug, in its purest form. Ice is now endemic in Australia. The government and law enforcement are powerless against this demonic drug, but so far are unwilling to admit that they have lost control and have no idea what to do about it.

I believe that we are entering a new season my brothers and sisters. And ice is only a small part of what is coming. God is going to all0w everything that can be shaken to be shaken. Everything we have trusted in – money, global economics, security, the things Western culture was built on, even Christianity – everything that can be shaken will be shaken.

“Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.” Haggai 2:21, 22

The birth pangs have already begun : earthquakes in diverse places, mass deception, wars, rumours of wars, men are now lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (see Matthew 24 and 2 Timothy 3)

All this was prophesied 2000 years ago, and it is happening right NOW. There’s not time left now. God is permitting a huge shaking to come and it is going to begin in the church.

Why would He do that?

“”I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it…” Ezekiel 21:27

Because He needs to sort the wheat from the chaff.

The only way to separate precious wheat kernels from the inedible husk (or chaff) is to shake, shake, shake it with a winnowing fork till

farmer winnowing on his threshing floor

the chaff breaks off. The wind then catches the useless chaff and blows it away, leaving only the lovely kernel of wheat.

“He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” Luke 3:17 (John Baptist speaking of Christ)

Jesus is now looking to see who will stand. Who will stand when the shaking comes? When all we have put our trust in topples and falls… will we be blown away as chaff? Where will we put our trust… Will it be in Christ alone?

Will the Son of Man find faith on the earth?

This is it my friends. Now is the time to topple Self off the throne of your life and allow the rightful king back on His throne. It is Jesus Christ only who will provide refuge in the coming storm. It is Him alone who can save you.

Jacob said to me last night on the street after I’d shared the gospel with him that he is the “god of his own life”.

(Is that the case with you?)

My answer to Jacob was : “Well, you are going to hell then.”

He half-gasped/ half-laughed in surprise: “I can’t believe you just said that to me.”

Yeah, because no one says the honest, blatant truth anymore.

The essence of sin is self-love. That is it. The devil had it, he tried to elevate himself to god-hood and he is on his way to the lake of fire to burn with the chaff for eternity.

There’s no time left for seeker-sensitive rubbish and I can’t be bothered with it anymore. For goodness sake, Christ has died for us. He took the punishment for your sin and mine at the cross. He shed His sinless blood to pay for our horrendous crimes against God. What wondrous love is that? What more could He do?

Get right with God now or face Him at the judgment seat of Christ. Your choice.

Jacob took a New Testament last night. He said that he is going to seriously consider what we talked about.

I pray that he will. I pray that you will too.

In the love of Christ,

Belinda

http://tim-shey.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/sword-is-sharpened.html

Friend of God or Friend of the World?

September 16, 2015
by GraceandTruth 1 Comment

Missionary Quotations – Amy Carmichael4

Amy Carmichael opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years without furlough

“Give me the Love that leads the way
The Faith that nothing can dismay
The Hope no disappointments tire
The Passion that’ll burn like fire
Let me not sink to be a clod
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God”

September 14, 2015
by GraceandTruth Leave a comment

Welcome to The Year of Jubilee

L’Shana Tova – Happy New Year!

Blow the Trumpet in Zion conte crayons, pencil

Blow the Trumpet in Zion
Aug ’15 conte crayons, pencil

Yesterday was the last day of the Shemitah year. Today is the first day of the Jewish civil New Year. It is also Rosh Hashanah, or Feast of Trumpets. Today is also the first day of a Jubilee Year.

The Bible connects the trumpet (or shofar) with the Jubilee Year:

“And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. ⁹Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. ¹⁰And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. ¹¹That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. ¹²For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you” Leviticus 25:8-12

This is the year to make the trumpet sound throughout your land to proclaim liberty to the captives. We no longer have time on our side my friends. The Bridegroom is returning soon. We need to unashamedly lift up the trumpet (shofar) and “Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sound the alarm in My holy mountain” Joel 2:1

This is a year of restoration. This is the year where we need to ready ourselves in order to receive the returning prodigals. First we need to let the Spirit of God search us in order to check that our names are written in the Book of Life. We also need to confirm that our lives are in line with the perfect will of God. Then it is that we are to set others free around us.

This is the year that when the shofar sounds those who are captive/bound/oppressed will be set free. Truly “each of you shall return to his possession and each of you shall return to his family”. This is the year that our sons and daughters will return to us.

Yes there is harvest of wickedness ripening all around us. But simultaneously there is also a harvest of righteousness. Jesus said that the fields are white unto harvest. Go forth, go forth my brothers and sisters into the ripened fields, in the power of the Spirit, for the time of reaping is at hand.

God bless you and Shalom this Feast of Trumpets season,

Belinda

Rosh Hashanah – A Fresh Start

The Shemitah

Street Preaching & Something the Devil Doesn’t Want You to Know

September 10, 2015
by GraceandTruth 7 Comments

The UN, The Pope, Israel & The Significance of 70 Years (Ten Shemitahs)

“Welcome to September 2015. There are numerous events that are quickly coming upon us that might – or might not – have prophetic implications. All we are sure of is that this is a season to watch and pray. We prayed for the Church worldwide to do just that and to not be deceived by false prophetic messages.” Intercessors for Israel

Some significant known “world” events are about to take place shortly.

Readers will no doubt be aware of some, if not all and more, of the forthcoming events as noted below:

Extract From the “Prophetic Calendar 2015”

PLEASE PRAY! The Kingdom of God days are right before us! Pray for the peace, Shalom of Jerusalem Psalm 122 and confess Psalm 91 over Israel and the people in the land. We have been confessing these two Psalms over Israel over and over again as there is power in God’s word and God is faithful, He watches over Israel and His covenant with the people and the land.

September 13-14 – End of the Shemitah year. In 2001 and 2008, both Shemitah years ended with the beginning of Wall Street crashes.

September 15 – The UN General Assembly will begin. This will mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Charter.

France plans to introduce a resolution would “set an 18-month timetable for Israelis and Palestinians to agree on a two-state solution. It would call for recognition of Palestinian statehood if the talks do not bear fruit.”

September 20 – The re-established and self-declared Israeli Sanhedrin composed of 71 sages are placing Pope Francis on trial. If Pope Francis chooses to ignore the summons, he will be judged in absentia.

September 23 – Yom Kippur and also marks the Jubilee of Jerusalem to the day.

September 23 – Yom Kippur – The Pope and Obama scheduled to meet. (This note added by this writer).

September 24 – Pope Francis will address Congress. This will be the first time a Pope has ever addressed Congress.

September 25-27 – The United Nations is going to launch a brand new sustainable development agenda for the entire planet. The agenda includes provisions regarding environment, economics, agriculture, education and gender equality. On September 25th, the Pope will travel to New York to give a major speech kicking off the UN conference where this new agenda will be unveiled.

Comment: The Significance of 70 Years (or Ten Shemitah Years)

70 years is a significant time period. Biblically it represents man’s promised lifespan – three score and ten – and 70 years was also the time the Israelites spent in captivity in Babylon for their transgression against God’s commands regarding the land.

Seventy years ago, 1945 being a Shemitah year, a number of significant events took place. Following is a list of some of them, one of which is already noted above:

WW II ended. Many nations have recently celebrated its ending; much of these celebrations have been conducted with pride and self-aggrandisement. God hates pride. It was pride that led to Satan’s downfall.

The US exploded two atom bombs in Japan, so bringing in the era of the atomic bomb. It was a horrific and barbaric act, especially when a second bomb was dropped after the results from the first were known. This writer is not a pacifist, but cannot condone the US’s actions then.

The United Nations charter was adopted. Undoubtedly the UN was set up with good intentions aimed at bringing order to the world, especially after the horrors of WW II. Unfortunately its record has not been good. Not only has it been in the forefront of plans to bring in “New World Order” agendas but it has failed miserably in administering its mandate, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, where it has mostly assumed a partisan position. For instance some 2300 Security Council resolutions have been passed since inception; a disproportionate number of which were directly and extremely hostile towards Israel.

Currently: the World and the Church

The world is in a mess right now. Civil morality must surely be running at its lowest level since the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah, not far from the levels of violence and depravity seen then. The world’s economic situation is extremely fragile and likely to get worse. The security situation in the Middle East is out of control. Europe is facing a huge influx of illegal migrants. Africa is in a shambles and so it goes on!

Despite all the grandstanding and posturing by politicians, central bankers and security and military personnel, they clearly have lost control and don’t know how to resolve these problems.

Worst of all, the Christian churches are also in disarray with many succumbing to political correctness. Many are now only Christian in name and do not adhere fully to God’s word.

Yet for many, life somehow mostly seems to carry on as normal.

The Near Future: The World and the Church

The deal between the P 5+1 nations and Iran is likely to be ratified soon in the US and the UN. A number of nations in the Middle East, especially Israel, are vehemently opposed to it fearing for their safety.

Palestinian statehood is looming nearer. This will undoubtedly involve Israel being forced to give-up land and parts of Jerusalem.
The UN is to push the issue of gender equality (no doubt with an increased push for enforcing the special privileges to be granted to same sex couples). Christians will increasingly find themselves on the “wrong” side of these agendas.

Man, as represented through the UN, will continue to defy God.

Conclusion

Expect major problems and tumults in the near future as the world continues to defy God, especially regarding His land – see Joel 3:2. God will not stand idly by forever. We surely are in the season of Judgment.

(When we speak of God, we mean the One and only God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the Triune God.)

Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in our series “Bible Prophecy”.

The Shemitah

2014/2015 Blood Moons: A Wake Up Call

Bible Prophecy: Warning to Nations

Bible Prophecy: Significant and Dangerous Times for Israel

September 7, 2015
by GraceandTruth 2 Comments

“But God…”

You’ve been heading one way…”But God…”

You’ve received a diagnosis… “But God…”

You have nowhere to live… “But God…”

Your marriage is struggling… “But God…”

You don’t know how you will get through this…”But God….”

But God…

But God…

These words are like a great signpost in the middle of the path of your life.

Sept ’15. Pastel, pencil, conte crayon

They signal God’s intervention in our lives. They signal God’s mercy in caring enough to reach down and move in our circumstances.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” Ephesians 2:4

“But God…” there it stands, two words that are full of promise. These two words can change the course of your future.

But God… that is all it takes to raise the dead to life.

But God… is all that is needed to change your direction

But God… lifts us up from the ash-heap to the heavenly places in Christ

But God… don’t walk past the signpost. Don’t accept that this is how it just is. Don’t give in. Don’t believe the words of man.

Stop. Look up.

There is God’s Word “But God….”

Take hold of a promise of God.

Know that if God can take you, who was dead in trespass and sin, and intervene to make you alive together with Christ, then God can certainly intervene in your situation now.

There is a way, and it’s God’s way. He has an answer, He has an outcome.

Take hold of “But God…”

🙂

God’s Victories Look Like Defeats

Suffering: According to the Pattern

The Place of Enlargement